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Bishop Filaret. N. D. Shprevich. 1864(?) Bone, gouache, watercolor. CAC MDA Your highest blessing, dearest parent! To receive good news about your health was enough to make me happy. But to see the fulfillment of a desire is new proof of tender condescending care - after this, who could be more pleased with me? How should I respond to your love? Of course, by fulfilling your instructions, your advice, your desires! I received your touching letter. I feel the value of the power of attorney with which you show me your position closer and allow me to participate in your thoughts. They give me an opportunity to think more carefully about light. I imagine that I, too, must one day enter this dubious scene, which I now look at from the outside, where ignorance and prejudice often applaud, malice and envy boo... And I must follow this path, where stones and gold are thrown under my feet, over which inexperience or imprudence equally conveniently stumbles... I pray to God to keep you for me further and longer, so that with the guidance of your advice and your experience I can more easily gain mine. […] Archpastor 11 made us happy with his arrival, but at the same time saddened us with complaints about his health. This day he did not officiate; Yes, we did not have the pleasure of seeing him at all. To our consolation, we read his new sermon for the past New Year, sent to us from him, at the end of which there is a remarkable humble request for forgiveness by the shepherd from the flock. This is how a Christian always prepares for death: but she is afraid of those who see her... I wish you to see her and not be visible from her. […] In one of your letters you distinguish between concerns about one yourself and concerns about many. The comparison appears to be clear and the advantage is visible. But why didn’t you say a word about the consolations of one and the consolations of many? I consider this necessary for a perfect comparison and would like to know your opinion. When I find in some a tendency towards ambition and even cunning, I ask: do they not want to supplement their moderate care for themselves? When I notice in others the emerging cruelty of character or passion for drunkenness, I think: does this not prove the emptiness that the lack of consolation from others leaves in them? I know that the condition does not give rise to vices: only it seems to me that they sometimes indicate the displeasures associated with the condition. I would describe to you these displeasures, how many times I noticed them: but I have already written what I should only talk about. […] I’ll tell you about myself that sometimes I encounter troubles, sometimes difficulties; but I find more pleasure in my condition and useful activities. The future makes me somewhat difficult: but, unable to clarify its gloom, I calm down, turning my gaze away from it, and wait until some rays fall, which should show me the way. Perhaps this will be called frivolity: but I call it trust in Providence. If I desire something and I encounter obstacles in achieving the object of desire, I think that it was not chance that pushed them against me, and therefore I hesitate without complaining and wait for what will happen next. It seems to me that a few years of indecision are more forgivable than a minute of rashness where a whole life is at stake. Let whoever wants to run after the will-o’-the-fire of happiness: I walk calmly, because I don’t see constant light anywhere. I offer you these thoughts, expecting a fair trial from your experience, and I hope to learn your opinion over time. […] I don’t know for sure whether you will like the news that I will tell you now: however, if your heart speaks in your letters, I hope that I did not offend you and did not act against your permission, taking one important step of my own free will, out of contented, I dare say, reflection. Father! Vasily will be gone soon; but you will not lose your son: a son who understands that he owes you more than his life, feels the importance of upbringing and knows the value of your heart. Forgive me; I didn’t think of daring to praise you and I don’t know how it came out 12. […] View of the house in which Metropolitan Philaret was born, in Kolomna, near the Church of the Epiphany You want to know the circumstances of my new condition. But I hardly see anything new around me. Same lifestyle; the same exercises; the same position; the same calmness, except that before, for some time, I sometimes thought: will something happen? Will something happen? And now I don’t think about that either. His Eminence 13 honors me with such favor that I did not even dare to wish... I rarely saw a boss, more often a father, a mentor. […] I repeat: be calm. You can lose your earthly benefactors: Heavenly Providence leaves no one. You can part with your loved ones: He who alone loves each of us more than all people together is always with us. He does good to us even when we don’t want to. […] I consider it unnecessary to inform you that I had the opportunity to be in the local sacristy. What a collection of ancient and new, richness and taste! What a wealth of silver, gold, pearls, and stones! It’s a pity that, running through all this with my eyes, I only got confused, and it turned out to be just a mixed imagination of objects. The ancient embroidered images of saints and the shroud seemed strange and scary to me, although some of those present praised, looking at them, the art of their ancestors... Many vestments, laden with pearls and gold; Godunov’s half-pearl veil, of which the pearls are predominantly large: another veil, on which absolutely nothing is visible except pearls - all this surprises, but does not attract. No matter how much there is here that is rare and precious, the tired gaze soon turns away from looking for another object. Everything is already forgotten at one glance at the clothes of the throne and the altar, velvet, decorated with embroidery and pearls. One of them shows Jesus Christ carrying a large pearl cross. All the spectators exclaim, and I am almost the last to leave. You are amazed when, among such rare works of art and nature, you see vestments made from simple dark Chinese fabric. The ramen they wore makes up their price. There is also a wooden vessel with a paten, which the monk used. […] We had an exam and received a vacation. My first experience was not as bad as I had feared, according to the news. I alone at the seminary received exceptional gratitude and approval from their Eminences - Novgorod and Ryazan 14, who were present at the test. I know that from this one should not draw either good conclusions about oneself or bad ones about others. […] Utinam bonum esse contingat, minus sollicitum, an bene mihi sit 15! I know that they are complaining about me in the laboratory. It is true that I am silent. And there were people there who were too talkative. I didn’t write what I felt: but they said what I don’t know. […] Having nothing more to tell you about myself, I want to tell you what I heard from one general, a man who deserves all credit, about one extraordinary person. This is a woman who has been lying in one place for more than fifteen years... The next incident happened to one lady, from whom the mentioned general personally learned about it. This lady deliberately went to the sufferer with her sick sister after many doctors abandoned her. When asked for help, the sufferer said: “What can I do? Am I not the same as you? “But give me some instruction,” the begging woman continued. - “Pray to God.” – I prayed, but God did not hear me. - “It looks like there is little faith.” - Finally, at an urgent request, the sufferer advised applying a birch leaf to the wound. But now it’s winter,” said the lady. She replied: “Stupid! Do you have brooms? It is not medicine that heals, but God.” This instruction was carried out, and after three days the patient completely recovered. I recounted this incident to you exactly as I heard it: because in such things nothing is more necessary than fidelity. It seems to me that I see true rays of light here: I would like to know your opinion. […] It is in vain that you talk about my merits: I feel in the depths of my heart that I am not happy because of my merits. I also attribute to your virtues and prayers that God made me partly an instrument of your due reward. Don’t stop asking God so that I won’t be ungrateful to His Providence, the traces of which I see and feel in my life! I wouldn’t mind saying that I was tested at the Institute for the Deaf and Mutes. They and they speak to each other with their hands, and to visitors with chalk on the blackboard. Solve arithmetic problems and theological questions. The soul is in their eyes. It is curious, pleasant and pathetic to see them. […] Your highest blessing! Dearest parent! In my last letter, in which I sent money to you, I said that the weakness of your health occupies me both in reality and in my dreams. I remain in this state to this day. I am trying to follow the example of devotion to the will of God, which I have always seen in you, and the best consolation in my present situation is the thought that you place the firmest foundation of peace and hope in the Doctor of souls and bodies. I too resort to Him in my unworthy prayers and, not having the opportunity to serve you more closely during your weakness, I pray to Him, by His omnipotent Providence, to arrange everything so that your external sorrow is dissolved by the inner consolation of faith and hope, and so that whether ordinary human means or His single invisible power will return your bodily composition to its strength, and together with you, our entire race will be given new consolation to see the good in this. of the Lord on the land of the living. […] Autograph of a letter in verse to his father dated November 4, 1804 with congratulations on his name day and birthday An unknown something acquainted me with the misfortune with which God was pleased to visit us, even before it came true. It would take a long time to retell to you the feelings that I had from time to time: thanks to Providence that I was prepared by preliminary grief in order to better endure the blow that had taken place. May His will be done in everything! We must all prepare to follow the one for whom we are now shedding tears. May our Lord, who is Resurrection and Life, grant him and us the grace to see each other in the resurrection of life! […] God of patience and comfort is with you. Let us cast our sorrow upon him. Sorry. Your obedient and devoted son Most honorable priest! Dear brother! 