Letters to various persons on various subjects of faith and life

Contents Letter 1. About blind and seeing faith. Letter 2. About the eternity of torment of unrepentant sinners. Letter 3. He who loves God fears God's wrath for sins. We sin out of weakness to sin, but always arbitrarily. A means to avoid the sin of anger and hot temper. A way to keep yourself from everything bad Letter 4. The idea of ​​​​the parable of the unjust steward. About the aversion of the main trouble - condemnation for sins. How to secure your future with charity and alms Letter 5. About the second coming of the Lord and the general resurrection Letter 6. About recognizing oneself as a sinner and the beginning of correction. About the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On reading the Psalter Letter 7. Correcting wrong opinions about the second coming and judgment. About the resurrection of the dead. About private court after death. How to live in order to be saved. The path of salvation is the faithful fulfillment of God’s commandments Letter 8. 1st letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About preachers of the faith not on behalf of the Church. About the harmfulness of the words of false teachers: “Believe and you are saved.” Preachers preach about salvation differently from the Lord and the Apostles. About the degrees of descent into lies and darkness of Catholics, Protestants and new preachers and their falling away from the one faith and the Church. Do they have the truth of God? The Orthodox Church is the only true one, containing God’s truth. All teachings that distort the truth about Christ are denounced and cursed by the Church. Preachers misinterpret and distort the Gospel. About the Holy Trinity. What is necessary to save everyone. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. What we must contain if we wish to be saved. About the sign of the cross. Why are our pastors silent, while preachers everywhere teach Letter 9. About good and faulty priests. On all-zealous prayer to the Lord for the correction of one’s neighbor Letter 10. On prayer. On the acquisition of undistracted prayer. Real prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God. Letter 11. About vanity. The extreme destruction of vanity. How to fight it Letter 12. On the fight against dispersion. How to acquire and preserve inner warmth and composure. How to give all deeds a character pleasing to God Letter 13. On the fight against fatigue, disintegration of the soul and weakening of the will. How to warm up a cold soul Letter 14. Regarding the choice of celibacy. About zeal for fulfilling the commandments. About acquiring purity of heart. About internal warfare Letter 15. About worthy communion. How often should one receive communion? Letter 16. On the fight against condemnation and slander. Condemnation brings severe judgment. Instead of judging, we must pray for our neighbors. You need to retrain yourself, not others. Letter 17. On the fight against the lust for power. Letter 18. On memorizing the Gospel. About the application of the Gospel to your life Letter 19. About answers to reproaches about leaving public life. He who seeks salvation does not live for himself. On a world-denying and celibate lifestyle Letter 20. On the fight against laziness and desires for benefits. A moment's relaxation is also dangerous. The desire for benefits is the first enemy of working for salvation. Patience is the basis of living for salvation Letter 21. Thoughts on the Annunciation. About union with the Lord in the Sacraments Letter 22. About insensibility of the heart Letter 23. About the agreement of the Gospel stories about the resurrection of the Lord. Sequence of events Letter 24. 2nd letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is the highest in Christianity. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not true Christian actions. About the mystery of sin living in us and liberation from it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the Lord leads to the receipt of grace, grace builds the believer into the habitation of God. All sinful, passionate, even rotten words coming from the mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit. About the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism. How the work of salvation is accomplished. How the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and preserved Letter 25. 3rd letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the path of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation 2. Denouncing the false teaching that salvation is given freely and cannot be earned by anything. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Do not be jealous of those who crafty Letter 26. 4th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Denunciation of the wrong teaching that all who believe in Christ are saved and that the gifts of God, as eternal ones, cannot be taken away. Sin after baptism interrupts the effects of the gifts of grace. The remission of sins after baptism is performed only in the Sacrament of Repentance. The sin of every person is a great offense to God; The sin of a Christian immeasurably offends God. About saving good deeds. Do not seek the Lord from someone who has separated from the Church. About the difference in the degrees of bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners. Whoever does not honor the holy holidays acts impiously and unreasonably. Letter 27. 5th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Salvation is possible only in a living union with the Church. About the one true Church - the Holy Orthodox Church. On the origin and essence of the Latin Church and Protestant societies. The Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. About work and exploits - physical, mental and spiritual. Living the life of the Church, you will be in living union with the Lord. The one who discourages others from the Church of God is a real murderer and enemy of God. Letter 28. 6th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. What should be done by someone who, living in half with sin or completely sinful, recognizes his fault and desires to improve. The answer to the words of preachers that our church life is materialized. What is a ritual? All church prayer rituals are the most spiritual prayers. Our faith should be clothed in outward splendor. How our salvation was accomplished by the Lord. How we can enjoy the benefits of salvation and work out our salvation. About philosophy. How to develop spiritual life in yourself through visible, bodily action Letter 29. 7th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. The Church is the house of God. The Church preserves and provides for her children everything necessary for their salvation. The Church is the living body of the Lord; without the Lord nothing - neither great nor small - entered into it; only apostates can say that something else can be replaced or abolished. About freedom. The external order of the church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body. Letter 30. The external structure of the Church is an expression of the internal mood of souls and leads to excitement and strengthening of the internal; the essence of the matter is inner life, to live in God by the spirit. The enemy of many Letter 31. About self-pity and self-indulgence Letter 32. Regarding the unfortunate circumstances of life. The Lord never leaves us, but only gives us different positions and states. Everything that comes from God happens for our essential good. Letter 33. On the decision to leave the world and devote oneself to serving the Lord. On Spiritual Guidance Letter 34. On Prayer with Humility. About church and home prayer. We must cultivate in ourselves the prayer of Letter 35. About life in a monastery - external and internal. No one but the Lord can teach true self-knowledge Letter 36. About pride and vanity. What are the manifestations of pride? Letter 37. About paying attention to yourself. God judges a person as he is inside, in the heart Letter 38. About paying attention to yourself. God judges a person as he is inside, in the heart Letter 39. About monastic life. About the prayer rule and bows Letter 40. By indiscriminately accepting thoughts about others, it is easy to fall into the enemy’s snare. About internal struggle. About the enemy's interference in our internal and external affairs. About the thoughts swarming inside us. About monastic life. The main goal of monasticism is to always live in God. About spiritual edification Letter 41. About the temptation endured. The enemy is in his being darkness and confusion, therefore anxiety and confusion accompany him, no matter who he touches. Temptations do not happen without God’s permission. Letter 42. On the memory of God and proper self-control in relation to the Lord. About home prayer. About heartfelt appeal to the Lord Letter 43. About patiently enduring illness. About acquiring the skill of walking before God. About the skill of prayer. How to descend with your mind into your heart and stand there with your attention. On fulfilling the prayer rule Letter 44. How to stop self-indulgence. What does it mean to be mind in heart. On the manner of performing prayer Letter 45. Warnings against the deception of the enemy. The measure of success in spiritual life must be considered the feeling of unworthiness before God. Letter 46. Warnings against delusion. Self-esteem and exaltation culminate in ungodly pride. About the ability to distinguish thoughts. How to stop thoughts from wandering Letter 47. Is it difficult to be saved? On discerning thoughts Letter 48. Warning against the wiles of the enemy. About humility. About the feeling of detachment from everything earthly Letter 49. About the state of cooling. About self-pity and self-indulgence. Enemy logic Letter 50. About the enemy’s machinations. The enemy's tricks are insignificant compared to attention and prayer. About heartfelt prayer. About sleep. On resolving questions based on patristic books. About insurance from the enemy Letter 51. About the departure of the grace of God. Grace is retained in the soul by humility. About the tricks of the enemy Letter 52. You can only rely on the Lord and give your heart only to Him. About cutting off from everything. Desire for perfection Letter 53. On enduring troubles. How humility is acquired. Humble compliance is the best defense against the attacks of others. About laziness, the desire for indulgences and peace of the flesh. About the prayer rule. What is tonsure Letter 54. Inspiration versus despondency. About the narrow path. What kind of dreams are there? Letter 55. The main thing is prayer work. How to receive visitors. Do not allow self-pity Letter 56. On the consolations of holy communion. About joyful crying, or joyful sadness. Praise is a dangerous business. About extracts from books being read Letter 57. Against laziness. About the prayer rule. On reading patristic books Letter 58. How to gather your mind in your heart. About the Jesus Prayer. Self-resistance and self-coercion are the first forms of saving Christian life Letter 59. The best position for a person praying is to stand as if at the Last Judgment. About the wandering of thoughts during prayer; how to heal this weakness Letter 60. The law of fasting. We must believe that the Lord is within us - by virtue of baptism and communion, according to His promises. About recording dogmatic or moral thoughts that come during prayer. About the prayerful mood Letter 61. About the consolations of holy communion. About the fasting rule. On the renewal of spiritually beneficial thoughts and feelings Letter 62. Harm from condemnation. About the fear of God Letter 63. Illness instead of fasting. How the hidden person of the heart is conceived Letter 64. About the prayer rule Letter 65. Three incentives to an active Christian life, to doing good. About cleansing the heart. On mercenaryism and sonship to God Letter 66. Mental prayer is a duty for the laity too. He who does not have smart inner prayer does not have any. What is prayer? A means to acquire mental prayer Letter 67. What is the enemy’s cunning, his charm and network. Sinfulness on the tongue and self-righteousness in the heart Letter 68. Is tonsure a sacrament? Signs of a state of grace. About feeling your dignity. What is needed to live in the spirit of Letter 69. On frequent communion. About conceit and self-esteem. How to talk to others about spiritual life Letter 70. Techniques of enemy temptations. About the enemy's tricks Letter 71. About crying. Sectarians do not have Christ Letter 72. About the enemy's machinations Letter 73. What self-knowledge consists of. About patience. How impatience is tempted by Letter 74. Pay attention to your heart. About exaltation and vanity. About the home prayer rule and bows Letter 75. The origin of the Pashkov heresy. Sectarians do not make the sign of the cross, since this is contrary to the spirits living in them. Letter 76. On the habit of unceasing prayer. How to better grasp the sacraments of our holy faith. How to perceive the dogmas of faith with your heart. On maintaining prayer zeal. About thoughts from the enemy Letter 77. About vanity. Do not give in to confusing thoughts - they are always the enemy, even though they seem very right. About the benefits of self-accusation. How all false teachers and lies should be dealt with Letter 78. The enemy lures the soul into dreams, especially in church and at home in prayer, to divert attention from God. About mental prayer and reverence. The machinations of the enemy are understood by paying attention to yourself. Letter 79. Attention is the root of inner spiritual life. The enemy, armed with attention, puts the thought of benefits and entertainment. About the prayer rule Letter 80. Self-esteem is a very dangerous thing. A warning against delusion when performing the Jesus Prayer incorrectly. Internal proper order during the Jesus Prayer. About the economy of God Letter 81. About the state of cooling. Warmth goes away from allowing benefits and indulgences Letter 82. One must have hope in the mercy of God, and not in one’s own labors. What is penance? Letter 83. On the punitive and educational withdrawal of grace. We need to be grafted into the cross of the Lord. Letter 84. About prayer at home. About coming during prayer to resolve issues of spiritual life. About self-reproach and self-justification. About the fire of temptation. On the Gravity of Life Letter 85. Before God one should hold oneself in extreme reverence. On the danger of dreamy fortune-telling in spiritual life Letter 86. Examples of recording good thoughts that come during contemplation and prayer, numbering 162 Letter 1. About blind and seeing faith. Seeing faith clearly sees what and why it believes. How to resolve perplexities about objects of faith You were occupied with the question of the eternity of torment. Good deed! But you began to talk about this and accumulated bewilderments, not being able to solve which, and began to waver in your very belief in this dogma. You think that since there is confusion against any dogma of faith, then there is nothing to believe in it; because otherwise faith will seem not to be rational, but blind; it will not be faith, but superstition. “For this reason, there is a lot of noise in your head.” Not wanting to sin in any way against the faith, you seek admonition. “I am ready to fulfill your desire with pleasure,” and how all your confusion arose because, fearing exposure to blind faith, you took up mental reasoning, which led you into the fog that covered you; Then first I’ll tell you a word or two about blind and non-blind faith and about the extent to which you need to trust your mind in objects of faith. The opposite of blind faith is seeing faith. Which one is it? – Seeing faith is that which clearly sees what it believes in and why it believes. A clear vision of what one believes in embraces the entire content of faith - that God is One in essence and Trinity in Persons; that He created the whole world with His Word and provides for it, both in general and in particular; that we were created for a better life, but fell from our ancestors, and now we languish in exile; that we brought this trouble upon ourselves, but we ourselves did not have the opportunity to free ourselves from it, which is why the Son of God became incarnate and delivered us from everything that we suffered as a result of the fall, through His suffering, death, resurrection, ascension into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God the Father; that in order for each of us to become a participant in the blessings of salvation perfected by the Lord, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and through them founded the Holy Church on earth, in which the Church remains, reviving all believers through the Holy Sacraments to new life, strengthening them for all good, cleansing them from all evil and sanctifying them, and through all this preparing them for eternal life and making the Kingdom of Heaven heirs, and that all Those who are faithful sons and daughters of the Church of God until the end will undoubtedly inherit the Kingdom of God, and those who are unfaithful to it and find themselves in hell will fall into eternal torment. All this is clearly seen and known by clearly seeing faith. She sees clearly and definitely the reason why she believes so. But she does not have many of these reasons, but one - because she believes that God Himself commanded to believe this way and not otherwise - the most reasonable basis, more reasonable and firmer than which there is nothing. For what God said is, of course, already the most perfect truth, against which objections are inappropriate. In the full sense, real faith is that when someone believes only because God commanded it, and when, in order to believe, he seeks nothing more than to find out how God commanded, and as soon as he learns that God commanded to believe this way and that way, he rests on that with complete peace, not allowing any hesitation. Behold, childlike faith, unquestioningly believing God - your Father! “This is what the Lord demanded when he said: “If you are not like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3). From this you can conclude for yourself that whoever believes in any other way cannot help but doubt whether he will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Such childish faith is not blind, but seeing, and seeing everything with clean eyes, untainted by anything. She just doesn’t indulge in mental research, but when she finds out that God said so, she calms down. This is her truest, most solid and most reasonable basis for all her beliefs. Blind faith is that which does not know what it should believe, or if it knows, it is not completely, somehow; He equally does not know why he should believe, and does not care to find out either one or the other. This is for the most part the faith of our simple people, but not exclusively: for among the persons of the highest and educated circles there are very many of them, if not the largest part. And among the common people, it is not uncommon to have a strong, childlike faith, which is beyond the reach of our learned faith?! It has become our custom to contrast blind faith with rational faith, and by rational faith to mean scientific faith, which is not content with the mere reason that God commanded and believe so, but mixes in everything with considerations of his own mind, and when he begins to talk about objects of faith, he speaks about them as if it were the comprehension of his mind, ashamed even to mention that God commanded this, seeing in this a humiliation to his mind. For others, it comes to the point that they do not want to believe anything at all that they cannot bring under the principles of their mind and reconcile with the sum of the concepts they have acquired and with the views on existence established in their heads. - To this I will say: There is no sin in seeking certain mental considerations in order to clarify and fully understand the objects of faith. The holy fathers often did this. But it should be noted that this does not add anything to the essence of faith and is a completely secondary or additional matter. Whether this is the case or not, faith that believes in God, as has been said, does not lose anything because of it. Whoever has acquired such considerations for himself has no advantage with God over those who do not have them, but sincerely and clearly believes in everything that is believed because God commanded so. This remark must be kept firmly in mind, so that the evil one does not give rise to a preference in the heart for one’s own considerations over that only solid foundation: God commanded it so, and I believe. For in this case, a person comes out of childhood and exposes himself to the danger that those who do not have childish faith are in: “Unless you are like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” No matter how wise the mind is, it must ultimately stand on the fact that God commanded it so, and I believe. – But it goes without saying that as preference is given to one’s own considerations, faith weakens and loses its meaning; and where they believe only in their own considerations, there is no faith at all, but only speculation about the objects of faith. When mental considerations about objects of faith are built in the mind, then perplexities most often arise that shake faith. It is true that they creep into the soul of childish faith. But here they are usually not given any move, they are immediately driven away, in the certainty that this is probably some kind of misunderstanding. But those who are not content and do not know how to be content with simple faith must do the same. Perplexities against faith are the same in the area of ​​faith as bad thoughts and impulses that are contrary to good morals and commandments in the area of ​​life. How do we meet the latter? – We push away, and that’s the end. The same should be done with the first ones. Perplexities come, drive them away with the sword of faith, and that’s the end. And this will be the most reasonable action. When it is clearly known how God commanded to believe, is it reasonable to allow objections against it, and not just build? When God speaks, the creature must listen and obey. This is the first act - to fight off bewilderment, remaining on the side of faith, without hesitation. When this is done and the peace of faith is returned to the heart, then anyone can seek clarification against any confusion. And this is no wonder. They can always be found in the restoration of the exact teaching of an article of faith that has been attacked by bewilderment. All bewilderment comes from the fact that some object of faith is obscured and a clear representation of it is not contemplated. As soon as this deficiency is filled, bewilderment will immediately dissipate by itself. Those who sin against this a lot are those who, as soon as some kind of bewilderment is born, immediately go over to his side and are ready to act as an enemy against the faith, dreaming at the same time that they begin to act in some sublime way - not like other ignorances, blind people, and so on. – Is he doing well who, as soon as a bad desire comes, immediately goes over to his side and fulfills it? - Of course it’s bad. The one who, as soon as bewilderment is born, immediately begins to take up arms against faith along with it, also does a bad thing. When bewilderment concerns an object about which God’s definition is known, then this kind of action is fighting against God. The legal way of acting should be this: perplexities have come - do not allow them to reach your heart and do not disturb the peace of faith with them; push them away, keeping your heart on the side of faith, and then seek clarification. - An explanation will come - good; If he doesn’t come, the trouble is not great. The peace of faith is complete - not the blind one, but the one who sees and knows, as God commanded. The false God commands, but he forges bewilderment into our little minds - perky, but blind. I will now limit myself to these explanations. I’ll put off explaining your confusion until next time. Letter 2. About the eternity of torment of unrepentant sinners. Correction of wrong opinions about how to reconcile eternal torment with God's mercy. Is there repentance beyond the grave? Various degrees of bliss and torment. Sin perverts and defiles the entire makeup of man. Repentance is possible only during life. What will the torment be like? With God’s help, I will begin to restore your shaken faith in an eternity of torment and calm your soul. Your bewilderment is this: “How is it possible that future torment will be eternal?! No way. This is contrary to the goodness of God.” – First of all, ask your child’s faith, does it know that God has ordained it this way? - And if she doesn’t know, enlighten her by showing her direct Divine definitions about this. The Lord, in clear words that do not allow any interpretation, says: “These are going into eternal torment” (Matthew 25:46). - This is the Lord speaking, for our sake and for our salvation, man became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of the Father, so that there too I will intercede for the salvation of each and every one. If He, to whom our salvation cost so much and who desires nothing more than for everyone to be saved, says this, it cannot be true otherwise. It seems that such a conclusion is so true and immutable that it cannot allow any hesitation. What have we done to you? - They were so carried away by bewilderment that they suspected both the authenticity of Scripture and the correctness of the interpretation, saying: either it is not written in the original, or it is not interpreted correctly. We liked our bewilderment so much that we are ready to turn everything upside down for the sake of it. But we have the authentic New Testament Scriptures. It says: “These go into eternal torment.” Then, no matter how many translations of the New Testament there are, they all say: “These go into eternal torment.” And no translators had any reason or thought of translating these terrible words in any other way: “into eternal torment.” Therefore, there can be no doubt that the Lord said exactly this. There is nothing to be interpreted here - the words are clear without interpretation. – They tried to give the word “eternal” a crooked interpretation—not believers, but non-believers—as if “eternal” here means relative eternity: a long, long time, but not without end, so long that this duration will seem like an eternity, but still there will be an end. That this interpretation is crooked is demonstrated by another word standing right there: “into the eternal belly.” “The eternal belly” and misunderstandings mean it as having to be without end. This is how we must understand eternal torment. Both sayings stand in the same conditions. What is obvious about one cannot be denied about the other. If the stomach is endless, then the torment is endless. Now please ask your childish faith, does it see that God Himself said that torment is eternal? Well, how can you not see it?! And if he sees, let him believe so with all his soul, and drive away any bewilderment contrary to this, without surrendering to him indiscriminately. But let’s give way to your bewilderment for a while and interrogate him: what rights can you claim for your existence? “I’m perplexed,” he says, “how can eternal torment be reconciled with the goodness of God, with God’s boundless mercy. After all, passion shows what torment! An unquenchable fire, an everlasting worm, pitch darkness, gnashing of teeth! Lord my father! – How will the gracious Lord look at such torture?! The Lord commanded us to forgive, but will He not forgive us? He prayed on the cross for those who sinned against Him with the most terrible sin - one that no longer exists and cannot be greater. Is it really impossible to forgive Him in the future life? What can we say to such bewilderment?! – You stand for the goodness and mercy of God. But your speech would make sense if the eternity of torment were determined by people - ruthless and inexorable rigorists. Then it would be reasonable to object to them: your position cannot be accepted; because it is contrary to the goodness of God. But when such a definition was decreed by the Lord Himself, the all-good and all-merciful, is it appropriate to say to Him, as it were, to His face: this cannot be, this is contrary to Your goodness? - as if He was saying who knows what? Did He cease to be good when He said this? - Of course not. And if he did not cease to be good, then there is no doubt that such a definition is completely in accordance with His goodness. For God never does or says anything that would be contrary to His properties. For children's faith, this explanation is completely sufficient. And I rely on it more than on any other explanations - which I advise you too. You say: “The Lord prayed on the cross for the crucifiers; is it possible for Him to execute any of the sinners with eternal torment?” The Lord prayed, and His prayer immediately bore fruit. The robber repented and, believing in the Lord, opened the entrance to heaven for himself. The centurion confessed the Lord as the Son of God and, having been sanctified by faith, is among the saints. It is true that all those who left Golgotha, beating themselves, did not lose the good part. Likewise, everyone who, having sinned before God, turns to Him in tears of repentance, always receives forgiveness, and the door of heaven is not locked against them. If all people guilty of sins did this, they would all enter heaven, and hell would remain occupied only by the spirits of evil - bitter and unrepentant. You rely on merciful forgiveness. But forgiveness is not unconditional: repent and you will receive forgiveness. How can you forgive someone who is unrepentant? The merciful Lord is ready to forgive everyone - just repent and resort to His mercy. If the demons had repented, they too would have been pardoned. But since they are ossified in stubborn resistance to God, there is no mercy for them. The same is true in relation to people. It is impossible to pardon those who stubbornly resist God. That there are such people, I think you know. That many of these go to the next world as God-fighters and God-haters, and I believe you cannot deny this. What awaits them there? You can see that! Just as they didn’t want to know God, God will tell them: we don’t know you; go away. – And when such a decision comes from God, who will cancel it? - This is eternal rejection - the seal of hell! All that remains is to build hope, is there any repentance beyond the grave? - Oh, when would this be possible?! What a relief for us sinners! The Lord is so merciful that if you repent, even if it is beyond the grave, He will certainly forgive. “But it’s our grief that there is nothing to base such hopes on.” – The law of life is such that as soon as someone plants the seed of repentance here, even with his last breath, he will not perish. This seed will grow and bear fruit - eternal salvation. And if someone here does not plant the seed of repentance and moves there with the spirit of unrepentant persistence in sins, then there he will forever remain with the same spirit, and the fruit from him will be reaped forever by his kind, God’s eternal rejection. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham answers the rich man: “There is a great gulf between us and you, for whoever wants to pass from here to you will not be able to, nor will those from there pass to us” (Luke 16:26). What a decisive separation of one from the other! I take here from the parable only this one feature: as soon as someone, having passed on to another life, ends up on the left, then there is no longer any way for him to go to the right. But this parable also reveals the idea that in the next world, even if it were possible for someone to give up their sinful stubbornness, it would no longer bring him any benefit. This is according to the law of righteousness: you received good things in life, and then endure them (Luke 16:25). Alas for us sinners! Let us hasten to repent here as quickly as possible and receive permission, allowing forever not only for earth, but also for heaven. So you see what's the matter! - Therefore, either let your compassion make all sinners repent, or let you agree that it is possible that some people will not receive forgiveness and will be condemned due to unrepentant stubbornness. Are you not the bearers of such aspiration - that God, by His sovereign power, would forgive sinners and bring them into paradise? I ask you to judge whether this is beautiful and whether such faces are fit for heaven? – Sin is not something external, but internal and passing through. When someone sins, sin perverts his entire composition, defiles and darkens him. If you forgive a sinner with an external sentence, but inside him leave everything as it was, without cleaning it up, then even after such forgiveness he will remain all filthy and gloomy. Such will be the one whom God would forgive by His sovereign power, without his internal purification. Imagine someone like that, unclean and gloomy, entering heaven. What will it be? An Ethiopian among the whitewashed. Is it appropriate? “And when we build any kind of society, they usually include homogeneous people - people of a different type themselves will not want to join it, and, if for some reason they wanted to, they would not be accepted. It’s the same with heaven, it will accept only what is homogeneous - pure and most pure; and everything that does not fit this norm cannot enter there. Let us even assume that by some fate the sinner is drawn into heaven; what will he do there?! “For him, heaven will turn into hell.” He has no organ to taste the sweets of heaven; and due to the fact that everything there is opposite to his mood, he will be cramped and oppressed, so that he will not find any room. If you introduce a simple person into the circle of people of the highest tone, for him being among them will be real torture. A sinner should experience the same thing if he is dragged into heaven unpurified. You say: “Well, then clean it up.” – Isn’t this again the sovereign power of a merciful God?! “If it were possible, then there would not have been a single sinner here on earth long ago.” God would say: let all be holy, and all would become holy. But the fact of the matter is that purification cannot be accomplished without the participation of will, which, if it was lacking on earth, will be even more lacking in the next world. Yes, even if it appeared, there was nothing for it to put its hands on. The beginning of cleansing is repentance; but in the next world there is no place for him; and if it were, there is no way for it to be completed and sealed by a mysterious resolution: for this is possible only here. After repentance, cleansing continues and is completed through deeds of self-mortification and charity, fasting, alms, and prayers. All this is inapplicable in the next world. There is, therefore, no need to expect purification there. So, whether you want it or not, you must agree that it is inevitable that some part of people will remain outside the doors of heaven. I believe that hearing this: behind the doors of heaven, your compassion calms down somewhat: even if it’s outside the doors of heaven, these tortures and torments are an unquenchable fire, an undying worm, the gnashing of teeth, pitch darkness - how terrifying it is. - But what is there?! – Behind the doors of heaven is hell. And hell, no matter how you soften the words, is a place of torment. The foolish maidens remained right outside the doors of the groom's palace, and as if they had not been subjected to any torment. But we must judge not by this external thing, but by what is in their souls, how they began to feel after listening to the voice of the suitors forever rejecting them. Degrees - both in the paradise of bliss and in the hell of torment - of course there will be; but to every degree, just as in heaven the saints will drink bliss with full lips, so in hell the sinners will endure torment to the last degree of patience, such that if you add a little more, then all nature will scatter into dust - but it will not scatter, but will still suffer and suffer, and this without end. The expressions - never-ending worm, never-quenching fire, etc. - mean only this extreme measure of torment for everyone, and perhaps that’s not what they will consist of. As for the blessedness of the righteous, the Apostle said that what has not been prepared for them is what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9); so about the torment of sinners it must be said that although it is certain that they will be to the extreme for everyone, and will be both mental and physical; but what exactly they will consist of cannot be said definitely. In the word of God, to designate this, what is most painful on earth is taken, just as to designate bliss, what is considered the greatest and most joyful on earth is taken; but it is impossible to say that exactly this was the case in both one and the other. Everything will be new there - new heaven and new earth, new joys and torments. Of course, all this strikes with fear. But then it is open, so that, striking with fear, to admonish and calm sinners. If God rejoiced at the torment of sinners, He would not have revealed about hell; but since he does not want the sinner to die eternally, he revealed what awaits the sinner, so that, knowing this, the sinner would not give himself free rein, and if he happened to sin, he would quickly turn again to the Lord and repent. I knew one person who had the custom of saying: “What a wise thing the Lord has come up with - death and hell! If it weren’t for them, I would have gone all out.” They tell him: “Close your eyes and don’t look at these passions or drive the belief in them out of your heart.” He answers: “And I would be glad to close my eyes, but you can’t close them: all they see is death and hell. As for driving away faith, I’ve already tried everything to drive it away, and made all sorts of tunnels under it; no - everything is sluggish and rotten, no matter what you think of. Just as the truth of death is irresistible, so the truth of eternal hell stands indestructible. No, it’s better to tie up your wings and somehow keep yourself quiet.” You are being compassionate. But isn’t the Lord compassionate?! His final rejection: “Go away,” do you think He will say that, out of the blue?! No; He will say this after testing all possible means to defeat the stubbornness of unrepentant sinners. How many worries He surrounds every sinner in order to bring him to his senses! “And when he’s tried everything and nothing can overcome him, he says: well, stay!” - It's here; and at the trial he will say to him, along with others like him: go away! We see it in Israel. God fought and fought with him; finally decided: “Behold, your house is left to you empty” (Matthew 23:38). This happens with every rejected sinner. His final rejection is decided after nothing can be done about him, as he becomes ossified in his stubbornness. You decide one thing: is it possible for a person to become demonized? – Of course it’s possible. And if it is possible, then where should he be put, if not placed with the demons to whom he has become like? You all rely on the goodness of God, but forget about the truth of God, while the Lord is “good and righteous” (Ps. 24:8). The truth of God comes into force when goodness has already exhausted all means. Spiritualists came up with the idea of ​​replacing hell with many births of the sinner. Very unfortunate. Because whoever remained faulty in one birth can continue it in the second, and not only continue, but also deepen, or inevitably deepen it by continuing. But what happened in the second birth may also be in the third birth, and so on, until the insanity. “And for such people, of course, hell is inevitable.” Others think that, of course, sinners cannot be left without punishment and torment, but these torments will not last forever: the outcasts will suffer and suffer, and then go to heaven. – How passionately we want to seem more merciful than the Lord Himself! – But this invention is also untenable: for hell is not a place of purification, but a place of execution, torment without purification. No matter how much hell burns someone, the burned one will still be just as unclean, worthy of the same burning, and not of heaven. That’s why there will be no end to the burning. But even if it were so, let’s give in to the absurd. For you and I, who are discussing this, if we are sinners, what benefit does it have? - None! There will still be flour, but who knows what it will be like? “Perhaps it will hurt so much that one minute will seem like a hundred years.” I remember one legend about this. - Someone reverent, it seems a layman, did a lot of good, but sins also slipped through. To cleanse him from these sins, the Lord sent him a disease that did not respond to the art of medicine. He endured and became faint-hearted, and began to cry before the Lord. The Lord sent an Angel to him, who appeared and said to him: Why are you complaining? “For your own good, the Lord sent you this disease to cleanse you from your sins.” Cleanse yourself, and the disease will end. For if you don’t cleanse yourself here, you will burn in the next world. Out of extreme grief, he says: it would be better to suffer in the next world! (This seems to play into the hands of those who think that torment is temporary, but that is not the purpose of the story.) Good, said the Angel. Want? You should have been sick for another three weeks or three months. There you will have to suffer for this for three seconds. – Three seconds, the patient thinks to himself, what’s going on here? And he agreed. As soon as he agreed, he died. An angel took his soul and carried it to the place of torment. “Three seconds,” he said to the patient, “be patient.” I’ll come as soon as they pass,” and disappeared. How this poor thing began to burn, how it began to burn, horror, how it hurt; but he endured it, thinking: three seconds... this moment will end. But the pain is getting worse and worse, and it seems like it’s time for the Angel to come, but he’s still not there. It seemed to him that a week had passed, a year had passed, ten years had passed, and still there was no Angel. - There is finally no more urine. How he will scream! “An angel immediately appeared and asked: what do you want?” - Yes, you said that you would suffer for three seconds, but now ten years have passed. - What ten years? only ten thirds. - Oh! Ouch! Ouch! Father you are mine! If so, take me back from here as soon as possible. I’m ready to lie in that disease for thirty years, just take it from here. “Okay,” said the Angel; brought him back into the body, and he came to life. - And he no longer stammered about the burden of his illness. - This legend has been preserved to instill in us sinners that the main thing is to complacently endure the sorrows sent for our cleansing from sins. And I take from it, regarding our speech, only the measurement of the duration of hellish torment. Do you see what passion? – One third seemed like a year. What will the year look like? Than tens, hundreds of years? This is terrible!! - No! Let’s better give up all sin and, believing the Lord without sophistication in every word of His, repent and begin to live holy, as much as we have the strength, without deceiving ourselves with that empty hope that we will have to suffer a little, nothing! Our wisdom does not give us anything good, but only arrogance makes us weak and relaxes our arms and legs to do good and avoid evil. Let's leave him! You'll get along well with him. To our minds everything seems so smooth and broad. Live your life as you want: nature! - You will die, - God is merciful! If you get a little, it’s okay, it will pass. “You should drink honey through his lips.” And then, when you die, the sudari will grab you, throw you into a warm place and lock you up with strong locks; Shout, don’t shout, no one will care about us: these are already assigned to the place. So you will remain there forever. So I got it wrong. Let's banish this wisdom and submit wholeheartedly to simple faith. If there were no revelation, there would be nothing to do - be wise. And in the event of revelation, who should become wise? We really can’t think of anything better than what the Lord has decreed. We are becoming wise, therefore, in vain, and not only in vain, but also to no avail: for we know that we not only need to be wise, but also to put it into action, but power and strength, apparently, are not in our hands. It’s the enemy who is putting such clever ideas into our ears, and especially now making them more popular. Nothing can calm you down more than the fear of hellish torment. And how many does the memory of this save from sin, or lead to repentance?! So the enemy is trying in every possible way to remove this prejudice. After all, how cunning! Stands for God, protects the goodness of God; and yet he arms people against God and makes them fighters against God. He says that you are a smart guy or a smart girl... live as you want. And what about hell and torment - there is nothing there. Priests and monks made this up, crookedly interpreting the word of God. - What! “Our handsome men and beauties opened their ears and went into all sorts of troubles.” And the enemy stands, bares his teeth, and claps his hands. How much loot did he take into his hell this way?! You also have it written: “How will the righteous enjoy undisturbed happiness when they realize that somewhere living beings are suffering and will suffer incessantly? If they were able to be happy, then they would cease to be righteous, and such indifference to their neighbors in heaven would plunge them into the same hell from which they got rid of by practicing compassion and love for the suffering on earth.” - This is a purely lawyerly technique - to show off with sophistry. If the righteous are sent to hell for lack of compassion for rejected condemned people, then where is God the condemner?! – You all forget that hell is not a human invention, but was established by God, and by God’s judgment it will be filled. Thus He revealed to us in His word. If so, then, therefore, such an action is not contrary to God and does not violate, let’s say, the internal harmony of Divine properties, but, on the contrary, is required by it. If this is so in God, then how can this upset the blissful well-being of the righteous, when they are one spirit with the Lord? What the Lord considers right and proper, then so do they. If the Lord deems it necessary to send the unrepentant to hell, they will also be aware of this. And there is no place for compassion here. For those rejected by God will be rejected by them too; the feeling of affinity with them will be suppressed. And on earth, spiritual kinship is completely different from natural, and as soon as the latter disagrees with the former, it cools and completely disappears: relatives become alien to each other by blood. The Lord suggested this when He said: Who is My mother and brother? - And he answered: he who does the will of My Father (Matthew 12:50). If this is so on earth, then in heaven it will be revealed in extreme force, and especially after the last judgment. The rejected will be present equally with those to whose place they will go, for whom eternal fire is prepared. You continue: “Will I really die for thinking about this dilemma and saying to myself: something is wrong here; either it was translated incorrectly, or the words of the Savior were interpreted incorrectly?” Whether you will perish because of this bewilderment is not for me to decide, but for the Searcher of hearts, Who sees everything, sees how and why thoughts arise, and blames or blames accordingly. “But I must tell you that it is not safe to contradict God’s explicit definition in favor of your own wisdom, the sophistic structure of which is so obvious.” That perplexity comes is not always a sin; but when, when they appear, someone immediately takes their side, then there is the deceit of a weak-faithful and unloving heart. I already mentioned at the beginning that bewilderment should not be allowed to reach the heart, but as soon as it appears, fight it off, and then, giving peace to the faith of the heart, calmly seek clarification, without worrying too much, if you don’t have to immediately find it: for our faith stands on solid rock: so God commanded to believe. But this has already been written; I quoted your speech to qualify the following phrase: “Either they translated it wrong, or they interpreted it wrong.” - This means that you think it is possible to think that we do not have the true word of God and do not have the correct interpretation of it. – Where did you get such a wise thought?! Here is the Greek original of the New Testament; Here is our Slavic translation, which completely agrees with it, as well as the Russian one. Read there, read here, everywhere you will read the true word of the Lord our Savior. – And that this word is truly understood and correctly interpreted, the Holy Church guarantees you, which the Lord Himself set to be the pillar and affirmation of the truth. Here is our security! – And God forbid us from allowing thoughts contrary to this! – If we allow such thoughts (that is, either there is no original, or the interpretation is not correct), then where will we stop and on what will we base our thoughts? It will be necessary either to leave the word of God completely, as suspected of inauthenticity, or, holding it in hand, search through guesses for what can be considered authentic; and this is the same as composing the word of God for ourselves. Behold the path of the Strauss and Renans! - Both of these methods are worth each other. For the agent - here and there - is still the same mind. But look at history, how much this mind has messed up?! - And you will have to get lost. God forbid! Here, among our neighbors (in the West), the mind operates in matters of faith. And what didn’t they say there?! Lord, save us from such trouble! Let's break away from the shore, and the waves of the mind's wisdom will begin to throw us hither and thither. - And we’ll disappear. You conclude: “If you answer that it is not my place to reason, you must believe blindly; then you’ll just have to shut up, remaining, however, unfortunately, in your bewilderment.” - No, I will not say that it is not for anyone to talk about matters of faith. Where should we put our minds? But I will say that reasoning is different, and even if it’s different. Reason, reason, but do not weaken or shake your obedience to faith, because this is obedience to God, against whom you cannot argue. In your opinion, it turns out: if you don’t judge, faith is blind. But in fact, as I already wrote, it is true that faith is not blind, but that which sees is not that which argues about the objects of faith, but which sincerely and unshakably believes, based on the conviction that God commanded to believe, just as a child without reasoning believes the word of his father and mother. Reasoning comes to faith, and let him reason according to faith, without, however, assigning more weight to himself. We usually, when we think about something, believe that we have done who knows what great deed, rendered a service to faith, reinforced and supported it. But in the essence of the matter, reasoning does not add anything to the strength and significance of faith. On the contrary, whoever in the matter of faith begins to give more weight to his consideration and reasoning will thereby diminish the significance of his faith before God, just as one diminishes the power of wine by adding water to it. He who gives much weight to his reasoning believes in his own reason and not in God. And actually there is no longer any faith. - That’s it: why not reason, only in the area of ​​faith one must always reason according to the principles of faith and with submission to faith - greater than attention to one’s reasoning. It seems that now I have already told you everything that I considered necessary to say based on your letter. And I finish. - God bless you! Letter 3. He who loves God fears God's wrath for sins. We sin out of weakness to sin, but always arbitrarily. A means to avoid the sin of anger and hot temper. A way to keep yourself away from everything bad I was glad that you fasted, and especially because, having experienced the beneficial effect of holy communion, you made the intention to fast and partake of the Holy Mysteries more than once a year. Help you, Lord, to fulfill this good intention. If the Lord is the life of our soul, and the one who receives communion is one with the Lord, so that the Lord is in him and he is in the Lord, then what good can be greater for us and have more abundant beneficial consequences than holy communion? “If you are able to fast and receive communion during every fast, and even twice during the fast, then this will be a very good thing.” What you said next is not entirely clear. “It seems to me that the more someone loves God, the less he fears punishment for his sins; because God is just and lenient.” You probably imagine that God is a gentleman, just as parents are kind to their beloved daughters. - No; God's love is strict and does not allow any concessions. Those who love God know this, and not only know it, but also feel it with their loving heart. For this reason, they fear God’s wrath for their sins, like death. It is better for them to die than to allow anything to happen that could anger God and expose them to judgment from Him. But it usually happens between us that even a stern and unfavorable look on behalf of a loved one is more painful than any abuse, threats and troubles on behalf of a stranger. So, if you please, correct your phrase: he who loves God is not less, but more afraid of punishment for sins; therefore, sin runs away like fire, and if you happen to fall into any sin, there is no end to tears, repentance and prayers until you receive confirmation that your beloved Lord has forgiven the sin you committed. And what is written behind this is even more awkward: “We are created such that we must sin; but all these sins, I am sure, will be forgiven when you realize in your soul that you are doing them out of your weakness - and with the consciousness that this is not good, but I cannot do otherwise.” “Every word here is an error in judgment.” We are not created in such a way that we should sin. God created a righteous man so that he would do righteous deeds. But the fall came and spoiled us, making us weak in relation to sin. Now we are no longer born as we should have been according to creation, but as our ancestor became through the fall. But despite all this, we cannot say that we are born such that we must sin. No one has such a position. We are weak and weakened, and we sin out of weakness towards sin, or out of greed for sinful pleasures, but always voluntarily, and not out of any inevitable necessity. No one wants sin, and in a calm state does not approve of it and is ready to arm itself against it; but when an opportunity to sin comes along, the lure of sin carries us away, we agree to sin and sin, not at all having in mind to always sin, but agreeing to sin only this time. Thus, the act of sin is always preceded by consent to sin, and consent is a matter of free will, and not of necessity. “Then please correct this mistake as well,” and neither say nor think that, whether we like it or not, we must sin. – Otherwise, why would we punish sinners? Say: “You do bad things with the consciousness that they are bad, but I can’t do otherwise.” - Instead of: I can’t, put: I don’t want it any other way. For if you want otherwise, you will act differently. It’s all of you who say about your temper: “I’ll flare up and flare up every time.” Every time - you said a lot. It happens that sometimes a case goes through without any heat, although the circumstances are the same. Therefore, you don’t have to create dust. And if you pay attention to yourself and discuss in advance how great an evil is angry temper and how much harm it does to the soul, body, and external relationships, so that a dislike for temper is formed: then in both of these you will always have a ready-made means to avoid temper. Attention to oneself will notice the approach of hot temper, and dislike for it will push it away from the heart. For this, hasten to cry out to the Lord, Who is nearby, for help. The Lord will come with help, and the waves of anger will immediately subside. Is that what you said? “Sins will be forgiven when you realize in your soul that you are doing them out of weakness.” – Where did you discover such new laws?! God forgives all sins to the repentant when he, having mourned the sin, confesses it and asks for forgiveness with a sincere consciousness of his guilt; and not like this: I have sinned, Lord; but what is it? Weakness! – How can you be repentant and contrite?! - It’s true that you are talking about our sins every minute: then an unpeaceful word broke through, then an unkind thought came to mind, then something was done in haste and not done well, and the like. All these are sins into which, as they say, a righteous man falls seven times a day, and you and I fall more than seven times every hour. But you must repent of all of these as you should, with the consciousness of your guilt and with contrition of heart, and not as you say: with the consciousness that you are doing them out of weakness, that is, not with condemnation of yourself and asking for forgiveness, but with justification. These sins are definitely sins of weakness; but if we had paid attention to ourselves, then perhaps they would not have existed or there would not have been so many. And about other sins that are greater than these, there is nothing to say - that this kind of approaching God with them is completely inappropriate. You write: “I often think about God’s judgment, and sometimes it becomes scary that everything will be revealed there and it will be clear to everyone. Why don’t I have that purity so that I wouldn’t be ashamed to be open before God and people?” – It is your Guardian Angel who puts such thoughts into your heart. And help us, Lord, to always keep them in our attention and warm up the corresponding feelings in ourselves. The most fitting place for us sinners is to stand mentally at the trial and pray to the Lord for mercy. And this is the best way to keep yourself from everything bad. He who feels the fear that everything will be revealed, condemned and punished will never sin. – Don’t stop turning this thought around in your mind. Letter 4. The idea of ​​the parable of the unjust steward. About the aversion of the main trouble - condemnation for sins. How to secure your future through charity and almsgiving You write that some talker who was with you, having said a lot, got to the Gospel and began to analyze the actions of the Savior, admiring many things and reproaching many things too. – What kind of crazy person is this?! - How did you listen to him when he began to reproach the actions of Christ the Savior?! As soon as he began such a stupid speech, you should have either slandered him and silenced him, or moved away from him. And you continued to chat, and you talk about it all so indifferently. What does this look like?! Do you love and honor your Savior at least a little? If so, how could you endure such speeches and not shut your mouth to this madman?! No; It’s true, you only pretend to believe and love the Lord, but in fact and in your heart you are conspiring against Him with His enemies, like an infidel and an indifferent 3. If someone began to speak badly in front of you about those whom you sincerely love, about your father, mother, brother, would you tolerate it without saying it? Of course not. So, if you reacted so calmly to the blasphemer of the Lord, do not boast and do not lie about the truth: you do not have a hair’s breadth of love for the Lord. - And why didn’t you write down these blasphemous speeches? I would explain to you all the lies of the detractor and remove the blasphemous dust that has settled on your mind. “And now this blasphemy will poison every prayer and every thought about the Lord.” I don’t recognize you at all in this absurd action of yours. “We got,” you say, “to the parable of the unjust steward, and it turned out that none of us understands it.” Of all the Savior’s parables, this seems to be the most difficult. Our holy interpreters, however, managed to simplify the matter. In general, in all parables one should not seek a mysterious interpretation of every feature of the story in the story, but only pay attention to what the parable is aimed at. The same should even more so be observed when interpreting this parable. Where all attention should be directed, the Savior Himself directs, saying: “The Lord (that is, the owner) praises the house of the unjust builder, for he has done it wisely” (Luke 16:8). What is the unrighteous steward praised for? Not for the truth, but for the fact that he managed to extricate himself from the embarrassing circumstances in which he found himself. This wisdom is what the Savior wanted to instill. He seems to be saying: Do you see what this manager did? He did not ooh and ahh or wait for the full weight of trouble to fall on his head, but immediately, when he learned that trouble was threatening, he got down to business and managed to avert it. So manage to avert the main misfortune that threatens you. What trouble? The one that you are sinners, and what awaits you for your sins? Condemnation and a state in which you will be more wretched than anyone else who is wretched. You are now in exactly the same position as that manager. You are about to be set aside, that is, death will come and put you in that bitter position. Do not indulge in carelessness, do not waste time, but take care to avert disaster and secure your future. – What was the ruler’s wisdom? The fact that he managed to secure his future. Manage to do the same. How? Through charity and alms. Ease the lot of those in need, and this will save you. The manager made it easier for the merchants, it is assumed that they were not poor. But the power of speech lies in the fact that it made it easier - even though they were not among the poor, the debt still lay on their shoulders and weighed them down. This is what the Savior wanted to instill - to alleviate the situation of those who are oppressed by it - as a way to get out of the trouble that threatens everyone after death. Help those in need from your property or from everything that is in your power, and by this you will prepare for yourself abodes into which you will be received after death. – It confuses many that charity from unrighteous property is recommended. No, this is not recommended. Pay attention to the words of the Lord: “The sons of this age are wiser than the sons of light in their generation” (Luke 16:8). The ruler is called the son of this age, acting according to the spirit of the age. Opposed to him are the sons of light - the disciples of the Lord. The Lord says, as it were: he has become wise in his generation; be wise in your own way, that is, acting according to the laws of truth. The ruler's wisdom recommends, but his method does not recommend. That method is suitable for the sons of the age; and you will use the method that suits you in your generation. Therefore, when the Lord says after this: “And I say to you: make for yourselves friends from the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when you become poor, you will receive eternal shelter” (Luke 16:9), he does not suggest helping those in need from property that was wrongly acquired or misappropriated for oneself, but to do this without violating the truth, as is characteristic of the sons of light. The Lord called property in general Mammon of untruth, and this is why: it is untrue, deceptive; we rely on it as on a strong mountain, but it exists today, and look for it tomorrow. So, the Lord inspires: ease the lot of everyone in need and who is burdened by misfortune from your property - and thereby you will gain friends who will take you into eternal shelter when you become poor - that is, when your life is exhausted and you move on to another life, leaving everything you have here on earth. Enter the next world with nothing: only if you have managed to send there the due portion of your property through charity, you will meet this same thing there, and that will constitute your eternal fortune. The more you send there through the hands of the poor, the more abundantly you will be satisfied and live more contentedly there. Who these friends are, you don’t have to torture. The main thing is that you will be accepted into eternal shelters. Or, if it is desirable to define, then it will be the Lord Himself, combining in Himself all the poor who have been blessed. For He said: “Because you have made one and the least of these brothers of Mine, you have made them together with Me” (Matthew 25:40). For all friends - He is one - and that’s enough. He will receive you in the heavenly mansions, which He went to heaven to prepare for His faithful. I leave all other details in the parable legend without allegorical interpretation. And you shouldn't do this. If you begin to interpret, you will only obscure the main idea and purpose of the parable. I conclude with my sincere desire that when you hear empty speeches, close your ears so as not to defile your pure thoughts with them. If you hear something against your will, do not leave it unexpelled from your memory. Restore faith and pray until your soul is at peace. Letter 5. About the Second Coming of the Lord and the General Resurrection Yesterday there were guests, and there was an argument that there would be no resurrection and second coming. This is embarrassing, especially since the people who said it were good people.” Since they said so, it goes without saying that they are not good people. How can you call someone good who would speak against the Sovereign and our native laws?! So these are not good either; because they speak contrary to what the Lord Himself said. Didn’t the Lord Himself say: “I go... and again I will come” (John 14:2-3)? And again: “The hour is coming, when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and they will come out, having done good for the resurrection of life, and having done evil for the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29)? The Lord has not determined the time when this will happen; but he certified only by His Divine word that this would certainly happen and would happen suddenly. “Just as,” he says, “lightning comes from the east and appears to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ... The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven ... and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so will the coming of the Son of Man. Just as I ran in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and committing violence, until that day Noah went into the ark, and was not taken away until the water came and was taken away: so will the coming of the Son of Man be. “Be prepared, for the hour is not ahead, the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 24:27-44). This is how the Lord speaks definitively about His coming, and so that anyone for some reason would not hesitate with doubts about this, he added: “Amen, I say to you... heaven and earth will pass by, but My words will not pass by” (Matthew 24:34-35). Then, when, ascending into heaven, the Lord hid from the eyes of the apostles, he immediately sent them Angels to say nothing more than that He would come again. “This Jesus,” said the Angels, “who ascended from you into heaven, will also come, in the same way you see Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This point is so important in the dispensation of our salvation! Why is it included in the Creed, where we read: “And again with glory we will judge the living and the dead.” And about the resurrection in the same Symbol we read: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.” Perhaps your good guests seemed perplexed not so much by the second coming of the Lord as by the resurrection of the dead. For the mind, of course, all this is incomprehensible; but we believe so not because we have reached it with our minds, but because the Lord said so. The mind has nothing to do here except accept the word of the Lord. But he doesn’t want to - as he wants. Let him remain a non-believer, and the part (fate. - Ed.) of non-believers awaits. The Lord spoke more than once about the resurrection of the dead; more than once he denounced those who did not believe this. The Jews all believed that there would be a resurrection; but among them was the sect of the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection. It was them that the Lord denounced, depicting together what the state of the resurrected would be: “In the resurrection they neither marry nor commit violence, but as the angels of God are in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). And in the time of the Apostles, learned men in Corinth raised a controversy about the resurrection. Saint Paul, writing a message to them about many other things, also taught them this: to undoubtedly believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead. Read First Corinthians chapter fifteen. He places the general resurrection of all in inextricable connection with the resurrection of Christ the Savior. Why, first, he confirms the truth of the resurrection of Christ with many testimonies of persons who saw the risen Lord, talked with Him and touched Him, of whom, he says, many are still alive. Then he concludes: “Even if Christ is preached as if he has risen from the dead, how can they say among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:12). “For everything that the Lord did, he did for us.” If the Son of God had not come, had not become incarnate, and having died in our nature, had not been resurrected by it, then in fact there would have been no resurrection. And when the Lord came, died and rose again, then this resurrection cannot but exist. Christ the Lord rose as the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead, and then in due time, and precisely at His second coming, all people will rise. And a new century will begin - a new life, with a new heaven and earth. – The Apostle says even more. He says that if someone does not believe in the resurrection of the dead, then it means that they do not believe in the resurrection of Christ. And if he does not believe in the resurrection of Christ, then all faith is in vain. You see how disastrous is disbelief in the resurrection of the dead. It destroys the faith of Christ and destroys salvation. So please close your ears against such idle talkers. Why would you scoop up these wicked things with your ears and fill your head with them?! Save yourself! God bless you! Letter 6. About recognizing oneself as a sinner and the beginning of correction. About the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. About reading the Psalter Here are short answers to your questions! “Sinful, obscene prodigal son.” If there are real sins, one must repent and, having confessed, begin the correction. But if there is only a general feeling of sinfulness in the heart, then this should not be driven away, but rather strengthened. The more sinful someone feels, the closer he is to the Lord, the Savior of sinners. Those who feel righteous are far from the Savior, who came not to save the righteous, but to save sinners. “Wander or go to a monastery,” see for yourself which is better. Deciding this is a matter of your prudence, with the advice of those who know you well. You can still retire somewhere and live like other blueberries and monks live. “I would like to go to Jerusalem, but I don’t have the funds.” When there are no funds and there is no need. Remember more often, or even every day, mentally all the places where the Lord has been, and mentally worship Him in every place. “And that’s enough for you, if not better.” “Reading the Psalter according to the rules every day” is a good thing. But you need to reflect on this and insert your prayer between the verses. It’s better not to read everything than to read everything without thought or feeling. Memorize several psalms and, as you walk along the road, read and meditate. “To remember the living and the dead through the psalter” is good. There is a matter of love. But to undertake to read the psalter for the dead and take money for it is inappropriate. It's good that you teach others about charity. But first, always say that we must believe in the Most Holy Trinity and in the incarnation of the Son of God, for our salvation, and that those seeking salvation must accept the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Holy Sacraments, and that we must listen to the Holy Church. And then add: the end of everything is to keep the commandments of God - everything, from the smallest to the greatest. Save yourself, and pray to God for me, a great sinner! Letter 7. Correcting Wrong Opinions About the Second Coming and Judgment. About the resurrection of the dead. About private court after death. How to live in order to be saved. The path of salvation is the faithful fulfillment of God's commandments “What a temptation! I always think that there will be no second coming, but that the second coming and judgment happens to a person when he dies. “I also heard that when a person dies, then the secret of Easter is revealed to him. “One very smart priest told me that no matter how anyone lives, we will all be saved by each other.” It is good that you are dealing with such important and decisive subjects as death, the second coming and judgment, and all out of zeal for the salvation of your soul. But it is not good that you add to this thoughts that are inconsistent with the truth. Why drag the second coming to death?! Death takes its course, and the second coming takes its course. Read what is written in the Gospels and the Apostles about the second coming, and you will see that it, as it is described, cannot be at the time of death. Read from the Evangelist Matthew about the coming of Christ, chapter 25 from verse 31. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and the holy angels are with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and the nations will be gathered before Him; and he will separate them from each other, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will set the sheep at His right hand, and the goats at His left. Then He says... to those who are on His right hand: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world... He also says to those who are on His right hand: Depart from Me, the cursed One, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angel... And these go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life” (Matthew 25:31-46). Do you see how there will be a second coming and judgment? How can one think that it happens at the hour of everyone’s death? When the Mother of God was dying, the Lord came with the Angels to take Her soul to Himself. Many of the holy men and women were given the same honor, as it is written in their lives. But this is not at all the same as the second coming and judgment, as you yourself see. By the second coming, the entire human race will be gathered in one place, and the Lord will descend in glory to everyone and, dividing everyone into two parts, over each part he will pronounce one sentence on everyone: there - “come”, here - “depart from Me”. And as he says it, it will remain so forever. And after the death of each, if there is a certain decision about his fate, then it is an individual decision that only concerns him. Why shouldn’t what is said about the second coming be attributed to him? The second coming will take place after the renewal of heaven and earth, and after the general resurrection, so that everyone will accept what he has done with his body, either good or evil, when after that the judgment will take place and the fate of everyone will be decided. The Holy Apostle Peter writes that the coming of the Lord will be preceded by the renewal of heaven and earth: “Now the heavens are new,” he says, “and the earths are new according to the promise of His (the Lord) tea” (2 Pet. 3:13). This renewal will be accomplished by fire: “The present heavens and earth are destined for fire (essentially) for the day of judgment” and will be accomplished with noise: then “the heavens pass by with noise, the elements but those who are burned will be destroyed, and the earth and the works on it will be burned up.” All this is for the sake of the coming of the Lord or the day of God: “For his sake the heavens will be destroyed, and the elements will be scorched” (2 Pet. 3, 7, 10, 12). “New heaven” and so on. This will be followed by the resurrection of the dead. About this the Lord Himself says: “Then (that is, after the destruction of the old and the re-creation of the new world) the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven... and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and much glory. And His angels will follow with a great trumpet blast, and His chosen ones will be gathered from the four winds, from the end of the heavens to the end of them.” (Matthew 24:30-31). This trumpet voice will awaken the dead. For in another place the Lord says: “The hour is coming, that those who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come forth for the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil for the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:28-29). when they talked about the resurrection of the dead, they always connected it with such a trumpet voice. “Behold, I tell you a mystery,” writes St. Paul, “for we will not sleep, but we will be changed: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise to incorruption, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15, 51-52). Lord... for the Lord Himself, by command, in the voice of the Archangels, and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:15-16). The people resurrected in this way will all be gathered in one place, and the Lord will judge them, as depicted above from the Gospel of Matthew. This is how the second coming of the Lord and the general judgment that will follow it are depicted. This image was given by the Lord Himself and the holy Apostles, taught by the Spirit of God. Consequently, everything that is said here is the most perfect truth: everything will inevitably be as it is said. And the Lord, depicting His second coming, added: “Heaven and earth will pass by, but My words will not pass by” (Matthew 24:35). And you, without fearing God, deign to build your own second coming, as if it occurs with judgment in the death of everyone. Can everything said be applied to death?! And the blind will see that it is impossible. And don’t give yourself the courage to think and talk like that in the future. I collected all this from Scripture for you, because I see how lazy you are to look into it, and, not knowing how this subject is spoken of in the word of God, you rush to decide your questions about it on your own. And after the death of everyone there is a decision about his fate; but this decision is only preliminary, the final decision will be pronounced at the Last Judgment, after the resurrection, so that both the righteous and sinners will receive full reward in body and soul for the deeds done to the body. So, if you please, think - and, so that you are less confused in concepts about the objects of faith, read the Orthodox Catechism with attention and assimilate its contents. Then, read the Gospel and the Apostolic Epistles, and books of spiritual content. I know that you have a lot of work; but it’s enough if you set aside Sundays and holidays for this, on which, of course, you don’t work. What you heard, as if the mystery of Easter is revealed at the hour of death, is too vague for you to be able to say anything definite about it. What is this Easter mystery? On Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which is the image, firstfruits and guarantee of our resurrection. If this is the secret of Easter, then why should it be revealed when it is known? Isn’t it possible that a special certainty is not imprinted on the soul that is separated from the body that this separation, which puts it in an unnatural position for it, is only for a while and that after this time it will be united with its body again? For, according to the Apostle, we “do not want to be naked, but to be clothed,” so, however, that “this dead body (body) may be consumed by the belly” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:4). The soul still believed that there would be a resurrection; but since death produces a great shock in it, such faith can fall out and plunge the soul into extreme confusion. Why, as a consolation to her at the moment of separation from her body, perhaps she is given some kind of secret confirmation of a future resurrection. I don't know what to tell you anymore. But you will do better if you begin to ignore all the news about the objects of faith, which is superfluous to the image of faith inscribed in the Creed and interpreted in the Catechism. It is also indefinite that you heard from the learned priest that we will be saved by each other, no matter how we live. It was in vain that you didn’t ask him about this in more detail then. Now you are in a different place, and there is no one to explain this to you. And I wouldn’t write anything to you about this, but would only say: stop thinking about it. But, as you see, this thought has stuck in your head, especially, perhaps, on the side that no matter how we live, we will be saved. To this end, I’ll just tell you that at the same time: no matter how you live, the hope of salvation cannot be strong and indestructible. For the word of God definitely indicates how one should live in order to be saved; and whoever deviates with his life from this specific instruction cannot hope to be saved apart from this. St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, having listed the evil deeds of the flesh, added: “I tell you, as I also foretold, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God,” and they will not gain salvation. And after this, he lists the virtues with which one can be confident that the Kingdom of God, or salvation, will result, namely: “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5: 19-23). The same is written in many other places. Can someone who does not love the Lord Jesus be saved? No way; for the Apostle writes: “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed” (1 Cor. 16:22). And who should be honored by those who love the Lord? Him who keeps His commandments; for He Himself said: “If you have My commandments and keep them, he is the one who loves Me” (John 14:21). So this is a certain path of salvation - the faithful fulfillment of God’s commandments. Therefore, there is no need for you to hang around thinking about some kind of flattering, preferential image of salvation, no matter how you live. If the words “we will be saved by each other” are understood as follows: we will be saved if we show active love for each other, then this is true. For the Lord, who demanded the fulfillment of the commandments to testify to love for Him, said: “This is My commandment, that you love one another” (John 15:12). But in this case it is no longer possible to say: no matter how you live. For love for each other requires a certain life, coupled with self-sacrifice. - Only in order to have a complete rule in guiding one to salvation, one must, according to the words of the Lord, have love for each other under the love of God. Love for God is, according to the word of the Lord, the first and great commandment; and it is already followed by a similar love for others (Matthew 22:37-39). But that’s not all: you must have faith united with love. “Faith makes haste for love” (Gal. 5:6) - this is the direct, unforgettable and trustworthy path of salvation. And I will repeat: take the trouble to clarify for yourself the matter of faith in the way that I mentioned - namely: get the Orthodox Catechism, read it with all attention and assimilate its content. After reading, you can expand your knowledge about objects of faith. Then, no matter which scientist begins to offer you some other image of salvation, you will immediately see for yourself that his words are not true, but false. Letter 8. 1st letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About preachers of the faith not on behalf of the Church. About the harmfulness of the words of false teachers: “Believe and you are saved.” Preachers preach about salvation differently from the Lord and the Apostles. About the degrees of descent into lies and darkness of Catholics, Protestants and new preachers and their falling away from the one faith and the Church. Do they have the truth of God? The Orthodox Church is the only true one, containing God’s truth. All teachings that distort the truth about Christ are denounced and cursed by the Church. Preachers misinterpret and distort the Gospel. About the Holy Trinity. What is necessary to save everyone. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. What we must contain if we wish to be saved. About the sign of the cross. Why are our shepherds silent, while preachers teach everywhere? About preachers of the faith not on behalf of the Church. About the harmfulness of the words of false teachers: “Believe and you are saved.” Preachers preach about salvation differently from the Lord and the Apostles. About the degrees of descent into lies and darkness of Catholics, Protestants and new preachers and their falling away from the one faith and the Church. Do they have the truth of God? The Orthodox Church is the only true one, containing God’s truth. All teachings that distort the truth about Christ are denounced and cursed by the Church. Preachers misinterpret and distort the Gospel. About the Holy Trinity. What is necessary to save everyone. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. What we must contain if we wish to be saved. About the sign of the cross. Why are our shepherds silent, while preachers teach everywhere? It is with pleasure that I undertake to answer you or, better yet, discuss with you everything that you wrote about in your noteworthy letter. I've heard something of what you're talking about before; but it was thought that this was some kind of trifle. Now, from your words, I see that something like a church fire is starting there, and I hasten to write to you what God will send, according to your letter. 1) You write: “We have some kind of preacher of the faith, presumably from the nobility and, it seems, in a considerable rank, who travels from house to house, not only the rich, but also the poor, reads the Gospel, interprets and teaches to believe in Christ and repent. A poor bookbinder lives not far from me. That preacher comes to him. People gather, and I was there two or three times. We hear that there are such meetings in other places, and there are quite a lot of people there.” Let's stay with you on these words. A preacher of the faith appeared, a preacher not on behalf of the Church, as is obvious. This alone should have given rise to bewilderment among you: how can someone who has not been appointed to be a teacher teach this way? This is unprecedented news for us. From such bewilderment you should have immediately moved on to the following judgments: something is wrong here; he is not from the house of God, but from elsewhere (from another place - Ed.); therefore you should keep yourself on your guard. – Is that what you did?! “It didn’t even occur to anyone to be careful, but everyone listened and listened, not giving themselves the trouble to discuss: is what you hear right, and will it lead to good if you follow it?” This is your first mistake! You say that he teaches to believe in Christ and takes everything from the Gospel. But this should have prompted you to keep your ears open. Are you Tatars or some kind of infidels?! You, after all, believe in Christ the Lord and create your salvation in the Holy Orthodox Church, and create in the image of the salvation of all our saints who preceded us, glorified by God! From this you should have directly concluded that if he began to talk about faith, and to talk to us, believers, then this faith of his must be different from the one in which we believe. When he began to explain to you: believe in Christ, you should have asked him: what are you talking about this? Are we some kind of unbaptized? - And no one turned their tongues at you. Saying to you: believe in Christ, he convicted you of unbelief; and you listen as if you really don’t believe. If he preaches a different faith, and you still listen, then together with him you denounce your former faith, condemn the Holy Church and all those saved and those being saved in it. Here is your second fault, greater than the first! And how is it all going on there?! Is it happening among those who truly believe in the Lord and follow the saving path indicated from above?! The sons of the Church calmly and peacefully work out their salvation. But someone comes, previously unknown to them, and begins to scream: do you know what? – Christ died for us. Believe this way, repent, and you are saved. - And they, as if having heard something unusual, stick to him, being ready to leave their Church, and their shepherds, and everything that they previously treasured, with which their soul was nourished and sanctified! - This is wonderful! But before, didn’t you work out your salvation in the Lord the Savior? Are you not baptized in His name? Was it not by His power that you received the remission of sins so many times in the Sacrament of Repentance? Didn’t they take Himself into themselves, partaking of His most pure Body and His most pure Blood? Didn’t you turn to Him in your prayers, and didn’t you place all your hope of salvation in Him alone? So what is special, what is new, what would you not hold in your mind and heart, is this stranger, unknown to you, announcing to you, saying: “Christ died for you; believe this way, and you are saved”? Isn’t this what you confess when you read every day in the Creed: “I believe... in the Lord Jesus Christ... for our sake as a man and for our salvation, who came down from heaven and became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. “He was crucified for us...” and so on? Isn’t this what you proclaim to yourself when you sing in the Church: “Only Begotten Son... crucified Christ God... save us, save us”? Or: “Come, let us worship and fall before Christ: save us, Son of God”? Or: “Quiet light of holy glory... Give life to the Son of God”? Or: “Now do you let go... for my eyes have seen your salvation”? - And the liturgy is all that is, if not a memory or, more, if not a mysterious reproduction in the bloodless sacrifice of the blood sacrifice on the cross for our salvation? So what new do you hear from the lips of this stranger that you are ready to leave everything that was before and rush after him, not yet knowing for sure where he will lead you, knowing, however, undoubtedly that the path you have walked hitherto is the real path? Truly this is incomprehensible. You are like this: they sing, let’s say, something in chorus, and you yourself participate in this singing. The singing goes harmoniously, all the voices merge into one. But suddenly someone appears among everyone, interferes with your singing and stands out from everyone with his voice. And you, leaving the choir and stopping your singing, turn all your attention to this outstanding voice, amazed at how it produces notes. Whether he is doing well and whether you are doing well, it doesn’t even occur to you to think; you listen only because he stands out, but the old singing has become ingrained and listened to. And experts in the art of singing say that to stand out from others with a voice in singing is contrary to the rules of this art, and that those who marvel at this outstanding singer expose their lack of true taste. This is what you are like in working out your salvation. You accomplished your salvation peacefully and quietly in the choir of other brothers and sisters who were being saved. But a screamer appeared and began to shout out one verse from the entire set of saving truths. And you fixed your eyes on him, leaving everything else and ready to separate from everyone. And they didn’t even think about whether he was doing the right thing by standing out with his rhyme, and whether you were doing the right thing by taking his side. Those who properly manage the work of salvation will rightly reproach you for spiritual lack of taste - you, and even more so that loudmouth. Thus, you should have pushed him away from you from the very first words or turned away from him, but you got involved with him, and are becoming more and more involved. 2) You write: “He talks about everything about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation in Him,” he says with enthusiasm. It’s pleasant to listen to him, and one is drawn to him.” Did you and the others listening with you figure out whether he was ours or a stranger? – You thought that since he speaks Russian and is Russian, speaks about Christ the Savior and, moreover, with such enthusiasm, then of course he is ours, stands in the truth and proclaims the truth. You reached out to him; but with all this you have been deceived. He is Russian, but no longer of the Russian faith. He was Orthodox, but fell into heterodoxy. He preaches about salvation in the Lord, but not in the way that the Lord Himself and His holy Apostles announced this. He speaks with enthusiasm, but this does not testify to the truth of his words, but only proves that he is wholeheartedly passionate about his teaching and stands up for it as true, although it is full of lies and deception. Is all this really unknown to you? And don’t you know whose disciple this loudmouth is? Judge the student by the teacher. After all, the birth of this lie or this spiritual infection took place there before everyone’s eyes. Some Englishman arrived, began to travel from house to house and invite people to visit him, and with his preaching he confused some of our ladies and gentlemen who were unsteady in the truth. Among these confused ones is your loudmouth, who now, instead of that driven Englishman, drives around everywhere and shouts, so as to confuse others, just as he himself was confused. So - that there is that Englishman in the matter of faith, that is, this loudmouth of yours. And the Englishman is the one who is by faith? – He is one who has fallen away from the truth of God and stands on the fourth degree of descent into lies and darkness. That's how it is! I will not explain to you the very essence of the matter, but will briefly outline only the external course of such a descent. – There was one Church on earth with one true faith. But a temptation came: the pope and his people became carried away by superstition and fell away from the one Church and faith. This is the first degree of descent into lies and darkness. Protestants then arose among the papists and, like the pope, carried away by their superstition, they fell away from the papal faith and the church. This is the second degree of descent into lies and darkness. English superstition was born from Protestants. This is the third degree of descent into lies and darkness. The English superstition has finally degenerated into that which the Englishman, who came to seduce our people, was carried away by, and seduced your loudmouth along with others. This is the fourth degree of descent into lies and darkness. “And it is at this level that your loudmouth stands, who rushes around your houses and hailstones with his sermon. He is a true disciple of that Englishman, unless he added something else of his own to the lies he accepted from the Englishman, in order to thus stop already at the fifth degree of descent into lies and darkness. - So that’s who your screamer is! Neither the Papists, nor the Protestants, nor the English, nor these, to which your infector with the infected screamer belongs, has the truth of God - real, pure, complete. It resides only in the one true Orthodox Church. It is true that they themselves, in deception, think that they possess the truth, but the truth is far from them. The papists were the first to fall away from the truth, but they think that they are the ones who hold it. The Protestants exposed the failure of the papists in many ways, but they themselves did not get to the truth, and ran even further from it, building their new faith according to their own superstition, and not according to the truth of God; to think that they, like the papists, think that they have attacked the truth, which the papists were considered alien to. The British did not like the German faith, and they built their own, also according to their own superstition, and not according to the truth of God, saying: with the Germans this and that is not good; We will invent our own faith, which is suitable for us - and we have composed it, deviating even further from the truth of God, thinking, however, that we stand firmer in it than others. Later, the British, as well as the Germans, bred many faiths, which all also boast that they have finally attacked the truth, while in fact they have retreated even further from it. Since they were looking for it not where God placed it, but in their superstition, they did not attack the truth, but accepted various ghosts of truth as truth, and built their beliefs on them. Among them is that superstitious wisdom that the Englishman brought to you and with which your loudmouth was seduced. – But when such a variety of faiths, more or less false, multiplied in the West, in the East the Orthodox Church remained unchanged in its belief, the only true one, containing God’s truth, the very truth that was proclaimed by the Lord the Savior and planted in the Church by His holy Apostles. We - the sons of the Orthodox Church - contain this truth and stand in it. Through a number of centuries, the immutable truth has spread in the Orthodox Church and has reached us. The Holy Church stands in truth; We stand in it too. Thanks be to the Lord, who has deigned to give birth to us in the bosom of the one true Orthodox Church! So you stand in eternal truth; and this loudmouth only learned seductive lies yesterday from an Englishman seduced by lies, also yesterday. But then he began to hang around among you and shout out his lies, and you indiscriminately rushed to him and took his side, ready to completely abandon the Holy Church and the truth of God that it contains. – Is this consistent with anything?! What we profess and how we work out our salvation was in force with our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, ancestors, great-great-grandfathers - and all Russians from the very enlightenment of their true faith under Saint Vladimir. This is already a thousand years old. And how many saints our Holy Church has raised, intercessors and prayer books for us before the Lord, as their incorruptible relics indicate, scattered throughout the Russian land! And suddenly this screamer, who was seduced by lies yesterday, attempts to tear you away from this holy host!!! But go further - you will see the same confession and the same achievement of salvation among the Greeks, from whom we received the holy faith. Go through their centuries too; you will reach the Councils that defended and affirmed the universal truth. Go through the Councils to Constantine the Great, and everywhere you will see the same truth, contained by the entire host of believers and reigning throughout the entire universe. Move even further - you will go through centuries of persecution, you will reach the apostolic age - and you will see there the same confession and the same work of salvation that is now contained and active among us. And what the Apostles taught and established was received by them from the Lord, and the Lord spoke and did as He received from His Father, in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. – This is where our faith comes from! That's where its source is! This is how it, having flowed from the depths of God, flowed along the course of centuries and reached us! “And you are ready to abandon this Divine and eternal faith and change it for a lie, which your screamer, seduced by it, is shouting yesterday!” – Does this make any sense?! 3) I hear that you and your comrades, chasing after this loudmouth, are ready to object: “What lie is he preaching? He proclaims the truth, shows salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, preaches the Gospel.” Wait, wait! Do not rush with your objection, but please decide: is it possible to preach about Christ Jesus uncleanly and perversely, and teach about salvation in Him in such a way that if you follow this teaching, you will not find salvation, but destruction? However, there is nothing to decide here or be at a loss for; because this is what actually happened and is. How many teachings were there that distorted the truth about Christ Jesus, both before Arius and even more after him? “They are all denounced by the Church and cursed. How many of them have multiplied in the West? No account. But they are all rejected by the Orthodox Church, despite the fact that all they talk about is the Lord the Savior. Therefore, one cannot conclude: because such and such preaches about Christ Jesus, then for that very reason he proclaims the truth; but one must check whether he is right in proclaiming the truth about Christ Jesus. No one there, it seems, bothered to do this, and everyone, as soon as they heard from his lips the sweetest name of the Lord Savior, indiscriminately took his side, not suspecting that this worshiped name was in his lips, seduced, a bait to entrap your souls simple in faith. Haven’t you read in the Gospel the warning words of the Lord Himself: “Take heed (beware) from lying prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)? Do not think that the Lord means here those who do not even know His name. No, He does not mean such, but precisely those who hide behind His name, leading them into lies; for right there says: “Many people will speak to me on the day” (that is, on the day of judgment): “Lord, Lord, do they not prophesy in your name?” And the Lord commands to beware of them. And at the judgment, I will say to them: “For I have never known you.” that He never knew them as they pretended to be, that is, as true preachers about Him, but in such a way that the Lord did not see Himself in their words, that they had a different Christ, and not the true One who wrought our salvation in the midst of the earth. You see that it is not Christ the Lord that can be preached under the name of Christ. And you indiscriminately rushed to this screamer, for the sake of the fact that He covered up his lies with the name of Christ. Do you think that what was said cannot apply to him: “Many will come in My name... and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5)?! “It is fair to turn to you the reproachful speech of St. Paul that he made to the Corinthians. I have betrothed you, he says, to Christ the Lord, as a pure virgin. But I fear for you, lest someone corrupt your minds, just as the serpent once deceived Eve with his wickedness. You are so greedy for new teachings that if someone comes to you and begins to preach a different Jesus, you will immediately take his side, accepting him favorably (2 Cor. 11:2-4). And this is what the Apostle feared among the Corinthians is now happening among you. A loudmouth came and started preaching a different Jesus, and you reached out to him. You say: “No, what other Jesus is there?” After all, whatever he says, he takes it from the Gospel and teaches with the words of the Gospel: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). He keeps repeating: Christ died for us; believe so, and you are saved. How can there be lies and charm here?!” – This is truly a sweet gospel. And who can listen to him without warmth of heart? - But that lies can be grafted into this gospel and pervert it, about this let us listen to St. Paul, who wrote to the Galatians: “I wonder that you are so quickly being changed from him who called by the grace of Christ into another gospel” (Gal. 1:6). The Galatians sincerely believed in the Lord the Savior and wholeheartedly accepted the joyful gospel of salvation in Him; They were so grateful to Saint Paul for enlightening them with the truth that they were ready to open up their eyes and give them to him. But, after Saint Paul moved away from them, some superstitious people also came with the Gospel, or gospel, but not pure, but with an admixture of lies, and began to re-educate them. The Galatians, without strictly examining them, but only being carried away by the name of the gospel, accepted these evangelists, and fell into the net of lies. Their word seemed an attractive gospel, but in essence it was a destructive sinister. So seductive is the lie that hides behind sacred and sweet names! Saint Paul found out about this and, having brought them to their senses, he prescribed, as an urgent law for all times, the following decree: “If we, or an Angel from heaven, bring you good news, let him be anathema.” And so that we could better confirm this, I repeated again: “Again I say, if anyone preaches the gospel to you any more than he eats, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9). – So you see that there is an evangelism, or a “different” Gospel, to which the evangelists are subject to anathema. You and I forgot about this, and as soon as some loudmouth appeared with the Gospel in his hands, we rushed to him and not remembering that we truly believe and work for our salvation. You are exactly like the Galatians. And it is right to address you with an apostolic reproach: “O foolish Galatians, who deceived you into not submitting to the truth?” . (Gal. 3:1). 4) You say that he reads from the Gospel and teaches. – The Holy Gospel and the Apostolic Scriptures, the entire New Testament is the most reliable source of true Christian knowledge, knowledge of the true path to salvation. All those who are saved there will receive knowledge of how their salvation should proceed. But not everyone who reads the Gospel truly understands the path of salvation. Another reads the Gospel, but, by crookedly interpreting what he reads, he distorts the Gospel. The Gospel does not serve such a person in favor, and the fact that he holds the Gospel in his hands does not save him from reproach and condemnation for ignorance of the truth. The same thing happens here as, for example, with a piece of matter. Here in front of you is a piece of good material. But a tailor who knows his business comes, cuts out and sews good clothes, and when an incompetent tailor comes, he will cut and sew such clothes that they will neither cover shame nor protect from the weather: they will only ruin the material. So, from the Gospel, others extract a teaching that is worthless and cannot lead to good both the teacher and those who follow him. - Why is that so? Because he doesn't know how to get down to business. What is the essence of the work of salvation, it consists of several points: one must believe, one must fulfill the commandments, one must acquire grace, and so on. But in the Gospel these points are not written in one place, but in different places - in one one thing is said, in another something else. In order to truly know the whole image of salvation, you need to collect all these points from different places together, and collect everything, without missing a single one. It is in this matter that all those who stumble continue to stumble. Another will begin to collect, not understanding how this should be done, will fix his eyes on one or two points, pull them out of the general Scripture, and shout: I have found it, this is the way of salvation! Another shouts: believe - and you are saved; another: acquire grace - and you don’t need anything else; another: love - and you will come to a blissful end; different - something else. All such provisions are true and strictly prescribed in Scripture, but not one of them alone embraces the entire matter of salvation. We need to put them all together - and then we will get a complete representation of the real image of salvation. So your screamer reads, you say, from the Gospel, and explains how to be saved. But does he select all the points from there, or only some of them? – Listen, and you will find that not everything. All he has on his tongue is: “Repent and believe.” Is everything here? Not all of them. And even at these very points, not everything affects them. Repent, he says. Ask him: should he confess? Do I need to get permission? And he won’t say anything to you about this, but will turn away with empty words. Because if he tells you what he thinks, you will immediately turn away from him (according to his wisdom, none of this is needed, although it is commanded in the word of God). He says, you write: “Prove to me from the Gospel that I’m lying!” “No one will prove to him that he is lying when he says: repent and believe.” For this is necessary for salvation and is so commanded by the Lord. But as he insists that this is all that is needed for salvation, he is lying, because much else is needed for salvation. Imagine that the doctor gave a prescription for a medicine made from many herbs and essences, and the pharmacist takes two or three things instead of all of them and gives them, saying: here you go, here’s the medicine. He will be a liar and a deceiver. So our Physician of souls, Christ the Savior, prescribed for us in the Gospel complete healing for the salvation of our souls, expressed in several points; and your loudmouth tore out two or three points from the Gospel and shouts: here is saving medicine for you! Accept and you will be saved. He is therefore a liar and a deceiver. But you, as soon as he shouted out his appeal, became stumped, and the more you gave him audacity and courage to cry out your position louder and louder: believe in the Lord Savior, and you are saved. 