16 The Lord of life knows when to take it and to whom to bestow it. It remains for us to deliver those who depart from this life into His hands, and to receive those who come into this life from His hands. Let us be submissive to Him and grateful for everything! I am also consoled by your consolation. May the Lord confirm and preserve the name of grace given to the newborn in his soul. […] Be healthy and prosperous, dear brother! Your letter, dear brother, 17 I have received. That you begin to feel consolation in our common sadness, that is how I am consoled. You cannot be without sadness: but you should not indulge in it. God is the Father of everyone, whether anyone has or has not a father on earth. Everyone is alive with Him. What is lacking for consolation to him who has God as his father? It is only necessary that we try to be His true children, through faith in Him, through trust in Him, through prayer to Him and through fulfilling His commandments. Here is an inexhaustible source of consolation. […] Some sad news from your region, which there is no need to expand on, prompts me to say a few words of warning to you. Beware, as much as possible, of meeting and communicating with people whose morals are questionable. When you see a bad example, do not be tempted by the thought that people do evil with impunity; evil, not punished soon, prepares great trouble for the one who did it. Try to do your job carefully and faithfully as much as you can: and then entrust the measure of success and your well-being to God, often resorting to Him with secret heartfelt prayer; and He will keep you. […] Maintain kindness and see righteousness, for there is a remnant for a peaceful man 18. Philaret, Bishop of Revel To the question about books, I will say the apostolic word: imams, the most famous prophetic - and apostolic - word: whoever heeds...do good, until the day dawns, and the morning star shines in your hearts 19: and when this follows, then in this light it will be visible which book was written by the spirit of Christ and which by the Antichrist. I advise you to read more and more and study the Holy Scriptures, and from them the holy fathers, and of them I can especially approve for you 20 Tikhon of Voronezh: in this, although not deep, river there is golden sand. It is not useful for us to correspond about other people's quarrels, so as not to fall into similar ones ourselves. […] I regret the dispute over primacy. I do not give myself the right to indicate; and it’s already too late: but it seems it would be better to avoid such cases; It would be better to talk about this in advance, not through a deacon, not among the church, and, in case of contradiction, not to force it, but to ask for permission from the authorities. The Gospel tells us to look for the last place, not the first place. And people prefer meekness and patience rather than harassment. I know a man who, in two cases, ceded the advantages granted to him by the highest decree: and having thus learned from experience that advantages would only feed pride in him, and enmity in another, and the renunciation served to calm both him and the other, he considers this renunciation happiness for himself. In lesser advantages, undemandingness is more convenient, but the consequences are the same. However, I can only wish that what happened would end calmly and that there would be no sting left for the offended. […] Use the little that the Lord has given with patience and hope for His mercy. If it is His will, a good opportunity will not hesitate to open up; if His will is not done, our powers can never fulfill our desires. […] Your diligent brother and servant Filaret, Archbishop of Tver You write the truth that you need peace of mind; for the Kingdom of God is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit 22. But this peace does not mean that others do not bother us; for this is impossible in this world: but this is so that we ourselves do not leave peace for earthly trifles. For this you need to arm yourself with patience and prayer with trust in God. Cast your sorrow upon the Lord 23 . I don’t dare, dear Madam Mother, to advise you: but I won’t condemn your tears as prejudice; they are natural. Only, it seems to me, it is not our reason that can truly help in this, but Christian hope, as the apostle says. There is no God of the dead, but a God of the living 24, for to Him all things live 25. By resorting to Him, we become closer to each other, and we comfort ourselves more comfortably about each other. May He grant you His consolation. […] Most honorable priest, dear sir grandfather! 26 I thank my son for your letter, filled with love and good instructions. And if I have served you in any small way, for that I do not deserve your gratitude in the least. On the contrary, I always remain grateful to you for your love, which from my youth consoled me and guided me to goodness. In the Kingdom of God, should I forestall others, burdened with my own and many others’ sins? May the Lord give you an honorable place at His heavenly supper: so that I, although among the last, may not lose this honor and see you in the joy of our Lord, do not leave me to remember in your prayers what I, due to my weakness, always want to do in relation to you. Bringing zealous respect to you and your grandmother, I remain your devoted servant Filaret, Archbishop of Moscow Dear Madam Mother! I participate in your and your brother’s and sister-in-law’s sadness about your baby. But this is what I tell them: doesn’t it happen that you take something pleasant for them from the hands of children, and in this case demand obedience from them, and do not want them to grumble? Show yourselves to the Heavenly Father the obedience that you demand from your children. It is especially indecent to grieve much about infants who go to God in the grace of baptism before they have known the evil of the days of this age. From the dangerous path of earthly life, without experiencing danger, they move to a land of safety. Parents should not cry about them, but watch over themselves, so that they can go the right way to where the mourned children will be found in joy. I pray to God to strengthen and comfort those who mourn. The matter now in my hands gives me the opportunity to ask my brother to look more closely at the affairs of the board. Positions are assigned to tame harmful people and protect good ones; and the best fruit of fulfilling the office is the blessing that a person acquires every time he protects the peace of the innocent. […] Thank you for the maternal blessing you sent me on the occasion of my Angel Day. It consoles me, and I believe that it strengthens me in my weaknesses, according to the power that the word of God attributes to parental blessing. […] I ask for your blessings and prayers again. Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow It was very painful for me to learn about the unfavorable state of your health and that certain concerns are preventing its improvement. I ask you to consider that the difficulty encountered is of a kind that could neither be foreseen nor avoided. Consequently, this is a visitation from God: and we have no choice but to humbly surrender to the will of God. And the Lord sends difficulties for our good, although we often do not see what good and how they will bring. He does not allow one to be tempted any more than one might; and creates with temptation and excess or liberation from difficulties. With such reflections, calm your spirit and with prayer call upon the mercy of God, so that it may turn sorrow into consolation and joy. […] Portrait of the mother of St. Philaret Evdokia Nikitichna Drozdova It is fair to place your hope in God for yourself and your children: but this does not exclude careful attention to how best to lead children, and the duty of vigilantly supervising them. Love for them should not act independently, but under the guidance of sound reasoning. And the good heart of children can be led to the wrong path. Parental experience should be vigilant over them 27 . […] Rev. Sergius bless you: and you bless me. From this holiday I send you blessed bread. […] Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow Tell your mother that I ask for her blessing and, to the consolation of all of us, I ask you to use medical advice and remedies. God created a doctor and medicine. That she first of all resorted to the means of faith is correct, useful for her, and edifying for us. Then there is no need to neglect natural means given by God, if I dare to remind her of this. […] Letters to Emperor Alexander II 28 Who has known the mind of the Lord? The wise apostle said and in this question he found a permissive answer to difficult thoughts. Who will resolve the thoughts excited by the events of the twelfth day 29? Why was a young tree, carefully nurtured, ready to bear fruit, and promising the desired fruits suddenly taken away from the magnificent garden? Why did the invisible hand extinguish the bright hopes that were supposed to ensure the continuation of light for the future of Russia? Are the prayers of the Most Pious Parents for their firstborn, the prayers of the faithful people, not heard? Neither a testing thought nor a feeling of grief left to oneself will give its own answer to this. Metropolitan Philaret anoints Emperor Alexander II August 26, 1856 V. Timm Let the calming resolution of these thoughts be better sought in the sacred word of truth: Who has known the mind of the Lord? How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways (Rom. 11:34,33). But despite this incomprehensibility, it is undoubtedly known that all the ways of the Lord are mercy and true to those who keep His covenant (Ps. 24:10). Therefore, there is no doubt that the Lord is faithful in hearing prayer. He heard it, accepted it and fulfilled it, only not according to the thoughts of parental and domestic love, which wanted to keep the Blessed Tsarevich for the difficult feats of the earthly kingdom in difficult times, but fulfilled it according to the understanding of His Divine mind, which foresaw as the best thing to soon call him to the Kingdom of Heaven. The wisdom and love of the Lord were present in this decision. So, doesn’t a grieving soul submit to God (Ps. 61:2)? Before His incomprehensible wisdom and always undoubted goodness, let the searching thought bow, worried feelings subside, and sadness dissolve with pure spiritual consolation. I pray to the All-merciful God the Father and His Incarnate Son, tempted by immeasurable sorrows, for the relief of our sorrows, His Most Pure Mother, who experienced unparalleled maternal sorrows, that the great parental sorrow of Your Imperial Majesties will be dissolved, alleviated, sweetened with gracious consolation, and the deprivation that your parental love suffered will be rewarded in your faithful children, whose goodness God bless you. The Holy Church has beneficially arranged that each member of her name bears in her name the memory of the holy and the good and, consequently, the impulse to the good and the holy. The name of Saint Alexander contains the memory of the Grand Duke, who, in the face of an unfaithful ruler, under the threat of death, did not hesitate to confess his faith, who with his wisdom repelled the attempts of the non-Orthodox from Orthodoxy, who, with the Neva victory, predicted from the distance of centuries your Neva capital. There is no doubt that when you named your name, there was also a thought about Alexander I, the Blessed, who, in times of trial, was strengthened by faith; and by faith he overcame the oppressor of Europe and became its leader. What uplifting memories worthy of you! […] You are right to argue that the event of April 4, 30, was unleashed on us because of the impoverishment of faith and the relaxation of morals. But, by the grace of God, this is not yet a punishment. Providence told us through the event: “You are worthy of terrible punishment, and it was one hair away from you; be aroused by correction and mercy, correct yourself.” Will we obey? This is a difficult question to ask. Your Majesty’s caring thought that N... 31 does not belong to the Orthodox Church is characteristic of love for Orthodoxy and for one’s soul. May your soul bring this in peaceful prayer to the Savior of all and may it rest in silence before His wisdom and mercy, without experiencing His fate. He is rich in mercy and means of salvation for believers. Perhaps it is not the right time to present to your attention an event that I know fairly well. Recently there lived in Moscow a patient 32 who was sincerely devoted. Orthodoxy, which from time to time saw some of the departed and prayed with it, reinforcing its patience; and others asked for prayers for themselves. One day, between them, she saw a Protestant pastor, whom she had previously known in one of the southern cities of Russia, who was very favorable towards Orthodoxy, but remained not attached to the Orthodox Church. The seer asked him: “Why are you here? You are not ours." He answered: “No, yours, in the dying hours of my life the Monk Sergius appeared to me and anointed me with the Holy Myrrh.” Can we say that this is true? But on the contrary, is it possible to prove that this is a dream? In devotion, may the Lord accept your suffering and illness as an acceptable and all-saving sacrifice to Him. […] Letter to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna 33 May You be comforted by the memory of how significantly the Lord blessed his life in his last days and hours, in which the bright features of the king and father of the family, a Christian, despite the exhaustion of the outer man, shone so strongly, so edifyingly and beneficially! Your prayer connected with his last prayer. Death has no power over this union. It extends from time to eternity. Prayer brings us closer to God, and near this center of beings and worlds, that which is separation in a world of change is not separated. With the prayer of faith and hope, cast your sorrow upon the Lord 34 . Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. Unknown artist Letters to A.P. Akhmatov 35 The rector of the academy yesterday, while I was serving the liturgy, was decorated with a miter 36. And now he was with me in concelebration of the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral. Thanks to the most merciful Sovereign, and then to your intercession before him. We, who are trustingly and at the same time instructively called spiritual, must take care of internal and spiritual decorations. Those who introduced a variety of external decorations should have had a discerning and careful thought. But when a custom has been established, it is inconvenient to make unnecessary something for which there was no need before. […] I wrote to Your Excellency about the opening of the Moscow Duma in church terms. It happened to me to tell one of my brothers in the service how arbitrarily they acted, they replaced the great shrine of the liturgy with home worship, and this is not in order; instead of preparing the conscience through prayer and teaching to reverently take the oath, the oath was taken first of all, even before the full meeting, as something unimportant; Finally, after walking around the house to sprinkle holy water, the teaching appeared as if something had been torn off and belated. The interlocutor answered me: apparently, God punished them for this inattention to the Church. How? For this ceremony they arranged a new holy bowl of water, decoration for the icon of the Mother of God of Iveron, which was to be brought, and carpets. All this was stolen the night before the ceremony. This is how our freedom moves, this is how our self-government opens! […] Your Excellency, Dear Sir! It is with sincere condolences that I learn of the death of your son 38. May the Lord grant you meekness of spirit and meek obedience to His inscrutable destinies, in order to endure this visitation of God with moderate sadness and with the consolation of hope, which even through the darkness of the tomb sees the good light of God. Baron L. TO . Bode. Miniature by Ya. Ya. Reichel. Watercolor. 1815. Tretyakov Gallery In accordance with your wishes, I allowed his body to be laid in the church you created 39. Calling on you God's blessing, reinforcement and consolation, with perfect respect and devotion, I have the honor to be Your Excellency's most humble servant 40 Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow Letters to A. Ya. Bulgakov 41 For now, in absentia, I congratulate Your Excellency on your new place of service and invoke God’s blessing on you. Thank you most humbly for delivering the letter. Your Excellency's most humble servant With gratitude for satisfying my curiosity, I return to Your Excellency two letters from a French magazine. Anyone who knows at least somewhat the history of the beginning of the union in Russia 43 will more easily see in the pope's manifesto 44 that an infallible sinner against the truth is like a fairy tale; and therefore the ignorant can guess about the slander of modern events. It is a pity that Europe willingly trusted slander against Russia: just as those who have now lost virtue willingly believe slander against the good. I invite your blessing. A . I . Bulgakov. Artist K. A. Gorbunov I return with gratitude French sheet 46 to Your Excellency. This one seems worse than the previous one. So one could laugh, as dad freezes the former unit 47, not realizing that the reunion took place in the summer, or being confident that in Russia you can freeze in the summer. Here slander is marked by the revenge of a fool, and by a more cunning one by malice, in an effort to quarrel with Russia's allies - but our king imashes the hope of the God of righteousness. I invoke God's blessing upon you, remaining with true reverence I ask Your Excellency to kindly forgive my slowness. My illness often leads to inactivity. I will try to finish reading the book and return it soon. I am extremely saddened by the news from Crimea. And I was beginning to calm down when Prince Alexander Nikolaevich dictated and signed the last letter, which he refused in the previous letter. Let's pray and hope for the best. Invoking your blessing, with utmost respect I have the honor to be Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow With gratitude I return the Review to Your Excellency. The overview of the Roman Catholic movement is interesting, and some of the writer’s opinions are noteworthy, although his way of thinking is not such that one can agree with him in everything. Remarks about persecution in Russia are supposedly expressions of the opinion of those who do not know the matter or, better yet, do not want to know, out of bias. With utmost respect, I have the honor to be I return the book with gratitude to Your Excellency. I was curious about the review of the so-called Roman Catholic movement in France. He shows that the French clergy is not rich in true agents; that it is not at peace, like everyone else in France; that, not content with the freedom to do good according to its rank, it does not lose the old habit of extending its influence beyond its borders; that its leaders, boasting of the unity of the Church, in their disagreements represent a Babylonian confusion; that it wants to raise madness, almost on its own head. Filaret, m[itroyolite] Moskovsky Having asked a lot from Your Excellency for forgiveness in delay due to oblivion, I gratefully return a rather curious book, given to me according to the will of the late Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev 53. Invoking God's blessing to you, I remain with complete respect Your Excellency, dear Sovereign! In my solitude, having received an invitation from Your Excellency, I renewed my subscription to build a church in (Karan?) and hereby forward the signed amount, with the desire to continue the success already achieved. If the rejection of a subscription without a name relies on vanity, which does not allow one to sign as little with a name as one would sign without a name, then wouldn’t it be worthy of the subject, and, by the way, for Moscow, to count on a private Christian disposition, which does not allow the swindler to know what the right hand is doing? We often receive significant offerings for churches and when asked from whom, we receive the answer: from someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Thus, many people have signed a book without a name: with a name they will sign less or sign nothing. Asking you not to be angry at this reflection and calling upon you the blessing of God, I have the honor to be with true respect and devotion. Your Excellency's most humble servant Letter to A. N. Golitsyn 56 My jealousy, which has truly turned out to be jealousy beyond reason, worries me again. Today I hear that the body of the deceased Emperor 57 is supposed to be placed in the Assumption Cathedral. I don't know an example of this. This is the Coronation Cathedral. Since ancient times, all sad ceremonies have been performed in a cathedral in Arkhangelskoye. And the late sovereign, during his last stay in Moscow, listened to a memorial service in Arkhangelskoye on August 29, the day on which the testamentary act was submitted to the Assumption Cathedral. One objection: Arkhangelskoye is crowded. However, it is possible. However, I present this to your Excellency, just in case: I will do whatever is commanded, as the best. I think, however, that the thought of the people, accustomed here to the constancy of church customs, falls more on Arkhangelsk. […] Prince A. N. Golitsyn. K. Bryullov. 1840 Now I learn that the placing of the body in the Assumption Cathedral was announced by the highest order. Consequently, my jealousy is no longer to reflect, but to do what is commanded. […] Letter to D.V. Golitsyn 58 There is no congratulation so fair and meaningful as congratulations on the Resurrection of Christ, the solemn beginning of Christianity. From the Resurrection of Christ we inherit our resurrection: mental - from ignorance to knowledge of God, moral resurrection - from sin to virtue, spiritual resurrection - from death to eternal life, not excluding the body, now mortal; finally, even the revival of what is best in human life: for the difference between Christian and non-Christian peoples is similar to the difference between the dead and the living. […] Prince D.V. Golitsyn. F. A. Riese. 