5) Truly it is! - “There is no other name under heaven... in which it is fitting for us to be saved” (Acts 4:12). “The great mystery of godliness: God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16); “Bow down the heavens and come down”, so that he will take us to heaven. Rejoice, give thanks, and follow Him, our Savior and God, who ascended into heaven and seated our nature at the right hand of God and the Father. But still, do not forget that this is only one point in the matter of salvation. The Lord Savior Himself attached to it other points that also must be contained in order to be saved. I'll tell you about them later. Now I will explain to you that this very point: “Believe in the Lord the Savior,” must be so contemplated and kept in mind and heart so that it stands in harmony with the sacrament of the Most Holy Trinity. Otherwise, it may happen that, while listening and speaking everything about salvation only in the Lord Jesus, you will become so filled with this truth that the thought of the Most Holy Trinity will completely fall out of your mind, and the Most Holy Trinity will be completely obscured by the face of Christ the Savior. And this will mean distorting the saving structure of thoughts, or, I will say this, it is wrong to plant Christian consciousness in oneself and darken it. This is what I want to remind you with this - that just as the image of our salvation was created by the Son of God, who became incarnate not without the Father and the Holy Spirit, so the salvation of each of us is accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ not without the participation of the Father and the Holy Spirit. And salvation has been arranged for us and is saved by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This must be planted in the consciousness, and all those who are being saved have this planted in their minds and hearts. See how the baptism of Christ the Savior is performed! The Son of God made man is baptized; but on Him and in Him God the Father rests with His favor and the Holy Spirit with His fellowship. This obviously means that the accomplishment of our salvation, which began from this moment, was brought into action by the Lord Jesus Christ with the always inherent favor of the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit. The Son did nothing without the Father and the Spirit; for even when He became incarnate, He did not leave the bosom of the Father. Do you see how our salvation was accomplished by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity? – Now look how the salvation of each of us is also accomplished by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity. Our life and our salvation are in living communion with God. Through the fall we lost this communication. God appeared in the flesh - the only begotten Son of God, and in His person reunited fallen humanity with God, and through the union of believers with Himself, He reunites them all with God. The Savior Himself showed this, speaking to the holy Apostles: “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). But what is said here to the Apostles applies to all believers. This is the golden chain of our reunification with God! The Lord confirmed this in another place: “I am the way and the truth and the life: no one will come to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). - So, they come to the Father through the Son, but how to get to the Son? - And they are brought to the Son by the Father, as the Lord Himself says: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). If the work of everyone’s salvation cannot begin without attraction to the Son, and this attraction is accomplished by the Father, then it is obvious that the initial Creator of everyone’s salvation is God the Father. Remember this and confess this to everyone who seeks and expects to be saved in the Lord Jesus, and behind Him always contemplate the right hand of Your Heavenly Father drawing you to Him. But how does the Father also attract to the Son? – He is drawn by the Holy Spirit, who then accomplishes everything required for salvation in the minds and hearts of those being saved. Christ the Savior, having suffered, died on the cross and was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father; Instead of Himself, He sent from the Father the Holy Spirit, Who, being in the true Church, now arranges the salvation of everyone. As at first He descended upon the Apostles, He led them across the face of the universe, gave them a word and this word a power stimulating to faith, then He clothed those who believed in Christ, sanctified and strengthened them in every good thing, and from their host He built the Holy Church: and so He acts in this Church to this day and arranges the salvation of all. And without the Spirit of God no one is saved or can be saved. Why did the Lord say: “It is better to eat... but I go. If I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7). By this He said: My incarnation is in vain, my death is in vain, my resurrection is in vain, if the Comforter - the Holy Spirit - does not come. You will remain unsaved; for without the Spirit you cannot be transformed into those who should be saved. - Thus, undoubtedly believing and trusting to be saved in the Lord the Savior, by the good will of the Father, believe and maintain that the Holy Spirit makes you saved, given in the Holy Church through the Divine Sacraments, and then constantly working in your heart to guide and strengthen you in the work of salvation. So do you see how we are saved? We are saved in the Lord Jesus Christ by the good pleasure of the Father, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Always keep this in your mind and heart, and in your confession. And know that whoever tells you only: believe in the Lord, believe in the Lord, and never supplements this with an explanation of the participation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit in this matter, apparently does not contain the complete truth, outrages the Christian consciousness and darkens the light of Christ. The holy Apostles understood this, and look how they expressed their goodwill for the salvation of believers! The Holy Apostle Peter writes: “According to the insight of God the Father, in the holiness of the Spirit, in obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace to you” (1 Pet. 1, 2). The Holy Apostle Paul prays: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!” (2 Cor. 13:13). The last words are repeated without change in the church before the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord Savior begins at the liturgy. And all our holy fathers, speaking about salvation, raised it to God, worshiped in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as to a single source. Understand this, too, and become accustomed to contemplating the work of salvation being accomplished within yourself, and then use this standard to measure both the present and any other new teacher. 6) I will now show you at once everything that is necessary for the salvation of everyone. This can be briefly expressed as follows: believe and, receiving the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live according to the commandments of God, under the guidance of divinely appointed shepherds, being in a living union with the Holy Church. To make it clearer to you how necessary all this is, compare the journey along the path of salvation with an ordinary journey. In order for a traveler to walk comfortably and safely, it is necessary that there be light, that there be a paved road, that he himself be healthy and strong, so that in case of need, for example, when turning and crossing roads, there is someone who would show him which road to take. A similar thing is necessary in the journey along the path of salvation: light is needed - this is faith; a paved road is necessary - these are the commandments; health and strength are needed - these are grace-filled forces given through the Sacraments; guides and leaders are needed - these are the shepherds of the Church. You see all this operating in the Holy Church of God, with which therefore everyone who properly works out his salvation is in living union. All those who were saved walked this way, and all those who are saved follow it... there is no other way of salvation. I don’t think that you need to especially explain and prove the necessity for saving each of these points. However, I will give you something. That faith is necessary in achieving salvation, there is nothing to say about this. An unbeliever does not even think about salvation. Therefore, the Apostle Paul writes: “Without faith it is not possible to please God: but believing is fitting for him who comes to God as He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). We must believe fully - in everything that God has deigned to reveal to us, without adding or subtracting, and believe as contained in the Holy Orthodox Church. Namely: that God is One in essence, and Trinity in Persons; that He created the world with His Word and provides for it; that He created us for heavenly life, honoring us in His image in creation, but we lost it, having disobeyed His commandment in our ancestors; that from this fall we ourselves could not rise, but that the Son of God took pity on us and, having taken upon Himself the work of our redemption and restoration, came to earth, became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, as evidence of His acceptance of His sacrifice and as intercessory power for the salvation of those who believe in Him; that after His Ascension He sent down from the Father the Holy Spirit, Who, descending on the Apostles, filled them with all wisdom and power, and they, inspired by Him, planted the Christian faith on earth, and from all believers they formed one body of the Holy Church, under the Head of Christ the Lord, entrusting to it all the secrets of the faith and all the Sacraments that bestow grace; that as the distributors of these blessed treasures and in general the continuers of the apostolic work of building the Church, the Apostles, by command of the Lord Himself, left their successors - bishops and priests, who receive special grace for this through the laying on of hands, which continuously comes from the Apostles and has come down to us; that those who are saved are saved in the body of the Church, that is, not alone, but in common with everyone, common to all true believers, living a life sanctified by the Sacraments of the Church and under the guidance of pastors; that the salvation of everyone here on earth is hidden, especially in the spirit, is accomplished, although it is known to the one being saved, but in his lordship it will appear in another life - the hope of which inspires us in enduring voluntary and involuntary deprivations for the sake of salvation; that those who depart from us through the gates of death into another life do not cease to abide in the same single body of the Church and are not deprived of mutual communication with us, they only have it invisible instead of visible. All this must be believed. And we profess this faith by reading the Creed more than once every day. Briefly, all faith can be combined in the following position: God, worshiped in the Trinity, who created the world and provides for it, saves us, the fallen, by the good will of the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit in His Holy Church, saves us with salvation, here hidden in the spirit, having to appear in all the ineffable light of it in the future life. You see that all the points that I listed as conditions for salvation are included in the objects of faith. And believe with all your soul that this is how it is, and it cannot be otherwise. 7) But faith alone is not enough for salvation. It is necessary to live holyly according to all the commandments of the Lord. “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of God, but do the will of My Father,” says the Lord (Matthew 7:21). The will of the Heavenly Father is expressed in His commandments. Read the Gospel, and you will find there, of course, requirements and faith, but not too much. Mostly, it offers lessons in a holy and godly life. Rather, the following conclusion emerges from it: fulfill the commandments sincerely and tirelessly, and you will be saved, guided, of course, by faith and directing this to please the Lord. Hear what the Lord says: “If you have My commandments and have kept them, this is he who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:21). And again: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Likewise, in the Epistles of the Apostles much is written about faith, but even more about holy life. Saint Paul summed up the whole work of salvation in two words: “Faith, aided by love” (Gal. 5:6). By love he means the fulfillment of all commandments and alienation from all sins and sinful passions (Rom. 13:8-14). Why, in all his epistles, does he turn all the concern of Christians to a holy and godly life, saying: “What is true, what is honorable, what is righteous, what is most pure, what is most loving, what is good and praiseworthy, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about this... and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8-9). And, he says, the economy of our salvation then took place to make us able to live holy. “For the saving grace of God has appeared to all mankind, punishing us, so that, having rejected ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live chastely, righteously and piously in this present world, awaiting the blessed hope and the appearance of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). All the other Apostles insistently repeat the same thing. I will quote the words of the Apostle James. “What good is it, my brethren,” he says, “if someone says he has faith, but does not do them? food can faith save him? ...Faith, if it has no deeds, is dead about itself. But someone says: you are the imam of faith, but I am the imam of deeds: show me your faith by your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe, for there is only one God: do good: and the demons believe and tremble. Do you want to understand, concerning the vanity of man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father, justified by his works, and offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see, how your faith has advanced by his work, and by works faith is made perfect... Behold, for by works a man will be justified, and not by faith alone” (James 2:14-24). Do you see how much the fulfillment of the commandments is necessary for everyone’s salvation! I wrote more about this on purpose, because those who have confused your new teacher are thinking wrongly about this, attributing the entire matter of salvation to faith, while almost completely eliminating the matter. Probably this teacher of yours is also thinking wrongly. So look. According to the word of God, faith and fulfillment of the commandments stand on the same line - and neither one nor the other is given preference. Faith without works and works without faith mean nothing. Only in inextricable connection do they create our salvation, and at the same time they themselves accept their true value, strength and significance. 8) In order for faith to be as it should be, and deeds to be done as it should be, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit. Without it, we cannot not only believe, but also think about good (2 Cor. 3:5); but even if we thought about it, we don’t have the strength to do it. For, as the Apostle says, we still wish for good things; but as soon as the matter comes, we are away: “Whatever I want,” he says, “I am diligent, but I do not find it to do good” (Rom. 7:18). Thus, if the Lord only showed us what to believe and how to live, and left us with this alone, then we would be like someone who is illuminated by the light of the sun, sees the road along which he must walk, and realizes that he must follow it, otherwise he will be lost; but does not have the strength to walk, because he is weakened and sick. But in this case, it would be better not to know and not see anything, than, having learned and seen, not to be able to use what was learned and seen. The merciful Lord did not leave us alone with this, but was pleased to arrange for us to send down the Most Holy Spirit, so that He, acting in us, would work with us our salvation. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, and then through them it was given to all believers. Through the apostolic word, He aroused faith in those who wanted to believe, and to those who, by faith, rose to the point of determination and to live holy in the spirit of faith, He gave the power to carry out this decision. What was done by the Apostles was done later, and is still being done by their successors, according to the divinely established order. And the grace of the Holy Spirit dwells in the congregation of believers or in the Holy Church, enlightening, strengthening, and sanctifying everyone. And if anyone is saved or is being saved, then it is only by grace. “Salvation comes by grace through faith,” says Saint Paul (Eph. 2:8). He speaks about the indwelling of the grace of the Holy Spirit in believers with such confidence that he does not allow any doubt about it: “Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). And he confessed about himself: “By the grace of God I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). And Saint Peter testifies both for himself and for everyone that “all His Divine powers have been given to us, even for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Why did all the Apostles, writing epistles to believers, both at the beginning and at the end of them, as the only good, wish for them to remain in them and increase grace: “May grace be multiplied to you; God's grace be with you." However, there is almost no debate about the fact that the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the power for salvation, is necessary for us and that it alone is powerful to bring about our salvation in us. But there are disputes about how grace is obtained and received. I purposely bring you to this subject out of fear that your new teacher of faith may not also be one of those who incorrectly understand this matter, for there are such sages who claim that as soon as you believe, the grace of God will immediately enter and dwell in you. So, know and firmly hold the conviction and the faith that the grace of the Holy Spirit can only be given and received through the Sacraments, established by the Lord Himself in the Church by the hands of the holy Apostles. To make you more confident in this, I will give you several examples of receiving grace as directed by the word of God. The Lord and Savior Himself, talking with Nicodemus, said: “It is fitting for you to be born again,” meaning a grace-filled birth to a new life. What method did He indicate for this? – Did he say: believe, open your mouth, and the grace of the Spirit, entering, will revive you? - No, I didn’t say that. What did he say? - “Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:7,5). Birth by water and the Spirit is holy baptism - the first Christian Sacrament. But rebirth makes only our nature capable of receiving, containing and storing the gift of the Holy Spirit; The very giving of this gift was accomplished by a special Sacrament, namely, the laying on of apostolic hands. This is clearly demonstrated by one incident that happened in Ephesus during the apostolic activity of St. Paul there. Arriving in Ephesus, the Apostle met twelve believers there and asked them: Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered: we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. How were you baptized, asked St. Paul? John's baptism, they answered. Then Saint Paul explained to them that John's baptism was only a preparation for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; then, having informed them more fully of the Gospel teaching, he baptized them with Christian baptism - after baptism he laid his hands on them - and they received the Holy Spirit. You see, there is a special baptism, and a special laying on of hands, and the gift of the Holy Spirit only after the laying on of hands! The Apostles later replaced the laying on of hands with Chrismation, which they handed down to their successors as a Sacrament, bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit on believers. It now operates in the Holy Church. These two examples are enough for you to see that the grace of the Holy Spirit is not given in a mental way through faith alone, but in a visible way through the Holy Sacraments. This is how the Lord Himself established it. I will only list other Sacraments. The remission of sins into which someone falls upon baptism occurs not for the sake of contrition alone and their mental confession to God, but with contrition and the decision not to sin again, upon confession to their spiritual father, through permission from him. The most living communion with the Lord is accomplished through the communion of His Body and Blood, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Grace-filled power to continue the apostolic work of building the Church is given through the ordination of bishops and priests. Two persons getting married are united together by the Sacrament of Marriage. Illnesses are healed by the Sacrament of Anointing. Here are all seven streams of Divine grace operating in the Holy Orthodox Church. And there is no other way to receive grace. Whoever begins to show you the path to this, turn away from him, as from a superstitious person. 9) The three points stated: faith, life according to the commandments in the spirit of faith and grace through the Sacraments, require a fourth: divinely established shepherdhood. We must believe; but how can they believe without a preacher? And “how will they preach if there are no messages?” (Rom. 10:15). It is necessary to receive grace through the Sacraments; but how would this have happened without the builders and performers of the Mysteries of God? (1 Cor. 4:1). It is necessary to live according to the commandments in the spirit of faith; but how can this be in good order without a leader who would point out, warn, correct mistakes, raise those who fall and direct them back onto the path of those who deviate from the real road? Thus, for the organization of salvation, persons are needed, acting on behalf of God, who would teach the faith, sanctify with grace through the Sacraments and lead in life - shepherds who are gifted by God and appointed by God are needed. The Lord was pleased to establish them. Here's an apostolic certificate for you! “And He (the Lord) gave the two Apostles, the prophets... the shepherds and teachers, for the perfection of the saints, for the work of service, for the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12). And the deed itself showed this. The Lord sent the Apostles to teach the faith, to baptize those who were taught, to instruct those who were baptized and taught to observe all that was commanded (Matthew 28:19-20). The apostles did just that. But since they are not eternal, their apostolic work must endure forever, then, knowing this, they everywhere, by God’s command, left shepherds and teachers in their place as successors, so that they would continue their work - the celebration of the saints, the service (performing the Sacraments) and the building of the body of Christ. Read in Acts. Here Saints Paul and Barnabas enlightened Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia with faith. The time has come for them to return to the same place they came from - to Syrian Antioch. So, did they abandon those who believed to their own devices with faith alone? - No; They again went through all the cities, established everything, how they should be and live in the church way, and for supervision and proper execution of all things, they appointed elders over them, “ordaining them” (Acts 14:23). He did the same for Ephesus with other Asian cities, everywhere there he instructed shepherds and teachers through the ordination. Then, when, passing by Ephesus by sea, he did not have time to visit there personally, he called all these shepherds to Miletus, where he said goodbye to them, giving them final instructions for tending their flocks: “Take heed to yourselves and... to the flock, in whom the Holy Spirit has appointed bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which we have acquired with our blood” (Acts 20:28). And here’s what happened: returning from Rome, after being freed from his first bonds, the Apostle stopped by the island of Crete and spread the faith of Christ there. But since he himself did not have time to install shepherds everywhere, he left Saint Titus there on purpose for this purpose, so that he would establish “presbyters throughout the city” (Titus 1:5). Saint Paul, of course, acted this way in all other places; and as he acted, so did all the other Apostles; for they acted not at their own discretion, but at the command of the Lord. And not a single Christian society was left without ordained shepherds. So this continues in the Church of God to this day. – And this is the law for believers: “Obey your teachers (shepherds) and repent: for they are watching over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). And what the Lord said to the Apostles, we should also apply to the shepherds: “Listen to you, he listens to Me, and brush aside you, he is swept away from Me; Discard Me, the One who Sent Me will be rejected” (Luke 10:16). 10) These are the four points that we must contain and according to which we must conduct the work of our salvation if we wish to be truly saved. But there is one more thing, namely: to be livingly united in the body of the Church with the entire host of believers. The Lord called His Church a vine tree, in which He is the vine, or the trunk of the tree, and all believers are branches on the vine. The Church, or the entire body of believers, is therefore a single indivisible whole, livingly united with the Lord and within itself in all parts. Just as a branch, having broken off from a tree, dries up and ceases to live, so does anyone who in any way separates himself from the Church of God, and through this from the Lord, cease to live (John 15:1–7). St. Paul made this clearer when he called the Church the body of the Lord. We are all believers - the body of Christ; Christ the Lord is the Head of this body. Just as in the body each member lives not by its own life, but by the life common to the whole body, and if it is separated from the body, it dies and decays, so not a single believer lives alone, but lives in the common life of the whole host of believers, or the entire Church, and if it is separated from them or becomes isolated, it freezes spiritually and perishes (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; Col.) So it was and is still being done among true believers, that they consider it the law of their life, the life leading to salvation, to be in the Church. The Church, we confess, is our mother. And the word is true that to whom the Church is not a mother, God is not a Father. And if God is not his Father, then who is it?! – The Lord, having established the Holy Church through the holy Apostles, put everything that saves into it for storage and distribution on earth. In it are all the secrets of faith and all the understanding of truth; in it is all grace and all the Sacraments that bestow it; in it is true shepherding, truly leading to salvation; the favor of God rests on her, watching over her and listening to her prayerful voice; Angels and men, and all rational creation, united, serve the all-good God. This - to be in the body of the Church and to work out one’s salvation in it - this is what every believer is obligated to do: 1) to believe, as the whole Church believes, from its beginning until now, to verify with its voice every thought of one’s own or someone else’s and to resolve every perplexity that arises, and under no circumstances allow oneself to allow anything that even slightly disagrees with the teachings of the Church. For it is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Listen, whoever does not observe this is a “pagan and a tax collector,” according to the word of the Lord (Matthew 18:17); 2) not to be different from everyone else in the order of church life: to fast when everyone is supposed to fast, to fast and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, as established in the Church, and all others to observe the prayerful and sanctifying rituals of the Church, obeying the word of the Apostle, who forbids leaving meetings (Heb. 10:25); 3) to maintain the conviction that both the heavenly and the earthly are in uninterrupted communication with each other, living and immediate. Why are our prayers to them and about them and their prayers for us both heard and effective. We are our own, related to the Angels and to everyone who has pleased God since the ages; for when we become churched, we come “to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the multitude of angels... and the Church of the firstborn in heaven, written” (Heb. 12:22-23). Let us now again bring together everything that has been said about the path of salvation and repeat: do you want to be saved? Believe all the revealed teachings of God, and, receiving the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live steadily according to the commandments of God under the guidance of God-established shepherds and in obedience to them - but all this in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws, and being in living union with it - and you will be saved. To this image of the saved path we can boldly add the following admonition of Saint John the Theologian: “Everyone has transgressed, and if you do not abide in (this) teaching of Christ, you do not imite God: but abide in (this) teaching of Christ, you imate both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and do not say to rejoice in him: for if you say to rejoice in him, it is revealed by his evil deeds” (2 John 1:9-11). 11) After everything I said before this, you can already decide for yourself how much truth there is in the words of your new teacher you quote. “Once,” you write, “he talked to you a lot about the fact that it is absolutely necessary to confess Jesus Christ with your lips, and that as soon as someone confesses Him with your lips, he immediately becomes accepted by Him, and He fulfills it and preserves it with His grace. He pestered one thing very much: confess, confess; but he did not agree. He said: somehow ashamed.” And it was a good thing that he did not agree. His spirit is right, because such a confession, for no apparent reason, is contrary to the will of God. The sensitive conscience of this good Christian did not allow him to do this. It would be fanfare and buffoonery. The confession of Jesus Christ is a great feat, and the Lord promised to confess for it the one who confessed Him before the Heavenly Father (Matthew 10:32). But in what circumstances is confession so valuable in the eyes of the Lord? - In such cases, when you have to either confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then immediately undergo terrible torment and be tortured to death, or deny Christ and offer sacrifice to idols. He who confesses Christ in such circumstances already rises in spirit to martyrdom. That is why his confession is so valuable. In the Church of God, confessors stand alongside martyrs. Martyrs are those who, having confessed Christ, were tortured and martyred to death; and confessors are those who, having confessed Christ, were tortured, but for some reason were not tortured to death. This is the kind of confession the Lord is talking about! Why does it stand with Him along with its opposite rejection of Him? “Whoever,” he says, “will deny Me before men, I will deny him and I before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). Do you have such circumstances there that you either confess Christ and suffer, or reject Him and live happily?! No. Consequently, there is no possibility of showing such a confession, which is so valuable in the eyes of God. There is always an opportunity to make a show of it, to make a fool of yourself. Run out into the street and shout: I believe in Christ and confess. But such a confession will be a waste, just like the one your teacher demanded. Your new teacher connects the following promise with confession: as soon as you confess through the mouth of Christ, you will become one who has received Christ into yourself. Where did he get this from?! Look how the Lord and the holy Apostles taught about how someone accepts Christ into themselves. Saint Paul says: “As many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). He who put on Christ, of course, received Him into himself. Consequently, whoever is baptized becomes one who has received Christ into himself. Before baptism, the person being baptized confesses Christ the Lord by reading the Creed; but through this Christ does not dwell in him, but he becomes only capable of receiving Him into himself through holy baptism; Inhabitation itself is accomplished through baptism. This is how the Apostle teaches; but your teacher interprets it differently. This is from his own mind, and not from God’s notification and promise. Look again. The Lord says: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). If the Lord abides in the communicant, it is, of course, because he received Him in holy communion. Consequently, one who partakes of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ is made through this very thing to have received Him. Before communion, we confess the Lord, saying: “Lord, I believe and confess...” But it is not this confession that infuses Christ, but the very communion of the Body and Blood. Confession only opens the entrance for the Lord to receive Him in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Thus, you see that by virtue of baptism and holy communion we are made those who have accepted Christ, and not by virtue of His confession alone, although we give this confession before those Sacraments. But your teacher invented a different path to accepting the Lord. He does this according to his superstitious intelligence. In another place, in the same Saint John the Theologian, the Lord shows another way to receive Him, namely, the fulfillment of His commandments. “If you have My commandments,” He says, and keep them, this is he who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and appear to him myself. And again: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:21,23). Do not think that this fulfillment of the commandments paves the way for the indwelling of the Lord in us, separately or separately from baptism and holy communion. The grace of baptism and holy communion gives strength to faithfully fulfill the commandments. He who fulfills all the commandments adorns his soul with all sorts of virtues and makes his heart a church worthy of being the abode of the Lord. He moves into him then. He is in it from the moment of holy baptism and communicates with him even more sincerely in holy communion. But, helping him in the life of a saint, he still does not completely calm down in him, because until all the virtues are established in the soul through the fulfillment of the commandments, traces of passions still remain in it, the smell of sin, unpleasant to the Lord. She does not rest in him, as if not trusting him, and is still only making a resting abode for herself in him. When the soul is sanctified by virtues, then He safely enters it, as into a house, and dwells calmly, undisturbed by the movements of sin and passions that are unpleasant to Him. Thus, faith attracts the Lord, the Sacraments vouchsafe His presence and assistance; when the believer, helped by the Lord, cleanses himself of all passions by fulfilling the commandments and introducing virtues into the heart, then finally the Lord finally dwells in him and rests in him. This is the whole path to accepting the Lord. It has its own degrees - it has its beginning, continuation and end, or completion. In the above passage the Lord speaks of this completion. But the root of this whole matter is the acceptance of the Lord in the Sacraments. Without the Sacraments, neither faith nor virtues will attract the Lord. They can only do that the Lord will lead the one who has them for their sake to receive the Sacraments, and through the Sacraments will dwell, as was the case with Cornelius the centurion. And confession of the Lord takes place here, but as a kind of preparatory part, and not as something that combines all the power to receive the Lord. Confessing the Lord is not the only thing that matters, so as to say with your lips that I believe in the Lord. It means being a Christian in general. When they ask us: what religion are you? and we will answer: Christian; then this answer of ours will also mean that: I am a Christian or we are Christians. Let us now take this word in its strict sense. What does it mean to be a Christian? This means to believe rightly, and to live holy, and to be sanctified by the Sacraments, and to obey the leadership of pastors, and to belong to the Orthodox Church of God, and to strictly fulfill everything commanded by it, that is, to do everything that, as we have previously shown, constitutes the path to salvation. Consequently, the one who truly confesses the Lord is the one who, believing in the Lord and being sanctified by the Sacraments and receiving grace-filled strength through them, lives holy according to the commandments of God under the guidance of shepherds - and all in the spirit and according to the laws of the Holy Orthodox Church. This is a real confessor! And not the one who only confesses the Lord with his lips. Saint John the Theologian, in his first epistle, speaking about confession, means precisely this kind of active confession. Your teacher also considers the fulfillment of grace by the person confessing the Lord to be the fruit of the verbal confession of the Lord. If confession filled the Lord, it would also be filled with grace: for grace is the presence of the Lord and His communication with us. But as it was explained before that the Lord indwells not through confession, but through the Sacraments, it is obvious that by grace he fulfills not confession, but, by confession or at confession, the Sacraments. And I explained to you above that grace is given in no other way than through the Sacraments. And there was no occasion in the Church of God for her to fulfill anyone in any other way. Therefore, one cannot think that one can receive grace through oral confession alone. It’s very similar to this: open your mouth and grace will flow. Based on this application, it is very true to call your teacher and those who agree with his teaching and expect to receive grace through one oral confession - swindlers. 12) You write that your new teacher “prays with his own prayers, but that during prayer he neither makes the sign of the cross nor makes bows.” Do you see what a fashionista he is? The whole Christian world makes the sign of the cross, even those who wrongly profess the faith of Christ; and he is ashamed. Whoever makes the sign of the cross, without a word, confesses the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured crucifixion and death for us, and thereby redeemed us. Your teacher shouts: confess Christ with your lips; and you would approach him and force him: confess Christ with the sign of the cross. It’s all the same: confession there and here; only there - in word, and here - in deed. Deeds are stronger than words. He said to the one who refused to confess through the mouth of the Lord: aha! You are ashamed before people! You also tell him: you are ashamed to make the sign of the cross; but since it is also a confession, it turns out that you yourself are ashamed to confess the Lord before men. Saint Basil the Great testifies that the sign of the cross was established by the Apostles and that the sign of the cross, placed with faith, repels invisible enemies, destroys all their machinations and protects against their attack. The Lord destroyed all the power of the enemy with the cross. The enemies know this and flee from the sign of the cross. And whoever does not make the sign of the cross and does not protect himself with it, his enemies have free access to him. A Christian without the sign of the cross is like a warrior without weapons. The enemy pushes him around as he pleases. All Divine Sacraments are consecrated with the sign of the cross; they also carry out the sanctification of every thing necessary for life. This is how the Holy Church received it from the Apostles, and this is how all Christians act. This naturally gives rise to the question: is anyone who shuns the sign of the cross a Christian? By bowing our heads we usually indicate both respect and submission. Just as someone who urgently approaches God with prayer has complete reverence and perfect submission in his heart before Him, it is just as inevitable to testify to Him, the invisible, these feelings through worship. Christians all worship the Lord physically, as evidence of their inner fear of Him and complete devotion to His will. He who does not bow doubts whether such feelings exist in him. But if they are not there, what is his prayer? We have a saying: his neck doesn’t bend - as an indication that he is such a person - he has an indomitable spirit, he doesn’t want to know anyone. Isn’t that the spirit of the one who does not bow in prayer? This is all a bad custom. He doesn’t break his hat, I’ll say it colloquially, and that’s before God. 13) You write: “Faithful people told me that our new teacher, and everyone who adheres to him, do not go to church, do not call on saints in prayers - neither the Mother of God, nor Angels, nor Apostles and Prophets, nor great saints, martyrs and saints, do not fast, do not fast, do not confess and do not partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and do not know holidays.” Do you see how great they are? True Molokans, at least they learned such wisdom from an Englishman. Our Molokans and Doukhobors consider themselves spiritual Christians, people of God, saints, for whom no external church orders, no feats and no sanctifying Sacraments and sacred rites are needed. And your rotozeys are of the same cut as them. “And I don’t know how to understand why you are chasing this new teacher or letting him buzz in your ears with his idle talk?!” After all, after what you said, it is already palpably clear that he fell away from the Holy Orthodox Church, and if he is mooring with his teaching, it is in order to drive you away from the Church and form some special sect, alien to the Church and rejected by God. And yet you cling to him, like foolish flies to poisoned moisture. I will not write to you that your teacher and his entire crowd are in great error, not accepting together with the Church the points you have prescribed. But I advise you to get the book “The Stone of Faith” by Stefan Yavorsky. There all those points are protected, those who do not accept them are exposed. Read carefully and understand what is written. Then with this stone you will easily block the lips of those who speak lies and crush the teeth of those who have sinned against the truth, but who boldly speak out with their words, full of lies and deceit. That book was written against Protestants. But Protestants are also like Molokans, only German, just like these new people of yours - Molokans of English cut. 14) You write: “There is bewilderment among us why our shepherds are silent. That teacher travels everywhere, worries, teaches, speaks with enthusiasm. And ours are silent. And in church, rarely do any of them give teachings: only services correct. We need a living word, but there isn’t one.” I’ll also ask you: did you turn to your shepherds with the question that some teacher is walking around, gathering us and teaching us - would you look to see if he teaches well? - None. That's how many times you wrote to me, far away, and never once did you remember to contact your shepherd, who is at your side and whom you see every Sunday and holiday. After this, how will the shepherds know what is going on there in secret? Your shepherd comes to church, sees his parishioners gathered and fervently praying, and is at peace, being therefore confident that those he flocks are in their proper rank. You know the dogmas, you also remember the commandments, you are submissive to the Church of God in everything. What else can I tell you? Maybe just sometimes explain to you some dogma, some commandment, or some Sacrament. But this is done, as you write, sometimes. And even without that, our entire divine service is structured in such a way that it brings to mind both dogmas and rules of life to those who are attentive, and teaches us to cleave to God through our very actions. And one visit to church renews the entire religious spirit, as everyone experiences. I agree with you that pastors should conduct more frequent conversations with their flock in church or start conversations outside of church. But I cannot agree that since this does not and does not happen, the flock is completely deprived of any spiritual food. And for the fact that this does not happen, I am ready, if I must accuse, to blame you, the flock, no less than your shepherds. Express your desire, ask, and what shepherd will refuse to satisfy such a good desire of yours? – You yourself are alien to shepherds, and when you happen to meet one of them, do not start talking about the needs of faith. Looking at you, he doesn’t start talking like that. And then he doesn’t give lectures in church, for fear of annoying you and driving you away from the church. I do not justify silent shepherds: it is their duty to stop themselves from wanting to speak, and to listen to their flock. But I just remind you that this is your fault too. You say: “Our people are silent, but he is busy.” - He is busy because he needs to recruit students and followers; and when he has typed, he will be silent, because the students who cling to him will know everything that he usually teaches. And even then you need to know that fussing, running around, shouting does not mean a healthy state of affairs. Look at the body. When it is healthy, then all functions in it are carried out calmly: the pulse is not frequent, breathing is even, the head is fresh, the tension of the nerves and muscles is measured. But as soon as any of this goes beyond its measure, the peace of functions is disturbed and the body becomes unhealthy. It's the same in the matter of faith and salvation. You, your entire parish, constitute a small church body. All saving functions proceed calmly for you: you maintain faith, try to live like a Christian, are sanctified by the Sacraments, observe all church orders and obey your shepherds. The work of saving each and every one of you is proceeding peacefully, although nothing outstanding is visible among you. Just as a healthy body grows and lives unnoticed, so you live and grow spiritually, although it is unnoticed. Thus, the fact that he is mooing and fussing, and everything is going calmly for you, does not mean that you are in a worse position, compared to him; but on the contrary, this calm flow of affairs in your affairs regarding salvation means that you are in a healthy state. You “flow good”; the same screamer is not in a normal position; and the fact that he moans gives the idea that he is one of the crazy ones. If someone, during the calm course of your religious affairs, indulges in negligence and carelessness about salvation, then this is bad. But if everyone, to the best of his ability, diligently does everything that his Christian conscience obliges him to do, although no one stands out from others in any way, then the work of your salvation is in order, and there is no need for you to worry about this and rush after someone, just because he represents something outstanding. Remember what I said at the beginning about the choir of singers - that the outstanding does bad things. This also serves to explain what I am saying now. Now I have told you everything that your letter prompted. All that remains to be added, as you can see for yourself, is this: abandon this new teacher, the misguided Molokan, and hold on, as you always have, to the Holy Orthodox Church and its shepherds. Advise the same to everyone else. They chased after this loudmouth, looked at him, scratched their ears with his sweetened speeches, and that was enough. It will not lead to good. - In order to strengthen your spirit against the charms of his sweet speech, take out, as I mentioned to you, the “Stone of Faith” and read. Better yet, gather together, all of you who have defiled your ears with heretical speeches alien to the Church, and read and chastise yourself from this enemy’s obsession. Letter 9. About good and faulty priests. On all-zealous prayer to the Lord for the correction of one’s neighbor “We had a good priest; but was transferred to another parish. Another took his place, causing grief in his soul. In the service he is careless and quick, conversations, when they happen, are all about trifles; If he speaks about the work of God, it will be with some restrictions and cuts to the strict truth. How to get rid of such temptation? It's your own fault. A good priest was misused; The Lord took him. Tell me, have you become better than your former good priest? So you’ll hesitate to say: yes. And I will say from afar that they have not become better, judging by the fact that you condemn the new priest, not being able to keep your feelings towards him as they should. After all, even before the good priest who has now left you, you had a good priest; and which before that was good. You see how many good priests the Lord has sent to you; and you are still the same faulty ones. So He put it this way: why waste good priests on these? I'll send them the not so good one. And he sent it. Seeing this, you should have quickly turned to yourself, repented and become more correct, but you are only judging and re-judging. Become serviceable; then the priest will immediately change. He will think: with these it is impossible to somehow correct the sacred matter; we must serve reverently and conduct edifying conversations. And it will improve. Priests, if they are careless and quick in serving, and empty in conversations, then for the most part apply themselves to the parishioners. By saying this, I am not justifying the priest. There is no excuse for him if he seduces the souls entrusted to him not only by acting against the statutes, but even by acting unreasonably according to the statutes. But I’m only saying what’s best for you to do in this case. And I have already said the first thing: do not judge, but turn to yourself and show yourself to be more correct in prayer, and in conversations, and in all behavior. Then pray earnestly that the Lord will correct the priest. And He will fix it. Just pray properly. The Lord said that if two people consult about a certain thing and begin to pray, it will be done for them according to their request (Matthew 18:19). So, gather together all right-thinking parishioners and begin to pray for the priest; add fasting to prayer and increase almsgiving; and do this not for a day, not two, but for weeks, months, a year. Work and torment yourself with contrition until the priest changes. And it will change; rest assured that it will change. I recently heard about a similar feat and its fruit. One old woman, a simple village woman, a great reverent woman, saw that someone whom she respected had begun to deviate somewhat from his usual austerity of life, and became distressed about it; I came home, locked myself in my cabin and began to pray, saying to the Lord: I will not leave my place, I will not eat a crumb of bread, I will not drink a drop of water, and I will not give sleep to my eyes for a minute until you hear me, Lord, and again you will not turn this man back to his former self. As she decided, she did so, she worked herself in prayer and tormented herself with contrite tears, pestering the Lord to hear her. She was already exhausted, her strength had already begun to leave her; and she is all hers: even if I die, I will not retreat until the Lord hears me. And I heard. She received confirmation that the one for whom she had prayed had again begun to behave as before. “I ran out to look, saw that it was like this, and celebrated.” There was no end to her grateful tears. So, this is the kind of prayer you should organize—at least not in the same form, because it may be inconvenient for you to do it the way she did, but in terms of zeal, self-sacrifice, and persistence. And you will definitely get what you want. If, however, you sometimes say, just in passing, at home, or in church, or during a conversation: “Let him, Lord, become good,” then what fruit can you expect from such a prayer? Yes, this is not a prayer, but simple words. This is the main thing I told you. I would add one more thing; but it is such that it is very difficult to execute it in such a way that it leads to the goal. I mean this! It is possible for you, well-meaning and honorable ones, to come to the priest and ask him to change in the way of his actions that which confuses and seduces you. To do this - nothing could be easier; but making it bear fruit is extremely difficult. It is necessary that your gaze, your expression, and the tone of your speech, and not just the content, all breathe the most sincere and ardent love. Then we can hope that it will achieve the goal. And without this, it is better not to take such a step: it will turn out worse, the most sorrowful discord will occur. It may be more convenient to write everything to him, but again it’s all about the spirit of all-conquering love. And this can also ruin the matter, just like coming to the priest in person. That is why I hesitate to unconditionally recommend this technique. I know that it can be successful, but the main thing is in proper execution. To come to the priest or write to him in absentia, and express everything in the most courteous manner; there are many people willing to do this; but success requires something other than politeness. Politeness without love is a stinging sting. It seems that in other places they do this and then say: we did our job! And I will say that it would have been better if they had not done it. I won't tell you anything more than that; unless still - be patient. There are still legal ways; but those are not my part, and I will keep silent about them. Letter 10. About prayer. On the acquisition of undistracted prayer. Real prayer is the lifting of the mind and heart to God “I just can’t cope with prayer; all thoughts run away. Someone advised me to memorize prayers, assuring me that when I began to read them from memory, my thoughts would wander less. I have learned and read from memory, but the dispersion is not diminished; and you won’t say two words until your thoughts go far from prayer; every now and then you have to force yourself to turn back. I really wish I could learn to be undistracted in prayer.” Undistracted prayer is a gift of God, which is given to strengthened seekers. So “seek and you will find.” You seem to know the rule of St. Macarius the Great, that if you want to acquire any virtue, then force yourself to do it, or practice hard in doing it; and the Lord, seeing your work and the zeal with which you seek such virtue, will give it to you, instill it in your heart, so that it will be like a natural feeling and disposition in you. The same law applies to the acquisition of undistracted prayer. Use all the prayerful work that is possible for you without laziness, and the Lord will finally give you undistracted prayer. Go to church, which best develops the spirit of prayer, at home pray from a prayer book or from memory, read ready-made prayers or compose your own according to the state of your spirit, and standing, and sitting, and walking, and working - all repeat some prayer or verse from the psalms; but all this and always with zeal, with the desire to pray, with the fear of God and contrition of heart, without any indulgence in the scattering of thoughts - and, moreover, continuously, charge in this way, and pull on without weakening or retreating, until real prayer comes from the heart - the gift of God. Memorizing prayers is one of the methods of prayer work. And you thought that as soon as you memorize the prayers and begin to read them from memory, prayer will flow from your heart. Now you see that such an expectation is not justified by deeds. But it is not the memorization of prayers and reading them from memory that is to blame, but the techniques that are used in both cases, techniques that depend on the person memorizing and reciting them from memory. You need to memorize prayers not so much with your memory as with your mind and heart. You need to enter into the spirit of prayer, exhaust the thoughts it gives, assimilate them and feel them: so that when you begin to read the memorized prayer from memory, the thought and feeling go forward, and behind them - the words of the prayer. As you can see, intense attention and some pressure on the heart are required here to evoke the necessary feelings. And then such prayer will be a powerful means of cultivating the spirit of prayer. A memorized prayer is already in some way internal. From it, the transition to prayer in the heart and from the heart is faster or closer. Try, when reading prayers for memory, to direct their mental reading inside the heart, as if into an empty vessel. If you manage to arrange this, then the skill of not getting distracted in prayer will be more successful for you. But still, this is also a method for acquiring real prayer, and not prayer itself, which is an uplifting of the mind and heart to God. When starting to pray, you must always first prepare your mind and heart for prayer, moving them to reverent fear of God and heartfelt contrition. Saint Basil the Great advises beginning every prayer with remembrance of God’s great blessings and thanksgiving for them: to this add remembrance of the sins that offended the Benefactor, and heartfelt contrition for them, and then raise to God your petitions for felt needs, in your inner or outer life, with the idea of ​​turning everything to the glory of God. It seems to me that if you prepare for each prayer in this way, then it will take place with less wandering thoughts. But again, this is prayerful work, and not prayer itself - real prayer, which comes from the heart. Seek this, strive for this, strive to acquire this. But remember that without long, continuous, tedious and painful labor you will not get anything. In the “Philokalia” it is written about one elder that he struggled for two years, looking for this prayer; violently caught fire. But as soon as it caught fire, it began to burn without ceasing. Then the scattering of thoughts came to an end. Follow this path and you will get there. Letter 11. About vanity. The extreme destruction of vanity. How to deal with it “What should I do with vanity? It seems to me that I do nothing for show; but after the job I can’t resist blowing the trumpet in front of myself. Of course, I don’t tell anyone that this is how well I did this or that. But inside I hear that I am better than others, and I do better than others. And I know that this is bad; but it is always done in me.” It’s good, at least, that you notice this thinness and want to improve. Put in the work to correct and pray about it, and the Lord will help; you will have time to drive out this enemy. This is the most malicious and at the same time the most flattering enemy. It makes a person look like a worker who, no matter what he earns, eats it all at once, leaving nothing for tomorrow. He who became vain has already accepted his reward; and in the future there is nothing to reward him for. He is always naked, like someone who squanders everything he has. He will appear naked in the next world. Only his sins will pass with him, and good deeds that could serve as a counterbalance to them will have no value. This is the extreme destruction of vanity! Meanwhile, whether to blow the trumpet in front of you or listen to the trumpeting from outside, it’s so sweet, as if you were swallowing candy. - So you are doing well that you have the desire to get rid of this flattering enemy. But how to manage this? Fight and you will overcome. Just don’t stop, and don’t give yourself any favors in this. The first thing you need is to recognize and feel that this kind of thought is an enemy. Then, as soon as it appears, hasten to restore such consciousness and feeling. It will certainly respond to hostility towards this thought, which will push it away. To have hostility towards a thought is the same as punching someone in the chest. Anyone hit in the chest falls to the ground; and the thought, struck by hostility, flees from the soul. Do this several times more diligently, and that thought will stop appearing, or you will get used to dealing with it so easily and quickly that before it has time to appear, it will be driven away. Meanwhile, do not forget to fuel the feeling of hostility towards him. For this purpose, read more often the Savior’s instructions on almsgiving, fasting and prayer (Matthew 6) and the parable from which the Lord drew the following lesson: “Speak, as we are unworthy servants: as we ought to make the same who made the same” (Luke 17:10). Also remember the apostolic lesson: “Why do you boast?” (1 Cor. 4:7). Also take into account who you compare yourself with, trumpeting that you and your deeds are better than them. If they are younger than you in age and ability, then there is nothing to brag about. It happens naturally that the older ones do everything better than the younger ones. They will grow up, and they will work as well as you, and maybe even better. So, do not compare yourself with these, but with those who are higher than you. Then, perhaps, there will be no need to trumpet: I and my deeds are better; but rather accept that you are still far from being able to boast about anything. I would also ask you: does what you do correspond to the extent of your abilities? Take a closer look, and perhaps it will turn out that although what you do is good, it is far from meeting the extent of your strength: you should do it better five or ten times over. If you really see this - and for the most part, if not always, this is exactly what you have to see when you look at your affairs from this point of view, then instead of trumpeting, you will rather have to lament that you do not meet the intentions for you of the One who gave you the strength of body and soul. Take the trouble to practice on yourself, and you can probably assume that you will soon achieve success. But prayer to the Lord must naturally go hand in hand with one’s work on oneself, as well as diligent zeal to achieve the desired goal, without any indulgence. Letter 12. On the fight against dispersion. How to acquire and preserve inner warmth and composure. How to give all deeds a character pleasing to God “In the morning you will pray, read, and warm up a little; but then things will happen one after another, and everything will be broken - you will become like a stone. How would you preserve your morning composure and warmth?” Composure and warmth will naturally begin to remain inseparably in your soul, with all your activities and distractions, when they become an essential quality of your inner life. And they will ascend to this level as soon as the flame of prayer, about which I wrote to you before (letter 10), lights up in the soul. But even before that time, you can use some techniques to become less distracted during business and meetings. First, never rush or fuss, acting as if in a hurry. Do everything slowly, like someone carrying a glass of water, afraid of spilling it, but without unnecessary delay, trying to do everything in the best possible way. So that your soul always remains in place, sit down and go through all the affairs and meetings that you usually have, and determine in advance how to behave in which case and occasion, so as not to have too much fun. If experience confirms that what you thought up leads to your goal, always act according to what you thought up; and if it turns out that it is not useful, come up with something else to take its place. By doing this, you will soon find for yourself an image of self-containment that is most suitable for preserving undistracted thoughts and warmth of heart. Second, do not do anything carelessly, but do everything with caution, as if someone in authority was looking at you and was ready to immediately punish you for any mistake. And indeed it is so. There is the all-seeing eye of God, directed towards you, there is a Guardian Angel, always accompanying you; and the saints of God see us. Third, the things that you have to do, although they are more of an everyday nature, can all be done in such a way that through this way of action they will receive a moral character pleasing to God. Do nothing to please yourself, but do everything to help and please those around you; and you will practice self-sacrifice and love. If, at the same time, you manage to attach to every task the commandment of God corresponding to it, so that you can then do it out of obedience to the will of God, love for God and out of the desire to please Him, then through this you will make it as if in the midst of everyday affairs you are in the service of God. Such a thought, more than anything else, is powerful to keep the soul in undistracted attention. I think that this is enough to ensure that what you are complaining about no longer happens to you. But, of course, everything depends on the zeal with which you take on spiritual work. Lethargic action is like swaying from one foot to another, it is worthless and will not lead to any good end. Letter 13. About the fight against fatigue, disintegration of the soul and weakening of the will. How to warm a cold soul “This is what happens to me! For a few days your mood is better, you come to your senses more often, silently and pray even at work; then some kind of fatigue and laziness will attack again, the will weakens, there is not even a desire to engage in spiritual things; then it will change again, and at least a small desire to pray will appear.” So what? See it come and go. Therefore, when it comes, there is nothing to be horrified at, as if it were some kind of incorrigible misfortune. Maybe this is due to random physical weakness, maybe from the need for mental rest, maybe these are inevitable accidents under the conditions of spiritual growth. But no matter what it comes from, you shouldn’t be horrified by it. There is no need to be horrified; but one should not remain indifferent to this. You have to disturb yourself, strain yourself, bore yourself. The tree is cold; and rub wood against wood, they will warm up and even catch fire. So the cold soul must be rubbed. How? If you can, go into seclusion and bow down, calling on the Lord the Savior to warm your soul. It's even better if you can run to church. Or maybe it’s even better to occupy our attention by thinking about the mysteries of our faith, which are all exciting; Especially of this nature is the suffering and death of the Lord Savior. Repeat to your insensible soul: the Lord has done so much for your salvation, but you, like a stone, don’t want to move. Remember death and judgment and the final decision: go away or come - and it’s not surprising that fear will strike you there, but hope will cheer you up here. Bring such contemplations to the soul, then one after another, then all together, and it will stir. Just as a burning glass, bringing the scattered rays into one point, ignites, so these contemplations, concentrating in attention over the heart, will warm it up, excite the energy, and the coldness and lethargy that has gripped you will evaporate. It seems that at this time it would not be bad to do some good deed that requires effort, for example, to visit a sick person, serve him and help him, or to go to someone in need and console him with a word or with all possible help. Be that as it may, do not leave yourself without friction and need. And the Lord, seeing how you struggle, will take pity on you and hasten to help you. Letter 14. Regarding the choice of celibacy. About zeal for fulfilling the commandments. About acquiring purity of heart. About internal warfare “I do not want to bind myself either by marriage or by any vows; but I sincerely wish to tune in inside as our Lord and Savior desires, so as to be one of His own, and not a stranger.” God bless! Choose the good part of Mary; Sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His word. Cast all your sorrow upon Him, and He will create in you and with you that which is pleasing before Him. He says: I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Surrender yourself to Him, and He will show you the way, enlighten you with the truth, and fill you with life. Love Him and, united with Him with this love, think about Him more often than how much you breathe. Then the Lord will love you, or, better, will deign to show His love to you; and He loves us all to love, without waiting for us to love Him. However, while surrendering to the Lord in this way, you yourself should not sit with your hands crossed. Be jealous with zeal to please the Lord you love. How? He Himself clearly spoke about this - that whoever wants to please Him should strictly fulfill His commandments. And be zealous for the fulfillment of these commandments. Just don’t forget that Christ’s commandments focus not so much on actions, but on feelings and dispositions, as you see in His Discourse on the Mount. The Lord requires them to have a pure and well-disposed heart. This is what you yourself want. And great! Direct all your work here. Passionate thoughts, feelings and desires make the heart unclean. Enter your heart with attention, and as soon as you notice that any passionate movement arises there, immediately cut it off, both with your resistive tension, and especially with prayer to your beloved Lord. This kind of work is called internal warfare. Without it, you will not appear pure and will not please the Lord. Success in this internal battle cannot be expected without external exploits - solitude, fasting, vigil, work, prayer and reading, and the like. Take on this too, without sparing yourself. The force that propels both labor is zeal for salvation through pleasing God for the glory of God. This zeal requires living, energetic doing of everything that is recognized as due, without self-pity, in the hope of the always ready help of the Lord Savior by His grace. The work is great; but the strength is not small: from you - zeal, from the Lord - gracious help. That's all the mood you wanted. What will be the outcome of it all? – Selfless love for the Lord, and for His sake for everyone. Letter 15. About worthy communion. How often should you take communion? “Our family, from ancient times, from our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, has maintained the custom of confessing and taking communion during all four fasts. In our parish, some other families do the same. And no one marvels at this anymore.' But I have a desire to increase this number of fasts and holy communions: twice during Lent and twice during the Nativity Fast; and even some other time. But if you start doing this in our parish, everyone will notice, and there will be talk, but I don’t want that. Can I perform this in another parish? I know one priest who really loves it when people take communion often and advises everyone to do so. I would go to him.” Can. Your desire is good and saving. Help you, Lord, to fulfill it. But look, the trumpet will rise again in front of you. Be careful and adjust yourself so that there is not enough air for this pipe. The very thing is very helpful to those who seek lively communion with the Lord. For the Lord said: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). This is what He promised, and since He Himself is the fulfiller of this, then of course this is what happens to those who worthily partake. Just worry about this so that you can receive communion with dignity. How? I think you already know this: clear your conscience, revive your faith and love for the Lord, renew your vow of all-round goodness - and approach with reverent fear, but also with confident boldness, surrendering yourself into the hands of the Lord who desires your salvation. At the same time, mindfully contemplate the Lord Himself who receives communion. For He Himself administers communion, the hands of the priest serve only as an instrument. It would not have occurred to you to be embarrassed that you would have to have another confessor. Believe firmly that the Lord accepts confession and resolves confessed sins through the ears and lips of your spiritual father. But there is only one Lord. Therefore, having two confessors will not cause any damage to the Sacrament of Confession. Only reveal everything that weighs heavily or little on the Soul, without concealing it or holding back from it with shame: for you will reveal it to the One who has known everything for a long time. That priest is doing well to encourage frequent communion. Frequent fasting with confession and holy communion is the most powerful educational tool in spiritual life. So God bless you and help you! Letter 16. About the fight against condemnation and slander. Condemnation brings severe judgment. Instead of judging, we must pray for our neighbors. You need to retrain yourself, not others “I get carried away by conversations and fall into the sin of condemnation. I try not to judge or slander. But for now I’m silent - nothing; but as soon as she spoke, she’ll definitely find darkness: if you come to your senses, you’ve already spoken and slandered.” This, of course, should not be praised; but this lack of praise is greatly mitigated by the fact that you yourself notice your thinness and have a desire to get rid of it. - And continue like this. Every time you notice this gap, give yourself a well-deserved lecture when you are alone, thinking at the same time how to manage to conduct ordinary and even cheerful conversations and not allow your tongue to stray onto this not entirely clean path. By working like this and trying several techniques, you will finally reach the skill of not judging. For this work, inspire yourself with the true thought that you do not offend your beloved Lord so much as with this sin: for you admire His power. And in no way do you expose yourself to the danger of being condemned as much as by this: for, by strictly judging others, you bring severe judgment upon yourself. “Whosoever you judge, you will be judged” (Matthew 7:2). Read these and other words of the Lord written there often. Of course, what is bad cannot be called good. But, seeing this, one should not condemn a brother or sister, but feel sorry for them and, feeling sorry, pray from the heart that the Lord will enlighten them and sober them up, and give them the strength to stand firmly in the proper order of life required by their situation. If, when looking at the mistakes of others, your thoughts take this direction, then this will be a matter of love. In conversation, however, it is not always convenient to express this; but you can always find something mitigating and justifying. – Defense will also be a labor of love. Or is it better to hush up such conversations, diverting them to other subjects. If you don’t know how, you can remain silent until the whole stream of gossip is exhausted, internally praying for those condemned. – You and I cannot retrain others; but you can and should retrain yourself. Letter 17. On the fight against lust for power “Often an insistent tone breaks through in my speech; I do not tolerate contradiction; and with harshness I often insult my loved ones.” They would say more directly: I want to be a queen in my circle, so that everything moves according to my command. This is the love of power, one of the firstborn daughters of pride, the companion of irritation and rage. This is the category in which those movements and actions that occasionally burst through you place you. You see for yourself that we must take care to stop their generation, so that from the little ones they are now, they do not mature and make you into a most intolerable person, intolerant of people and disgusting to God. And take up this more than anything else: for these movements show that there, in the very depths of the heart, lies something very bad and destructive. What exactly should you do for success? - Since you already notice these movements and realize their thinness, then the first thing you need is already there. The second will be to do not according to their suggestion, but in defiance of them. It will be the same as knocking out a wedge with a wedge. Instead of the power-hungry tone of orders, take the skill of always asking and offering, wouldn’t you? - preparing in advance, if the request and offer are not accepted, either strengthen them, or humbly concede. The best thing is to do more yourself rather than placing the burden of work on others. The Savior, commanding us to choose to be the servant of all rather than the greatest, pointed to the most effective means of suppressing the lust for power. He who has decided to be the servant of all will not allow himself to use harsh words and be offended when he encounters a contradiction. Acting contrary to emerging movements of this kind will weaken them, make them rare and completely destroy them. But in this case, thirdly, one should act in a spirit of repentant humility, with a prayerful appeal to the Lord. This gives the action a softness that breathes love and an unpretentious disposition that is attractive. The consequence of this will be a readiness on the part of everyone to obey and self-willingly submit to everything, forestalling desires and fulfilling them without orders. In this way, try to achieve the rank of queen in your circle. Then you will rule over everyone without the love of power, you will not tolerate contradictions, because you will not meet them; Do not offend anyone with harsh speech, because there will be no reason to do so. Everything will move according to your command; and you won’t even notice it. Of course, this is a lifetime's work; but, as you can see, there is a lot to work about! - God bless! Letter 18. On memorizing the Gospel. About applying the Gospel to your life “I have already re-read the Gospel more than once, but rarely anything remains in my memory. Why has the desire to learn the Gospel by heart come to me for a long time, but due to negligence it remained an empty desire without fulfillment. Now I finally decided to do it, and have already learned several chapters. Is this good? And very good! What words are dearer to us than the words of our Savior? And what better way to sanctify our mind and memory than with them? You have come to the rule of the Rule of St. Pachomius. He demanded that his monks know the Psalter and Gospel or the entire New Testament by heart. And it was their law, as soon as freedom, to read anything from memory, with reflection, just as you do. May God bless you to continue your work and bring this work to completion! It would be advisable for me to say a word or two to you. When you memorize, try to grasp the Savior’s thought more clearly and fully and penetrate deeper into its meaning and connection with the whole sum of our beliefs. Also, do not leave anything you have memorized as bare knowledge, but arrange it in such a way that it influences your character, your feelings and dispositions, and serves as a guide in your behavior. You can easily achieve this if you apply what you are learning to yourself while thinking, in a simple way: The Lord says this and that, what can I learn from this for my life? Or: The Lord commands this, how can I fulfill this in my circumstances? And the like. It is advisable that you do this; because if you do not do this, then during conversations you will not be able to resist flaunting your knowledge of Scripture, and it will be even more difficult for you to refrain from condemning. Both, you yourself know how bad it is. But if you apply what you are memorizing to yourself, then the consciousness that your life does not quite correspond to what you intended to be in it when memorizing it will not allow your tongue to turn to condemn anyone or flaunt the knowledge of Scripture. Do not forget, when starting to memorize, and reflecting on what you have memorized, and applying it to yourself, to prayerfully turn to the Lord, so that He may enlighten and clearly imprint His truths on your heart. For there is only one Teacher for us – He Himself. Accept it by faith and act on it. During your work, if you continue it with faith and reverence, you will experience this in action, when you don’t know how and from where bright contemplations begin to swarm in your mind. Letter 19. On responses to reproaches about leaving public life. He who seeks salvation does not live for himself. About the world-denying and celibate lifestyle “Those who know me scold me for leaving my previous way of life and secluded myself, sitting near a monastery and living like a nun. I lived, they say, for others, I was a teacher and the head of an institution, but now I live only for myself - I have become selfish. They say this not so much in condemnation as out of regret, believing that I made a mistake and went from better to worse. This is their way of thinking. I answered them what I could - that I was not worse, but better; that I do nothing to please myself, but on the contrary, my life is cramped; that here we have to do something different for others; and that now I see from experience how this path - narrow and regrettable - directly leads to the goal for which man is on earth. “Did I answer well, and is there anything else to tell them?” Your answers are good and complete. There is nothing to add, except to clarify what was said. “Such bewilderments—let’s call it the reproaches of those you know—are not the only ones that linger in their heads, but are common to almost everyone living in society.” Are they holding on to a wrong concept of what it means to live for oneself? – Ask them: to take care of your salvation - is it possible to live for yourself? After thinking, they will have to answer that this is not living for oneself. Otherwise, they will go against the Savior, Who set above all: “If anyone wants to save his soul, he will destroy it” (Matthew 16:25); so if someone were to destroy his soul, even if he gained the whole world, all this is nothing in comparison with the destruction of his soul. Therefore, living for the salvation of the soul is not reproachful, but highly commendable, and this is in the eyes of the Lord our Savior Himself. If now to live for oneself - to be an egoist - is reproachful not only in the eyes of God, but also of men, then the one who seeks the salvation of his soul will receive the highest praise from the Lord Himself; it is obvious that the sentence - they live for themselves, does not apply to those who seek salvation - because the one who seeks salvation, for that very reason, does not live for himself. It seems that he who seeks salvation for himself begins to live, because he seeks salvation for his soul; in fact, it turns out on the contrary, that the one who seeks salvation by this very action ceases to live for himself - for the first step on this path is self-denial: “Let him deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). So interpret to those you know that she chose such a way of life, detached from society, to save her soul; and this will tell you everything. Could they bother you with their speeches after this, unless they were unsure that salvation could be achieved in this way. But it seems that they would be very ashamed to think so, in the face of such an innumerable multitude of those who were saved this way and glorified by the Lord. This experience of salvation in a world-denying way of life, attested and hitherto witnessed in all times of Christianity, stops the lips of all those who are not favorable to it, confirming the complete trustworthiness of this path to salvation. Confidence in the high dignity of this path could be shaken by the thought that Christians themselves invented it. But let anyone who thinks this way also think about how God at all times showed special favor to persons who walked this path? If it were a human invention, then although the merciful God could look condescendingly at it for the reason that it is aimed at a good goal, he would not show special favor to it. If He has shown and is showing, it means that He approves and finds him in agreement with His unchanging intentions for our salvation. Thus, this one favor of God towards this path would be enough to certify that he entered into the order of Christian life not against the will of God, but according to this will. But we also have a direct indication in the word of God that this path is not from man, but from God. “The Savior indicated it, and the holy Apostles established it. The Savior indicated this path when he spoke about the celibacy of the Kingdom for the sake of Heaven (Matt. 19:12); about following Him without everything, with only the cross of self-denial (Matthew 10:38, 16:24); about complete renunciation from everyone and everything, from father, mother, brothers, sisters, everyone they know and all their possessions (Matthew 10:37, 19:29). All such and similar commandments are like: if they hit you on the cheek, substitute another; to the one who wants to take the outer clothing, give him the shit; do not demand back from the one who took what you have, and so on - can be perfectly fulfilled and were fulfilled only in a way of life detached from society. The Savior testified to the dignity of such a way of life when he said about celibacy: “You do not contain... but to them it is given to eat” (Matthew 19:11); and about the distribution of everything: “With man it is impossible to have these things, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). This is how the Lord foretold the world-denying way of life. And as the Apostles established, let us listen to Saint Paul. In Corinth, the daughters of Christians, having tasted the sweetness of life in the Lord in freedom from the cares of everyday life, did not want to get married. Their fathers, due to the unusual nature of the matter, turned to Saint Paul with the question of what they should do here. Saint Paul approved of the desire of virgins to remain virgins, deciding that such a lifestyle was better than a married one. For, he says, the inviolate one cares about the Lord, how to please the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but the one who encroaches is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband.” He said the same thing about men (1 Cor. 7:33-38). Thus a celibate life was established. And we see in the lives of the saints of the apostolic time that among Christians everywhere there were special houses in which virgins lived in fasting, prayer and labor. And there were quite a few celibate men. They bore the name of ascetics - ascetics; because, like the virgins, they spent their lives in solitude in prayer, fasting and labor. Marriage is the knot of social life; whoever has renounced marriage has thereby renounced himself from the bonds of public life in order to have complete freedom to devote himself entirely to God. So this is how the world-denying way of life entered into the order of Christian life. It was started by the holy Apostles according to the will of the Lord Savior. But to this we can add that even without this it could have been generated by itself from the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, from those changes in the aspirations of the human heart that are produced there by grace through faith in the Lord Savior. Those virgins of Corinth, from whom they learned, decided not to bind themselves to the bonds of life, when the Apostle had not yet spoken about the advantages of such a life? This spontaneously arose from their hearts after they tasted what the grace of the Lord the Savior gave them to taste. The grace of God, touching the heart, detaches it from everything earthly, carnal, sensory, temporary, created and directs it to the heavenly, spiritual, eternal, Divine; and all this is such that family and social life do not provide it. The highly educated social life did not give this to the Corinthians who desired it. So they decided to renounce society. And at all times and in all places, social life has not given this, and no matter how high it rises, it will not give complete satisfaction to the heart that desires the highest - the unearthly. Therefore, there are always and will always be those who separate themselves from society. The image of this renunciation may change, but the essence of this matter will forever remain on earth among true believing Christians. That the changes shown actually occur in the hearts of believers, upon receiving grace, let us listen to St. Paul about this, who, writing to the Colossians, says: “If you are risen with Christ, seek those on high, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Be wise on high, not on earth. When you die, your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3). You died, he says, but in such a way that at the same time you came to life and began to live a new life - one that is hidden with Christ in God; in God it is hidden because it renounces everything created, and consciousness absorbs everything and the whole heart into one God; and as a result of this, the one on high teaches us to philosophize, and encourages us to seek those on high. Why is this? Because they do not receive the spirit of this world, but “the Spirit who is from God” (1 Cor. 2:12). The spirit is from God and draws us to God. If you go through this chain of divinely revealed provisions, you cannot free yourself from the question: how is this possible? – Does this mean that life in society, family and social, is incompatible with the spirit of life in Christ Jesus? If this spirit is such that it moves both consciousness and heart from earth to heaven and from creatures to God, then what kind of thought about family and society can be sustained here? – But in that case, what does it mean that Christians live in families and in society? What is this – indulgence towards weakness or deviation from the spirit of life in Christ Jesus? – This question is very natural; and you see that those attacking you must take a defensive pose. For it is clear that it is not you, having renounced society, who appear to be acting not in the spirit of Christ, but they, remaining in society, and it is not you, estranged from society, who should justify your way of life, but them, bound by life. That's how it is. Let them justify themselves: how are they connected, when should they be detached? How do they worry about tomorrow when they have the commandment: “Do not worry about the morning” (Matthew 6:34)? How do they initiate lawsuits and courts when they have a commandment to give themselves over to all kinds of false accusations (Matthew 5:39-41)? How do they fail everyone when they have a commandment - to take all care of what is needed (Matthew 6:33; Luke 10:42)? Judging strictly, there will be no end to these kinds of questions; and this is not about what is sinful and wrong, but what is considered permissible and necessary in life. And these questions are not generated by the spirit of controversy, but directly come out of the Christian conscience - and should affect, as they do, everyone excited to live in Christ Jesus. How can this be? - Let them decide for themselves, what do you and I have to do with that? I only had in mind to point out to you that it is not they who stand above you with the formidable sword of judgment, awaiting acquittal, but you who stand above them, standing above them by more than your whole head. They want to shake your determination to remain detached from life, confusing your conscience. Now let them find for themselves how to calm their Christian conscience, which cannot be at peace with much that is going on with them. I’ll tell you: keep the conviction that the world-denying life is higher than the common life, even when this latter is led completely according to the spirit of Christ. As a guide to strengthening such a conviction, now take the trouble to re-read again, slowly, what is written in the letters “On What Spiritual Life Is” - precisely in the first - a dozen or two - letters. It is explained in detail there that everyday life is a spiritual life, therefore, not the kind that a person should live; for he must live a spiritual life in order to be what the creative right hand of God intended him to be. Why does everyday life in itself, with all its perfection, have no value? She can receive value only when she is inspired by the influence of the spirit on her, or when she accepts the principles of spirit as guiding and governing principles for herself, that is, the fear of God, conscience and thirst for God with dissatisfaction with the blessings of the earth, or peace in God. Meanwhile, spiritual life in itself has a value, making a person what he should be according to the intention of his Creator. And such is the life you have chosen. That is why it is higher than everyday life. At the same time, I will make one more guidance. In spirit and in everyday life one must be detached from everything, as you can see from everything that has been said. And here is the apostolic injunction about that, which says: “Let him who has wives have the same life as he who has not. And he who weeps, as if he does not weep; and rejoicing, as if not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if not containing; and demanding this world, yet it does not demand” (1 Cor. 7:29-31). That is, those who are worldly in position should not be worldly in spirit, or should not have anything worldly in their spirit. Meanwhile, being under such an obligation, they are fully connected by ties that bind them to everyday life. This makes their situation extremely difficult and painful if they take to heart the demand of the spirit of Christ. The type of life you have chosen makes you completely free from all such connections. This is the advantage of your position. I can’t find anything else to say in addition to your own thoughts on this subject. Letter 20. About the fight against laziness and the desire for benefits. A moment's relaxation is also dangerous. The desire for benefits is the first enemy of working for salvation. Patience is the basis of living for salvation “I often suffer from laziness and succumb to urges for benefits.” - Work hard; It is natural for a worker to desire rest. However, you shouldn’t indulge yourself. Please always raise a diligent, cheerful and attentive thought for salvation. This thought, both inside and outside of a person, puts everything in a person in the proper order, and teaches him to remain in this order without laziness. He is born together with the fear of God, grows with it and is supported by it. The higher the life, the stronger he is. But that makes it all the more dangerous to lose. And a momentary weakening of it is dangerous, especially if it lasts for a long time. That is why the Lord said: “I say to everyone: watch” (Mark 13:37). This diligent thought multiplies labors and exploits, which are always associated with greater or lesser fatigue. The enemy always clings to the feeling of fatigue in order to stir up jealousy, instilling: “See how much you worked; give yourself a break." - He cares about us, - and meanwhile he digs a hole. The desire for benefits is the first enemy of working for salvation: it affects both soul and body. Just bow to him, and thousands of voices will rise from the soul and body, presenting rights to benefits and indulgences, which puts the working man in a state of temptation, from which he will not escape without a fight. – And we must fight and overcome: otherwise all the established orders in achieving salvation will be disrupted, confusion will be introduced into thoughts and feelings, cooling will come, and the flow of spiritual life will stop. Then there will be passionate urges, which are not far from action. The basis of a life that labors for salvation is patience. Patience, in its true form, “does not waver in any way because of those who oppose it” (Phil. 1:28). Its likeness is hardened iron, adamant, a rock among the waves. But for it to become like this, it must be preceded by internal death, or the mortification of oneself and everything except God and the Divine. In whom did this happen, what can shake? Just as a dead person does not feel anything, so he is not touched by anything that strikes him from the outside. However, this does not come suddenly. The beginning of this mortification lies in the very conversion of the sinner from sin to virtue and from himself to God. Like a newborn child, it is weak at the beginning and grows as its good character increases. Along with its growth, work grows, and patience also grows - and having already grown, it becomes adamantine. This period of increase can be longer or shorter, depending on the greater or lesser intransigence or compliance with the urge for benefits. The urge for benefits cuts off patience, and is itself cut off by the inspiration of patience. In order for the latter to be accomplished more easily, one should not suddenly take on difficult feats, but begin with small measures and ascend to large ones, following the example of what Saint Dorotheus did with his disciple Dositheus. - But there is a limit beyond which you cannot go. This is about satisfying the needs of the body. The law of achievement here is this: having reached the lowest possible measure, establish yourself in it so that on this side you are no longer disturbed, and then turn all your attention and work to the inner. So I told you something both to encourage you - not to indulge the desire for benefits, and to indicate how to make them bother you less. Letter 21. Thoughts on the Annunciation. About union with the Lord in the Sacraments “This day (the Annunciation) everyone sang to me: “The day of our salvation is the greatest.” And this made the holiday in my soul not only more joyful, but also more solemn.” It was the Angel of God, your Guardian, who sang this into the ears of your soul and your heart, and from there, the same thing was repeated in your mental language. On that day, as it were, was laid the foundation of everything that was revealed later, that is now being revealed, and that is about to be revealed in this and even more so in the next century. Everything stands and everything operates on the basis of this sacrament. The Annunciation is the feast of the incarnation of the Son of God from the Ever-Virgin. This sacrament was hidden in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, but now it began to be revealed not in words, but in what began to become part of the life of the whole world. It was necessary to make a sacrifice to the truth of God. In order to have something to offer, the Son of God accepts human nature, so that, having sacrificed it on His own behalf, he imparts to this sacrifice an infinite price, strong to extend to all ages, from the beginning of the world to the end, and to all people, at all times throughout the entire expanse of the earth, who have lived, are living and have to live. The blood sacrifice had to be performed mysteriously and bloodlessly by virtue of the same sacrament of the arrangement for the salvation of all through sacrifice. And this is what is now happening on all holy Christian altars - the possibility of this being given in the act of incarnation at the Annunciation. For here too the same body and blood are offered, which were then accepted by the Lord. And their very perception was the beginning of the sacrifice. The Lord incarnated not for His own sake, but for our sake, so that we could all be reborn like Him. In baptism we put on Christ the Lord, God incarnate, to be in His image. The Incarnation at the Annunciation is therefore the seed of all who were able to receive by faith in the Sacraments the God-human image of the Savior. All of them, like grafts to a tree, are grafted into the Lord through His flesh and blood. The Body and Blood of the Lord, having become a sacrifice, cleanses sins, and through itself, uniting with the Lord those who approach Him with faith in the Sacraments, then feeds them with a mysteriously divine-human life, just as branches grafted onto a tree feed on the sap of the tree. The Annunciation marked the beginning of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The flesh and blood of the Lord the Savior were worn out, like a magnificent garment, from the blood of the Ever-Virgin. Just as in Holy Communion we feed on the same things - Flesh and Blood, and the Lord deigns to call us His brethren, then therefore the Lady Theotokos is also our Mother, not mentally, but essentially. All who are united with the Lord, who put on Him, who feed on His Flesh and Blood are one with Him, making up His body. His body is made up because they are from His flesh and from His bones. Consequently, what happened at the Annunciation is the seed of the body of the Church that was to be formed later, now already formed, filling heaven and earth, and having to be revealed in glory at the end of the ages. The fullness of the body of the Church, when completed, will indicate the moment when the present course of things will end and a new world will open. This new world will be organized according to the model of the body of the God-man. It will provide the norm and the guiding cord for its transformation. The beginning and foundation of this were laid through the incarnation of the Son of God at the Annunciation. Truly the Annunciation is the main source of our salvation and the manifestation of the sacrament from the ages. – And the Ever-Deva is the fulfillment of the Zizhditelev’s vision. Letter 22. About the insensibility of the heart “She was near death and, realizing the imminent danger, she confessed and received communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. “And in these great moments I was stony, stony not from a lack of consciousness, but from a lack of feeling. It hurts me, it hurts, it hurts. There was only animal life in me. Somewhere the thought slipped: today, tomorrow they will call; and I will appear to Him! “But there’s no tenderness here, not even fear.” Grief is terrible for me. And now it fills me with horror at the mere memory of past insensibility. Having now returned to a normal state, I try to have one prayer in my mind and heart: Lord! vouchsafe to die a conscious Christian! If only I could be able to sigh with full faith and a devoted chest at the words: “Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom!” You are needlessly embarrassed by the fact that there were no feelings in your heart when you took communion, in the hour of serious illness. This was a direct consequence of bodily exhaustion, and has nothing reproachful or dangerous. Insensibility is dangerous and reproachful, which is a constant state of the heart; and the one that is found from time to time is not dangerous. Although it should not be ignored; but one should not tremble for oneself and be embarrassed. And this is even in a healthy state, and not just in an illness, and, moreover, as severe as yours. The feelings of the heart are not in our will; holy feelings, moreover, are from the grace of God. You can irritate them with your own thoughts, but this is only a preparation and a threshold. True holy feelings are generated only by the grace of God. And the grace of God, if he gives anything to anyone, gives it to anyone he wants, as much as he wants and when he wants. Consequently, in relation to them, one should hold oneself in the position of a teapot, waiting and hoping to accept, and not in the position of an imperious manager. Our job is to strain our feelings and stir them up through reflection, turning away everything that cools them; we should expect the very perception of them from the Lord, handing over this matter to Him. Yes, thank God! and he won’t give it - thank God! However, this should not be taken carelessly. For feelings are a great thing in life, and they testify to a lot. One must be jealous and seek them, but surrendering to the Lord. Let them be found, and not self-madely knocked out of the heart, like fire is knocked out of flint with flint. With all this, your grief over insensibility is completely appropriate, and your prayer, accepted as a result, is the case. God bless you to think and feel in this way, as if you would immediately appear before the Lord. For your grief over insensibility, the Lord sent you consolation, inspiring tender feelings when listening to the song in church: “On the rivers of Babylon...” “For tens of years,” you write, “I listened to this song; but I have never heard it as much as this year.” Behold the mercy of God! - evidence that your heart is not made of stone, but has temporarily become petrified. Letter 23. On the coordination of the Gospel stories about the resurrection of the Lord. Sequence of events “On the bright days of the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ, the desire came to me to re-read more carefully the Gospel stories about the resurrection of the Lord, and the reading itself led to the desire to put these stories in order and agreement. But, having taken up this matter, I became confused and could not find a solution. Help. Not everything confuses me, but only the legends about the first hours of the day of the Resurrection of the Lord, namely about the walks of holy women to the tomb, their visions and testimonies about what they saw and heard. It seems to me that we cannot do without the assumption that the holy myrrh-bearing wives did not all come to the Holy Sepulcher at once and not at the same time. Tell me if this can be allowed. By the way, wouldn’t you find it possible, instead of a red egg, to give me a statement of your thoughts regarding the agreement of the Gospel tales and this agreement itself?” I am happy to fulfill your wish. The confusion you are experiencing is not your exclusive fate. Almost everyone has experienced it and is experiencing it. Those who are bolder have undertaken and are undertaking to put the Gospel tales in order and agreement. This gave rise to many techniques that somewhat satisfied inquisitive minds; But, as far as I remember, methods that completely calm co-questioning have not yet been found. I also took on such an agreement more than once, and adhered to one or another method in it, feeling at the same time that this, and the other, and the third agreement, and all the many that came to mind and had to meet, could not be considered completely satisfactory. Let's take on this matter together again; and whether the risen Lord, for the glory of His name, will not help us to come up with something more satisfactory. “You gave me a guiding thread when you said: “I think that we cannot do without the assumption that the holy women did not come to the Holy Sepulcher all at once, but in