1835 Letters to S. M. Golitsyn 59 You complain about the strictness of the third marriage rule, taking pity on the director 60. Remember what the apostle said about the mystery of marriage: I speak into Christ and into the Church 61. Marriage is mysterious, as an image of the spiritual union between Christ and the Church. Christ has one bride - the Church, and the Church - the one Bridegroom of Christ: therefore the perfect image of this union is a single marriage union. Consequently, a second marriage in Christianity is leniency: and whoever demands leniency a second time is little worthy of leniency. This is the thought of the Church Fathers about the third marriage. It’s enough that they don’t deprive him of leniency a second time, although with reproach. […] For several days now, the news that has reached me about the sadness that has visited your family through the inscrutable destinies of God prompts me to share with you the feeling of heartfelt participation. […] With all that, I was warned by Your Excellency’s letter, which I have just received. Thus it happened that instead of consoling you from me, consolation was given to me from you. For as sad as it was for me to imagine you in sorrow, it is so comforting now to see that you are dissolving your sadness with Christian consolation, giving thanks to God for the fact that she who went to Him prepared herself for this through fasting and prayer and the Divine Sacrament. […] I earnestly wish Christian consolation to your entire family, who know the dignity of this consolation and its superiority over any other. I understand that it is especially difficult for a distressed mother to feel, so to speak, the taste of this consolation. For this, I would advise her, among other things, to diligently resort to the Great Mother, Who experienced maternal grief. One is incomparably greater than all the mothers together, when she saw Her Only Begotten and Divine Son on the Cross rather than in the tomb. According to the predictive saying of Simeon, a weapon passed through Her soul 62: however, Divine grace found medicine to heal Her; and since the grace-filled is Divine, the Divine is infinite, then the healing given to Her is not exhausted in Her for Her alone; but, since there is a spiritual law that the tempted one can help the tempted one 63, then the once sorrowful Mother of the Lord at the Cross now possesses an inexhaustible treasure of consolation for every sorrowful mother who resorts with faith to Her, and through Her to Her Son and God, who sends the Comforter Spirit from the Father. With this in mind, turning my thoughts to the time at which you will receive this letter, I say to you first this summer: “Christ is Risen!” May He visit you not only with consolation, but also with the joy of resurrection, which, according to His promise, no one will take from those who have found it 64. […] My secretary is truly sicker than me; however, we bear each other’s infirmities: and just as I don’t want to change him, it seems that he doesn’t want to change me either. Let us endure, in the hope of God's mercy. […] You would like to know my handwriting. See him. How much attention and time is now spent on perishable features and writing! It is good for him who diligently examines the features of the law of God, from which not one will pass away, 65 who keeps pure and clear the scripture that the spirit of faith writes on the tablets of the heart. If you consider yourself among those who listen to my weak word, then in this I see your love for Christian truth and condescension towards weakness. With regret I read the report about what happened to the holy icon of your church and your home during the religious procession 66. I ordered that an explanation be taken from the priest as to why protective measures were not taken when he knew the composition of the icon. But this more or less exposes the priest’s carelessness: and the splendor of the image will not be restored, since it has been reduced. You must turn to your soul and ask it to look with a peaceful eye at the changed image of the Queen of Heaven and see in it Her blessing that continues and has not changed to you: for you have done a good deed, allowing Her icon to be taken into the procession and thereby promoting the faith of those praying. And what the Lord arranges differently about His visible shrine, sometimes placing it above the laws of nature, and sometimes not prohibiting the action of these laws: we know this from many former cases. […] It would please Your Excellency to know my opinion about the benefits of the proposed public journal of natural sciences, and especially whether it can be hoped that it will serve “to improve the material life of the people” and “to establish true morality and religiosity among the people.” Prince S. M. Golitsyn. V. A. Tropinin. 1820s IAHM "New Jerusalem" It is not entirely convenient to judge this when the program of the proposed journal is not in mind. But judging by the known state and movement of the natural sciences, the knowledge they represent is far from serving “to improve the material life of the people.” Today's explorers of nature are mostly engaged in the discovery of new and description of known species of creatures of one or another kingdom of nature, without caring to discover traces of the wisdom of God in creatures. From the continued accumulation of materials in this way, I don’t know how much true science and the life of the people gain. And when natural scientists touch on the natural works of the antediluvian world, then fragmentary information is usually supplemented with arbitrary theories, which, when they become publicly known, can do nothing except shake faith in the Sacred Traditions about the beginning of the world, because the disagreements of these theories with these Traditions are easily striking, and most natural scientists do not care about their agreement. Therefore, it is very doubtful that the journal of natural sciences would serve “to establish true morality and religiosity among the people.” However, things may be beyond hope. If the magazine shows up and delivers what it promises, it will deserve encouragement. […] The psalm sings: open your way to the Lord..., and He will create 67. But we must be able to open the way to the Lord, and especially by correcting the paths of our lives. […] The news of a new visitation of God 68 has also reached our desert dwellers, which again calls you to demonstrate the experience of faith, not shaken by the transitory image of this world, and filial obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father. I hope that your inner man will be faithful, steadfast and peaceful in this trial. But I pray to you, with the help of God and the power of devotion to the will of God, to keep your outer man from much shock, and to moderate sadness, and to preserve peace of soul. We need to move from the visible to the invisible: the Lord is faithful and good to determine who is better off when, who is better off, who is better off, who is better off, who is better off later. You can easily judge that it would be more difficult for your two sisters to guide and guide you than for you to guide them: and therefore justify God’s dispensation and accept it as a blessing that your brotherly love has been entrusted with guiding and guiding them. It is necessary to tell the truth, at least it is necessary to tell one that makes you ashamed. By the grace of God, yesterday at the liturgy I did not forget to remember you before the Lord; and that this was the day of your Angel, I remembered today in the liturgy. Forgive my poor memory, which hinders me a lot. […] I return to Your Excellency the Kiev teaching. Sorry. It didn't really captivate me. The first year of the reign is described with dark features beyond need 69. What's the use of this? We must speak instructions, instructions: nothing can be deduced from this. The preacher says that Sevastopol has been “given” to the enemies. Not true. Its northern part has not been given back to this day. He says: “The enemies are triumphant.” Wrong. The British have been defeated by us; and for the French there is little triumph when they are repulsed from several fortifications and only take one. Struggling with the question: “Why are the enemies not punished?” Here again there is an inaccuracy. They have been punished a lot: many of them died as a result of the war, many were destroyed by disease and storms at sea. Consequently, justice should not only be expected in the future, but part of it has already appeared. Say that the sovereign “could not renounce the world” 70. Again an inaccuracy that has an unfavorable appearance. What kind of impossibility? The sovereign had the power to continue the war, but decided to prefer peace. If God sends something unpleasant, we must humbly acknowledge it, but not exaggerate it; for this can lead to discouragement, and not to benefit. […] Having read it with regret, I return to Your Excellency the illegal printed sheet. It's a pity for Moscow, Russia and the government. Foreigners who are ill-wishers of Russia are already accustomed to think badly of it, to believe; and the bad opinion about us will increase. Of course, we are not saved by the opinions of foreigners: however, good opinions should be preserved for good purposes. […] A . IN . Golovin. Photo of the second half of the 19th century. Letter to A.V. Golovin 71 I pray to God that He will bless the feat that you are embarking on for the successful and truly beneficial spread of enlightenment and education for the Fatherland, through the action of not only the light that the human mind produces from the contemplation of nature, but also that which descends from above from the Father of lights. […] Letters to M. M. Evreinov 72 Prayer for each other is the best of communication. The imperfections of prayer should be corrected if possible, but one should not be discouraged by them. It is necessary to distinguish between the work of prayer and the pleasure in it. A person does the work, and must do it constantly and unremittingly according to the rule and order: and God gives consolation by grace, when it is necessary to attract or strengthen a person and when a person can accept it. In the same way, the feeling of one’s own weakness should not be used to become burdened and lose heart, but to abandon hope in oneself and, through prayer for help, move on to hope in God. So the apostle tells the Corinthians that he did not hope to remain alive, and this happened for this reason, he continues, so that we should not hope in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead 73. That’s why he also says: I am strong in weakness... when... I am weak, then I am strong 74. May Almighty God work His saving power even in our weaknesses! […] It is difficult, and therefore it is a pity when they go from one extreme to another. In my opinion, in relations between monastics and the worldly, great prudence is always needed, which does not consist in allowing unlimited permission today and limitlessly prohibiting tomorrow. […] If I believed what you say about laziness, I would tell you: go to wickedness 75. But I hope that there is no need to send you so far. Against our weakness, sinfulness, and insignificance there is the infinite goodness and omnipotent mercy of God. And God has put something in us against laziness: for if we know how to overcome laziness and work tirelessly and tirelessly for worldly benefits, as can often be seen in many, then why not excite ourselves to exploits for the Kingdom of Heaven? And since we are excited, God shows us His work and grants us the power to do it, but not sometimes so that we can immediately see the success of the work; but it is enough that we do not let obstacles and despair overcome us. However, the spiritual house, for the most part, is being built in