groups and not at the same time.” Having taken up this thought, I began to peer into the stories of the Gospels and, to your and my consolation, I found that thinking this way is not an assumption, but a duty. The legends themselves oblige this, clearly indicating the differences in the time of the arrival of the holy women to the tomb, and in what they saw and heard at this, and what happened to them afterwards. To make it more convenient for me to show this truth, and for you and others to see it, I find it necessary to retell in advance what is written about this by each evangelist, with some comments necessary for understanding the text. In the Gospel of Matthew we read: “On the Sabbath evening, having gone together as one from the Sabbaths, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came and saw the tomb” (Matthew 28:1). Let's dwell a little on these words. “On Saturday evening,” - ὀψὲ σαββάτων, means nothing else than what the words mean: Saturday evening, when the rest required by law ended and the permissible possibility of all movements and deeds opened up. It was tempting to give a different meaning to the word - ὀψὲ, "in the evening", the following word - τη ἐπιφωσκούση, - "swirling", indicating as if at dawn. But επιφωσχω, when talking about day and night, means: to begin; and “twirling” will be: beginning, or when the first day of the week began. That this should be understood, St. Luke gives us courage, who, speaking about the position of the Lord in the grave, wrote: “The day is heels, and the Saturday is bright” (Luke 23:54), επιφωσχε, - began, came, as translated in Russian. So, “on the Sabbath evening they were hanging out” - it will be: on Saturday evening, when the first day of the week came or began. For the Jews, one day ended and another began at six o’clock in the evening. Saturday, as we see in St. Luke, began on Friday evening, and the first day of the week began on Saturday evening, as St. Matthew makes it clear in this place. After this, how can one understand: “I will come... to see the coffin?” – Also in the literal meaning of the words: we went to see the coffin. An uncontrollable desire to find out if anything special happened there, on Golgotha, near the Holy Sepulcher, where their thoughts and hearts were, drew them there. And they went there. Seeing that everything there was in the same position as it had been left on Friday, they calmly returned to the city and began to prepare to anoint the body of the Lord in the morning, according to custom, with aromas, which they bought that same evening, upon returning from Golgotha, as St. Mark writes. Ask: but how could they be on Calvary? There are guards there. “The guards were not posted in the morning, but also after Saturday. When the wives were at the tomb, the Jewish authorities went to Pilate to ask permission to assign guards, who were brought and put in place after the wives had been removed from Golgotha. The third day began when, according to the Lord’s prediction, His resurrection was to take place. Until evening they saw no need to break their Sabbath; and now, when Saturday had passed and the terrible third day had come for them, they hastened to take precautions, fearing that the disciples might steal the body of their Teacher that night and say that their Teacher had risen. So the holy wives prepare to anoint the body of the Lord with aromas, not suspecting that the tomb is surrounded by guards and that the body of the Lord is in the hands of His enemies. But the Lord did not allow them to be frightened by this formidable guard, and unknown to them, he removed this obstacle, which could have deprived them of free access to the tomb of the Lord and to His most pure body. An Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and, rolling away the stone from the door of the tomb, sat on it. The shock from the fall of the stone, intensified by the deliberate action of God, and the bright shining image of the Angel brought the guards into awe, and they fled. The coffin became open and access to it was free (2–4). When did this happen? Presumably, shortly before the appearance of the wives on Golgotha, however, there was still real darkness, which had not yet been dispelled by the light of the morning, when Mary Magdalene came there. This action of God was not a need or a consequence of the resurrection of the Lord, which took place independently of any external restrictions, invisible and unknown to anyone. It was necessary to clear access to the tomb for those who love the Lord and to assure them that He is no longer here, but has risen (Luke 24:6). (Morning came. The wives, as they had prepared from the evening, went to Golgotha ​​to the Lord. - What kind of wives they were, Saint Matthew does not indicate here.) - Approaching the place of the tomb, they saw an Angel (sitting on a stone outside the tomb, as one must assume from what was said before) - and they were horrified. The angel encouraged them, saying: Do not be afraid! You are looking for Jesus crucified; He is not here; He rose again, as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. (They entered the tomb and looked.) - The angel said to them: now run quickly to tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee. You will see Him there. - And the women, coming out of the tomb, hastily ran with fear and great joy to announce what they had seen and heard to the holy Apostles. - When they thus hastily flowed to the Apostles, the Lord Himself met them with the word: “Rejoice!” - And they, falling at His feet, embraced them and worshiped Him. They were, however, in awe. And the Lord encouraged them, saying: “Do not be afraid!” Go, tell my brethren to go quickly to Galilee. There they will see Me (Matthew 28:9–10). This is the story of St. Matthew! It is very compressed and truncated. The first verse stands out, saying what happened on Saturday evening. Verses 2 – 4 stand out especially, telling about what happened before the morning. The main story about the arrival of the wives at the tomb begins with the sight of an Angel; but how they got up from their place and how they reached the Angel is not said. This needs to be supplemented. It is also necessary to add that the wives entered the tomb, according to the word of the Angel: come, see the place where the Lord lay, although this is not mentioned in the text, for after this it is written that they came out of the tomb and ran to the Apostles. But how would they have come out of the tomb if they had not entered it? I supplemented both with my speech. But now we will see that Saint Mark complements them. We read from Saint Mark (Mark 16:1–11). “Last Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Jesus” (Mark 16:1). “Last Saturday” - the same as in St. Matthew - “on Saturday evening” - when the Saturday, or day of rest, ended and the first day of the week began, the said women bought spices so that in the morning they could go to the tomb and anoint the body of the Lord Jesus. This first verse is completely identical in content to the first verse of the legend of St. Matthew and complements it, saying that the wives, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James, having gone to see the tomb, met with Salome that same evening and all three of them bought spices to anoint the body of the Lord. It was Saturday evening; and when the night passed, they “before the first day of the Sabbath”, that is, on the first day of the week, “came upon the tomb of the sun that had risen” (Mark 16:2). “Priidosha,” - ἔρχονται, - they are coming. As they walked, “they said to each other: Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” (Mark 16:3) The stone was very large, and they would not have been able to roll it away. But, approaching the place of the tomb, they looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away (Mark 16:4). The stone of difficulty that was pressing on their hearts also fell away; why they, without paying much attention to the extraordinary nature of this matter, hurried inside the coffin. But when they saw the young man “in a white robe, sitting in his gums,” they were horrified - ἐξεθαμβήθησαν, they were struck with surprise and amazement. It was the Angel of the Lord who, seeing their confusion, encouraged them, saying: Do not be alarmed, are you looking for Jesus the Nazarene crucified? He has risen; He's not here. This is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter that He is going before you to Galilee; There you will see Him, as He told you (Mark 16:5–7). And they came out and ran from the tomb. They were seized by trepidation and horror, and they did not say anything to anyone (of course on the way), being obsessed with fear (Mark 16:8). Comparing this legend with the legend of St. Matthew, we cannot help but see that they complement each other. Saint Mark complements Saint Matthew, saying that the holy women, in the evening, having been at Golgotha, still had time to buy some spices, taking Salome with them into fellowship, and in the morning they went early to the tomb and arrived there “when the sun had risen,” before sunrise, when the light of the sun was already shining, but the sun was not yet visible on the horizon. And Saint Matthew complements Saint Mark by talking about the evening walk of certain women to the tomb and how the stone was rolled away from the tomb. Saint Mark also supplements Saint Matthew by telling how the wives entered the tomb, which is not written about by Saint Matthew, although it is said that they ran to the Apostles after leaving the tomb; and Saint Matthew complements Saint Mark, saying that before entering the tomb they saw an Angel and entered the tomb at his direction. Saint Matthew complements Saint Mark, saying that on the way, when the wives fled to the Apostles, the Lord Himself appeared to them; Saint Mark Complements Saint Matthew, further saying that this was not His first appearance (Mark 16:9). The first appearance was awarded to Mary Magdalene, who, having been granted this benefit, “went to tell” the Apostles about it (Mark 16:10). What general tale will be compiled from both evangelists is self-evident. Let us only note that both of them are talking about the same coming to Calvary, the same wives, at the same time. Consequently, this legend presents enough features for which it should be considered special. It is complete and no longer requires borrowing from other Gospels to complete it. One question remains: what kind of wives acted here? Saint Mark, like Saint Matthew, does not rename them in the morning after naming them in the evening. Although this suggests that the same wives acted in the morning; but seven or eight hours had passed since that time, during which accidents could have occurred that forced the same wives to separate. Therefore, we can have legal permission to expel any of the host of these wives if any Gospel instructions require it. And we have to go far for this. Right there in Saint Mark we come across such an indication - precisely in his story about the appearance of the Lord, first of all, to Mary Magdalene. First of all; therefore, before His appearance to the wives, which is spoken of in St. Matthew. If so, it means that on that same morning, before the sun rose, very early, Mary Magdalene was not with Mary of Jacob and Salome. She separated from them and acted on her own, and in this walk to Calvary the said wives did not participate, nor was she a witness to the appearance of the Lord to them. She received this blessing especially and before them. Thus, Saint Mark, who named the wives in the evening circumstances, by the course of his story about the morning events, forces Mary Magdalene to be excluded from the host of those wives and only Mary of Jacob and Salome to be recognized as active in his story. How Mary Magdalene separated from them and how she acted separately from them, St. John writes about this. We read from Saint Luke (Luke 24:1-12). The (unnamed) wives who followed the Lord from Galilee watched on Friday evening as the body of the Lord was laid in the tomb. Returning from Golgotha, that same evening they bought spices and ointment to anoint the body of the Lord - and on Saturday they remained in peace according to the commandment (Luke 23:56). On the very first day of the week, early in the morning, they went to the tomb, carrying the prepared aromas. They found the stone rolled away and went straight into the tomb. The body of the Lord was not there, which led them to extreme bewilderment. When they thus could not imagine what this meant, two men appeared to them in shining clothes. The holy women, in fear and confusion, lowered their eyes to the ground; but the men reassured them, saying to them: Why are you seeking the living with the dead? He's not here; He has risen. Remember how He told you back in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of a sinner and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. They remembered such words and, returning from the tomb, announced what they had seen and heard to the eleven Apostles and everyone else. But their words appeared as lies, and they were not believed. Peter, however, stood up, flowing to the tomb and, looking inside, saw the linens lying, and walked away, marveling at what had happened. It is immediately clear that this is talking about a special coming to the tomb, different from the one about which St. Matthew and St. Mark speak. The flavors are prepared on Friday evening; they go to the wife’s grave in the deep morning, - ορδρου βαθεος; in the tomb they meet two Angels in the form of husbands; the words they hear from them are not the same as those the wives heard from Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, although their power is the same - confirmation of the resurrection of the Lord; in the end they do not receive the command to quickly tell the Apostles, but do it as if on their own; why they return slowly, and it can be assumed that they first went to their place to free them from the burden of aromas, and then went to the Apostles. Recognizing this journey to the Holy Sepulcher as special, it will be necessary to admit that the wives here were also special. - Which ones? Saint Luke does not list the names of the wives, neither where he speaks of their observation as they laid the Lord in the tomb, nor where he speaks of their preparation of aromas on Friday evening, nor here in the morning on the first day of the week, when he speaks of their going to the tomb. Although at the end of the story he writes: “But Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary of James, and the rest with them, even as I spoke to the Apostles” (Luke 24:10); but this refers, as we will see, to the time when all the wives gathered to the Apostles, as if with an account of what they had seen and heard separately - and here one cannot see a decisive indication of those wives about whom Saint Luke speaks above. However, these words make it possible to determine which wives Saint Luke writes about. Let us subtract from the indicated list of names - Mary Magdalene for the story of St. John, and Mary of Jacob (with Salome, who is probably listed under the general: “And the rest with them” for the story of St. Matthew and St. Mark), and for the story of St. Luke there will remain Joanna, the wife of Khuzan, with the others (except Salome). We read from Saint John (John 20:1-18). Saint John also has a special legend about a special journey to the tomb of the Lord, where of the active women, Magdalene is the only one, but with the participation of two highest disciples. He narrates that Saint Magdalene, on the first day of the week, while there was still darkness, came to the tomb and saw the stone rolled away from the tomb. Whether she looked into the tomb or not, she immediately formed a decision: they took the Lord. They took the Lord and, I don’t know where, they laid Him. With this thought, she hastily runs to Saint Peter and Saint John and says: They have taken the Lord, and we do not know where they laid Him. Saint Peter and Saint John left the house and went to the tomb. They both walked hastily; but John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first, but did not go inside, but only looked there and saw the linens lying there. Saint Peter came and went inside. And he also saw the swaddling clothes lying, and also the sir who was on the head of the Lord, not lying with the swaddling clothes, but a person entwined in one place. Then Saint John, who had come first, entered, “both seeing and believing,” it seems, only what Magdalene said. Having examined everything, they returned home. But Saint Magdalene, who returned with them again to the tomb, remained and, standing at the tomb, wept. Having cried, she looked inside and saw two Angels in white robes - one sitting at the heads, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay. They asked her: wife, why are you crying? She answered: They have taken my Lord, and we do not know where they laid Him. Having said this, she turned and saw the Lord Jesus, but did not recognize Him. The Lord says to her: woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? She, thinking that it was a helicopter operator, said: “My lord!” if you have taken Him, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him. Then the Lord said to her in a voice familiar to her: Mary! She, hearing this voice, called out: Rabbi! and she rushed to His feet to hug them. But the Lord stopped her, saying: do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father (you will still have time); but go to My brethren and tell them: “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.” She went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these words to her. This legend requires no explanation. It is immediately clear that it speaks of a special journey to Golgotha, where both special persons and special circumstances are not repeated in any way in the stories of other evangelists. I allow myself to make only one or two suggestions regarding him. First, if Saint John has a special tale about a special journey to the tomb, and this is indisputable, then nothing prevents us from admitting the peculiarity of the tale in the other evangelists, as long as the features of the tale force such an assumption. As we have already seen, such a feature cannot be avoided in the legend of St. Luke, and in the legends of St. Matthew and St. Mark together. Second, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while darkness is still present. As she then went to the Apostles, tossed and turned with them to Golgotha, after them she was here alone, then again went to the Apostles, it was impossible for her to be among the wives who came with Joanna, “in the deep morning,” as St. Luke says, - she had no time to join Mary of Jacob and Salome, who came to the tomb “the sun had risen,” and need there was no longer any insistence on that. Once separated from the holy women, she no longer met with them until they all gathered with the Apostles, as we will see in the general collection of legends. Thus, from a review of all the legends about the movements, visions and testimonies of wives, the following conclusions naturally emerge: 1) The wives did not all come to the coffin at once, but in groups and at different times. There are three such comings: the first - Mary Magdalene, according to the Gospel of St. John; the second - John with others, according to the Gospel of St. Luke; third - Mary of Jacob and Salome, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark together. This is indicated by the clearly prominent features of every legend. Let us add to this the testimony of the Emmaus disciples, who say that some of the women who were at the tomb told the Apostles that they had seen Angels who told them that the Lord had risen (Luke 24:22-23). But this can only apply to Joanna and the others, as it also appears in Saint Luke. For they only saw angels alone, while the other women saw not only angels, but also the Lord. Consequently, with this testimony they sharply separate the walk to Golgotha ​​of Joanna with others from the walk there of other holy women, among whom the walk of Mary Magdalene is also isolated by itself, and therefore leaves the walk of Mary of Jacob with Salome isolated. This testimony is especially important and gives a decisive voice in the present case, because there was a part of the disciples who knew only what happened to Joanna, having heard nothing about the other wives. 2) The time of the arrival of the holy women to the tomb is indicated as follows: Mary Magdalene - “still existing darkness”; John with others - “deep in the morning”; Maria Jacobleva with Salome - “the sun that shone forth.” Graduality is visible. And this whole story covers the time of several hours - from just dawning to sunrise. 3) Graduation is also visible in the fact that the holy women recognized and proclaimed to the Apostles: Saint Magdalene for the first time says: they took the Lord; Joanna and others announce that she saw Angels who told her that the Lord had risen; Mary Magdalene for the second time and Mary of Jacob and Salome certified that they saw not only the Angels who told them about the resurrection of the Lord, but also the risen Lord Himself, and conveyed commands to them on behalf of the Lord. After all that has been said, compiling a consistent narrative about the movements of the holy women on the morning of Christ’s Bright Resurrection, as well as about what they saw and heard, will not encounter much difficulty. When Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body of the Lord in the tomb, the wives were all on Calvary and looked at where and how it was supposed to be, at the same time, of course, wondering how they could come here again, so that on their part they could repay the debt to the Dead One by anointing His body. Some of them immediately upon returning from Golgotha, on Friday, prepared aromas. They all spent Saturday in peace. But when the legal term of rest had passed, two of them ran that Saturday evening to the tomb to see if anything special had happened there, and upon returning from there they bought more aromas to make up for what was missing. They all acted together, in agreement; but they were not housed in one house, but wherever they had to, each with their relatives and friends. Perhaps only Mary of Jacob and Salome stayed in the same house. Why did they decide to gather together in the morning, not in the city, so as not to disturb anyone, but on Golgotha ​​itself, waiting there for each other, so that together they could begin to anoint the body of the Lord; How to get out of the city, they left each one free, as long as she could manage, as long as she got hurt. Having thus prepared and agreed, they calmly waited for the morning. Mary Magdalene rose before everyone else and rushed to the Holy Sepulcher in the still present darkness. But, having come to Golgotha, she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. The first thought that arose in her: they took the Lord, shook her deeply, and she immediately ran to the holy Apostles Peter and John. To whom besides them could she reliably tell this grief, common to all who love the Lord, if what she thought turned out to be true? “And she says nothing to them except: They took the Lord, and we don’t know where they laid Him.” Of course, after this first alarming appeal, she explained why she thought so, saying that she saw the stone rolled away from the coffin, and perhaps she looked into it and saw that the body of the Lord was not in the place where it was laid yesterday. – After listening to everything, the Apostles decided to go to the tomb themselves and see what was there. While this was happening, and the Apostles were going to the tomb, Joanna came to Golgotha ​​with some wives, who, seeing the tomb open, entered it. The angels explained to them the mystery of the absence of the Lord’s body, bringing to their memory His own predictions back in Galilee about death and resurrection. Having heard this and being convinced of the resurrection of the Lord, John and her wife, perhaps at the direction of the Angels, and perhaps on their own, decided to go tell the Apostles about this, and set off back from Golgotha. No haste is visible in their movement; and it is very possible to assume that from Golgotha ​​they went to their house, where they stayed in order to free themselves from the burden of aromas. (Was the final preparation of the aromas not given to Joanna and those with her?) Meanwhile, as they made this transition, or detour, if they went home, Saint Peter with Saint John and Magdalene flowed to the tomb, and came to it without meeting them - which, according to the location of the streets in the East, could easily happen, although they were walking straight towards them. After being at Golgotha ​​and examining the tomb, the Apostles returned to their place, it seems, without coming to a decisive conclusion about the resurrection of the Lord. At least this is clear regarding St. Peter, although John’s: “See and believe” does not give a direct indication of what “faith” is. Maybe not the resurrection; for after this he himself added: “For it is not in the Scripture that it is fitting for Him to rise from the dead.” After the departure of the holy Apostles from Golgotha, Mary Magdalene remained at the tomb, and was made happy by the merciful appearance of the Lord to her. Delighted, she again went to the Apostles, although not as hastily as before, in order to be nourished longer by the inseparable sweetness of the vision of God. After Mary Magdalene had left, Mary of James and Salome came to the tomb, saw the stone rolled away and an angel sitting on it, and fell into fear. The Angel of the Lord calms them with the good news of the resurrection of the Lord, inviting them to see the place where the body of the Lord lay. Having gone inside, the women saw another Angel, who, having told them the same thing as the first Angel, and showing the place where the body of the Lord lay, added, like the first Angel: now run to tell the Apostles about everything. And they, coming out of the tomb, ran to them, in fear and trembling from the extraordinary nature of what they saw and heard. The first Angel, when they left the tomb, kept himself invisible so as not to interfere with their haste. As they fled, the Lord Himself met them and pleased them with a word and permission to hug their feet and worship Him. Having then received a command from the Lord to hasten to the Apostles with the news of His resurrection and other things, they ran to them. Meanwhile, the following happened among the Apostles. As soon as Saint Peter and Saint John returned, Joanna came to them with some wives (or she was waiting for them, if she did not go home) and told them that she had seen Angels, who assured her that the Lord had risen. The apostles listened to this, but did not believe it. They were still talking about this when Saint Magdalene came and said that she had seen the Lord, conveying the words that the Lord commanded to convey to the Apostles. But even after listening to her, the Apostles “did not lose faith” (Mark 16:11). As soon as Saint Magdalene finished her speech, Mary of James and Salome came, saying how they saw Angels at the tomb and in the tomb, and then on the path of the Lord Himself, and they convey, already heard from Mary Magdalene, the command of the Lord to the Apostles to go to Galilee, where they have to see Him. So now all the wives of the evangelist have gathered together - Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, Salome, Joanna and others, whose names are not written down (Luke 24:10; Mark 16:1). What a cloud of witnesses? And yet, before the Apostles they appeared “as if their words were lies, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). Isn’t that why they deservedly listened to the reproach from the Lord when He appeared, “reproaching their unbelief and hard-heartedness, because those who saw Him rose up without faith” (Mark 16:14)? - However, this served for the good of faith, confirming that, despite the great joy that faith that the Lord had risen would have filled their hearts with, they were in no hurry to believe it, due to the extreme importance of the resurrection itself. We must assume that the Lord Himself was pleased that it should be so. Saint Peter, however, decided to run to the tomb and see if he would find any decisive evidence there. But, having arrived there and looked into the tomb, he saw only the shrouds lying there. This is the same as what was seen before; nothing new. Not only the Lord, but even the Angel did not appear to him to pour the joy of faith into him. So he went back, “wondering within himself what had happened” (Luke 24:12). His state of mind must have been very difficult. - And wasn’t it at this time that the merciful Lord appeared to him to console and pacify his heart? All this phenomenon took place between this time and the return of the Emmaus disciples to Jerusalem. Because when they came to the others, they were greeted with joyful news, “for the Lord has truly risen and appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). Thus, all the legends come into perfect agreement with each other, and all features and features find their proper place. One thing remains to be decided: how can it be assumed that the wives did not go to the coffin together and not at the same time, when in the legends about their movements the names of the same wives are found almost everywhere? But where does this occur? It is found, however, not in the Gospel tales, but in the collections of these legends. These records were compiled on the arbitrary assumption that the holy wives all went to the grave together. This assumption, which, however, is not justified by the text of the Gospel, as we have seen, forced everything to be lumped together - the movements of the wives, and the appearance of the Angels, and the words of these latter to the wives, and the words of the wives to the Apostles - with great exaggeration and violence to the text. Recall the above. The names of the wives, before their movement to Calvary, are listed only by the Evangelist Matthew and the Evangelist Mark; Saint Luke does not list them here. But even those two list them only under the circumstances that occurred on Friday and Saturday evening; and exactly which wives took part in the morning procession to the tomb on the first day of the week are not named. That these were all the same wives mentioned in the previous circumstances is a fortune-telling, inspired, however, by the flow of speech, but cannot be justified by it, when in other places there are hints and direct indications that in the said procession there were exactly the same wives, but not all; namely, there was no Mary Magdalene, as Saint Mark gives below and as Saint John directly makes clear. They were together in the evening; but in the morning they did not go to the tomb together, as they had agreed. It so happened that Mary Magdalene left the city alone before everyone else, and then, by the course of events, she was completely driven away from them. Thus, a comparison of the legends forces us to admit that, despite the fact that in the evening the wives appear to be together, in the morning they did not march to the tomb together. One can only ask: why didn’t the holy evangelists write definitely which wives go to the tomb in the morning according to their legend? - Because they didn’t think it was necessary. The power is not in the faces of the women, but in their confirmation of the resurrection of the Lord - by the Angels and by the Lord Himself. Wives are all equally worthy of faith. The strength of their testimony is in showing them the truth from above, and not in the fact that this testimony was conveyed by such and such a wife. The holy evangelists did not bother to repeat their names. Saint Luke does not list their names at all, either in the circumstances of Friday, or in the circumstances of Saturday, or in the morning of the first day of their movement to Golgotha. He lists them at the end of the story. But there we should see an indication of how finally all the wives of the evangelist gathered to the Apostles after what they had seen and heard, at the Holy Sepulcher and on the way from Him, each group separately. – So the proposed bewilderment turns out to be completely inappropriate. This is all that I came up with to satisfy your desire and eliminate the difficulty you encountered in agreeing with the Gospel stories about the resurrection of the Lord. I ask you not to be angry at anything more. For now we will be content with this, and after that - whatever God wills. Letter 24. 2nd letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is the highest in Christianity. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not true Christian actions. About the mystery of sin living in us and liberation from it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the Lord leads to the receipt of grace, grace builds the believer into the habitation of God. All sinful, passionate, even rotten words coming from the mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit. About the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism. How the work of salvation is accomplished. How the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored About the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is the highest in Christianity. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not true Christian actions. About the mystery of sin living in us and liberation from it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the Lord leads to the receipt of grace; grace builds the believer into a dwelling place of God. All sinful, passionate, even rotten words coming from the mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit. About the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism. How the work of salvation is accomplished. How the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored. You have sent the points of your new teacher’s teaching that you and others have heard. Thank you. This is a welcome delivery! Although, unfortunately, I must say that they are not all precisely defined and not entirely complete; but still there are enough of them to at least somewhat understand what kind of teacher you have and what kind of teaching he has. I already told you the main thing in the first letter, and you yourself could already recognize from those instructions which of what you heard is true and which is false. I will add, however, something else that the points you sent force me to say. First of all, I will note that if there are points that are not entirely defined, then the blame, I think, falls not on those who heard, but, presumably, on the teacher. He himself does not see the matter clearly; That's why he gets confused in words. Besides you, I heard from others that this is so. But we will look at these points as they are, and point out from what side they are wrong and what wrongs they can lead to. Having reviewed all the points, I came to such a general conclusion about your teacher that, at the suggestion of a famous Englishman, he built for himself a false but seductive idea of ​​Christianity, and now with all his might and means he is trying to fill it into the heads of others, believing that he is advocating for the cause of God and the salvation of his brethren. But for all the importance with which he sets out to do this, he looks like a child chasing a soap bubble. As I already wrote to you, like that Englishman, this teacher of yours is entangled in delusion and carried away by the ghost of truth, thinking that he has real it. He pursues a ghostly, bubble-like ideal of Christianity. Just as a soap bubble attracts children, so your teacher, and after him others who are inexperienced in Christian knowledge, are carried away by the ghostly image of Christianity drawn by him. And there is nothing to be surprised if others cling to him, especially women, who are always prone to all kinds of charms. You wrote to me before that your teacher says: let them convict me from the Gospel that I am lying. I answered you that because he says: “Repent and believe in the Gospel,” no one will accuse him, because it is written so in the Gospel. But he can also be convicted if he does not teach everything that the Gospel teaches. At that time I didn’t know for sure what he was missing. But now from your points I conclude that there is quite a bit missing in his teaching - which, however, is very important and essential in the matter of faith and salvation. The first is that he does not say anything about the grace of the Holy Spirit. You have ten or three points, but at least a word about the grace of the Holy Spirit, this is what you write: “Salvation is accomplished, and all who believe in Christ are saved. A person is saved through faith in Christ. He who has believed in Christ and, therefore, has taken redemption into his own possession is not subject to eternal destruction. Everyone who believes in Christ immediately receives remission of sins and is delivered from eternal punishment. To be saved, you must accept Christ into yourself. We accept by faith Christ, who, no matter what, never leaves us and abides in us. Anyone who has accepted Christ into himself and then sinned only needs to repent, and he immediately receives direct forgiveness. Baptism does not benefit those who have not consciously accepted Christ into themselves. Anyone who has accepted Christ into themselves can understand all of Holy Scripture. The church is on its own, but first of all we need to seek Christ.” And everything goes like this. At almost every point there is a word about Christ the Lord, but not a single one about the Holy Spirit. I don’t think it was yours and others who heard the omission. This subject must have no place in the system of teaching of your teacher, otherwise he would still somehow mention it. That salvation has been arranged for us by the Lord Jesus Christ and that we are saved precisely in Him - this is truly so; but with all this, one must know that this did not happen and does not happen without the grace of the Holy Spirit. Since this is a very important point, I considered it necessary to collect more passages of Scripture about it, so that you and those around you can be convinced that the grace of the Holy Spirit in the accomplishment of our salvation is the most essential part. - Listen! Saint John the Baptist appeared to prepare the people to accept the promised Savior through repentance and baptism, and what does he say? Here comes, he says, the Promised One, and He “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11), which makes it clear that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the main work of the promised Christ the Lord in His arrangement for our salvation: so whoever is not baptized with this Spirit will not enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). The Lord has already ended His visible stay on earth, is already saying goodbye to His disciples at the last supper - and look how He consoles them? “I’m going,” he says, “but don’t be embarrassed that I’m going.” It's better for you. For if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; and if I go, I will send Him to you (John 16:7). I will ask the Father, and He will give you this Comforter, may he be with you forever. You know Him because He abides in you and will be in you (John 14:16-17). - Thus, Christ the Lord promises to send the Holy Spirit from heaven as His vicegerent. – Doesn’t this mean that the whole matter of saving our race, after the Ascension of the Lord, will be arranged by the Holy Spirit? Yes! That's how it was. The moment of the Ascension of the Lord has come. The Lord commands the disciples to sit in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. “You,” he says, “have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit for many these days” (Acts 1:5). Having said this, He ascended. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit descended on the holy Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, with a noise as if from the breath of a storm, and they all began to speak in different languages. – The manifestation of heavenly power attracted the attention of those who were at the festival in Jerusalem from all countries, and they, hearing that the Galileans spoke the language of each of them, came to unspeakable amazement (Acts 2:2-12). Then Saint Peter explained to them that this wondrous phenomenon had long been predicted and was the fulfillment of the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit “on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). The main promise to the fathers was about the coming of Christ the Savior; but the crown of blessings from Him was predicted to be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost... Note, this is the real foundation of Christ’s Church, the treasury and indestructible repository of the sources of grace of the Holy Spirit! But on this fiftieth day only the Apostles received the Holy Spirit; according to the promise He was to be poured out “on all flesh.” - From that very day it began to pour out on everyone through the holy Apostles. - When Saint Peter, with his speech to the assembled Jews, brought them into contrition, - and they cried out: “What shall we do?” - then Saint Peter said to them: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). Three thousand souls repented, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit that day. From that time on, everything in the Church and among the Apostles began to be accomplished through the action of the Holy Spirit. Whether the Apostles should have spoken, they spoke, being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8,31); whether to go where, they walked according to the attraction of the Spirit (Philip, St. Paul); whether to establish anything, they established it according to the inspiration of the Spirit; whether anyone should be elected for a special task - they were chosen depending on how obvious the manifestations of the Spirit (deacons) were in whom. The actions of the Holy Spirit were so obvious and extraordinary to everyone that the Apostles did not hesitate before the church authorities to confirm the truth of the Gospel by saying that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who humbly obey His word, which they proclaimed (Acts 5:32). The Samaritans believe according to the preaching of St. Philip; but those in Jerusalem do not consider this belief sufficient, and send Saints Peter and John to them to fill in what is missing. What exactly did they lack? The grace of the Holy Spirit. The apostles, having arrived there, saw that the Holy Spirit had not yet descended on any of them, and they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Why, having prayed, they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Samaritans became true Christians and received everything they needed for salvation only when they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17). The angel commanded Philip to take the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. But when, being on this way, he saw a chariot with someone sitting on it, the Holy Spirit said to him: approach the chariot. He began and, taking the occasion from what was read to those sitting in the chariot, enlightened him with faith and baptized him in the water that had fallen on the moon. When they came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on the newly baptized person, completing the sacramental process of making him a Christian—the one being saved (Acts 8:29-39). Do you see how the Holy Spirit works in everything?! The Lord Jesus Christ Himself converted Saint Paul to faith, but to complete the work of faith in him he sent him to Ananias. What does Ananias say? - “The Lord... has sent me” to you, so that “you may see and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). It was the reception of the Spirit that made Saint Paul both a believer and an Apostle. Who opened the door to the acceptance of pagan believers into the fold of the Church? By the Holy Spirit. He, by the tangible appearance of His descent upon Cornelius and his whole house, confirmed Saint Peter and those with him (and then all the Jewish Christians) that after this no one could forbid the baptism of Gentile believers (Acts 10:44-48). The Church of Antioch has already matured and been established through the labors of Saints Barnabas and Saul, who acted through the Holy Spirit, filling them (Acts 11:24). It was already possible to send these figures to other places. And they are sent. But who did this? The Holy Spirit, who said to the assembly of the faithful: “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work upon which they were called” (Acts 13:2). They sail to Cyprus and pass it from end to end. The word of the sermon will prosper; but in Paphos Elyma the sorcerer began to oppose him. Who stopped this opponent from speaking? The Holy Spirit through the mouth of Saint Paul, filled with Him (Acts 13:9). They sailed to Asia Minor. In the first city here, Antioch of Pisidia, the word was received among the Jews, and even more so among the pagans. But the unbelieving Jews began to persecute the Apostles, and they were forced to go further. - What about those who believe? - Those who believed, “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). They are left under the guidance of the grace of the Holy Spirit given to them. As it was here, so, of course, it was in all the places touched by the sermon on this apostolic journey. The disciples were everywhere mysteriously filled with the Holy Spirit - and they were watched and guided by Him until the time when, on the way back, ordinary pastoral guidance was given to them (Acts 14:23). When later, upon returning to Antioch, Saints Barnabas and Paul with certain others were sent to the elder Apostles in Jerusalem to ask about the method of accepting the pagans into the bosom of the Church, here this question was resolved primarily by the fact that God had already shown His favor towards them, “giving them the Holy Spirit as” the Jews, without any obligation to anything Jewish, and the decision that had taken place was then confirmed in this way: “Thus it pleased the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:8-28). Returning to Antioch and staying here for some time, Saint Paul undertakes a new apostolic journey, visits the previously founded Churches, passes through Phrygia and the Galatian country. All this goes freely. But he wants to go to Asia, and the Holy Spirit forbids him; wants to go to Bithynia, - and again the Spirit does not allow him. The path was finally indicated by a night vision, which was, of course, through the action of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-9). Having preached through Macedonia and Achaia and planted churches everywhere, Saint Paul returned through Jerusalem to Antioch and, having rested a little, began his third apostolic journey, heading to Ephesus. When he came here, his first thing here was to complete the faith of twelve people, by completely declaring them, baptizing them and bringing down the Holy Spirit on them; which showed that no believer is a complete Christian until he receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6). I wrote to you about this circumstance in my first letter. Having stayed in Ephesus for about three years and planted Christianity throughout the entire coastal country of that country, both north and south, Saint Paul again visited Macedonia and Achaia. On his way back from there he passed Ephesus; but, stopping in Miletus, he called to him the bishops of Ephesus and neighboring places and in a farewell conversation he uttered the following wonderful word to them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in whom the Holy Spirit has appointed bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which we have acquired with His blood” (Acts 20:28). The Church is the Church of the Lord, but it gathers it, combines it into one and the shepherds into it, and supplies it with the Holy Spirit—supplies it and, of course, leads it. At the same time, Saint Paul said about himself that he, bound by the Spirit, was going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me, he says, I don’t know, but the Holy Spirit testifies in all cities that bonds await me (Acts 20, 22 - 23). Further on the way to Jerusalem, in Caesarea, the prophet Agabus, taking the belt of St. Paul and tying his hands and feet with it, said: “Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man who is this belt will be bound in Jerusalem... and given over to the hands of tongues” (Acts 21:11). Thus you see that both in the deeds of the Apostles, who preached the holy faith and planted the Church, and in the work of salvation for believers, everything depended on the Holy Spirit. Through his action, the Apostles succeeded in planting faith, and believers were perfected in living according to the spirit of faith. This is what the book of Acts tells us. Let us now turn to the Epistles of the Holy Apostles. Having converted the Thessalonians to the faith and founded the Holy Church from them, Saint Paul was soon forced to leave them and move to Achaia. Concerned about them, he writes a letter to them from Corinth, in which, remembering how the gospel of the Gospel spread among them, he says that it “was not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 1:5), that is, in the manifestation of signs and in the communication of special power of persuasiveness to his word, which captivated into obedience to faith. - Then he adds that God gave them “His Holy Spirit” too, and gives a commandment - not to quench this Spirit (1 Thess. 4:8, 5:18). The Galatians accepted the holy faith with all their fervor. But the wrongdoers - the Judaizers - broke in on them and led them astray from the straight path of faith. Having learned about this while he was in Ephesus, Saint Paul admonishes them with a message, urging them to return to the original purity of the faith they accepted. The first thing he strikes them with is an indication of how they received the Holy Spirit. “This is one thing,” he says, “I want to take you away from you, whether you have received the Spirit from the works of the law, or from the hearing of faith?” (Gal. 3:2). Reception of the Spirit is the highest good according to the common consciousness and feeling of all those who receive it; only believers were granted it through the Sacraments. The Apostle says: if through faith in Christ you have been deemed worthy to receive the Holy Spirit - this highest good, apart from the law, then what is the point of binding you to this law, which never delivers and cannot deliver anything like that? Then he brings to their memory the power of the Lord’s death on the cross, assimilated by faith. What is this power? The fact is that through it believers receive the Holy Spirit. “Christ,” he says, “has redeemed us from the legal oath, having become an oath against us.” For what? “Let us receive the promise of the Spirit by faith” (Gal. 3:13-14). Such a great means—the death of God on the cross is incarnate—doesn’t it indicate that the good it delivers—the acceptance of the Holy Spirit by believers—is the highest good? Just as nothing higher than this means can be thought of, so no other good can be thought of higher than this. The reception of the Spirit in the Christian faith is the crown of blessings for humanity from the incarnate economy. The Apostle further says: Those who are under the law are slaves; Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, receive sonship and are sons of God. As a result of this, God sends into their hearts, like sons, “the Spirit of the Son... crying: Abba Father” (Gal. 4: 1 – 7)! – Again, the highest thing in the faith of Christ is the reception of the Holy Spirit. Having thus found out that the highest thing in Christianity is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle already takes moral lessons from here: “Walk in the Spirit and do not commit the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Having then counted the deeds of the flesh and the fruits of the spiritual, he concludes: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19 – 23,25). Towards the end of his stay in Ephesus, Saint Paul, having learned about some troubles in the Church of Corinth, wrote a letter there. Since this came from their own wisdom, Saint Paul from the very beginning denounces the vanity of human wisdom, saying that it is only fit for worldly things, but is not called to be a leader in the affairs of God. Here everything is revealed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. “And I,” he says, “came to you not with words of human wisdom, but with the manifestation of the Spirit and power.” The grace of the Holy Spirit, manifested in my activity among you, confirmed you in the truth of my word. You believed not because of your personal comprehension of the truth, but because of the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:1-5). To this the Apostle added: the mystery of the faith that I preach is the wisdom of God, hidden in the mystery of the Divine. No one can truly know it except the Spirit, who tests the very depths of God. We have received this Spirit, and He has revealed to us the whole economy of salvation. From Him we truly know everything that has been given to us by God, and we proclaim this to you without further ado, but in simplicity. Know also that you yourself can understand the truth of salvation only through enlightenment from the same Spirit who revealed and continues to reveal its secrets to us. He who does not have the Spirit is spiritual; “a spiritual man does not accept” (does not understand) “even the Spirit of God, there is foolishness in him, and cannot understand.” So, be zealous to acquire and keep the grace of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:6-16). One of the believing Corinthians committed fornication, something that is not even mentioned among the pagans. Having exposed and excommunicated this sinner from the Church, the Apostle lists many other sins that constitute entry into the Kingdom of God, adding to this: such you also once were, but “you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6, 9, 11). Not only “in the name” of “our Lord Jesus Christ,” but also “by the Spirit of our God,” and this Spirit, having completed the work of your sanctification, did not depart, but remains in you; so that you therefore “are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). Looking from this point of view at fornication in general, the Apostle says: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you, which you have from God. If anyone corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him” (1 Cor. 6:19, 3:17). The Corinthian Church was rich in spiritual gifts, which partly led to the division that appeared among them. Leading them to unity, the Apostle takes the motivation for this from the same distribution of gifts - different by one and the same Holy Spirit, saying: “The divisions of gifts are, and the same is the Spirit... The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the benefit. To one the word of wisdom is given by the Spirit, and to another the word of understanding, about the same Spirit; to another faith, by the same Spirit: to another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit; to another the operations of powers, to another prophecy, to another spiritual reasoning, to another the generation of tongues, to another the telling of tongues. But all this acts by one and the same Spirit, dividing power to each as he wills... By one Spirit we are in one body” (to form one body) “we were baptized... and we were filled with one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:4-13). Therefore, if anyone believes, he believes by the Spirit; if anyone understands the mysteries of the wisdom of God, he understands them by the Spirit; if anyone prophesies, he prophesies by the Spirit; if anyone prays, he prays in the Spirit. And no action at all is truly pleasing to God, unless it is accomplished in us and through us by the Holy Spirit. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not real Christian actions, which should all be spiritual. Therefore, everyone must confess that if there is anything good in his deeds, then it is such from the grace of the Holy Spirit - confess with the Apostle: “I am seven by the grace of God” (1 Cor. 15:10). Having left Ephesus and heading to Hellas through Macedonia, Saint Paul wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians from the road. In it, having the need to confirm the falsity of the promise of the inheritance of the eternal Kingdom of God, he says: “Now you and I are known in Christ,” that is, the one who certifies us of the falsity of the promise about Christ is “God” (2 Cor. 1:21). How exactly does God certify this? By sealing us and giving the betrothal of the Spirit into our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22). God gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance, meaning that this is only a deposit; the rest you will receive in the next century. He further writes: Moses, coming down from the mountain, covered his face with a veil, as a sign that there is a veil over the Old Testament, through which those who read it are not able to penetrate on their own. This veil is removed from Christ; when anyone turns to Him, a veil is taken away. How? By the Holy Spirit. For “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17): freedom from obstacles to the knowledge of the truth, because the Spirit of God leads our spirit into the treasures of God and makes us understand His mysteries; freedom from the constriction of the heart by passions that prevent you from walking unhindered along the path of virtue, because the Holy Spirit gives you the strength to overcome them and drive them away. Enlightened, guided and strengthened by this Spirit, we are “transformed from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Arriving in Corinth, Saint Paul writes the Epistle to the Romans. Here's what we find! The Jews boasted about circumcision. The Apostle writes: circumcision should be a sign of the circumcision of the heart from everything unclean and passionate. Such circumcision occurs only in us who believe in Christ. How? The grace of the Holy Spirit. And only such circumcision of the heart by the Spirit makes one truly circumcised (Rom. 2:29). He said this to encourage the Jew to leave Judaism and turn to faith in Christ the Lord in order to become truly circumcised. There was no light on the outside of the Christians. But, says the Apostle, we not only do not lose heart, but even boast. Let us boast in the hope of the glory of God, and, moreover, in the same way as someone boasts in possessing a valuable thing. Why do we have this firmness of hope, or this confidence that it will not put us to shame? - Because “the love of God was poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us” (Rom. 5:5). The Holy Spirit, given to us, gives the heart to feel the love of God - and this feeling does not allow the slightest hesitation in hope or doubt, so that the Loving One, and moreover God, does not fulfill what was promised to the beloved. Saint Paul explains the mystery of sin living in us and says that until a person, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, receives renewal by the grace of the Holy Spirit, until then sin tyrannically rules over him; but when, having approached the Lord, he receives the grace of renewal by the Holy Spirit, from then on sin no longer tyranns over him. He can approach him, seduce him, attract him, but not direct him to action. “Sin,” he says, “does not possess you.” Why? Because “you are under grace” (Rom. 6:14). As long as we are in the flesh, that is, in sin, until then the passions of sin operate in our lives. But when, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are freed from this sin that holds us in its power, then we begin to work “for God in the renewal of the Spirit” (Rom. 7:5-6). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees us from the law of sin. The grace of the Holy Spirit, having come, takes away the weakness by which we are weak before the law, and restores our moral strength. Thus, as long as someone is in the flesh, that is, in sin, and without the Spirit, he has no power to please God. But you, the Apostle encourages the Romans, “are in the flesh, but in Dus, because the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone has the Spirit of Christ” (by faith in Christ and given by Christ the Lord) “he is not His, he is not His” (he is not His). Only those who are “led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Being present to us, this Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses (Rom. 8:2 – 14:26). From this it is clear that life in Christ Jesus is fully manifested only by the grace of the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Apostle defines that “The Kingdom of God is truth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” and prays: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that your hope will abound in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17, 15:13). Soon after writing the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle was met with bonds from which he wrote several epistles. The first was to the Ephesians. The Epistle to the Ephesians is a most enthusiastic hymn of praise to the economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the highest fruit and final goal of this economy is the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit to us. The Apostle ascends in thought to the eternal heights and sees there how we are predestined by God for adoption through Jesus Christ. For what? “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which grace He bestows upon us the beloved” (Eph. 1:5-6). – Let us remember that in the Gospel of John, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are given the opportunity to become children of God, since they are born of God (John 1:12). This birth from God, as it is explained below, is a new birth by water and the Spirit (John 3:5). He descends from there down, during the events taking place before his eyes, and sees the fulfillment of that predestination to adoption in the gift of the Holy Spirit; for he says: “Having heard the word... the gospel... and believed, you were marked with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13-14), - which makes believers sons of God, transforming them from old to new. “For we are a workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared first, that we might walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). He remembers the calling into the Kingdom of God together with Jews and pagans, and explains the peaceful unity of these irreconcilables, saying that in themselves neither one nor the other is fit for the Kingdom of Christ, but they become fit for it, being renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus, by virtue of the reception of this one Spirit, we both have an equal bringing to the Father (Eph. 2:18). From this unification of all believers by one Spirit, the Church of God in the Lord is formed and grows; moreover, both the whole Church, and each private Church, and each believer are built “into a habitation of God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). The calling of the pagans along with the Jews was a hidden secret, which only now, he says, was revealed to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:4-5). Saint Paul concludes his contemplation of the greatness of the incarnate economy with a kneeling prayer “to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... that He will grant” to the Ephesians (and after them to all believers) most powerfully “to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in faith in their hearts” (Eph. 3:14-17). Faith in the Lord leads to receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit; This grace builds the believer into the habitation of God, cleansing him from everything passionate and sinful and adorning him with all Kindness; The Lord finally dwells in this dwelling with the Father, the Holy Spirit preceding Him. In accordance with the said unification of all by one Spirit, the Apostle also gives moral lessons. Strive, he says, to maintain “unity of spirit”: for you are one body and one spirit. Each of you has been given “grace according to the measure of Christ’s giving,” so that by it you may rise “to a perfect man, according to the age of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:3, 7, 13); which you will achieve if, aided by the grace of God, you are renewed “by the spirit of your mind,” gradually putting on “the new man, created according to God in righteousness and the excellence of the truth” (Eph. 4:23–24). From this you can see that all sinful and passionate, even rotten words that come out of your mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit living in you. “Do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by Him you were marked on the day of deliverance” (Eph. 4:29-30), - on the day when, having been baptized, they received the laying on of apostolic hands (or anointing); but strive even more to “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, making melody and singing in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). These indications about the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the most necessary force for our salvation, would be sufficient. Our attention is already tired. However, I cannot resist citing one more passage from the letter to Saint Titus, where the Apostle lays out the whole purpose of Christ’s coming in renewing us by the Holy Spirit, so that through this we would become worthy of the inheritance of eternal life. “When,” he writes, “the grace and lovingkindness of our Savior God appeared, not from the works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of renewal and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out on us richly, so that, having been justified by His grace, we would be heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:4-7). I will also cite what St. Paul says in his Epistle to the Hebrews about the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism and renewal by the grace of the Holy Spirit. “It is impossible,” he says, “for those who have been enlightened (baptized) by one, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have been partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God... and have fallen away, again be renewed to repentance, and crucify again the Son of God within themselves” (Heb. 6:4-6). And again: “It is the will of those who sin for us, after accepting the understanding of truth, for those for whom a sacrifice is not found for sins: a certain expectation of judgment is terrible, and the fire of jealousy is to destroy the one who wants to resist. Anyone who rejects the Law of Moses dies without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses. How much do you think that the worst one will be worthy of torment, having trampled upon the Son of God, and having taken the blood of the cherished defilement, by it he was sanctified, and rebuked the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10: 26 - 29). Evidence from other Apostolic Epistles about the need for the grace of the Holy Spirit in the matter of our salvation need not be cited. But lest anyone think that only Saint Paul teaches this way, we will cite the words of the other Apostles, not all, but the most important. Saint Peter, as I already wrote last time, in his first epistle, calls all believers elect “according to the insight of God the Father, in holiness of the Spirit, in obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1: 1-2), meaning that if a believer is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, then according to the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit and the predestination of God the Father. He, in the Second Epistle, says: “All the Divine powers... even for life and piety, were given by reason (when we knew) Him who called us (the Lord): in the image of which the honorable and great promises were given to us” (to attract to faith and inspiration for the work of life according to faith), “so that for these sakes you will be partakers of the Divine nature, having fled from the world, lusts aphids" (2 Pet. 1:3-4). The Lord calls with great promises. To those who follow the calling, He gives all the strength “even to life and piety” - in the grace of the Holy Spirit. Those who receive this grace run away from worldly lustful aphids, are cleansed of everything passionate and unclean, and through this become fit to receive God, Who, dwelling in them, finally and livingly uniting with them, makes them partakers of His Divine nature. The main force acting here is the grace of the Holy Spirit, by which vocation and faith open the entrance, and the participation of the Divine nature is the crown of its action in us and the final goal. Saint John the Theologian in his First Epistle writes: “Even though we have seen and heard, we have made known to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Our last goal is living communication with God. For this reason, the Son of God became incarnate, in order to restore to us this communion with God, lost through the Fall. Through the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, we enter into communion with the Father and thus reach our final goal. The Apostle sets the teaching of this highest good as the goal of his preaching and that of all the Apostles. But he did not stop there, but later pointed out the most tangible sign of such communion with God, saying: “He who keeps His commandments” (God), “abides in Him, and He in him.” And of this we understand that it abides in us from the Spirit, which He gave us to eat” (1 John 3:24). The giving of the Spirit is a sign that God abides in us; but the same sign is also that we abide in God, as he says below: “We understand this, because we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit to eat” (1 John 4:13). In general, from the words of Saint John it is clear that the Holy Spirit is not only a sign of communion with God, but also its producer. He who receives the Spirit of grace receives new birth from God (John 3:5). He who is born of God overcomes sin, the world and the devil. “We know that everyone who is born of God does not sin; but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. Everyone who is born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:18). - Thus, he who has received the Spirit of grace, having freedom from these parents of sin, freely fulfills every commandment; fulfilling the commandments cleanses the heart; a pure heart is a ready dwelling place for God, who dwells in it. This is the path to living communion with God—the ultimate goal of man. A person passes through it through the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Do you hear with what trumpet voice the grace of the Holy Spirit is proclaimed throughout the entire space of the New Testament Scriptures? “I have collected everything for you on purpose, so that you would not think that although the grace of the Holy Spirit is spoken of somewhere in Scripture, it is only a little and so - in passing. Now, having re-read and, even better, reviewed everything yourself, you can no longer think so, but you will be convinced that the grace of the Holy Spirit, which brings about our salvation, is said as much, if not more, as about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ - and that, therefore, the former is just as essential in the matter of salvation as the latter. But be careful not to come to the thought: “How is this so? - That one (the teacher, let’s call it even better - Novshak) only talks about Christ the Savior, but here there is so much evidence, and everything is only about the grace of the Holy Spirit. The case has been dragged to the other side. Just as that newcomer says that in the matter of salvation everything is from the Lord Jesus Christ, so here it is that everything is from the Holy Spirit; just as in that case the Holy Spirit is not visible behind the Savior, so here the Savior is not visible behind the Holy Spirit.” – I have collected for you so many testimonies about the grace of the Holy Spirit, not in order to belittle or obscure what the Lord Jesus has done and is doing in our salvation; but in order to expose what is being lowered - and, it seems, not with good intentions - by your newcomer, and to raise near the Lord, as it should be, in your consciousness the Holy Spirit, in equal power and degree with the Lord, who arranges our salvation. Our salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is accomplished in us by the grace of the Holy Spirit. That is why the word of God equally says that our salvation is as much from the Lord Jesus Christ as it is from the grace of the Holy Spirit. For this very reason, he who holds the word of salvation should not omit the announcement of any of these benefactors of ours, but while loudly proclaiming about the Lord Jesus, equally loudly proclaiming about the Holy Spirit, without forgetting, however, the good will of the Father. For neither the Son of God nor the Holy Spirit does anything without the will of the Father. I am exposing this so that you can see how wrong your newcomer is, having only speeches about Christ the Lord. Anyone who wants to fully understand everything related to our salvation must distinguish between two points: the economy of salvation, or the arrangement of everything necessary for salvation, and the accomplishment of the salvation of each person. The first was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ by the good will of the Father, but not without the Holy Spirit, and the second is accomplished by the good will of the Father by the Holy Spirit, but not without Christ the Lord - the Son of God. For our salvation, two things are needed: to remove the oath from us for the Fall and to renew our nature so that it is sinless. The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished both in Himself: He took away the oath, having taken upon us the oath of His death on the cross; and in His face He revealed our nature as sinless, pure and perfect. Thus, everything that is essential for our salvation is combined in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ - in which sense it is said that in the person of the Lord humanity is saved. But in order for the salvation of each person in particular to be accomplished, it is necessary that the needs of salvation, combined in the person of the Lord, pass into everyone and be assimilated by them. This last thing is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. The word of the gospel awakens faith in the power of the Lord’s death on the cross, and in the baptismal font washes the believer from both original sin and all arbitrary sins, renewing at the same time his spiritual life and making it strong to resist sin and succeed in goodness. Both needs of salvation are satisfied at once. He who comes from the font of baptism is both justified and righteous - all guilt of sin is removed from him, and he desires only one good thing pleasing to God and is strong to do it. This is the putting on of Christ, in which what is necessary for salvation from Christ the Lord is transferred to the believer and the baptized and is acquired not nominally, but essentially. As long as he believes only in Christ, these are his needs, but only nominally, as determined to him and ready for him; in the baptismal font they essentially become his property. Here he is likened to a graft grafted onto a tree, and receiving its life-giving juices into himself. The tree is the Lord. The juices of this tree are the oath-breaking and justifying power of death on the cross, and renewed, perfectly revealed human life. He accepts both into himself, absorbs the graft into himself - the new believer - in baptism. It is not water alone that does this, but the Holy Spirit through water, having previously prepared the baptized person to accept both by repentance and faith. For this reason, the Lord Jesus Christ, having suffered death on the cross and resurrected, ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit from the Father to us on earth, so that He would endow everyone with those benefits and needs of salvation that are combined for us in the face of the Lord. For this reason He said: “It is better for you” that I go to the Father; for if I do not go, “the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7). Then it was not yet clear what it was that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would not come, but now it is obvious to us that if He had not come, then no one could be saved, no one could receive and assimilate for themselves that which was arranged or saved for our salvation in the person of Christ the Savior. So thank God that the Lord ascended: for, having ascended, he sent the Holy Spirit, who descended on the Apostles, through them then poured out on all believers and remains in the Church, enlightening, purifying and sanctifying everyone. So, you see how the work of salvation is accomplished. Your newcomer does not know this, but has undertaken to teach and lead you to salvation. Woe to this teacher, woe to those whom he manages to deceive. He keeps talking about the acceptance of Christ into himself, about the indwelling of Christ, and he paints the benefits that come from this in bright colors; but since he shows the wrong way to do this, it turns out that he only beckons and gives nothing. “Christ,” he says, “is infused with faith.” From what was said before, you see that Christ is not infused by faith, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And faith itself is aroused and perfected by the Holy Spirit; but if He had left us with this faith alone, then nothing would have come of us with it. Having awakened and confirmed faith, the Holy Spirit leads us to the font of baptism and here infuses Christ into us. Do not be amazed at this, thinking: “Christ the Lord is God Himself; Why is there also the grace of the Holy Spirit here?” “But you and I are not creating Christian teachings, as your newcomer does, but we accept and maintain it as it is in Scripture and as handed down to us from the beginning.” As the Lord pleased to arrange it, so it is written; and as it is written, so it happens. As the Lord arranged and as it is written, so we accept everything without thinking. Look how the Son of God became incarnate from the Blessed Virgin? The Holy Spirit found and incarnated Him. Isn't God the Son of God? Didn't everything happen to Him? Doesn't He carry everything with the word of His power? - Meanwhile, when He was about to be incarnate, the Holy Spirit wove flesh for Him from the most pure blood of the Most Holy Theotokos. Couldn't He have done this Himself? - Could; but the Trinitarian God thus pleased, and therefore the Son Himself who became incarnate, so that the body for Him would be completed by the Holy Spirit. The Archangel brought this secret from heaven, saying to the Most Holy Virgin, who was perplexed as to how this would happen: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). So, just as the Lord initially dwelt in the Most Holy Virgin and She accepted Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, so the Lord dwells in every believer and is received by everyone by the same power of the Holy Spirit. So keep it - and don’t get too clever. In the above prayer of the Apostle from the Epistle to the Ephesians, although it says: God willing, “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,” but before this it is said: “Be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:17-16). This confirmation by the Holy Spirit in the inner man stands as a means, or as an opening of the door for the reception of Christ. And therefore, the indwelling of Christ here too is conditioned by the action of the Holy Spirit. And there is no need to think much about this when we know from the lips of the same Apostle that only those who are baptized put on Christ Jesus, and that they receive Him into themselves. Baptism is performed by the Holy Spirit, who through water gives birth to believers to new life in the image of the Lord who created them. After all that has been said, I think you are ready to ask: “How is this so? Therefore, in the dispensation of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is more effective, and supposedly greater than the Savior Himself?!” - Why do you need to determine who contributes more and who contributes less to your salvation? Aren't the Son of God and the Holy Spirit coequal, co-throne, consubstantial? So believe that your salvation is accomplished in equal power by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, or in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, without forgetting to keep in mind: by the good will of the Father, so that it turns out that it is accomplished by the indivisible action of the consubstantial Trinity, the One God. However, you will not sin if you think that in arranging everything that is needed for salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ acted primarily, inseparably, however, from the Holy Spirit, and in bringing about the salvation of everyone, the Holy Spirit primarily acts, also inseparably, however, from the Lord Savior. If so, then those who desire salvation and seek it, as much as necessary, cleave to the Lord Savior with faith, love and hope, and with the same faith, love and hope, it is appropriate to take care and zeal for the acquisition and preservation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, with full readiness to submit to its inspiration and guidance. It would now be necessary to indicate how the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored, if it is so necessary in achieving our salvation. But I already spoke about this in part in the first letter; there will be an opportunity to address this subject again. Now it’s time for us to end our conversation. I will, however, tell you everything about this, at least briefly, so that this question does not torment your head. The grace of the Holy Spirit is obtained through faith in the Lord Savior, but not otherwise than through the Holy Sacraments and, moreover, in the one true Church of God. Apart from the Sacraments, grace cannot be obtained and is not given outside the Church. Upon receipt, this grace is preserved and warmed primarily by remaining in church and household prayers, as the Apostle taught: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, making melody and singing in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). At the same time, you must carefully keep your conscience clean and not covered with even the slightest dust; to remain in the labors of good deeds and feats of self-mortification without self-pity, to delve into the contemplation of the secrets of revealed knowledge of God and the ways of God's providence, revealed in the destinies of the Church of God and the lives of God's chosen ones; and to remain in fraternal and filial communion with sincere zealots of salvation, who are not alien to the manifestations of the grace of God living in them. Those who attentively and cheerfully lead their lives in such orders will constantly maintain within themselves a burning spirit—evidence of the presence and action of God’s grace. Consistency in such doing will ensure that this burning will continue to rise until it turns into a seraphic flame. “I won’t tell you anything more about this now.” I would like to finish, but it occurred to me to tell you my guess why your novshak, when the word of God says so much about the grace of the Holy Spirit and when it is essentially so necessary in the work of salvation, says nothing about this grace. After all, not just one text, which is easy to look through, talks about this, but I’ve seen how many?! And yet, he, who boasts that he follows only the Gospel, and challenges everyone to battle according to the Gospel, does not seem to notice them and remains silent. Why would this be so? And what would that mean? This is what we can put about him: he either does not know grace, or deliberately keeps silent about it, or rejects it. – If he doesn’t know, then why did he undertake to teach, being so ignorant of the knowledge of Scripture that he does not know what is said on almost every page? If, knowing, he deliberately remains silent, then he exposes the wickedness by which he hides the known truth, unfavorable for his system of teaching, or that illusory ideal of Christianity, by which he himself is seduced and seduces others - rightly fearing that in the light of this truth that ghost will dissipate like smoke from the wind. If he rejects the essential need for salvation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, then he is a heretic, an opponent of God, a disturber of the faith of believers and their seducer. Whichever of these assumptions you take, each one is extremely reproachful and accusatory for your newcomer. - But why should you and I spare him? The Apostle ordered such people to be rebuked mercilessly (Titus 1:13). - However, I focus more on the fact that he is disingenuous. Not knowing about this with so many instructions from Scripture is like not knowing when he has eyes and knows how to read? “He probably knows, but he’s being disingenuous and keeping silent, pretending that there’s nothing to talk about about this, as if it’s not relevant.” He is afraid for his lovely ghost. For if he begins to talk about grace, he will have to talk about the Sacraments, without which, according to the word of God, grace is not communicated; start talking about the Sacraments, you will not fail to talk about the Church, the keeper of the Sacraments; start talking about the Church, how to keep silent about all the contents of the Church and about all its orders. And all this will still need to be recognized as necessary in achieving salvation. And this confession will crush his ghost into dust. Why is all this a sharp knife for him; He can't stand any of this. This is what the English heretic taught him. But enough; I'm cumming. I stopped only at the first impression after reading the points you sent. I leave what else needs to be said about them until the next letter. – Try to think more about the essential need for the grace of the Holy Spirit, and, having convinced yourself of this, bring others to the same conviction. Then you will be able to stop your newcomer with one strong word. Letter 25. 3rd letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the path of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation 2. Denouncing the false teaching that salvation is given freely and cannot be earned by anything. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Don't be jealous of the wicked We will continue to review the points of your newcomer’s teaching that you sent. 1) About the path of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation I wrote to you about my first impression after reading them - namely, that they do not say a word about the grace of the Holy Spirit, whereas it is the power of God closest to us, the power of our salvation. Now I take on the second, namely, that the path of salvation seems too favorable. You believed, and that’s it: your sins are forgiven, and eternal punishment is cancelled, and don’t be afraid of falling, and all the virtues came by themselves from the heart, and Christ is in you, and no matter what will not leave you, paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven are yours, and the like - all that remains is to rejoice: no work, no fears, no struggles - the road is smooth and joyful. And there is nothing to be surprised that many cling to him. It's very attractive. - But there is no truth here, but only beauty. In the person of Christ the Savior, it is as if everyone has already been saved - the salvation accomplished by Him is sufficient for everyone. But in order for everyone to become individually saved through Him, they must come to Him in a certain way and receive this salvation. Salvation is ready for everyone; but come and take it yourself. Here there is work - and considerable work - and sorrows, and fears, and struggles. Therefore, look how the way of salvation is depicted in the word of God. The Savior says: “Enter through the narrow gate: for a wide gate and a broad way lead into destruction, and many are those who enter through it; that a narrow gate and a strait path lead you into the belly, and there are few of them who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). He repeated the same thing even more forcefully another time, in other circumstances: “Strive to penetrate through the strait gate; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter (besides them), and will not enter” (Luke 13:24). This narrowness of the path of salvation is not only due to external hardships and sorrows, but even more so due to the need to constrain internal spiritual movements that are contrary to the requirements of salvation. Why does the Lord say to those entering this path: “If anyone wants to follow Me (that is, the path of salvation), let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me. Whoever wants to save his soul (that is, whoever will pity himself and indulge the demands of self-indulgence) will destroy it; and whoever destroys his soul (will suppress these urges and impulses) for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). “And whoever does not accept his cross and comes after Me (that is, decides to follow Him without a cross), is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). As a result of this, according to the word of the Lord, “The Kingdom of God is being sought (with self-compulsion and intense labor), and those in need (forcing themselves to work for this without self-pity) delight it” (Matthew 11:12). It is true that “the Kingdom of God is preached” is proclaimed as a rejoicing subject; but those who have heard and understand what is happening do not indulge in rejoicing and benefits, but what do they do? “Everyone is not forced into it,” that is, it is difficult to squeeze into it (Luke 16:16). Why, although He promises to give rest to those who labor and are burdened, He commands them in advance to take the yoke upon themselves, which, no matter how easy it may be, is still a yoke, which is called light not because of the absence of difficulties and sensitive sacrifices, but because of the always ready help in lifting and carrying it, and because of the consolation that accompanies it and follows it (Matthew 11:28-30). And that the procession after the Lord is not safe, He reminded us of this more than once, saying: “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune” (Matthew 26:41); “watch, watch and pray” (Mark 13:33); “Be vigilant at all times when you pray” (Luke 21:36); “Let your waist be girded, and your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35). And all this is said by the Lord Himself, who did everything for the sake of our salvation. Consequently, there is no need to doubt that those who approach Him will not be rewarded with benefits, but with labor; and work without rest, as can be seen from the parable of the worker who worked all day, but, returning home in the evening, did not hear from the master: lie down, rest - but what? “Get me some dinner, and wait and serve me; then you will rest if you don’t have any other work to do (Luke 17:7-8). The Lord promises peace, but in the next century, but here He demands intense labor in fulfilling His commandments with purification of the heart - and how? In the most perfect way: “Unless your righteousness comes out any more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Whoever, having surrounded himself with benefits, runs away from all sorts of labor and self-restraint here, in the next world may find himself in the position of the holy fools, who dreamed that they would get into the palace of the grooms, and were before him, but did not get into it. Something essential was missing in the structure of their lives, although they were not vicious. They probably lived in favor and self-pity, running away from everything that was a little difficult, in the thought that the Lord had already taken away all their illnesses and labors for them. So they remained outside the groom's palace. What especially requires strict attention, self-compulsion and work are the remnants of sin living in us. The Lord graciously accepts the one who approaches Him with repentance and faith, forgives him all previous sins and, sanctifying him with the Sacraments, provides him with the power to overcome the sin living in him, but does not drive out the sin itself, entrusting it to the person himself to drive it out, with the help of the grace given to him for this. And here how much attention and vigilance is required, how many techniques of weapons and warfare?! So much so that anyone who takes up this matter properly cannot find a minute free from the strain of strength and worries about this. It is necessary to bypass the secretive networks, but to entangle the strong ones; it is necessary to reflect and render harmless the arrows that constantly strike, but are invisibly launched and approaching; you need to look at holes covered with flowers, attractive baits that lead to destruction, sweet-tongued calls that lead to enemy ambushes. What kind of caution, vigor and effort does all this require? Where is there any rejoicing, even spiritual?! Just a few things will be looked at by someone, and lo and behold, they are already confused, already wounded, already in the hands of enemies. See also, how strict are the Savior’s requirements? “Don’t you dare allow even a slight movement of displeasure and anger towards your brother; If you sin in this little or little way, you will have judgment and hell (Matthew 5:22). Meanwhile, we have clashes every now and then. And with all the strain of attention, one cannot avoid stumbling, but with rejoicing and benefits, where can one go? – Again, how strict is it regarding women? I started staring at something a little, and then there was fornication, and again Gehenna (Matthew 5:28-29). How is condemnation condemnatory? Whoever condemns, at the very moment he condemns, and for this one action, even if there were no others, is already condemned, and not by some empty judgment, such as his condemnation, but by the judgment of God, immutable and eternal (Matthew 7:1). And for an idle word there is an answer (Matthew 12:36); Is it easy to get along with the language? (James 3:3–12). – Do you see, therefore, what strict attention to oneself is needed, what vigilant work on oneself? But among those who rejoice, because they rejoice, nothing like this is possible. Therefore, sins on all points shown are inevitable. There is no point in rejoicing and taking advantage of sins. If now such small things, which in our country are not even considered sins, meet with such a strict judgment and sentence, then what can we say about great sins and passions? There should be no mention of them among Christians, they are so contrary to the spirit of Christ. But they are in the heart, and whoever wants to be clean from them must expel them from there. What kind of work does this require and what kind of struggle with oneself? Take lustful passion, take pride or vanity, take stinginess, take envy, riotousness, waywardness and disobedience - and whatever passion you take - eradicating it requires bloody sweat and labor. Therefore, look how those who are entangled in some passion and set out to eradicate it are forced to torment themselves. And quite rightly: for otherwise no success can be expected; but if you don’t have time, you’ll go to hell. The fact that one who approaches the Lord with faith for the sake of His death on the cross is forgiven of all sins cannot reassure oneself. Whoever reassures himself with this and neglects to cleanse his heart from passions deceives himself. By baptism and repentance, all former sins are truly erased completely, and will no longer be remembered. But for this, the one who has received this mercy after that must absolutely guard himself to the point of the stomach from all sin and from all passionate things, not only hobbies, but also sympathies and thoughts. For this purpose, at the same time as the forgiveness of previous sins is pronounced, he is given the power to resist the passions from which sins are committed and to overcome them - the power is given to overcome the passions, and they are not eradicated. This eradication must be the fruit of his own labors. That is why, after turning to the Lord, everyone immediately begins a struggle - and a struggle for life and death. And this is what greets those who approach the Lord with faith—and not rejoicing and benefits. With rejoicings and benefits, you can still withstand respectable behavior, but not strict attention to yourself and the fight against passions. Yes, it will not begin for someone who is like that. But if it doesn’t start, passions will be in his heart, and they will make of him a watered-down coffin (painted - Ed.), beautiful on the outside, but inside full of stinking bones. And he will thus please himself: “Christ saved me, Christ took away my sins from me, Christ gave me paradise,” while Christ, looking at him, righteously condemns him and condemns him to hell. This is what rejoicing and grace leads to! Christ is not a saint. Let's now see how the Apostles portray the life of a Christian and what do they require of him? - Read this: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12); “Live your time in fear” (1 Pet. 1:17). Why? Because you call Father the One who has the right to judge you without hypocrisy according to your deeds; and He requires that you be holy, just as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). This holiness will be observed by you when your hearts are blameless and unshakable in purity before God and your Father (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Why should your first task be: “Put to death your evils that are on the earth” (Col. 3:5), or, what is the same: “Cleanse yourselves from the spirit of filthiness of the flesh and spirit, creating holiness in the passion of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). If you want to be real Christians, imitate those who are “Christ’s”; and they “crucified their flesh” with the passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). This is the truth about Christ Jesus: “Put off you... the old man, which is corrupting in the lusts of deceit... and put on the new... created by God in righteousness and in the excellence of the truth” (Eph. 4:22, 24). And only whoever cleanses himself of everything passionate and sinful will be for the house of God “a vessel in honor... of use to the Master” (2 Tim. 2:21). For this reason, “do not be flattered: God cannot be mocked: for if a man sows, that will he also reap. For whoever sows to his flesh, from the flesh he will reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit he will reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8). So, you see that no matter how anyone wants, he must become pure, if he does not want to be deprived of the Kingdom and go to hell - and completely pure, not only in words and deeds, but also in thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Is it easy? – Sin lives within us, which never slumbers and does not forget to offer itself in every action (Rom. 7:21-23). Little or little mistake - lust will immediately begin to smoke and light up, but lust, when conceived, will give birth to sin, and the sin of the committed will give birth to death (James 1:15). That's the problem! Why “be sure to stand, so that you may be careful, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). This lust in itself is cunning in its charms; and here her assistant always stands with her - our enemy, who, as soon as he notices even the slightest movement of this friend of his, immediately runs up and with his tricks hastens to fan her into flames. Just make a mistake and you will be lost. - “Be careful how dangerously you walk” (Eph. 5:15). “Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Do you see what situation we are in?! How can we rejoice here: “We are saved; heaven for us. How glad I am, how glad I am? - When you hear such speech, say: wait, wait, my friends! You have just heard about the Savior and salvation in Him, and you have already spread your wings to fly straight to heaven. There is still a long distance between heaven and our present situation. It is certain that whoever believed in the Lord the Savior and followed Him in complete submission to His holy will will reach the Kingdom of Heaven - he will certainly achieve it. But you have to get to it, and in order to get there, go cheerfully, tirelessly, not in the least deviating from the path God has laid out for it. And how many possible accidents are there that could prevent you from reaching the end of the path and achieving the Goal? Why should we look not at the end of the path, not at what is at the end of it, but at what is under our feet. The end of the path is already a done deal - you’ll get what’s there, but what’s under your feet, if you look, you might stumble, and in such a bad way that after that you’ll stop moving along that path. In this respect, we are like those competing on a list. The prizes have already been determined and are at the ready. Anyone who enters a competition, of course, has in mind to get a prize and thinks about it. But when he enters into the competition itself, then everything goes out of his head, he is busy with one thing - how to achieve a certain sign as quickly as possible. So it is in the matter of salvation. How can you not have the Kingdom of Heaven in your mind? And what attracts one to faith other than the desire to receive it? But when, having believed, you take the path to it, do not have it alone in your thoughts, do not fix the eyes of your mind and heart on it alone (although this is appropriate), but especially on the sign ahead, which if you achieve, you will certainly receive the Kingdom, and if you do not achieve it, you will not receive it. What is this sign? Purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. Fix your smart eyes on this, direct your running here, direct all your efforts and efforts towards this. Because if you don’t cleanse yourself, you won’t see the Kingdom of God, even if you dreamed about it for your whole century and never stopped shouting: “My paradise, I’m saved!” St. Paul compares our work of achieving salvation to those competing in games. At the games, he says, many people start running, but the honor is given to the one who reaches the mark first. Therefore, he says, you too flow like this, “that you may comprehend”; and for this, refrain from everything that interferes with the success of your course, as those who enter into competition at the games do. - And I, he says, am flowing. How? By killing my body and enslaving it (1 Cor. 9:24-27). I have not yet reached, - I have not yet been completed, “I am pursuing, if I comprehend... Brethren, I do not think of attaining for myself; but forgetting what is behind, I have stretched out to what is ahead, pursuing with zeal, for the honor of the highest calling” (Phil. 3:12-14). If such an Apostle says that he has not yet achieved, but strives and runs in order to achieve, then how Should we say: “How glad I am, how glad I am! Christ saved me: my paradise”?! Heaven will undoubtedly be ours; but if we are mothers-in-law, and mothers-in-law along the straight path, that is, if we work on cleansing our hearts without self-pity. Listen to what Saint Paul says: God has appointed us “for salvation” (or, what is the same, “for receiving glory” (2 Thess. 2:14)), “by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thess. 5:9-10). When God ordained it this way, it will undoubtedly be so. What do we need now? Fold your hands and sit?! - No, not that, but this: “Everything is tempting, keep the good one. Get rid of every evil thing,” and take care in every possible way, so that “your spirit, soul and body may be preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:21-23). “I will require patience, so that having done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36). Saint Peter depicts the entire path to the Kingdom this way: all, he says, Divine powers have been given to us, including life and piety. Now it is up to us to “bring” to this bestowal of grace “all diligence”, and with its help to plant all sorts of virtues in the heart, displacing, of course, all passions from there. Only these virtues, multiplying in you, will make you not idle and not fruitless in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, they will show that you did not believe in vain. So, “make sure that your calling and election to do this is known... For you will be richly granted entry into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord... Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:10-11). So you see what stands between the Kingdom and the call to faith - what is the essence of the work of salvation, where you need to turn all your attention. The Kingdom of God stands behind everything; the starting point of movement towards it is the calling to faith and the acceptance of grace; the middle is the planting of virtues in the heart with the eradication of passions from it, zeal for which is drawn from faith and the strength for which is given by grace. There is no need to worry about the Kingdom; it won't go away; worry and worry about one thing: to appear worthy of him. And your newcomer takes your eyes away from this matter that is closest to us and directs them to the future. In my last letter, I wrote to you that in depicting the dispensation of our salvation, he distorted the matter, diverting attention from the grace of the Holy Spirit, with which the Lord Himself is pleased to act for our salvation; and now, as you see, in our work of salvation, he also distorted the matter, diverting our attention from the purification of the heart. Thus he decisively closes the path to salvation and inheritance of the Kingdom. This path is the purification of the heart with the help of grace through faith in the Lord; and he diverts attention from both grace and purification of the heart, keeping it only at the initial point - faith, and the last - the inheritance of the Kingdom. Without paying attention to this, those who are carried away by it, of course, do not act in these ways; not acting, they do not go where they imagine themselves going - and imagining themselves to be the owners of the Kingdom, they themselves block the way into it. – This is what I had in mind when I said last time at the beginning of the letter that everything with him is illusory, incorrect and unreliable. He himself is in self-delusion and leads others there too. 2) Denouncing the false teaching that salvation is given freely and nothing can be done to earn it. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Do not be jealous of those who are evil. The third lie in your Novshak’s teaching is that salvation is given for free. If your newcomer had read what I wrote above, he would not have been able to resist shouting: “Ah! - So you want to earn salvation and the Kingdom?! There is no way to deserve this; both are given freely.” – This is the favorite phrase of such wise men; and they consider her victorious. Be careful, when you hear this, don’t freak out as if you were caught in the act of a crime; and after being silent for a while, turn to him with the following speech: “I will answer you to this later; and now I ask you to tell me: do our own efforts and labors take place in the matter of salvation or not?” I believe that with this unexpected question you will amaze him more than he did with his victorious phrase. Because, having filled their heads with this “free” and “cannot be earned,” he and others like him become so confused that they do not even think about their own efforts and labors in the matter of salvation; They don’t even think about them and don’t have any worries. Why can’t they tell you anything right away? That is why among the points you sent there is not even a hint of them. In the Church of God, these “free” and “cannot be earned” are almost not mentioned. We only hear urging from everywhere: work and work; death is about to happen, what will you bring to the next world? Those who are zealous for salvation work, not dreaming of merit, but considering themselves obliged to work like slaves. The ancestors came up with these phrases according to the teachings of your Novshak, because they are very suitable for their wisdom about the all-sufficiency of faith. But with them they distort the entire structure of the image of our salvation. And your newcomer is there too. Why? Because he does not know how to distinguish, in the matter of our salvation, what was accomplished and arranged by the Lord for our salvation, and what we ourselves must do for our salvation. He repeats it more than once: salvation was given to us by chance, and the gifts of God are unrepentant and cannot be taken away. And it turns out that salvation is ours, and ours for free. It fell out of his head - if it was there - that he who approaches the Lord Savior with faith in his salvation enters into a covenant with Him. In a covenant, it happens that God promises one thing, and man undertakes to fulfill another. In our New Testament, the Lord promises to bestow and assimilate to man everything that He accomplished for our salvation, most importantly, justification by virtue of His death on the cross, and the granting of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and then the Kingdom of Heaven; and a person undertakes, having rejected everything sinful and passionate, to serve the Lord by unswervingly faithfully fulfilling His commandments, which is to take up the cross and follow the Lord, or to take on His good yoke. This last point requires all kinds of effort and work on our part. – And it must be said that this is the main thing on which all the attention of someone seeking salvation should be primarily directed. What is from the Lord will undoubtedly be fulfilled, and there is no point in tormenting yourself with worry about it. And what lies on us, we cannot help but worry about; because the implementation of this is subject to great danger due to our variability and the many difficulties encountered in this regard. And if it is not fulfilled, the Lord will not fulfill His promise; salvation will not take place, and the Kingdom of Heaven will not work out. Thus, if “freely” means the absence of our own worries, labors and efforts in the matter of salvation (and it cannot have any other meaning); such a teaching is the ruin of salvation and the path to destruction. To the fact that in the matter of salvation from the Lord, this is quite rightly added as a gift; but it does not apply to what is from us: no one will do for you what lies on you; work hard and do it yourself. The fact that the Son of God came, became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and intercede for us - that he sent from the Father the Holy Spirit, who through the Apostles gathered the Holy Church and put into it everything needed for salvation, so that, having to remain indestructible until the end of the ages, it would always serve as a house of salvation for everyone - all this is free, all this is the work of the infinite goodness of God. Nothing was required on our part and nothing could be presented. Those who are saved enter the Church to work out their salvation, and for this they are called to salvation. And this is for nothing, both at the beginning of Christianity and to this day. But this call to salvation ends in vain. From this moment begins the achievement of salvation, which is unthinkable without our own participation, without the activity of our will and freedom. To heed the calling or not to heed, to follow or not to follow and, having followed, to fulfill everything required or not to fulfill - all this is in our will. Why, from now on, nothing comes for free; but desire, seek, work, and you will receive. I have already mentioned these two points in the matter of salvation to you, but I do not repent that I started talking about the same thing again. Their distinction is very important in the subject that concerns us. Why, the better you understand it and solidify it, the safer you will be from being carried away by the new thing. I will draw your attention to this a little more. Look what the Wise One writes about wisdom. “Wisdom,” he says, created “a house for herself” and established “seven pillars”; then she sacrificed “her own sacrificial offering,” dissolved the wine in the cup, and prepared the meal; Finally, she sent her slaves with high preaching to call to her “to the cup” everyone who wanted to be wise. This is the first point. Those who were called, realizing their ignorance, desired wisdom, heeding the calling, came and drank wisdom from Wisdom. This is the second point (Proverbs 9:1-6). The first is a pre-image of what the Lord has done and is doing for our salvation - freely; and the second depicts what we ourselves must do in order to receive salvation. Read also the Savior’s parable about the wedding feast arranged for his son by the king (Matthew 22:2–14). Look how things went. First, the king sacrificed the “young and fat ones” and prepared dinner and everything needed; then he sent the slaves to call for a meal. Those who heeded the call cleared up and came, and the table was filled with those reclining. And here the preparation of a meal with everything necessary and the calling for it is an image of what has been and is being accomplished by the Lord in the work of our salvation - freely; and heeding the calling, dressing up, coming and reclining of those called is an image of what we must do for our salvation. The servants in both of these tributary stories do not captivate anyone, they do not drag anyone tied up; but those who heeded the call themselves came and did everything that needed to be done. Over there at the wedding feast, one did not do what he should have done, and for this he was immediately sent to a place more worthy of him. And righteously. He should have done what was right, he could have done it, but he didn’t, and he suffered what he deserved. So it is in our salvation. Everything necessary for him has been arranged and everyone is called to receive it; but no one is forced, but everyone is left free, having heeded the call, to come and receive salvation, under the one condition of fulfilling everything necessary for that. Whoever does it receives salvation. Whoever does not comply is subject to the same thing that he who was not in proper order at the wedding was subjected to. So that you do not get confused in thoughts about what is from us and how from us, I will show you how the work of salvation proceeds in us. Imagine a person hearing a call to salvation for the first time. An Apostle sent from God comes and says: we are all created to serve God in honor and truth; but they did not fulfill this. Our life is full of untruths and iniquities that anger God. Why do we urgently face righteous judgment and condemnation to eternal torment? Now, tomorrow, and maybe even this hour - death, after death - judgment - and our fate will be decided irrevocably, not to our joy. The soul hears this and recognizes the truth of everything said; because these truths are written in the heart, but are not always remembered, or are completely drowned out by vanity and sins; when reminded, however, they appear to consciousness in full force. Having realized the truth of what was said, the soul accepts it into feeling - and thinks about its eternal fate - it is taken over by anxious concern, what to do? God is angry; How will I appease Him? He is good, but also righteous. Yes, even if He had mercy, according to His inscrutable destinies, and forgave me for everything that had happened, what would be the benefit? I am entangled in passions and sinful habits - and I have no hope of resisting them. Again they will drag me towards evil - and again sins and the wrath of God. There is no way out for me; I died! Meanwhile, the Apostle continues his speech and, having finished depicting the extremity in which the sinner finds himself, preaches the gospel of salvation. We should all die; but the man-loving God had mercy on us and sent His only begotten Son to earth, who came to us incarnate, suffered for us and, having satisfied the righteousness of God by death on the cross, sought for us forgiveness. Then, having risen and ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit from the Father, so that He would help those who wished to be saved in Him - the Son - to achieve their salvation, that is, so that those who, having repented and believed in Him, would make a firm intention not to anger God with their sins, would give strength to resist sin and walk unswervingly in the will of God. The soul heeds this, deeply troubled by the extremity of its situation, which has nothing to appease God with, and that if God Himself somehow forgave it, it does not hope to live so as not to anger God again - it heeds and arises to the hope of salvation. Glory to Thee, Lord! Here is the propitiation of God, and the forgiveness of sins, and the giving of strength for good. - He listens, arises in good faith and is impelled by the desire to be worthy of these blessings - and receive forgiveness of sins and be clothed with strength for good. But behold, the gospel word of the Apostle is heard again. This Spirit, sent by the Son of God from the Father, descended on us, the Apostles, and, having enlightened our minds with the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and clothed us with the power of signs, made us content to faithfully fulfill what was commanded to us by the Lord Savior before the Ascension: “Go and teach all languages” (Matthew 28:19). And from that hour we go everywhere in the presence of God and preach the gospel, calling everyone to salvation. “Repent therefore and believe in the Gospel; Let each of you be baptized... and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38). Having heard this, the soul rejoices, is inspired by the hope of receiving salvation and is inspired by the readiness to follow the proposed path. But the question arises: is this preacher telling the truth? “Repent,” he says. I am already repenting, grieving that I have sinned, and I strongly desire to throw off this burden of sins and not burden myself with them anymore. But he says, “believe.” Of course you have to believe; How can you follow it without faith? True, the gospel is very comforting, and I am ready to believe; but you can also be deceived. An extremely great thing is being announced. The Son of God became incarnate, died on the cross, rose again, ascended and sent down from the Father the Holy Spirit, equal to Himself, Who descended and is ready to be given to everyone. All this is indescribably high and beneficial. But it will be all the more bitter if this turns out to be infidelity. The Apostle's speech is sincere, his life is impeccable, conscientiousness shines in his eyes; but he himself can be in error, and lead others into it, without thinking that he is telling a lie. How can you be sure? “If I were sure, I would go right now to do what he says.” These hesitations and perplexities are completely in the order of things, and almost every soul encounters it on the transition to decisive belief and action by faith. And until they are eliminated, no good decisions can be established in the soul. Who can decide to become a mother-in-law without being sure that he will do the right thing? - That is why we see that the apostolic gospel was everywhere accompanied by tangible evidence and confirmation that it came from God, namely, signs. Saint Mark wrote about the Apostles: “They went out, preaching everywhere, hastening the Lord and confirming the word with subsequent signs” (Mark 16:20). And the book of Acts also conveys the experiences of that. There, the lame man from the womb began to walk, according to the word of the Apostles (Acts 3:2–7, 14); there the paralytic was raised to his feet (Acts 9:34); there the dead are raised (Acts 9:41, 20:12); there the opponent of the Gospel is punished with blindness (Acts 13:11); there the demon was cast out (Acts 16:18). And everywhere all sorts of ailments were healed even by the shadow of the passing Apostle or by the heavyweights and bruises that were on his body and then placed on the sick (Acts 5:15, 19:12). Since this happened everywhere, and was heard about it everywhere, the question of whether the gospel was true, along with its generation, found a solution. In itself, it did not interfere with the formation of faith, but, on the contrary, contributed to it, encouraging those who hear and are ready to believe to clarify for themselves the foundations of faith, so that it would be the most reasonable and inviolably firm. Since these foundations were visible to everyone, this deed was accomplished quickly. - Now take a soul whose hearing and sight (that is, a sign before the eyes or heard) have completely confirmed the truth of those who inspired it with the trustworthiness of salvation, the promises and the faithfulness of the means offered to receive them. What is she? Then she, with all her thought, with all her feeling and with all her strength, having accepted the gospel, pronounces the decision to devote herself entirely to the good and pleasure of God, Whom she had previously angered so much - only may He speak all-forgiveness to her and may He endow her with the strength to overcome sin and walk in His will. Notice the content of this decision. One decides not to believe: faith has already been accepted; but by faith please God. This is the main thing. The inner turning of the soul to the Lord is thus completed. But it is still only mental, still in destiny, has not yet become effective; why is it unreliable? It must be imprinted in the soul, penetrated with Divine power and strengthened. This is accomplished by holy baptism. The soul has repented and believes. Now I must begin baptism. And indeed, the believer comes to the Apostle, expresses his faith, confesses his sins with a vow to live otherwise according to the will of God (Acts 19:18), and thereby opens for himself access to holy baptism, which the Apostle worthy of him either himself or through his assistants. He emerges from the font not only forgiven and endowed with power, but also in a feeling of forgiveness for everything that has passed, and in a feeling of strength to overcome sin and walk in the will of God - he comes out “dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). This is how a Christian is made. What's next? since the sun of grace has shone for him, he goes “to his work, and to his work until the evening” (Ps. 103:23) of life, considering himself a bought slave, obliged to do the will of the one who bought him, and at the end of his life, if he remains unchanged in his decision, he will be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven for endless joys. This is how a person becomes a Christian. What happens next will be nothing more than an incessant repetition of what was in effect here. Consider, then, what took place in all this without the participation of man himself? - Nothing. – In every turn of internal changes he acts himself, with his will and the tension of his strength. The preacher came and began to speak. To listen or not to listen is a matter of everyone’s freedom. Others stopped, surrounded him and listened; and you and I went our own way, saying: Why is he starting to talk nonsense here? Having listened to the first part of the sermon about the misery of the sinner’s situation, it is our business to admit that we are really in such a situation: others confess, but you and I only point to others. - Having admitted this, blaming ourselves and recognizing the justice of God’s punishment for that, again it’s our business: others condemn themselves, but you and I say to ourselves: what is this? - Having accused ourselves and recognizing the justice of God’s punishment, to feel how terrible this is, to be pained by it, to desire and seek deliverance, is also our business: others come to such feelings - they are horrified, lamented, they begin to look for some way out - but you and I remain completely indifferent. The preacher indicates a divinely established way to get rid of the extreme in which the sinner saw himself; but the need was born to make sure: is it true? Who will pave the way for us to believe in the truth of so many necessary and comforting promises? No one else - and this is our Business. The apostles, endowed with the power of God, present documents to certify the truth of their words; but we ourselves must look at these documents, understand their meaning and, as a result, be convinced of the truth of the promise. – And we see that another, as soon as the said question arises in him, says to himself: “This word is cruel; who can listen to him? And he immediately turns away. Another peers at the documents; but having examined them, he evaluates them in his own way: “Demons are cast out through Beelzebub,” and he also leaves. But others are not embarrassed by the question, nor do they interpret the documents crookedly, and having found them completely convincing, they believe what was announced, to varying degrees of sincerity, liveliness and inspiration. From faith begins the third turn of internal movements in the matter of conversion: a decision based on faith. The believer says to himself: and so I give up sin, I set the intention to do what is pleasing to God, and in this decision I will approach the Lord the Savior, in the confidence that He will forgive me all the past and give me the strength to prove myself correct in the future. This decision is the main point in the matter of conversion, fundamental, imprecise. In it, the previous movements receive meaning and end, and everything that follows depends on it. If it were not for him, everything would be for nothing: contrition with faith will remain without end (as if a premise without a conclusion), and the subsequent life cannot be completely the way it should be in Christ Jesus. Meanwhile, on whom does this decision depend? From the man himself. He himself must pronounce it on his own and self-willingly. Neither faith necessarily determines him, nor does God force him against his will. – And we see that not everyone who believes immediately pronounces this decision. Others put it off until tomorrow, and of them one returns to him, and the other goes to the country. The decision is the main point in the moral structure of one who turns to the Lord; but as long as it is not yet sealed mysteriously with grace, it is still fragile, unreliable, powerless. Why is holy baptism offered after it? Who forces you to be baptized? Nobody. He who decides to follow the Lord himself goes to him in the confidence that in him he will receive the replenishment of everything, the lack of which his heart feels in his moral and religious system. What is given in baptism is the gift of God, which is given, however, not unconditionally. The condition is the said decision by faith. For the sake of this decision, by faith, the grace of God enters inside through the Sacrament and, combining there with the spirit of man, holding that decision, and tempering this decision, lays down the seed and embryo of a new spiritually grace-filled life. One’s own decision, weak in itself, is here clothed with power from above, and the baptized person therefore comes out of the font with a feeling of strength in the Lord, saying: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Here grace and freedom are combined together, and then act inseparably throughout life, unless some sin comes again to separate them. - A new beginning in life has been made. You see how the entire movement of internal changes up to the position of this beginning and this very position are accomplished not without the participation of the activity of our will and the free tension of our forces. How can we now say that salvation is given freely, without the participation of our labors and efforts, when the very beginning of its achievement is not given for free, but not without the participation of our labors and efforts? Do not think, however, that you yourself, alone, have converted if you have already been converted, or that you will convert if you have not yet been converted. No; I did not say everything that was said so that you would think so - and as a result I began to think a lot about myself and be arrogant, but so that you would firmly hold in your thoughts and hearts that salvation is not achieved without the participation of our will and the exertion of our strength, and as a result of this you would not give up, hearing that saving grace has come and is arranging the salvation of all. I said ahead that none of the movements by which one reaches conversion, or the position of the beginning of salvation, occurs without the participation of our will and the exertion of our forces. Now I will add that none of them happens without the assistance of grace. Together with the word of the gospel, calling for salvation through the hearing of the ear, grace passes into the soul and excites it. But it only excites thoughts and feelings. Since desire and inclination of the will must soon be formed due to the fact that it retreats and waits for what the owner of the house of the soul will choose. When desire and the inclination of the will are formed, it again comes to the aid and helps to establish what the will is inclined to. This is how contrition for sins is formed, the desire to get rid of the extremes to which they lead, faith in the proposed image of deliverance, the decision made as a result, and the approach to the Sacraments. In all these moments, the grace of the Holy Spirit follows will. Without it, the grace of God will not, by its own power, against the will, produce what should depend on the movements of the will. When, finally, grace, which hitherto acted from the outside, overshadowing, enters inside in the Sacrament and is combined with the spirit of man, then a special movement of will is no longer required. It prepared itself for this by all previous things and opened itself to grace by committing itself to the Lord in the final decision. Henceforth, grace abides inseparably from freedom, but still acts in the same way as before, assisting and strengthening desires and strength for the Cause of salvation, but never touching the sanctuary of freedom - its arbitrary choice and inclination. You may ask: where is faith here? - Right there; just not in the place where your novshak and others like him put it. Without faith there is not a single step; but it is not she who acts for salvation, she only awakens active forces and attracts grace to us; then everything proceeds through the interaction of freedom and grace, although under its continuous influence. Look! He who turns to the Lord believes that he is in a dangerous situation from sins, and begins to lament and seek an outcome; and grace deepens this feeling and quest. Believes that the method of deliverance offered by the gospel of salvation will truly and truly deliver, and decides to act on it; and grace secures this decision. He believes that saving powers are given only through the Sacraments, and approaches them in full confidence that he will receive them - and indeed receives them by faith and precisely through the Sacraments. He believes that the next life can successfully lead his mother-in-law to what he intended, also, only through the interaction of freedom and grace - and strains all his strength on the tasks ahead, not by his own, however, with the power of tea to complete them successfully, but by the grace of God, to which he turns prayerfully at every step, believing again that, after straining his strength to the possible limits, this grace will not leave coming to his aid in completing the urgent task, replenishing impoverished in his own powers, which are also God’s. Thus, faith is like a spiritual atmosphere in which the tree of salvation develops and grows; but the very planting and growth of this tree is carried out by the action of internal forces, excited and strengthened by the action of the sun of grace. Explaining how the process of salvation begins, I only had in mind how this happens when someone approaches the Lord for the first time and is baptized. But in the same way this happens when someone turns to the Lord again, having lost the grace of baptism with a sinful life. - And this also awakens the soul by bringing to mind the wrath of God and feeling from that fear and fear for one’s eternal fate. Having sensed this, he also seeks how to get rid of the impending disaster, and, already knowing that this cannot be achieved otherwise than by repentance, proceeds to this Sacrament. Having mourned his sins with painful contrition of heart and having made a firm intention not to indulge his sinful lusts any more, but, going against them, to faithfully fulfill every will of God that is good and pleasing, he confesses his sins to his spiritual father, and at the moment of his absolution from these sins, he is again granted saving grace, which, combined with his spirit, again lays in him a firm beginning of a new life about Lord. He emerges from this tearful bath the same as they emerge from the baptismal font - a zealot for good deeds according to faith with the help of God's grace. – What is special here is that the feeling of pardon does not always suddenly come, and the feeling of strength in the Lord does not always suddenly come. This depends on how deeply someone falls after baptism and how long he remains in the fall - and even more on how many times someone falls again after repentance. But after more or less prolonged work on oneself and feats of self-mortification, these feelings finally come to everyone - and the state of grace is completely restored. Penances are aimed at this, which constitute an essential part in obtaining forgiveness of sins and healing of spiritual wounds. You see now that the beginning of a new life in Christ, or the beginning of salvation, is not given for nothing for faith, but is established by free movements of the spirit, by faith, with the help of the grace of God. “Further, you can already conclude that if the beginning went like this, then all the more so should the continuation of the achievement of salvation go this way.” That's how it is. It is sung not by faith, but by the intense activity of one’s powers, aroused by faith, with the help of God’s grace. Everything that happens here is depicted in detail in places of Scripture at the beginning of the letter. Look at the labors of the one who is being saved, and you will forget to think about the “free gift.” Now there is nothing to talk about this, but it occurred to me to explain to you a little why it happens that a new life has been begun and grace has been received, but still the work required is very great, exhausting. Look at a person emerging from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance - how does he emerge? He emerges as a zealot for good deeds to please God in Christ Jesus the Lord with the help of grace. How did he get to this point? His troubled conscience and fear of God led him to this. They, having awakened, forced him to seek salvation and turn to the Lord. He sought according to the order established by the Lord Himself, and he entered on the path of salvation and is ready to walk along it in a feeling of strength in the Lord. What awaits him? Constant struggle with oneself in cleansing the heart from passions and sinful inclinations and habits; because otherwise it is impossible for him to fulfill the decision made from the initial appeal - to be zealous for good deeds to please God. Just think - it's a struggle again; There was already a struggle there, a turning point in life had been made; it seems that would be enough. – This is what I want to explain to you now. But for this I must briefly introduce you to the structure of our human nature. Know that in our inner life there is a certain higher side, or power, the essence of which is to live in God, according to His will, detached from everything. I call it the special, highest part of our nature, the spirit - that spirit that is breathed into the face of the primordial from the mouth of God. The movements or manifestations of this spirit are: first - immediate confidence in the existence of God, with the consciousness of complete dependence on Him, which can be denoted in one word - fear of God; the second is conscience, or showing the will of God with compulsion to fulfill it, and then with approval for fulfillment and condemnation for non-fulfillment; the third is the search for communion with God with dissatisfaction with anything created. Call it whatever you want - whether it’s a special part of our nature or just the highest side of the soul - that’s not the point; just admit that the indicated spiritual movements are in us and constitute our highest asset, the norm of human life - what makes a person human. I will call it spirit. Under this spirit we have a soul and a body, which combine forces and needs adapted to life on earth: in the body, for example, the need to eat, drink, rest, sleep and the like; in the soul - family, social, artistic, business, scientific and similar needs. In these aspects of life we ​​stand on the same line as animals; only with us they are more meaningful, because they are lifted significantly from the ground by the spirit given to us. From this you can conclude that the spirit must set the tone of life in a person; the soul and body must submit to him, be in his service, act in his ways. The spirit draws strength for this from communion with God, which invests it with royal power over soul and body. In the primordial ones before the fall this was the case. They lived in spirit in God, and their spirit, drawing strength from this communion with God, ruled over soul and body. But when they fell through the temptation of the enemy, the order of the movements of their lives changed. The spirit, having fallen away from God, lost its power over the soul and body, and they began to conduct their affairs independently of him, according to their own will. Because of this, everything inside was upset and went apart. Spiritual movements are left aside; The mental-physical life in man began to quality, with weak remnants of manifestations of the spirit - and he ceased to be what he should have been. At the same time, the needs of the soul and body, innocent in themselves, not being controlled by a higher power, led to different methods of their satisfaction and turned into a bunch of inclinations and habits, no longer innocent due to prevalence, excess, deviation from their natural rank and even unnaturalness. Moreover, among them a special class of wrong movements, passions, opponents of all good, products of egoism under the influence of our enemy, the devil, has developed. This is the state of the fallen and of every person who remains in sin. His life moves according to mental and physical inclinations, habits and passions, without attention to the demands of the spirit, declared by the fear of God, conscience and feelings of unsatisfactory such a life. The spirit is alive in them too; but neglected, downtrodden, driven away. The restoration of the fallen, which constitutes the essence of Christianity, occurs precisely through the restoration of the spirit and the return to it of power over the soul and body and the cleansing of them from all inclinations, habits and passions that have come to them illegally. To this end both the economy of salvation in general and the accomplishment of salvation by it for each one who is saved is directed. It was fitting for our spirit to be restored by the grace of the Spirit of God. But access to us by the Spirit of God was blocked by the oath that lay upon us, due to the extreme insult to God by contempt for His will in the fall. This oath had to be lifted in order to open the way to us for the grace of the Holy Spirit. For this, the Son of God became incarnate, suffered and died on the cross, thereby removing the oath from us, having become an oath against us. After this, there was no longer any barrier to the Holy Spirit descending to us. He descended as soon as the Lord the Savior ascended after the resurrection. This is the essence of the economy of our salvation. Then, everyone’s achievement of their own salvation is mediated by the immediate acceptance of the grace of the Holy Spirit. But have you seen how the first action of the Spirit of God on man is revealed through the word of the gospel? Because He disturbs his conscience and strikes him with the fear of God. The fear of God and conscience, as I said before, are the essence of our spirit. Consequently, the grace of the Spirit, beginning to act towards our salvation, acts directly on our spirit, reviving its natural feelings and giving it the strength to raise the voice of its demand above all the voices of the lower forces that have hitherto ruled illegally. Remember now how from this first movement the one who turns to the Lord comes to the decision - to devote himself entirely to the Lord and to please Him in every possible way, turning away from everything that is contrary to Him, and how then, after receiving the Holy Sacrament of baptism or repentance, he leaves with a feeling of strength to resist everything sinful and do every good thing. This strength is the strength inherent in our spirit, lost in the fall and now restored by grace. Consequently, for one who turns to the Lord, as depicted above, nothing less than the restoration of his spirit by the grace of the Holy Spirit is accomplished. – And lo – the beginning of a new life! What happened in your soul and body at this time? There, all the former innocent inclinations, habits and passions remained as they were; only the power has been taken away from them. First, whatever they want, give it to them. And the man, although reluctantly, tried to carry out their orders; but now it’s not the same. They are still presenting their demands; but the grace of God, having restored the spirit, gives it the power to point out to a person the demands that are contrary to them, and imparts the power to repel those and fulfill them. Why, from this moment on, the fighting begins inside. Sin, through previously common mental-physical inclinations and passions, rebels against the spirit, attempting to conquer it again; and the spirit, with the help of God’s grace, reflects it and directs the forces of soul and body to the opposite. Once this struggle has begun, it continues. If the spirit does not succumb in anything, sin becomes weaker and weaker, bad inclinations and passions die out, and he - the spirit - more and more acquires the power to act in his order through the soul and body more unhindered. The end of the battle, when bad inclinations and passions are completely expelled from the body and soul, the blessed spirit will remain completely free, the ruler of all mental and physical movements. And this is the meaning of the promise: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). So, this is now the matter of the renewed spirit, which has accepted the beginning of a new life! This is the kind of work he sets out to do, upon leaving the watery font of baptism or from the tearful bath of repentance - to cleanse the soul and body from everything sinful, passionate and sensual, making our entire nature pure, to build from it a worthy church to the Trinitarian God - in which is an eternal life, which will remain, after the outcome, henceforth his eternal property. Now you see why, even after receiving grace and the renewal of our spirit, there is still work ahead, and long and sorrowful work. It is necessary, after the restoration of the spirit, to free the soul and body from the captivity of sinful inclinations and passions, and lead them into freedom of the spirit. Don’t overlook these two moments: the restoration of our spirit in its rights and power, and the cleansing of soul and body from everything sinful and passionate. The first is accomplished in the generation in us of the beginning of a new life, as depicted before, and the second must be accomplished throughout our lives upon the perception of that beginning by the grace of the Spirit in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let me explain this to you with an example. Let us assume that a city is being liberated from its captive enemies. The former legal owner of the city with his army approaches it, drives away the enemy troops, invades and takes possession of the fortress inside the city, the Kremlin. The Kremlin has been taken, but the entire city around is still in the hands of enemies. The first concern of someone who has taken possession of the Kremlin is to gain a foothold in it and be safe; and the first concern of the enemies who still own the city is to capture it and take possession of it again. And after the general battle in front of the city, a private and frequent war begins within the city. The enemies make attacks, the Kremlin owners repulse them and, for their part, make forays. Being stronger, the Kremlin, having weakened the enemy with frequent forays, begin to take parts of the city into their hands, one after another; finally they completely drive out the enemies from the city and suburbs and become complete owners of everything. Exactly the same thing happens in us when someone turns to the Lord and is sanctified by the Sacraments. The spirit is restored and clothed with grace; and the soul and body are still in captivity to sin and passions. Their rightful owner, man, should now, strengthened in spirit and armed with all God-given means, displace sin and passions from other parts of his nature, by fighting and defeating them, in order to become the complete owner of everything, as was originally intended. He who turns to the Lord immediately begins to do this. How is this done? Just as the beginning of a new life is supposed to be - through the interaction of freedom and grace. The person himself must work on this in every possible way and strain his strength to achieve this. Looking at these intense efforts, the grace of God will flow in and complete what is sought, because man himself cannot bring anything to the required end. If a person does not work, grace will not do for him what he should do himself. She only comes to the rescue, while a person will already exhaust all his strength, which is also a gift from God. But as he grows stronger and sees some success, let him not dream that he himself, through his own efforts, can reach the end of what he is looking for. And he cannot completely conquer a small passion, not just a large one, and especially not all of them. In general, cleansing the soul and body from passions is a matter of grace. You see now that for those who have accepted a new beginning of life in baptism or repentance, there is not rest, but work and sweat, struggle and personal action against passions and sin. And this is not due to any arbitrariness, but according to the urgent law of the flow of our restoration from the fall. That is why you see in the lives of all the saints who pleased and glorified God, that they spent their entire lives in strict feats of self-mortification, internal and external, and in labors to practice virtues with constant recourse to God. This finally led them to the point where bad inclinations and passions were completely expelled from their soul and body, and good dispositions were installed in their place. When in this way everything sinful and passionate was cast out, the human nature in them appeared in its natural, primordial form - their spirit, soul and body, having been imbued with grace, were illuminated by Divine light - which served as a clear sign that they had finally become the church of the Trinitarian God, as the Savior had promised. This is what must be kept in mind and what is finally achieved! The blessing is indescribably great! But let labor and sweat, both mental and physical, come first. It is said about those who have succeeded: “They who are Christ’s, the flesh was crucified with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). So, salvation is not given for nothing, but is accomplished - and accomplished by the interaction of freedom and grace, awarded to us and embodied, but not given (that is, not without the participation of the inclinations of freedom). In the dispensation (economy) of salvation, everything was done tuna - by grace alone; in the achievement of salvation by everyone, nothing happens through grace alone, but everything is done through the interaction of freedom and grace. Here, neither grace will do anything alone if it does not see the inclinations and efforts of freedom, nor freedom can accomplish anything alone without the help of grace. Salvation is achieved through their inseparable action - when someone, by faith in the Lord the Savior, having decided to please God in every possible way, rejecting everything that is contrary to Him and being strengthened for this by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments, works in this order with all his might and continuously. The Apostle Paul says about himself: I have labored more than all the Apostles; but I am not the reason for success, but grace that is with me. This means that he, for his part, strained all his strength, but it was not they who accomplished the work, but the grace that was present with him. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have done anything. Why did he conclude: “It is by the grace of God that I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). Do not think that this participation of freedom and tension of strength is required little; no - not small, but to the extent that our nature can bear. This is palpably experienced especially in the main moment - in the decision, denying oneself, to follow the Lord. Whether for the first time someone approaches the Lord or, having fallen after baptism, turns to Him again, this decision is a painful and difficult turning point of the entire internal structure, sealed by readiness for all kinds of hardships and even death, if it turns out that otherwise it is impossible to stand in the decision made. Following the Lord is not walking along the flowers, but through thorns and among thorns, not directly entering heaven, but first ascending to the cross, so that from there you can enter heaven. All this is rethought, re-experienced and accepted at the hour of decision. Even death, not retreating is the essence of determination to work for the Lord. What kind of tension of moral forces must be used to reach such a point?! And this is just the beginning. Then, in real life, according to this decision, such tension is required every step of the way, and without it nothing can be done. - So, if you please know this, - and “tune” - throw it out of your head, and begin to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, bringing “all diligence” to grace, as Saint Peter commands you (2 Pet. 1:5). Look now how much truth there is in the words: believe and you are saved? – In fact, it happens that if someone, having believed, follows the path that faith indicates, he will undoubtedly achieve salvation. Therefore, it is not written: “He who has faith” is saved, but “he will be saved,” if, of course, he fulfills everything that is required on his part to be fulfilled (Mark 16:16). It is true that he who believes and is renewed by grace in baptism or repentance has an unshakable confidence that the path on which he has entered undoubtedly leads to salvation, that he will undoubtedly lead him to it, if he does not sin in his journey; even more, he is confident that the Lord, who began the work of salvation in him, will complete this work to the end - and in this hope he completely surrenders himself to His guidance; but this in no way relieves him of his own labors and efforts - and he himself does not think of stopping them, recognizing their obligation, but, on the contrary, in every possible way stimulates himself to, sparing no effort, diligently take on everything that lies on the path of his progress. Now I should make short remarks against each of the points you sent. But we have to postpone this until the next letter; because, as you can see, you and I started talking a little. Save yourself! Meanwhile, think about everything that has been said and try to knock this seductive “for free” out of your head, so that not a trace of it remains there. What lucky people were born there that the Kingdom of Heaven was given to them for free?! Do not be jealous of these evil ones. Letter 26. 4th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Denunciation of the wrong teaching that all who believe in Christ are saved and that the gifts of God, as eternal ones, cannot be taken away. Sin after baptism interrupts the effects of the gifts of grace. The remission of sins after baptism is performed only in the Sacrament of Repentance. The sin of every person is a great offense to God; The sin of a Christian immeasurably offends God. About saving good deeds. Do not seek the Lord from someone who has separated from the Church. About the difference in the degrees of bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners. Whoever does not honor the holy holidays acts wickedly and unreasonably Denunciation of the wrong teaching that all who believe in Christ are saved and that the gifts of God, as eternal ones, cannot be taken away. Sin after baptism interrupts the effects of the gifts of grace. The remission of sins after baptism is performed only in the Sacrament of Repentance. The sin of every person is a great offense to God; The sin of a Christian immeasurably offends God. About saving good deeds. Do not seek the Lord from someone who has separated from the Church. About the difference in the degrees of bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners. Anyone who does not honor holy holidays acts impiously and unreasonably. I hasten to finish our conversation with you about the points of the teachings of your novshak that you sent. Perhaps something else should be said about them in general; but I undertake to make comments about each point: here the general thing will not go unnoticed if it remains not shown. 1) “Salvation is accomplished, and all who believe in Christ are saved.” Everything that is necessary for our salvation has been completed, the treasury of salvation has been built - its economy. Come and take as much as you can fit. The path to this treasury, the ticket to enter it and to receive everything contained in it, is given by faith. Whoever believes and comes to this treasury will be given everything needed for salvation by God’s established orders. This, as I wrote last time, is forgiveness of sins for the sake of the Lord’s death on the cross and the grace of the Holy Spirit. No matter how great these gifts of God are, given at the very first approach to the Lord by faith, for all that, one who believes and receives these gifts through the Sacraments cannot be called saved. This is only the beginning of salvation. He who believes enters a path that truly and undoubtedly leads to salvation, but he will appear saved when he completes this path without stumbling and unswervingly. That is why in Saint Mark the Lord says: “Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16), and not yet saved. He will undoubtedly be saved if he remains faithful to the faith and does not cease to do what is necessary for salvation. Do not doubt that you will receive salvation; just flow slowly along the path to it, imitating St. Paul, who says about himself: I am moving towards the right thing, but have not yet reached it; I press on in order to achieve it (Phil. 3:12-14). The only thing that can be said about “saved” is that if one of those who believe, having emerged from the font of baptism or repentance with aversion from everything sinful and zeal for everything good, immediately departs from this life, then he will not fall under condemnation, because from the time of baptism he is excluded from the list of those who are perishing and is included in the list of those who are being saved. But if he still remains unclean in soul and body, then this deficiency will be filled by the prayers of the Church, which are heard in it at every service. 2) “Salvation was given to us tuna, and the gifts of God, as immutable and eternal, cannot be taken away.” The salvation of tune is arranged for everyone, but tune is not given to anyone. This was almost all my last letter was about. The incarnation of the Son of God, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the dispensation of the Church of God, in which alone all who desire salvation can be saved - all this was done tuna, freely. And everyone is called to salvation for nothing, too. But then, as soon as someone heeded the calling and began to move towards receiving salvation, according to God’s established order, from that moment nothing is for free, but everything requires the exertion of one’s strength, diligence and labor - and if this does not happen, you will not receive anything: seek and you will find, and it will be opened to you. So it will be more accurate if you get into the habit of saying: salvation is accomplished with the help of grace, instead of: given to tuna. The general idea of ​​this point - “salvation is freely given and cannot be taken away, because the gifts of God are irrevocable” - is completely false, flattering, and destructive: for it undermines all the energy of moral forces and, stopping the one who is going to salvation, deprives him of the opportunity to receive it. The economy of salvation is irrevocable and eternally strong - all-sufficient for the salvation of everyone at all times who have lived, are living and have to live - and its power extends to all eternity. But these qualities - immutability, immutability, eternity - cannot certainly be applied to the salvation of each person while one is here on earth. In this regard, one can only say: whoever believes and, by faith, faithfully fulfills everything necessary for salvation, as the Savior Himself established in His Holy Church, he will undoubtedly be saved; whoever does not fulfill this need cannot hope to be saved, for the sole reason that the salvation arranged by the Lord is immutable, even after he has come to the Lord by faith and received the firstfruits of salvation, forgiveness of sins and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Whoever, having received forgiveness of sins, sins again, loses this gift; Likewise, whoever, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, offends the Spirit of God with his sins, is deprived of this gift. Such a person again enters the category of the unforgiven and graceless. The perceived beginning of salvation is ruined; we need to look for him again. The word: “cannot be taken away”, due to our variability, is not applicable to receiving and achieving salvation. Consequently, it is used falsely and deceives the inexperienced. 3) “A person is saved through faith in Christ.” Well said: it is saved. Therefore, he is not yet saved, but is only working out his salvation, going through the course, the course of salvation. And that one is saved through faith in Christ the Lord is also true, if by faith in Christ we mean the Christian faith in all its essential structure. Apart from this faith there is no salvation. But if by faith in Christ we mean only the belief that Christ the Savior has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation, then such faith alone does not bring about our salvation if someone remains alone with it. It only gives the first impetus to the movement towards salvation. Having accepted it, one must repent and make a firm intention to work steadily for the Lord, turning away from everything that is displeasing to Him; Next, you must proceed to the Sacraments in the Holy Church and through them receive the forgiveness and grace of the Holy Spirit; finally, having been clothed with this power, the mother-in-law steadfastly followed the commandments of the Lord in fulfillment of this vow. Whoever has arranged his work of salvation in this way should be said to be saved by the faith of Christ or to faithfully work out his salvation in the Lord the Savior. 4) “He who has believed in Christ and, therefore, has appropriated the redemption as his own is not subject to eternal destruction.” These words require additions in order to properly express the truth they are talking about. The assimilation of the atonement is attributed to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not complete. The Lord redeemed us with His blood or the death of the cross. The redemptive power of the Lord's death on the cross is acquired by us in holy baptism, as St. Paul explains (Rom. 6:3-4). Here a man crucifies himself to Christ the Savior, is doused with His blood and washed. Faith precedes and accompanies this; but one without baptism does not assimilate the redemptive power of the Lord’s death on the cross. And at baptism, it is not alone that serves as a friend of such power, but together with repentance and a firm decision to live otherwise holyly. When this is the case, then the power of redemption is truly accepted—and immediately the one being baptized is taken out of the circle of those subject to eternal destruction and brought into the circle of those being saved. But it is possible to say that one who has acquired redemption in the manner indicated is not subject to eternal destruction, only under the condition: if he does not sin again. Sin after baptism interrupts the effect of all the gifts received in it, and again makes the sinner a son of destruction, and in an even more strict sense than in which he was guilty of it before, as St. Paul writes in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “It is the will of those who sin for us, after we have received the understanding of the truth” (and have been washed in the waters of baptism - above v. 22), “whoever has not found a sacrifice for sins is afraid. but a certain aspiration of judgment, and fire of jealousy to destroy those who want to resist.” Why is this so? Because, having given himself over to sin, “the blood of the covenant... was sanctified by it” in baptism, “he thought of filthiness... and reproached the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:26-29), or, as it is said elsewhere: the second (again – Ed.) crucified Christ (Heb. 6:6). 5) “Everyone who believes in Christ immediately receives remission of sins and is delivered from eternal punishment.” Here is the same idea as in the previous paragraph, with small shades visible in the word: “immediately.” It’s as if this word was deliberately added to inspire, so that nothing more is needed besides faith; but this is not so: repentance is urgently needed. And for the first time those who come to Christ must confess their sins, as the Ephesians did before St. Paul (Acts 19:18). Moreover, this is required of those who sin after baptism. The difference is that there baptism cleanses confessed sins from sins, but here the Sacrament of repentance with priestly permission. Thus, the remission of sins with faith is always mediated by the Sacrament. And this does not and cannot be otherwise. You can convince yourself that even without the Sacraments, sins will be forgiven; but this will be self-delusion. The second half of the paragraph: “And is delivered from eternal punishment” is correct in the sense that the one who has received cleansing and remission of sins is calculated from the list of those sentenced to eternal punishment. But if it is clear here that he will in no way be subject to this punishment, then this is not true. If he sins again, he will fall under it, and in the strictest sense, as I have already noted. Why, having received remission of past sins, stand cheerfully and courageously, so that the sinful desires remaining in the soul and body do not rise again and carry you away to the old ways. 6) “To be saved, you must accept Christ into yourself. To do this, we need to recognize ourselves as sinners, believe in Christ, thank Him for everything that He has done for us, recognize ourselves as saved forever, and be convinced that from this moment all our sins are forgiven, and we become constant participants in eternal life.” Again the same thing, only more expansive, stronger and more persistent, as if your newcomer had decided, at all costs, to instill a spirit of self-delusion into those listening. “Be convinced that our sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours.” You can, as I already said, fill yourself with such a conviction, but not through the truth, but through self-delusion. The feeling of forgiveness comes into the soul like an influx from above. The Lord speaks forgiveness in the heart, and it is heard clearly. We, who for the most part approach the Lord - if we approach - after we have managed to lose the grace of baptism - even after we sincerely confess our sins, we will pay for them and make a firm intention not to sin again; We, I say, are not immediately given the feeling of God’s favor and forgiveness when we resolve our sins or when our spiritual father resolves them. Here this is only accepted by faith; he comes into feeling after being satisfied with his labors, painful and merciless. Whether the confessor imposes penance or does not impose it, this Divine penance - a delay in bestowing the feeling of pardon - always happens, more or less long, judging by the sins. When this feeling finally comes, what happens here is different from what happens with conviction. Conviction occurs in the mental part, and from there it acts on the heart. And then the feeling of mercy enters the heart and takes possession of it, and makes all the powers of soul and body rejoice and rejoice. The repentant feels the embrace of his father. This heavenly state is given to all those who have sufficiently exhausted themselves in contrition and overwork - of course, all under the condition of faith and humbly falling before the Lord. So, if this is exactly what your newcomer understands when speaking about the conviction of the forgiveness of sins, then good. But I very much doubt that he thinks so, because for him the words “labor and feat” are unbearable. Why does he probably believe that forgiveness is given for faith alone, which gives rise to conviction. This is a direct path to self-delusion. When such a feeling enters the heart in the above-mentioned way, then at the same time the spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving begins to glow there and lives inseparably with that feeling. The aspiration of the inheritance of eternal life immediately brightens, whereas until now it was dull, timid and indecisive. I will repeat the whole way: we, approaching the Lord in repentance, need to mourn our sins, confess them sincerely, expressing a decisive intention not to indulge ourselves any more, and receive the mysterious resolution of sins from the Lord through the lips of our confessor; then begin the work of self-harm to suppress sinful habits and as punishment for previous self-will. When the sinful movements subside and the merciless conscience is satisfied with arbitrary deprivations, then the Lord takes pity on the repentant and allows him to feel the forgiveness that was due to him only by faith. I repeat this on purpose so that anyone, having listened to your newcomer, does not really think that since he believes, then there is nothing more to worry about - it is permissible to harbor the conviction that sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours. The first words of this paragraph, that in order to be saved one must accept Christ into oneself, could be left unqualified. But as it is said here about accepting only Christ the Savior, as in all points, it is impossible not to stipulate: for salvation it is necessary to accept Christ the Lord into oneself, but inseparably from the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to awaken through the word of the gospel or generally through the Divine word the feelings of sinfulness, fear for one’s eternal fate, repentance, the decision to begin to live properly, and the one who believes, in the Sacrament of baptism, clothes him in Christ, and in the Sacrament of repentance he clothes him. All this is by the good pleasure of the Father. When he who has thus received the beginning of a new life in spirit transforms with the help of grace both soul and body and becomes completely pure, then the entire Holy Trinity shines inseparably in the believer, the Trinitarian Divinity itself shines. And behold, a perfect man, having reached the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ. “I’m prescribing this for you and yours on purpose, so that you won’t be confused by the vague phrases of your newbie.” Look again, what means does he indicate to the acceptance of Christ? “You need to recognize yourself as a sinner, believe in Christ, thank Him, recognize yourself saved forever.” This is something too ideal and detached, in a Doukhobor style. You need to have all this; but without the Holy Sacraments of the Church - baptism, repentance, communion - no one can accept Christ with mental movements alone. The hope of this or the confidence in this is an empty dream, seductive and destructive, for, assuring that Christ is accepted apart from the methods established by Him Himself, apart from which He is not accepted, it deviates from the use of these methods, leaves a person without Christ, without Whom there is no salvation. This is how, by constantly talking about Christ, your novshak alienates you from Him. 7) “In this way we accept Christ into ourselves, who, no matter what, never leaves us, but always abides in us.” “In this way we accept Christ,” that is, as he said above, mentally, Doukhobor and Khlyst. No, this is not how Christ the Lord is received, as I have said more than once. The Lord Himself established a different way of receiving Him from this, and apart from this established way by Him, no one else hoped to receive Him. And this: “The accepted Christ, no matter what, never leaves us,” - where did it come from? Will Christ really remain in the one who, through his sins, after accepting Him, trampled His blood and crucified Him Himself? (Heb. 6:6, 10:26–29). Sins make the soul and body stinking. How does your newcomer dare to keep the Lord in this stench? Did He fall into captivity after being perceived by man? God Himself testifies that our sins separate Him from us. So Christ the Lord leaves the sinner in whom he was before. And the favor of the Father departs from him, and the grace of the Spirit is withdrawn. Other spirits begin to dominate there. “Christ never leaves us again; we are certainly partakers of life” - what kind of speech is this? Does he believe that after accepting Christ a person can no longer sin? But this is too arbitrary. This suggestion is unclear. If he thinks this way about himself and teaches others to think this way about himself, then this is another feature of self-delusion. Christ is in us, we add - and the grace of the Holy Spirit and the favor of the Father - until a person abstains from sins and does not put them away. But They, inherent in being in him, do not bind his freedom. Why can anyone fall, no matter how high a degree of perfection he stands. And if he falls, they will withdraw, and man will remain alone with his sins, and those who plunged him into sin, instead of our merciful God and Savior. 8) “He who has accepted Christ into himself is not subject to mortal sins; for sins in general he is subject to only temporary punishments.” If the first position is understood under this condition: while Christ is in it, then of course this is fair. But if it is believed that this happens due to some kind of necessity, then there is no truth here. The first ethereal fell; the one who was among the Apostles fell; how many examples of the fall of saints, men of high life and miracle workers?! Therefore, it is absurd to dream about the sinlessness of generally ordinary people. True, Saint John the Theologian says that “he who is born of God does not sin.” But he immediately adds: “But... he takes care of himself” (1 John 5:18). And it turns out that he does not sin because he watches himself. He will not keep watch and will sin. Freedom always remains with man. And he can fall, no matter how high he stands and no matter how close to God he is placed. The last statement: “Sins in general,” as the speech goes, “excluding mortals, are subject to temporary punishment,” is correct. These are the kind of sins into which even a righteous person falls seven times a day. All of them, as soon as they become conscious, are purified by internal repentance; those that remain unnoticed are released during a common prayer for sins that remain unknown every evening. But nevertheless, they must also satisfy the truth of God. The mercy of God arranges this by sending temporary cleansing sorrows and deprivations. One should not joke about small and small sins. Who considers an idle word important, or a distracted glance at something, or an uncontrolled laugh, and so on? We see, however, in the words of the Lord their strict condemnation of all people in general; For those who have accepted the Lord, even excusable sins may turn out to be unforgivable. Therefore, we gratefully accepted when sorrow visited. 9) “Faith in Christ, as a gift of God, is never taken away from those who have accepted Christ into themselves; because the gifts of God are immutable and eternal. The grace of redemption also remains with them and is not taken away from them.” God's gifts are irrevocable. - Is it true? If the gifts of God are not given unconditionally, but under the condition of surrendering oneself to God and the Divine order, and this disposition can change according to the freedom of man, then one cannot say decisively that the gifts of God are immutable. Due to violation of this condition, they can be taken back. What kind of judgment was pronounced over the one who received us and did not attach anything to him? “Take us from him” (Luke 19:24). – The same judgment applies to a believer when he turns out to be unfaithful to the faith in some way. Faith is a gift, but not unconditional and not immediate. The gift of faith is preceded by one’s own personal faith with the subjugation of the mind to it, the desire for faith and the seeking of it. It is true that faith, like a gift, is powerful and sublime, but it does not bind freedom of mind. The mind can rebel against it, come up with twists and turns away from it, and then attract the will and the heart and the whole person to set aside. Where then can the gift of faith be kept? He either moves away or lands. And experiences of such falling away have happened at all times and still exist. What can we say about the inalienability of faith? And in general, there is no need to speak affirmatively about the irrevocability of something, as if by some fatal necessity, even in the realm of grace. Because here grace acts together with freedom, and acts under the condition of self-willed submission to freedom. If this condition ceases, grace will cease its action. The second provision of this point, that the grace of redemption remains inalienable, is also incorrect. The grace of redemption remains as long as faith and zeal to live by faith are alive, keeping a person constantly in the feat of self-crucifixion for the Lord, by which a person is grafted into the cross of the Lord. If faith and such zeal freeze—and this is always possible in a free creature—the grace of redemption will depart. Saint Paul considers it possible for one who believes and accepts redemption not only to do this, but also to trample on the atoning blood and the second crucifixion of the Redeemer Himself: how can one remain in such the grace of redemption? Therefore, it is unfair to call it inalienable. It is said about love that it “will never fall away,” and with it faith and hope are inseparable. But such love is the height of Christian perfection, achievable for everyone, but not achieved by everyone. This cannot be said about all love. Our ordinary love is for the most part such that just show us the lentils that are tastier, and we are ready to retreat from our beloved, although not forever, but only for this case. But even such a retreat is still a retreat. Thus, talking about irrevocability and immutability in relation to a person is very inappropriate. 10) “Whoever has accepted Christ into himself and then sinned only needs to repent, and he immediately receives immediate forgiveness, since Christ is an inexhaustible source of mercy and forgiveness.” This is said to suggest that a Christian who has sinned does not need confession and God-established (authorized) permission from the spiritual father, in the Sacrament of repentance; but it is enough to sigh in your heart about sin, and it is forgiven as soon as the sigh leaves your chest. Even a firm intention to abstain from sin is not required. This is too much of a concession. Even in our ordinary everyday routines, misdeeds, for example, servants and children, are not dealt with so easily. The sin of every person is a great insult to God, who wrote His law in our hearts. The sin of a Christian incomparably offends God, since a Christian has received the clearest and most complete knowledge of the commandments, and has received grace that strengthens him to fulfill these commandments, and has heard and knows the richest promise for fulfilling what is required. A Christian, who has accepted Christ the Lord into himself, which is the highest degree of Christian perfection, by sinning, offends God, it must be said, immeasurably. The Apostle thus defines that he tramples the blood of Christ, even crucifies Christ Himself, who was received into himself, and insults the Holy Spirit. “And despite such an indescribable horror of sin, the Christian sinner is told: “Nothing, just breathe, and you are forgiven.” This is said in the name of the inexhaustible mercy of Christ. Truly He is infinitely merciful; but not at all an indulgence. Was it not at His inspiration that the Apostle wrote the above-mentioned judgment against the Christian sinner? Was it not on His behalf that he pronounced such a sentence? Over the Corinthian fornicator, Saint Paul pronounced a terrible sentence: to hand him over to Satan - was it not according to the Lord’s inspiration? That is why in the ancient Church, obvious sinners suffered long and heavy penances. And they received forgiveness after they declared both the sincerity of their repentance and the firmness of their intention to shun other sins, not in word, but in deed. This severity in the Holy Church is still kept in the penitential canons, according to which confessors impose penances. And no one should think of receiving forgiveness without performing penance. The confessors of the indulgents do not good, but evil to the penitents, without imposing penance. And during penance, the feeling of forgiveness from the Lord does not suddenly come, but one must wear oneself out a lot with contrition, deprivation, and tears, so that God’s mercy returns to the heart of a Christian sinner. It happens; Accordingly, the laws of the Church on repentance follow. The Lord Savior will always accept the repentant, but He does not completely return His mercy all of a sudden: work hard and prove that you are deeply and not fleetingly contrite, and again God’s mercy will overshadow you. And this happens only after confession and resolution in the Sacrament of Repentance. Without confession and permission, even though you suffer for the rest of your life, you will receive nothing. For sin after baptism deprives the grace of renewal of the spirit. One must once again be worthy of it, so that with its help one can cleanse the impurities of passions and self-indulgence that have again pressed into the soul and body. She returns in the Sacrament of Repentance, which is the second baptism in the lacrimal font. since it is such, it is preceded by the same thing as baptism, that is, faith, contrition with tears, confession with the decision to walk, etc. in the will of God. For the sake of such dispositions of the heart, together with the permissive word of the spiritual father, grace returns and, combined with freedom, again establishes the beginning of a spiritually grace-filled life, just as this happens when the baptized person is immersed in water with the utterance of baptismal words, which the Lord commanded to be pronounced. Without this, grace will not return; consequently, there will be no spiritual life in its proper meaning. As for direct forgiveness, it occurs only in relation to sins that break through unintentionally - which are most in thoughts and feelings, less in words and even less - or they are barely noticeable - in deeds. A zealot for pleasing God, imbued with the fear of God, as soon as he notices such a slipping sin, immediately turns to the Lord, who is always visible to him, repents contritely, condemning himself, and is forgiven. But even at the same time, as soon as any sin weighs on the conscience at least somewhat, it is better to rush to the confessor and, after confessing, get permission. This order is observed in the Church of God, the true guardian of the benefits of her children. She, using severity, does not burden and torment those who have sinned; she expresses thirst, and care for this shows what is most salutary for those who have sinned. Benefits and indulgences are alien to her, not due to the absence of maternal love, but on the contrary, due to the ardor of this love. She imposes hardships not as executions, but as saving cures. “It’s true that some people don’t like this severity; but this depends on a lack of understanding of one’s essential spiritual benefits. 11) “The first duty of one who has received Christ into himself should be the gospel, confession and preaching.” This is said for no other reason than to justify one’s imposture. If, according to your novshak, every believer has already accepted Christ into himself, then it turns out that every believer has a duty to preach - not only can he preach, but he has a duty; so if he does not do this, he sins. – Can we legislate this way? - No way. To preach, you must have the ability to do so; does it happen to everyone? - If not everyone, then it is impossible to impose such a duty on everyone without restrictions, at least with this addition: if anyone is capable. But even among those who are capable, not everyone can fulfill this duty properly, only because they are capable. We must learn faith and know it thoroughly. Without knowing the dogmas of faith well, despite all the ability to preach, you can make a mistake and bring harm instead of benefit. Here's another limitation. But this is not enough. It is necessary for the speaker to be morally reliable; otherwise he will create with one hand and destroy with the other. This is another limitation. But let it all be there - ability, preparation, and reliability: is it all there? No; he who has taken up this work must lead it diligently, and for this it is necessary that his soul be drawn to this particular type of work. If his soul does not rest, he will not be able to control himself, and the work of preaching will not be successful. “But even if this is there, the soul lies; Another may be in such circumstances that he cannot take up this matter. But even if everything is favorable to the work of preaching, there must be order in the conduct of this matter; otherwise there will be a crush that is extremely harmful to the cause: for if everyone who believes goes to preach, then it is possible that in the same place and to the same persons another will come after one, there a third and a tenth, and one will begin preaching from one point, another from another, a third from a third - and when the norm of preaching is not given, as in the Orthodox Church the Creed, then it is not surprising that each one will preach something different from the other. What fruit can we expect from this? Just chaos! The poor listeners will not know where to turn - they will be talked to and whirled around. That's how many restrictions there are, and they all come directly out of the essence of the preaching work. Because it is said very thoughtlessly that everyone who believes has a duty to preach, and, as I noted at the beginning, only in order to justify his imposture. Your impostor justifies his preaching with the words of the Savior: “Whoever confessed Me before men, let us also confess him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). But these words cannot justify: for here we are talking about confession, and not about preaching and evangelism. These are two different actions. He who confesses the Lord only confesses his faith in Him when circumstances require, without having in mind to turn to not others; and the one who preaches only means that the conversion of others to the faith he preaches. He can also add a sermon to the confession, as many martyrs and martyrs did. With all this, confession is and is recognized as a special action, in which preaching is not necessary. A confessor who gives a confession without preaching for the purpose of conversion is a confessor. Therefore, one cannot interpret the passages of Scripture that speak of confession as if they speak of preaching. In the primary Church, where, it seems, it would be very appropriate for more mouths to proclaim faith in the Lord, we do not see that every believer goes out to preach or is obliged to do so. The apostles raised preachers other than themselves. This is how Saint Timothy was brought up under Saint Paul. These students under the Apostles then corrected the work of preaching, or anything related to preaching, according to their instructions and guidance, and after them they remained as initial preachers, and just as they themselves were brought up under the Apostles, they raised their successors, giving them the commandment to teach those who were capable, so that they would then teach others. This is how it began, this is how it continued, and this is how it is now in the Orthodox Church - that the present rulers of the Church raised and are raising their successors, and they are assigned to the work of preaching. That is why unity of belief and all church orders reigned and reigns in the Church of God. Thus it is obvious that preaching was never the work of every believer, but that preachers were chosen and prepared for this work by the oldest teachers of the faith. How was your impostor prepared?! Yesterday I danced, ran around balls, theaters and festivities, and now I picked up the Gospel and, well, preached. – And expect the truth from him! - Where can he get on the trail of the teachings of the Holy Church - since the time of the Apostles, one and unchangeable, when he did not look at a single Orthodox pastor, so as to at least listen to something common Orthodox? Yes, even if he did this, and definitely knew the Orthodox faith, how did he dare to come out to preach without being sent? Don't you have the oldest archpastor there? So it is obvious that he is an impostor and does not know the truth of God: for if he knew it, he would not become an impostor. What has been said is enough to assure you that evangelism and preaching are not only the first, but even any duty of every believer. The first duty of a believer is to cleanse himself of passions in order to prepare himself for the church of the Trinitarian God. For preaching and evangelism, those who are capable, or have received the gift for this, are appointed, prepared, reliable in character, zealous for this matter and not having any obstacles to this in their external circumstances - they are appointed by the oldest teachers in the Church and act on their instructions and guidance. Anyone who comes out to preach in any other way is an impostor, and obviously does not know or contain the right faith. 12) “Evangelism, preaching and good works are the inevitable consequences of receiving Christ into oneself.” Here the confession has already been released - it is true, out of the consciousness that it cannot stand on the same level as the sermon. And first of all, it was inserted so that only a text could be attached to it, and thereby cover up one’s imposture. What should I do? Duty calls, and I preach. Christ said: “If anyone confesses,” and so on. I am afraid that He will not confess me before the Father, and I preach. “But even if he repeats this a thousand times every minute, he cannot drown out the consciousness of his impostor.” This is what worries him. Why does something new come up with a reason: as someone who has accepted Christ, I cannot help but preach; preaching is a necessary consequence of accepting Christ into oneself. Where did you get this from, should I ask him? He who believes through the Divine Sacraments of the Holy Church enters into communion with the Lord Savior, receives the grace of the Holy Spirit and is embraced by the favor of the Heavenly Father. The necessary consequence of this is fiery zeal, in everything down to the slightest accident, to walk in the will of God, with aversion from everything contrary to this. Saint Peter commands us to bring everything to this diligence (2 Pet. 1:5); Saint Paul commands only to think about this and only to tempt this (Phil. 4:8; Rom. 12:2). Review the following passages: Eph. 5:17, 6:6; Col. 1:9, 4:12; 1Sol. 4:3, 5:18; Heb. 10:35, 15:21; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1John 2:17 - and you will be convinced that your main business is to fulfill the will of God, and not to meddle with preachers. As for the circle of activity of everyone in this spirit, it is indicated by both natural gifts, which are also from God, and grace-filled ones. The Apostle Paul says that to everyone “is given” the gift of “the Spirit for profit” (1 Cor. 12:7). And St. Peter defines: “Whoever receives a gift, serve or serve among yourselves” (1 Pet. 4:10). Therefore, if anyone has received the gift of teaching, let him teach (Rom. 12, 7); but not arbitrarily, but obeying the orders of the elder teachers, so that in the Church of God “everything would be in order and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). And that everyone should certainly teach, and even more so, could not resist teaching, is an invention of your impostor - a newcomer who in every possible way manages to paint over his unseemly imposture. 13) “Everyone who has accepted Christ into himself certainly does good deeds, which do not save a person, but are the fruits of faith; from it they flow by themselves.” Here, no matter what the situation, it is a lie or a path to a lie, due to the vagueness of expressions. “He certainly gets things done.” Is there anyone, or has there ever been anyone, who would certainly do good deeds? The inevitable does not happen by will; and a good deed, in order to be good, must come from good will and be done self-willingly: “Your good will not be done according to need,” writes Saint Paul to Philemon, “but according to your will” (Phil. 1:14). And he taught the Romans to show mercy “with good will” (Rom. 12:8). And first of all, he warned the Corinthians: look, let us “as we do every purpose in our hearts... God loves the giver of a good will” (2 Cor. 9:7). Therefore, deeds that will certainly happen will not fall into the circle of good deeds. Neither Christ the Lord, who invests the believer in baptism, nor the grace of the Holy Spirit and His gifts given in Chrismation, nor the favor of the Heavenly Father, which embraces him as a result of both, do not force him to do one good thing, but leave him complete freedom to choose what he wants and do what he wants. If after this he does good, then this is because he comes out of the font as a zealot for good deeds, endowed with the power to do them. But this jealousy was perceived by him arbitrarily, in moments of contrite sorrow for sins and seeking mercy; The grace of God, coming later, strengthened her and made her powerful. But none of this tied human freedom. Every task that he recognizes as obligatory for himself is freely chosen by him, although according to motives derived from the course of the change that has taken place in him; it is freely chosen, it is freely created, although all with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. This presence of free will in doing good is most palpably seen in the fact that no good deed can do without struggle - a person’s personal struggle, with bad urges that always arise in the face of a good deed. After the spirit has been revived by grace, as I explained to you last time, the soul and body still remain in the bonds of their former bad inclinations, habits and passions. So they always climb up to the zealot of good deeds, in every case, offering themselves instead of this deed. The zealot must drive them away and restore the purity of the mood regarding a good deed, especially in terms of the motivation for it. But that’s not all. As soon as the moment comes for doing something and, therefore, straining for it, laziness appears and binds your arms and legs. We must defeat her too. And there, as soon as the first move towards good is made, obstacles are encountered, unforeseen, often erected by the enemy of all good. And they must be overcome. “And after such struggles, labors and efforts, good things finally happen.” - How can you add to it that it certainly happens? It certainly happens with the help of God’s grace; but grace comes to the rescue, and helps a person in no other way than by following the tracks of his will. Every deed is the fruit of the interaction of freedom and grace. “Good deeds do not save.” How can they not save us? “Behold, I am coming quickly,” says the Lord, “and My reward is with Me, to reward everyone according to his deeds” (Apoc. 22:12). And it will happen that whoever did good deeds will go to heaven, and whoever did not do them will inherit hell, that is, the first will be saved, and the second will go to destruction. In Saint Matthew, the Lord foreshadowed the judgment that would decide the eternal fate of everyone - and look how the verdict is drawn up: you have done this and that, come and inherit the Kingdom; but you did not do this - go into eternal fire (Matthew 25:34 - 46). How can we say that deeds do not save us when, at a decisive moment for us, nothing but deeds is taken into account? Why throughout the entire space of Scripture is it constantly repeated to us: do - do. You may ask: what does it say that whoever has faith will be saved, and that without faith it is impossible to please God, and the like? - This is not said to belittle the importance of good deeds, but to show how to succeed in good deeds. Salvation from good deeds; but it is impossible to succeed in good deeds as one should without faith. Faith motivates one to do good deeds, faith indicates them, faith also leads to obtaining strength to do good deeds. Why is faith an accomplice to good deeds? The main thing is business, and she is a benefit. You cited the text: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” What does this mean, do you think? - What, whoever believes has pleased God?! No. It is impossible to please God otherwise than through submission to Him and the exact fulfillment of His holy will, which He declared for us in the commandments. Why is he a saint of God who fulfills His commandments. But just as it is impossible to succeed in fulfilling the commandments without faith, it is said that it is impossible to please God without faith. Last time I explained to you how everything happens. Faith awakens conscience and fear of God. The fear of God and conscience lead to the determination to leave sin and begin to live virtuously. Having decided so, he proceeds to the Sacrament - baptism, if he is converted for the first time, or repentance, if he became a sinner after baptism, as we all are. Having been renewed in the Sacrament, he comes out strong in goodness, a zealot for good deeds - and begins to do them. Without receiving the powers of grace, there is nothing with which to do good deeds, and without faith you will not receive grace. So all this is needed for salvation: faith, grace, and good deeds. “Good works are the fruits of faith; from it they flow by themselves.” “How is your impostor and newcomer trying to free himself and those who are carried away by his inventions from all labor and strain of moral strength?!” “Just accept faith, and good deeds will flow from it by themselves.” “As if he wants to put everyone to rest.” Believe - and lie down; He wants to make you lazy. - What else happens? Faith in Christ, he said (item 9), is a gift from God, and good deeds are the fruit of faith and flow naturally from it. Now look! When the Lord comes to judgment and begins to ask: why didn’t you do good deeds? Then, whoever is bolder of your newcomer’s students can object, like the one in the parable, who did not add anything to his own hands: what would they have done to me? “If You had given me stronger faith, she would have already done them herself.” But since You did not give me such faith, there was no one to do them for me. - That’s right! Do you see how preferential it is? In this life, lie on your side - let faith do the work if it wants; but in court you can talk your way out of it. – There’s only one thing your newcomer doesn’t say: what to do if the Judge does not accept such a statement as reasonable? “The servants will grab you and drag you to a worthy place.” Where will you find the strength to resist? And you fall into a cave that is forever blazing with fire. “They flow out by themselves.” Get it out of your head if the thought of this gets there - “by itself.” In the moral and religious order of life, nothing happens by itself. Every action, even the slightest, must be done consciously, and with one’s own effort. And only conscious and free deeds are actually our deeds, for which we expect either reward or punishment. However, all the deeds that occur in us by themselves, apart from consciousness and freedom, have no value. The grace of God, always inherent in believers and the baptized, excites, but does not force; and then, when a person decides to do something, she does not undertake to do it herself, but only stands next to the person acting personally and self-willingly, always ready to help. Since, with all the diligence and exertion of his strength, a person is not strong enough to finish the job, she immediately comes up and helps. You can tangibly see this in the patience of something for the sake of the Lord and His commandments. Every good deed should go like this: recognize its obligation for you, desire to do it, and take inspiration for it from the treasures of faith; then, having prayed and called on the grace of God for help, get down to business and work without sparing yourself, for the glory of the name of God. Every deed will be like something being created anew. 14) “Baptism does not benefit those who have not consciously accepted Christ into themselves.” If this is said because of the hidden thought that one can do without baptism or accept Christ, then this is a lie. If it is said only in relation to the ignorance of Christ within oneself, then this is what we will say about it. The conscious acceptance of Christ into oneself, or the feeling of an acceptable and accepted Christ, is the highest gift in the order of Christian life, when a Christian, like St. Paul, can confess: “I live not for anyone, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). But this gift is not given suddenly. With faith, the baptized person puts on Christ, therefore, accepts Him; but the feeling of this is not always immediately given. It is not always given immediately when someone restores in himself the grace of baptism in the Sacrament of repentance. And when someone, after baptism or repentance, works for the Lord without pitying himself and brings more sacrifices of selflessness to the Lord, and when in this way he has sufficiently cleansed himself of passions and sinful habits; then the Lord will allow him to feel His presence. Until that time, He remains in him imperceptibly, although He helps him in everything. And here the same thing happens as in the ordinary order of Divine Providence. Many of God’s providential works for us are invisible when they happen, but are seen later, and not all of them; others remain forever unseen. So in the grace-filled order of saving life, some things are felt, others are not felt. This also happens in the grace-filled action of the Lord’s indwelling, or perception of Him; it is not always noticeable. Someone (Diadochos in the Philokalia) writes that the grace of God, at the moment of sealing the convert in the Sacrament, makes one feel its sweetness in all its strength; and then he hides his consolations and returns them again after the zealot for salvation has demonstrated his indestructible loyalty through many difficult and regrettable experiences and when he has cleansed his heart of everything that was unclean and passionate in him. Thus, unawareness or lack of awareness of Christ within oneself is not an indicator of His non-presence. Consequently, one who does not have such a consciousness or sensation should in no way be said that his baptism or confession were useless. And the one who does not feel it should not think so, as long as he is convinced in his conscience that he will not indulge himself in anything and that the zeal he received in baptism or repentance is alive and active. Everyone should strive for such a state of feeling the Lord within themselves, or His grace, for this is what everyone is a Christian; but when this feeling or consciousness is not there, then it is not necessary to deduce that, therefore, baptism or repentance is useless, but to aggravate zeal for the feats of prayer and self-sacrifice and for the works of good deeds in order to cleanse oneself of passions. Then the Lord will dwell in such a way that He will make Himself felt. 15) “Everyone who has received Christ into himself can understand all Holy Scripture and interpret it to others. However, everyone can understand the Holy Scriptures to some extent, even those who have not accepted Christ into themselves.” This opens a wide door for arbitrary interpretations of God’s word and all kinds of misconceptions, or for raising one’s personal opinions to immutable truths. You can mistakenly recognize yourself as having consciously accepted Christ, and then consider all the thoughts that arise when reading Scripture to be inspired by Christ, but they can be very far from the truth. Therefore, the Church of God does not trust any mysterious suggestions, but to assess the correctness of comprehension and interpretation of Scripture it has an unchanging norm of Christian knowledge - the Creed, the community of beliefs of Orthodox Christians of all times and places. This norm should be the guide in the understanding and interpretation of Holy Scripture. Nothing inconsistent with it can be accepted as a correct understanding and interpretation of Scripture. Your impostor considers himself to have received Christ; Do you see how many incorrect opinions he has released, although he does not let go of the Gospel? Why? – Because he does not consider himself obliged to adhere to the norms of Christian truth contained in the Church; having freed himself from limiting himself to it, he elevates every thought - his personal one, the one he liked - to the rank of immutable truth, and thus destroys the truth of God. This is how all heresies were generated, are being generated and will be generated. Of those who have separated from the Church, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth, no one properly knows the truth of God. And anyone who separates from the Church for the sole reason that Scripture supposedly taught him to understand the truth of God differently than how the Holy Church understands it, has not comprehended the truth of God, but has elevated his personal opinion to the truth and is in error. Whoever is more sincerely united with Christ the Lord, who is illuminated more abundantly by Divine grace, is given not new truths to discover and comprehend in Scripture, but the same truths that are contained in the Holy Church to comprehend more fully and deeply and to contemplate more clearly. The grace of the Holy Spirit, in Christ Jesus the Lord, by the grace of the Father, elevates the mind of not only one who has just been converted, but after conversion has worked hard on himself and has made himself a pure vessel, fit to contain the most perfect truth - elevates it into the clearest contemplation of one or another truth and in this newly illuminated form, then imprints it in the heart, or merges it with his spiritual life, making it inalienable her property. This is what she does at her own discretion with all truth; and finally introduces them all into a similar new light into the mind and heart. If someone who never ceases to improve himself ascends higher up the ladder of purification of his heart, then the grace of an even clearer person will make him worthy of comprehension, contemplation and assimilation of the truths of God. – But these are not new truths, but all the same, only they are comprehended more perfectly, for there is no measure to their depth and height. - Let everyone know this, so that when someone appears who proclaims some new truths, supposedly new revelations, he does not hesitate to turn his ears away from his broadcasts, without doubting that they are the nonsense of his imagination. Your impostor invented this point to inspire: “Listen, listen; Christ Himself speaks through my mouth!” “Perhaps someone is definitely speaking with them, but not Christ; for Christ the Lord is the truth, but there is no truth in his words. Christ the Lord is the Head of the Church, and do not look for Him from someone who has separated from the Church. This one, for this reason, is not Christ. 16) “The Church is in itself, but first of all you need to seek Christ.” “The Church in itself” – what kind of thought? If it is said in such a thought: Let the Church be for itself - we don’t care about it as something extraneous - we can do without it; then this is a complete lie. If it is said in the thought that the external structure of the Church and all its orders - liturgical, sanctifying and governing (disciplinary) are not the main thing, but serve only to express, educate and protect the internal moral and religious structure of Christians, then this is true. Just don’t forget that the Church is not only what is seen as external in it, but it also combines everything internal, spiritual and grace-filled. He who truly lives and acts in the spirit of the Church is internal, spiritual, and grace-filled. Why, strictly speaking, it is impossible to say: “The Church in itself,” in any respect. You need to know the truth and believe in it: where will you get it besides the Church, “which is... the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15)? You need to receive grace: where will you find it, except the Church, the keeper of the Sacraments, without which grace is not given? You need to have the right leadership, both in the matter of knowledge and in the matter of life; where will you meet him, besides the Church, in which alone there is a divinely established and God-supplied shepherd? You need to be united with the Lord Jesus Christ: where will you be worthy of this, if not in the Church, of which Christ the Lord is the Head? – Consider all this, and you can no longer say: “The Church in itself.” The addition: “And first of all we must seek Christ” is placed in such a way that it gives the idea that Christ the Lord can be found without the Church and apart from the Church - which, according to what was said before, is completely unthinkable. In addition to the connection in which this position stands here, it contains the truth - that Christ the Lord, accepting the repentant into communion with Himself, does not immediately allow him to recognize and feel this communion, but only lays the beginnings of it. You repented, believed, decided to work for the Lord, renouncing all ungodliness, all unrighteousness, received the grace-filled strength for this - now work without sparing yourself. But be careful not to stop at the business side alone, but rather build up your inner self through it, so that, having built a well-decorated house within yourself, you can finally receive the Lord into obvious and tangible abodes. Keep this in mind, strive for this, seek this, remaining a faithful executor of all the contents and instilled in you by the Holy Church. 17) “Christ dwells in sinful and unclean people, if only they believe in Him.” Christ does not dwell in sinners and unclean people, but in those who were sinners and unclean people and who have ceased to be so. And this happens not for the sake of faith alone, but also for the sake of the determination to follow the Lord Savior, generated by faith, with sincere repentance for sins and aversion from them - and certainly through the Sacrament of baptism or repentance. Whoever has gone through all this, that is, has changed internally and been sanctified by the Sacraments, has become pure in consciousness, conscience and will, or in spirit. It is with this purified and restored spirit that Christ the Lord enters into fellowship. The grace of the Holy Spirit restores our spirit, purifies it and makes it worthy to receive Christ the Lord. – But, as I said, when our spirit is cleansed and sanctified, our soul and body still remain unclean due to the sinful inclinations and habits that have taken root in them. Why are they not worthy of receiving the Lord into themselves immediately? But the spirit is given the power to cleanse them by eradicating everything unclean and passionate in them, to which it directs the works of good deeds and feats of prayer and self-mortification. When they are finally cleansed, then the Lord dwells in them, and not only makes His dwelling felt by the one who has been purified, but also seen by outsiders capable of such vision. This is how we should understand the work of the Lord’s indwelling in believers. The Lord Himself testifies to this when He says that whoever fulfills His commandments, to him He and the Heavenly Father will come, the Holy Spirit preceding Them, preparing for Them in us a bright dwelling worthy of Them. No one who has not completely cleansed himself of passions can be called fully fulfilling the commandments. 18) “God so loved the world that for our salvation He separated from His Son.” The first time I read this, I thought that the one who wrote down the thoughts of your newcomer must have disobeyed; because this is already a very gross absurdity. But then I began to think and think that it could actually have been expressed by your new educator. I think so because, as he interprets everything about one Lord Savior, then, one must assume, He seems to him to be separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit and existing outside of Them. Presenting Him in this way, there is nothing marvelous if, wanting to exalt the mercy of God towards us, he expresses himself in the manner shown. If he had not been alienated from the Church, he would have been delivered from such an incongruous way of representing the relationship between God the Father and the Son. For in church songs and prayers it is repeated many times that the Son of God, although incarnate, did not leave the bosom of the Father. Note, however, this point - and try someone else, have you heard, to make sure whether he spoke like that. This is very important for us to know: for if he said this more than once, it means that he thinks this way; and if he thinks like that, it means he is very short-sighted in his knowledge of the dogmas of faith. 19) “All eternal rewards and punishments are equal. Abodes many mean precisely many, but not different; for with God there is no partiality." One could say to this: if God deigns to bring us into our bellies, then we will see how everything will be there. Now we can be content with the assurance that there will be such bliss as we cannot even imagine. Seek only and do diligently what you can do to deserve it. But since we are already talking about this, it is impossible not to say at least something regarding this. The general sense of justice, placed by God in our conscience, is opposed to this. How can you put giving a glass of water to a thirsty person on the same line with martyrdom for the Lord, terrible and prolonged (for example, 28 years), or an idle word with deicide? - The Lord will come to reward everyone according to their deeds. If the deeds are not equal, and this is obvious, then the reward cannot be equal. The portion of bliss will be awarded to everyone and will be given as much as anyone can contain this bliss; This capacity will be determined by how one has opened his nature to receive heavenly blessings, and this revelation depends on the work on oneself. If these works are different, the revelation of nature is different; if the opening is different, the capacity is different; if the capacity is different, the degree of bliss is different. You can judge the difference in torment by its opposite, that is, it will correspond to the degree of immersion in sins and hardening in them. Meanwhile, since each, despite the different capacity, will not have an empty space left unfilled with bliss, and he will be completely full of it, it follows that everyone will be completely blissful and no one will feel less blissful than the other. The reason for the equality of reward is that God has no partiality. - Strange. For this very reason there cannot be equality in reward, because with God there is no respect of persons. According to the parable, the one who acquires five receives power over five cities, and two – over two. Why? Because God has no partiality; He does not look at the face, but at the deeds. Perhaps this is due to your educator because everything he does comes from faith. But faith also has degrees. No, this thought is very far from the truth. 20) “All days are equal, not excluding Sunday.” Yes – equal; everyone has 24 hours. But what happens on this or that day is not the same. If what happens to us and is different for us leaves an impression on us, then the days on which this or that happens cannot be the same for us. On any joyful day we consider it joyful, and when it comes again, we rejoice, remembering the joyful things that happened during it. Regarding sad events, the opposite happens. Does your newbie celebrate his birthday or name day? – If he celebrates, this is his own refutation of his strange position. He deigned to release this, probably against our holy holidays. But if he does not honor holy holidays, then he acts wickedly and unreasonably. Holidays are established to remember God's blessings and to give thanks for them to the all-merciful God. You can remember these blessings and give thanks for them every day, as the Holy Church does in its daily services. But God’s blessings are so great that it is impossible to embrace them all at once with all their might; Without fully recognizing them, one cannot fully experience their beneficial properties; Without experiencing the benefits, it is impossible to receive thanksgiving corresponding to them. Therefore, despite the constant remembrance of these blessings, the Holy Church appoints a special day for the remembrance of each of them - the one on which it was revealed to us, as far as this can be determined. On this day, all the thoughts of the faithful turn to one remembered good deed, in order to understand it more fully, feel it and gratefully glorify it. Here comes the holiday. It follows from this that just as it is obligatory to thank God most perfectly for His benefits to us, it is equally obligatory to have holidays; further, if someone who is ungrateful to God is ungrateful, then he who does not celebrate holidays is also ungrateful. In addition, holidays, like the entire liturgical rite of our Holy Church, have educational significance. They revive and deepen faith, giving rise to clarity and greater understanding of dogmas. As the season progresses, the holidays, advancing one after another, present first one dogma or another to Christian attention and reflection. Church hymns present it beautifully, readings from Scripture in church define it by the word of God, pastoral teachings explain it and apply it to life, based on life experiences. And all this is added up to the soul of the celebrant. Thus, the dogmatic training of the believer goes on all year round. They also foster a spirit of piety and a life of faith. For, tearing attention away from everyday things and turning attention to the spiritual, they kindle heavenly feelings in the soul or allow it to taste and be nourished by heavenly blessings. For someone burdened with everyday things, who nevertheless desires heavenly things, this is the same as leaving a stuffy room for fresh, clean air. This generally happens from the impression that one presence in a church, whose appearance represents heaven, leaves in the soul, especially the excitement of prayerful ascents to God and a reverent mood through the service itself. Whoever properly celebrates the holiday in church in the church way will hardly deviate that day and beyond into doing anything unpleasing. But other holidays sometimes cast their light far ahead. During all this time, the feelings warmed up that day do not go away - and continue to maintain a beneficial mood in his soul. And without holidays, today is everyday, tomorrow is everyday, and the day after tomorrow the same - and so on without end. What can we expect from such an order, other than the grounding of all thoughts and feelings? Idle people, who have everything in abundance without labor, can still read and pray, but workers and laborers do not have this opportunity. And the consequence of lack of holidays must certainly be the impoverishment of the pious spirit. In addition, a working person needs to rest in order to gather strength, and without a holiday it is a shame to allow this. - Thus, holidaylessness suppresses the spirit and exhausts the bodily strength. Now all the items you sent have been inspected. I've skipped a few of them because they don't present anything worth noting. Do you see? Not a single point can be accepted without restrictions, additions and explanations from the total sum of Orthodox truths, so as not to fall on the wrong path and not to deviate towards the false by wisdom. From this you can judge without error that the soul that gave birth to all such positions does not properly see or know the truth of God. Besides, don’t you feel how the spirit of flattery and seduction passes through all points? Spiritual books written by flattering spirits through intermediaries seduced by them make exactly the same impression. I wondered if your newcomer and mediator were spiritualizing those spirits who, having seduced him, the poor one, through him deceive others with the appearance of truth, hiding their destructive lies under it. I don't claim this; but thinking like this, I start to think. Collect as many of his wise sayings as anyone has left. Then it will become clear what he is. And now let’s leave him with the title of Molokan. - Save yourself. Letter 27. 5th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Salvation is possible only in a living union with the Church. About the one true Church - the Holy Orthodox Church. On the origin and essence of the Latin Church and Protestant societies. The Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. About work and exploits - physical, mental and spiritual. Living the life of the Church, you will be in living union with the Lord. The one who discourages others from the Church of God is a real murderer and enemy of God Salvation is possible only in a living union with the Church. About the one true Church - the Holy Orthodox Church. On the origin and essence of the Latin Church and Protestant societies. The Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. About work and exploits - physical, mental and spiritual. Living the life of the Church you will be in living union with the Lord. Anyone who discourages others from the Church of God is a real murderer and enemy of God. I should now write to you contrary to what your new people say, as if “nothing is needed”: believe in the Lord, and that’s all. But no matter how much I told you to find out what they mean by “nothing is needed,” you remain silent. Something can be seen about this from their speeches; but we need to know this more specifically. - Since the break in our conversations with you is already long, I won’t wait any longer; and while you are there exploring this, I undertake to talk to you about what is needed, leaving you, and everyone else, to draw the conclusion that if anyone says that this is not necessary, then they are telling a lie. I will add my speech about this to what we discussed with you in previous letters. In the first letter (24) a general outline of everything necessary for salvation is made. That's how it is. Without all this there is no salvation. It says: “Do you want to be saved? “Believe all the revealed teachings of God, and receiving the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live unswervingly according to the commandments of God, under the guidance of God-established shepherds, but all this in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws and being in living union with it, and you will be saved.” It has been said and proven from Divine Scripture that all this is necessary, and why it is necessary. There would be no point in talking about it after that. But I’m afraid that you, or someone else, is missing the last line: “All this is in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws and with it being in living union.” Meanwhile, this is so essential in the matter of salvation that, without this, all other points will not have the proper force - and salvation will not take place. That’s why I decided to talk to you about this in particular. You already know that no one is saved alone, that the Lord, of all believers, was pleased to unite one body and Himself became its Head, and that whoever is saved is saved only in the Church, that is, in a living union with it, and through it with the Lord. I won’t go into detail about this. I will only show you how everything in it is adapted to salvation. But first I am compelled to remind you that, speaking about the decisive necessity for salvation to be in a living union with the Church, I mean by the Church not every indiscriminate Church bearing the name of the Christian Church, but the one true Church, the Church founded by the holy Apostles and up to now faithfully preserving everything that was instituted by God in it through them - which Church is our Holy Orthodox Eastern Church - and nothing except her: Christian churches, as you, of course, know, are called, in addition to our Orthodox Church, the Latin Church and many Protestant Christian societies. But the Latin Church, much less the Protestant communities, should not be recognized as the true Churches of Christ; because they are inconsistent with the apostolic dispensation of the Church of God. The Latin Church is of apostolic origin; but she departed from the apostolic traditions and was damaged. Her main sin is the passion for forging new dogmas, according to her own intelligence and self-will. First, she invented the dogma about the origin of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the son or through the son - this was a long time ago, at the beginning of her falling away from the true Church; but in our memory I came up with two more: about the immaculate conception of the Mother of God and about the infallibility of the pope. Such new inventions seem to her to be an enrichment and elevation of the perfection of the Church; in fact, this is damage to the Church, and the damage is very significant. The doctrine of the origin of the Holy Spirit and from the Son or through the Son damages the dogma of the Holy Trinity; the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God damages the dogma about the damage to our nature in the fall and partly about redemption; The teaching about the infallibility of the Pope arbitrarily misappropriates the Divine property to man, and damages the general teaching about God and man. Thus, the most essential parts of the Christian confession are damaged - about the Most Holy Trinity, about atonement and in general about the nature of God and man. All these teachings are alien to the apostolic tradition, and are human inventions, and as such, they resemble additions to a building, not according to the plan and style of the building, and not from the same material; or as if someone had added some liquid to whole grape wine that was contrary to its natural composition. Just as a building is spoiled by that addition, and wine by that admixture, so with those teachings the Latins damaged and spoiled the holy faith, betrayed by the holy Apostles. The last new dogma is especially destructive - about papal infallibility. Afterwards you wonder how to look at this church. As for Protestant communities, although one can call them Christian because they talk about Christianity, it is not the Churches of Christ. The Church of Christ was built by the holy Apostles, according to the outline and plan of the Lord Himself, clarified and approved by the Holy Spirit. And these communities are organized by people on their own and according to a plan they themselves created. They have a lot taken from the apostolic tradition, but everything is given a different structure, a different place and a different meaning. They destroyed the former building of the Church, took from it what seemed suitable in their thoughts, added their own, and from a mixture of both they formed their community. What is Christ here? The main thing in a building is the idea of ​​the building and the plan for it. Since both of them are not Christ’s, but their own, invented by their own minds, it is unfair to call these communities the Churches of Christ. For Christ was not given a part in their dispensation. - True, they say that they borrowed instructions for the structure of their communities from Scripture. But the idea and plan for building the Church were not committed to Scripture; therefore they could not be borrowed from there. You can make some inferences about them from what is written; but inductions give only probabilities, not actual truth. The Apostles put into practice the true idea and plan of the Church of God in the dispensation of the Church. Whoever would like to know them should turn to the Church of God itself, and learn this from it, and not try to extract them from Scripture when they are not placed there. They are partly visible there; but in order to see them, one must first become familiar with them from the actual structure of the Holy Church of God. What do Protestants do? They destroy the Church, and then from its ruins, with the addition of some of their own, they build a new self-invented one. Can we expect them to pick up the trail of God's mark on the true Church?! After this, you yourself can draw a false conclusion about the Protestant churches - that since they are built not according to God, but according to a self-invented plan and the same idea, they are not genuine Churches of Christ, but counterfeit ones. They are like counterfeit coins or, better yet, like manufactured wine. Manufactured wine, both in appearance and taste, and sometimes in aroma, is similar to natural wine - real wine; but in its essence it is not at all, even though it is written in golden letters that it is such and such a wine. Likewise, these churches, according to the inscription, are called Christ’s, but in essence they are not such. It is proper to call them fabricated churches. Luther was the first to begin this fabrication, and then, with his light hand, others took up the same thing, and fabricated many churches. But still not happy. The fabrication of churches became the military vein of Protestantism. That is why it still continues among them, and, it seems, will continue until the end of time. Recently the English fabricated an apostolic community, the Irvingian one, the offspring of which, it seems, was the Englishman who introduced innovations among you. But more on that later. All church manufacturers proceeded and proceed from the idea that the Church of God, as it was organized by the Apostles, does not exist on earth - which I call the ruin of the old. But since it is impossible to be without the Church, it is necessary to build it again, which they begin boldly, considering themselves called to this only because it occurred to them. But how to build, according to what instructions? - Of course, according to Scripture, how could it be otherwise? - They rush into Scripture, and well - rummage. The Scriptures, as I said, do not set out the plan for the building of the Church, but contain only some vague hints about it. Attacking such hints and interpreting them in their own way, they take them as the basis for the plan of the church building and immediately begin to build the church itself. As one of them takes one thing as the basis of his church, another another, a third another, then each comes out with his own church, unlike the others. It turns out that there are as many minds as there are plans for churches, as many plans as there are churches. But not a real one. Their difference, which itself is striking, should be quite strong enough to convey the message that not a single one of their manufacturers was on the trail of the truth. But since all of them are based on something from Scripture, each of them finds it difficult to admit that he is mistaken, but on the contrary, he insists that he is the only one who has fallen on the right trail. So these churches stand one next to the other, all considering themselves real churches, and not being one of them. I’m explaining this to you on purpose so that you know that as soon as someone begins to talk about how there is no true Church of God on earth, then this is probably a church fabricator planning to fabricate a new church - and knowing this, he concluded in advance that, no matter how wisely and eloquently he conducts his affairs, he will undoubtedly not fall for the truth and will fabricate a counterfeit church. – If there is no Apostolic Church on earth, then where with our little minds can we figure out how it was organized by the Apostles? Therefore, there is no point in taking on this work of rebuilding God’s Church. But there’s no reason for that. – There is an Apostolic Church on earth, according to the false promise of the Lord Himself. These church manufacturers are guilty in two ways: both because they take up work for which they are not called and do not have the means, and because they do not work to see the true Church of God, which, according to God’s false promise, should be on earth until the end of the age, or they deliberately distort their eyes so as not to see it when it stands before their eyes. This work of seeking and finding the true Church would be worthy of praise; and this work - fabricating the church - is worthy of laughter. This one is salutary, but this one leads both the fabricator and those who follow him into destruction. Here's your new guy, do you think he's just mooing around your city? No, and he, of course, decided to fabricate his church. Know and explain to everyone that although it is not entirely clear what kind of church he intended to fabricate, it is certain that it will not be true either. There is therefore no point in reaching out to him, especially for us, the sons of God’s true Apostolic Church. certainly, he is no wiser than all the church manufacturers who preceded him. Therefore, there is no doubt that the fruit of his labors will be the same. You conveyed to me the speeches of some that he, too, speaks about the church, even published about it. Have you thought that he is talking about the Orthodox Church, since he was previously a son of this Church? But where are your eyes, or your eyes? You go to his meetings, don’t you? Is there even one small feature of what usually happens in the Orthodox Church? I’m not talking about some kind of icon, they don’t even have the sign of the cross, they don’t even read the Lord’s Prayer, but instead of this Divine Prayer and our other church prayers, they sing some poems, poorly composed, poor in content, and in addition with a humming tree (harmonium). Has he ever been to the Church of God since he lost his way? Have there been those who have been carried away by him since the time they became carried away? - So there is no need for you to stop, but directly decide that both he and they have completely fallen away from the true Church of God and are apostates from it. You can’t even trust him in what he printed. There he portrays himself before the public as a world teacher, and in order not to immediately alienate him, he mentions both the church and something else, not believing anything that is Orthodox, as one must assume, because he has put aside everything that happens in the Orthodox Church. Speaking about the church, he probably means some kind of transcendental one, perhaps the one that he planned to fabricate; but we certainly cannot believe that this is the true Orthodox Church. Yes, there is no doubt about this. At home he talks about this completely differently; He speaks differently before his listeners, whom he considers to be drawn into his false teaching. Sometimes, perhaps unintentionally, he started talking and let it slip. It was from these cases that the news came out that he did not want to know the Church. You wrote about this, a certain reverent priest conveyed it to me through the same person, and someone published in the “Bulletin” that he teaches that nothing is needed - neither the Church, nor other church things. Here are three witnesses. I lost my way in speaking about this newcomer of yours, but I had in mind to talk in general about unreal churches. But I don’t take it back; let it all go in line. – Yes, however, this can be left without reservations. Because such a flow of speech led us to the assurance that your newcomer does not want to know the Church of God, dreaming, however, that through this he in no way deviates from the path of salvation. Since nothing is so powerful for admonishing him and those captivated by him as the indication that for salvation it is essential to be in a living union with the one Church of Christ, then we naturally move on to this instruction, as we stated at the beginning of the letter. We say: whoever wants to be saved must be in a living union with the true Church of Christ. Why? - Because the Lord was pleased to combine in her one thing everything necessary for salvation. Remember what you and I said in the third letter - that in the matter of salvation it is necessary to distinguish between two sides: what the Lord accomplished for our salvation - namely, the goods acquired by the Lord through the incarnate economy for our salvation; and what we must do on our part to receive salvation is our labor in achieving salvation. From both, through their combination in the person being saved, the work of salvation will be accomplished. We can say to everyone: take care to be worthy of receiving the treasures of salvation acquired by the Lord - appropriate them for yourself and use them as you should, and you will be saved. But this twofold thing can and must be done properly only in the Holy Orthodox Church. It contains grace-filled treasures for salvation, and the practice of everything that is required of you for your own salvation, with guidance in both word and example. Hearing: take care to be worthy of receiving the grace-filled treasures of salvation, you may involuntarily come to the question: where can you get them? Where to come into contact with them and how to taste them? They are all in the Lord, and the Lord, having acquired them, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. How to reach Him? And who is strong for that? - To this I’ll tell you: you can’t reach it, and no one is strong enough to do it; but don't be horrified by it. The Lord ascended to heaven, and left the blessings He had acquired for us on earth, entrusting them to His Holy Church. The Holy Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. Whatever you need for salvation, you will find it all in her - and only in her. Apart from this, the Lord Himself does not give these benefits. This is how He Himself deigned to arrange it. Having become the Head of the Church, He acts for our salvation in no other way than through this body of His. And do not seek any other access to His treasures of salvation. He's gone. The Lord Savior, as Hypostatic Wisdom, brought in Himself to earth, from the mysteries of the Trihypostatic Deity, all saving wisdom. But he did not keep it hidden in himself, but first taught it to the Apostles, commanding them to teach it to all believers from all languages. The apostles handed it over to the entire congregation of believers, commanding their successors to guard it. And the Church became a pillar and affirmation of the truth, which, having established itself in it, abides in it and will abide until the end of the age. Do you want to know this wisdom? Go to the Orthodox Church, the faithful guardian of everything betrayed by the Apostles, and learn from her. In addition to “truth,” the Lord also had “grace” (cf. John 1:17). Having become incarnate for the sake of our salvation, He offered Himself as a sacrifice to redeem us, and thereby opened the way for the descent of the Holy Spirit with His grace-filled powers to us. Hence the two most essential benefits of the incarnate economy for our salvation: justification and sanctification. And the Lord left them on earth and entrusted them to His Church. In the Church of God there stands, continually offered, the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord, according to His commandment, and in the power in which it was pleasing to the Lord to establish this institution. This sacrifice is offered at a certain time; but just as the movement of the sun and this hour moves across the earth from east to west with intervals that are barely or not at all noticeable, it is self-evident that this sacrifice is being offered on the earth at every moment, or rather, it is continuously standing. The Lord intercedes for us in heaven before the face of God and the Father. But there's no blood there. He deigns to shed His blood mysteriously in His Holy Church, as its Head, in the Sacrament of Body and Blood. “Do this,” He commanded, “in remembrance of Me.” This, that is, the Body broken and the Blood shed for the remission of sins. Thus, the cover of justification and intercession is spread out and stands over the Church, attracting and transmitting to us all the mercies of God. Do you want to be a partaker of these mercies? Visit this sacrifice as often as you can and maintain communion with it, if not by eating it, then by contrition and weeping. The blood sacrifice opened the way for the descent of the Holy Spirit to us, from which all the powers of grace, including life and piety. Without these forces it is impossible for us to achieve salvation. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit descended directly only on the Apostles; after them, the grace of the Holy Spirit is communicated to believers no other way than through special means, or Sacraments, established by the Lord by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. And these Sacraments are entrusted to the Holy Orthodox Church and are one and the same in it. And the Church became a treasury not only of truth, but also of grace. Do you feel the need for grace? Go to the Orthodox Church, begin the Sacraments, and you will receive all the grace you seek. Are you looking for revival? Seek him in the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - will give birth to you by water and Spirit, in the Sacrament of holy baptism. – Are you looking for the gift of the Holy Spirit? Seek him in the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - will teach it to you in the Sacrament of Confirmation. - Did you sin? Do you repent and seek healing of spiritual wounds and resolution of the bonds of conscience? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - in the person of her shepherds, who has received the power to knit and decide, will absolve you from sins and heal the wounds of your soul with healing duties. – Do you have a need and are you looking for the most sincere communication with the Lord? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - by allowing you to taste the Body and Blood of the Lord from His sacrifice, which she always offered, will ensure that you will be in the Lord and the Lord in you, according to His false promise. – Are you looking to lay a fertile foundation for your family? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She will provide you with this benefit, sealing your marriage union with grace in the Sacrament of Marriage. – Are you sick in your body and are you looking for healing? Contact the Holy Church. She will provide you with this benefit and with the remission of sins, through the Sacrament of Blessing of Oil. So many blessed treasures have been entrusted to the Holy Church! - First the Apostles, and then their successors, who themselves receive special grace for this through the Sacrament of the Priesthood, in the Church of God, were appointed as their guardians and distributors. The sacrament of the priesthood is the pinnacle of the grace-filled sacraments: for without it, all other sacraments would remain ineffective, and the Church would turn into a graceless one. Thus, the Hypostatic Wisdom of God, having created for Herself the house of the Holy Church, established in it “seven pillars” (compartments), and all who come to Her, at Her calling, abundantly nourish and drink with Her varied grace. Seven sources of grace. But two of them flow inseparably throughout the life of the person being saved. These are the Sacraments - repentance and holy communion, giving the grace of justification and the grace of sanctification - graces that are inaccurate in saving life. They develop, root, and elevate in the human spirit everything that is necessary for salvation. And the more often someone uses them, the more successfully his spiritual saving life matures. And without this, it will soon become clogged, wither and stall. Do you see what has been entrusted to the Holy Church?! Do not think, and do not allow anyone else to think that you can arrange your salvation without a living union with the Church, when without this union with her you cannot find and receive the grace-filled forces for salvation anywhere. Yes, living communion with the Church is the acceptance of these powers through her Sacraments. Why is living communion with the Holy Orthodox Church as necessary as it is necessary to receive grace-filled forces for salvation? The second half of the work of salvation is our own labor in completing it. It would seem that it should be completely left to the freedom of everyone. – Granted, true, but not completely. The Holy Church attracts here with its influence and power. By this I mean not only instructions and encouragement, but certain orders and works, the fulfillment of which is the doing of what is required of us to do for the sake of salvation. The Holy Church entrusts certain labors for salvation to believers as a duty, without, however, restricting freedom to self-willed undertakings and deeds of the same kind, but, on the contrary, encouraging them and giving guidance in relation to them by word and examples. The Church itself imposes certain labors for salvation both because it wants everyone to be as one in achieving salvation, and because, considering those labors necessary in the matter of salvation, it does not rely on the free willingness of everyone to do them due to the weaknesses of our self-indulgence; and he gives his guidance in other free affairs and undertakings of this kind, because, due to inability, other work and work can be done in such a way that, instead of benefit, it will result in harm to the cause of salvation. But you yourself will see all this clearly. Remember what we said in the third letter about the duty of the Christian himself to work for his own salvation. There, after explaining how saving life is born in us, it is shown how it must then be led in order to reach its goal - namely, that the one who has decided to work out his own salvation and has received grace for this must, through the action of his blessed spirit, cleanse his soul and body of passions and reconfigure them for all good, in order to make them a church worthy of God, who has promised to dwell in the believers and walk in them. I won't repeat all that. I take this one main point: you need to cleanse your soul and body and reconfigure it with the power of a blessed spirit. - What is needed for this? Feats are needed - for the body, for the body, for the soul, for the spirit: for it also needs to be revived and strengthened, so that it constantly feels like it has the power to act powerfully on the soul and body. Bodily feats are needed because the body serves as a seat of passions. If you do not humble your flesh, you will not have success in overcoming passions. Therefore, it is necessary to overwork the flesh with deprivations of food, sleep, rest and all pleasures of the senses. – But the servant of passions and the passion-lover is a soul. Therefore, even more than the body, it must be taken into hand and worked. Passionate thoughts and desires arise in it and lead to passionate deeds, because the passions themselves live in it. The job of the person being saved is to drive away these passionate movements, and in their place to restore and install good thoughts, feelings and dispositions. This action and everything else that is done for this purpose constitutes the subject of spiritual exploits. – Finally, the exploits of the spirit are prayer and contemplation of God, and everything that is taken for this as an auxiliary means. The Savior pointed out these deeds in the Talk on the Mount, when he gave instructions on how to fast, give alms and pray. All physical deeds are combined here under fasting, mental deeds under almsgiving, and spiritual ones under prayer. For those who work for their salvation, this is indeed how things work - that they spend their lives in prayer, good deeds and fasting abstinence. And it is to these matters that the Holy Church, obliging believers to work in achieving salvation, adapts some of its laws, orders and institutions. As a field for bodily exploits, holy fasts are appointed in it - one-day fasts on Wednesday and Friday of each week, and on some other days of the year, and multi-day fasts - four large fasts. As a field for spiritual deeds, in addition to the same posts, various charitable institutions are identified in it: hospitals, almshouses, orphanages, hospices. As a field for spiritual exploits, there is a continuous following of church prayers, with edifying readings and conversations on them - prayers that embrace the whole life of a person, in its various directions and positions. I will not go into a detailed explanation of everything related to this. I am making a general overview or indication so that only you can see that all the contents of the Holy Church, all its ranks and pious orders are expedient and correctly directed towards achieving salvation for all believers. – Fasting extinguishes lust; doing good drives out anger and irritation; both together block the main sources of passionate movements (that is, lust and anger) and cultivate the opposite good dispositions and moods. Prayers, elevating the spirit of grief and introducing it into communication with the Divine realm, give it a taste of the spiritual elements, so that they can then spiritualize the soul and body and everything around a person. All these institutions of the Holy Church - prayers, fasting, charity, occupy and oblige the entire body of the Church, as one person (in a small form - this is a parish). But this does not restrict the freedom of everyone, in addition to these general works, to choose and maintain their own private ones - their fasts, their prayers, their good deeds. But the Holy Church, as a mother who cares for those who are saved, extends her care to this part of the works of believers, commanding them to begin with the advice and instructions of spiritual fathers and offering examples for imitation in the previously living fathers and brothers, who are remembered every day. Completing all such labors according to the instructions and guidance of the Church constitutes the field of general Christian asceticism. But in the Church of God there are special institutions in which asceticism in prayer, fasting and service to everyone, forgetting oneself, is the exclusive goal. Based on the fundamental needs of the spirit and the most essential Christian aspirations, this world-denying ascetic life, being carried out as it should, soon raises its favorites to the highest degrees of Christian perfection and enriches them, and through them Christianity, with knowledge of spiritual things that are inaccessible under other orders of life. Thus, as you see, the Church of God, even for the second half of the work of salvation, that is, our work in carrying it out, contains ranks, institutions and orders, by fulfilling which, everyone, without much effort, moving along with others, or being in the general body of the Church, works out his salvation peacefully, without standing out and not lagging behind others. And this is what I meant when I said in the first letter that you all work out your salvation calmly and peacefully. For it really is so that everyone who lives according to the statutes of the Holy Church and in its spirit walks the saved path, or works out their own salvation. We especially consider the institutions and orders of the Church, which make us partakers of the grace-filled treasures of salvation and give us a field for our own labors in achieving salvation; but in reality they enter one into the other, and the person living according to them passes from one to another, and often everything passes through them at once, as happens during fasting and in general during preparation for confession and holy communion. This is life in a living union with the Holy Church and in her spirit, in which through the Sacraments the human is nourished with the Divine, and in other rites - and especially in prayers, supported by fasting and good deeds - the human is elevated to the Divine, and spiritual growth will be fully prospered by grace. Let's call it church life. Apply it now to what we have previously established as necessary for salvation, and you will see that, living the church life, according to all the orders and regulations of the Holy Church, you will be a faithful executor of all this, that is, you will observe the holy faith, and be filled with grace through the Sacraments, and faithfully fulfill the commandments and be under the guidance of God-established shepherds - that is, you will faithfully work out your salvation. As all this is in the Holy Church according to the intentions of the Lord Himself for our salvation, then, living the life of the Church, you will be in a living union with the Lord, and with the organizers of the Church, the Apostles, and with the holy hierarchs who continue their work, and with the faithful doers of everything - the holy martyrs and holy venerable fathers - and your salvation is secure if you remain faithful to this union. You will be like in a safe haven, like in a strong fence, like under an indestructible cover. Church life will protect you from the world, and will keep you unharmed from the arrows of invisible enemies, and will constantly infuse you with influxes of spiritual elements, under the influence of which your Christian life will richly develop and mature, rising from strength to strength, invisibly among your visible works and deeds. Those who are alien to church life are usually poor in spirit and spiritual movements, although in everything else they are healthy. Therefore, you can judge how great a villain he is who discourages others from church life. He is a real murderer. This is your newcomer, the enemy of the Church of God and God. I warn you that if anyone of the same spirit as your apostate should read these lines, you will certainly hear: “Oh, this is the incarnation of Christianity,” or: “This is a return to Judaism,” or something similar. Look, don't be horrified. There are visible institutions in the Church, but there is nothing carnal in them, but everything is spiritual; There are statutory provisions, but they are completely alien to any admixture of Judaism. And most importantly, everything in it is either from the Lord directly, or from the Lord through the Apostles and their successors at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I might decide to explain all this to you in more detail, following this. Now save yourself, and pray to God for me. Letter 28. 6th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. What should be done by someone who, living in half with sin or completely sinful, recognizes his fault and desires to improve. The answer to the words of preachers that our church life is materialized. What is a ritual? All church prayer rituals are the most spiritual prayers. Our faith should be clothed in outward splendor. How our salvation was accomplished by the Lord. How we can enjoy the benefits of salvation and work out our salvation. About philosophy. How to develop spiritual life in yourself through visible, bodily action What should be done by someone who, living in half with sin or completely sinful, recognizes his fault and desires to improve. The answer to the words of preachers that our church life is materialized. What is a ritual? All church prayer rituals are the most spiritual prayers. Our faith should be clothed in outward splendor. How our salvation was accomplished by the Lord. How we can enjoy the benefits of salvation and work out our salvation. About philosophy. How to develop spiritual life in yourself through visible, bodily action. Judging by what has been written so far, especially in the last letter, you yourself can conclude that if anyone living carelessly, that is, half with sin or completely sinful, comes to the consciousness of his fault and desires to correct himself, then this is what he should do: having realized, in the revival of such thoughts, the grace of God calling him to enter the path of salvation, thank the Lord for such great mercy and hasten to take advantage of by her, according to the intention of the Giver; for this purpose, without allowing these first saving thoughts and movements to dissipate or die out, take care, through reflection and prayer, to bring them to such tension that under their influence an urgent determination is formed to immediately begin the task inspired by those feelings, that is, to abandon the faulty life and begin the correct one, then confess and, having received permission for all sins, with acceptance and penance for the healing of one’s spiritual wounds, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, in reunification with the Lord, whom his sins had previously alienated from him; finally, strengthened by such a grace-filled renewal, begin a new life in deeds of piety - prayers, fasting and abstinence and all kinds of good deeds, as all this is done by reverent Christians, true sons of the Church, according to its instructions and guidance. All those who have repented and begun to live piously do this and, with the help of God’s grace, are protected from sins, while succeeding in good deeds, more and more sinful desires are suppressed in themselves, and good dispositions are rooted, and through this they come to perfect purity of heart, which makes them worthy of the fact that the Lord Himself dwells in them according to His promise - which is the ultimate goal and the supreme good Christian. Who wouldn’t want to achieve this good, beyond which there is nothing and cannot be? But if good is desired, then one must desire to take the path leading to it, namely, the one described above; for there is no other. “There are, however, sages who wish to achieve this blessing and avoid the designated path - not for any solid reasons, but simply according to the whim of the heart. What is most disgusting to them is this confession and the penance associated with it, then everything else - going to church, bowing, fasting, solitude, and the like. - Extremely unpleasant. “They give it up; but how to remove themselves from this, for no apparent reason, ashamed even in front of themselves, then they come up with something to justify themselves; and others are so drawn into their justificatory speculations that they consider them decisively true, and having built their own special image of achieving salvation on them, they come out with a sermon about it as the right path to salvation, with the establishment of the orders maintained by the true sons of the Orthodox Church, according to the inspiration and guidance of this infallible mother. Some of these, as I mentioned to you at the end of the last letter, in order to justify their departure from church life, call the church order the incarnation and embodiment of Christianity, which supposedly should be purely spiritual, for God is the Spirit and those who bow to Him must bow in spirit and truth; and others - a return to Judaism: do not touch, do not taste, do not handle. It is necessary to assume, as there is evidence, that your apostates from the faith and church sometimes make the same speeches and harbor the same superstitions. For you yourself see that they have cast aside all our church orders, in which Orthodox Christians serve and please God, expressing and at the same time nourishing their true Christian piety - they have exposed themselves from everything, they have exposed themselves - superstitiously hoping to be spiritual through this. That they are acting badly and wickedly is self-evident. And there would be nothing to interpret. But, fearing that some of you, often listening to their nonsense, might become entangled in them, I consider it necessary to talk to you and those around you about this in more detail. I begin with the first reproach, as if in our country Christianity has been reified, fleshed out, corporealized. They say this, looking at our church orders, or our church life, visibly and physically manifested and performed. With you, they say, it’s all just rituals and rituals, and nothing more. He performed the ritual and is at peace, whether the soul took part in it or not. Let us tell them: Christianity is highly spiritual, for it is grace-filled; but not invisible. And true Christians are highly spiritual, for they are certainly blessed; but not ethereal. Why, with all their spirituality - the highest, they cannot help but act bodily not only in relation to people, but also in relation to God - in the most spiritual movements of their hearts. It follows from this that, looking at what is visible, how Christian life is expressed in the Church and Christians, it is unfair to limit everything in them to this mere appearance. Isn’t it fairer, on the contrary, to discern the invisible and spiritual under this visible, just as in a word we tangibly encounter a hidden thought. Others may be confused by the word “rite” in this matter. Let us explain the meaning of this word. Let’s take the liturgical part, because it is where church life is most expressed, or where it is most visible, covering or completely covering up the other parts - deeds and good deeds (fasting and almsgiving). What is each sacred service? – A series of prayers read, sung and mentally offered to God. This is the essence of sacred service. But since we are enclosed in space and time, any such service requires its own time, its place and order, its own setting, ritual, what is inevitably a series of prayers, although it does not constitute the essence of the service. The priest in a certain place, at a certain time, in a certain order, as it should be in the church, performs his sacred tinning, and he, the clergy, and the Christians present keep themselves in a certain position. All this is a ritual. But the essence of the matter is not in this external thing, but in a series of prayers performed at this time. This all comes about because we are spatial and temporal, and whatever we do, we do it in our own time, in our own place and in a certain order. And whoever began to believe that this is the essence of the matter would make a big mistake. Let's take a simple matter - writing a letter. Here you need a pen, you need ink, you need paper; You need to adapt your position to writing. But all this is an external environment - such that without it you cannot write a letter; but even when it is there, one cannot say that the letter is being written or will be written. A letter is formed in the mind and heart. When it is then expressed on paper in the usual manner, writing will be completed and a letter will appear. What arose in the soul caused a corresponding action in the body, and the finished deed appeared. Such is the case with all sacred services and prayers. The need and desire to ascend to God with petition or thanksgiving is awakened in the spirit. This causes a certain prayerful action in the body, which, once completed, reveals the work of prayer, or perfect prayer - in which the internal and spiritual are combined with the external and physical. Looking at someone writing a letter, you don’t think that the whole point of writing is in the external position of the writer and in the order of his actions. Don’t think and don’t say the same things about prayer and serving God, apparently performed with the body. Here's an example. The old woman asks the priest to serve a memorial service at the grave of her son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter. The priest puts on the stole and goes to the grave; the cleric carries a censer and a candle. Look from a distance, what's going on there at the grave? The priest reads and censes, the cleric sings, the old woman bows on her knees. Then they read, sang, censed and went back. The work of remembrance is completed. But what is the essence of the matter here? In the spirit of faith that prompted the old woman to invite the priest to perform a church commemoration; in the same or even stronger spirit of faith with which the priest began, continued and finished the series of prescribed prayers. And what else is there? Everything else is a ritual, a situation inevitable under the conditions of our current existence - not accidental, however, but corresponding both to the meaning of this service and to the mood of those performing and participating in it. It combines internal and external, spiritual and physical. And whoever would focus on the external alone, without going to the internal, and would place the entire essence of this service in the external, without thinking about the internal, would reveal gross ignorance of the matter. These are all our church prayer rituals. They all combine the most spiritual prayers, and whoever performs them or participates in their performance should be said to be walking in the spirit, expressing this through a number of external actions. Therefore, as you can see for yourself, it is impossible to say that in our church life Christianity is embodied, embodied, and we are only external Christians. Those who don’t understand the matter can talk like this to expose their ignorance. The Khlysts, for example, call us vain churchmen, and your apostates, it seems, superstitious, because we consider it necessary to demonstrate and express our faith and our service to God in an externally established order. But how do we at the same time place strength not in the external, but in the internal, or believe not in the strength of the external order, but in the strength of the internal appeal to God, and, moreover, in a churchly manner; then such faith and such hope cannot be called vain, for they were given promises by the Lord Himself. Those who, apart from the Church, desire to serve God pleasingly are vain; for the promises are not given to such. In the example given, these real vain superstitions say: “The priest will confess, but they believe that this is saving for the dead.” But I have already explained to you that we place strength not in the external nature of this order, but in the internal spirit with which it is performed; Now I will add: and it is carried out according to the establishment of the Church. The priest with his inherent represents and combines in himself the entire Church - and the prayer that occurs here is as strong as the strength of the entire Church, in its entire composition - the Church, whose Head is Christ the Lord. Looking at the external rite or ritual, others may still come to the question of what is the benefit of it; and keeping in mind the essence of the matter and the meaning of church priesthood, no one will ask such a question. Think the same way about everything churchly. Imagine the Church filled with heavenly powers. Just come into contact with her, and he will partake of her powers. Various church prayers, or prayer orders, are introduced into this contact. They are the same for us in life as in physical experiments wires drawn before contact with a strong electric battery. Whatever wire you grab, even the thinnest one, the strength of the flow of electricity to you is determined not by the wire, but by the battery. So in life, no matter how you touch the Church, you will touch all its power. – Is such faith vain when the Lord is its Head and fills it completely and in everything? It’s outside the Church, so no matter what you do, nothing will come of it. So, when you have to interpret with one of your people who have fallen away from the Church, and he, claiming to be spiritual, calls you a superstitious ritualist, you quickly explain to him what a ritual is and how great the power of church prayer is. With this you will silence him; for then his speech will be like an arrow without a target, to the wind. She won't come to us. It is not we, the ritualists, who are vain and superstitious, but rather they, the non-ritualists. In saying all that has been said, I had in mind the liturgical rites of the church, but other parts of church life (fasting, almsgiving) should also be understood, that is, that the essence in them is the spirit with which they are performed, and not the appearance in which they appear. And fasting has its own, Church-approved external side, which is most visible during fasting. And almsgiving, according to the established procedures in the Church, is also done in a variety of ways: either they build dinners for the poor on certain days, then they go to prisons and almshouses with donations, then they visit the sick, and on church porches they give whatever they can to the poor according to their strength. And this is all - church orders of a ritual nature. But even here, although the external enters deeper into the matter, the essence of the matter is not in external orders, but in the inner spiritual mood. In fasting, and in deeds in general, the essence of the matter is not simply in denying oneself food, sleep, etc., but in the spirit of repentant contrition and humility and in renunciation of all self-indulgence. Likewise, in giving alms or generally in doing good, the essence is not in one external deed, but even more so in the internal disposition - in mercy, kindled by views of the All-merciful Lord, His holy commandment and the glory of His name. Your apostates from the Church, who have stripped themselves of everything churchly (naked), seem to lay great claim to spirituality, shunning everything external, even the sign of the cross. Therefore, let us talk more about our faith, as it should be, whether naked or clothed in external splendor. See how our salvation is accomplished? God, the purest Spirit, deigned, for our salvation, to be incarnate, to live on earth as a Man, to suffer, to die, to be resurrected, to ascend into heaven and sit at the right hand of the Father. All this is visible, externally, bodily. For what? Because it was impossible for our salvation to be arranged otherwise. If it were possible to accomplish this somehow spiritually, then why would the most spiritual God have to calve? But it was necessary, having perceived our spiritual-physical nature, to lead it through action, vitally, along the entire path from the depths of fall to the heights of restoration. This is what the Lord did, opening a new path for us to the renewal of our fallen nature. If, in order to create the image of our salvation, it was necessary for the most spiritual God to supernaturally incarnate and act bodily, then how can we, who are naturally bodily, work out our salvation according to this image somehow incorporeally, mentally and spiritually? The path of salvation is opened to us by the bodily procession of God along it; Do those who think of walking along it after the Lord, to their salvation, have a mind only spiritually, and not physically? Further, the Lord, having acquired for us blessings for salvation, grace-filled, spiritual ones, did He leave them to us in a spiritual form, and does He command us to use them only in a spiritual way?! No; and He deigned to enclose His grace-filled spiritual blessings in material vessels, the Divine Sacraments, and commanded us to use them visibly, physically. The Holy Spirit descended directly only on the Apostles - and, however, apparently in the form of tongues of fire, then He deigned to be taught to all believers through visible, material means, established by Himself through the Apostles. The grace of rebirth is given through immersion of the body in water, the grace of communion with the Lord - through partaking of His Body and Blood, and so on. And all the treasures of salvation, gracious and most spiritual, being enclosed in material vessels, are received through the body. The body comes into contact with the material, which conceals within itself the spiritually gracious, and transmits this gracious-spiritual spirit to our spirit, in which a host and container for this purpose is created through spiritual moods. What is next before us after receiving grace? – Act, and act visibly and physically: fast, pray, give alms. This is what the Lord commanded, and in fulfillment of this he commanded the Apostles to establish appropriate orders between believers, which are still practiced in the Church to this day. Thus, we cannot use the benefits of salvation in any way only mentally, nor work out our salvation only spiritually. Both are mediated by visible institutions, and on our part by the body and bodily action. This is how the Organizer of our salvation was pleased to arrange it. If besides Him there is nowhere to find salvation, then those who dream of getting salvation for themselves somehow only mentally - spiritually, will dream, but will not receive salvation. Imagine a big, wide and deep river. Bridges were built across it and various other crossings were arranged - boats, steamships. Of those who need to cross to the other side, who go across the bridge, who board a boat or steamer, and are crossed. But then the wise men appeared, who, dreaming that they did not need either bridges or boats to cross, but that some spirit would grab them and carry them, sat down on the shore in the said confidence, and sat motionless, only looking with a grin at others crossing, as usual, and calling them vain. Will they ever get to the other side? Of course not; They will sit like that for the rest of their lives. This is exactly the situation in which those who are alienated from the Holy Church and all its saving institutions, established by the Lord Himself for our salvation, find themselves. They will not see that shore, and will not set foot on the land of the saved. Have you heard about philosophy? This is a science that takes upon itself to bring everything that exists under one overview and explain it so that it, in its entirety, can be clearly seen. At least she will never get to that point; but in this work one can distinguish the more right and straight path from the wrong ones. The direct path is to study the different types of existence of beings, as it manifests itself in practice, from all sides, which we have a natural desire to know; generalize, make inductions and, ascending to more and more comprehensive views, try to achieve a comprehensive view that explains everything that exists. Those who follow this path reach positions that are very valuable and important both in the field of science and in life. And everything that was and is good in philosophy has been achieved this way. But there is a disease of philosophical minds in which philosophers, not considering the facts and particulars as they really are, want to build everything from their mind alone. - And they build. What happens? Philosophies come out that do not answer reality and do not explain it, but on the contrary, obscure it. This disease of philosophers is idealism. So, what is idealization in philosophy, there is in life - let’s call it spirituality in relation to this - a dreamy hope, without much physical effort, to achieve spiritual perfection through some mental paths alone. And here and here nothing lasting and really good comes out. Their origin is soap bubbles. Those who clergy with negligence about externally and visibly performed works and deeds, as established and practiced in the Holy Church, are the same soap bubblers as idealists. Those who are sound in spirit, having received the seed of spiritual life, usually begin to nurture and develop it through visible, bodily action. Look how it happens! – Someone said about himself that “having desired to work out my salvation, I laid, he says, a solid foundation for this matter through repentance, confession and communion. Then he began to work in this way, as everyone usually works. Realizing that with other things I needed to do alms for this purpose, I forced myself to do this, but I kept putting it off and did not get down to business. Finally I began to grieve that I couldn’t control myself. I turned with my grief to one pious man, and he told me: this is because you are going to suddenly give alms in hundreds of rubles. And you should first give out a nickel or hryvnia for alms every time you go to church. I started doing this, saying to myself: is this too much? - and distributed what was due willingly. When some time had passed, the desire came to me to distribute the same amount every day; and I began to distribute. Then I thought that Sunday and holidays should be distinguished, and I began to give out more on these days... Then this increase spread to other days, and Sunday and holidays were distinguished by a new increase. So everything grew and grew. Any restlessness when giving alms has passed and the desire to give and give has been revived - and you no longer run away from the opportunity, but look for it. Now, he concluded, I would be ready to give everything away if it weren’t for my family.” – Do you see how?! Mercy is a purely spiritual disposition, but how was it formed? Things that were apparently done by the body. Likewise, every other spiritual disposition is established in the heart: patience by frequent enduring of insults and needs, freedom from anger by frequent suppression of anger and restoration of meekness, and so on. And note that only in this way can spiritual dispositions acquired be unshakably strong. In the same way, asceticism is formed and established. Do you remember the story about Saint Dositheus? Saint Dorotheos, to whom he was entrusted, wanting to teach him abstinence in food and fasting, first gave him plenty of food; then, at short intervals, he began to gradually reduce the amount of food taken for the first time, and brought it to the point that Saint Dositheos finally began to be content with the very smallest amount of food. In the same way, those who want to sleep are reduced to a little, and become accustomed to vigil, but they completely lose the habit of rest and spend the whole day continuously in work and exertion, moving from one task to another. Little by little, in this way, they reach the skill of being unindulgent in relation to the body and, in general, to all their wishes. Self-indulgence is the basis of asceticism, when it takes root through long experiences and becomes a need of the spirit. Finally, take a prayer. How does she grow, strengthen and ascend to the highest degrees of perfection? Nothing other than frequent and long labors in performing prayers. They begin to go to church, as anyone can, some to everyone, some to some services, at home they stand quite a bit in prayer, every day, every day, sometimes reading prayers, sometimes praying in their own words, with many bows, and besides, during the day they often believe in their hearts to ascend to God - and thus more and more warm up the spirit of prayer in themselves, which finally takes root so deeply in the heart that prayer does not leave it. Non-waste prayer is the height of spiritual perfection in our relationship to God. Thus, you see that in all parts of the labor required of us in accomplishing salvation, complete and lasting perfection is achieved no other way than through labor and deeds, visibly performed by the body - in other words, spirituality is developed through the body. Have you heard the words “action” and “reason” in church songs? - If you have heard, then, of course, you have also heard that action is an ascent to reason. What do you think these expressions mean? – The same thing that I explained to you before, that spirituality should be achieved through labor, apparently performed by the body. Action means the visible, active side of achieving salvation, and reason means the invisible, spiritual, contemplative side. And the holy fathers write that it is necessary to combine both, to begin with action and move on to contemplation and spirituality. since this is how it is and cannot be otherwise, then see from this how in the Holy Church of God everything is expedient and directed towards your salvation. As soon as the desire for salvation is revived in you and is blessed through the Sacraments, which are the seed of spiritual life, the Church immediately invests you with its visible institutions, which, however, conceal spiritual elements within themselves, and you, being under the influence of them and acting on them, without noticing it, grow and become stronger in spirit, while your entire walk seems to be only bodily. Either she draws you to church to pray, then she suggests fasting, then she points out the place and image of charity, then she again invites you to the Sacraments. All this is visible, and yet all this feeds the spirit and grows spiritual life. Your spirit extracts from every type of church life the spiritual element contained in it and thereby nourishes and grows. Just as our body grows and lives, extracting vital juices from different types of food taken, so our spirit feeds and lives, going through many orders of church life and extracting from them the spiritual elements hidden in them. But it’s time for you and me to draw conclusions from everything that has been said. - So, in the matter of our salvation, both what is from God and what is from us, everything must be visible, acceptable and accomplished. The Church of God, our mother, the bride of Christ, recognized the need to introduce all this into the order of her religious life, obliging us, her children, to walk in them, so that, living according to them, we would always be sanctified from above and prosper in ourselves. And know, seeing experiences everywhere, that everyone who obeys these orders and goes through them from the heart, quickly advances in spiritual progress, is firmly established in spiritual life and becomes truly spiritual. Here is the end of the visible - the invisible, the bodily - the spiritual, the earthly - the heavenly. Hearing, however, such speeches from me that in the matter of our salvation, and that from grace, everything is corporeal, and that from us must be given bodily, do not think that I believe in this, visible and bodily, the essence of the matter: I wrote about what should happen and be accomplished in the spirit in previous letters. And I direct this speech against those who are too idealistic or spiritual in the matter of faith and salvation. Having reached the conclusion that Christianity is spiritual, they neglect and reject everything already visible in the Church. I’m telling you that it’s not appropriate to think like that; for this is contrary to the essence of the matter. These clever people directly grasp the spiritual and invisible, bypassing the visible and physical. And this is the same as wanting to achieve a goal, leaving aside the necessary means to achieve it. And you know for sure that such people do not have any spirituality, but only think about it. If they shun the Sacraments, then there is no seed of spiritual life in them. If they accepted this seed in the Holy Church through the Sacraments, and turned away from other church things - church prayers, fasting, then this seed probably died out and dried up, not having the corresponding institutions around it, from which the spirit could extract the elements necessary to nourish it, and thereby nourish and develop it. Thus, the obedient sons of the Church, starting physically, achieve spirituality, but these, starting with imaginary spirituality - with dreams of it, remain completely unspiritual. How many spiritually accomplished men are monuments to the Holy Church?! And they all ascended to this height, living strictly according to church orders. They ascended the ladder of perfection, stepping with patience from step to step. And they rose to the top successfully. And these immediately want to lift their legs up from the ground itself. Nothing works out for them. As if being pulled upward; Meanwhile, everyone is standing in one place, on the ground. I was just about to finish this letter when the idea came to me to tell you something else. Your apostates from the Church and from everything churchly, adults who have already received much from the Holy Church, can still dream that they have something spiritual, although all this has now, presumably, died down. – But ask them, in their children, in the new generation, which usually grows up among the old and is brought up in its atmosphere, how will spiritual life awaken, grow and develop in their children? In the Holy Orthodox Church, children, through the Sacraments of holy baptism and confirmation, receive the seed of a truly spiritual, grace-filled life, which then develops and is nurtured in them by attending church ceremonies, under the hidden influence of this, especially by communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, under their gracious influence. And we see that children who are diligently guided along this path, when they come to rational consciousness, find in themselves quite strong spiritual aspirations, which draw them to places where they can be satisfied. They love to visit churches, participate in all church observances, and often begin the Holy Mysteries. And this is a joy for them, distracting them from many empty and harmful pleasures and pleasures. How can the children of your apostates awaken and be educated in spiritual life? Nothing. She will remain stalled. From the new generation of apostates, only spiritual and physical people without spirit will emerge. So, as a punishment for the vain apostates from the Church, their clergy will lead their race to the general consolidation of all. And their successors will think of themselves as spiritualists, but this will be a name, not a deed, as it is now. So, if you want to succeed in spiritual life, go about it the way it is done in the Holy Church: having seeded this life with visibly performed Sacraments, then develop it, strictly adhering to the visible institutions and orders of the Church. If you do this, you will soon develop the spiritual side in yourself - and it will appear in you as well-educated and firmly standing on unshakable foundations. And leave those who, apart from the Church, want to succeed in the spiritual. Nothing will come of them except dreamers who imagine having something without having anything. I believe that you have already heard, or will hear from one of them: “We would not be averse to external officials, but why do you have so many of them? You have covered yourself with them so that you can see nothing but them, and besides, you have turned everything into a law, which in no way ought to be.” This is their usual saying. But more about that until next time. Letter 29. 7th letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. The Church is the house of God. The Church preserves and provides for her children everything necessary for their salvation. The Church is the living body of the Lord; without the Lord nothing - neither great nor small - entered into it; only apostates can say that something else can be replaced or abolished. About freedom. The outer rite of the church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body I undertake to finish what was left unfinished in the last letter. We have too many rituals, say your apostates; we have covered ourselves with them so that behind them we cannot see any spirituality in us. And others, perhaps, add: and all this without any need or benefit. Many? - Let it be a lot. Well? Should I be annoyed and saddened by this? In which house there is a lot of everything, they groan at it? The Church is the house of God. If there is a lot in it, according to the economy that is carried out in it, that is, according to the arrangement for the salvation of its children, - and glory to God! When you see a house full of everyone, your spirit rejoices; and when in any house the yard is empty and everywhere is like a ball, what a joyless feeling this leaves! And these are your apostates 6 . In their entirety, they imagine a desolate house from which everything has been thrown out. That's probably what they want to do to all of you. We have a lot of churchliness because there are many of us, and we have many needs. Our protective mother, the Church, is guided by her Head, and has prepared everything that is useful, preserves it, and generously provides for us, her children, at the appropriate time and in due measure. – Should I list everything? - But here’s the general thing! If you need instructions, go to Church, listen and watch. And through the ear and through the eye all kinds of lessons will flow into you. Listen to the Apostle, the Gospel, the prophets - and learn; listen to the chants - and be admonished; look at the sacred rites, and be lifted up, delving into their meaning and meaning; you see images, remember the glorious deeds of those depicted and strive to imitate them, if they are persons, or glorify God, marvelous in mercy and truth, if they are events. In the Church, even the illiterate become no less than literate holders of the Divine mysteries of salvation if they listen. A sense of duty forces you to make a sacrifice to God, your Creator, Provider and Savior - go to Church. Here a bloodless sacrifice is offered to God every day - the Body and Blood of the Lord, the only sacrifice worthy of God, powerful to propitiate Him. But join in this sacrifice yourself with a contrite and humble heart, and bring a tear to the altar of the Lord, so that, together with the bloodless sacrifice, it rises before the face of God and, reminding Him of you, brings down His favor and blessing upon you. Do you want to learn how to pray and receive guidance in it? ABOUT! This, above all, is what the Holy Church is rich in. She will give you ready-made prayers and teach you to ascend to God in prayer in your own words. Everything in it is prayer, and everyone will find there prayers of every kind and for every occasion. The need for prayer during conversion, like a spark, sinks into the heart, through the action of grace, mysteriously returned and restored. This spark is kindled into a flame by the breath of the air of the church during participation in church prayer sessions. Listen to the prayers read and sung in the Church, strain and compose your own prayers when we invite you to do so (by litanies); and your prayer will soon begin to move, become tense, strengthen and begin to flow from your heart, like a stream from an inexhaustible spring. Do you have a need to humble your flesh, your closest, most incessant and flattering enemy? – Here is a guide and guide for you, post by post. Se – middle; Before you know it, Friday has arrived; Several weeks will pass, and a big fast will begin, followed by another alternation of daytime fasts; and there again - another big post. It's like this all year round. Know how to use this, and you will have a humble flesh, and in it, instead of harm, the most beneficial helper. If you have fallen and have a need to clear your conscience, these same fasts give you both a strong motivation and favorable time to do so. Pray, confess, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and, having thus firmly established your footing again on the proper path, walk it cheerfully. Do you have any personal need? Whatever it may be, you will find beneficial satisfaction in the Church. Whether your thoughts are troubling you, your spirits are chilling, your grief is weighing you down, whether you are getting ready to go on a journey or starting at home - for all this and much more you will find in the Church intercessory prayer, sanctifying sacred acts, and indicative guidance. I am not talking about the sources of grace, the Holy Sacraments; I’m not talking about constant guidance in spiritual life and models for it. You yourself know that the Holy Church is rich in this - and only the Orthodox Church. Do you see now that we cannot help but have many things? We have many needs that are not suppressed, but require their entire life, from the minute of birth to death. The Holy Church embraces with its churchliness the whole person and throughout life; she takes him into her arms immediately after birth, accompanies him throughout the course of his life and sends him to the next world. And how beneficial it is! The world surrounds us with its charms and the spirits of evil with their intrigues. The Holy Church, completely surrounding us with its churchliness and completely covering us with it, repels the spirit of the world from us and reflects the arrows of the spirits of malice. And it turns out that he who walks according to all the rules of churchliness is as if clothed in impenetrable armor, or as if hidden under powerful wings, or as if hidden in an indestructible fortress. That these are not empty words is known to those who spend their days in humble submission to everything churchly, sanctified and enlivened by sincere faith. “Ask who wants them, and you will see how great a blessing this is.” And what are those who are alienated from everything churchly? - Either naked in the cold, or unarmed among enemies, or bloodless, naked and hungry, with no place to lay his head. Glorify the Lord, who has built such a rich, powerful and caring Church for us, and be always whole-heartedly and with faith submissive to her, with her maternal courtship of you as a child. So thank God that there is a lot of everything in the Church. And there is nothing to be burdened by this; and there is no need to be burdened. For, judging by how everyone needs to participate in church rites, we can say that there is very little for everyone. To pray according to the rules of the Church, morning and evening, before the table and after the table, before starting a task and at the end of it - that’s all on another day. On some days, in addition, it is necessary to go to church, either just to pray in public with everyone, or to meet some private needs. Is this too much? In a family, in some years there is no need for which the Church should be invited, in others there is only one. So, everyone loses a little bit of churchliness. The Church contains and watches for a lot just in case, always being ready with its help. It is true that despite this, churchliness not only constantly appears before everyone’s eyes, but also occupies everyone, forcing him to act in his own way. But once it has become part of the routine of life, it is no longer anything special for those who are used to it, and is easy to do, just as easy to breathe. Being burdened by anything churchly exposes the burdened person to alienation from the Church. Let us note at the same time that, at least in a small way, it relates to churchliness; but he enjoys full influence and power of the Church, sanctifying and protective. Only unbelief and decisive alienation from all churchliness makes the poor apostate naked and defenseless. So you see how things are. But the apostates have everything of their own: a lot of unnecessary things, they say, random, arbitrary; It is necessary to change some things, cancel others, replace others with new ones. Let’s say this in general: in the Church of God nothing is introduced without need. Whatever was established by her was established to satisfy spiritual needs, needs not invented, but living, caused by life. Moreover, what was established was established by the good will of the Lord, the Head of the Church, in His spirit, and in accordance with the promises. Without the Lord nothing entered the Church, neither great nor small; for she truly is His living body, living through Him. since this is the case, who dares to speak as the apostates speak? - Only apostates. That is why they say this because they are apostates; and since they say so, it is clear that they are apostates. A true son of the Church will never say that. In some respects, one can only distinguish between the degrees of need and importance of the contents of the Church: necessary, useful, comforting - since there are needs of the same kinds. In our ordinary everyday houses, some things are such that without them a house is not a home - it is essentially necessary, some are present and maintained as useful, others serve only to decorate the house or to the pleasure of the living; otherwise it is instituted and taken care of in case of emergency. And the Church is a house - God's house - and everything like that, in its own way, should be in it. And there is. There is something essential in it, without which the Church is not the Church (priesthood, Sacraments, services, fasts, charitable institutions), there is something that is accepted and held as saving and beneficial to the soul (icons), there is something that consoles and delights her children (singing). What kind of owner would throw things out of the house just because without them the house is still a house? For those who live in the house need pleasant things, and without that which serves only to decorate it, life is boring; and what is useful becomes necessary at the time when its usefulness is required. Likewise, what exists in the Church should not be touched with the arrogant hand of arbitrariness, but everything should be accepted in the quality in which it was established and maintained. Everything in it is edifying and nourishes the spirit of believers who have eyes and can see. Leave, they say, what is most necessary, and leave everything else away. But if we do this, what will remain? What will remain in the house from everything that we see in our houses if we deal with them according to this rule? Four walls, a roof, a hearth, some vessels - and that’s it. What will remain of the clothes if they are rearranged according to what has been said? Nothing. A piece of material, and perhaps it will not hold, because instead of any matter a leaf of grass or the skin of an animal can serve. Can we expect anyone to think of doing this? And if someone did, wouldn’t everyone consider him crazy? This is how we should treat church splendor. How are you? Your apostates have stripped you of everything churchly, and you are glad. - A benefit, it turns out, emancipation. What kind of nonsense do you have there?! But whatever the quality of the contents of the Church, everything is from the Lord, as I have already mentioned, either directly established by the Lord, or favored by Him. If nothing happens in our body without depending on the head (brain, nerves), then all the more we must believe that this is the case in the Church of God, that is, that in it, as the body of the Lord, nothing happens without the Lord, Who is its Head. True faith always feels the right hand of the Lord in all churchliness and accepts it as coming from Him, with humble and warm submission, not allowing itself daring plans for cancellations or changes. So, then, you have the rule of law again, cry the apostates? Where is Christian freedom? – It is right there, at the same time and in this, which is called obligatory churchliness. Freedom from Jewish legality, granted to us in Christ Jesus, does not mean placing us outside all legality, but is a conclusion from Jewish legality in order to place us under Christian legality, not only in the internal spiritual life, but also in the external orders of religious life. since the assembly of believers constitutes a society of a certain spirit and purpose, then it, as a society, must be well-ordered or consolidated and protected by laws, and as a society of a certain spirit and purpose, it must be subject to such and not other laws, and laws that are unchangeable, just as its spirit and purpose must be unchangeable. Here comes the urgent legislation! – But since this society is visible, subject to local and temporary conditions, its legality, while remaining unchanged in essence, in application or manner of execution, may not be the same in all places and unchanged at all times. This is freedom under the rule of law! In the Church of God we see at all times this unchanging legality, and this freedom in the fulfillment of the law, not enclosed in uniformity everywhere and all the time. In the Old Testament, not only the essential was included in the law, but also its various applications down to the details were also defined as an urgent and unchangeable law. It was necessary; because that Testament represented guidance from the external to the internal - a single one - which would have been prevented from being formed by external particulars if they had been left free: for then they, not having an internal basis, which had yet to be formed, would have diversified to the point of opposites, and led to different internal things. Christianity, on the contrary, goes from internal to external. In it is given the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and in this spirit there is essential legitimacy for Christian society; the application of this legality to particulars is left to freedom; for the purpose for which these particulars were defined in the Old Testament—the formation of a single internal one—already existed. This is how it was in the Church. From the very descent of the Holy Spirit, she began to clothe herself in her externality, renouncing little by little the externality of the Old Testament, as we see in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, on all sides of the inevitable religious action for Christians. - And she put on her clothes. But just as initially this vestment of oneself in appearance was given into the hands of the Church itself, so after this, after the arrangement of this vestment, it is in the same hands of the Church. Having clothed itself, the Church did not bind itself to this; Her power over her appearance was not stopped; she remained powerful in relation to her for all times. Why, how to initially introduce everything, she had freedom; so then everything - in all parts - is renewed, replenished, changed, she can and has a duty, according to the demands of circumstances, time and place, according to the guidance of the Spirit living in her. The Holy Church has always demonstrated this freedom, and is demonstrating, and will continue to demonstrate until the end of time. So that you do not get confused in your thoughts about what does not change and what can be changed, I will give examples: that there be in the Church the priesthood, the Sacraments, church meetings for prayer, reading the Scriptures and bloodless sacrifice, there is fasting, and charitable institutions - this is an urgent law. The Lord, by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, established this everywhere, as soon as the Church was formed wherever. But the manner of conducting these affairs and the particular procedures regarding them were left to the freedom of each Church. And here not everything was left without the guidance of the Apostles, especially when believers, due to their inability to satisfy the zeal of their spirit, allowed something discordant. But freedom in this regard has always remained with each Church. An obvious example is the Church of Corinth. The law only required that everything introduced be in good order and in order, and that it be fully consistent with the spirit of faith and life in Christ Jesus. But this freedom granted to the Holy Church is not the property of every son or daughter of the Church. It is our duty to obey the Church, as we confess in the Creed with the words: “I believe in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” Everything that exists and is established in the Church is law for each of us as long as it exists and is maintained in the Church. - But we are not chained in this, like in chains. When we act in common with everyone, we are obliged to act according to a common charter; and when we do what we do at home, alone, then here we are left with freedom. Prayers and songs in the Church are read and sung for everyone, and we are then obliged to unite in spirit with everyone. But in home prayer you are completely free. Prayer books have been compiled for this purpose; but the way to use them is provided to you. Fasts were established, and methods of asceticism were indicated - vigil, solitude, work. But the way of fulfilling this is left to freedom, only advice is attached: do everything with advice. There is even more space and freedom in the form of charity. Thus, in our church life, freedom is wonderfully combined with legality, both being directed towards success in the inner life. When you hear: the statutes of the Church are law, do not think that this law is obligatory because it is determined by the general voice of the Church, that is, in the same sense as in everyday life the verdict of society is obligatory for everyone; for society rules over private individuals. This is not the case in the Church of God. The Holy Church is not an ordinary human society, but is a body consisting under the head - Christ the Lord, guided and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, and embraced by the good will of God the Father. Therefore, everything in her - and given to her freedom - is not of one human origin, and necessarily not because everyone decided to be so, but because the Trinitarian God deigned so. Submission to the Church is submission to God, in the strength, I will add again, in which something is established, that is, some as necessary, some as useful, some as comforting, some as beautifying. Why do we believe that by doing everything from the heart, we serve God and please Him, although our action is only visible, bodily, but God is the Spirit: for we act with a spiritual mood. The previous indication gives me reason for the following guidance, which is not useless in relation to the subject of our discussions with you. since in the Church of God everything is according to God’s will, and since, by doing this, we bring service to God; then everything, small and great, must be performed with complete reverence befitting God. Our reverence should be commensurate not with the greatness or smallness of what we do, but with the face of God to Whom it relates. Whether someone censes, or reads and sings, or does anything else, as long as he does it carelessly, he is subject to the judgment of those who do the work of God with negligence. Likewise, of those inherent in the Church, whether someone stands, or bows, or lights a candle, if he does this carelessly, he sins just as much, and is subject to the same judgment. All these and similar actions are not important in themselves, and such actions are not urgently necessary: ​​in their place there can be all sorts of others. But as soon as they are accepted and established, and as long as they relate to God as an agent, then he who neglects them despises and insults God. The same should be said about actions outside the Church (at home). Since they relate to God and are dedicated to Him, they must be performed with complete reverence, not in proportion to their importance or smallness, but as befits to act before Almighty God, in His honor and glory. Don’t consider this remark unnecessary, as if it is irrelevant. No; I'm exposing it on purpose; because it provides very important guidance for our subject. Ahead, at the beginning of the letter, it was noted that the Church, with its statutes, embraces the entire life of a person, from birth to death, and, moreover, in all its manifestations and orders. Consequently, there is no movement or action where an attentive Christian does not encounter something ecclesiastical. Consequently, further, there is no movement and action that would not place him before the face of God, and through this would not oblige him to act in the most reverent way, as one should act before the face of God. It follows from this that he who acts properly in the church manner continuously undergoes the science of reverence before God with the dedication of everything to Him, and hence the skill of uniting with every visible deed all the attention of the mind, all the sympathy of the heart and all the zeal of the will, and all this in a religious spirit. If you walk now in this mood, under the influence of church orders, what will you get? What you will get is that the spirit of reverence will permeate your entire being and inhabit you. What will come of this? – What will happen is that you won’t notice any multiplicity in the church; for the spirit of reverence, constantly abiding in you, will unite everything, and your attention will not be much, but one thing. It will also turn out that you will not notice duration in any church observance; because no church following can be so long as to compare in this respect with the spirit of reverence, or exceed it, when it is persistent and continuously effective. What will also happen is that you will not notice that you are bound by church legality, for then everything will come from within you, from your heart, and you will be a law unto yourself, or you will become a person for whom the law does not apply. - Now remember the reproach to us: you have covered yourself with an ecclesiastical appearance (of course, legality) - and see if there is any harm from this. What is external here is only an inevitable outer shell, and what constitutes the essence of action is all internal, spiritual, everything happens before the face of God, in the depths of the heart. He who walks in these outward things walks inwardly, quickens and strengthens the spirit, and lives by the spirit. After this, you yourself see that if sometimes in those who perform church successions and in those participating in them, churchliness turns into one form, then the fault is not in the church order, but in us. This is our oversight, and not an inevitable part of the church. We are such that by our inattention we turn the most edifying and stimulating orders into ineffective forms. What had such a beneficial effect on us yesterday now has a weaker effect; in a day it will act even weaker, and so on, until this effect reaches zero. And then only one form will remain. This is what happens with churchliness - so it turns into a form, not being in itself only a form. This, however, gives the apostates and some of the wise guys who sympathize with them a reason to cry: formalism! formalism! Stupid scream! Churchliness in itself is not one form, and in its performers, not in everyone, it turns into a form. Why shout? - After all, it’s impossible to abolish it just because others, through their own oversights, turn it into a lifeless form? Because we cannot be without her. It should not be changed or replaced with a new one; for, whatever orders you introduce instead of them, we will convert them into one form. What follows? We should make it a law for ourselves to use churchliness in such a way that it does not turn into a form for us: for in itself it is not one form, and in performers it is not like this in all performers. Instead of thinking about changes and cancellations, let everyone take care to join the ranks of reasonable executors, and that’s the end of the matter. And this doesn't require much. That sincere zeal for pleasing God is required, there is nothing to say about this: for it is the root of all pious life. It is necessary to add only a simple and uncomplicated technique: each time you begin to perform church activities as you did the first time, completely forgetting - or not giving any price - what you have done before, or have done several times - that is, begin with the same attention and reverence with which the soul is usually full when approaching a sacred task for the first time. This rule is given by the holy fathers. And it is justified by experiments everywhere. Ask the reverent people, and they will confirm this to you. Ask those who fell into formalism and rose again from it and rose to the living spirit of reverence, and they will say the same. Don’t you dare think that when the external things in the Church are established and given into law, then we are shackled into an empty formality. I will make one more remark. I said above that the Old Testament is a guide from external to internal. But it turns out that the New Testament is the same. Adults, through churchliness, content, as a law, support and nourish spiritual life in themselves, and the younger generation cultivates it in themselves in this way. It follows from this that a kind of legality also takes place in the New Testament Church. - And don’t be surprised at this. This is inevitable according to our structure. In the natural order, as they say, the highest animal, while its embryo develops to its perfect formation, passes through all the degrees of living beings preceding it. The same is true in spiritual life. Although our race is now in Christian age, each of us passes through those states in which a person was in previous ages, that is, we are now such as those who lived before the law (childhood, adolescence), then such as those under the law were (youths, young men), then finally such as those who are in Christ Jesus are, no longer walking according to the law, but in the Spirit. Because we are under church law not as a reproach, but as a praise - that we follow the proper order of spiritual development, and have everything we need. There will be a reproach if anyone stops at church legality alone. But it’s enough to tell him: tighten up a little and get inspired. One can only ask: why do they not abandon church legality even after spiritual life has already developed? – Let us answer the main thing: because spiritual life always requires revitalization; Our church legality is completely filled with spiritual elements; therefore, the one who walks in it always breathes into himself the spiritual - the life-giving. Just as bodily breathing refreshes and revitalizes the entire body, so walking in church orders refreshes and revitalizes the entire composition of spiritual life. Just as the bleeding woman, touching the hem of the Lord’s robe, attracted healing power from Him, so does everyone who works. anything ecclesiastical or participating in it accepts the influx of spiritual elements into the revitalization of his spirit. The outer rank of the Church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body. Another may ask: if the Church has the power to change its external appearance, then why does it not change it? Because it is given to her to change, not only because she has the power to do it, or not just to give exercise to this power; but in this case, if any action determined by its charter has ceased to be necessary, has ceased to edify and nourish the spirit. - And this is not due to the whim of some fashionistas, but after making sure that this is really the case and that the change or abolition is desirable by everyone in the form of spiritual benefits, and not any external conveniences. If everything in the Church is edifying, required and satisfies needs, and is not an excess, then why cancel or change? It neither cancels nor changes. From all that has been said: so, therefore, do not move and do not try anything new, but live as everyone else lived and now lives in a church way, diligently fulfilling all the rules of the Church. By doing this, you will undoubtedly please God and be saved. If you become fashionable, you will anger God and ruin your soul. For the last three letters I have been directing everything towards convincing you that the saying of your apostles that nothing is needed is idle talk. Do you see how much is needed?! Everything that is in the Church is necessary, and nothing should be left behind. I should list all this again, as is usually done in conclusion; but please do it yourself. - And save yourself! Letter 30. The external structure of the Church is an expression of the internal mood of souls and leads to excitement and strengthening of the internal; the essence of the matter is inner life, to live in God by the spirit. Enemy of many Not having understood from your first letter what you needed, I asked you to write more clearly about it. And again you said almost nothing. He said two words, but they were so vague that you couldn’t guess what your thoughts were. You write: “I have reversed what is visible with external eyes and all the rituals and laws, but I understand it in the opposite sense.” That's the only answer you have to my question. But here everything is not clear. What does it mean: “reversed” and “understood in the reverse sense”? If by “turned back,” you meant that you place external church rites and rituals in the matter of salvation not in the first place, not in front, but in second place—behind, then this is correct. Likewise, the Holy Church itself understands that its entire external structure is only an expression of the internal Christian mood of souls and leads to the stimulation and strengthening of this internal one. The essence of the matter is inner life - to live in God by the spirit. And if you turned all this back in the sense that you threw everything away as if it was not necessary, then you judged and acted incorrectly. Without external things, we cannot remain in the business of turning to God and achieving salvation. This is how we are structured, that our inner requires its expression outside, and itself requires the outside for its stimulation and strengthening. And we see from history that, no matter how much others wanted to be spiritual, they could not completely renounce the external, and, abandoning the general Christian, they started their own. You probably have it too, or will have it, if you have gone or will go along this road. And this is extremely unreasonable and ungodly. The external ranks of the Holy Church, in the main and essential, were established by the holy Apostles, and were supplemented and brought into their present form by the Holy Church through the holy fathers at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Lord Savior, Who is the Head of the Church. Thus, if you have rejected or reject all this, then you have become or will become a fighter against God; and you do or will not reason according to God; and you act or will act against the will of God. The enemy has already led many astray, suggesting that God must be served spiritually and that external things must be abandoned. It is fair that God should be served spiritually; but in order to reach spiritual service, one must first practice in the external, and then, having achieved the spiritual, if God gives it to anyone, it is necessary to support, revive and strengthen this spiritual again with the same external ones. Where should children suddenly take up spiritual things? Let them first learn to serve God outwardly; and as they grow up, they will learn to serve Him spiritually. But, having learned to serve God spiritually, they will not abandon the external, because it, like adding wood to a stove, heats up and kindles the inner spiritual. This is how we see order in the Church of God. All the saints of God acted this way, as we see from their lives. – If you want to achieve salvation like them, imitate them in this. Maintain and fulfill all the contents of the Church; but don’t stop at this one thing, but ascend higher, to the spiritual, and pay all your attention to the creation of the spirit, or to your inner life, so that you can always be with God in your heart. If you do this, then this will be a real deal. What do your words also mean: “I understand in the opposite sense”? Everything visible in the Church has a spiritual meaning; but it is not backward, but real, just as the Holy Church itself teaches us to understand everything that is ours. So, if you try to understand everything external of the church, except for appearances, by its inner spiritual meaning; then this is good. If you wanted to say something else with these words of yours, then be careful that it doesn’t turn out to be disapproving. So write what and how you understand. The spiritual meaning of everything external to the church has long been brought to the attention of believers, from the words of our godly teachers. But taking on this task yourself is not entirely safe. You can immediately get confused and come across ungodly thoughts. You said generally: church rites and laws, and everything that exists in the Holy Church is true; you put the external on the same line. If so, then you are making a mistake. From everything external in the Church, it is necessary to single out and place in a special, highest category, the seven Divine Sacraments, established by the Lord Savior to communicate to believers Divine grace, without which there is no salvation. In the Church of God, the word of God, containing divinely revealed truth, and the Divine Sacraments, imparting grace, are the same as the apple of the eye. And treasure them as you treasure the apples of your eyes. All the other ranks of the Church, although they are also sacred and should be reverently revered, cannot be compared with the seven Holy Sacraments. These Sacraments, although visible, contain and communicate Divine grace, and apart from their Divine grace it is impossible to receive; therefore, salvation will be improved. All the other ranks of the Church only contribute to the rekindling of grace, but do not communicate it. - Impress this in your mind more firmly. So you see how dangerous it is to turn back everything external to the church, if by “turn back” you mean to abandon it completely. Leaving this, you leave the Sacraments; and by leaving the Sacraments, you will ruin the work of your salvation. Don't argue why this is so. This is how the Lord Savior Himself deigned to arrange it, Who would not have burdened us with unnecessary things if the Sacraments were not needed. Write on your heart: whoever shuns the Holy Sacraments is without grace, that is, does not have the Holy Spirit. And whoever does not have the Holy Spirit is not Christ. And whoever is not Christ’s is not the Father. - Do you see? – He who is alien to the Holy Mysteries is alien to the Most Holy Trinity. Listen, brother. Who is one who belongs to him who is a stranger to the Holy Trinity?! You called church rites and rituals external, visible to the eye. This is not entirely correct speech. Only the actions and positions of those praying and officiating, the place and time are visible. But this does not constitute the essence of the rituals of the Church. Their essence is a collection of prayers that make up a certain church rite. The prayers all represent an image of the elevation of our mind and heart to God, which is appropriate to have during a certain sacred rite. So you see that there is a church ritual? There is excitement and inspiration in the minds and hearts of those praying and performing sacred acts of a prayerful offering to God appropriate to a certain occasion, through a series of prayers read or sung with certain actions and positions of those participating in that. If you understand church rites and rituals in this way, then you cannot call them only external, visible to the eye, when their essence consists of an internal prayer offering to God. It is true that, looking from the outside, you see only the external actions and positions of those performing rituals and participating in them; but you are wrong in limiting your entire understanding of the ritual to this external one. And looking at a person, you see only the body, head, arms, legs, etc.; but you can’t say that a person is all that is seen with the eyes. For the main thing in him is the soul, which makes him human. So in rituals, it is not the external visible, but the internal, imagined that constitutes the essence of the matter. If you please understand it this way, and – leave your “observable rituals with external eyes”, and say: church prayers. He who shuns rituals shuns church prayers; and whoever shuns the prayers of the church deprives himself of the great promise of the Lord: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). I am finishing my speech. I told you everything that seemed necessary, judging by your words. If I didn’t follow the desire of your heart, then the fault is not mine. Why did you write so mysteriously? “If you need anything else, write, but write simply and clearly, so that I can see what you want.” Letter 31. About self-pity and self-indulgence You write: “The fiercest enemy, self-pity, does not retreat from me, frightening me that I will get sick if I treat myself strictly. That’s why I don’t see any fruit. I'm very sorry about this; but I don’t know what measures to take against this enemy of mine. I ask for prayers." Self-pity is the enemy. Not it, but you yourself. After all, you feel sorry for yourself; who is to blame? You feel sorry for yourself, pity yourself, and that’s the end of the matter. And you pretend that self-pity came from somewhere else, and rapes you. It didn’t come from the outside at all; it is your own, home-grown child, or you yourself, pretending to be raped and disingenuous before yourself - the most evil and destructive of all deceits. The sin that lives in us - the root and source of all sins - is selfishness, or selfishness. His firstborn daughters are self-pity and self-indulgence. Through the first, he always leads to the second and establishes an order and character of life that is opposite to pleasing God. Do not think that this way of life is clearly sinful. No! This life is fine, but everything is led out of self-indulgence. Self-pity and self-indulgence allow deeds related to pleasing God, but under the indispensable condition that they do not disturb their peace, or that they also nourish them. Thus, someone is both pious and virtuous, and yet entangled in self-indulgence. Such people will hear at trial: “We don’t know you.” It’s good that you at least see self-pity in yourself and are ready to rebel against it. But others don't see it at all. I will address my speech to you in order to inspire you to drive out this enemy of yours. From your further words, I conclude that you consider unimportant actions allowed out of self-pity and self-indulgence. - You have a big mistake here. Such actions, in themselves, are definitely unimportant; but it cannot be said that the presence of self-pity and self-indulgence in your soul is unimportant. Because what does it mean? “It means, at first glance, that self-pleasure in you and I is stronger than pleasing God, even though we set out to please God and think that we are doing so. 