the same way as, according to legend, the church of the Kyiv Lavra: while they were building, it was not much higher than the ground; but the whole thing appeared when everything was completed. […] I don’t want to agree with you in comparing your spiritual church with the church on Sparrow Hills. There is no foundation here: but in you the foundation, which, according to the Apostle, is Jesus Christ 76, was laid by holy baptism. I hope that you have built something: let the Great Creator God, according to your faith, do the rest, according to what was said: God will increase. Open your way to the Lord... and He will create 77. […] If you have to leave the city, then with God! And when you are with God, you will not be alone, and you will not be separated from those who love you in Him and for His sake. If you do not change your place of your own accord, so much the better, for it is all the more true according to God’s dispensation. And where God leads is a good path! […] Strengthen yourself, Mikhail Mikhailovich, with faith and hope in God and submission to His will, always good; and in this may your heartfelt prayer assist you. These remedies are useful to you and your sick parent, not anxiety, which burdens you and does not relieve her. It’s good that you started her treatment with Divine healing, the effect of which is true, if not obvious. […] May the blessing and mercy of God be with you, beloved in the Lord, Mikhail Mikhailovich! Thank you for remembering me with good wishes and letting me know about yourself. I argue with you against one word - against gratitude. You and I owe each other love: you don’t owe me gratitude. Thank God for raising you up from illness. I have no doubt that you will also say: thanks be to God for visiting me with illness. It is not useless to experience a feeling of detachment from the world during illness, so that even after illness you can adhere to this feeling. It is not surprising if this feeling does not come as easily after illness as during illness: in illness God grants it for the needs of the weak, but in health He demands that he strive to obtain it. Do not lose heart, but strive through faith and prayer, patience and humility. […] Letter to A.I. Karasevsky 78 His Imperial Highness the Prince of Oldenburg visited the academy at a time when the rector and inspector were not present (it seems they were in church). He approved, as I heard, the study rooms; and I noticed about the students’ bedrooms that there was a smell of tobacco in them. I knew that some mentors and some students had this sin, but I was not strict against it, lest, instead of correction, it would only produce hypocrisy. I remember that Metropolitan Platon 79 forbade students to cut their hair, but everyone cut it and only tried to somehow hide it before his eyes, and he did not see, so as not to have the need to punish. What is the benefit of strictly prohibiting and only teaching, partly to violate the prohibition, partly to hypocritically cover up this violation? Therefore, even now I have not given a prohibitory order, and what I wrote to the rector of the academy, I am enclosing with this a list 80. Unfortunately, in response to the prohibition of using tobacco, students, if they want to be frank, can say: why are you strictly forbidding this to us, still secular, when you have a bishop who smokes tobacco in front of guests and offers it to guests, and this is in a diocese infected with schism? In the old years, Metropolitan Gabriel, and even Ambrose 81, would have written to this bishop something similar to what I wrote to the rector of the academy. It would be useful for the Church even now if Bishop of Novgorod 82 reminded us, the diocesan bishops, in letters, paternally and fraternally, of useful things that are not always convenient to write in decrees. We need to awaken each other to what we should, even now, when the hand of heaven touches us so firmly and the thunder thunders so loudly, in order to awaken us 83. You may say that I am going beyond my limits in saying this; I wish I knew my diocese. I'm sorry. During a storm, I think it is permissible for a sailor to tell the captain of the ship that there is damage in it. […] They feel the need for a Russian translation of the New Testament. And from this the question arises: is it better for this to be used furtively and illegally, or is it better to revise the translation and allow it to be used legally? The Roman Church does not like to allow people access to the Holy Scriptures, but it also allows translations of it into living languages ​​and into modern dialects. […] Letter to A. S. Kovalevsky 84 I look with special consolation at the fact that those who are called by the highest imperial authority and the new law to administer justice and truth to soldiers, not relying solely on their own understanding and good will, turn to the God of truth, asking and expecting from Him enlightenment in the truth and strengthening in the truth. May the Lord bless the new establishment of the military district court and the figures called to it; may he send pure light to them to a pure understanding of the law and to the opening of the consciences of the defendants; and may he strengthen them in truth, inaccessible to either partiality or opposition. May the innocent be safe, may the guilty receive correction: justice, which does not allow guilt and crime to hide, may it reduce the tendency towards crimes and the crimes themselves. Most Excellent Count, Dear Sir! Please accept my gratitude for the convenience of viewing a worthy monument to a noble soul entitled “Great meeting of the Imperial Academy of Sciences on December 1, 1866, in memory of the centenary anniversary of the birth of N. M. Karamzin 86.” At the same time, I remembered, by the way, the day fifty years before this, when I recognized Nikolai Mikhailovich. In the collection of the Russian Academy, he read from his history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible 87. Vice Admiral F. P. Litke. S. Zaryanko. 1854 The reader and the reading were attractive, but the read was scary. I thought then whether history would not have fulfilled its duty sufficiently if it had well illuminated the best part of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, and covered the other with shadow rather than with many dark, sharp features that are hard to see laid on the name of the Russian Tsar. It is good to attract people to goodness with the sights of good, but is it useful to expose and multiply the types of evil so that people get used to them? […] Letters to A. N. Muravyov 88 I am angry about the incorrect composition of the Skete Patericon, if you will, and I am with you, but I will not refuse to read it if I have time. The one who made this alphabetical collection of private patericons thought to please you and me with the convenience of permeating legends about this or that father; he thought that we would look in the patericon for guidance for our present and future life, and not for the chronology of the past, which is alien to us. […] Sermon: “The elder said to the monks: we will cry; and we will weep at the Holy Sepulcher” - I don’t know whether the mind will like it if we don’t allow ourselves to be blinded by superficial shine 89 . How small an example for the greatest subject! How carelessly, incompletely and incorrectly the sermon of St. Macarius 90 was retold! There was no sermon at Calvary, you see! How easily wit kills truth! Sermon: daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me and so on - isn’t this exactly a sermon, and couldn’t it be a closer example of what is being analyzed now than the saying of St. Macarius? And - done! Is this not the greatest of sermons? And the centurion said his sermon: Truly this is the Son of God 91. This sermon is not much shorter than the one discussed; and is it not a sermon because the centurion was not a doctor of theology and delivered it without a lectern or pulpit? […] You have enough reasons to continue your stay in the village. Give yourself a reserve of taste for the simplicity of nature and for gathering solitude, so that the habit of city splendor and scattering crowds does not turn into passion. Arguing in this way, you could also say: it’s good that in the city not everything is according to desire, but there is something not according to desire, so that while one thing binds, another detaches. Let us be grateful to the people who put salt and spice on our dish: they think that they care about our health, although sometimes they shift it. […] Crucifixion. Second half of the 14th century. Tretyakov Gallery Purchased in 1844 by A. N. Muravyov on Athos and sent as a gift to Metropolitan Philaret for the Gethsemane monastery For me, everything is curious and caring about the condition of your brother 92, who is near you: but for you, apparently, it is not revealed at all. There are sad people who regret not dissolving their sadness with consolation; There are comforted people who regret that they do not mix with their consolation a little sadness, which would come from love and humility. There are people for whom the invisible does not seem to exist - an unprofitable elimination from the inevitable. But there are also people who, by force of will, have made, so to speak, a breach into the spiritual world, or think that they have made it, and are trying to keep it open. Is it necessary? Are you okay? Isn’t it more modest to remain in anticipation and hope before the closed gates of the city, waiting for the key of David to open them? 93 If you read Nikon 94, then you will agree with me not to say that he is “defrocked.” Defrocking is irreversible, but his conviction turned out to be not irreversible. Providence, disgracing human passions that want to confuse its truth, sometimes uses passions as tools to reveal its truth. It is significant that when some passions intensified the condemnation of Nikon, another kind of passion - fear from the people - did not allow the entire patriarchate to be removed from him. Apparently, Providence did not allow his deposition from the patriarchal throne to be a complete defrocking. […] The contemplation of Gregory the Theologian 95 about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is such a fruit that I would not advise anyone to feed, for it is not for everyone. The Lord communicates His Holy Mysteries through one or another minister. May He introduce you to His life 96 . I also wish to appear at His table tomorrow, and with you, if He deigns. Humility alone can bring peace to the soul. The soul is not humble, constantly torn and agitated by passions, dark and vague, like chaos; establish its power in the center of humility; then only the true light will begin to appear in her and a harmonious world of right thoughts and feelings will form. Proud wisdom with speculations extracted from earthly nature rises in the soul like fog, with the ghosts of weak light: let this fog fall into the valley of humility; then only you can see the clear, high sky above you. The soul deafens itself with the movement and noise of arrogant, and therefore always restless, thoughts and passionate desires; let it subside in humility: only then will it be able to listen to the harmony of nature, which has not yet been completely upset by modern man, and hear in it harmonies worthy of the wisdom of God. So in the deep silence of the night, distant sounds are sensitive and subtle. […] On the day following the battle, Judas and his family came, as custom required, to raise the bodies of those who had fallen in battle and lay them with their relatives in their father’s graves. Each of the dead had things under their clothes dedicated to the idols in Jamnia, which the law commanded the Jews to shun. Then it became clear to everyone that for this reason they fell. Everyone blessed the just Lord, who makes secret things known, and turned to prayer, asking that the sin committed be completely blotted out. The noble Judas convinced people to protect themselves from sin, having before their eyes what happened for the sin of those who fell before this. He also prepared, by collecting from each person, about two thousand drachmas of silver and sent it to Jerusalem for a sin offering to be offered. He acted very well and wonderfully, thinking about immortality 97. What you feel from a person who is inattentive to care, and the discovery of this feeling on my part does not require condescension. I wouldn't praise you any more if I didn't feel it. I do not scold a sensitive and loving heart: for is it better to be cold and stony? The stone must be broken, the cold must be warmed, the sensitive and loving must be raised from natural to spiritual love. For this latter, the lonely path is sometimes the good path of Providence, so that, immersed in family ties, it does not become completely bogged down in natural love alone. And childhood of the heart is not in all respects a terrible thing. The Lord commands us to be children. The Apostle interprets: Do not be children in your mind, but be childish in malice 98 . Consequently, be kind, like children, be kind, like children, be innocently loving, like children. There is no need to complain about what God has given in nature, but to elevate it to grace, and all good will come. […] Use the experimentally learned idea that a person can be peaceful only when fulfilling his duty for your life. That you did not fulfill everything required of you before the death of your parent 99, it does not seem to me. You did what you could, and did not guess what was hidden in the destinies of God. If your thought does not justify you, let this be to humility, and not to embarrassment, to the excitement of prayer, and not to wavering of faith. Pray with faith in peace and bring peace to your soul and the departed. “He (God the Word) enters into His image, wears flesh. God communes with my flesh in order to save both His image and immortalize my flesh.” Gregory the Theologian in the Word for the Nativity of Christ. “I am the one who blots out your sins, says the Lord, and I will not remember them.” You will find this in the prophet 100, although not word for word. Therefore, apart from his own circumstances, the new spiritual father does not need to confess what was confessed and permitted before. Question: does the past block the path to the future? – difficult in our service. The rules are for the most part strict: but there is in one degree of leniency. There are also examples of saints, although not many, who allow leniency. I heard about Vladyka Plato that he deliberately took the side of leniency. According to the ancient rules, baptism covered everything that had passed and was strictly punished for what followed after baptism, but this was when many spent half their lives testing themselves and preparing for baptism. The fathers of subsequent times repeated the rules of their predecessors. Would the ancient saints have been so strict with a generation that is struggling with the sins of youth and ignorance, no longer having in front of them the baptismal font, which is hastened savingly for pious families, but is unsafe for the creepy? Who can ask them now? We must pray, take note of the instructions of God’s Providence, and listen to the judgments of those who strive well in piety. I think that, out of love and humility, they will not condemn the unworthy and with their blessing and prayer they will make him worthy. […] You point out to me the opinion that you met in the movement, in some minds, that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, original sin, the fall of the first people is nothing more than the marital copulation of Adam and Eve, and you want me to tell my thoughts about this. What do you need my thoughts for? You are, without a doubt, in no danger of clinging to the said opinion. Whoever admits that in subjects that are not within the range of experiences of real earthly life, one cannot reliably rely on one’s own philosophizing mind, but one must follow the Divine revelation and the explanations thereof given by people who prayed more than us, labored, purified their inner and outer life, in whom the image of God was therefore more clearly clarified and pure contemplation was revealed, whose spirit even on earth closer to ours bordered on paradise, he will trust his opinion with the teacher of the Universal Church and in learning is strange and different 101 will not apply. But whoever is satisfied with what he likes in the opinion you indicated is, in all likelihood, led to this by the following principle: what seems true and sublime to my philosophizing mind is true and true and sublime. To such a person, if you present my opinion, which does not agree with his opinion, you will give him only new knowledge - that I reason lower than he does. Instead of my opinion, wouldn’t it be better to hear the teaching of the Church? “The essence and the tree of Adam had a conversation with Eve and the mind, intending not to do good” (Synaks[ar] of the cheese[oh] Week[eli]). St. Chrysostom, in his interpretation of the Book of Genesis, speaks of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in fact, as a tree; and at the end of the conversation he reasons like this: “If you wish, let’s turn speech from this tree to something else, from this tree to the tree of the cross, and let’s see how much evil it brought and how much good it interceded.” And further: “It drove us out of paradise, it raised us to heaven” (on Genesis, conversation XVI). Such a contrast between the tree and the Tree would not be completely meaningless if the tree of the knowledge of good and evil meant something in which there is not the slightest trace of the concept of a tree? But of course, the Church with St. John of Damascus has sung the words for so many centuries not meaningless: “By the tree of Paradise Adam was driven out, but by the tree of the cross the thief was brought into paradise” 102. So the first sin of the forefathers was eating the fruit of the forbidden tree, and the severity of this sin was ingratitude and disobedience against God and thereby insulting His greatness. In this mind, Saint Chrysostom speaks, turning his speech to Eve: “Why do you make a husband an accomplice of this disastrous fall and to whom you were a helper, you become a slanderer for him and for little food and alienate him with you from the mercy of God?” (ibid.). The copulation of Adam with Eve, like husband and wife, according to the explanation of St. Chrysostom, began already after expulsion from paradise. “When Adam knew his wife, when did this happen? After disobedience, after expulsion from paradise, then copulation began” (conversation XVIII). Wouldn’t you like to look at the Bible itself, with such a disposition that we can take from it the thoughts that it gives, and not forcefully insert into its words thoughts that we like? And God still from the earth made every red tree for vision and good for food; and the tree of life is in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). Do you not see here about the three kinds of trees one continuous speech, connected by one word referring to all three? Wouldn't common logic say in this case that it must be interpreted either entirely literally or entirely figuratively? If God has literally grown from the ground every red tree for vision and good food for food; and the tree of life in the midst of paradise, then how it literally vegetated from the earth and the hedgehog tree leads the understanding of good and evil; and there is no allegorical place here. And if they say that to eat from the tree of knowledge is an allegory and a modest expression of what is just as modestly expressed by the words: “to know the woman”; According to the laws of logic and common sense, all parts of the allegory must have their own meanings, consistent with the whole of the allegory, then what allegorical meaning will be given to the words: the Lord brought forth a hedgehog tree from the earth? And further, what is the word: every tree has grown cold... from the earth? Obviously, it is not possible to come up with allegorical meanings for all these expressions, mutually corresponding and constituting one whole, in which the thought also found its corresponding place: to know a wife. Let's take another word: Eve will eat from every tree of paradise: but from the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of paradise, God said, let us not eat from it (Gen. 3: 2, 3). If the last half of this speech is given the intended allegorical meaning, then the words “there is a hedgehog in the middle of heaven” will be meaningless and absurd. And since in this case the first half will also require an allegorical meaning, then what? Again, nothing decent seems to be the case. Did Eve understand the allegory she was saying? If she understood: who explained it to her when there was no experience yet, no untimely retelling, so unfortunate now? And if she didn’t understand, what was the use of giving an allegorical, incomprehensible commandment? Let's look at the very act of the Fall, as it is described in the Book of Genesis. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing to see with the eye and that it was red, which you understood: and she took from its fruit the poison 103. And so Eve sinned first alone, and not together with her husband. How could Moses have written this if he had written the allegory that they want to find here? Or will they decide to solve all the difficulties with one word: “myth”? This would mean not understanding and untying the knot, but cutting it desperately. The Lord said to the Jews: You are of your father the devil: he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The Jews to whom this was said were not mythical, but real beings, and consequently their father was also the devil. What do the words indicate: a murderer from the beginning? Without a doubt, the temptation in paradise and the fall of man. Consequently, the serpent-tempter is not a mythical idea, but a real being, the devil. And the Evangelist John says that the ancient serpent, that is, the tempting serpent in paradise, is the devil and Satan (Rev. 20:2). Consequently, both the serpent’s words to Eve and Eve’s response are also not mythical, but historical words. Consequently, behind the word “myth” there is no way to hide from the power of the remarks made above about the true meaning that, according to the laws of correct interpretation, the expressions of the Book of Genesis about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and about objects placed in inextricable connection with them should have. It can also be noted that if the devil tempted Eve to do what the new interpreters think, then this time he was not as cunning as usual, but very slow-witted. What was the point in this case and what could the question mean: what did God say: given to eat from every tree of paradise? 