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 we feel sorry for ourselves, it’s a pity to take something away from sleep, it’s a pity to miss a little food, it’s a pity to put a lot of effort into ourselves, and the like. If only you had to feel sorry for yourself, and nothing else! Otherwise, it happens that, having felt sorry for ourselves, we abandon the things that in our conscience we considered necessary for ourselves in the matter of salvation. Consequently, in these actions we move from pleasing God and achieving salvation to self-pleasure, that is, we act contrary to how we set out to act. As conscience knows about our decision, it immediately begins to reproach us for being unfaithful to ourselves, betraying ourselves. One becomes ashamed in front of oneself, and inner peace disappears. What should I do? Another, realizing his mistake, immediately restores the first decision not to indulge himself, and decides in advance not to succumb to suggestions of self-pity. And the other, due to sluggishness of will, borrows self-justification from the same self-pity and excuses himself either by random illness, or by various affairs, or by the need to ease himself a little so as not to become exhausted. He himself sees how fragile these supports are, sorry for himself, but he does not refuse to persuade his conscience not to worry and not to disturb him. - And this is deceit before oneself, the most evil of all deceits, the root of all our falls. - What about conscience? Conscience first stands, and then closes its lips. After all, he himself is the owner. What can you do with it? However, she does not give peace. There will be a need to silence her voice. How? Deviation of attention to the external, so as not to be at home, that is, go for a walk or talk with someone and the like. - And entertainment after entertainment followed. They will bear fruit - indifference to the matter of salvation and loss of the fear of God. Perhaps - I suppose! - And the man began to live as he lives, carelessly. So, do you see how important the actions of indulgence in self-indulgence and self-pity are? – Look at these consequences more often and draw inspiration from such a look against these enemies. Where does self-indulgence get such strength that, even with the determination to work out its own salvation, it manages to persuade it to do its own deeds? – I think because the original decision was incomplete. It was incomplete and not entirely decisive. When it was formed, salvation and the receipt of the Kingdom of Heaven were in mind; and the sacrifices and labors required for this were not weighed, or even considered. That is why, as soon as they were needed, we went to church. It was thought that everything would go easily; but it didn’t come easy, just like it doesn’t happen to anyone. We hoped to receive the Kingdom and to live peacefully, to our fullest: which is not compatible. The holy ascetics say everywhere that whoever wants to follow the path of salvation as it should should must determine himself to death - not to any insignificant deprivations, but to the deprivation of even life itself - in order to stand in what he started to the point of his stomach. Those who make up their minds so completely have no access to self-pity. Why, if you want not to succumb to self-pity, return to the beginning of your good decision - and complete what is missing in it. If you give in to self-pity, then you have not yet rejected yourself. If you have not denied yourself, then you have not yet taken a step along the path following Christ the Lord. You only had thoughts and speeches about it; but the matter has not yet followed. I mean how this matter should be inside you. Don’t think again at this point: maybe, I suppose, I’ll get through somehow. You won’t get lost at all, but will be stuck in one place. You yourself say that you don’t see any success in yourself. And don’t wait for it while you have self-pity. Have you ever seen an electric car?! If you have seen it, then, of course, you know that electricity, excited by friction, is collected in a copper cylinder; and it can accumulate so much that it will kill you if you carelessly touch the cylinder. But if you lower a copper chain from the cylinder to the ground, then no electricity will be collected, even if you spin the wheel until you sweat. This is what this chain is, lowered to the ground, that is, self-indulgence and self-pity. No matter how much you work, they will not allow anything spiritual to form in the Soul. They will devour and destroy all the fruit of their labors. It is true that self-pity and self-indulgence do not lead everyone directly to an apparently bad life; but nevertheless they make their whole life barren. Whoever suffers from them is neither warm nor cold, neither this nor that. And in the Apocalypse such people are threatened with complete rejection, with disgust from them and disgust with them (Apoc. 3, 15-16). Therefore, please think about your self-pity, and hasten to deal with it as it rightly deserves. You ask to pray for deliverance from him. No one's prayer will help here. Self-sacrifice, which destroys self-pity, is the starting point from which both God’s help and the help of mutual fraternal prayer begin. And you must deny yourself. For this action, then all the gifts of God will go. If you do not imagine this sacrifice, then do not expect help, neither from above nor from around you. Remember the example that happened in the Egyptian desert. The brother was confused by the movements of the flesh. He comes to the elders and asks for prayers. They began to pray as they usually did. But some time passed, and the brother came again and asked for the same thing. The elders again promised and prayed. But again there was no help. So for the third time. The elders were surprised; for usually help was sent at their first prayer. Why did they begin to pray not for help for their brother, but for the Lord to bless him to reveal to them why it was not pleasing for Him to hear their prayer? The Lord revealed to them that the brother himself was to blame for not resisting, but favoring unclean movements. “Then they called him and told him to cut off all indulgences in himself, then help would come from prayer. The brother did so, and with God’s help, through the prayers of the elders, he was freed from passion. - Here's my answer for you. Cut off self-indulgence: then outside prayer will also be helpful. And while you're on his side, don't expect help from anywhere. I won't tell you anything more. You can see for yourself what the matter is. Do this, and your work will go in God’s blessed order. Letter 32. Regarding the unfortunate circumstances of life. The Lord never leaves us, but only gives us different positions and states. Everything that comes from God happens for our essential good You write: “I am in an unhappy situation and consider myself close to death. I had a small fortune; but at the moment I have nothing, not even daily food, and my family suffers want and exhaustion.” “I think that the Lord has abandoned us and does not listen to our prayers and petitions. And one involuntarily comes to the thought that the Holy Scripture seems to be deceiving us.” “Due to human weakness, I am afraid of accepting a violent death. Will I be guilty of my blood? Because I ask the Lord first, so that He does not destroy my soul.” “I myself would be ready to endure more, but my suffering family discourages all patience. My wife and young children are suffering because of me, worthless. Let the Creator punish me alone and save them from suffering.” “Why am I suffering? - I can guess what kind of sins they are. In terms of trade turnover there were falsehoods - large ones...” - which you list. - “Or maybe I don’t know how to find my talent?” “And I don’t know how it will work out. I’m thinking of going somewhere to serve... even though I had servants myself.” I deliberately copy-paste almost all of your letter; because in it you yourself are already partly hinting at where you should borrow consolation and inspiration for patience and how to help the trouble in some way. The Guardian Angel tells you this; but it is clear that the enemy is not asleep, but is trying to either darken your mind with wrong thoughts or plunge you into despair. Why is my first word to you: move your consciousness to the good side, and stick to it, driving away the evil influences of the enemy. There was, you say, a fortune, but now there is nothing, not even our daily bread. – Who can say that this is not sad? - It’s extremely sad. But remember Job, be inspired. You, of course, didn’t lose as much as he did. The easier it is for you to understand what he said and felt: “The Lord is given, the Lord is taken away. As the Lord willed, so it came quickly” (Job 1:21). Restore and strengthen the conviction of faith that everything that happens happens according to the will of the Lord, and submit to His decision. “The Lord decided to give you a small fortune and gave it.” You used it for a long time and lived in contentment. Now He has determined to take what is given from you and leave it with nothing. Make this decision, as you made the first, with good humility: the Lord is the Ruler of everything. He manages everything as he wants. Speak in your heart: this is the will of the Lord! Blessed be His name! In relation to property, we are the Lord’s steward, and He is the Owner. He assigns one to one, another to another, and changes assignees as he finds best. You were assigned to a few things, but now you are dismissed. Be patient a little. Maybe the Lord of everything will assign you to something else. Job lost everything, and he himself became worthless, but still did not lose heart. You’re still on your feet and healthy, but you’re confused and give up. Rather, you should think that the Lord removed you from this mentoring only for a while in order to give you something else, rather than that He completely abandoned you. Be patient a little and you will get something again. It’s easy, you might say, to say: be patient, but how can you be patient?! You need to eat, but there is nothing. We are dying of hunger. - Well, you are adding to your misfortune a little. When there is general famine, then, of course, they die of hunger; and when everything around is in abundance, how can one die of hunger? - Ask. No one will refuse a piece of bread or anything else that you cannot live without. Ashamed? - What to do? Humble yourself when the Lord has humbled you. By humility you will incline others to even greater compassion. And somehow you’ll get settled. And there the Lord will send the best. You say that you would be ready to go into services. And great. Go, don't be ashamed. And if the wife can do the same, even better. There is no low position. The only thing that is low is to be faulty and incorrect in some way. Both the water carrier and the woodcutter are respectable, and are truly respected when they work properly. - So you will have little security. And at the same time, it will no longer be completely unbearable to endure. If you show your ability to serve, earn trust, you will receive greater assignments, and you will have greater security. And then, perhaps, you’ll pull yourself together enough that you’ll be able to start your old business again. And you put your hands down and hung your head, and you repeat: “The Lord has abandoned us, the Lord does not listen to us.” The Lord never leaves, but only gives different positions and states and changes them for others. If the Lord had left you, you would no longer be in the world. And the way you live, it means that the Lord has not abandoned you, but is watching over you, like others - he has only changed your condition. This state is not what you want; That's why you're worried. But why are you worried? “You can’t overcome God.” It is better to humble yourself under the strong hand of God, and desire this very position that God has awarded you. And you will calm down. Of course, the thought occurs to you: “Well, everyone else around is living as usual, but I’m the only one who has suffered a bitter change.” - What do you care about others? God destined them to remain as they were, and for you to suffer a change for the worse. Look not at others, but at the hand of God, which has brought about a change in your condition. Put yourself before God, and you won’t dare to stutter: what about others? - For your conscience will tell you that through this you enter into a relationship with God, you demand an account from Him: how did He act this way in relation to you?! And it will silence you. If you believe in God’s providence, which takes care of us, then you must also believe that God always has an account of why He disposes of our participation this way and that way, and this account is never to the detriment of our essential good; only He does not always deign to reveal to us why this happens. Faith assures us that everything that happens comes from God, and, since God is all-good, it happens for our essential good. Restore this faith, and it will illuminate the darkness of your situation, making you feel that others were left as they were because it was good for them, and you suffered a bitter change because it was better for you. See that you are not affected by anything compared to them, but are with God on the same line with them. And what am I saying: on one? You have become taller than them. Read what St. Paul writes in his Epistle to the Hebrews: “The Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son whom he accepts. If you endure punishment, as God is found to you as a son” (Heb. 12:6-7). The Lord loves everyone and cares for everyone. But whoever he subjects to some kind of test, he shows that he especially loves him and elevates him to the dignity of his beloved sons. You say: “How is this so? Love shows, but it hurts.” - What to do? This is not God's fault, but ours. We are such that God cannot show us love except by hurting us. We are sick in every way, and we require acute healing, the healing of which comes to us only through pain. God is doing this now. I saw that if you were left a little longer as you were, your illness would become incurable. That’s why I came to you with healing. And this healing required cutting off and cauterization. That's what hurts. The patient, to whom another part is cut off, does not say that the doctor abandoned him, but on the contrary, then he sees that the doctor is caring for him. So you see in the cutting off of all your property God’s special care for you, and not abandonment. You would like to see more clearly why exactly this kind of cutting is used in relation to you, as I conclude from your question: why is this suffering? But you yourself answered: for the sins that you list. Sins are not small. If you were left like this, you would, of course, commit more such sins. Your sinful habits and mood would take root and spoil you so much that you wouldn’t even sigh about your badness. If the Lord had condemned you to destruction, He would have left you to follow your path into destruction. But as he loves you and does not want your destruction, he sent you grief so that you would come to your senses, recognize your sins, repent of them and correct yourself. This is exactly why the Lord did this to you. And your own conscience reminded you of this. Listen to her suggestion, heed God’s intentions for you and do what He requires of you. Review all your wrongs, condemn them, mourn them and confess them in spirit, making a firm intention to always act with a clear conscience, if God pleases to send you back to your previous deeds. If you correct your inner mood in this way and make a further determination to satisfy all the unjust, like Zacchaeus, when you have the opportunity, then you will imagine in yourself something worthy of pardon - and it is not surprising that you will meet this pardon. Having done this, you will be ready for pardon. If even then your bitter situation continues, it will only be so that you become more firmly established in the good dispositions you have accepted. The same thing happens here as in blacksmith's products - that the blacksmith, having made a thing, does not immediately put it into use, but first hardens it. It is not surprising that the Lord, even after your repentance, will prolong your trial in order to strengthen you in goodness. From what has been said to you, it is clear, I believe, why God does not hear, as it seems to you, your prayers. You crossed yourself once or twice, and you expect that the whole sky is about to move to your aid; Meanwhile, you yourself are not moving even a hair's breadth towards what God requires of you in your present circumstances. How can I hear you? Repent, confess your sins, set out to correct your heartfelt dispositions - and wait to see how God is pleased to arrange for you, without predetermining it. Then even if the thought comes to you that God does not hear, you will still have at least some reason for it. But I think that such a thought will no longer come. For then your conscience will assure you that you have still suffered little compared to your sins, and will force you to pray: add, Lord, in order to be completely cleansed. God doesn't hear? – God hears and sees everything. Only your desire to fulfill does not find it useful for you. He plunged you into the fire of temptation in order to burn out everything wrong from you, and not to extinguish this fire until you are completely cleansed. You now look like bread planted in an oven. The housewife will not take the bread out of the oven until she is sure that it is baked; and the Lord will not bring you out of the furnace of your sorrow until He sees that you are firmly established in good dispositions. Sit in this cave of God and endure. These are all the influences of the enemy: “God does not hear, the promises of the word of God are not true; It’s better to commit suicide.” – Remember God’s promises in His word, and you will see that not a single one remains unfulfilled, and exactly as promised. I won't list them. I will dwell on the one that concerns you more closely, namely, the promise to hear the prayers of those who pray and to have mercy on them. I heard everyone who asked for what they should and asked as they should. I heard Moses before the sea, I heard Hannah, the mother of Samuel, I heard Elijah, I heard King Hezekiah, I heard the three youths in the cave, Daniel in the ditch - and how many others were there who were heard?! – Remember all this and you will drive away the evil thought that the word of God deceives us. If a prayer is not heard, then the fault is ours: we do not pray as we should, and we do not fulfill the other conditions for hearing. The enemy comes and slanders the word of God, when we should blame ourselves, and not the word of God. I won’t even talk about how it would be better to commit suicide. The absurdity of this is self-evident. Of course you believe in a future life. Think about it! “You will arbitrarily take your own life in your right mind, and you will commit a mortal sin, with which you will pass on to another life without repenting: for when is there to repent? “Why, you will be condemned directly to hell.” What kind of improvement will this be? If you kill yourself to escape from trouble, you will end up in immeasurably greater trouble, eternal, unchanging. While you are in poverty here, you can have hope in the next world that you will receive a better fate; and in the next world there will be no such hope. You go to hell, that's where you'll stay. - This is how the enemy instills in you an amendment to your bitter situation! “And if you endure complacently, then perhaps you will get better here, and you will meet mercy in the next world.” I don't have anything else to tell you. - Be grateful and endure, remembering the word of the Lord that he who endures to the end will be saved. Letter 33. About the decision to leave the world and devote oneself to serving the Lord. About Spiritual Guidance You decide to leave the world and everything in life. Good! The path you choose is good and, if you follow it well, it will be successful. From some of your words about yourself, I conclude that the Lord has been chasing you for a long time and wants to catch you; but you all didn’t give in. Finally, the thought has come to you to obey His call and run after Him, leaving everything behind. God's will for the path you choose cannot be ignored. - And thank God! Know, however, that it is even more appropriate to pay attention to yourself. For the enemy does not sleep, and instead of the path of God he will not be ashamed to persistently offer you his roads, as usual, with flowers, without thorns. You must watch, working out your salvation with fear and trembling. God will not leave you if you humbly seek help and guidance. Your intention to devote yourself to serving the Lord can be fulfilled in different ways. You can go to a monastery, you can lead a special life at home, if it’s convenient, like blueberries; you can settle somewhere near the monastery; You can become a sister of mercy. See for yourself what is best for you. Wherever your heart lies and what you see yourself more capable of, decide on that! “You can try everything and settle on what you find more suitable.” It is advisable for you to sometimes ask me questions. Write. I will answer as far as it makes practical sense. But my writing will be the same for you as reading books. There is no way for the management, as you wish, to get a job here. What kind of manual was published? With me you can only reason. And reasoning and leadership are two different things. The leadership demands: do this and that, and don’t dare do anything else, but reasoning generally argues, leaving it to one’s choice whether to follow it or not. The leader takes responsibility for the soul he leads, and the reasoner can only be kind to it. So please understand in what sense my speech will go. I can’t promise the same kind of leadership as – take your hands and lead. I don’t have the ability to do this, and it cannot be done by me as it should, due to my and your circumstances. If you please, go yourself, and I will describe the paths and crossroads for you. I can't promise that anymore. When you write, write from the shoulder, without thinking. These reflections always almost obscure the truth and force one to say something that is not what it is. Letter 34. On prayer with humility. About church and home prayer. We need to cultivate prayer in ourselves To my instruction: “Pray with humility,” you respond with the question: “Is it possible to pray without humility?” “To this I’ll tell you: I knew one person who used to say: when you go to prayer, do you go to receive interest and a pension or beg for alms?” I knew another who warned: be careful not to be on friendly terms with God in prayer. – There is no humility here and there. And there are many other manifestations of unhumble and generally faulty prayer. If, as you say, you always stand in prayer with fear and trembling, with a contrite and humble heart, then thank God! Great mercy of God to you! For God gives such real prayer. Thank Him and ask Him not to take away this mood from you in prayer. Your prayer rule is that when you are healthy and nothing bothers you, you go to church, and when you are not in church, you say prayers at home, as expected, or by bowing you serve the statutory rite of prayer - good. It is always better to pray in church: there is a prayerful air there. And you are doing well to rush there. But when you can’t, there’s nothing to do, pray at home. At home you can pray in every way - as you decide - complete freedom, as long as your mind and heart lift up to God with praise, thanksgiving and petition. But you do well that you say your prayers more according to the prayer book, with attention and feeling, and only sometimes you are content with just bowing with your prayer words. You must first cultivate prayer, or a prayerful mood, with ready-made prayers, and then begin to pray with your own prayer. The word to God in prayer, although not the main thing, is better when it is divine; and you can’t learn such a word anywhere other than from ready-made prayers. However, when you find a strong prayerful feeling and it is broken by the reading of prayers, leave this reading and give space to that feeling. If you don’t have time, shorten your reading or stop completely, and pray only according to your feelings with bows. And if the feeling passes, and there is still time, then continue reading the prescribed prayers again. Everything with complete freedom, as long as reverence for God is maintained. This is how you go about your business—either by reading prayers with attention, or by praying your own when you are feeling. Your prayer will continue to grow and strengthen, melt and flare up. I would like, you say, to go into prison. It’s early, and there’s no need. You live alone. When, when will someone come in. And when you go to church, it does not break your loneliness, but affirms or gives you the strength to spend time in prayer at home. At times you may not go out for a day or two, still trying to be with God. But this happens to you naturally. So there is no need to make any guesses about the shutter! When your prayer becomes so strong that everything keeps you in your heart before God, then you will have a retreat even without a retreat. Because what is a shutter? That is when the mind, enclosed in the heart, stands before God in reverence and leaves the heart or does not want to do anything else. Look for this shutter, but don’t bother about that. You can wander around the world with your doors closed, or let the whole world into your room. Letter 35. About life in the monastery - external and internal. No one but the Lord can teach true self-knowledge You write: “I’m trying to live in a monastery.” - Good! - May God grant you to see monastic life in a monastery. Please know that in every monastery two lives flow: one ordinary, everyday life - walking, talking, eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., and the other - the monastic life itself - passing through prayer, fasting, contemplation of God and the struggle with passions. Only the first is visible, but the second is not visible and is deliberately hidden, even from one’s own people, and not just from strangers, like you. Without seeing this one, you can conclude: what kind of monasticism is this? It’s the same here as in the world, especially when you have to hear big conversations or see something wrong. Why do they scold monks and nuns? Because they see only one worldly side of their life, but do not see the monastic real one, visiting monasteries only as visitors. Make sure you don't fall into the same mistake. So you noticed something not to your liking: “The nuns have an enemy on their tongues; little, little - everything is an enemy and an enemy. I admit, this shocks me unpleasantly. And how can that be? - I have a mind; I think it myself, I say it myself, and I do it myself.” – By this you let us know that you do not entirely believe in the interference of evil spirits in our affairs. Scientist! How can one believe such absurdities! All scientists are like this; and they do not see how the enemy entangles them even more than the unlearned, and this is not only in the everyday part, but also in the learned part. There is not a single scientist whose enemy has not filled his head with soap bubbles that they consider brilliant ideas or theories. And in life, in feelings and relationships, he constantly exposes them to mockery. They can't make out any of this. - You are the same. Wait. The enemy will not keep you waiting long; he will soon give you such bait that you will fall down. This time I won’t tell you anything about it, except that you should think and restore in yourself the truth that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, and against the powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12) - and that their commander-in-chief “like a roaring lion, he goes about, seeking whom he may devour” ( 1 Pet. 5, 8). This is what the Holy Spirit says through the mouth of the holy Apostles. And you have to believe. Believe, and the experience of the life you have begun will soon confirm this to you tangibly. You have decided that you will pray that the Lord will give you a clearer picture of what you are. Good decision! No one except the Lord can teach true self-knowledge. Experience teaches this, but the exact understanding of experiments in this sense is given by the Lord. And the Guardian Angel, at the behest of the Lord, inspires how to notice something. Work hard! May God grant you to achieve clairvoyance that you are blind, paralyzed, and a leper. This is our current state. This is how it is, and not made up this way; but not everyone sees it, even those who want to see it. The enemy is closing because it is his job that we are like this. He hides it so that when we see it, we won’t ruin it completely. He clouds our eyes with fog, keeping us generally thinking of ourselves as such that we are a very good people. This is to our advantage. When the Lord allows you to dispel this fog, you will see how good you are. Begin to come before the Lord in prayer as one condemned and perishing. Although this will be the conclusion of self-knowledge for you, if you succeed in it; but it’s good to decide this about yourself in advance in order to give direction to self-knowledge. Letter 36. About pride and vanity. What are the manifestations of pride? You write: “I spoke with my spiritual father and told him different things about myself. He told me straight out that I was proud and vain. I answered him, “I’m not proud at all, but I can’t stand humiliation and servility.” Finish the song, great. Don’t let them offend you, so they know that they can’t grab you with their bare hands. See, you thought of calling it something, and to your face? - Now I will sentence you: what better proof that you are proud than your rebuke? She is not the fruit of humility. And why would you oppose such a verdict? If he doesn’t come to you, there’s no harm in it; and if it goes, you reject it, then this will cause no little trouble; because if you don’t recognize your bad side, you won’t try to correct it, and it will stay with you forever. It’s better for you, no matter what, to take a good look at yourself to see if there really is this extremely evil potion in you. Last time you were going to pray to the Lord to let you know what you are. So the Lord sent you an instruction, but you turn away. That's right, you expected the Lord to show you how beautiful you are. No, don't expect that. This case is the Lord’s direct response to your desire and prayer. If you please, it’s better to apply your own labor to this beck of the Lord. Start looking into yourself more strictly. Stand at the heart and notice what comes out of it; then discuss what properties this came out with. If it turns out to be even a little proud, it means that pride sits in the heart and releases such bubbles from there. To make it more convenient for you to conduct this business, which is unusual for you, review what manifestations of pride there are, and use them to catch yourself. What kind of manifestations of pride there are, you can learn this from the Climacus, precisely from his words about pride and vanity, from Cassian, from the Venerable Nile, from the “Orthodox Confession” where the origins of the seven deadly sins are listed. You will find all these books in the monastery; in the meantime, you will have time to stock up on them yourself. Notice better all the signs of pride, and then see if you have them. If even a few appear sometimes, it means there is pride, and it must be eradicated. You wrote that you once desired insults and humiliation. This was direct evidence of humility. And then they told you: you are proud, - you are offended, cross and turn away from the one who spoke. Aren’t such actions a sign that there is no humility: there was, but it evaporated, at least in this case. He who desires insults, no matter how much you do, it is not enough. So the humble man thinks that humiliation is not enough for him. You say: you would say what pride is. “But it can be very thin, so you feel like it’s there, but it’s tricky to definitely grab it.” Please find out for yourself what your pride is. Be grateful to the one who told you about this, which leads you to self-knowledge. Last time I wrote to you: begin to pray as one condemned and perishing. And you are in protest. You often erupt in protest. I have to say that you are Protestant in spirit. You will say that I am on you, as is the confessor. I am neither for you nor for you; but I’m just telling you to take a good look at yourself. I repeat again: there is no harm if something is attributed to you that does not exist. And if you look closely and find it, it will be good. Know this that all providential actions regarding each person are primarily aimed at pulverizing our self. This also means, of course, in relation to you. And thank the Lord that He, in the very first stages of your dedication to Him, gave you such a saving lesson. Please discuss it properly and memorize it. Letter 37. About paying attention to yourself. God judges a person as he is inside, in the heart You remember one nun who is very zealous for both church services and monastic obediences. “And things are burning in her hands; and she keeps saying that she’s careless and lazy. It seemed cloying to me,” you say. “Obviously, there is no sincerity in the words, and it’s unpleasant to listen to them.” - Wait, and say the same thing yourself when you gather yourself and begin to listen to yourself. You are still external now; You only see the external and judge everything by the external. And then everything you encounter will turn around for you in a different way, and you will begin to judge everything differently, including yourself. That zealous nun obviously listens to herself; paying attention to himself, he sees every wrong movement arising from the heart. Although she immediately drives them away, she cannot consider them completely strangers when they occur in her, but considers them her own, and must judge herself by their quality. Let the desire come to eat something tasty and more. Although she will not do this, she can still sincerely consider herself both a delicacy and an insatiable belly. Let the desire come - to dress cleaner and newer; she can sincerely consider herself a dandy and empty laywoman, although she will not acquire an elegant dress for herself. So it is in everything, so it is with regard to negligence and laziness. It’s true that from time to time she gets the urge to give herself a break, either in church or at home. Since such a urge comes from the heart, it means that laziness has not yet completely evaporated there, or it does not always maintain a cheerful spirit in church continuously, and it is suppressed either by dissipation or relaxation. What can we call such suppression if not negligence? So, when a whole series of such cases come to her mind, her conscience forces her to admit to negligence and laziness. And therefore, when she calls herself like that, there is no insincerity here. Remember the story about one old man, a great mentor to many, how, sitting in his cell, he scolded himself as a glutton, a sleepyhead, an idle person, and called himself various unkind names. His disciple listened to this and was amazed, because his elder had never seen anything like this. But he could sincerely consider himself to be so, either by his thoughts or by the memory of the past. I know one person who calls himself money-loving and stingy, although he does not save money. When they ask him why he talks about himself like that, he replies: I love having money and when someone asks, it’s always a pity to give it; you give, it’s true, but always with a “sorry.” So this is how it happens in inner life. The time will come when you will talk about yourself like that. God judges a person as he is inside, in the heart, and not as outside. So those who pay attention to themselves and those who fear God judge themselves. Letter 38. About paying attention to yourself. God judges a person as he is inside, in the heart “A talkative nun came,” you say. We talked, and everyone went over what happened in the monastery. I listened calmly and as if to my heart's content. But when I was left alone and began to remember everything, confusion arose, everything grew and grew, and finally turned into a storm. I collapsed as if in a fever; Then she locked herself in and didn’t come out until she calmed down.” And thank God they calmed down. Now sit down and think about what it was? – The sense of truth was disturbed, jealousy for the truth arose, and well, it raged. It all seems to be in order, just as you think. But it's not okay. I leave aside the objects that caused confusion; I take the most embarrassment and say that it was the enemy who laughed at you. You do not believe in his interference in our affairs - here is your reward from him for this; but the Lord allowed this to happen to you in order to teach you this truth through experience. A long time ago I came across a book about the inner world. There, I remember, it all boils down to the following position: having made peace, maintain the peace of your heart, repelling without pity everything that attempts to disturb it - everything, no matter how red it may seem. I remembered this and am prescribing it for you. How red it seemed what was happening in you! You, Elijah, a fiery zealot, with a sword in your hand, spoke out in defense of the laws of righteousness. And look what a fruit! How the fever has gone! Such embarrassment could not have a good source. Our God is the God of peace, and brings all God’s peace. And zeal for truth, when it comes from God, is peaceful, meek, compassionate towards everyone, even towards those who violate the truth. Therefore, understand that the zealous ferocity that kindled you is not from God. The enemy got close to your heart and inflamed it so unnaturally that you fell down. This is the first. The second thing you should take into account is this: If there was truth in what you heard, the enemy would not inflame you like that, because then he would not be working for himself. It’s common for us to stand up for the truth, but it’s unusual to get excited like that. If he had inflamed you with the truth, then you would have sinned only to the extent of disintegration due to jealousy, and this does not matter to him. Yes, then the truth itself would not have allowed this to happen. From this it follows that there is no truth in what you heard. There have long been many bad stories about monasteries and monasteries. Both laymen and monks and nuns repeat them when a case arises, applying them to every monastery we are talking about, whether there have been similar cases in it or not. So that nun told you, I don’t know what, and I probably believe that there wasn’t even a hundredth of the truth in her speeches. And you lost your temper, shouting: this is hell, not life. There are, of course, spectacular cases in monasteries, but they are all minor things; they happen and float away, and there is nothing to talk about. So please believe that almost everything you have heard is a lie and that the enemy took this lie and, presenting it to you in the form of truth, set fire to your zeal for the truth and inflamed it to an unnatural degree. You are deceived, you mistook the ghost of truth for the truth, and you are angry. I am writing this not to accuse anyone, but then to make you think that the enemy deceived you and mocked you, and so that from this case you begin to at least consider the intervention of evil spirits in our affairs as probable. Make it a law for yourself to consider any embarrassment that darkens as the action of dark forces, and from the very first appearance of embarrassment, block its further progress and drive it away. Through this, peace of mind will always be preserved, and with peace, your internal and external will be clear, and the sane course of your affairs will not be upset. Letter 39. About monastic life. About the prayer rule and bows Before you even had time to receive my answer to your previous letter about your confusion at the unprecedented monastic irregularities, you write another, in which you paint the darkest picture of monastic life. I have never heard such speeches from anyone, and I am amazed at your eyes, which were able to see everything written down. Or – really, should they be surprised, or something else? Let's see. “Here I came to the conviction that nuns are an extremely lazy people of mind; from the constant skill of fulfilling the prescribed rules with the body and the number of bows, the mind sleeps.” If you yourself had followed these rules and, when you did, behaved properly during them, you would not have said this. Because what are these rules? These are church and cell prayers, accompanied and interspersed with bows, sometimes many, sometimes three and one. Usually rules are those prayers that are performed either by everyone in the church in the evening after church services, or by each individual in her own cell; but the circle of daytime church services should also be included here, starting with the Midnight Office and ending with Compline. Would you please now take into account the content of all these prayers and tell me, can the mind that listens to them sleep? He may not listen, and when he does, he cannot sleep. For with attention, the most sublime and exciting contemplations about God and Divine things are irresistibly imprinted on it. Each prayer depicts God, worshiped in the Trinity, Creator, Almighty and Provider; the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God and His organization of our salvation, the image of our salvation in Him, the hosts of the saved, the last days of each, judgment and reward. Is it possible for the mind to sleep while contemplating all this? Not only will he not fall asleep while praying, but throughout the entire day, while doing other normal activities, he will be constantly awake and occupied with lofty thoughts. Those who do not listen, it is not surprising that their minds are asleep. But this is not order, but disorder in monastic life; therefore it should not be a reproach to her. You have brought all the nuns under the same level, not only of your monastery, but also of others. In your opinion, nuns are such a people that everyone sleeps mentally. Why do you know this?! The content of the prayers is all stimulating - the charter tells everyone to listen - those who listen cannot sleep with their minds. You should rather conclude that the nuns are all in great mental agitation than that they are asleep. There are, of course, people who fall asleep either for a few minutes, or for the whole time, or even for several days. But for everyone to always sleep is an extremely untenable sentence. They usually enter the monastery excited; in the monastery they meet in all orders, especially in prayer, strong support for such excitement. How can I sleep here? It is very common for excitement to temporarily subside; but it cannot go out forever. In addition to externally maintaining excitement, inside they all have the fear of God and conscience that will not allow them to fall asleep completely. Perhaps by mental slumber you mean that they have not gone through the sciences and do not bother their heads with their questions? But not everyone can know everything. And among scientists, it often happens that a mathematician knows little or does not know history, a physician is careless about philosophy, and the like. - The range of subjects that monasticism deals with and comes into contact with is a special circle worthy of study - and perhaps more so than all other subjects. These subjects are studied experimentally, but are assimilated by the mind, which then embraces them theoretically. If the nuns pay attention - and this cannot be denied at all - then they certainly study their subject, each to its own degree. If they study, they do not sleep mentally. After all, they have readings in church and in cells, they have mutual private conversations; in other monasteries they deliberately gather separately from church meetings elsewhere, specifically for edifying readings and conversations. With all this, everyone gains their minds. Experiences contrary to this, if you point out them, are deviations from the right path and order and, therefore, only exceptions, and not a general feature. You believe that nuns physically carry out their rules. What is this bodily? Some read and sing, others bow, and everyone is gathered in one place and facing the same direction, towards the holy icons. But all this is not completely physical, but only half. Is the word corporeal? It is only pronounced by a bodily organ and received by a bodily ear, but is it itself bodily? It's the same with singing. Since the rules are almost all fulfilled by words and singing, then in general it is completely unreasonable to say about the fulfillment of the rules that this is done physically. I say this only looking at the visible side of the matter, which you, too, looking at, have made your wise conclusion. But if we add that those who read, and sing, and listen to reading and singing are not occupied with reading and singing, but more so with what contains what is read and sung; then in such fulfillment of the rule there will be nothing bodily left. And when, both in looking at holy icons and in bowing, we see, as we should, the contemplation of Divine things and the movement of strong pious feelings; then we will have to agree that the fulfillment of the rule is all completely spiritual, although it has its visible side, which we cannot do without. Getting used to the rules - they definitely get used to it, they also get used to the very way of their implementation; but at the same time, they get used to the holy movements of the mind and feelings under their influence, and, consequently, the habit of rules does not numb, but spiritualizes, and does not lull the mind, but accustoms it to sober and lively alertness. In your opinion, even bowing makes the mind hibernate. Now, if you make peace with monastic life and stay in the monastery, then you yourself will begin to bow, and then you will actually experience what a stimulating effect they have on the soul and mind. Bowing excites the energy of the spirit, and the spirit, excited in a different way, requires bowing. They always consist of interaction. Why do the holy fathers include many daily bows between the rules for educating spiritual life? Many and all the rules of prayer are fulfilled through bows, following the instructions laid down in our Followed Psalter. You, I believe, are not so narrow-minded in church-prayer actions as to limit the matter of bowing to one bowing of the head and body. If you did not know what bows are, then know that they are direct consequences of arousing reverent thoughts and feelings, and they themselves, in turn, arouse the same thoughts and feelings and should be counted among the methods of educating the spirit - not powerless. Do you yourself have any prayer rules and follow them? How do you do it? – Do you also stand in front of the icons, read prayers from the prayer book and bow? So, do you feel like your mind is being put to sleep? If you don’t feel it, then why judge others differently? If you judge others this way, then you give others the right to judge you, that you are only fulfilling the rule with your body, but your mind is asleep. You may think against this: how is that possible? I'm a scientist. To this they will tell you that scholarship is a completely different area from spiritual life. A scientist can sleep on a rule even more soundly than a simple one. Letter 40. By indiscriminately accepting thoughts about others, it is easy to fall into the enemy's snare. About internal struggle. About the enemy's interference in our internal and external affairs. About the thoughts swarming inside us. About monastic life. The main goal of monasticism is to always live in God. About spiritual edification You continue: “Nuns’ minds are asleep; That’s why, not knowing how to fight back all sorts of rubbish, they, considering it the obsession of an enemy who is stronger than them, submit to it without a fight.” Then you touched on the external order of pious monastic life and interpreted them crookedly, and now you touch on the inner side of the life of nuns - but you also portray it inaccurately. What you say is completely speculative. Why do you know what happens in the souls of nuns? And without knowing, while claiming that this and that happens there, you present your guesses as reality. You think so, it seemed so; you say that it is so. You did not analyze your thoughts and accepted them immediately. This is the same as submitting to them without a struggle and, therefore, falling under the same thing that you condemn in nuns. If now guesses about others that do not correspond to the truth are slander (διαβολη), and all slander comes from the devil, then you have fallen into the enemy’s snare, despite the fact that your mind does not sleep, as you think. He doesn’t sleep, but he didn’t know how to fight back the rubbish planted by the enemy. Not only did he not know how, he did not even take up this matter; I didn’t take it because I didn’t notice; I didn’t notice because I don’t believe in the enemy’s interference in my affairs. Under the roof of this unbelief, the enemy approached your mind and planted bad thoughts in it. This is your second reward for not believing in the machinations of the enemy. You believe that nuns do not struggle with thoughts and, no matter what comes to mind, they obey it. Judging by what was said before, I can conclude that this is what you believe, judging by yourself. Wait; join the fight yourself and stop thinking like that. And first of all, take it on faith that not a single nun is without a struggle. Everyone struggles as soon as she notices what is wrong and embarrassing - she struggles with thoughts, she struggles with desires, she struggles with various movements of feeling in continuous clashes with others. Those entering the monastery undergo a strong preliminary struggle before entering it. They enter excited in the spirit of goodness with a determination to stand up for it. And they advocate, listening to themselves. Sometimes they win, sometimes they are defeated, mostly because they do not notice the machinations of the enemy, who knows how to skillfully cover them up. So it is; and you look at nuns completely wrong. There are also people like you write; but this is an exception, and in general you can’t say that. That every evil thought and every other evil movement that occurs within them comes from the enemy - there is no mistake in this. This is how it really is. The enemy's interference in our internal and external affairs is wider and more comprehensive than what is generally thought, even without special restrictions, by those who recognize it. And the Holy Scripture teaches this, and the experiences of the saints confirm it. In general, Christians scold “not against flesh and blood,” but against the spirits of evil; and among monastics it becomes hardened to the extreme. So it is not the nuns who reason according to this who are worthy of reproach, but you who judge contrary to this. Please accept and contain the following provisions of the holy fathers: in the sum of the thoughts swarming within us, there are angelic, there are human, and there are demonic. Human thoughts when they think about things as they are by nature, for example about gold as gold, its type, properties, mining and the like. Angelic, when good guidance comes from this, predisposing to good, for example, glorifying the Creator when looking at gold. Demonic, when passionate inducements are generated that lead to evil, for example, when looking at gold, the thought is to have fun with it and the like. – The demonic ones should include a large number of empty, idle and seemingly good thoughts, but which can lead to no good, especially when they are born during good activities, during prayer and reading spiritual things and the like, and distract from them. Take this as a starting point, and start discussing your inner life based on it. I will only add this: now judge, considering everything you can think of in your mind, how many demonic thoughts you cherish, and not only do you cherish them, but you also stand up for them as the most faithful views. - An example is not far away - your judgment about nuns was inspired by the enemy. You are not satisfied with what has been said, and you also paint your favorite picture: “Illiteracy and unnatural life, backbreaking physical labor, meager and poor nutrition, no mental life, no spiritual edification.” Not a single sentence here is correct. Nowadays you almost never meet illiterate people. Many enter the monastery already literate, others in the monastery soon learn to read, and only a few remain illiterate. But the illiterate are not deprived of the good fruits of literacy, listening to what is read in church and in the cells of the literate. Moreover, literacy is generally a means. There is no need to put it into significant differences. And illiteracy can have everything it needs for salvation if it has faith and meaningfully acts by faith; and literacy alone does not give anything essentially good. Among you scientists, illiteracy is the same as leprosy, and literacy is something sacred. This is a gross prejudice of your caste. What do you call an unnatural life? If monasticism is at all, then this is a heretical thought. Monasticism is natural; for it is directly required by our spirit awakened in us; The essence of the faith of Christ gives him real structure, direction and spirit. Please memorize these provisions. When you establish yourself in monasticism, then you will realize how true this is. – If you call what is said after this unnatural, then you are revealing an erroneous judgment that stems from gross ignorance of the matter of monasticism. Bodily labor is a good thing; poor and meager nutrition suited to monasticism: bread and water are the food of the wise. And what can you see here that is unnatural?! Fasting and work are monastic means. Their appropriateness or inappropriateness must be judged by their suitability or unsuitability for the purpose. If the goal of monasticism is natural, and fasting and work contribute to the achievement of this goal, then they are also natural. What is the purpose of monasticism? The one to always be with God, which is the only thing needed. Being with God is hindered, no less than many other things, by extensive nutrition and rest of the body. Then the body becomes white and, like a heavy weight, pulls toward the ground. And when it is poorly nourished and tormented by labor, then it becomes refined and gives the spirit freedom to ascend to God and remain with Him inseparably. Do you see how work and poor nutrition have their place in monasticism? Please give up that empty thought that they are unnatural. “No mental or active life.” That the minds of nuns do not sleep, this was discussed. He is busy with some kind of objects. Here you seem to mean scientific. Just as the nuns didn’t study science, they now don’t study scientific subjects, don’t read about it, and don’t think about it. This is absolutely true. Even those who have studied science throw them aside. But this does not mean that they have no mental activity. Yes, but it’s not aimed at scientific subjects. If you begin to weigh which objects are higher and more valuable, then the advantage will undoubtedly be on the side of those with whom the nuns occupy their minds. I will say one thing - these objects are eternal and lead to eternal salvation, but scientific objects are temporary and will completely disappear with time, but they can only not interfere with salvation - and if they contribute, then very indirectly and, moreover, under the condition of complete and unquestioning submission to the former. By active life, you probably mean a busy life in the family, in commercial enterprises, in civil and military service, in crafts and arts. Nuns, of course, do not have such a busy life as in the world; but nevertheless there is active life, only of a kind, like mental life. I will even say that its subjects are similar to those of the world. And here there is activity the same as in a family, because a monastery is a family of sisters who are kindred in spirit. This includes work on preparing food, drinking, washing, maintaining cleanliness and guarding, and the like. There is Activities such as those of worldly craftsmen and artists: sewing, knitting, weaving, embroidery of various kinds, drawing. All this together constitutes what you called bodily labor above. “I’ll ask you in passing, how does it work out for you: “It’s bodily labor that’s even beyond your strength, and there’s no activity”? But I believe that you meant self-initiated activity, that is, there is no such activity that each one undertakes, begins, continues and ends as her heart desires. Activities are taking place, but everything is done by order and decree, and not spontaneously. This is so, and this significantly distinguishes the active life of a monastery from similar secular activities. But this is not a disadvantageous, but an advantageous side of the activity of nuns, in terms of its adaptation to the main goal of monasticism - to always live in God. The main enemy of life in God is over-concern; and multi-concern is the lever that sets in motion self-initiated worldly activity. From morning to dark night, every day, she drives worldly entrepreneurs from one business to another, and does not give rest for a minute. They have no time to turn to God and be with Him in offering prayers to Him. This over-concern has no place among nuns. Those who understand the matter then enter the monastery to get rid of this tormentor. And they get rid of it. Those who enter the monastery give themselves to the work of the monastery; and the monastery gives her shelter, food, clothing and all protection. Since this side is completely provided for, there is no place for multi-caring care; she leaves. After falling away, her mind and heart remain completely free and have no hindrance in remaining in God and enjoying God. Those who conduct their monastic work with intelligence soon succeed in this and are established in their goal. Then all that remains is to guard this treasure. And they watch. Each nun has her own lesson to do this and that per day. Since these works are familiar, they do not require special attention. And it happens that the hands work, but the mind talks with God and thereby feeds the heart. This norm of internal order was prescribed by Saint Anthony the Great. So you see that nuns also have an active life, similar to the activities of laywomen; only they do not have the over-concern that gnaws at laywomen, freedom from which, according to the order of monastic life, gives them a way to be at their goal or to remain constantly with God and in God. You put too much value on mental activity, that is, knowledgeable, entrepreneurial and artistic activity, and especially knowledgeable activity. But know that for the spiritual life that nuns undertake to lead, the development of the spiritual side is not at all required. Spiritual saving life begins and develops independently of spiritual development. The absence of the latter does not cause any damage to the former, and does not diminish its Dignity. All spirituality, and in its best form, receives value only when it is completely subordinated to spirituality, while in itself it is nothing for eternity. In the next century everything will be spiritual, but everything spiritual will fall away and will remain here as temporary. And we see what bright personalities emerge from simple nuns when they get down to business properly! It’s more difficult for you and me to keep up with it like they do. For our soul is too fat. Someday we will have time to remake it and refine it; but they have it ready, and by the action of the spirit they suddenly make of it what they find necessary. Your position for the goal you have chosen is much worse than the position of the monasteries, which you poorly understand. As for the fact that there is no spiritual edification, then take the trouble to read again what I wrote against - “the mind is asleep” among nuns. I will add here that the nuns are attentive, and without noticing it themselves, they succeed in spiritual edification. For soul knowledge one must read a lot; For the spirit, one text of Scripture is enough for the whole day, and sometimes more than one. Attentive nuns, listening to the reading of the Psalter, Gospel, Apostle and other prescribed readings and services, receive as a gift from the Lord that one or two or more texts will cling to the heart and sweetly occupy the whole consciousness and begin to emit rays of spiritual knowledge. Those who receive this no longer take their attention away from them, and develop their thoughts more and more, feed on them and are satisfied. Here is a continuous chain of edification all day long. The edifications received in this way are not forgotten; for they do not learn by memory, but are accepted by the heart. This goes on day after day. Spiritual edification multiplies, and spiritual knowledge grows, strengthens and becomes more and more complete until it reaches wholeness that embraces everything. Many nuns, even ordinary ones, have this dignity, although they do not trumpet it. – Your judgment about this matter is very wrong. I would like to attribute: confess; but you can't do that. Afterwards you will see for yourself. You conclude your review like this: “In monastic life itself I don’t see anything gratifying for the spirit. Envy, anger, lies and despotism are the main drivers of this closed life; no love for one’s neighbor.” - What horrors! The hair stands on end. You've definitely gone to hell. And this is still at first. What will happen next? - Alas, poor thing! But I don’t presume to feel sorry for you, but on the contrary, I say: it serves me right! For misinterpretation. None of your previous judgments turned out to be right. And this is the most wrong of the wrong. There is only one thing that cannot be denied, namely, that you do not see anything encouraging. But the fault for this is not monastic life, but your ignorance. You don’t see because you don’t have eyes to see properly. Envy, anger, and lies occur among others, a few, but not as permanent qualities, but as accidents: they come and go. And you have forever branded everyone with these qualities. This is the disease of scientists - to generalize everything. You have noticed one or two or heard something similar about them, and you immediately decide: everyone is always like that. - “There is no love for one’s neighbor.” The monastery is a society of sisters. And they do not bear this name in vain, but really love each other in a kindred way, not with carnal, but with spiritual kinship. Sometimes there are discords; but they will make things go wrong and make things right again. And they have love for strangers, but they actively show it to the extent possible, for they themselves are meager and work for the monastery. Helping those in need rests with the monastery; and he does it as much as he can. We have almost no rich monasteries. One or two, and I was done. There are enough enough; but just as many, if not more, are poor. This is how their charity should be judged. But you don’t want to look at anything and have decided: there is no love. What about despotism? It is you, looking from the outside, who see despotism; but no one sees him inside. Because everyone enters the monastery with this in mind, so as not to have their own will and do what they order, without reasoning why and why. As they dealt with this condition, they do not see anything wrong in the fact that no one is allowed to live according to their will. This is the basis not only of monastic life, but of spiritual life in general. Cutting off your will and your mind is a condition for success in spiritual life. This life cannot unfold as long as the “I” is strong. Monastic life is all aimed at pulverizing this flint stone. And whoever is more willing to expose himself to this friction is more likely to succeed in spiritual life. You judge in a worldly way, where “don’t touch me” is the fundamental law of life. What is most important in the world, the opposite should be the main thing in monastic life. You are still a laywoman in spirit. And you want the monastery to breathe in a worldly way, so that you have more room to breathe there. But this cannot come true. Therefore, get ready to be content with what is opposite to the world and, therefore, not to your heart. Your worldly spirit has flared up, and you let it be known: “I have endured a lot in the world; but everything I have endured is easier than the cross of monastic life; My very presence in the monastery is a cruel cross.” You said this without understanding the matter; but more, I think, because the enemy confuses you and turns your heart away from the monasteries, not wanting to part with you. You need to go against this and force yourself to reach a warm disposition towards the monasteries - towards the monasteries as they are, and not towards their ideals. Set this as a goal and achievement for yourself when you begin to change your life. Without this, your business will not be completed. Judging by the sincerity with which you speak about everything, I guess that you will also sincerely speak about the monastery and monasticism, the opposite of what you said now. As you get drawn into this life and experience the essence of it, the judgments you express will fall away one after another. – I wish this for you with all my heart. Letter 41. About the temptation endured. The enemy is in his being darkness and confusion, therefore anxiety and confusion accompany him, no matter who he touches. Temptations do not happen without God's permission You write: “I’m trying in every possible way to make peace with monastic life, and if I don’t get a job living in a monastery, then I’ll somehow join the monastery and live near it so that I can always attend church services.” Then you add: “I suffered an incomprehensible embarrassment—fear, grief, and a storm of thoughts tormented me for quite a long time. I almost couldn’t pray, but I prayed. The Lord had mercy, returned peace and consolations. Thank God for everything." It’s better not to guess how you’ll get settled for now. Tell yourself: let it be as God wills it, and wait. The Lord will arrange it as you wish. But no matter how your life is arranged, whether in the monastery or near it, in both the order of life the path to salvation is not blocked, and the ascent to the highest spiritual perfections is not stopped. Everything is internal, and the external is only an adaptation to the internal. May the Lord build your spirit as it should! Then the external, no matter where you live, will adapt to it by itself. In the anxieties and anguish that you have endured, there is nothing more to do but endure and fall to God, asking for His help and intercession. You rightly called these states incomprehensible, because there are no visible reasons that could inspire them. But for this reason, you yourself will not be mistaken if you attribute them to the enemy, who is darkness and confusion in his being; why anxiety and confusion accompany it, no matter who it touches. However, keep in mind that nothing like this happens without God’s permission. Either the Lord punishes us for something, especially for exaltation and condemnation, or teaches us so that when our souls are at peace, we don’t think that ours has taken over and we have nothing to worry about: we can live carelessly. So learn to humble yourself, not judge anyone, and always keep your ears open, working out your salvation with fear and caution. The Lord sent joy; thank Him wholeheartedly, and look around to see if the enemy from any side is again dragging a burden onto your shoulders. The Lord does not send consolation as a permanent possession, but only to inspire us: when sorrow and hardship strike, do not lose heart, being inspired by the hope that they will soon pass. And he allows grief to attack, so that they don’t become arrogant and think that they can live peacefully on earth, without their hopes going beyond its borders. Put achieving peace out of your mind. He is not an earthly inhabitant, but a heavenly one. He comes to the ground in passing. A peaceful state of heart is the grace of God. When there is, thank God; but do not appropriate it to yourself as the final established and established state. By holding yourself this way, you will not be deeply embarrassed, and when he leaves, surrender yourself to God and accept with gratitude everything that He deigns to send. Letter 42. About the memory of God and proper conduct of oneself in relation to the Lord. About home prayer. About heartfelt appeal to the Lord You write: “All the nuns are harsh towards me, and they look at me so wildly, I don’t want to talk to them.” – If they are really harsh, and don’t seem so only to you, then that’s right. How did you brush them off? If only they knew this, you would get it. Please now make amends for your guilt by at least complacently enduring their severity, although, as I am sure, also apparent. I will add to this: always have one intention in mind - to keep yourself in your heart towards the Lord as you should, and do not pay much attention to what is outside. When there is the memory of God, the consciousness stands before the Lord with fear and reverence and falls to Him in complete devotion to His holy will - this is the norm for proper behavior in relation to the Lord. When this is the case, then let others treat you as they wish. Just don’t give them a reason, and everything will go better and better for you. Whatever you notice in them, commit everything to the Lord, without taking upon yourself any concern about whether it is right or wrong, whether it will be accompanied by any consequences for you or not. You pronounced the verdict: “Severe; I don’t want to talk to them.” Not so, but don’t start talking to anyone; when one of them starts, speak more modestly, more heartily and briefly. Make this a law for yourself and act like it; but not in the form of some kind of revenge for severity, but because this will protect you from many temptations, especially empty and indiscriminate talkativeness. You have a passion for generalizing. We saw one or two stern ones - well, everyone is stern and angry, they want to eat. And they don’t even care about you; everyone is busy with their own things. Learn not to expand, but to narrow your guidance, so as not to be an unjust judge. And in the present case, explain the severity of one or two by some accident. You add: “And here is grief; My legs hurt, I can’t go to church, I can’t stand at home to pray, and I seem to myself like a big sloth.” When you can't go to church, pray at home. If you cannot stand to pray at home, pray while sitting. And even lying down you can perform all the required services. While fulfilling them, read what is written in the prayer books with all attention, understanding and feeling. If you cannot read everything, replace what you haven’t read with the Jesus Prayer, performed soberly and reverently. You can replace every service with this prayer, as indicated in the Followed Psalter. Of course, it would be better to work the body with prayer; but what to do when the disease does not give? So that your conscience does not bother you with reproaches of laziness, determine the duration of each service by hours; for example: during matins, spend an hour and a half in prayer; for Vespers with Compline - an hour; for the hours with mass it is also an hour. And then spend the allotted time in conscious prayer to the Lord, the Lady Theotokos, the Guardian Angel and the saints. Pray either with the prescribed prayers, or with the Jesus Prayer, or alternately, now with one or the other, taking care of one thing, so as to be in a prayerful mood and with the consciousness not to depart from the Lord and not to lose complete reverence for Him. If you work your soul so diligently in prayer, then your conscience will no longer reproach you for laziness. For the Lord, standing in prayer, reading prayers and bowing are not valuable in themselves; but it is dear when at the same time a heartfelt appeal to Him is maintained, with devotion to His will and with a certain pain, signifying heartfelt contrition. So take care to be attuned, whether you are in church, or at home, standing or sitting. You also need to hold yourself while walking and lying down. Letter 43. About patiently enduring illness. About acquiring the skill of walking before God. About the skill of prayer. How to descend with your mind into your heart and stand there with your attention. About performing the prayer rule You're all hurting. That's right, you need this. Be patient and thank the Lord. You wish into the shutter. Here's the shutter for you! Sit and cry: Lord have mercy! Since you have no relations with people, how will you now fulfill the will of God? Nothing but the proper mood of your inner being. What is this? In the unceasing memory of God with fear and reverence, and in the memory of death. The habit of walking before God, or remembering God, is the atmosphere of spiritual life. He should naturally be in our spirit, created in the image of God; but it does not exist because of our falling away from God. As a result of this, work is required in acquiring the skill of walking with God. It consists essentially in the tension of standing with consciousness before the face of the omnipresent God; but it is also supported by other side activities that are part of spiritual life. But here too the work lies in directing these activities towards the designated goal. Reading, meditation, prayer should be directed here, and all activities and relationships should be conducted in such a way that they do not interfere with or upset the memory of God. And then you need to adapt to this, where to stand with consciousness or attention. The mind is in the head, and smart people (scientists) all live in the head. They live in their heads and suffer from a constant turbulence of thoughts. This seething does not allow attention to stand on one thing. The mind cannot stand on a single thought about God while it is in the head. Everyone runs back and runs back. On this basis, those who wish to establish themselves in a single thought about God are commanded to leave their heads and descend with their minds into their hearts, and stand there with their attention undiminished. Only when the mind is combined with the heart can one expect success in the memory of God. Please now set yourself the goal of achieving this, and begin moving towards this goal. Don't think that this is hard work; but don’t think that it’s so easy that you just have to want it and that’s it. You perform all church services at home. Be good! But know that this is only the threshold of prayer. This corresponds to how a student of a language learns conversations in that language. And prayer language is a special language. We learn it from books containing prayers, which are conversations (conversations) of the soul with the invisible God. Just as a student of a language, having reached the point where he can freely explain himself in it, puts off conversations and completely forgets them, so one who devotes himself to prayer must have a goal ahead - to achieve the skill - in his own words, without a prayer book, to conduct a conversation with God. This is what happens when the soul is filled with prayerful thoughts and feelings collected from ready-made prayer books. Set this as a goal for yourself. Know, however, that enriching the soul with such treasures, that is, prayerful thoughts and feelings, is acquired not only by reading and listening to church services and prayers prescribed for home use. At the same time, it is necessary to think about and feel what is read and heard. For this, set yourself an hour - outside the prayer rule; take the prayer book and read it, read and think about the prescribed prayers and bring the thoughts expressed there to your senses. When you then begin to perform the prayer rule, all those feelings will immediately be renewed in your soul, and your prayer will be in its order. Do this with everything that is included in the prayer book, and carry out everything contained there through clear understanding and warm feeling. Then, following this example, it will not be difficult for you to listen to church services with a clear understanding and feeling. If anything turns out to be difficult, you can, in your free time from services, take church books to yourself - and do the same with them as you would with your home prayer book. This is the first method to attract the mind to the heart, namely, through sympathy with the prayers read and heard: for the feelings of the heart usually rule over the mind. The second technique is the following: when you make your home rule, insert into the spaces between the prayers you read and your prayers, which are generated by the action of those prayers. If you perform the first technique as you should, then your prayer will always come with feelings. These feelings will change according to the content of the prayers. My speech is not about these feelings, but about those of them that will capture the entire consciousness and heart and bind the soul, not allowing it to freely continue reading, but constantly diverting its attention to itself. These are special feelings; and as soon as they are born, they generate in the soul their own prayers according to their kind. These special feelings and prayers that arise in the heart should never be interrupted by further reading, but by stopping the reading, give them freedom to pour out until they are completely poured out, and the feeling becomes exactly the same as ordinary prayerful feelings. This technique is stronger than the first and is more likely to bring the mind into the heart. It may not act only after the first dose, or together with it. But you need to have some additional technique or sub-technique ready for it. If you perform your prayer rule, or any church service at home, according to the above method, it may happen that a small rule, such as prayers for the future, and a small service, like Vespers with Compline, will last a very long time. But one thought about this duration can, either due to laziness, or sometimes due to some business (Marfinsky), force you, if not to rush, then not to prolong your prayer with the shown insertions. And this will not at all give the beginning to the said technique, and not only bring it to perfection - which will cause great damage to success in spiritual life. To avoid this, you need to determine the duration of your prayer, as I already wrote to you, not by the number of prayers that should be read, but by time; namely, to determine how much time to spend on this and that rule, on such and such service, without increasing it in the least compared to the time you usually use for this. For example, set an hour for Vespers and Compline. And read what you are supposed to, not worrying about subtracting everything, but about being in prayerful feelings and thoughts at all times with everything you read, “and so that if a special feeling comes, do not drown it out by reading, but give it the freedom to pour out completely. Conducting the matter this way, you may not even reach “Quiet Light” until the hour has passed. What should I do? “Close the book, make a few bows with the usual final prayers, and your Vespers are over.” Our usual prayerful Martha will be confused, how can she leave the service without finishing it? But Mary will not be embarrassed, having the testimony of her conscience that the service was performed fully and worthy of the God worshiped. Of course, if you, driven by the unsatisfied heart that has prayed, extend your prayer for more than an hour, then this will not be a loss for the goal you are looking for. – The next day, begin your Vespers from where you left off, and continue it in the same order as before. If again you do not reach the end of the service, and the hour has passed, leave the end for the next day. Thus, sometimes the evening service, one, will last for three days or more. But each part of it will be complete vespers for you, and the Lord will accept it with such power. In the same way, please treat Matins, the Hours, Mass, and all your prayers at home. Make it a law never to read prayers just to read what is required, but to be in prayer under the influence of reading. Read what is prescribed as a guide - to keep yourself in prayerful thoughts and feelings. By acting like this; You will learn to always be in a feeling for God during prayers, and your mind, being attracted by this feeling, will stand in the memory of God. If then, while reading soul-saving books, you keep in mind not the amount of reading, but the same as when reading prayers, that is, a clear understanding of what you read with the appropriate feelings; then the mind will still be in the heart, and the memory of God will not leave you even during this activity. As time goes on, more and more you will warm up your heart prayerfully, gathering your mind there for constant standing before God. This time will be a sweet time for you, and you will look forward to its approach like a festive feast. There is still quite a bit of time left for you, and after completing your prayers and reading spiritual books; and you need to work, or accept someone, or finish some other task. The mind, as soon as it receives freedom, will immediately begin to wander and stagger around the world. It is necessary to accustom him to sit at home during these activities; and not only sit at home, but also stand persistently before God. Now, if you succeed in this, then the memory of God will appear planted in your mind and heart, and you will begin to walk relentlessly in the presence of God, with due reverence, and enter into a spiritual atmosphere where it will be easy for you to breathe and fly. Letter 44. How to stop self-indulgence. What does it mean to be mind in heart. About the manner of performing prayer You decide to live not in a monastery, but at a monastery - and this may not be bad. They loved freedom. Be careful that your freedom is not the fault of self-indulgence. Here, too, you can create such an order that you will live in constant renunciation of your will. And it's not hard to do. You just need to make a stricter distinction between what goes towards self-pleasing and what goes towards pleasing God for salvation. Then everything that can feed self-indulgence must be rejected, sacrificing it to please God. You must be your own strict abbess. Your own consciousness, guided and armed by the fears of God and conscience, should force you to nip any self-indulgence in its bud and direct your affairs and activities in defiance of it; and you obediently obey such suggestions and fulfill them, and you will be a novice, bearing no easier yoke of obedience than if you decided to live in a monastery. By the way, you ask: what does it mean to be mind in heart? Last time I talked about this. Isn't it clear? - I’ll repeat. That's what it means! – Do you know where the heart is? How can you not know? What did you learn? - So become your attention there and stand there without origin, and you will be the mind in the heart; the mind is inseparable from attention: where it is, there he is. You wrote that you often feel a fire in your heart when reading the akathist to sweetest Jesus. Where you feel it, pay attention there and do not go out, not only during prayer, but at any other time. But you need to stand there not just, but with the consciousness that you are standing before the face of the Lord, or before His all-seeing eye, which peers into the secrets of the heart; and in order to stand like this, try to have some kind of feeling for God warmed up - fear, love, hope, devotion, painful contrition, etc. This is the norm of the internal structure. Watch, and as soon as you notice that it has been violated in any way, hurry to restore it. But, of course, before you take care to stand in your heart, you need to stand there. You live for the most part in your head, and you go into your heart only when your head work arouses some feeling. But you must, on the contrary, be persistent in your heart, and completely abandon your head, and if you encounter a need, according to the needs of spiritual life, to work with your mind, then let it work, sitting in your heart. How to get used to this sitting, I wrote to you last time. We need to warm up more reverent and holy feelings in our hearts. The way I have prescribed prayers is the most reliable and durable way to do this. You write that you began to say your prayers using that method. Apply diligence to do this perfectly, as it should, and you will all become rich in holy feelings, and they will keep your mind in your heart. Without feelings, you cannot keep him at home; You will all break out and wander around. God bless your work - to achieve the skill of performing prayers as indicated. Started; but it seemed to me that you were still in a hurry to finish reading to the end. This must be completely thrown out of attention, and all concern must be directed toward warming up holy feelings, without allowing oneself to do anything to the detriment of them. But that's not how you act. You write that while reading one psalm, tears flow. You should have read it more, or repeated those especially verses that aroused crying, without moving forward, even if all the time allotted for that service passed in this, and with an increase. And you flowed on and dispersed your crying. Crying, what could be more expensive? What did reading to the end bring you? Absolutely nothing. So you turned out to be acting outside of your spiritual interests. You write again: another time the fiftieth psalm was read out by itself. And they would read it if it set feelings in motion. And you are all yours - drive to the end. Remember what is written about one great elder, how he rarely finished reading even one “glory” from the Psalter, because he went into spiritual feelings and, standing before the Lord in his heart, prayed on his own in accordance with those feelings, and no longer returned to reading. That's how it should be. We cannot do without reading the Psalter or prayer book. This warms the heart, just as adding firewood intensifies a weakening fire in a stove. But when the heart warms up and some feeling takes over the whole soul, then you should not read further. This will only break the feeling, and the rule will pass without any benefit. And someone told me this. I decided, he says, to read the fiftieth psalm during Matins, mentally turning each verse into a special prayer. Matins ended, but I did not finish the fiftieth psalm, even though I prayed all the time. – And many holy fathers read: take the measure, that is, a certain number of psalms and prayers. Communicating the Holy Mysteries of Christ more often is good. If you can, take communion more than once a month. The first Christians took communion at every liturgy. But talk about this with your confessor. You need to go to church; but since you are weak, you can free yourself from this when weakness occurs, and walk when you are healthy. When you don’t go, reproach yourself as a lazy and inactive slave. You can’t pray at home like you can in church. Where did you get the idea that I set the hour for you for Vespers? – I wrote only approximately, leaving everything to your discretion. Determine the time as it suits you; only without indulgence of laziness. Strength is not in time, but in spirit. If what is being read, according to the home rule, is read as if from oneself, with attention and appropriate feelings, then this is proper reading. You only need to stop when a special feeling takes over your entire soul. Then put the book aside and pray like this. When starting to pray, one must always stir up the soul, if it is not in feeling, by meditation, an appeal to the Lord and bows, and then begin it. However, prayer, first thought out and felt, will stir itself up. But which is thoughtless and unfeeling is more likely to scatter than to gather. It is better to replace this with bows with the Jesus Prayer, or some other short one. Sometimes you can perform all services in this way. The usual vigil for fathers is to use half the night for prayer, and when they stand in prayer all night, it will be an all-night vigil. Someone, I don’t remember, wrote: in the evening, pray for two hours and go to bed. Sleep for six hours and get up and pray until the morning, that is, four hours. Apply your sleep to this as well. The all-night vigil - twelve hours long - is not a special service, but the same one that ends at two or three o'clock. It stretches out throughout the night with protracted singing and the insertion of readings from the holy fathers, of which there are up to six and seven. If you want, you can also stretch it out with readings, but instead of singing, insert more bows between different parts of the service, and you’ll stretch it out. Letter 45. Warnings against being deceived by the enemy. The measure of success in spiritual life should be considered the feeling of unworthiness before God What is this happening to you? No sooner had you begun the work of your worthy life than some miraculous things began to happen to you. – We saw in a dream the face of a person we had never seen before, and then we saw a card similar to that person. It turned out that in a dream they saw the face that they wanted to see. There was some kind of holy fool, and although you couldn’t really make out her speeches, it was clear that she promised you something great. Then you feel some kind of joy, so that it’s as if the sky has bowed down to you - you feel that God loves you, and you love God - and something else like that happened. Holy, and that's all. But all this would be nothing, but what’s amazing is that you yourself, it seems, have begun to lean towards the idea that you are some kind of special chosen one, and in fact have already given up. They left everyone behind. Early among the young. But how come you didn’t think that it doesn’t happen that, after making ten to fifteen bows, you can meet such features in their true form? – Everything you have experienced happens in God’s true order; but for you it is very early for this to happen. There is no truth here, but all the charm of the enemy. You don’t believe in the machinations of the enemy, so he talks to you about what he considers appropriate. His goal is to lead you into conceit and alienate you from grace, which cannot remain where conceit is, like a bee in the smoke; and then, when you are alone, I will wring your head. He believes this is only the beginning, and he will not stop there, but will entangle you more and more with similar seductive ghosts until you are completely drawn into conceit. Under the cover of your disbelief in his machinations, it will be easy for him to succeed in this. You will think that all this is either the work of your enlightened mind, or an angelic suggestion - and thereby you will feed your well-being, self-esteem and conceit. When everything is prepared, then he will ride up to you in a chariot of fire to take you to heaven. - And you will agree out of conceit. - And fly, just not to heaven, but to the enemy’s dwelling. I am prescribing this to you as something that is probable and feasible for you. But how can this happen, how many experiments have there been?! - Let me remind you of one. In one monastery there was a zealous monk, the abbot’s favorite and pet. It occurred to him - into the shutter. The elder dissuades. Where?! In the shutter, and that’s all. The old man held and held; finally agreed. There was a mountain nearby; there is a cave in the mountain. A new silent man climbed up there. Sitting. The rise is cool. Food was served to him on a string, which he lowered down. I prayed, read, and did handicrafts. The elder visited him and observed the course of his thoughts. Quite some time passed like this. The young silent man handled things properly and began to feel spiritual actions: This is in the order of things. But it immediately hit him: this is how we are! Once or twice he spat, and then the thought began to pass through. Further and further, and the thought was established that he is God's favorite, God embraces him with the invisible embrace of love... and he has heaven. Having brought him to this point, the enemy took on him more diligently. I began—either in a dream, or through suggestion in my thoughts—to reveal to him that then such and such would come to you, and then such and such, that something had happened or was happening there, and that there was this. And all these revelations were justified in practice. At this point there was no doubt left in the young old man that God was in him - and that all the secrets were open to him. A little more, and the enemy approached him in the form of an Angel of Light and said: God listened to your prayers and labors, and decided to stop your earthly journey. The Lord sent me to tell you that tomorrow at midnight He will appear to you and take you with Him. Be ready! - And - my God! what joy?! They bring food. He says from above to the one who brought it: no; I don’t need this food anymore. Soon I will begin to taste another in the Kingdom of Heaven. The one who brought it was amazed. He stood and stood and went home. He comes to the abbot and says that he heard. The old man was horrified and hurried into the cave. He climbed up, and well, explain to the young celestial man that he is in delusion and that the enemy wants to destroy him. He doesn’t want to listen, saying: how is that possible? Am I lost in prayer? Have you experienced revelations and insights? - No, it cannot be that all this was from the enemy. The elder explained to him that the enemy can also imitate manifestations of spiritual life, skillfully covering up his gloominess, and that it is precisely the revelations that were given to you that are the enemy’s machinations against you. “The young man did not believe the elder’s words and remained to his own conclusions. Then the elder said: So I will not leave you until the one who promised to come to you comes. They sat, talked, and did the usual nightly routine. Midnight came, and the taker appeared in heaven. The elder immediately recognized him and stood between him and his pet. He wanted to take his prey by force, but the elder did not allow it. There was a struggle: he pulled the young man towards him, but the old man did not yield. God helped him not to let go of his pet, but the enemy managed to tear off his mantle. Flying up into the air with it, he tore it into pieces, which fell from there past the opening of the cave. The elder then said to his young celestial man: Do you see the scraps flying? The same would have happened to you if God had not helped me to protect you. “Then he took him downstairs and placed him among the brethren. Do you see how things are going? And how soon can you fall into the clutches of a misanthropic enemy whose machinations you do not recognize! And you, of course, know the story of Isaac, the hermit of Pechersk. And a fiery chariot flew up to Saint Simeon the Stylite, and he was about to lift his leg. - Make sure how cunning the enemy is and how skillfully he can cover his claws. And therefore it is very possible for you to get into them. I do not hesitate to recognize what happened to you as the machinations of the enemy. If now you don’t immediately throw them away with disgust and, having delved into your heart, don’t drive out all self-feeling and self-esteem from it, and in their place you don’t install feelings of your all-round insignificance and worthlessness for nothing, then he will not be too lazy to work on it. you and will surround you with even more misty phantoms. I won't talk about this any further. “Please consider the measure of your success in spiritual life to be the ever-deepening sense of your lewdness and unworthiness before God, and any thought that you and I are no longer like others, drive away like an enemy’s presence, and destroy like an enemy’s snare.” Letter 46. Warnings against delusion. Self-esteem and exaltation culminate in ungodly pride. About the ability to distinguish thoughts. How to stop mind wandering I couldn’t help but pay attention to what you wrote about what happened to you. And I won’t change my understanding of that. The enemy's machinations are obvious here. - And you are in protest. Say that “in your time there are no such temptations anymore.” Do you know this? If you don’t know, then why even talk? The enemy is all the same; and if anywhere he finds the temptation I have said suitable, he will not refuse to subject the one he is persecuting to it, without fear of appearing out of date. He just wants to destroy his soul. I find that he can approach you with such charm. Your situation is such that he is not free to lay his hands on anything else in you. But not all chariots of fire. The techniques are different; but the goal is one - to seed self-esteem, inflate it into exaltation and complete the work with pride that is contrary to God. Isn’t the exaltation a chariot of fire? How fiery, and yet how light! Spirit beyond the clouds, further to heaven itself and to the equal throne of God. - There it will hover until the verdict of truth is pronounced: you will go to hell! You write that “you know how to discern thoughts,” and let me complete this speech myself: therefore, you could find out if there was anything bad in what happened to you. If they didn’t notice, then, therefore, there was nothing bad here. - Not true; it was there, just covered. All appearances are not bad; but what was suggested and what was accepted is bad. I have no pleasure in imposing any kind of thinness on you. But, seeing how it is possible for her to be, and noticing her little traces, how can I not warn and point out?! That's what I did. “I can discern thoughts.” But didn’t Saint Simeon know how? Didn't Saint Isaac know how? And didn’t many others know how? – And yet, do you see what happened to them? “You seem to imagine that the enemy is a fool.” If he begins to tempt, then it will be with some obvious evil. He will come to you with evil! What lordships will imagine that you will open your mouth. That's when he'll grab you. Everyone will see the open pit; but not everyone recognizes a hole covered with flowers. He won’t recognize it and will fall into it. Our enemy has two active regiments. One seduces with apparent, illusory good; and the other is real evil. The first pave the way for the second. They start, and these end in defeat. You conclude: well, I will try to reach the feeling of my unworthiness, so that I can see myself as blind, paralyzed and a leper. - This is better than all reasoning. The Lord does not give such immediate help to anything as to the feeling of this. When you feel this - and not somehow, not superficially, but deeply - then build a fence of granite and steel around you. The enemy will have to work hard to get to you, and when he gets to you, he won’t be able to do anything; for then you will also have armor, and the light will be around, blinding the enemy, so that he will not be able to see where to direct the blows. Your unenviable health is God’s mercy to you. If you, with the liveliness of your character, were in good health, who would keep you in such a humble way of life? The goal you are trying to achieve is more easily achieved with weaknesses. Be grateful and thank the Lord. If you cannot fulfill the prayer rule as much as you would like, do not be embarrassed by it. Have one rule - to be in a prayerful mood, that is, in reverence before God, and in devotion to His holy will. So that your thoughts do not wander, repeat some short prayer verse or read psalms that you know by heart, and from each verse extract your prayers, in relation to your situation. Letter 47. Is it difficult to be saved? On discernment of thoughts Who told you that it is difficult to escape? You just have to want and get down to business decisively - and salvation is ready. It is already prepared for everyone: just come and take it. So it’s hard not to be saved, and it’s hard to want to get up, go and get saved. But in this case one should not say: it is difficult to be saved, but: we are too lazy to be saved. It is not only difficult, but absolutely impossible for us to save ourselves. But with the Lord the Savior - what kind of work? We have a God who directs all His providential actions so that we all come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved - and it will still be difficult for us to be saved?! There is, of course, labor in this: for what work is done without labor? But our labor in achieving salvation is so small and insignificant compared to the greatness of the work of salvation that it is not worth mentioning. The saving structure within is still dark for you. Read the first paragraphs of Philotheus of Sinai in the Philokalia, and see what’s there? One act - and that's it. For he pulls everything to himself and keeps it in order. If you please, arrange yourself this way, and you will get the proper order inside, and you will see it clearly. This act is to become attention in the heart and stand there before the Lord in reverence. This is the beginning of spiritual wisdom! It is advisable for you to become adept at discerning thoughts. – Get out of your head and into your heart. Then all thoughts will be clearly visible to you, moving before the eye of your keen-sighted mind; Until then, don’t expect proper discernment of thoughts. Please take note that discerning thoughts is not the same as driving them out when they are of poor quality. This is mental warfare, which is preceded by a distinction of which thoughts are friends and which are enemies. Seeing them as friends, they receive them with honor, but seeing them as enemies, they drive them away with dishonor. Know also that discernment of thoughts distinguishes not only the good and the bad, but also the efficient from the idle and empty, and the seemingly good from the real good, - most importantly, it distinguishes what thoughts in the form of motives and goals surround our deeds - both ordinary and special - so that motives and goals that are not permissible in a good Christian do not creep in and spoil our deeds. What this concerns, and how everything is done, learn from the Holy Climacus, in his special lengthy word about discerning thoughts. Follow those instructions and begin to act, and experience will teach you everything. It would be advisable for you to evaluate yourself more precisely, what you are. What do you need this for? - And how come you don’t see the enemy here who is paving the way for you to self-worth - this most pernicious ulcer? It probably paints a red light on how many benefits there are from this – and all of them are spiritual!!! “And that’s what you’re trying to do: that is, you’re listening to the enemy, and you’re rushing to destruction.” Just give in, and he will immediately give you the poison of self-worth, and you will start dreaming about yourself - that’s enough, not like so-and-so. And you will begin to look at everyone as if from a bell tower, that is, look through the eyes of the enemy. This is spiritual benefit! – Again I come to the conclusion that you are all in your head, not in your heart. Go into your heart and immediately evaluate yourself. You expressed a desire to reach the feeling of your lewdness. This is what you will begin to see and feel as soon as you descend into your heart. The further you go, the clearer this will become visible. Finally, decide: I am blind, paralytic, leper - and this is not with a memorized phrase, but with the deepest and most undivided feeling of the heart. – And this is the twelfth degree of spiritual perfection, which Saint Macarius of Egypt speaks about in his conversations! Letter 48. Warning against the wiles of the enemy. About humility. About the feeling of detachment from everything earthly How did the enemy manage to convince you that he doesn’t exist, or if he exists, then he can’t do anything to us? The latter is absolutely true if we place all our strength in the Lord, and not in ourselves. But this does not mean that you can live carelessly. The enemy is always bustling around us, and little by little, he immediately comes up with his advice, which is always red in appearance and always useless and harmful. Therefore, one must be on guard and keep a sharp ear in order to notice his tricks and, having noticed, reflect them with the simplicity of faith in the Lord, fighting in His name. Don’t think that he will immediately begin to offer you rude things. No, he always begins with plausibility; from them he moves on to trifles; from these to small sins, and from these to big ones. But his most common activity is playing with his thoughts. Everything throws up one thing or another; the goal is to distract from worthwhile thoughts and occupy the soul with idleness, keeping in mind, however, whether the opportunity will arise to sow something bad. This is how the enemy sows the souls of the whole world, as in a sieve. Look around and see that in this regard we are giving a lot of gains to the enemy. About how to deal with this, read Hesychius about prayer and sobriety. You write: “I seem to be humble.” It is clear that you are humble. But whether you are humble is another question. 