104 The tempter could more reliably ask for his purpose: why do you not fulfill what God has said to you: grow and multiply? 105 In this case, the sinned forefathers should have said in their justification: we did what led to the fulfillment of the commandment: grow and multiply, which we have not yet fulfilled and have not known. If knowing a wife was the first crime that destroyed the human race, then how could the apostle say that marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled (Heb. 13:4)? This would be an irreconcilable contradiction of the word of God to itself. Didn’t the thought about the imperfection of the birth of children from a fallen man lead to the idea that this itself consisted of original sin? If this is so, then there is no correct logical conclusion here. The birth of children is imperfect not because a person is damaged in all abilities and phenomena of life by preliminary original sin. To talk about this in more detail, it would be necessary to experience the former life of paradise and its possible continuation without the Fall and compare it with the present life of fallen man. For lack of this, it is better not to give excessive unreliable and unsafe freedom to your curious wisdom, but to humbly and obediently listen to the word of God. Peace and salvation to you and to everyone who loves the truth and seeks salvation. I was told that in relation to the doctrine of original sin, some words of St. Zinon 106 confused: “It was she (not true love. - Note by Metropolitan Philaret) who kindled an unclean desire in the heart of Eve, she killed Adam with her arrows” (Christian Reading), vol. 2, pp. 363, 364). Saint Zinon speaks here not of just the illicit love of two sexes, but, in a more extensive sense, of love for objects of the sensory world and of lust in all its forms. It is obvious from the following words: “The Word of God forbids loving what is done in the world.” And for this, the saying of St. John the Theologian is cited about threefold lust, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the hair and the pride of life 107 . Therefore, the “unclean desire” in Eve, according to the comparison of the words of Zinon with the Book of Genesis, means lust of hair - seduction by the beauty of the forbidden fruit, lust of the flesh - expressed in the words of Eve: good wood for food, pride - a self-loving desire to know the secret and to be like gods. Adam was killed by the same unclean desire and subsequent transgression of God’s commandment. What is said about the feast of Corpus Christi 108 in Rome, while maintaining reverence for the shrine, is so natural for an eyewitness that to keep silent about this would be biased people-pleasing. It is enough that stricter comments that would be fair have not been made. What is the basis for establishing a holiday for a shrine that was revered, but for which a special holiday was not established in the century of the Apostles and Ecumenical Councils? What is the rationale for establishing an annual holiday for the Sacrament, which is performed on all holidays and almost all days? Why on the Thursday after All Saints Sunday, and not on Holy Thursday, the day the Sacrament was established? What consistency is there in the ordination of carrying the Body of Christ in the procession of the cross and putting it aside without the use for which it was given, and then immediately beginning a new liturgy for the celebration of the Body of Christ? […] You know the legend of the Patericon that when one old man was accused of various vices, he answered calmly: “I have sinned,” and when they said: “You are a heretic,” he could not stand it and said: “No,” although he knew that they were not really saying the truth, but were only testing his humility... From the controversial passage of the journal 110, I separated the words “bread and wine are offered when the Holy Spirit is invoked and the Holy Gifts are blessed” and said: “this is an Eastern, Orthodox teaching.” As proof of this, I cited the book of the Orthodox Confession. Against whom and against what are they now again raising the weapon of evidence? Further, I admitted that in the academic presentation there is a fault of inaccuracy, consisting in the fact that the line by which Western teaching is expressed is attached to the Eastern teaching, and is applied without distinction, but that this fault is not of such importance as to subject the publishers to judgment. Therefore, if you are looking for guilt in me, then you can look for it in the fact that I do not strictly condemn the guilt of the academy. In this case, justice required examining the evidence of the lenient judgment that I provided. But no attention is paid to them in the Discourse. A . N. Muravyov. Unknown artist from the original. P.Z. Zakharova. 1838 The “Discourse” begins with the thought that “the moment of the mysterious transformation is incomprehensible.” If we want to establish solid proof, then we must place solid and precise truths as the basis. The Sacrament is incomprehensible, the action of transubstantiation is incomprehensible, and how transubstantiation is accomplished is incomprehensible: this is Orthodox teaching. But the “image” of the presentation is different, the “moment” is different. For example: it is incomprehensible how God breathed a living soul into a man, but whoever says that God breathed a living soul into him on the sixth day of creation, after the creation of the body, and thereby determined the “moment”, will he say something incomprehensible? And whoever says that when the blessing of the Holy Gifts was completed, “then” the transfiguration took place and thus the “moment” was determined, will he say something comprehensible? The Discourse says that the doctrine of the time of rebirth must be borrowed from Tradition. I said that from Tradition and Scripture: the cup... we now bless. Or is this a problem? The Discourse sets out the entire secret prayer. It seems to me that this is a long way to the conclusion, without increasing the force of the conclusion. Everything is clear in the last words: “and create this bread.” It is obvious that at this time the celebrant still has before him bread, which has not yet been created by the Body of Christ, the consecration of which, however, began from the proskomedia, and of course not in vain, and not without any significance. But when this blessing is completed, the celebrant, through earthly worship, already expresses reverence for the Body and Blood of Christ. In the “Discourse” it is noted, among other things, that “the unfinished prayer to God the Father is interrupted and a prayer to God the Son is introduced.” It is good that in this way the evidence is compiled against the one who recognizes the truth being proven. And if it had been written against the Latin, it would have opened up a vulnerable spot for the enemy. He could point to the Greek Orthodox abbreviation of the dogmas of faith by Athanasius of Paria, 111 published in Greek in Leipzig in 1806, where on pages 366 and 367 ancient scrolls of the liturgies of St. Basil the Great and Chrysostom and the context of the prayers of both liturgies prove that the inclusion here of three verses from the third hour does not belong to the ancient liturgy, in which the invocation of the Holy Spirit is briefly contained in the very context of the sacramental prayer, extended without interruption to God the Father, and thus would accuse the compiler of the proof of using in favor of the Eastern teaching such a Tradition, which is disputed by the Eastern theologians themselves. The Discourse goes on to say: “it is in vain that the Latins think that we demean the words of the Lord.” If this was said against the Latins, then why was it said to me? And if it’s against me, then how did I give this reason? I only said that with a strict presentation of Eastern teachings, work is required to resolve this objection, but with an academic presentation, which is not quite accurate, this objection does not exist. I presented the reason for the lenient judgment of academic imprecision, rather than presenting the Latin objections as intractable. […] It seemed strange to you that my definition of the guilt of the Latins is that they, “attributing” all the mysterious “actions to the words of Christ alone, make prayer and blessing unnecessary.” You refer me to their missal. I know him and I can tell you that according to the book Antonii Praxis rituum, more than 20 signs of the cross are prescribed during sacred prayer. But nevertheless, I do not deviate from my words, the incompleteness of which only gave you the right to object. Let me explain more fully. If, as the Latins say, transubstantiation is accomplished by pronouncing the words of Christ, then after this the blessing of the Gifts is unnecessary. But the blessing of the Gifts is prescribed by the Apostle, and, of course, for no other purpose than for the transposition of them; consequently, the Latin teaching contradicts the Apostolic word - and in this it is precisely not right. This conclusion has its force, no matter what the Latin missal says. If he does not use the blessing, he is guilty against the apostle. If he uses it, he thereby contradicts the Latin teaching itself. […] You ask whether it is not a great fault that the author did not sufficiently differentiate the doctrine, and whether it should be defended? I am responsible, not defending, because I admit guilt. But to judge whether the guilt is great, I offer you another short way, rewriting the controversial words of the journal with a small addition for my relief reasons. “Bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ when the words of Jesus Christ are proclaimed: accept, etc.”, which constitute the eternal law, the basis and preparation of the Sacrament and therefore are essential in it, as all liturgies testify, “the Holy Spirit is called upon” as the performer of transubstantiation, “and the Holy Gifts are blessed,” through which the sacramental transformation is truly and finally accomplished. Even now it seems to me that it is better to remain silent about this when the book has already been distributed, rather than start a trial and smartly correct the inaccuracy, which so far throughout Russia, as far as we know, has been noticed by one enlightened writer who will not receive any harm from this, and, at his reminder, by one bishop, who will also, I hope, see that verbal guilt is not a threat to Orthodoxy. I completely agree with you that this is not the time to raise the issue. But who raises it? The one who let slip or the one who starts a war because of the slip of the tongue? If anyone opened his mouth with such an opinion about the Eucharist, in which the English kings take an oath, 112 it would be necessary, although one against all, to raise a dispute for the true Body of Christ and the true Blood of Christ and for the preservation of souls of the true faith in the Sacrament and Divine food. But the Western Church, just like the Eastern Church, reveres the Divine Sacrament. The Latin idea about the time of transubstantiation is simply an inconsistency with the ancient Tradition and, if I may say so, stupid, but if there is something in it that should be feared as deadly, why should one use merciless jealousy against such words that, while preserving the Orthodox teaching, do not quite sharply reflect the Western one? I present this question to your impartial consideration, asking myself and you for the prayerful help of the Holy Apostle Paul, who commanded us not to stand against words, nor will we demand anything, for the ruin of those who hear 113. Thank God that it has been given to you to approach the shrine, not only to the Kyiv and Moscow, but also to many others, starting from the supreme one in Jerusalem. This is not given to many, but this does not prevent them from struggling in their sanctification. You can turn in spirit to the shrine that you approached with your feelings. However, St. Petersburg is not without shrines; and every church has the greatest shrine, the Body and Blood of the Lord. It is in the order of your life that you should now be in St. Petersburg. It is necessary; This is how Providence arranged it: this thought is a good way to come to terms with any place. I don’t like the bustle of the capital: it’s good that this is so. With this thought, without running, you are far from vanity. If you can give useful advice, give it, not relying on your knowledge, but calling on God to help. He will fill the hand of the giver; and will not leave in lack of advice the one who strives to offer something useful to his neighbor. […] The words of Basil the Great that Christ “makes Peter the shepherd of His Church” 114 are the re-expression (periphrasis) of the words of Christ: feed my sheep 115. The latter were reinterpreted by the fathers. The former conclude no more. In the words: “he gives equal power to all subsequent shepherds and teachers,” it is clearly seen that Saint Basil is not talking about the pope, but about all bishops and church mentors, because he uses them to prove his reasoning about the mentor of monks. The word “succeeding” does not mean “successors” of Peter exclusively, but in general “future” shepherds and teachers. The old translation says better: “having to be.” […] Base your teaching on truth, not on people. “The source for it (part of the introduction to Theology 116) must be the mind.” Isn’t it enough for the mind to be a small ladle that draws from the source? One must be careful in allowing the power of the mind in the introduction of science, so that it does not become stubborn when in science you prove its fall, corruption, darkness of thought, defilement of the mind and conscience. Forgive me, and may theology forgive me. It is always undesirable to enter into a dispute, but especially when the wrong one can say more than the right one, without fear of being stopped and hoping, if necessary, to kill an opponent with abuse and ridicule, whom he cannot wound with evidence. It's not bad to put up a shield against an attacker, but you shouldn't expose yourself to arrows. […] February 19 and 20, 1848 It is pleasant to remember in prayer souls about whom you know that they are looking to the Lord and in Him they are drawing closer to us, and He alone knows which of the two is more beneficial to the other, the one praying or asking for prayer. […] You mercifully defend us, unworthy monks, saying that monasticism is a state of repentance and that therefore in us, who may only be beginning to repent, it is not too unbearable to see the remnants of sinful infirmities. But when you say that monasticism is not “the achievement of perfection,” you seem to posit perfection outside of monasticism. The most accomplished monastics, I think, will say that this is not so. […] For if he did not expect that the fallen would rise again, then it would be unnecessary to pray for the dead. And if he had done this, thinking that a better reward was prepared for those who had fallen asleep in piety, then the thought was righteous and pious that he offered a propitiatory sacrifice for the dead, so that they would be cleansed from sin. Here are two more verses of Chapter 12 of 2 Maccabees, which you requested 117. […] Complete the lack of church service by chanting and singing in the heart of the Lord, as the Apostle teaches 118. In Constantinople there is someone to pray with other than the archimandrite. Pray with Gregory the Theologian, Saint John Chrysostom and who knows who else. May the Lord also accept the sacrifice that you yearn for the church. […] If those who are baptized by showering, according to the opinion of Constantinople, are not baptized, then how can the “economy of condescension” make them baptized without performing baptism on them... 119 If the Greek Church places responsibility on the Russian Church for recognizing as baptized those whom the Greek Church recognizes as unbaptized, then the Greek Church recognizes the Russian Church as having erred in a very important matter, and consequently there is no church unity. That the first “does not consider itself obliged to consider the actions” of this is also not unity, but alienation. With unity and communion of faith and love, one private Church must protect another in the correctness and purity of action, and especially the oldest. If it were not for a reliable witness, it would be difficult to believe that the learned iconomos considers “Western baptism both valid and invalid,” depending on whether it is the will of the Church for an Oblivian to be baptized or unbaptized? Is not the power of baptism in the name of the Holy Trinity and not in the mysterious grace given to this action by the institute of Christ God? Is it possible for the will of man, even if it was the will of the Church, to make baptism a simple ablution or a simple ablution through baptism? It is under no circumstances permissible to speak in church during worship; that anyone who reminds himself, no matter who he is, must be thanked, and not enter into a quarrel with him, that the expression “church police” is indecent and offensive. You see that I am not defending her 120. But now I will tell you: if you, having heard those speaking in the church, said to yourself: “Lord, command the Guardian Angel to remind these souls of silence,” you would have fulfilled your duty, remaining within the limits of reverence and silence. But when you sent a sexton to quiet those who were speaking, I will not say, if you like, that you went beyond your limits, I will say that you were within the limits of jealousy. But when they did not listen to the admonitions and you sent another time, from which the one who did not accept the admonitions went further and entered into a feud, then, I think, you acted beyond the limits of moderate jealousy and caution and with a second embassy created the opportunity for a feud, which probably would not have happened after the first. The apostle teaches the good, not to be content with words, for what I will demand 121. It's easy to start an argument, but difficult to end it. Justifying your actions following the incident in the church 122.., you promise to confirm this with an oath, to this I will say, firstly, that there is no need to be so generous with an oath, and secondly, that I humbly acknowledge what opinion you express about my power of attorney to you, assuming that I will not believe you without an oath... May the Lord, to Whom you come to ask for forgiveness, forgive you for whatever you require forgiveness for; I have nothing to forgive you for; I, thank God, am at peace with you, forgive me the dispute and have peace with me. I remembered your word in one of your previous letters: I will remain silent. Silence with meekness and humility is good; speech with love of goodness and zeal for truth is also good. To our beloved Andrey Nikolaevich in the Lord, health and peace. Thank you for visiting the one visited by death 123 with consolation. I was quite prepared for deprivation, but I still feel deprivation. One of my caring thoughts was: what would have happened if my parent had remained behind me? However, now it is not an increase in care that is felt, but a deprivation. I thank God that he vouchsafed me to minister to her peace, and to bid her farewell with the initial prayer, and to accept her quiet last breath, and to bring the first prayer for the departed at her bedside. My brothers, the Reverend Neophytos and Philotheus 124, consoled me, of their own volition joining me for funeral prayers. The accompaniment was peaceful and abundant in prayer, known and unknown. […] The essay about the post was received and handed over to the rector of the academy. There is that boldness in this that I cut off part of the introduction and did not show it to you. But there is no time: you should have sent it earlier. It seemed to me, for example, that one does not renounce fasting by saying “wives to the wife” 125 and the like. And those who have nourished their wife fast fast, and those who have not, many do not fast. And therefore the word evangelical, it seems to me, was used forcefully. Have you read Metropolitan Michael's interpretation of the All-Night Vigil 126? There, I remember, the first part of the all-night vigil is presented as a remembrance of the heavenly Church. Paradise - the altar is open; everything is filled with the fragrance of the holy, they contemplate the Creator and creation, they exclaim: “glory” and “hallelujah to Him who created all things”, they do not ask for anything, since in a blissful state there are no needs. This part ends when the doors of the altar-paradise are closed. Our old Helmsman in the interpretation of the 19th rule of the Council of Laodicea 127 says: inside the altar, one priest orders worthily to receive communion. That is, it prohibits a layman from partaking of the Holy Mysteries at the altar at the altar with the priests. The interpretation, thus constricting the meaning of the rule, seems to evade the question of whether it is permissible for a layman, in addition to communion of the Holy Mysteries, to stand in the enclosure of the altar, in a humble place, away from the throne and the clergy. It is necessary to remember that, according to ancient custom, the altar should have pre-altars and the altar in the pre-altar should be accessible to a layman for offering. Where this exists, I advise the layman not to penetrate further than the altar. Unfortunately, the ancient location of the church has been mostly lost and those walking with the prosphora to the altar, of necessity, walk in the common altar space. In this case, I advise you, as much as possible, not to approach the throne and not to walk between the throne and the high place, as well as between the throne and the royal doors, for this is completely the altar and the path of Christ. It seems to me that our predecessors made such leniency necessary by allowing the reduction of altars. Or is there no need for