'There is also a difference between humility and humility. He who humbles himself is not yet humble, but seeks humility and wants to be humble. I believe that you want to be humble and are looking for humility; but by mixing humility with humility, you already consider yourself humble. Work hard on humility, and you will become humble. That, when you wake up, you sometimes find some verse from the psalms in your mouth, this is the great mercy of God. The Angel of God offers this prayer before waking up. And read this poem all day long or while it is being read. You need to write it down. Get a special notebook for this. It will come in handy. “Sometimes,” you say, “an expectation is generated that everything can be taken away from me, even food, clothing, shelter.” – So, do you stop there?! No; you finish such a thought like this: only the Lord cannot be taken away; I will be zealous with all my zeal to gain the Lord and never lose His presence with me. – Then do not return to strengthening your external appearance; let it remain under this title forever, that is, under the title of doomed to disappear and ready for that every minute. From this thought, a feeling of detachment from everything will then be born - you will be as if cut off from everything. This will make you an empty vessel into which it will be convenient to place all spiritual acquisitions that are eternally abiding. - So let it go in your spirit. But there is nothing miraculous that this could actually happen. In the world, more than one Job is left like a finger - there is nothing left to rot. It's scary; and with the Lord it is a golden ladder to heaven. Letter 49. On the state of cooling. About self-pity and self-indulgence. Enemy logic “Things are going badly for me. My soul is out of place, my thoughts wander, I have no desire to read spiritual things, the rule is corrected sluggishly and lazily, and I have become indifferent to everything. It’s like something has left my soul.” There is something to regret; however, do not lose heart. Your state is a state of cooling, as the holy fathers say. It can be both punitive and educational. It happens as punishment for any sin, in word, deed, thought, feeling. As a teaching, it happens according to God’s intention to teach the aspirant spiritual experience. - How are you? - He will be humble to think that this is happening to you because of something sinful, as you think, although you are not clearly aware of what. Repent and pray to the merciful Lord to return His fatherly embrace to you. Meanwhile, take a closer look at what you had before this, see if you see a specific reason why you endure such a burden. Having seen it, resolve not to walk again on the road that led you to such a state. Such a decision will speed up the pardon, with the return of what was lost. This state means that the grace of God has retreated—not abandoned, but retreated and stands outside. That was inside, and now outside; and you were left as if naked in the cold, like a room from which all the warmth had escaped through the open windows. - How to turn it back? - Exactly as you do - through prayer, contrition, adding deprivations of the flesh in food and sleep; add, if you can, more help to those in need. Work hard and sweat. The Lord will have mercy and send you His grace again. But the time when this will happen cannot be set. The return of grace is not from us, but from grace itself - when it pleases, then it will come, without being limited by anything, according to its free will. However, do not give up, but cry out and cry out, begging for a return: “When will you come to me?” - not even determining in your mind that it is about to return, but surrendering yourself entirely into the hands of God, so that this dear and so desired will be according to the will of God, and in devotion to the will of God, agreeing to endure as long as He pleases. Spiritual consolations - grace-filled ones - come and go as the Lord pleases. You said: I love the Lord. It’s not surprising when He filled you with joy in the Holy Spirit. Deign to love now that He has left you alone, empty and naked from His covering. This will be a completely unselfish love, more valuable than the previous one. So now understand that there is a person left to himself, and humble yourself more and more. You have said more than once: I have reason, I have reason. Now, if you please, use your mind. When you were left alone, the enemy overheard and, as you write, began to offer his own advice on a better way of life, inspiring you to feel sorry for yourself, or even to return to the world. It’s hard to return to the world now: a cut-off piece. It is more plausible to feel sorry for yourself; but no less dangerous. Whoever among the nuns, or monks, or in general among those who strive, follows this advice, he will become a layman or a laywoman under monastic garb, or a pagan under a Christian name. Self-pity goes along with self-indulgence and self-love in general and is the root of all indulgences, omissions, indifference and carelessness. Have you heard the phrase: sin living in us? - So he is self-pity with his retinue. If you indulge him, even sometimes, it will always be like paralysis, breaking any good acquired by previous labors. And essentially nothing will come of you, except for one ostentatious, outward person. This is where the enemy would like to send you, under the guise of self-pity. Look, he’s already showing you the way there. You write: “On the rule, fatigue has taken hold - and such a burden! I quit and sat down to rest. Immediately the thought came that if you work less for yourself, or feel sorry for yourself more, then there will be fewer temptations.” Do you notice whose logic this is? Enemy. He's the one who pats you on the head: good girl! And always do this, and I will not tempt you. But what other temptation do you need? You have already fallen into it, and if you listen to the enemy - relax yourself in everything, then you will constantly be in temptation: you will do the will of the enemy, and not God. Then the enemy will surely retreat before the time, and leave self-pity as his deputy. When self-pity takes root and spoils all your affairs, then he will approach with new malice - is it possible to somehow lure you into committing some sins that are not obvious? Having realized all this, if you please, wake up, and begin to work for yourself with ferocity. You need to rub yourself through feats: friction develops heat. “I eat more, sleep more.” This is probably in those forms so that there are fewer temptations?! – The enemy’s logic operates successfully in you. If this is done due to complete exhaustion of the body or some ill health, then nothing; and if it is out of indulgence, then it will have a bad effect on your internal structure. And you will completely relax and indulge in complete carelessness. Frighten yourself with this, and force yourself to overwork yourself with hardships in order to walk the narrow and regrettable path, which is the only true path. Letter 50. About the enemy's machinations. The enemy's tricks are insignificant compared to attention and prayer. About heartfelt prayer. About sleep. On resolving questions based on patristic books. About insurance against the enemy When you listened to the enemy, according to his suggestions - to give up the rule because of cleaning the room, to eat and sleep more, etc., then he patted you on the head: good girl! always do this - which felt like a pleasant benefit and some kind of bravery worthy of praise. He thought that you would remain silent - and praised. And when you told about his tricks, he didn’t like it, and he began to tease and scold you - why did you write, why did you say that, and the like. “You, not having figured out where this wind was coming from, began to feel sorry and embarrassed.” This is all the enemy's business. You also didn’t write anything that could be embarrassing. Everything written is commonplace and almost everywhere. And what they wrote, there is absolutely nothing to regret about it. If you decided to tell everything that happens in you and with you, then how could you not talk about such lofty plans - to eat and drink and not pray to God - but still hope to receive salvation and inherit eternal life? - It’s good, at least, that you, even through clenched teeth, begin to talk about the enemy, and attribute something else to him, as if he were an evil and malicious omnipotent. You will finally see how widespread his intervention is during our lives. Just don't be horrified. Because at the same time, make sure how insignificant all his tricks are before attention and prayer - they tear like a cobweb from the wind, melt like snow from the warmth of the sun. “I opened my eyes a little, and my first thought was that I was careless, lazy and proud.” Indescribably good. This Guardian Angel gave you a poem as a lesson. Please repeat it and confirm it, so that when an answer is required, you can answer unmistakably and thus please your Angel, and no less the Lord of Angels. Don’t worry too much about the cell rule. We must keep up our prayers in the morning and evening, and during the day at any time. This is when you go to Church. And when you don’t go, then fix the services at home. I already wrote to you not to worry about the number of prayers, but to take care of one thing, so that prayer flows from the heart vividly, like a living stream. Leave the quantity out of your mind, and keep this one thing in mind. But the rule still requires a certain order. However, do not harden yourself in it, as in shackles. Let it be only a general program, and you can change the specifics at least every day, depending on what you expect to find revitalization of the prayerful spirit. If you harden it, the liveliness will weaken, and the rule will turn into a form that will soon make the prayer lifeless. Do this so that every prayer is as good as new. If you wake up early and have done Matins, you will fall asleep again a little; there is nothing bad in that. Just not as an indulgence, but according to a reasonable determination that this is necessary for vigorous action throughout the day. Four to five hours of sleep is very measured sleep. You can also take a little nap during the day. But it's better to be awake. You write that you found a solution to some questions in the patristic books. Be good! And you should always look for it there. And if you seek diligently, you will always find it. Saints Barsanuphius and John are especially useful in this regard. And from Saint Dorotheus you will find a kind explanation of many things. And you can find a lot of admonition from all the saints. Read only with attention, and apply it to yourself. Say: “Fears attack, especially during prayer.” - Fear is blessed only - God's; but it has nothing terrible, it is always beneficial. Your insurances, for no reason, from the enemy - and especially during prayer. See how he is busy around you. There is nothing to take, it makes your hair stand on end. Saint Anthony also wrote that the enemy is powerless - and can only instill fears, either internally or externally - with terrible ghosts. The main thing is not to be timid. You boasted before: I don’t care about the enemy: I have reason. So now, if you please, show this with action, just not arming yourself with reason, but with prayer. Letter 51. On the departure of the grace of God. Grace is retained in the soul by humility. About the tricks of the enemy You write: “Warmed up.” - God bless! I was very worried about this. It could have stayed that way. But the Lord is merciful, His robe has returned to you. When the grace of God is within, the soul is as if dressed in warm clothes; and when it departs, the soul is as if undressed and in the cold. Was leaving; and what was in you and with you? - Make sure from this that everything good, especially a good state of mind, is directly from grace. Your work is of course necessary; but he does not give the Spiritual - essentially and firmly, but only seeks it and prepares him for receiving it. One grace gives everything. Please confess this with your heart, and not take anything for yourself. In this Appropriation there is a sin of alien appropriation. No work can be attributed with the power to deliver what is sought. You can’t say: I’ll do this and that, I’ll work this way and that, and I’ll get this and that. The grace of God is not bound by contracts, and always acts as it wants. No one can guess this desire or force it in any way. Equally, she stays where and how she wants. Why should not one who has received grace say or think: he has received grace; Now I don’t have to bother much. No; and having received grace, we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Grace comes and goes as well, not according to our discretion. You see how cold it is without grace and how the soul is sluggish and immobile towards everything spiritual. This is the state of good pagans, faithful Jews, and Christians who are good in life, but who do not think about their inner life, with its relationship to God. They do not experience languor similar to yours; because they did not feel what happens under the influence of grace. But as from time to time some spiritual consolation—natural—falls to their lot, they remain calm. What is the most important way to retain grace in the soul? Humility. What is the main reason for dismissal? From some movement of pride, conceit and arrogance. As soon as she feels this bad smell of pride inside, she immediately leaves. It’s true that something similar happened to you too. You don't realize it. But accept this as a mental truth for now; and then, God willing, you will feel with your feeling that there are movements of pride that the soul is not aware of, and you will begin to pray more fervently: grant me, Lord, to see my sins. In some letter you proved that you are humble. But from the very thing that was proven, it follows that you are not humble. Humility does not see itself. Grant to you, Lord, that you will never experience such a bad state again. But we must also assume that it is very likely that from time to time it will still be suitable, although not to such an extent, or will be tolerated and even invisible, in order to teach the soul experience and, most of all, careful vigilance, and also so that it does not forget and always finds a deep conviction that it is nothing in itself, although it experiences something good. Learn to do everything you do in such a way that it warms up and does not cool your hearts: you need to read, say prayer, work, and enter into communication with others, all while keeping one goal in mind - not to let yourself cool down. Stoke your inner stove without interruption with short prayers, and take care of your feelings so that the warmth does not escape through them. It is very difficult for external impressions to coexist with internal activities. You misunderstood my words about enemy slander - as if, agreeing to recognize the actions of the enemy in us, it is necessary to think that he is already in the heart. No, he is outside and shoots from afar, inspiring evil thoughts. As soon as an opportunity opens up for him, he immediately jumps up and gives his advice, which is always slander, although it seems beautiful. He always starts with the good things and from them gradually moves on to the bad; suddenly he does not advise anything bad, and when he does advise it, he covers it with a beautiful veil. You will figure all this out for yourself when you learn to listen to yourself. For all its cunning, the enemy with all his hordes is a stupid gang. They take advantage of our oversight. Attention and prayer thwart all his evil intricacies. Letter 52. You can rely only on the Lord and give your heart only to Him. About cutting off from everything. Desire for perfection You often repeat: “How happy I am with my situation!” - Thanks be to the Lord, who arranged it this way. But be careful, relying on such a situation, do not overstep the boundaries, and do not overlook the Acting One because of the guns. We are all so appointed by the Lord that we can do something for each other; but there is no doubt that everything done directly for spiritual benefit certainly comes from the Lord Himself and is directed by Him according to its intended purpose. We should attribute everything to Him, expect everything from Him alone, and be happy through Him alone. God is called jealous. He wants us to give our whole heart to Him – and to Him alone, inseparably – and for us to rely on Him alone. Why is it that when he sees that we are leaning toward some creature, albeit a rational one, and we begin to rely on it, in addition to His all-powerful right hand, he begins to look at us unfavorably. You wrote that you are seeking to become perfect and are striving for this. It occurred to me to show you an icon by which you can determine whether you are moving towards perfection or spinning in one place. This icon is a cut off from everything. I recently heard a simple old woman speak, and she used this phrase. “Now,” he says, “everything is cut off; I, like a bird, am not bound by anything.” How did she get to this point? - With my whole life aimed at pleasing the one God. From the age of seven she developed a sweetheart, a painful concern, lest she should anger God. This sweetheart fired her up for all kinds of work, sparing no effort. So she went through girlhood, marriage, widowhood. Things were all ordinary, family affairs; but she was the first everywhere and did everything for God and in God’s way. With this direction of her labors, she so straightened, wiped and whitened her soul that there was no longer anything earthly left in it that would occupy her. “Now,” he says, “everything is with me, the Lord.” My soul no longer belongs to anything: I can’t do anything, my hands fall off, and I don’t want to talk about anything, my tongue won’t turn. Everything would be Lord; I don’t want to leave Him alone.” - You see what the essence of the matter is! This is where you should head. “And your wish will come true: I want perfection, I want to become a wise virgin.” God bless. “Seek and ye shall find.” Or better: “Ask and it will be given to you.” There is an urgent need to search; but no matter how much you search, you will not find it, unless the Lord gives. Therefore, while searching diligently, one should ask silently. Perfection, like the Kingdom, does not come by discretion. And it is best not to fix your eyes on him, but to take care of that, how to remain in the mercy and grace of God. The Lord already knows when, what and how to give. - And wait, being in a godly manner. You believe that I consider you worthless. – Who told you this?! I’m only teaching you so that you consider yourself like that; but how I think about you, I don’t think I told you. Yes, even if he spoke and said so, there would be no loss for you from it. Whether I give you plus twelve (+12) or minus twelve (12) is nothing for the work of your life. Schools take into account the scores that people give and use them to give a grade to a student or student. But in spiritual matters, no matter what points people give, nothing is decisive here. The real points are in the sky. The overall result will be summed up there, at the end of the course of life, and what kind of certification will be put there, amen to all eternity. That the weeping in your heart and the contrition of repentance do not go away, that is good. Keep this gift of God - and renew it as soon as it begins to weaken. This is the unforgettable path. – And the fact that you often contemplate the Lord on the cross and are amazed by it to the depths of your soul is good. Bring this and all the like that excites the soul more often to it, so that it is constantly in motion and lives; for life is movement. No movement, no life. Letter 53. About enduring troubles. How humility is acquired. Humble compliance is the best defense against the attacks of others. About laziness, the desire for indulgences and peace of the flesh. About the prayer rule. What is tonsure It seemed to you that there was something unpleasant in the attitude of those around you; you couldn’t bear it and launched into self-defense. You acted according to the saying: don’t hesitate, I’ll give you the change. - Others cannot act differently, but you could have acted differently and did not act. Someone inside kept telling you: be patient, be patient. You suffered, but only a little; I didn’t have enough strength to last to the end. – What are the names of the threads that break? - Rotten, unfit for any business. Then the threads that kept your inner structure in order also broke. They are bad, that is. Try to prepare strong ones for the future. How did this happen to you? Here's how. There was a repentant novice in you. But the former noble lady came, and, most importantly, learned, - and, having driven away that humble woman, she began to act herself - and caused trouble. How to prevent such cases? Very simple. I advise you to stop all relations with this unkind lady (that is, the learned lady) and not allow her to rule in your house. She doesn’t know how to do anything in the order of life that you have established for yourself. Please firmly state that humility is acquired not by humble thoughts, but by willing submission of oneself to humbling circumstances and relationships. The servants mocked the Savior uselessly, jokingly, but He did not say a word. But it's over. The opportunity to actively teach oneself humility has been missed. Put at least forward not to miss them. The enemy usually runs up and repeats: don’t let go, otherwise they’ll peck you. - He's lying. The best protection from being pecked is humble compliance. Laziness attacks you, a desire comes for benefits, indulgences, peace of the flesh. You do well not to give in; however, your intransigence is incomplete. What I mean is that, despite these tempting attacks, you still do what you think should be done, but you do it reluctantly. “Even though reluctantly,” you say, “I do everything.” And that's good, as I said; there is struggle and victory here. But this struggle must be carried through to the end so that the victory is complete, that is, to the point of doing at least, mercilessly driving away “reluctantly.” For this “reluctantly” is a concession to laziness and feeds it, although not in a fat way. If you please, when you drive away laziness, excite yourself to the point of zeal, so that you can quickly, with energy, do what laziness has delayed you from. And this will only be a real victory and the overcoming of laziness, and not what you do. Liveliness is a real feature of real spiritual life. But it seems you really want to become completely lazy; for you ask: “Is it really possible to endure this yoke of labor until death?!” – So, are you tired of it and want to get rid of it as soon as possible? - No, you can’t reset it; and the time will come when it will not become a burden, because life will get used to it, and what now seems to you labor and deprivation, then will cease to be labor and deprivation, but the usual, as if natural order of life. The burden associated with it, which makes this order of labor a yoke, will evaporate from internal heat. The heat of energy will burn this yoke, and you, without throwing away the yoke, will cease to be under the yoke. The condition for achieving this as quickly as possible is to never, in anything large or small, allow yourself to act as if “reluctantly,” but always elevate yourself to life-action. As for prayers and services, I have already written to you about this. You must have a rule, and best of all is one that is constantly followed in the Church; but it must always be performed with lively feeling. If the liveliness of feeling is hampered by haste in fulfilling the rule, and haste is caused by fear of duration, then it is better to assign a certain time for each service, in hours and minutes, and then pray with those prayers that are part of the service, or in your private rule - slowly, with a clear consciousness and feeling of everything that is being read, not in the least concerned about catching up to the end of the order of the service or rule, but only about staying in a certain time for a certain time. living prayerful aspiration to God. That's the main thing! And if you don’t have time to read or finish reading something else, it’s not a big problem. You are used to reading certain things, and you would be ashamed not to read them. You start reading and hurry so that it doesn’t take long. Because of this, prayer work does not bring all the benefit. It is impossible without a rule; You must definitely have it, but try to fulfill it so that it is a prayer. It’s good that you read the Midnight Office on holidays and Sundays. Everything that is done in this way is good; to extend and streamline prayer work; just so that everything goes with consciousness and feeling, without wandering thoughts. Your understanding of tonsure is that it is not a sacrament, is correct. This is simply the rite of acceptance into the rank of monastic. However, it is not useless: for it strengthens the internal moral structure of the person being tonsured. Just as thoughts about any subject, until they are set out on paper, wander back and forth in some formlessness, and when they are set out, they take on a stable form - and the person who is tonsured, until he is tonsured, still seems to be neither this nor that, but when he takes tonsure, he is folded into one - and he holds in his heart that he is neither here nor there - there is only one road. As a military man, the military uniform of his rank obliges him to act like a warrior in his rank; In the same way, clothing obliges someone who has been tonsured to live and act according to the rank to which he finally began to belong by virtue of tonsure. Letter 54. Inspiration versus despondency. About the narrow path. What kind of dreams are there? There is a spirit of despondency in the tone of your letter. What would this be for? You are God's; The Lord has called you to Himself; you go to your Heavenly Father for eternal consolation in His house - and lose heart?! We must sing: shine, shine, renewed soul! And your tears almost fall: as if you worked in vain with everything you did. Not a single step of yours will be in vain; The Lord will take everything into account and reward it immeasurably. If your health has deteriorated a little, is it worth paying attention to in the face of what has been given in its place? Yes, anyone else would have given mountains of gold for this, but you only paid with some ounces of health. So don't be cowardly. That life is difficult for you - glory to You, Lord! This is a narrow path. After all, a narrow path is necessary. Apart from him, no one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord leaves others to arrange such a path for themselves, but for you He arranged it Himself. For I saw that you yourself would hardly take up this matter, and if you did, you would not be able to make it beneficial for you. He wants to bring you to Himself and, loving you, He does in your place that without which it is impossible to reach Him. Be well pleased for the sake of the Lord who loves you. They saw a dream - where demons also took place - and they were confused. – It’s better to ignore dreams. Some of them may mean something; but how we can determine this exactly is not given, and guesses can be made deceptive and unhelpful; then it’s better to forget them. They are naturally condemned to this; because they are usually forgotten. Please note that dreams are natural, they are from Angels and saints, and they are also from demons. Those who, from Angels and saints, create spiritual peace - and leave it in the soul for a long time, and those from demons, destroy the world within; your own dreams are empty and disorderly. Demons are powerless and cannot do anything to us. But sometimes they are allowed to get closer to the servants of God and disturb them, partly for testing, partly for teaching, partly to show them what they are. In these same forms they are allowed to weave dreams. “You were especially allowed to do this because of your previous disbelief in their tricks.” Letter 55. The main thing is prayer work. How to receive visitors. Don't let yourself feel sorry You begin to get involved in prayer work. God bless! May your soul always be cheerful, free from any self-pity. May God help you to be alive and sober. But do not forget the main thing - to combine your attention and mind with your heart, and always be there before the face of the Lord. All prayer efforts should be directed towards this. Pray to the Lord to grant you this blessing. This is a treasure hidden in the village; These are valuable beads. But what did you say at the same time: the prayer order is disrupted when someone comes - this is not good. Get used to thinking that when someone comes, the Lord sends him so that through him you can serve the Lord. How? Communicating to the newcomer your good mood given to you by the Lord. If you receive those who come in this spirit, then there will be no violation of the prayer order, but a continuation of it, only in a different form. Both are service to God. Having this in mind, receive everyone with joy, as messengers of God, despite their appearance, and take care of one thing, lest you deviate from what the Lord wants from you in this case. Having accepted this, direct all your attention to their hearts, so that from their words you can guess what you can do for the good of their souls - and then direct all your speech to this, so, however, so as not to seem like a teacher, but as if speaking about an outsider. And most importantly, try in every possible way to ensure that the person who comes leaves with a peaceful heart. They wanted to go into prison. - The time will come, and you can go into prison. We need to get ready first. And in general, I think that a full shutter is inconvenient for you; and so - from time to time - it’s good to retire. There is nothing more you could wish for. When the fire lights up in your heart, and you begin to live there with attention, then it will be an internal retreat. It will require an external shutter; but I think that even then it is better to retire only from time to time. “When do I think about myself?!” – I think that you think a lot about yourself, and think highly. Only at the same time you try to humiliate yourself, force yourself to be humble. Humility is sought but not yet found. - Seek harder and you will find. “I don’t think I feel sorry for myself.” – If true, then this is very good. “But the doctor told you that something here hurts, and something is unhealthy, and you almost burst into tears, because you were too merciless with yourself. - No; Get treatment, get treatment, but still don’t allow self-pity. – Non-self-pity is an internal act, which is also appropriate for such external actions and positions that seemingly seem self-pitying. There is a certain inner vivacity - physical, - consisting of muscle tension. She is an ever-present companion to non-self-pity. Remembering your illnesses, you add that you see in them something providential about you. And you do well. With illnesses, God often protects his slaves from temptations that they would not be able to escape without it. Otherwise, as it turns out, they themselves are straitlacing. Hardly anyone does not need restraints. Continue in this faith. Letter 56. On the consolations of Holy Communion. About joyful crying, or joyful sadness. Praise is a dangerous business. About extracts from books you read We communed the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and, by the grace of God, received a peaceful and comforting mood of spirit. Then you add that in preparing for Holy Communion, you worked hard on yourself. - Be good! And never forget to do this, to the best of your ability and beyond your strength. For this reason, consolation is given to those who participate. Without labor and hardship, consolation will not be given, except by some special grace of God. This is how God arranged it. Do not forget, however, that it is not work alone that achieves this, but in connection with the true spirit in which one should turn to God. Both are needed. Having said this, you express regret that this heavenly state does not remain forever, and you nourish the desire for it to remain unchanged in you. - In the current state of things - changeable - it is difficult to achieve anything unchangeable. However, this is not impossible. For God is immutable, and makes immutable all with whom He deigns to be united in living union. Unite with the Lord, and you will receive from Him much in an unchangeable form, which is now given and passes away. Since the Lord is gracious, I can prescribe for you: seek and you will find. This will happen when a light falls into the heart and lights it up. You go towards this with the whole order of your life. And of course you will get there if you don’t become lazy and lose humility. “Your heart will also light up and burn like an unquenchable candle.” But when, no one can tell you. This is God's work. Seek with patience and trust. The saints do not describe this state, saying that it cannot be described clearly. When it comes, you will know. The Elder of Kyiv, Father Parthenius, called him a sore in his heart. - Please, endure the established routines that overload you, without feeling sorry for yourself. There is a reason. “Finally,” you say, “I understood that there is joyful crying, or joyful sadness,” and you decide to develop the strongest and most powerful contrition in your heart. Be good and good! - God bless. However, know that this joyful sadness is given, and not acquired. This state is similar to the one we experience when we see our relatives after a long separation: both joyful and compassionate - tears flow. Joyful sorrow occurs when the Lord meets with the soul and the soul with the Lord. This is to be expected from Holy Communion. - And it happens. See from this that contrition must be developed, but it is not joyful sorrow, but paves the way to it. The Lord gives joyful sorrow to the soul, but the Lord does not agree with anything in His actions. Work, however, in the excitement of contrition and bring yourself to tears, so that you can cry over yourself, as if for the deceased, sobbing bitterly, with lamentations. You write: “Why not sometimes praise someone else?” - It happens that they praise. Good involuntarily evokes praise; praise revives the praised and gives him wings. But this is not a safe matter. It can seed conceit, and further lead to arrogance and pride. That's the trouble: for pride is cursed by the Lord. You expect that praise will give birth to humility, when you think that you are not worth it. - It happens, maybe this too; but this kind of birth, due to its rarity and unnaturalness, must be called a miracle. One of the fathers said that praising is the same as tripping someone walking in a hurry. This one falls and breaks his nose until it bleeds. Something similar, one must assume, is produced by praise in the soul of someone who is good on the spiritual path. “Therefore, you better admit that the idea that praise leads to humility is not of heavenly origin. This is the suggestion of one who has the custom of putting on the Angel of Light without being one. You want to make extracts from the books you read. Fine. But don’t write down everything good, but only what touches your heart. A notebook or two will be collected. When despondency or coldness and dryness sets in later, take these notebooks and leaf through them. The heart will respond to what was felt before and move. So from one, two, third extract. You look, and it’s completely stirred up. Letter 57. Against laziness. About the prayer rule. About reading patristic books You again let your mistress come to you and obeyed her, but she piled up absurdities. And this time you forgot that there are two persons in you: one is a humble novice, and the other is a learned lady with lordship. According to your present mood, the mistress should be a novice with obedience; the lady and the lordship should not have any power. Even though you drove her into the people's room, she does not forget what she is doing and tries in every possible way to sneak up to you and, having driven out the novice, become a manager. And now she has managed to do this. I’m not talking about her ridiculous orders, whatever they were, you shouldn’t have listened to them. I have already written to you about this. You seem to be content to keep it with you at all times. No; If you please, now kill her completely and throw her out the window to be devoured by the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Otherwise, good order will never be established among you; and you will only create and destroy. You ask: “Where did I get the idea that you really want to get lazy?” - From your next words: “When will this labor finally end?” “This question means that your legs are already breaking and your arms are dropping,” and the thought of throwing off the burden that lies on them appears in your soul. Indulge this urge even just a little, and little by little it will lead to the point that you will give up everything. So it was necessary for you to be reminded of this end, so that the beginning does not begin. “Now you write that even though you said so, you still didn’t indulge yourself.” - And good! “But just because I mentioned the bad consequences of indulging the feeling of hardship from work, there will be no harm to your disindulgence.” And stand in this, and always drive away any urge to indulge yourself in anything. At the same time, you must always excite yourself to intense activity and immediately do something that requires such tension. If it appears again, then do the same. And so on. This urge will finally stop appearing. And living energy will take strength. Our job is especially to keep ourselves constantly in such energy, with complete selflessness and self-sacrifice. For her sake, God’s help will always approach our good undertakings and do its work in us. Prayer rule, say it, correct it as written. - And work like that. God help you. Above all, learn to constantly remember God, and to hold yourself prayerfully to God, in fear and reverence. Grant you, Lord, this! - Set aside a special time for yourself for this: so that, sitting cheerfully and gathering attention in your heart, you can say the Jesus Prayer without being distracted by thoughts. Maybe two or three times a day. Go through the rosary at least once; and the hunt comes, two or three times is possible. In this way, you can create a sore in the heart, which Elder Parthenius spoke about, and reach the point where the Jesus Prayer itself will babble in the heart with clever words, like a brook, with corresponding movements of feeling. The fatherly books you have are the ones you need. Saint Macarius – primary; Saint Isaac will lead further and deeper; Saint Ephraim will revive contrition and tenderness; Saints Barsanuphius and John will resolve all puzzling cases; Saint Basil the Great, Saint Climacus, Saints Dorotheos and Nile will attach reasonable grounds to everything. Don't let a single day go by without reading one of them. You have encountered such circumstances that, if necessary, you enter into relations with bars. - See that this air does not raise your own lady, your main enemy and enemy, to her feet. Pay attention to yourself - and don’t give her any concessions; otherwise you will have to fight with it for a long time. This matter is that everything is internal; outside, you can behave as usual in bars. When it’s all over and you get back into your usual rut, then look more closely into your soul, exactly how it will greet this - like a May morning or a frost on the skin? Decide this without tilting the scales - and decide for yourself - for self-knowledge and for your edification. For, judging by what is happening in you, you can guess a lot about yourself, for joy or sadness. Letter 58. How to gather your mind into your heart. About the Jesus Prayer. Self-resistance and self-coercion are the first forms of saving Christian life “I’m gathering my courage.” God help you! But do not lose sight of the main thing - to gather your mind in your heart. Direct your efforts towards this. There is only one technique - try to stay with attention in your heart, with the memory of the omnipresence of God and the fact that His eye looks into your heart. Take care to establish yourself in the conviction that, even though you are alone, you always have not only near you, but within yourself a face inherent in you, looking at you and seeing everything in you. What I wrote to you about doing the Jesus Prayer several times a day will serve as a very powerful means to this end. Do this - each time for ten to fifteen minutes - and it is better to stand in a prayer position with small bows, and without them, as best for you. Work like this and pray to the Lord to let you finally feel and know what a sore in the heart is, according to the word of Elder Parthenius. Suddenly it is not given. A year of intense work will pass, and maybe more, until some traces of this begin to appear. Bless you, Lord, on this work and path. - But don’t consider this some kind of side-effect, and make it the main thing. “We need to work and develop a more serious and restrained personality.” - What is this?! Do you want to dress up like a society lady?! But even without much effort you are a socialite, and also a scientist. There are already two troubles, and you want to impose a third on yourself. No, it won't do. If you set yourself the goal of these qualities, you will become an actor who pays attention to external bearing in words, in posture, in movements. Seriousness and restraint are good qualities in life. It’s not that I want to say that they do not go towards spiritual life - they do, but here they must be the result of other qualities, and not the goal, so as to be without being noticed. Instead of their goals, those who struggle should have attention, alertness, and walking in the presence of God. When, God willing, a sore arises in your heart, then by itself what you desire will arrive, or something much higher than that - a special tact will be established, according to which everything will go well, smoothly and appropriately, without thinking about it. Then you will carry within you a teacher who is wiser than none on earth. “I’m afraid not to do violence to nature.” – What else is this? – Our nature was damaged through the fall. Christianity, in its entire structure, is the restoration of this nature to its first order. Consequently, it is in its essence violence to nature, as it is in us now. Self-resistance and self-coercion are the first forms of manifestation of Christian life, saving life, leading to the goal. “Needs,” that is, those who force, the same as those who violate nature, delight the Kingdom of God. One should never refer to nature, or rely on it unconditionally, because it combines a mixture of what should be and what should not. Why, when reworking oneself, one must look not at nature, but at the standard of perfection offered by Christianity. Having compared what exists and happens in us with this norm, you will find that much needs to be completely torn out, much needs to be reconfigured, much must be brought in again. You need to have nature as raw material, from which not everything goes into business. Letter 59. The best position for a person praying is to stand as if at the Last Judgment. About the wandering of thoughts during prayer; how to heal this weakness “How to spend Saturday and Sunday?” – They should allow for some kind of concession; but which one, think up for yourself. Keep one rule - conduct your affairs in this way on Saturday and Sunday (or especially on them), so as to always be with the Lord and not deviate in any way from the prayerful ascent to Him in your heart. What you, according to the instructions of a certain old woman, classify as backbreaking labor that can be canceled, then not everything is like that. Not like that - cell crafts, menial labor. They are the most powerful and effective means of driving the learned lady out of you. There is nothing you can do to pester her like this. And don't quit. The lady will leave, and you will be freer. – Review other burdens, and if something is too tiring, reduce it. But avoid benefits as much as possible. The real path is narrow. And oppress yourself. This can and should be done without exhausting yourself to the point of illness. What did you accept from the same old woman - during the Six Psalms, to stand as if at the Last Judgment, this is a very good deed. But it is not bad to transfer it to any prayer. One of the ancient elders used to say that the best position for a person praying is to stand as if at the Last Judgment. Put yourself in such a position, or in the position of someone dying and preparing to appear before the Lord, and you will involuntarily begin to cry out: Lord have mercy! Oh Lord! save me! Ask for prayers so that you will not be entertained by thoughts that uncontrollably wander and distract attention from what it should be. – This is the first time I’ve heard you talk about this; Meanwhile, this is the main disorder that we experience inside. Before, it was true that it did not seem like such a discordant matter, but now it is seen in a different light. Why? I attribute this to the action of the little ruler that you began to correct by saying the Jesus Prayer. When you read and read everything during the prayer service, then with the multiplicity of thoughts brought on by the prayers, thoughts went away and returned imperceptibly. Now, when one word of prayer and one thought are given to them, any other thought is immediately noticed as an alien visitor. Thus, internal disorder was revealed to you. - How can this be? – Continue to practice the same rule, and your thoughts will calm down more and more and the weakness you notice will be healed. The truth is, if you continue it properly, it will create a sore in your heart, and this sore will chain your thoughts to the One, and the wandering of thoughts will end. From this moment, when the Lord vouchsafes you to receive it, a new restructuring of everything internal will begin, and your walk with God will become relentless. Someone long ago called you an eagle. This is in social life. You will also be a real eagle in your spiritual life. But now you are like a bird, flapping its wings vigorously, looking at the sky; but it does not rise from the ground, but only jumps; It seems to her that she is flying fast and high. Work hard, and you will indeed fly high - without soaring. The elder woman above called you fiery. - And so you will be. Now there is a fever, but not real yet. The late Ignatius the Right Reverend used to say that there is a blood heat, meaning by this his own self-made heat, which for a time serves good, but then must give way to another - not earthly heat. Whoever remains alone in this (blood) falls into delusion, due to which he begins to think about himself more than what is in reality. Letter 60. The Law of Fasting. We must believe that the Lord is within us - by virtue of baptism and communion, according to His promises. About recording dogmatic or moral thoughts that come during prayer. About the prayerful mood Ask me to draw up a Lenten charter for you. - What is this for?! You know the general rules, but I don’t have the opportunity to write the private, cell rules; because I don't know your characteristics. Please do this yourself, applying it to the general. I will only say: put in your heart the general law of fasting, and it will move your arms, and legs, and all your members, as required. And you will have an unwritten charter in effect. The law of fasting is this: to abide in God with your mind and heart, with renunciation of everything, cutting off any pleasure for yourself, not only in the physical, but also in the spiritual, doing everything for the glory of God and the good of others, willingly and lovingly bearing the labors and deprivations of fasting, in food, sleep, rest, in the consolations of mutual communication - all in a modest measure, so that it does not catch the eye and does not deprive strength to fulfill prayer rules. With this in mind, it will not be difficult for you to determine how, when and to what extent to do what. It is better to listen to church services in church, trying in every possible way not to leave the Lord with your mind, no matter how long it drags on. At home, read them only in case of severe illness. You can take communion three times - in the first week, veneration of the cross and passion week. And if a strong desire comes, you can add more. You can take communion every week. You should talk about this with your confessor. Do more reading, contemplation and prayer at home, and less handicraft. However, see for yourself: sometimes you need to do more handicrafts when the soul is satiated with the spiritual. As for the involuntary straining and sorrow of the heart that suddenly attacks, I don’t know how to say anything about them. Take the trouble to write down what happens when you do this, then maybe it will turn out where they came from. I think that you don’t have them from God. God brings tenderness and tears; and these, which scratch the heart without obvious reasons, only upset and do not lead to anything good, must be directly derived from the enemy. He gets angry at you and scratches with his claws. Turn to prayer. The Lord will send an Angel who will drive away the spirit that torments you. Work hard to become accustomed to the Jesus Prayer. God bless! We must believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is within us - by virtue of baptism and communion, according to the promises of Himself, connected with these Sacraments. For those who are baptized put on Christ, and those who partake receive the Lord. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I am in him,” says the Lord (John 6:56). Only mortal sins deprive us of this great mercy towards us. But those who repent and receive communion after confession again return it to themselves. So believe. If you lack faith, pray that the Lord will add it to you and establish it in you firmly and unshakably. Pay attention to yourself, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Notice thoughts that come and go, and states of mind that remain motionless or last for hours and days. All this will serve as documents for you to determine what is in you? Keep a notebook under your hands and write down if any thoughts, dogmatic or moral, arise on their own - especially during prayer - and take over everything inside you, both mind and heart, and will last for a long time. These are angelic thoughts. Then read it from time to time to revive your inner self. Also write down in a special notebook the psalm verses with which on your lips, as you write, you wake up and which do not go away, but repeat themselves. Write down your first thoughts when you wake up, if they don’t go away. By all this, what was promised to Christians through the prophets is fulfilled - that they will all be taught by God. The fact that you are led by feelings, or that you generally have spiritual feelings, does not mean that you stand firmly with attention in your heart. When this latter is present, then the mind stands in the heart without origin, and stands before the Lord, in fear and reverence, and does not want to leave there. This state is similar to how a child rests in the arms of its mother. May God grant you to achieve this. If you supplement the rule of your home prayer with the Jesus Prayer, you are doing good. You can replace a quarter, half, three-quarters of your rule and even the entire rule with this prayer. Just don’t belittle your time, and keep yourself in fear and reverence. Rub yourself in every possible way - both by reading prayer books, and with your prayers, and with mental prayer, taking care of one thing, so that the prayerful mood does not leave your soul. Letter 61. On the consolations of Holy Communion. About the fasting rule. On the resumption of soul-beneficial thoughts and feelings Your first word is about the good state after Holy Communion. God bless! May the Lord grant you to become more and more close to Him. But do not forget that these good actions of holy communion are always a matter of God’s mercy. Eat? - and thank God! Thank the Lord, and humble yourself more and more. What is necessary on our part is the work of preparation, then faith, fear and trembling when approaching the Sacrament. But no matter how good all this is, the feeling of a good effect from holy communion is not a necessary fruit of them. It is always in the hand of God. And no matter how merciful the Lord is, He often shortens His hand, either as a teaching or as a punishment, especially for a lack of humble feelings, and especially for such a thought: I will do this and that, and I will get this and that from receiving the Holy Mysteries. Such prophecies are always the enemy’s and never come true. For here the sin of misappropriation occurs - attributing to oneself and one’s works what is directly the mercy of God. Briefly remember how you had to go through thick and thin in life. Give thanks to the Lord. He led you on this road, and led you through it and led you to what you are now. Thank you for not allowing you to step out of the rut that He has planned for you and for your life. Again, in the morning you had a psalm verse on your tongue, and it was repeated all day: “I will seek my face for You, I will seek Your face, O Lord.” – Write them down, as I said, and read them sometimes. God's book will come out, written in your soul and copied from there into a notebook by you. We have established our fasting rules. See if it's too difficult. You shouldn’t indulge yourself and allow yourself benefits; but there is no need to suddenly impose great hardships on yourself. It is better to start with small difficulties and gradually increase them. Thus, acting unnoticed, you can reach such extremes that will be much more significant than what you planned, but which will not suppress. Why do I think that it is better for you to moderate some of your efforts now, and then gradually add to them. Set yourself up, however, as you find best for yourself, and talk to your confessor. – Don’t forget one more thing: do not bind yourself by your charter, always retaining freedom of action, and taking care of one thing, to always be with the Lord. Less mechanism and form. Life is in motion, and not in a hardened form. You write: “I think everything is going badly for me.” “It’s impossible to think of a better and more accurate idea.” That's how it is. What good do you expect from yourself? – Thank God that you at least notice this. It will be even worse if you begin to see everything in yourself as good. “We just need to confess the mercy of God that, despite our unkindness, He does not turn His eyes away from us, and sometimes does not forget to throw a small grain to us from the bountiful meal of His true children. It occurred to me to tell you how one zealous nun, everywhere in her cell, in those places that involuntarily meet the eye, stuck pieces of paper with sayings from the word of God or the holy fathers. Their content renewed in her the thoughts and feelings that she considered beneficial to her soul to pay attention to more often. Doing this, I believe, will not be useless for you. Letter 62. Harm from condemnation. About the fear of God They did a good job of not getting involved in the dispute. And never take on this matter. Arguments rarely pass without some kind of internal upset. “And then they agreed to something bad and condemned him, that’s very bad.” It’s good that you noticed the guilt of the condemnation. Get used to noticing the very approaches of this evil feeling. It is the enemy who raises him in the heart. How beautiful it looks! And it always leaves behind a thick cloudiness and blackness. You will do well if you quickly say it in spirit and ask for penance. Nothing is easier than to condemn. But this matter never goes unpunished by those who have begun to pay attention to themselves. – What you wrote after this was the punishment. “And I read everything, but I admit that there is no prayer.” - It turns out that all you have to do is stand in prayer. Although this is better than not standing at prayer at all, such prayer is the same as giving the Lord a dry crust. – Run quickly to your confessor and repent of your condemnation, with contrition and crying. The Lord will return to you His merciful view of you. The Lord is near. All he has to do is make one wave, and everything will go well! He is always ready to shower us with His mercies; but we do not always prove worthy and capable of accepting them. That is why, as soon as this influx stops, we feel the impoverishment of everything spiritual in ourselves, there are no good thoughts or feelings, we are empty. “We deserve punishment, and we are punished.” But if you cry, repent, get permission, you will be revived. More sleepy words: “There is fire on the throne...” and so on. – The Guardian Angel is calling you to repentance. – If you wrote down these words, then good! That the fear of God embraces the soul is very good. - And this is where it goes. This is where the Lord Himself disturbs you. Hurry up to do what I wrote. – Pray together that this fear does not go away, or that the Lord does not take it away from you, but deepens it more and more. With him, everything will be in order - both thoughts and words. This is an angelic feeling. For Angels always stand before God with fear and trembling - and the higher they are, the more alive these feelings are. It smelled like heavenly air on you. Letter 63. Illness instead of fasting. How does the hidden person of the heart begin? Lent has come, you should work in a fasting manner, but illness has come to you. - Be comforted! And this is also work, and, perhaps, all the more valuable because it does not depend on arbitrariness. The Lord put it on him. Kindly carry him as she who received him straight from the hand of the Lord. The complacency with which you endure the illness will make enduring it a feat, the highest of all polishing. Here are the regulations for fasting. But the Lord prescribed His to you, not by letter, but by deed. Believe that he is better for you than all the others, no matter what you come up with. – For the same reason, the measure of fasting you have outlined should no longer be carried out, so as not to fall from the killers of passions into the killers of the body. “The days are passing and life is coming to an end. And what at the end? – The judgment of God, which is not the same as our own and human. Is it any wonder that it will be the opposite of the one here?! Remember this. You write: “It’s as if a little man moved in my heart.” - Since you don’t define this movement by any feature, I can’t tell you anything about it. I will only note that when the hidden person of the heart is conceived, it is felt in the heart. Having been conceived, it grows by itself, feeding on the same elements from which it was born. Then all care should be directed to ensuring that the required measure of these elements never becomes scarce around him. Such are all spiritual deeds and activities. Letter 64. About the prayer rule In the first place is your complaint about your negligence and laziness, which is why you sometimes don’t finish reading what you’re supposed to. – If you have recovered from weakness, then you should scold yourself for this. - But why don’t you supplement the reading you leave with something else? – I have already written to you more than once that the rule can be fulfilled in different ways. The best thing is to determine the rule by time, and then at this time, either read prayers, or pray like this. Start by reading the initial prayers, going deeper into them, with a drawn-out arrangement. It's best to read from memory. Then, when your heart stirs, bow down, saying a simple word to the Lord based on the movement of your feelings. You can memorize several psalms and read them during the rule, making up a prayer address to God from each verse. You can, after reading the psalm, bow with a short prayer; then read another psalm or another prayer, and then bow again. You can only make bows all the time, small and large, with a short prayer. Anything is possible. Every mechanism and form must be banished from the rule. Let everything come freely from the heart. Why do you consider yourself a shot bird? The Lord put you in a golden cage (needs and deprivations), and cherishes you in every possible way (spiritual nourishment) - so that you sing pleasant songs to Him, repentant, grateful, laudatory, petitionary. If there was a bitter feeling at the thought of being shot, then no matter how natural it is in one who suffers especially in vain, it cannot be pleasing to God. Once you have reached the point of confidence that everything that happened to you by God was arranged precisely for your good; then you just have to revive such a conviction that all bitterness will immediately disappear, like smoke from the wind, in devotion to God and be replaced by sincere thanksgiving to God for everything. Letter 65. Three incentives to an active Christian life, to doing good. About cleansing the heart. On Mercenary and Sonship to God You write: “Someone wrote that he considers it a sin to do good to one’s neighbor for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven,” and you ask whether it is possible to reason like that? – You shouldn’t talk like that. The one who wrote to you probably belongs to the number of fashionable philosophers whose language is to do good for the sake of good itself. The Word of God knows no such impulse. It indicates only three motives that govern an active Christian life: fear for the sake of eternal torment, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, for the sake of love for God. The first leads to repentance and lays the foundation for a good life; the second – supports the works of good deeds and asceticism; the third – elevates to the pinnacle of perfection and crowns the work. One must begin with the first stage, and through the second strive for the third; What if you can’t go to the third? Fear is reproachful - slavish, when one is guided by it alone and stops at it, without moving further. Such fear is also effective for life; for it calms and organizes it, turning it away from everything bad. But with it there remains the opportunity to limit oneself to external correctness without correcting the heart - which is the main thing. Why is another motivation necessary for life to move further and higher? This is done by the hope of the Kingdom of Heaven - eternally blessed. The Word of God says that nothing unclean will enter the Kingdom of God, and at the same time teaches that passions make the heart unclean and, therefore, unfit for the Kingdom. From here it follows: if you want the Kingdom, cleanse your heart. Purifying the heart requires labor and painful deprivation. Nothing inspires them to lift and carry them so much as the undoubted hope of receiving eternal blessings, according to the false promise of the Lord. And we see, for example, that the holy martyrs were especially supported in their decision to endure by the hope that at that hour I would suffer a little, and there would be heaven and eternal bliss. And the Lord says: faithful servant!.. you have been faithful, enter into the joy of your Lord. And at the Last Judgment, he said, I will make the following decisions: if you have labored, come and inherit the Kingdom. From this it is clearly visible how this impulse is suitable for the flow of a good life. But it can also be reproachful when they stop at it. It then makes the worker a mercenary. A mercenary is a stranger in the house; and the Kingdom of God is the house of God, in which there will be no one except those who belong to God - except His sons and daughters. And children work around the house, sometimes even more than workers, but in a completely different spirit than workers. They work to please their father, and take care of household chores as if they were their own, but they consider the blessings that they eat while living in the house not as a reward, but as a natural property of theirs, and not with the intention of receiving them, but considering themselves their owners according to the order of housekeeping. Workers, no matter how good they are, cannot free themselves from the feeling that they are strangers, and from the thought that, while working, they are not working for their own home. For conscientious workers, this does not weaken their zeal for work, to the extent of hiring; but it is also not enough to increase their zeal to such a force of tension that they, without sparing themselves, decide to do more work under the conditions of employment. Something similar happens in the souls of those who in a good life are guided only by the aspiration of reward. They do not ascend to the full measure of kindness, but stop at fulfilling their duty, although not only on the outer side, but also on its inner side. Why can’t they have the feeling that their essence is in the house, but are only accepted into the house, although they are firmly assigned to it. What are they missing? That devotion to the Lord, the Lord of the Kingdom, according to which they would hold in their hearts: I devote myself entirely to You, Lord, and I work for You with all the strength of my soul and body and with all my wealth, for the sole sake of glorifying Your all-holy name, which is dearer to me than life itself. This is the mood of the heart in which love for God reigns, which has the feeling of having God as one’s own, and oneself as God’s, just as everything that is God’s is one’s own and everything that is one’s is God’s. And such a person expects eternal blessings, but not as reward, but as a direct belonging to that relationship with God, in which they have God as theirs and themselves as God’s, that is, belonging to sonship. Whoever ascends to this degree is a son in the house, breathing only love for the Father. And this is the last degree in the series of motivations for a good life. In active life, all three impulses must be maintained unremittingly, only in their present form. When someone rises to the level of filial love for God, then he has both filial fear and filial aspiration for the Kingdom. Until someone has achieved this, then both the fear and aspiration of the Kingdom do not yet exist in their present form. Everyone's fear at the beginning of awakening is almost slavish; but then for some, following the decision to live godly, it begins to become filial, while for others it remains servile. Likewise, the aspiration of the Kingdom arises after more or less long labors in doing good; but for some it gradually degenerates into a filial one, while for others it remains a worker’s one. I have nothing more to say about this. It is difficult for me to explain more clearly the difference in these motives, which are very subtle. Whoever takes up life as it should, and during its direction surrenders himself to the Lord, the Lord Himself will set him up for the proper motives and will unerringly lead him to sonship. We are all sons by appointment; but we do not become real sons immediately. Letter 66. Mental prayer is a duty for the laity too. He who does not have smart inner prayer does not have any. What is prayer? A means of acquiring mental prayer You write: “I had one pious person, and we talked about the affairs of God. We touched on prayer. To my surprise, my guest insisted that the laity not only cannot, but is not at all suitable for, mental prayer. I said what I could to that. I ask for your word on this too.” Your guest was speaking incorrectly. He who does not have mental inner prayer does not have any: for only mental prayer is real prayer, pleasing and pleasing to God. It should constitute the soul of home and church prayer; so if she is not present, then those prayers only have the appearance of prayer, and are not the essence of prayer. For what is prayer? Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, praising and thanking God, and asking Him for the necessary benefits of soul and body. The essence of prayer, therefore, is the mental ascent to God from the heart. The mind in the heart becomes consciously before the face of God and, filled with due reverence, begins to pour out its heart before Him. That's smart prayer! But this is how all prayer should be. External prayer, whether at home or in church, gives it only a word or a form; Everyone carries the soul or essence of prayer within himself in his mind and heart. Our entire church prayer service, all the prayers compiled for home use, are filled with intelligent appeals to God. The one who performs them, if he is at least a little attentive, cannot avoid this intelligent appeal to God, unless through complete inattention to the work he is doing. No one can do without mental prayer. We cannot help but ascend to God in prayer; for our spiritual nature requires it. We cannot ascend to God otherwise than through mental action: for God is mental. True, there is mental prayer with verbal or external prayer, whether at home or in church, and there is mental prayer in itself, without any external form or bodily position; but the essence of the matter is the same here and there. In both forms, it is obligatory for worldly people. The Savior commanded to enter his cell and pray there to God his Father in secret. This cage, as explained by Saint Demetrius of Rostov, means the heart. Consequently, the commandment of the Lord obliges us to pray to God secretly in the heart and mind. This commandment applies to all Christians. So what does the Apostle Paul command when he says that we must “pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18)? He commands mental prayer - spiritual - and commands all Christians without distinction. He commands all Christians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). But it is impossible to pray unceasingly except by mental prayer in the heart. Thus, it cannot be argued that mental prayer is obligatory for all Christians; and if it is obligatory, then one can no longer say that it is hardly possible: for God does not oblige the impossible. That it is difficult is true; but for it to be impossible is unfair. But in general, everything good is difficult; all the more so should prayer be like this - the source of all that is good for us and its faithful support. Someone will ask: how to do this? It’s very simple: take on the fear of God. The fear of God, as a feeling, will attract attention and consciousness to the heart, and as fear, it will force attention and consciousness to stand in the heart in reverence before God. This is mental standing before God - this is mental prayer! As long as there is fear of God in the heart, mental standing before God will not leave the heart. Here is an all-effective remedy for mental prayer! But who will say: business is fun?! They will not entertain; take only the fear of God. Mental standing before God, or the memory of God, is hindered not by works, but by idleness and wickedness. Set aside the empty and bad, leaving only one obligatory - not according to secular, but according to evangelical obligatoryness - and you will see that the fulfillment of such an obligatory not only does not deviate from God, but, on the contrary, attracts the mind and heart to God. Both (works and prayer obligatory according to the Gospel) are of the same kind, and require the same spiritual structure. Whatever you do from this circle, you will always turn to God to ask for help and dedicate the work itself to His glory. Having gotten up in the morning, establish yourself more firmly before God in your heart in your morning prayer, and then go about your work, determined by God for you, without separating your feelings and consciousness from Him. And it will be that you will do your work with the strength of your soul and body, and abide with God with your mind and heart. Mental prayer is misunderstood when they think that it requires sitting somewhere secretly and thus contemplating God. For this you do not need to hide anywhere except your heart, and having established yourself there, behold the Lord before you, as if He were at your right hand, as Saint David did. They say: solitude is an aid to the formation of mental prayer, but for the laity, how is solitude possible—they have incessant work and conflicts? Consequently, they have no time to start mental prayer. – It is true that mental prayer requires solitude. But there are two kinds of solitude: one wholly, always present, when someone goes into the desert and lives alone; the other is private, happening from time to time. The first really does not come to the laity, but the second is possible for them, and even exists with them. Everyone has some time every day when he is alone, even if he doesn’t even deliberately worry about arranging hours of solitude for himself. These are the hours he can turn to the education, strengthening and revitalization of mental prayer. Consequently, no one can be excused by the lack of a position in their life that is favorable to mental prayer. Take a moment like this and go deep into yourself. Give up all your worries, stand wisely in your heart before God and pour out your soul before Him. But in addition to the external, there is also internal solitude. Outside is the usual course of human affairs; and meanwhile, among them, one sits alone in the heart, not listening to anything. Everyone experiences that when someone’s heart hurts about something, even if he is in the most cheerful and talkative society, he hears and sees nothing. There, near his heart, he sits with his pain. Everyone knows this from their own experience. If this happens in everyday affairs, then why not something similar in the order of spiritual life? There are also illnesses here that are much stronger and deeper than all the illnesses of life. When illness in this order of life sinks into someone’s heart, what will then be able to extract his consciousness from his solitary stay in the heart? “Consequently, you just have to start it so that you can be alone and not be alone.” And it’s not far to go for this. Revive the fear of God, and the most crushing illnesses will come, which will rivet attention and feeling to the only need, how we will come and appear in the face of God. - That's privacy! Another bewilderment: in the matter of mental prayer one must have a leader; where can a layman get it? – There in the world and between spiritual fathers, and even between laymen. It is true that people to whom one could reliably turn for advice on spiritual life are becoming rarer and rarer. But they always exist and will be. And whoever wants it always finds them, by the grace of God. – Spiritual life is God’s life; and God has special care for those who seek it. - Just be jealous, and you will find everything you need around you. So, therefore, whether the laity want it or not, there is nothing to dissuade them from mental prayer. Let them take it up and learn from it. So the Annunciation has passed, in which the beginning of the fulfillment of the embodied economy for our salvation was laid. Then no one could see anything. Only when she humbly and wisely said: “Be with me according to your word,” she longed for something extraordinary and became enveloped in a certain Divine light, which was also unraveled by Elder Elizabeth, Her co-secrettress, who had to give birth to the holy Forerunner, the secret man of the Lord. Only Saint Zechariah should be counted among them. The others still knew nothing. It is now easy for us to see at the beginning, as in a seed, the continuation and the end. And here’s something to do for the mind on the day of the Annunciation! Take the trouble to sharpen your mental vision and survey the entire course of our restoration from beginning to end in eternity. And bless the Lord. You are sick again; but endure with good will and give thanks to the Lord. Be good! May the Lord grant you to always keep yourself this way in illness and, I will add, in sorrow, out of sincere faith that everything that happens to us comes straight from the Lord and serves for our spiritual good. What joy this conviction brings to the heart and what strength it gives to the moral mood! That you immediately drive away the presence of insensibility and carelessness, do good. And the remedy—reproaching oneself—goes. Add intimidation. It is said to the slothful man: tie his hand and nose, and cast him into utter darkness. And then pray to the Lord to send you a life-giving stream of light from His throne. Again, God willing, we felt good on the day of Holy Communion. Confess the great mercy of God in this. And by thinking you can reach the point of joy in the heart, but this joy seems to only affect the soul and will pass. The state of joy is directly a gift from God. For this reason, when you feel this way, thank the Lord, and moreover, humble yourself, fearing like fire the appropriation of any part of this to yourself: for as soon as such alien appropriation enters the soul, even to a small extent, this cloud that overshadows it will immediately depart. – Decide with your spiritual father how often you should receive communion. I will only say: it is possible. Your feelings when remembering the sufferings of the Lord, that you personally reproach yourself for them, are real. That's how it is. We are all guilty of them, both because of our guilt in original sin, and especially because of our personal sins after baptism. You look to the most blessed Mother of God as an example. “She was introduced to the mystery of the cross,” and this gave Her the courage to stand at the cross, although her mother’s heart burned with sorrow. Artists do not know how to depict the suffering of the Mother of God on the cross, so that it would be both deeply sorrowful and at the same time illuminated with courage. If the thought and word are strong for this, please try. Letter 67. What is the enemy’s cunning, his charm and network. Sinfulness on the tongue and self-righteousness in the heart You write: “I made a decision for myself and try in every possible way not to do anything to please myself.” Then you remember that once in church you dozed off and slept for some time: who was this allowed to please? Let it be weakness; however, one cannot completely blame oneself. You tell it like that, as if what was done was permissible. If you came to the king with a request and, having said a few words to him, closed your eyes and fell asleep, what would happen to you? - Something strict, like such sentences: “Those who are tied, throw them into...”. And you, before the Heavenly King, in whose hands both your temporary and eternal belly are, fell asleep - and neither fear nor shame. Let it be weakness; but we still need to lament. Ask for medicine against sleep. - What kind of medicine is there? – Don’t let yourself sleep, and you won’t fall asleep. – If you keep in mind and feeling what you came to church for, and to Whom, and listen to what you read and sing, then you will not experience even the onset of drowsiness. Thoughts were allowed to wander here and there, drowsiness crept in, and from there to sleep there was only one line. If you are overcome by drowsiness, Saint Isaac advises you to walk a little. Do this when you are not strong enough to overcome drowsiness in the usual way. – Just don’t let this happen in any way, because this too can turn into a habit. Feeling a joyful state after Holy Communion, do not forget to protect him with the fear of God, so that the enemy does not sneak up and lure him into freedom in speech and movements. And this, like a storm, will scatter everything. Watch out! The enemy never rebels directly against what is due, but always uses detours or invents pretexts for indulgences. To celebrate, he will say, you can talk, or you need to make others partakers of your joy; then talkativeness will irritate; further - it will lead to idle chatter. Here comes the wind! After all, the enemy teaches us to sin without legitimizing sin, but only by teaching us to indulge ourselves for one upcoming occasion, justifying it with all sorts of twists and turns. - Man sins. That's the beauty of it and its network. You write: “The consciousness of my sinfulness and the fact that I am worse than everyone reigns in me.” And a few lines later you add: “During this year I have done more (success) than in all the previous five.” Compare these readings and see what happens. There are humble words and nothing more, but here there is a feeling of complacency. Where can words resist feelings?! And it will come out: sinfulness in the tongue, but self-righteousness in the heart. In this sense, of course, one must also understand the note below: “I never become arrogant.” That is, that you are always humble in words, and your heart is full of consciousness of your dignity and deservedness; there reigns well-being and self-esteem - the most secretive enemy, but which often breaks through to the outside. If you please, take up this state of affairs and delve into yourself, being afraid to form from yourself a person who is one thing outside and another inside. What I mean here is not that you want this, but that it will work itself out if you don’t pay attention to yourself. – Humility does not come suddenly. It goes together with love, hand in hand. Only perfect love is completely humble. Until then, from the heart - no, no, arrogance will break through. You write: “There were fits of anger and impatience.” This also indicates that your humility is still shallow. It’s good that you notice, repent and tell your confessor. But ask him to be stricter towards you, and not indulge you at all, and not be ashamed to assign you due penances. You ask: do you always go to church? I leave you freedom - when you walk, when you pray at home - as long as there is no indulgence in laziness. Keep one thing in mind to be in a prayerful mood, whether you are praying at home or standing in church for worship. Letter 68. Is it a sacrament to take tonsure? Signs of a state of grace. About feeling your dignity. What does it take to live in the spirit? You have a lot of points that require comment. I will talk about everything briefly. “What kind of fault am I? “But I’ll still say that it’s not my fault.” Count this innocence among conscious faults; for to say so is a mistake. There is little that can be found that we would not find ourselves guilty of if we look deeper into the matter. To say: guilty, without realizing it, is of course inconvenient; but if they had looked closely, they would have found themselves guilty. - However, why not accept the blame innocently? Again the question: “Is it a sacrament to take monastic vows?” Not a sacrament, as I already wrote. Grace renews the tonsured; but not by virtue of tonsure, but by virtue of the Sacraments of confession and holy communion, always connected with it. However, tonsure is not nothing. It means a lot to the one being tonsured; for it brings his moral energy into greater tension, and for the future provides a way to maintain it through the recollection of the vows pronounced during tonsure. “How do you know if someone is in grace?” You yourself pointed out the sure sign to define this, namely: aversion from everything sinful and passionate. Add to this: zeal for pleasing God by faith and in the spirit of faith. In whom such jealousy is alive, he is in a state of grace. In the Sacraments, which are worthily acceptable, grace is given to everyone - and begins to act. But the feeling of blessed overshadowing is not suddenly given to everyone, but most of all, after being satisfied with one’s efforts. Blessed is the soul that feels the favor of the Father, the cleansing sprinkling of the blood of the Son and the life-giving breath of the Spirit. Please contemplate this inseparably, and, as the supreme good, prayerfully strive for it. The feeling of a state of grace will come, God willing. “I would like to reach an understanding of the depths of the heart, and carefully monitor its every beat.” - A good and most good desire! One must establish one's attention in the heart and stand there eternally before the Lord. I have already written to you about this more than once. Then you will notice all sorts of powder. Pray; God willing. Say: “Perhaps I have a sense of my own dignity; but what’s the harm in that?” - It’s bad that you say that there’s nothing bad here. If, however, you want the feeling of your dignity not to be bad, learn to define your dignity in the same way as Saint Abraham and the Prophet David did: “I am earth and ashes” (Gen. 18:27); “I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach to men and the humiliation of people” (Ps. 21:7). Try to feel such dignity. And then, with a very vivid sense of it, you will be safe from the bad consequences of an ordinary sense of dignity. “Melancholy falls like a stone on the heart... and dreams... there will be trouble.” You really want to become a prophetess. Do not deign to ever second-guess yourself, surrendering yourself and your fate into the hands of God once and for all. This state and dreams do not foretell anything. I see this as an enemy trick. He does this in order to call for benefits, and during the benefits, substitute his foot, or lead to an ambush. This has already happened to you. Please don’t give a damn about this and, without paying attention, continue with your usual work and activities. “The Jesus Prayer,” you say, “begins to babble like a stream.” God bless! But try to keep the corresponding feelings at the same time. And soon, God willing, a fire will light up in your heart. “What does it take to live in the spirit?” – As you have directed your life, so it flows; and you will flow into the realm of spiritual life. Just don't interrupt the flow. You cannot determine anything in advance by saying to yourself: I will do this and that, or I will work this way and that, and some kind of spiritual movement will come. “Everything comes from God and His grace, but it comes by chance.” Work, endure, pray, surrendering yourself to God, without any guesses about what will happen, whether externally or internally. God is not offended; will not hurt when the time comes to give something. You write: “The laity endure, but do not get married.” Yes; but when they suffer because of vain things and for the sake of vain things or in the field of self-indulgence. If they endure, standing in the way of the commandments, and because of the commandments, then they too are married. It’s the same with monks and nuns, when they endure because of a strict life, it’s good, but when it’s because of something else, it’s nothing. You begin to get a taste for your spiritual activities and solitary stay; you are blissful and delighted! Good, good! Just don’t dream about yourself and don’t plan to fly to heaven. Thank God, and deepen into humble thoughts and feelings about yourself. Letter 69. About frequent communion. About conceit and self-esteem. How to Talk to Others about Spiritual Life A lot of people tease you about frequent communion. Don't be embarrassed. If they take a closer look, they will stop. And everyone should do so; but this has not become our custom. In the East, Christians often receive communion, not only during Great Lent, but also outside of it. Initially, in the Church of Christ, everyone received communion at every liturgy. Even during the time of St. Basil the Great, one lady asked him whether it was possible to receive communion often, and how often? He replied that it was not only possible, but also necessary; and as to how often, he said: we receive communion four times a week - on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. - “We” means all Caesarea residents: for the question concerned not the clergy, but the laity. Having said this to the questioner, he did not determine the number of times for her to take communion, but only showed her an example, leaving her free to do as she could, but leaving in force the suggestion that she should take communion often. – And the liturgy itself, look at what it requires. At every liturgy, the priest invites: “Come with the fear of God and faith.” Consequently, you can begin at any liturgy. Moreover, you can start often. – Some of us even say that it is a sin to take communion often; others interpret that it is impossible to receive communion before six weeks. Perhaps, besides these, there are others in this regard that are wrong. Do not pay attention to these rumors - and take communion as often as the need arises, without hesitation. Just try to prepare in every possible way, as you should, and approach with fear and trembling, with faith, with contrition and repentant feelings. Answer those who pester you about this: after all, I will not come to Holy Communion in any other way; I have permission from my spiritual father every time. - That's enough. “It’s better not to talk about how beneficial this is for you.” Know this for yourself and thank the Lord. There is only one possible danger for you - not to dream highly of yourself. Be afraid of this. For then you will be deprived of all fruit from holy communion, and the communion itself will not be without sin. God forbid you! I think that you are very capable of slipping in conceit, self-esteem, in a sense of your dignity and worth, not only before people, but also before God. In your mind, of course, you know that you shouldn’t keep all this in your heart; but there is a certain cunning inside, due to which those unkind feelings are hidden in the heart by humility, and even by the consciousness of one’s unworthiness, which (consciousness) is then imputed to one’s own dignity. Manage to outwit this deceit and, opening your heart to the Lord, pray to Him, the Knower of the Heart, to teach you to notice this flattery in yourself, drive it out and suppress it. And the Lord will help. The moment will come when everything in the soul will be seen as it is, and a suggestion will come on how to make sure that everything is there as it should be. “Should I talk,” you ask, “with others about spiritual life?” Speak; Just don’t talk about your own, but reason in general, applying, however, to the state of those asking. It happens that others start talking about this just to talk. And this is better than talking about anything mundane or empty. Silence, as you wish, can be maintained when you are not alone with someone or someone is not talking to you. That when you go to someone in need, you pray to the Lord to keep your lips guarded; you do good. It is best to always be with the Lord. “But you can talk and be with the Lord.” Get used to this. When you are speaking, be most careful not to disturb the peace of another with any kind of enthusiasm, or by expressing your thoughts in defiance of him, with an obvious desire to put things on his own. The enemy suggests this in order to start a dispute, and from the dispute lead to discord. Be no less wary of talking about spiritual things in order to show your wisdom in this regard. And this is an enemy suggestion, for following which you will certainly be subjected to ridicule from people and God’s displeasure. Letter 70. Techniques of enemy temptations. About enemy tricks Finally, you have become wise and realized that there are enemy temptations with which the enemy does not harm anyone - he is not even ashamed of your learning. - Yes, yes; he is busy with everyone and everything. But there is nothing to be afraid of. Attention to oneself in the heart with prayer to the Lord thwarts all his machinations. Read from Hesychius and learn how to act here. The enemy does not immediately suggest evil. His first technique is to instill thoughts that seem good, and to entice him into deeds that seem to be good, or into good deeds with the intention of being unkind - to show himself off. Persons who are not very discerning about thoughts and deeds and do not think about them, as long as they are not clearly bad, succumb to this trick - and he begins to drive them from thought to thought and from deed to deed, everything as if it were good, but either inappropriate, or untimely, or unnecessary, or not done in the proper way. His goal here is to spoil the spiritual taste in distinguishing true good from the imaginary, to teach one to accept one’s suggestions and to give rise to a lofty dream about oneself: how much has been done! - Meanwhile, all this is idleness and vanity. – Sinful deeds are not yet visible; but sins often break through with words; and there are even more undue thoughts. This is the first enemy charm! When he manages to confuse someone in this and who gets drawn into this kind of action, he begins to offer them sins that seem sinless. Whoever succumbs to this, he leads him to sins, although they do not seem sinless, but are excused due to various circumstances, as if permissible. Whoever gets to this point, he inspires him to commit some sin, a sin that is obviously sinful, which his conscience will not tolerate - he inspires him not to always sin such a sin, but to sin only once. Whoever succumbs to this has fallen completely into the clutches of the enemy... and has become his slave through slavery to sin. For once he sins, he will no longer cease to drive him further and further in the same direction. You don’t need to know this story so much as the one that happens when someone doesn’t listen to the enemy. He has his own tricks here. I will indicate the most important ones. When someone, having become wise, does not give way to thoughts and impulses for good that seem good, but immediately, either according to his own reasoning, or at the direction of the most experienced, cuts them off, no matter how red they may seem, and acts in this way with such determination that there is no possibility of catching him with this technique; then the enemy abandons this trick and begins to act from the outside, through people who are his assistants. Here there will be flattering praise, slander, condemnation, oppression and all kinds of troubles. This is what you need to know and wait for, and keep your eyes open. It is not in our power to avert this, but it is in our power to outwit the enemy. The main thing is to endure everything without disturbing love and peace. The Helper is the Lord. We must pray to Him to pacify our hearts, and, if He pleases, to settle everything outside. For our part, we must not lose sight of where the storm comes from and by whom, and instead of directing hostility towards people, it is the one who, standing behind, sets them on fire and directs the whole course. When this technique does not yield the expected fruits, then the enemy begins to act in person, also from the outside, constructing various whims, sometimes terrible, sometimes seductive. When these tricks remain in vain; then the enemy finally retreats, not daring to approach. He walks around and spies from a distance to see if any mistake is made, and if this will open up the opportunity for him to make an attack again using some technique. “But he doesn’t give up on anyone at all until his death.” Even after death, there is an urge to build something up - during ordeals. After reading this, don’t think: these are the fears! But there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of here, for the enemy has no power to push us into evil against our will. He only uses various tricks so that we, deceived by his illusory ideas and suggestions, consider bad things to be good and do bad things, believing that we are doing good. Attention and prayer, as I said, makes all his intrigues idle. The Lord never leaves his own, and the Guardian Angel is nearby, who, as soon as he sees that the tempted one expresses disagreement with the temptation and resists it, immediately mercilessly drives away the enemy. Letter 71. About crying. Sectarians have no Christ You are in tears. Good. Behold the grace of God. You don’t discourage them, but support them. Tears make the soul soft, like the earth becomes loose from rain. Read the word of Saint Climacus about crying. It explains what kinds of tears there are and how to hold real tears - in which you will find lessons for yourself. The work of your life at the monastery flows well. This is how God arranged it. Thanks be to Him! The nuns invite you to the monastery because they think that you do not have what they are given in the monastery outside the monastery; meanwhile you have it. And it turns out that you have different languages. You ask: how will the monastery give what I have outside of it? And they ask: how can we get what we have outside the monastery? Who is right and who is wrong? – Both sides are right and wrong. Some servants of God are better in the monastery, others are better outside the monastery. Whoever finds the most suitable way of life should choose it for himself. But, having chosen him for himself as the best, one should not think that he is the best for everyone and that whoever does not choose him is in a worse position. Having discussed the matter in this way, calmly remain as you are. And let them strive in the monastery. May God guide both you and those to salvation. That some pashkovka wrote to you that Christ was in her and that she was not afraid of anything; then know that there is no truth in these words. These sectarians and sectarians all arrogate to themselves such an advantage; but they do not have it and cannot have it. Christ the Lord is in those who truly believe and receive the Sacraments of grace in the Holy Church. But the Pashkovites do not contain the true faith, which it should be according to the Creed and the definitions of the Universal Church at the Councils - the Holy Sacraments, the grace of God, according to the institution of the Lord Himself, which communicate, they reject - they have fallen away from the Orthodox Church of God: how can the Lord be in them? – The Lord is the Head of the Church, and the Church, the totality of all true believers and those who act by faith, is His body. By fulfilling the Church - His body, the Lord also fulfills every member of the body of the Church, that is, every believer. And those who are outside the Church, Christ the Lord does not fulfill. Therefore, He is not in them. He is not among the Pashkovites either. The Pashkovites dream that Christ is in them, appropriating for themselves what is alien to them. Not only do they not have Christ, but they are under His curse. Christ the Lord, through the mouth of the Holy Church of the Universal Church, placed a curse on those who think heretically. This is on the occasion of the appearance of heretics. But this oath, which struck the heretics who appeared then, also extends to those who appear. For the newly emerging heretics, who philosophize like the ancient damned, there is no need to convene new Councils to curse them and excommunicate them from the Church. They themselves come under this ready-made oath, and a new one is not required. Whether Christ is in them would be most decisively demonstrated by the power of Christ inherent in them. If it were manifested, there would be no point in arguing. But where is she in them? Nobody sees. In their language all they hear is: “Christ in us, Christ in us,” but in reality no traces of His presence are visible in them. Pashkov, they say, speaks like no one else - sincerely, heartily, convincingly. Others came to listen to him and found that he spoke sluggishly, watery, meaningless, repeating the same thing in different twists. Are there not many priests in St. Petersburg who speak smarter, more heartily, and more convincingly? “And this spirit of charm and deceit has overcome some people, so that they see something special in him.” Others interpret: look, they - Pashkovites - do this and that. I hear, I hear. And Pashkov even gives out money so that people will listen to him. However, what he and those deceived by him do that is good and beneficial for others is nothing special. And all Orthodox Christians who have the opportunity do the same. The difference is that the Orthodox have a right heart, while those have a wrong heart. They do ostentatious things in order to attract people to themselves. The horse breeder spends a lot of money on them, in the same ways. The Pashkovites will say: “Show us the traces of the presence of Christ among your Orthodox Christians.” The Orthodox - not mine, but Christ's sons and daughters - this is what they have and manifest in themselves: in holy baptism they put on Christ, and by virtue of the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ they have Christ abiding within them, according to the false promise of Christ the Lord Himself. (Because of this, the Pashkovites also had Christ within them, but when they deviated into sectarianism and fell away from the Church, Christ left them empty.) The Lord reveals His presence in them by enlightening their thoughts, directing their feet to the path of good and giving them strength to accomplish it; those who fall into sin are drawn to repentance, those who repent are led to correction and purification of the heart through feats of self-sacrifice, good deeds and prayers. This is the general course of life of the Orthodox, under the influence of Christ the Lord. At the beginning, only the Orthodox themselves and those with whom they are in close contact, especially their spiritual fathers, feel the presence of the Lord in themselves with certainty at first. (Ask the priests. How many faces will they count for you in whom they feel the presence of Christ the Lord, not for everyone, however, visible?) But when someone then cleanses his heart with the above-mentioned labors on himself, then the presence of Christ the Lord in them is visible to everyone, in the manifestation of all those grace-filled gifts that Christians of the first Church and all subsequent generations showed, until our time. I won’t say anything more than this in response to the written question. Those who have eyes see all this. The Pashkovites, having lost the presence of Christ the Lord in themselves in its first form, due to their heresy, certainly cannot have it in the second. And they can shout about themselves whatever they want. Letter 72. About the enemy's machinations We talked with a certain old woman about the machinations of the enemy. Be good! Pay attention to yourself, according to Hesychius, and keep the Jesus Prayer, and learn to distinguish what is from the enemy. He tempts outwardly, but he values ​​them little. All his attention is focused on the soul with thoughts, feelings and intentions. He sits constantly at the side of the soul and notices what images it is clothed in, in order to act on it in relation to them. As soon as he notices these or other images, he immediately begins to develop and arrange them in the same way, with the goal of using them to suggest something bad, in which he succeeds, transferring the attention of the soul from good thoughts to empty ones, from empty ones to passionate ones - and then, bringing passionate thoughts to passionate movements and from them generating passionate intentions - from intentions to deeds it is not far away. The enemy uses the natural laws of movement of images in the imagination and memory. These laws are: modernity, one-placeness, similarity and contrast, the connection of cause and action, means and ends, all contacts in general in what happens. For example: you remembered the place you were in and where you had a little trouble. You have already forgotten about this trouble, but the enemy has not forgotten, and will now rush to take advantage of the opportunity to renew the feeling of forgotten trouble in you, in order to build something even worse on its basis. As soon as, going through your memories of everything that happened there, you come to an unpleasant incident, he will immediately run up and begin to stand up for you, as they dared - the feeling of unpleasantness will come to life. When the feeling comes to life, he will suggest: “Can I leave it,” and will seed the desire to repay, - this desire will develop into an intention, and then it will begin to set fire to the determination to do so - and now, quickly, quickly. The poor soul won’t even come to his senses before he gets to this point—and then he’ll really start up. As soon as the soul starts up, the enemy immediately jumps back and again looks at what the soul will do again. Sometimes he himself begins to occupy her, taking on different images and showing off in front of her soul. The soul has its own eyes, besides the bodily ones; she sees these images, and ignores some, and takes care of others. As soon as she gets busy, the enemy immediately begins again in the same way to lead her to passionate feelings, in order to bring her through them to passionate intentions and determination. This is the kind of fun the enemy constantly plays with our soul in order to bring it to evil. Abba Isaiah, on this occasion, spoke about himself: I am like a horse that freely grazes in a meadow. A stranger comes up, sits down and drives away. When, having run over, he throws, another one comes up and does the same, and so on. And another old man likened himself to a tow; the enemy will sit down, he says, and then spin, and keep spinning until you drive him away. Spinning is a flow of thoughts that go one after another, some degenerating from others, until they reach something sinful, from which, having come to its senses, the soul stops the flow of thoughts and drives away the enemy. The enemy drives until he brings you to the abyss. The sight of the abyss brings the soul to itself. I think you know all this from experience. I am writing about this to let you know what it is—namely, that it is the enemy who amuses us, and who amuses us not with good intentions. Why should we take this state of affairs seriously? What to do, read, as I already said, Hesychius. You and another old woman were talking about active labors. You both agree that you must work without sparing yourself according to the established procedure. And good! I remember this just to bring your speech to the end. One cannot limit oneself to active life; At the same time, it is necessary to conduct speculative studies, so that through them one can continuously maintain one’s rank and internal structure. It is imperative to combine speculation with action, and action with speculation. Both in connection quickly move the soul forward, cleansing it of the bad and strengthening it in the good. Look in “Memorable Tales” - Abba John Kolov and Abba Pimen. Yes, you will find this in all ascetic writings. Letter 73. What is self-knowledge? About patience. How impatience tempts You reproach yourself for negligence, oblivion, laziness, impatience, inconstancy. – It’s good that you began to notice this. Your inner eye becomes more sophisticated. Take a closer look, and you will see many other things that you don’t see now. Here are the beginnings of the self-knowledge you have been praying for. True self-knowledge is the clairvoyance of one’s shortcomings and weaknesses, to such an extent that everything is filled with them. And make a note that the more you see yourself as faulty and worthy of all reproach, the more you move forward. So bless the Lord that He allowed you to see yourself like this. You call yourself without impatience, because you do everything easily, willingly and without a feeling of difficulty. But that is not what impatience is; and then when someone, fulfilling what is required, whether prayers, or bows, or something else, is burdened by it. And at the same time, not everyone is subject to the reproach of impatience. He who, despite such a feeling of burden, does everything as he should, without in the least indulgence, is not impatient, but is a conqueror of impatience, and a real patient. But whoever, feeling the burden of some task, abandons it or finishes it somehow, - for example, hastily finishes prayers, without trying to either listen or sympathize with what is being read, suffers from impatience and is subject to reproach for this. And that you follow the services and rules easily and willingly, both at home and in church, thank the Lord for this. Do not think, however, that you are already completely free from impatience. Impatience does not suddenly tempt you, not from the very beginning. At first there is a lot of heat, and everything is bearable. But when the heat subsides, then fits of impatience will begin to break out. From this moment the exercise of patience will begin, “endurance to do good” (Rom. 2, 7). He who is sincerely zealous for salvation does not give way to impatience, but every time it appears, he drives it away and restores the willingness to do the work in which it appeared. So after one thing, after another, after a third - and he does it all. If impatience arises, he will drive it away and willingly begins and finishes the job. - When finally such a worker gets used to all things and becomes close to them so that doing them becomes a kind of need; then impatience disappears again and is absorbed by skill, as in the beginning it was absorbed by heat. Judging by this, you should expect fits of impatience. “And be prepared to meet them as you should.” Letter 74. Stay with attention in your heart. About exaltation and vanity. About home prayer rules and bows You ask: “How to deepen the contemplation of your inner self.” - Why is this? - Stand with attention in your heart, and contemplate not your self, but the Lord with reverence and contrition. That's it. At the same time, you will easily notice everything bad and empty that comes from the heart and enters it. Always try to get rid of it as quickly as possible and restore the purity of your mental vision of God. And nothing more is required. Over time, an experienced knowledge of all your shortcomings and infirmities will naturally come, which will not allow you to stare at your goodness. The consequence of this will be deeply felt: “I have not attained, but I persecute, even if I comprehend” (Phil. 3:11). You write: “I don’t even know what I could be proud of.” – Everyone can be exalted, even if you care about not being exalted and write about your unworthiness. Read Climacus's word on vanity. There is deep exaltation, and there is subtle exaltation, sometimes standing, and sometimes, like lightning, running behind the soul and catching it. There is a certain feeling of well-being that is so secretive that it persists even when crying about sins. We must pray to God to let us see all this, and even more so, to not allow it to happen. That, while performing daily services at home, you read them with your mind without sounds, trying to perceive everything with your thoughts and feelings and not looking at the time, but for the benefit, this is good. This is the essence of the prayerful work of reading. That they changed their house rules a little - nothing. You can change it more often in order to maintain attention and feeling in it with some newness. Otherwise, habit, on the one hand, without requiring much attention, weakens the concentration of thoughts, on the other, it diminishes sympathy, dulling the taste for the same thing; and finally turns into an urgent law that which cannot bear this title. It is better to read the daily conceptions from the Gospel and the Apostle than in your own order - with an interpretation even better - and with the application of your own reasoning, to apply what you read to yourself, and even better. The best thing to do in this matter is to write down when God sends you to see what truth especially clearly, or to feel something especially deeply. Bow down as much as you can and as much as you can. The power is not in them; they are an auxiliary means. Proud soul, no matter how much you bow, everything will be said about her correctly that she does not break her neck. Letter 75. The origin of the Pashkov heresy. Sectarians do not make the sign of the cross, as this is contrary to the spirits living within them. Mentioning Hume the spiritualist in passing, you said that when you lived in the world, you were invited to his sessions, and that when you refused, they said about you that grace had not yet touched you. – How are Grace and Hume compatible? Meanwhile, those who told you truly think that there is grace among spiritualists. The thought immediately occurred to me: isn’t Pashkovism also of spiritualist origin? Pashkovshchina is the offspring of Irvingism; and Irvingianism, unless considered the fruit of deliberate deception, cannot be explained otherwise than by the tricks of the same spirits who fool spiritualists. Irvingism in St. Petersburg bears the name of the apostolic community. Pashkov also belonged to it; but he separated from her, or was excommunicated, for the reason that he did not accept the Sacraments, but they did. But although he separated from the Irvingians in particulars, in spirit he remained the same, that is, a person fooled by the spirits operating in the society of spiritualists. They wrote about him that he publicly declared that Christ appeared to him and ordered him to preach. To spiritualists, spirits appear in different and different ways. It is not at all surprising that some spirit appeared to Pashkov, called himself Christ and ordered him to preach. This can be considered probable because Pashkov’s teaching is contrary to the spirit of the Church of Christ, which is ruled by Christ as its Head; and therefore could not be blessed and approved by Christ for preaching. And therefore we can also consider it probable that Pashkovism originated from spiritualist spirits, because Pashkovites do not put the sign of the cross on themselves. Why? Because this is contrary to the spirits living in them, the power of which Christ the Lord destroyed with the cross. Letter 76. On the habit of unceasing prayer. How to better grasp the sacraments of our holy faith. How to perceive the dogmas of faith with your heart. On maintaining prayer zeal. About thoughts from the enemy all Practice the habit of unceasing prayer. Good! But look, don’t limit yourself to just one language by teaching yourself to repeat a short prayer. It will be a mechanical repetition of prayer without prayer. At the same time, learn to hold yourself in fear and reverence, with contrition and humility. So, present yourself as if you were standing in judgment before the Lord, ready to pronounce the final decision about you. You ask how to better assimilate the sacraments of our holy faith. – You need to transfer them from the mind and memory to the heart, and it will be strong: for then they will enter the depths of your spiritual life and dissolve with it, or become one with it. And this is how you can do it. Bring to mind any dogma and how its confession is expressed by the Holy Church in a specific word; and begin to pray to the Lord according to the content of this confession, asking Him at the same time to give the mind to more fully and clearly imagine the entire dogma and imprint it on the heart. Do this today, tomorrow - and further, until at some moment, like a flash of lightning, your inner being is illuminated and the dogma is perceived by the heart as an element of life. This will be evidence that the dogma is imprinted on the heart. Then do the same with the other, the third and all the dogmas. So they will finally all move into the heart. – From this the fruit will be such that no objection to the objects of faith will then shake or confuse you. While our faith is only mental, the objections of unbelievers, entering the mind, shake its foundations, and it, feeling the uneasy ground beneath it, is confused. And when the dogmas are accepted by the heart, then anyone can object as much as you want, these objections, remaining in the head, cannot shake the foundations of faith in the heart, and the mind, feeling itself standing on a solid foundation, remains completely calm. This will give him the opportunity to find or remember a counter-objection and repel the attack; whereas in the first case, due to embarrassment, he does not quite succeed - and he, feeling defeated, causes deep sorrow to his heart. When dogma is in the heart, even though the mind does not repel the attack, the peace of faith is not disturbed. This is a great blessing. We met good soup, and felt the beginnings of crying. - For what? - Isn’t it about yourself - that after the previous contentment, which was remembered at this time, now everything is meager for you. If so, then it looks like grumbling: as if you were complaining to God about your situation. This is not good! If you love repentance, love the atmosphere that is repentant in everything, and rejoice that you have it just like that. You sent a note from the addressee that left an impression upon reading. Good! – But what is this on the piece of paper?! You need to have a notebook or bound book. Otherwise everything will fall apart and go to waste. – Maybe you made this extract on a scrap of paper from a book or notebook? Or is it a rough draft, and then you copy it to a secure storage facility? - Well, this method is not reliable. It is better to write it down directly in a book or notebook. You touched on the works. Since your work is not done out of obedience, but out of your own will, you can manage it in such a way that it does not in the least distract you from your internal activities. Follow Saint Isaac the Syrian in this. He does not favor work and allows it only when necessary, occasionally. Because it distracts the mind. You need to acquire a special skill so that you don’t get distracted. It is impossible not to work. There is a natural need for it; however, one should not get carried away with it. Egyptian monks worked all day; but they did not leave God in their minds. “Will prayer zeal go away?” It will pass if you are only jealous about reading prayers according to the rules. But it will not pass if you kindle your inner prayer, but on the contrary, everything will flare up. When internal prayer comes into force, then it will become the leading prayer, will prevail over external prayer, even absorb it. From this, prayer zeal will flare up: for then there will be paradise in the soul. Remaining with only external prayers, you can cool off on the work of prayer, even if you do it with attention and understanding: the main thing is the feelings of the heart in prayer. “Thoughts,” you say, “have calmed down.” – What thoughts?! The enemy has such a tactic that when someone does not give way to sinful thoughts, he immediately cuts them off; then he moves on from them to instilling empty and idle thoughts in order to distract him from spiritual, life-giving thoughts, and meanwhile he looks out to see if he can manage to lure him into passionate thoughts. So, maybe your bad thoughts have subsided, but empty ones are still seething. In this case, that's half the battle. We must strive to the end, so that even simple thoughts do not swarm in our heads. Letter 77. About vanity. Do not give in to confusing thoughts - they are always the enemy, even though they seem very right. About the benefits of self-accusation. How should all false teachers and lies be dealt with? You repent that, while talking with one nun, you were carried away by the desire to show off your understanding of spiritual life. It’s bad that you got carried away; but it’s good that you noticed and regret it. Make a firm intention forward not to succumb to this empty passion. This is vanity or a desire to show off: know ours. It belongs to the area of ​​pride, but is very different from it, and in its manifestations it is softer, but more inconspicuous. Pride goes hand in hand with lust for power, command and contempt for others; and vanity is the sister of man-pleasing, both give rise to flattery and deceit towards each other, not malicious, however. Vanity is vast and its shades are countless. It also happens before the deed, when it encourages you to do something with the goal of perplexing, and during the continuation of the deed it clings and after the deed it chases after you in order to take away its Price. I am writing this into the manual for the future. Learn to do everything, big and small, for the glory of God, always keeping God in your thoughts. “I felt some kind of unpleasant embarrassment from one person, and everything urged me to go and talk to him in more detail. I kept fighting, repelling these attacks with the Jesus Prayer. Finally, when the embarrassment subsided, I went down, humbly explained myself, taking some of the blame upon myself, and peace was established.” - Be good! And never give in to any embarrassing thoughts, and never do anything based on such thoughts. They are always the enemy, although they seem very right. The enemy's truth is false, and the enemy always turns to harm us. And that they took part of the blame upon themselves - good. And we could have taken it all. Read about this from Saint Dorotheus. He also gives several examples of how it happened that only one of the discorders took the blame upon himself, the same thing came to the mind of the other - they came together and, blaming themselves one before the other, restored fraternal peace among themselves. In this self-accusation lies the great secret of spiritual life. You write: “I had to witness a conversation about letters to St. Petersburg regarding the heresies there; - we found one fault in them - scolding: loudmouths, loud mouths, soap bubblers, and some others.” – How do you look at these words yourself? It’s a shame they didn’t write this down. We have to conclude that you agree with them, but perhaps you somehow excuse this scolding. - Please make sure that these are not abusive words at all, but a characteristic of Pashkovism. If the words with which it was necessary to express this characteristic are not beautiful, the blame for this falls not on the writer, but on those who teach differently, for having invented such a teaching that cannot even be called a good word. The Pashkovites themselves began to say that there was abuse in the letters, others believed it, and they kept saying it without reading it. There are only swear words in all letters that you prescribed. Is there any point in saying that the letters contain only abuse?! Moreover, each word was spoken after an explanation of some aspect of their teaching. That they are screamers is said after the explanation that they shout out one poem and that with this scream they rush around St. Petersburg. That they are mouthless is said after the explanation that, rejecting the divinely instituted Sacraments, they expect to receive grace with only their mouths open. That they are soap bubblers is said after explaining that all their teaching, red in appearance, is empty and not at all strong, just as a soap bubble is red, but empty and fragile. They are also called couch potatoes. This is because, in their opinion, nothing is needed except faith. Just believe, and you have everything necessary for salvation in this very act of faith. That's how it is. If they don’t want to be known under such titles, let them give up this empty and harmful teaching. Yes, even if one recognizes such words as scolding, the Pashkovites are not worth such scolding. And we have no reason to spare them. It has become fashionable for us to deal tenderly with all false teachers and their lies. Should it be so? Look how the holy Apostles and the Lord Himself called those who teach differently: corrupt in mind, proud (1 Tim. 6:4), always learning, and never able to come into the mind of truth (2 Tim. 3:7), talkers of vain, deceived by the mind (Titus 1:10), evil beasts, vile (Tit. 1:12, 16), waterless clouds, carried by the wind, autumn trees, wandering stars (Jude 1:12-13), blind leaders, watered-down coffins, beautiful on the outside but full of stinking bones inside, snakes, brood of vipers (Matt. 23:24-27, 33). And this is what they called their different teachings: idle talk, women’s fables (1 Tim. 1:6, 4:7), nasty vanities (2 Tim. 2:16), the devil’s snare, evil conversations (2 Tim. 2:26; 1 Tim. 6:5); striking like cancer (2 Tim. 2:17). They get caught by multiplying flattering words (2 Pet. 2:3). Those who are carried away by them are carried away because “according to their own lusts they heap for themselves teachers, with their ears scratched” (2 Tim. 4:3). They teach to treat them like this: if anyone does not bring the right teaching, do not accept him into the house “and do not say rejoice at him” (do not greet him) (2 John 1:10); and when they speak of their own idle talk, stop their mouths (Titus 1:11). Those who believed rightly and then fell away, with such “below food” (do not eat bread and salt) (1 Cor. 5:11). – This is how one should talk about heretics and to heretics, and this is how one should treat them. But we only condone them. If they were announced everywhere as they should, they would be more subdued, and others would be reluctant to listen to such infectors. Letter 78. The enemy lures the soul into dreams, especially in church and at home during prayer, in order to divert attention from God. About mental prayer and reverence. The machinations of the enemy are understood by attention to oneself You ask about Abba Isaiah's tow. “The soul is where the enemy is when he lures it into dreams, not only about the sinful, but not about the Divine at all, about the empty, vain, and keeps it in them for a long time, transferring from one to another. He especially tries to do this in church and at home during prayer, in order to divert attention from God. - “When will this finally stop?” - you ask. When power flows from the Lord into the soul, as it once did into the bleeding soul, then the flow of thoughts will begin, just as the flow of blood began in that soul. Until then, use labor and effort to keep yourself in some kind of religious feeling during prayer. Where the heart is, there is attention. Regarding mental prayer, keep one precaution so that while constantly remembering God, you do not forget to kindle both reverent fear and the urge to fall into the dust before the face of God, the most merciful Father, but also the formidable Judge. Frequent remembrance of God without reverence dulls the feeling of the fear of God, and thereby deprives it of that saving effect that belongs to it in the circle of spiritual movements and which, apart from it, nothing can produce. And what is this you wrote: “The enemy is climbing. What does he need? Surely he knows that they won’t give in?” – Isn’t it said too much? – The enemy plots in such a way that the one acting on his suggestions does not think that he is doing something bad even in accordance with his slander, but, on the contrary, imagines that he is acting on his own and in the best way. In this assumption, do the best in business and see if there are any claws of the enemy. Even an obvious sinner is not alien to the idea that he is doing a great job. As in the forefather, so in us. That they began to understand the machinations of the enemy - good. Pay close attention to yourself, and you will understand them more and more; but don't think you can always outsmart him. Pray to the Lord and Guardian Angel, and there will be powerful help to destroy the enemy’s networks. Letter 79. Attention is the root of inner spiritual life. The enemy, armed with attention, puts the thought of benefits and entertainment. About the prayer rule You gave yourself a break by allowing yourself to have a little fun, but you weren’t careful: you didn’t take care of your eyes, your tongue, or your thoughts. That's why the warmth is gone and you are left empty. - This is no good. Hurry to restore the inner order that is due, or beg for it: lock yourself up, and just pray and read about prayer until attention unites with God in the heart, and the spirit of contrition and tenderness settles there, which actually should determine whether you are in your rank or have stepped out of it. You seem to judge attention as excessive severity, but it, on the contrary, is the root of inner spiritual life. Why is it that the enemy most of all arms himself against him, and with all his might builds seductive ghosts before the eyes of the soul, and puts thoughts of benefits and entertainment. So he deceived you: he told you that you can give yourself a benefit; you listened and completely abandoned the reins; freedom of movement, free speech, free-spiritedness began - and everything was free, thoughts, feelings, and desires. - And now please enjoy the fruits of your wise action! – It was the enemy who repaid you for your arrogant speech: “Why is the enemy interfering?!” After all, he knows that they won’t give in.” – Apparently, you are a master of not giving in! – At least admit that you are suffering from coldness and internal disorder in your affairs as a punishment. God gives spiritual warmth for efforts to pay attention to oneself before Him. So what did you do? They took such a precious gift of God and threw it out the window. If your maid, when you were in the world, dared to throw out of the window any of your gifts to her, usually not so valuable; what would you do with her?! “By this judge, what is worthy for God to do to you, Whom you have despised such a great gift?!” But He, the merciful One, does not deal strictly with such people, and is again ready to return His abandoned gift; only he does not return it soon, and this limits His punishment. - You'll see. How you began to fulfill your prayer rule - replacing the reading of the prescribed prayers with bows with a short prayer from yourself - this is very good and very suitable for you, especially in your present internal disorder. For all the reading and reading does not allow you to quickly unite your attention with one thing, due to the multiplicity of thoughts from reading, according to the content of what is being read. Grant you, Lord, to quickly reunite with Him, and then always be inseparably with Him, both sitting and walking, in church and at home, and working and taking time off from work. What subject is more worthy of the continuous attention and observation of an intelligent person like the Lord? And please give Him this due preference - and a little freedom, not into thinking, for the most part about anything, let yourself go, but strive towards this, so that you can look more relentlessly, deeper and more intently into the face of the Lord, all-seeing and omnipresent, saying in yourself: “I have sought my face to Thee, O Lord, I will seek Thy face.” Fear of God, fear of God, fear of God - do not leave the heart! Letter 80. Self-esteem is a very dangerous thing. A warning against delusion when performing the Jesus Prayer incorrectly. Internal proper order during the Jesus Prayer. About the economy of God Where do you get the idea that I approve of self-esteem? I never approved and cannot approve. This is a very dangerous thing. He who feels himself worthy of all contempt, as one who has been humbled by his thinness and has become below all humiliation, has a salutary sense of his own dignity. Any other sense of dignity is detrimental. What was the Apostle Paul like? - He determined his dignity by the fact that he is the first of sinners. Where are we going?! - No no; Please don’t give in to this feeling. Isn’t this one of the reasons why there is no warmth, tears and tenderness? Next to it stands a feeling of righteousness, which seemed to me inherent in you. What's there to cry about? - They hit the generals... so go away everyone. You ask, what causes delight when doing the Jesus Prayer? “It happens not from her, but from the way it was done, precisely the one that is prescribed in the Philokalia.” That image must be passed through with a mentor who knows the matter, and in front of his eyes. And whoever takes on this task alone, according to one description of it, will not escape charm. Only one external outline of the matter is described there, and what is added by the old man, who sees, to complete the internal structure is not visible. One who goes through such work without an inherent guide, naturally, remains with only external work - strictly fulfills what is commanded regarding the position of the body, breathing and looking in the heart. How this kind of technique can naturally lead to a certain degree of concentration and warmth; then he, not having with him a true determinant that would tell him what the merit of the change taking place in him is, comes to the idea that this is what he is looking for, that is, that grace has overshadowed him, while it is not there yet - and begins to imagine that he has grace, without having it. This is charm, which will then distort the entire subsequent course of his inner life. That is why we now see among the elders that they advise against taking up such methods at all, because of the danger from them. By themselves, they cannot give anything grace-filled: for grace is not associated with anything external, but descends only on the internal structure. The internal worthy order will attract the action of grace even without them. – This system exists – during the Jesus Prayer, to walk in the presence of God, to kindle feelings of reverence and fear of God, not to indulge yourself in anything, to always and in everything listen to your conscience and keep it spotless and peaceful, and to surrender your entire life – both internal and external – into the hands of God. From these spiritual elements, the grace of God, having come in due time, merging them together, kindles a spiritual fire in the heart, which serves as a witness to the presence of grace in the heart. This way it is difficult to get into the opinion. But even here it is better with a leader, a cash one, who would see the face and hear the voice. For these two reveal what is inside. What does housebuilding mean, you ask? - Saving. Economy in the household ensures that there is enough of everything. The Lord Savior, through the incarnation, suffering, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension, the sending of the Holy Spirit and the dispensation of His Holy Church, prepared everything necessary for our salvation not only in abundance, but also in abundance. This preparation and everything prepared is called economy, or the economy of salvation embodied. Those seeking salvation turn to this economy, and receive everything they need for salvation without hindrance. This storehouse of economy is the Holy Church; ushers - priests and bishops; the vessel for receiving what is given is a repentant and believing heart. Those who receive what is needed from this economy must bear fruit - 30, or 60, or 100, each according to their strength. Those who do not bear any fruit are condemned and thrown into the fire. The fruits of living by faith and in its spirit are borne. Letter 81. On the state of cooling. Warmth goes away from allowing benefits and indulgences You write that you have gone wild and the state of cooling continues. Pray diligently and patiently lead the established rules of pious life. The Lord will have mercy and restore your previous good mood. But remember more often how everything happened, and surround everything with feelings of repentance. Why did they go wild? Because the warmth is gone. How did the heat go? By scattering. Where does the scattering come from? From losing attention to the Lord. What is this from? And this comes from allowing benefits and concessions. For what reasons and in what hopes are benefits and concessions allowed? “By the feeling that you and I have already worked quite hard, why is it permissible for us to rest, and by that highly intelligent confidence that if some kind of disorder occurs, how long will it take for us to restore everything to its proper order?” We already know all the rules of spiritual life. Remember all this and shed tears all over it. For the latest appropriation of rights that do not belong to us and arrogance, God’s grace especially retreated. Alas and ah! It's good that they missed it soon. But you still have to work until you sweat: for the Lord does not like to bless. With your mind, you have not learned to value inner well-being as it should, and carefully guard it as your first treasure. Now the Lord Himself will teach you this and that through experience. Since this is the first experience of your oversight, or your self-will, it is very possible that the Lord will soon return your loss to you. - But everything will be returned; just resort to Him more diligently with contrition and faith. Work hard. God bless! Again you have your usual philosophy about the non-involvement of the evil enemy in our affairs. When you say it’s your own fault, you’re telling the truth. No matter how strong the temptation is from the enemy and no matter how obvious it is that it is from him, all the blame still falls on the sinner: for if he had not bowed to the temptation, there would have been no sin. Declension is always a matter of will. - And you are to blame all around; but the matter did not happen without prompting and prodding from the enemy. Not a single sin occurs without its occurrence; but that doesn't excuse anyone. And he doesn’t excuse you. All the thoughts that you came to the right to give yourself privileges and entertainment were inspired and inspired by them. Then they kindled the volka - to let themselves walk, talk and look enough. But after all this came your voluntary consent, which makes you completely guilty of everything. “Give up all your philosophizing, and begin to pay close attention to yourself, and to carry every thought through the fire of prayer to the Lord the Savior.” Will it stand? Good. Can't resist? And let it disappear. The confessor did not impose penance on you. In vain. Make three bows to the ground in the morning and in the evening - a month - with decent words: “Lord, forgive me, careless, absent-minded, thinking a lot about myself and relying on myself.” - The Lord will see your humility and labor, and will forgive you your sin, and will have mercy on you. Letter 82. One must have hope in the mercy of God, and not in one’s own labors. What is penance? What was lost has not yet returned to you. – I regret this along with you. But don't be discouraged. The Lord is merciful. It will be returned if you humbly seek, without complaining that it is not given soon, and without losing hope. One must have hope in the mercy of God, and not in one’s own labors. You have to work until you drop; but hope must still be placed in the sole mercy of God. Leaning your hope on something of your own, even by a hair's breadth, is already a deviation from the right path, and at the same time an obstacle and delay to obtaining what you are looking for. If you have secluded yourself with the thought that I will take up bowing, reading, standing at night, and everything will return; then the Lord will deliberately not give what you ask for for a long time, until the hope for your labors evaporates, in order to teach you by experience that His gifts do not depend on your labors, although without them you will not receive anything, but the more and harder you work, the sooner what you want will be returned to you - what was lost. You must work without attributing anything to yourself about your work. From this experience, please now draw the conclusion that there is penance. He who repents is accepted into the mercy of God; but the gifts of mercy are not given immediately, but sometimes after quite a long time. This prolongation of non-return of gifts of mercy is God's penance. It is carried by all those who sin big or small sins. The Lord does not announce the duration of this penance, but keeps it a secret. Because of this, mercy or the feeling of pardon always returns suddenly, and then there is a holiday in the soul. Penance from the confessor is given to shorten the period of God's penance. It shows the voluntary acceptance of penitential works, intensifies the consciousness of one’s guilt and inclines God to mercy, or makes the soul more capable of accepting this mercy. You see now what a delicate flower inner spiritual warmth is. Truly - "noli me tangere" - do not touch me. Having seen this, set the intention to guard the rest of it with all vigilance when the Lord is pleased to return it to you. Now it’s difficult, but if you make a mistake next time, it will be even more difficult. “Be careful how you walk dangerously” (Eph. 5:15). You remember your spiritual patronymic. But do not forget that there is one Father of all, Who is in heaven. You also remember spiritual teaching. But do not lose sight of the fact that we have one Teacher - Christ the Lord. And no one has yet been taught salvation properly besides Him. This is not how we should understand that He teaches through others. No, He directly teaches salvation to every soul that is saved. But it is also true that despite all this, we must learn from the Scriptures of God, and from the writings of our fathers, and listen to lessons from other brothers and sisters. These are just beginnings and preparations. The Lord always imprints truths in their true form on the soul. Please confirm this and talk about it this way. Letter 83. On the punitive and educational withdrawal of grace. We need to be grafted into the cross of the Lord Two letters. In one it is written: everything has returned, and in the other: no, everything is as before, nothing has been returned. - This means that God’s mercy will soon return completely, and has given news of this; came up and walked away again. Put on complacency and trustworthiness, and surrender yourself into the hands of the Lord. We are His slaves, bought by Him, and cherished by Him. He already knows how to do what for us in the most beneficial way. You are now going through the most necessary article of His teaching. Take heed. – And what you attributed: it’s true, I’m rejected, is completely wrong. It seems that I have already written to you, and I will repeat again, that the retreat from grace you are undergoing is not punitive, but educational. In punishment, grace completely retreats; and in the educational it only hides, although it is inherent: it does not deprive the necessary help, but takes away its consolations, or does not give it. - This is what you have. The Lord saw fit to do this for you. But he will have mercy and again begin to graciously give you consolations. Consolations are not essential. Help is essential; and she is apparently with you. Be patient a little longer, and consolation will return. It's hard, you say. - How could it be otherwise? We need to be grafted into the cross of the Lord. How can one be grafted onto the cross? The cross, or sorrow as heavy as His cross. Your labors are also sorrowful; but just as before the consolation of grace took away from them the heaviness and sorrow, the feeling of which is necessary for grafting to the cross of the Lord, now it is given to you to feel this through the retreat of grace. The cross was on you before, but you didn’t feel it, as if it was carried for you by someone else’s hand. Now he is left to lie on you with all his weight - he is shouldered by you alone. - And I had to groan. Grunt grunt; but still bear it graciously. The Lord is near and helps. Just a little more, and He will return consolation. You are trying to figure out why the uprising is taking so long. - So I told you: because it is necessary for your spiritual education. But look. Maybe you’ll find something else of a humbling nature. Haven’t you ever dreamed: I’ve found the way, I feel the Father’s embrace, attributing a lot to my labors and hardships. How wrong this is, for the consolations of grace do not depend on anything external, but are always the fruit of the mercy and benevolence of the Lord, then this admonition and lesson is now being given to you: come on, try, take the consolations of grace with your own labors. That’s why you work hard, but you don’t see the fruit. This allows you to understand that strength does not lie in work. And so that you learn this lesson more firmly, teaching it lasts so long. “I already mentioned to you that, perhaps, when they were distracted, they thought: well, I’ll calm down a little, I’ll give myself free rein, and then back to business; I just have to take it, and everything will go well, with all the joys of life in the Lord. Since, therefore, you have attributed too much to your strengths, the Lord, having taken away His consolations, now allows you to see how things are going for you, when you yourself have taken it alone. What do you see? “We strained all our strength, but nothing was right.” Repeat this lesson that without the Lord everything is worthless. If you recognize any of what has been said, repent and think ahead - do not allow yourself to think like that. Surrender yourself entirely to the Lord, expressing your readiness to graciously and joyfully accept everything that it pleases Him to send you, both externally and internally. Some of my speeches to you seem difficult. But it is never my intention to make your burden any heavier. I am writing everything as a warning so that you take a closer look at yourself to see if there is one or the other. If not, then there is no case. Let my words pass by. And sometimes, maybe there will be something. Then, of course, they will no longer be in the wind. I really wish that everything goes smoothly and sweetly for you, and most importantly, that it lasts, not for an hour, but forever. This becomes a hindrance if something that is not according to God, not God’s, hides in the heart. I want to help you open this thing and push it out. Look, I’m telling you, there’s a lady inside you, a personality that’s not at all suitable for the life you’ve chosen. You say: she has already left. I doubt it. She is so resourceful and knows how to cover herself so well that you wouldn’t even know it. - Take a good look: put away your glasses, - adjust your binoculars. Letter 84. About prayer at home. About coming during prayer to resolve issues of spiritual life. About self-reproach and self-justification. About the fire of temptation. About the gravity of life I know your house rule, that you perform except for church services. It is especially good because it gives a lot of scope to your prayer, mental and heartfelt, to the Lord and His saints. The more of this in home prayer, the better. In the church, if necessary, prayers are read; but even there a place and direction is given for personal prayer. Ectenia have this meaning. The deacon or priest proclaims: let’s pray for this and that, or ask this and that from the Lord. In response to this, everyone, with his own mind or heart, composes a prayer to God, according to the invitation. The singers, collecting together all the prayers that arose in the souls present in the church, proclaim: “Lord have mercy! God forbid!” – Just as every church service is punctuated by litanies, the church alternates with ready-made prayers from believers, listened to with attention, and then with their own. But still, in the church there are more prayers read than their own. And in home prayer it is appropriate to have more of your own, heartfelt prayers. That's what you have. And good. You can further increase the number of yours and reduce the number of prayers you read, or do so from time to time. However, a read prayer, offered with thought and feeling, is the same as one’s own. Note also that one should not become attached to prayer rules, but treat them with complete freedom. It is better to change them in parts or compose completely new ones, for fear that the prayer may turn into a form. You write that sometimes during prayer one does not know where the solutions to the questions of spiritual life that occupy the soul come from. Be good! I think I already wrote to you about this. This is real Christian teaching of the truth of God. Here the promise is fulfilled: “They will all be taught by God” (John 6:45). This is how it happens. With the finger of God, truths are written in the heart, and they remain indelible and are not subject to any wavering. Please do not ignore such outlines of the truth of God, but write them down. What is self-reproach, you ask? There is something so that when something goes wrong, either with people or at home, you can say: it’s your own fault, and feel that way. The opposite of it is self-justification - when they do not want to admit they are guilty, knowing in themselves that they are guilty. Read about this from Abba Dorotheos. You also ask: what does the Babylonian cave mean? – How – what does it mean? – After all, this is not a parable, but an event. For some reason that means that it exists. They lit the oven and threw the youths into it to burn; but God saved them. – In relation to spiritual life, various edifying thoughts and lessons can be derived from this. Here's one for you. The cave of Babylon is an image of the temptations with which God tempts His saints for their good and perfection. Just like a brick becomes useful when it is fired; so God makes His righteous people fit for inclusion in the building of His Kingdom, by leading them into the furnace of temptations, where they burn out in all their composition, and all the bad is burned up, and the good is purified and brightened. The power that endures the fire of temptation is another fire - the fire of love for God, which, being stronger than any external fire of temptation, does not allow you to feel its burning. “I’m tired of living!” - What is this? – God’s creation, preserved by God and led to salvation, how can it be burdened by life, which will end the Kingdom of Heaven with unspeakable blessings? This must have come out to you by accident. May your life be difficult and difficult; but look at the end of this narrow path, and you will forget to feel its tightness and burden. And the consolations that are still offered here as a pledge for the future, aren’t they powerful to evaporate such feelings? “Such consolations have now been taken away from you.” But just be patient a little longer and you will rejoice again. Write a promise in your heart that nothing you endure along this path will be in vain. Then you won’t be able to feel fatigue, just as someone who collects Margaritas 7 cannot feel it when they come across them, no matter what. If you felt in your heart as you said, then a sinful murmur is heard. Please confess this sin to the Lord in spirit. Letter 85. Before God one should hold oneself in the utmost reverence. On the danger of dreamy fortune-telling in spiritual life Your entire letter testifies to the joyful state of your soul. You rejoice in God’s mercy towards you, but at the same time you are afraid. It turns out that you have learned through experience the truth that “it is fitting to work for the Lord with fear and to rejoice in Him with trembling.” Both must be kept, and inseparably, so as not to allow joy to become “careless”, or fear to suppress all joy. One should hold oneself in extreme reverence before God, as a much-merciful and much-caring Father for us, but also strict without the slightest concession. Fear that everything would go away again, now things are in order with you. By its action, you express a desire and readiness to use the means to save it. But don’t you think you yourself are the only ones who can manage this? With this one thought everything can again be taken. Try your best to protect yourself; but commit the very safety into the hands of the Lord. If you don’t work, the Lord will not take care of you. If you rely on your efforts and labors, the Lord will retreat, as considered unnecessary by you, and again you will be met with the same misfortune. Work until you drop, strain your strength to the utmost; but still expect the actual act of preservation from the Lord alone. Neither one nor the other should be weakened, neither by labor and effort, nor by trust in the one and only Lord. Let one reinforce the other, and both will form a strong fence. The Lord always wants us with all the most saving things, and is ready to give it to us at any time, waiting only for our readiness or ability to accept. Why does the question: how to manage in order to preserve it turn into another: how to manage in order to maintain oneself in readiness to always accept the protective power that is ready to infuse into us from the Lord? How's that? Recognize yourself as empty, containing nothing, an empty vessel; to this add the consciousness of powerlessness - to fill this emptiness yourself, to crown this with the confidence that only the Lord can do this, and not only can, but also wants, and knows how; and then, standing with your mind in your heart, cry out: “With these destinies, make me well, O Lord,” with unshakable hope that he will make you well and will not let your feet become confused. You are delighted by the return of the comforting good mood. It's natural for this to happen. But be careful not to indulge in dreamy fortune-telling. "A! so here it is! this is what it is and how, but I didn’t know.” – This is an enemy thought that leaves behind an emptiness or leads into it. We all need to repeat one thing: “Glory to Thee, Lord!” - adding: “God, be merciful!” – If you dwell on such a thought, then memories will immediately be woven into it, how you worked and struggled, what you did and what you left, in what situations your good mood appeared and went away, in which it remained and was established. And then the decision will follow: this is how I will always do it. And you will fall into a dreamy conceit that the secret of spiritual well-being has finally been discovered - and it is in your hands. “The very next prayer will expose all the falsity of such dreams; the prayer will be empty, not firm and of little comfort. Consolation will only come from memories of a previous good state, and not from possessing it. And you will have to sigh and condemn yourself. – And if the soul does not manage to do this, then the deceitful mood will continue, and grace will again withdraw. For such a dreamy mood shows that the soul has again relied on its own labors, and not on the mercy of God. Grace is always grace, and is not tied to any work. Whoever ties her to work may lose her for this very thing. -Harden it well. The educational retreats of grace are aimed precisely at helping to solidify this saving lesson. Letter 86. Examples of recording good thoughts that come during contemplation and prayer, numbering 162 I have written to you more than once so that you write down in a special notebook the thoughts that come during prayer or in addition to it - such thoughts that, having come, do not quickly go away, but occupy the mind and heart for a long time and in their way improve the soul. To encourage you to diligently pursue this kind of work and to provide an example, I am sending you a notebook in which one person sometimes wrote down similar thoughts. See how it's done and do the same for yourself. 1. The heart is a sponge full of different fluids. Squeeze and it will flow. Pressure of the heart - impressions and circumstances of current life that evoke from the heart either good or bad, judging by what the part of it contains that is pressed on. Pay attention. This can lead to good self-knowledge. 2. It happens that no matter where someone pokes his nose, everyone shuns him. This is an image of an alarmed conscience, which, whether it turns to God, sees Him turning away its face; whether to angels and saints - and they don’t want to look at him; whether towards people living together - even they seem to treat them with contempt; whether to himself - and he sees nothing in himself on which he could dwell with consolation. And it's still here. What will happen there?! Keep this in mind often. 3. Have you ever experienced disappointment? Alas, how amazing she is! She was tested by the holy fools. We hoped to meet the Groom - but failed. And it wouldn't be so hard. One could be consoled by the hope of seeing Him some other time. But the trouble is that the Groom Himself rejected them once and for all. These virgins were not vicious, but something very necessary was missing in them. Why? It’s worth thinking about this now and making up for what’s missing in advance, so that we don’t experience the same fate for ourselves. 4. In schools, during exams, it sometimes happens that everyone thinks that he knows the subject, but when they call him, not a word, and he gets a zero. Be careful that you don’t suffer the same thing when they call you to an exam from where there is no return. Here the matter can still be corrected, but there it will be impossible to correct it. 5. Is there a threat of rejection? Yes. For Satan is rejected. And you have nothing on which to base the privilege of non-rejection when you are burdened with sins. How can this be? We must correct ourselves and cry out for mercy with relentlessness, like a widow to a judge. 6. Because of your sins, you are a charred brand, a corpse swollen, blue and full of stench, darkness in which you can’t even see anything. 7. Lord on the Cross. Stand before Him mentally and think, with what gaze would the Lord meet you from the Cross? Stay longer in this position, and your conscience will clearly tell you about this. 8. It is said about ancient Israel: fatter, thicker, wider - and forget God. The same goes for the children of the new Israel, when they, satisfied with what they have, indulge in carelessness and carelessness about pleasing God. They are full and resting. 9 . Whatever you rest your hope on, God is for you. If on the estate, then the estate is yours; if in power, power is your god; if there is something else on something else, there is God for you. When the true God desires to convert someone to Himself, He first destroys the false gods, so that, having experienced their unreliability, you will turn to Him more quickly and sincerely. 10. In everyday life it happens that another servant, who has been guilty and driven away, is accepted by the owners again when he confesses to his guilt and promises to be good. They accept him if he is guilty a second time, bowing to his pleas and promises. They accept it a third and a fourth time... and as much as patience and leniency allow. But if the servant still gets caught in the same troubles, they finally say to him: go away and don’t come forward; and then, no matter how much he begs them, they do not listen to him, saying: we have already lost faith in you. Is it not possible for the same thing to happen to a sinner who has repeatedly returned to the same sins and still does not stop returning? Let the person responsible for such falls think about this. 11. It happens that someone else is entrusted with the management of an estate, but he is a superficial person: he makes, makes and alters all plans, not taking into account the needs and requirements of the farm, but according to his own fantasies - he fusses a lot, but there is no sense, and the estate is soon upset. The same thing happens in the moral order, when someone suffers from a floating mind - and he is not bad, and he does things, but there is no point: everything is not towards the goal, but just like that, off the shoulder, into the wind. 12. Where did the one who did not have a wedding robe get to? I already sat down at the table. And what is the end?! Having tied his hand and nose... throw him into pitch darkness (Matthew 22:13). Those who think about being something need to think about this more often. 13. Another product passes from hand to hand, and everyone praises it. But an expert in the matter will only look at how he sees the falsity - whether it was made by mistake, or due to inability, or intentionally. The same thing happens in moral terms: some deeds are considered very good and praiseworthy, other persons are considered saints. But an expert will immediately understand the matter and recognize the face in a few words. 14. Remember from where you fell, is heard in the conscience of one who took up the work of salvation as he should and succeeded somewhat in it, but then scattered and returned to his previous deeds or even worse ones. How sad it is! 15. When someone who has returned to the path of repentance begins to work on himself, then, seeing how everything seems to fall out of his hands due to the extreme breakdown of strength and the persistence of bad habits, he involuntarily cries out: in the face of fate, save me, Lord. 16. What is spirit under the power of soul and body - and what is soul and body under the power of spirit? Let everyone judge this for themselves. The ascent from the realm of the flesh to the spirit is represented by Saint Pelagia, Saint Mary of Egypt, Saint Taisia, Saint Moses Murin, Saint David and the like. 17. A matter of utmost importance is happening in the world, humanity and every person under the influence of the incarnate economy in the Lord Jesus Christ. We, too, are brought into the movement of events in this direction by the all-ruling right hand of God. Therefore, you cannot joke not only about life in general, but also about every activity, remembering where it should be directed. And not a single minute should be wasted. In a plant, for example, and in an animal body, not a single moment passes without something happening there, in general, and in particular in every particle, that is required for life. But there this is happening unconsciously and involuntarily, and a rational creature must do the same thing in a moral and religious order independently, consciously and spontaneously. 18. A spiritually businessman - a scientist, a practitioner in some field, an artist - sacrifices everything Divine to his deeds, always pushing it into the background - namely prayer, contemplation of God, deeds of piety - and he rests his trust in his deeds and strengths. 19. A sinner - since every sin has already been condemned - should feel the same way as a condemned person feels, about whom the death sentence has already been pronounced and only a few minutes remain before its execution. The door is about to open and the executioners will enter. 20. The action of the grace of the Holy Spirit is preceded by the forgiveness of sins with the cleansing of the heart from passions; forgiveness and cleansing are preceded by hatred of everything sinful; and to this hatred is a feeling of condemnation and rejection of God. This last comes when the conscience awakens under the influence of the fear of God and begins to sort through all the shame and wrongs of life. The main thing is to awaken the fear of God and conscience. These are the elements of our spirit. They come to life through the action of prevenient grace. 21. Patriarch Jacob worked for Leah for seven years and for Rachel for seven years. Leah is the image of an active life (action), and Rachel is a contemplative life (mind). Both, it turns out, are obtained through labor - that is, both action and reason. 22. A person who receives inattention and coldness becomes indignant and irritated. What about God, who is everywhere? But we cannot boast of always paying attention to Him and having a warm, heartfelt attitude. 23. Whoever is in place, his established life flows calmly. But if he happened to lose his place, everything would fall into disarray. It also has its place in spiritual life. Whoever holds on to it, everything is calm inside, and whoever moves away from it, turmoil immediately begins inside, the most terrible and destructive of any external turmoil. 24. He who behaves as he should, works without sparing himself, listens to himself and kindles religious feelings in his heart. As soon as he begins to delay the work of pleasing God, this is immediately followed by wandering thoughts and a cooling of the heart. If you don’t stop, you will quickly fall into negligence and carelessness, insensibility and absent-mindedness. This is mental paralysis, or the immersion of the soul in death. 25. There are also internal punishments from God. This is the taking away of spiritual feelings. This happens when the heart tastes something passionate, but had the opportunity to avoid it. Then it becomes incapable of receiving spiritual feelings and will remain so until every trace of passionate combat evaporates. 26. There is a peace-keeping thought. Having forgotten itself, the soul begins to move and rearrange everything in the world in its own way - things, persons, and events. The enemy puts her on a chair and builds her into a world government monkey. Is there anything funnier than this ugliness? 27. During prayer, the enemy usually brings to mind some things, as if they are extremely necessary, and then takes them away from these things and takes them to who knows where. It is necessary to instill in the heart the conviction and decision to prefer God to everything, at least during prayer. It should belong to him all the time. But let us inseparably devote even this short time of prayer to Him. This, however, is not enough. We must ensure that we continually walk before God with fear and reverence. For He is everywhere, and in all His greatness. 28. The anointing of the doors with the blood of the Passover lamb was a symbol for us. What does it mean? It means the mysterious anointing of our souls with the blood of the Lord Savior in holy baptism. We must pray that this blood penetrates us everywhere and imprints everything in our spirit, soul, and body. And she will be a silent intercessor for us at the trial, which will decide on life or death - eternal. 29. Prayer is mental, or mental, and there is prayer of the heart, prayer of feeling. The first one is never pure and unperturbed. Only feeling can impart these qualities to prayer when the heart is filled with some kind of religious feeling. God gives this, but we ourselves must try to lead our hearts into such feelings, especially before prayer. Prayer will warm up this feeling - and it can go smoothly on its own. 30. In the production of repentance, sorrowful regret that we offend God with our sins gives a more lasting decision not to sin than regret that we destroy ourselves with sins, although this is also appropriate for repentance and conversion. 31. Whoever does not experience the effects of the grace of the Holy Spirit in his heart, his salvation is in doubt. For such a state may also depend on the fact that there is absolutely nothing in the soul. But usually the Holy Spirit does not quickly reveal the effects of His grace - out of fear that the person himself will eat this goodness out of sight. 32. There are two resolutions from sins - mysterious and everyday (physical, as it were). In the first, conscience is resolved - and the person joyfully feels freed from all condemnation for sins; in the second, nature is freed from all the passions that bind it. Feats of self-mortification and works of good deeds and prayers lead to this latter. And this is God’s (physical) penance, even if the priest does not impose church penance; but if you impose it, then God’s penance soon ends with it. The Church’s prayers for them and charity for them help the deceased to achieve this same resolution. 33. Be silent and understand that I am God (Ps. 45:11). To abolish means to expel from the soul everything that could obscure the face of God, visible to the mind with corresponding feelings, that diverts attention and feeling from God. But how can one abolish oneself in this way from business? Be determined to fulfill them as God’s instructions, and not as your own undertakings or something imposed from outside. 34. The enemy is constantly busy around us. His first task is to occupy himself with something secondary, at least not bad, and distract him from the main thing - the only thing he needs. When he succeeds in this, then he begins to throw in bad things and little by little leads to bad thoughts and feelings... 35. Imagine the king in his waiting room. We found many different kinds of people asking for what. But instead of turning to the king with petitions, some of them look out the window, others collect rubbish, others admire the decorations of the hall, others quarrel. Noise. Almost no one looks at the king. Our church meetings and home prayers are like this. And we all complain that prayers are not heard! 36. God is building His spiritual city in Heaven. Materials are prepared here on earth, in the Church of God, from human souls. Their validity is determined by death. The good ones are placed in the building in the appropriate place, the bad ones are thrown into their place. 37. How to represent God? In Heaven, in yourself, or something else? No way. Acquire the skill of standing in the conviction that God is everywhere and, therefore, in you and sees all your secrets, and in this conviction, hold yourself reverently before the invisible God, without any of His imagination. But pray that God Himself will teach you this. 38. God creates the inner man. But God begins to act within when a person recognizes himself as completely nothing in all parts and surrenders himself entirely into the hands of God, into the omnipotence of God. 39. Everything is in the Lord the Savior. He propitiates the Father and sends the Holy Spirit. Having completed the economy of salvation, He became our Master, and we are His servants, purchased by His blood. Can you feel it? 40. When you hear what they say about someone else: he’s full, he’s fallen apart and he’s dozing, don’t forget to think that this is an image of your carelessness from complacency. 41. Prayer happens as they say: if you get attached, you can’t pull it back by the ears; Otherwise it’s like this: pull on the reins and you won’t be able to pull them. 42. You hear what they say about something else: he’s arrogant. Look, the angels of God would not say that about you, judging by the way you behave in relation to God in prayer. Wouldn't you like to have His friend? The king of the earth, no matter how merciful and condescending, cannot tolerate familiarity and denies access to himself to those who are arrogant. And the King of Heaven, do you think you will indulge? 43. The peace of the flesh destroys all the good things earned through labor. It is as if the owner himself were breaking off a beautiful tree with his own hands, which had been restored with great diligence. 44. The heart is a pit of snakes. Snakes are passions. Their abyss: carnality - eat, drink, sleep to your heart's content; idleness, laziness; covetousness, amorousness, stinginess, self-interest, reliance on possessions; selfishness, pride, vanity, people-pleasing, conceit; anger, hatred, envy, gloating; over-concern, absent-mindedness, etc., etc.... What to do? Whichever one sticks out, hit it on the head. Hammer – ruthlessness towards oneself. 45. One of the elders wrote: I am like a horse that grazes without an owner: whoever wants to sits down and rides; As soon as one gets off, having been run over, another sits down and does the same, and so on. He spoke about wandering here and there with his thoughts. Through them the enemy comes at us. It should be added that he does the same through busy work and much care in soaring conceit. 46. The one who repents at first only sees his own sins, but when the internal disorder subsides somewhat, he begins to see underneath the sins the passions that surround the soul. First he cried out: God, be merciful to me, a sinner; and here, in addition, he adds: God, cleanse me, a sinner, or: heal my soul. 47. The Annunciation and the Incarnation correspond in us to the beginning of the search for salvation and the acceptance of grace, which lays the seed of a new life; and Christmas corresponds to the formation of the inner new man. 48. Truly we sit in darkness; and this is not only when we live carelessly, but also when we begin to care about salvation. Life gives you to notice and feel this, but you can’t think of it. 49. Do you hear people say about other things: where have you gotten yourself into? It is very decent to repeat to yourself when thoughts of arrogance come across. 50. At first, repentant feelings are more out of self-preservation - that one has died; then they go into sorrow because of the offense to God. This, presumably, will last for the rest of my life. 51. Business is an urgent duty. They should not be disparaged, they are valuable. But salvation cannot be based on them. This is not their business, but the work of God’s grace - both as saving mercy and as power for salvation. 52. That the house is uninhabited? Empty, musty, homeless. Such is the soul that does not repent and does not have the fear of God. 53. God, having created the world, improves it and leads it to its final goal. Every creature is a tool. But unfree creatures are submissive instruments, and free ones are stubborn. They slow down bringing the world to its goal. Since this goal cannot be achieved without their correctness, now all God’s care is directed toward guiding and keeping rational creatures on the right path. The basis of this care is embodied economy. And this is what the Lord said: My Father works hitherto, and I work. 54. The enemy turns the unrepentant soul into a cesspool into which he throws all sorts of rubbish. 55. Have you seen how sometimes a pack of dogs surrounds a person? The poor guy just turns around, fighting back with whatever he can. But someone stronger runs up to him - and the flock scatters. The same thing happens to those who repent and follow the path of self-correction. The enemy sometimes arouses in him a flock of passions, which, like dogs unleashed from a chain, first one or the other begin to tear him apart. And only help from above disperses this flock. 56. If you notice traces of passionate movements, but don’t have anything to do with them, then don’t dream too much about yourself. There are no cases, perhaps only because there are no cases for them. If occasions arise, you will find yourself more sensual than a Turk, more evil than a bashi-bazouk, more selfish than a Jew. 57. At first, the works of repentance, no matter how strong, seem like nothing; but later, when the conscience is satisfied, they may seem like something. We shouldn't let this happen. 58. The sacramental remission of sins occurs immediately through confession, at the moment of priestly resolution, and the remission of traces of them from nature is accomplished through the labors of repentance. The dead, who have not achieved this in life, reach this there through the prayers of the Holy Church. 59. The spirit of tightness and languor that approaches the heart from below and tries to capture it all is not good. It needs to be torn off. This tightness is indefinite; good sorrow always has as its object definitely one’s sins and one’s unworthiness. 60. It happens that externally the service is working properly, but internally it is very faulty. There is also an employee who is outwardly in order, but inwardly looks like he has his hair cut. 61. It seems that spiritual life would be better called internal. This is clearer, more comprehensive, and more accurate. 62. Not only carnal sin, but every indulgence of the flesh in food, drink, sleep, rest, position either suppresses spiritual movements or diminishes the strength of their tension. 63. Do not approach prayer with care, otherwise your prayer will not be prayer. Everyone begs for the ability to cut off care. With it the enemy throws souls here and there like wheat in a sieve. 64. Without care, the soul goes to prayer and goes to the Lord. And with it, prayer is full of it, and it is all through prayer. 65. Alien spiritual appropriation (attributing successes to oneself) appears in different forms and is the cause of a teaching retreat from grace. Hence petrification, oblivion, darkness, loss of energy. The remedy against it is to accept everything as if from the hand of God, with gratitude, as a gift, and to always live in surrender of oneself to God, all the tea from above. 66. Good thoughts that suddenly visit and come into the soul come from the Lord or from a guardian angel. They organize everything inside, illuminate both internal and external and put you in a joyful state. Enemy thoughts and bad thoughts produce confusion and darkness, accompanied by self-satisfaction, and bad ones always bring with them a storm of passionate movements, more or less strong and destructive. 67. Inner life has its own statutes and laws, its own correctness and malfunctions, its own rewards and punishments, which are not coordinated with external ones, but go on as usual. Outside is one position, and inside is another. 68. After repentance and the work of purification, conscience from time to time goes through everything sinned in life - and judges. Behold the judgment before it. It's very humbling. The enemy sometimes fakes this; only he brings to mind some deeds that, according to human judgment, are unkind, deeds of foolishness and oversight, but he does not touch upon those by which God is offended. Judgment with conscience, one might say, with grace, revives repentance and hopeful contrition, dissolved by the joy of pardon; and this enemy brings a joyless and heavy burden. 69. Why is the soul empty? From the fact that the Visitor of souls came out due to some fault of hers and for some teaching. Perhaps there is a natural pause - a rest of all forces, which, as creatures, cannot maintain themselves in constant tension without exhaustion and rest. 70. Stages of evasion from the one thing needed, or decline from the spirit: 1) passion for some activity - studying something, handicrafts or artistic endeavors; 2) as a result, benefits in labor for the cause of salvation - in prayers, vigils, fasting, solitude, etc.; 3) from this, attention to oneself weakens and the internal structure is ruined, which gives the enemy access to sow unkind thoughts and excite passionate movements; 4) this is not far from inclination to passion - and sin. 71. We must combine the feelings of the perishing and the being saved. There is only truth here. 72. Two ways to cleanse the heart are action and contemplation. They begin together in the true march and walk hand in hand; but at first the action goes ahead, and then it outstrips its contemplation, and in the end it completely absorbs it. 73. During the period of cleansing, God not only allows falsehoods and misfortunes, but also brings them in as effective means of cleansing. The latter are especially fruitful, because after them a special power is sent to the soul to transfer them. The tempted one can, however, sin in this, as in the first case. Look. 74. What is and is wrong in us is indicated first by the commandments and demands of conscience, then by the peaceful dispensation of the heart, and finally, by the eye of God in the heart. 75. In building salvation, deepen the foundation. This foundation is a feeling that never goes away: blind, naked, leprous, paralyzed. 76. God arranges meetings with people so that we pass on to each other the good that is in us from God and mutually enrich each other. The enemy is instigating and doing everything possible to make these meetings not only useless, but also harmful. Listen! 77. The enemy, when tempting, applies himself to the characters of people: he acts this way with those of the brain, another way with those of business, and another way with those of the heart. And he doesn’t always inspire evil, but he is content if he manages to occupy his attention with trifles. He just wants to distract from the main thing, the only thing needed, and waste time. Everything is his benefit. 78. Inside, the structure of thoughts about the main thing varies from time to time, but the essence of the matter must remain unchanged, namely: I am a sinner and worthy of condemnation and execution, but I do not despair of salvation for the sake of the Lord Savior’s death on the cross. 79. Having taken up penitential labors and not seeing success, do not be timid. Seek and seek, relying on the promises of God. You have just fallen behind one bank, but the other is not yet visible at all. Work harder with the oars - with penitent, ascetic means - and the shore will appear. Then your work will be more fun. All you have to do is receive even one piece of obvious help - and it will be a vision of the other shore. Then there will be no place for worrying about the success of your business - unless you become lazy. But who, besides you, will be to blame for this? 80. Set up a barrier at the entrance of the heart and place strict guards over it. Ask anything suitable - thoughts, feelings, desires - whether it’s yours or someone else’s. Drive away strangers without pity and be unforgiving. 81. A sincere person does it because it is pleasant, useful, necessary; and spiritual - because duty, virtue, is pleasing to God. And in spiritual life there are pleasant, useful and necessary things of the spiritual rank, but here they are subject to the laws of the spirit of life about Christ Jesus. 82. External goodness without internal self-correction is the same as the wounds being healed, but the thinness from which the wounds are left, or that the house is rotten, plastered and painted. 83. God the Father, by His good pleasure, calls us sinners to His Only Begotten Son by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Son of God washes the one who has heeded the calling with His blood, and the Holy Spirit regenerates him, clothing him in Christ. Then the Father accepts him into His active and living favor, into His embrace. 84. The Holy Church on earth is the same as a brick factory. The final Church of God is being built in Heaven, and bricks and other things are being prepared on earth, in the Holy Church. The clay is crushed, beaten, burned - it is silent and becomes a brick, fit for a building. Be like this in your spiritual life - and you will appear fit for the heavenly church of God. 85. When you squeeze a bellows filled with water, the water will begin to gush out of it in a fountain upward, as soon as it finds or breaks through a hole. Constrict yourself during prayer with the fear of judgment - and a cry from your heart, like a fountain, will rush to grief, crying out for mercy. 86. God is building His work in the world. And all the powers of heaven are listening. Take heed too. Everything is a means. The goal is known to God alone. Everything is transitory; there is only one God who is essential. Abide with Him. He is everywhere by His being, and not only by knowledge. Beware so as not to be condemned, like those who grimace and act outrageously before the face of the king. 87. Just as godparents are responsible for baptized infants, replacing infants in that which they cannot fulfill on their own, so in relation to those who have passed away, who have passed on to another life with the active beginning of true life, not completed, what they themselves cannot fulfill for this purpose is fulfilled for them by the community of believers until they are purified and mature. After that, they reward the believers with their prayer for them. Behold the circulation of vital forces in Christ Jesus our Lord. 88. No one actually enters the inner curtain, only the Lord the Savior entered this way. Yet all Christians enter who enter, mentally, or by feeling, or by contemplation. This is a state, not a movement. It is the fruit of the whole system. This veil is that the Lord is invisible: cover His darkness. 89. Someone said: it seems that on major holidays - the Holy Resurrection of Christ, the Nativity of Christ, the Descent of the Holy Spirit and others - as well as on Sundays and days of remembrance, those who have passed away before the time of cleansing are given the freedom to visit where they lived before, especially with those who pray for them, and in a dream to reveal to them their condition as an aggravation of prayers or consolation. 90. How to contemplate God in the heart without diminishing His greatness? Holding the thought that He is the most innermost, and not putting His presence into any form. 91. The merciful God wants His rational creatures to live in joy: some enjoying their inherent well-being, others, whose well-being has been upset, comforted by the confidence that this is in relation to them an indispensable means of establishing their well-being here, but even more so there. Without complacently submitting to what God has ordained, you can take away the saving effect from the prevailing circumstances and thereby irreparably damage yourself. 92. The precursors of temptation, or arousal of passion, are frequent thoughts about it and giving oneself benefits and consolations of the flesh. We need to sober up. 93. It is another thing to reason about objects of faith, and another to believe. In the latter, nothing is significantly added, but there is a different structure of the heart and a different taste in what is known. 94. It also happens that even though there are no bad deeds, the state of the heart is bad. God rejects such a one, although he does not look bad. Take a closer look to see if you belong to this kind of people. 95. God arranges the salvation of everyone this way: whoever is fit, He draws him to the Son; The son of the future accepts; accepted is transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is the first period, preparatory. It lasts from the calling until the moment when it is spoken in the heart: God is all active in all - and complete surrender of oneself to the all-acting of God is born. From here begins the Divine action in man through human, however, forces, or God-human. Xie – second period. The third period is peace in God, whose real place is there, but its beginning is supposed to be here. Most people are in the first period; some part - in the second; The third is achieved here by rare people, but there by everyone, however, in their own rank. This is eternal bliss. 96. No one knows God the Father except God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; and no one knows the Son except the Father and the Holy Spirit; and no one knows the Holy Spirit except the Father and the Son. From this mutual knowledge comes both mutual will and mutual interaction, which, converging in one, give unity of knowledge, unity of will and unity of action. Just as all Persons are one in essence, then all are in all. No Person is united in anything, except birth and procession. But in relation to these latter it is appropriate to say: the Father, giving birth to the Son, in no way separates Him from Himself and the Spirit; and brings forth the Holy Spirit, not in any way separating Him from Himself or from the Son. The Son, when born, is not separated from the Father and the Spirit; and the Spirit, proceeding, is not separated either from the Father or from the Son. The Father gives birth to the Son and expels the Holy Spirit without primacy or dominance over Them. Likewise, the Son is born from the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, not thereby becoming subsequent, but remaining sucking on Him and not becoming less than Him, but remaining equal to Him in everything. 97. The Persons of the Most Holy Trinity, knowing themselves mutually and being united in this knowledge, know that each of them has the same, and not the same, being that the others have. The Father, giving birth to the Son and bringing forth the Spirit, knows that their being is the same as His, intransitive. The Son who is born knows that His being is the same as that of the Father and the Spirit. The outgoing Spirit knows that His being is the same as that of the Father and the Son. Thus, They have the same consciousness of the unity of being, or the consciousness that, despite the trinity of Persons, They are one God. 98. Temptations are necessary due to our present situation. We are in captivity. Just as someone who escapes from an enemy fortress still has to endure a lot before reaching the border of his fatherland, so it is here. 99. Knowledge of objects of faith is of three kinds: rational, or scientific; experienced, formed under the work of purifying the heart; and living, given directly to those who entered the region of light. This latter is true contemplation, the beginnings of which also appear in the second degree. 100. Comprehension or perception of spiritual things occurs in prayer. But reading prayer does not give this - it gives its own, or short prayer, combined with the thought of God. 101. Just as an organ is started - and it plays the already started song itself, so the enemy starts a dream in the soul - and moves away, watching. The dream itself drags on and on. When the daydreaming ends, the enemy runs up and manages to start another daydream - and again runs back and looks. When this dream ends, he runs up and starts a third one, and so on. If they beat him back, resolutely cutting off all dreams, he is not arrogant - he moves away a little and keeps looking at how to start his dream from another direction again. And he doesn’t leave until he has time to do it. This is his whole business. When a movement of passion appears in a dream, he runs up and acts to captivate and lure sympathy or even consent, complete or incomplete. If he succeeds in this, he further teaches how to bring his plans into action. And there is no moment for him to take his soul out of his sight and stop his evil intentions against it. 102. Those who take the fortress first shell it, then make an attack. The same is true in spiritual warfare. The enemy first shoots arrows of thoughts, then, when he sees that they are already weakly reflected - they have fallen in love - he makes a strong attack through the excitement of passion. If in the first period the soul behaved as it should, then in the second it will stand courageously. 103. The enemy is carried away by the pleasures of sin. And the Lord, distracting from sin, allows the repentant and sincerely turning to the good path to experience the sweetness of life in peace with Him and conscience. This sweetness is purer, lighter and more peaceful than the sweetness of sin, which is always cloudy and disturbing. Why does one who has experienced the sweetness of the Lord have a strong weapon in this to resist the attraction of the sweetness of the enemy’s sin. 104. When you notice an impulse to do something as quickly as possible, know that it is from the enemy to harm or ridicule you, no matter how bright it may seem. 105. The Spirit of Christ is complete selflessness and readiness to sacrifice oneself for the glory of God and the good of others. It is reflected throughout human nature. The demons smell him and run, further and further. 106. The enemy constantly tries to defile the heart with his impurities - and manages to throw heaps of thoughts and often sinful feelings into it. This happens to a sleeping person when there is no attention. Having woken up and noticed this, you must immediately clean everything up so that not a trace of it remains. How? In the name of the Lord Jesus, Whose spade is in His hand. The handle in this shovel is contrite repentance and the determination forward not to wake up the enemy’s machinations by inattention. The hand with which this shovel is taken is faith with the hope that the Lord will not abandon. The engine of labor is jealousy. Its support and basis is non-self-pity. Go, armed with all this, into your heart and clean everything there - and do not give up work until not a single speck of enemy remains. 107. The enemy tempts only to the point of surrender, and then leaves the person, and he brings it to the end himself - so that the deed is done by him alone and he is completely guilty; the enemy is on the sidelines. This is wonderful! 108. When the enemy sees that someone has decided to give up slavery to him and take the path of good, he does not directly contradict this, but hastens to break the firmness of the decision in an external way, namely: he inspires such a person to do some task from his usual activities, presenting it as urgently necessary and occupying his entire attention. When attention is drawn into the matter and all its production, then he manages to throw thoughts into indulgence in what the person was holding in his slavery. And it happens that before he has time to finish the job, his good intention is shaken - everything goes back to the old way again. 109. Every person usually acts on his own - he conceives, ponders and carries them into execution with the help of God. But at times, everyone becomes an instrument of the action of higher forces, from which, through him, the required good is transferred or transmitted to those around him. This is evidenced and accompanied by a state of inspiration to speak or do something - when a person speaks and acts not because of personal considerations, but because of an uncontrollable feeling and attraction. At the same time, he himself may not be able to retain what is suggested. In this case, it is only a conductor, just as a gutter is a conductor of water. But he can learn that. In this case, they achieve a double benefit. 110. Both in faith and in life, one must establish a single conviction: in faith - that God came to earth and arranged for our salvation; in life - what you have been bought for, why you must work tirelessly, in the hope of bringing you into peace here too, and not just there. The root of life is zeal for God, in devotion to His protection, guidance and all-action. 111. Every person is dual - both good and unkind. For some, good prevails, and for others, evil prevails. But even with the first, the unkind is not silent, but with every good undertaking, it offers itself to attention either directly or indirectly; and in the second, the good is not silent, but always reminds of itself, in every bad undertaking. It sometimes seems that what is unkind in us is some kind of evil face, grafted onto our nature, which is good by creation, vigilantly looking at everything in us and constantly urging us on with its suggestions. 112. Vigor - the constant tension of internal energy, keeping the soul and body in line - is cut off by the urge to rest or reverence on something created, with pleasure and satisfaction in it, in addition to God and the Divine. There is an abyss of subjects for this - everything that exists besides God and Divine things. Let attention see this and discourage it. 113. At prayer, at the very beginning, our unkindness always offers some matter as if necessary, in order to concern us with it. If someone who begins to pray is not careful, then his thoughts go into the proposed task, and he forgets about God and prayer - he bows like a doll. To avoid this, before prayer, you must throw everything away with a firm thought and begin to pray with your bare soul, so that when you pray, it is the only thing you care about. 114. We cannot be without things to do and activities. God has given us active forces, which require exercise. Therefore, everyone has their own affairs and activities. They require attention, but, on the other hand, moral progress, which is more important than anything else, requires that attention always be in God. How to reconcile both? We must do all our deeds and activities as the works of God, imposed on us by God, and dedicate them to God. Then, while doing them, let us not lose sight of God, for in this case the inevitable concern is how to make everything we do pleasing to God. 115. So that things and activities do not absorb all your attention, you need to do them without passion, without becoming addicted to them. The skill for this must be acquired by constantly straining and disposing oneself to do one’s work not because one’s soul is in favor of one or another, but out of a sense of duty. The definition of what is necessary and the motivation for it must be taken from the Divine realm. Then doing business will be both diligent and detached - detachment not into emptiness, but directly to God. Then, even when starting to pray, it will not cost anything to throw them out of your attention. Yes, they will naturally fall out of it as soon as the hands are accepted from them. Yet this comes from the habit of constantly being in the presence of God and with a reverent feeling. 116. The wise one said: the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. And one of the elders used to say: acquire a reverent thought towards God - and then everything will be in order with you, both inside and outside. Playful schoolchildren usually make noise and uproar until the teacher arrives, but as soon as he appears, they are all in their places and quiet. The same thing happens inside from reverent thoughts. 117. God gives and instills reverent thoughts - but not for nothing, but to those who seek and work at it. The best way to search is to overextend yourself in prayer both in church and at home. Work at this without self-pity, but with the desire to embitter yourself for self-indulgence. Always keep your mind in the memory of God, or always walk in the presence of God. But all such work is preparation. True reverent thoughts are instilled by the grace of God, or freed from bonds. For it is natural to the spirit, but is bound by the corruption that has come. 118. When jealousy is strong, the enemy calmly sits in ambush, in the bodily organ of passion, lying in wait, waiting for the right time to attack. As soon as a certain indulgence and desire for relaxation is allowed inside, he immediately comes out and begins to either throw up a thought or excite a bodily movement. If this is not rejected with hostility, but, on the contrary, responds with some kind of sympathy, then after this he intensifies his attacks, hastening to kindle passion and cause regret, which is the threshold of the matter, if it is not erased. How important it is therefore to hit the enemy at the head, that is, at his first shooting thought or movement! In order not to frighten, the enemy sometimes retreats after a single or double call for sympathy in order to create carelessness in the enemy and suddenly strike him again with a strong onslaught. This is not scary for those who keep themselves alert and tensely ready to resist attacks. 119. Having finished the prayer, do not think that it is free, but always be as if you were standing at the liturgy - may your mind always be alert and your thoughts chaste. 120. Do not divide the Lord Savior into God and man, but inseparably contemplate Him as God incarnate, worship Him as God and trust in Him. 121. Worship on anything other than God, a sense of entitlement to benefits, peace of the flesh, dissolution of the limbs are dangerous thoughts and actions, the evil of which, however, is rarely recognized. 122. We must believe that the Lord is in us, for in baptism we put on Him, in communion we accept Him. If you lack such faith, pray: Lord, add faith to me - and it will add it. And about all the points of our confession, regarding which you recognize the weakness of faith, also pray: add faith to me, Lord. And don’t stop until it does. 123. Contemplation of God as the most hidden, as Saint Ephraim the Syrian calls Him, in the thought that He is hidden for all creatures, for angels and saints, is the highest and purest contemplation of God. It is a direct guide to the fact that when thinking about God, do not have His imagination, but believe only that He is within, as He is everywhere. 124. In the movement towards God, the procession begins with mental activity; from it, with real action, spiritual feelings are born; from them they move on to spiritual contemplation. All this is not going according to any system. God guides those who surrender themselves to Him as He pleases. Just do your own thing - do the deeds of duty in the family, citizenship, in the Church, deeds of charity, asceticism and prayer - everything is from God and for God. And God, who is everywhere and fulfills everything, will lead you to Himself along the indicated path. 125. Christians offer God a sacrifice - a Divine one - according to Divine institution. No one would have thought of such a sacrifice - and if he had thought of it by some miracle, he would not have dared to begin making it. But the Lord Himself established it, and gave the commandment: do this, and He Himself acts in sacrifice, through dedicated persons. What is ours? The spirit is contrite, the heart is contrite and humble, with a firm determination not to offend the great Benefactor and to do everything else for His glory. 126. How to achieve a state of persistently standing before God? Begin by walking before Him with the appropriate feelings. From here the fear of God will come, which will lead you to the desired goal. This is a real way - spiritual - to a spiritual state. But the mechanical one, like that of Gregory Sinait, is only a help and alone does not lead to the goal. But with mental techniques it is necessary to combine active ones: keep a clear conscience, refine the flesh, remain in prayer - all in a spirit of contrition and humility with reverence. 127. Dishes. The enemy is trying in every possible way to prevent this good from being achieved - all his efforts are aimed at this. His first trick is to slip in some things and tie them to doing them. They may not be bad, but the bad thing is that, having occupied thought and feeling, they deviate from the main thing, forcing either to push it into the background, or to completely forget it for a while. Both are extremely dangerous, especially the latter. His second method is to guide him to give peace to the flesh, to allow benefits in food, sleep, rest, to allow himself freedom of movement and freedom in impressions on the senses. All this seems like a trifle, but it is extremely ruinous. Keep your eyes open. 128. With every effort, strive to reach the point where the work of accomplishing your salvation is consciously attributed to God, worshiped in the Trinity, inseparably, in a single act, combining the favor of God the Father, the sprinkling of the blood of God the Son and the sanctification of God the Holy Spirit. By the good pleasure of the Father, the grace of the Spirit unites with the Lord into one spirit, soul and body. And behold salvation! 129. Humanity is united with the one Trinitarian God through the second Person of the Holy Trinity. For the Son of God, having become incarnate, did not stand outside the Trinitarian unity, but remained in it. He became incarnate, as the Holy Church sings, “Forsaking not the bosom of the Father.” since He perceived humanity in His Person, then at the same time it was combined with the Trinitarian unity in which He now resides. Then every believer, becoming one with the Lord according to the Christian sacraments, is also united with Trinitarian unity. 130. May the merciful Lord allow us to reach the depth of the foundations for the suffering of the Lord the Savior. This has been predetermined from eternity. Consequently, it was part of the plan of the universe and the direction of the world towards its final goal. It is incomprehensible how this is, but undoubtedly it is. 131. The Lord’s suffering represents a ladder along which He descended lower and lower, not only to extreme humiliation and exhaustion, but even to the point of calling out to God the Father: “Have you forsaken Me?!” So deep is our fall! Oh, if only the Lord would allow us to comprehend and feel the full horror of sin! What kind of sacrifice was required?! And the merciful Trinitarian God did not retreat before her. O abyss of philanthropy! 132. We must pray that God will grant us to contemplate the Savior, as the Son of God incarnate and in this incarnation abiding by God, contemplating at the same time His inseparable essence and consubstantial Trinity. 133. The Sacrament of Body and Blood is a supper of love for the faithful, but first it is a sacrifice. All over the world people make sacrifices to God. The true sacrifice is ours alone, priceless – the Body and Blood of Christ the Lord. She continuously stands in the Church, connecting Heaven and earth. Christians should remember this. For all believers everywhere are one Church. Why is what is done in one private Church not alien to all private Churches, and therefore to all Christians? 134. The bloodless sacrifice is offered by the Lord Jesus Christ, as the head of the Church, with all Christians, both living and dead. A great liturgy of this kind has meaning wherever it is celebrated. A bloodless sacrifice has power because the Lord who performs it is united with His blood sacrifice on the Cross. Thus, all private sacrifices, combined with the single sacrifice of the cross, make it through them intercessionary to ascend from everyone and cover them with her intercession. 135. The Lord Jesus Christ, as the head of the Church, collects the prayers of everyone and has them in His Person intercessively presented to the Trinitarian God, by Whom it is decided what will happen, and what is decided is acted upon by a single Trinitarian action. 136. In the morning, when you wake up, bring to mind that you are again joining the choir of God’s creations, glorifying God and submissive to His will in nature and in Heaven in the ranks of angels and saints - and take care not to lag behind them either in glorification or in submission to the will of God. Keep this in mind. 137. Everything heavenly is in great light. The Tri-hypostatic, tri-radiant Divinity is hidden due to the inaccessibility of the Divine Light, which is only intellectually contemplated. But God the Word incarnate, although he shines with a light of such strong intensity to which created light can only extend, is, however, such that it is approachable to created eyes and is perceived or contained according to the perfection of the creature looking at Him. Surrounding Him are heavenly ethereal forces. Our Lady Theotokos is closer. Next are the apostles and prophets, enlightened by God while still on earth. Behind them are secondary recipients of the Divine revelation of the will of God. Then all the saints in different degrees - saints, martyrs, saints, righteous of all walks of life. Everyone is filled with light emanating from the face of the Lord Savior, beyond any description. Below them are those who have repented, but have not had time to purify themselves and are moving towards purification through the action in repentance of received grace and the prayers of the earthly and heavenly Church, perfect saints, glorified in Heaven. Here the light, as it is purified, begins to barely dawn until it is adjacent to the full light of the saints. 138. Pray like this: Lord God, Father Almighty, by Your paternal compassion, both of us and me. Lord God, Son of the Redeemer, sprinkle me with Your Divine blood. Lord, Holy God, Reviver of the Soul, by Your Divine grace revive my soul, deadened by sins. Holy Trinity, consubstantial and indivisible, one God, existing everywhere, containing everything and seeing everything, look with your merciful eye on me, a great sinner, and in the image of destinies arrange for me the salvation of your name for your sake. 139. When the heart feels the embrace of God, then the sweetness emanating from here allows a person to forget everything that exists. If he manages to preserve this, then from now on his life will begin to be a mother-in-law in such a way that being mind in heart before God will be his only need, but everything else will be incidental. 140. The believer, zealous to work out his salvation, has entered the right path to salvation, but he is not yet in the house of the saved. He needs his mother-in-law, to work, to fight with fear and apprehension, if he achieves it. 141. Prayer is commanded by God so that His goodness, in the face of His righteousness, may be the basis for mercy. For it is unrighteous to ignore the prayer of those who trust. 142. There shouldn't be a minute of idleness. But there are deeds that are visibly performed by the body, and there are mental deeds that are invisible. And these are the essence of the real deal. The first of them is the memory of God, which does not go away with mental-heartfelt prayer. No one sees this, but people who are so inclined are in constant, intense activity. This is also the only thing needed. Once you have it, don't worry about other things. 143. God created creatures for bliss - and is comforted by them. What about grief? Sorrows, sufferings, troubles are the path to bliss. The Lord is also comforted by those who mourn, because they go straight to bliss. Bliss - through sorrow and suffering; that's the law. God favors us and let us suffer. And it helps those who suffer - not to get rid of it, but to endure it. Deliverance from suffering is an exception to the general law. 144. Thank God first for the fact that He, who is infinitely great, allows you, the most insignificant, to open your lips and talk to Him in prayer. For this prayerful appeal and appeal to God is a condition for receiving God’s mercies, although God already knows what someone needs. Prayer is the opening of the mouth to receive blessings from the Lord, but the blessings that He is pleased to bestow upon you, and not those that you desire. That’s why not everything we ask for comes true. And don’t ask like that: give it urgently. But say: Thy will be done. If you help, glory to You, and if you don’t help, glory to You. Give me only patience. Let your prayer be an outstretched hand to accept the gift, whatever and when it pleases the Lord to give you. 145. Don’t let go of the idea that the end – and the trial – is just around the corner. Expect every minute that they will shout: so-and-so, come out - like in exams. And with this, remember how you will appear and what you will bring in justification. If there is nothing to do, then cry out: Lord, have mercy! God, be merciful to me, a sinner! For the sake of Your Son, who was crucified for us, forgive everything and cover all my sins. 146. Walk in the presence of God, but without diminishing your sense of the greatness of God. See the infinitely great mind of God, looking inside your heart and seeing everything there. 147. The Church is a living body, livingly united with its head - the Lord Savior. Every believer must ascend to the feeling of a living union with all believers and with the Head (this happens naturally among true Christians) - and in this feeling, ascend in prayer to the Lord, and through Him to the Most Holy Trinity. You will find an explanation for this in every member of our body. If consciousness were given to him, he would immediately realize that he is connected with all other members, starting with the nearest ones, and with the head, and through them with all that exists. 148. One who trusts in the Lord must feel as one feels when he is in an impregnable fortress—safe from all enemies—or as one feels when accepted under the protection of a powerful king and protected by him. 149. Do not let go of your thoughts the hopes and promises of Christians - both those defined for this life and those set aside for the future. This will fully revive and support the energy of your moral powers. Work as expected, work tirelessly in prayers, fastings, and acts of charity as much as you have the strength. If you act this way, peace of conscience will soon come; then the pacification of the heart will begin as a sign that the passions have begun to fade away - for all the anxieties of the heart come from them. When the heart is completely at peace, it will mean that the passions have frozen. Then wait for the presence of God: grace will shine forth - and you will tangibly feel the presence of the Trinitarian God within you, according to the promise of the Lord Savior. This is the threshold of heaven. These are the promises for this life. And they are definitely fulfilled in all zealots for salvation who are merciless to themselves. What will happen in the next world, we cannot even imagine. So, as soon as the urge to indulge and be lazy comes, quickly remember these promises - and you will overcome laziness. For at the same time you will have to think about the fact that the more relentlessly and urgently you do everything, the sooner you will receive what you are looking for. And if you are lazy, it may happen that you won’t get anything at all. For the benefit you give yourself after your work will be considered a reward for it - and there is nothing to give you for it. 150. From receiving the sacraments, grace always results - and it happens in us - but it is not always immediately introduced. Those who are properly prepared are infiltrated, and those who are not prepared are not infiltrated, although it happens inside. The same thing happens here as in a furnace when a fire is lit. The firewood has been laid, the fire has been set. But until the fire starts in the wood, until then they and the arson are next to each other; and when they are busy, then the arson fire goes into the firewood and continues to occupy them log by log until it has occupied everyone. We are raw firewood. Just as an arsonist will not ignite damp wood until it dries out the place of fire, so the grace received by us - damp from sins and passions - first dries out a certain part of us (if this has not been done before) in order to penetrate, and when it dries, it is introduced. Having taken root, it continues to dry up part by part of our nature from the dampness of passions - and to take root in them until it embraces everything and fulfills it with itself. The first introduction of grace is evidenced by a certain fire in the heart. This is the beginning of the grace-filled cleansing and remaking of everything internal. It attracts the greatest efforts and among them accomplishes its work. The end of this is the manifestation of grace-filled gifts; but this is not the end of progression through the degrees of perfection. And the Apostle Paul said: I am persecuting. Others consider this first act of grace (the light in the heart) to be the final one - and give up. Because of this, the action fades and fades away, and they remain living only in the memory of it - imagining, however, that it is in them in its present form. 151. God wants us to pester Him in prayers, not for His sake—He knows everything—but for our own sake, so that we will always be ready to accept mercy from Him whenever it pleases Him to grant it to us. Prayer is the stretching out of hands to God to receive His mercy. He who always prays always has his hands stretched out; and whenever the Lord deigns to grant him mercy, he is always ready to accept it. Imagine a beneficent person who does not give out alms at a certain hour, having the custom of placing it in his hands when they are outstretched, and passing by someone who, having looked around, does not stretch out his hands. Thus, of those who come, those who have outstretched hands always receive, and those who do not, do not receive. Afterwards, at least don’t ask. So God, when He will distribute His mercies, does not say, but only says: always have your hands stretched out to Me in prayer, so that when I decide to give mercies, you will be ready to accept. Thus, he who always prays will never miss mercy, and whoever does not always pray, it is not surprising that he will miss mercy. 152. A tangible indication of our fall is the heaviness of the soul in the ascent of the mountain - towards God and the heavenly. How much attention and effort does this require?! And yet the soul floats down like fog spreading across the earth, and grief does not fly freely. 153. Believing in the power of the Most Pure Mysteries, that this is truly the Body and Blood of the Lord, one cannot help but believe that angels are present here every time this sacrament is performed. 154. Just as in the parable, kvass put into flour continuously acts, leaving it sour until it brings the entire mass to complete sourness, so the restorative forces, placed through the embodied economy not only in humanity, but also in all creation, act and do their work. How and what is done in the general realm of existence is invisible to us, but what is done in the Church and especially in every believer is visible. The Lord Savior, the grace of the Holy Spirit, the guardian angels, the saints of God and the entire structure of the Holy Church recreate and improve souls and through this complete the Kingdom of God. And it will continue like this until everything predetermined is fulfilled. Glory to the boundless love of mankind, who led us into this current of the salvific restoration of all with the promise to lead us into His perfect Kingdom, if we prove ourselves worthy of it. 155. When the soul is deeply disturbed by the movements of some passion, then it loses its peaceful dispensation for a long time, becomes unstable, shaky and unfit for prayer. The Lord leaves her - and she barks. Repentance and tension prepare one for composure, and holy communion completely restores the proper structure of the soul. 156. God, having created the world, gave everything a course in accordance with the purpose of the world, known to Him alone. The forces of the world, according to the laws laid down in them, continuously act on their own, supported by the almighty right hand of God only in their existence. But God, who is omnipresent and contains everything, often enters into the flow of things that proceed in this way, with a special influence, here or here, not due to the error of the direction of the acting physical forces, but according to His special plans, the implementation of which could not be entrusted to the physical forces either in parts or in their combined action. This is especially seen as necessary because of the freedom of rational creatures, by which they can deviate from the direction determined by the will of God in the general plan of existence. Since such deviation upsets the general flow towards the goal according to the plan of world existence, it is necessary to return them to the proper direction so that the common goal is achieved. This is accomplished by special direct influences of God in addition to natural forces. The central influence of this kind is the embodied economy, around which all others revolve. 157. There is mental life - and mental faith on mental grounds; and mental prayer, moving in mental ideas; and mental activity according to the definitions of the mind. And this is life, but not real. There is no heart here, and it is left with the opportunity to configure itself in its own way, regardless of the philosophizing. It also moves under the impressions of mental ideas, but superficially, just as the surface of waters is roughened by the light breath of the wind. Since this kind of action does not go into the depths of the heart, its formation and structure go on as usual - perhaps not at all corresponding to mental constructions. 158. God's gifts of grace are different - and different gifts come in different degrees. So in the natural order: some are for painting, some for music, some for sculpting, some for other things are the most capable; and in each genus these abilities are revealed in different degrees. For example, we see so many people who are capable of painting, but some are mediocre, others are very good, others are excellent. And all of them, not excluding the last ones, are still only imitators. Above them are the originals. So it is in spiritual life. Prayer, for example, is a gift, but prayer books stand at different degrees of prayer. This happens in matters of faith, and in works of charity, and in deeds of selflessness, and in everything. We must assume that this depends on the person himself. God is generous and ready to reward everyone, no matter how much someone can accommodate or how much capacity someone manages to form within themselves. Here, however, are the secrets of God’s providence for each and every one. For everything is from God and natural, and not only gracious. 159. My Father works hitherto, and I work, said the Lord. Of course, the Holy Spirit also works inseparably with Them. What are they doing? They lead the world to its final destination, the One Trinitarian God known. How? Through the works assigned to each creature. Creatures are called into being, so that each in its own place and at its own time does its specific work. By each creature doing its own thing, the world moves towards its destination. Similar to this is a brass music orchestra. Reasonable creatures must realize this - and diligently do what is right for anyone in their circle. 160. The final end of the movement of the world can be recognized as its spiritualization in rational creatures by a moral order, and in others by some other order. St. Paul gives reason to think this way when he says that in the next century our body will not only be incorruptible, but also somewhat spiritual and even spiritual. Since even then it will not be isolated from the whole concert of being, but will consist of an essential connection with everything, then we must conclude that everything will be coordinated with it, that is, not only incorrupted, but also spiritualized. We see this spiritualization taking place in rational creatures due to the incarnate economy. But we must assume that, by virtue of the same economy, it also takes place in the material world, only invisible - we must believe this because of the boundless greatness of the embodied economy. But at the end of the world this invisible will appear visibly, and everything will be spiritualized. Doesn't this mean: the sky will be new and the earth will be new? This appearance of them now will grow old and disappear. 161. since God’s first determination about man is that he should be in a living union with God, and this union is expressed when someone lives in God with his mind and heart, then as soon as someone strives for such a life and, even more so, becomes involved in it to some extent, it must be said that he fulfills the task of life for which he was introduced during existence. Let the worker in this kind of life be aware of this and let him not be embarrassed that he is not clearly doing any things, especially important ones. This one thing brings everything together. 162. The Trinitarian God leads the world to its final destination. Since the urgent condition for the completeness of the world is the salvation of people, all of God’s care is now directed towards this. His only concern is to convert sinners and to cleanse and spiritualize those who have converted. For this is the entire incarnate economy, for this are the angels and the saints. All forces are directed towards this, and everyone continuously acts in this way at the behest of God. But not everyone is saved. Because God does not force anyone. Anyone can judge what percentage of those who are willing is by the percentage of those who are perfect in all generations. indifferent, indifferent. You might be interested in: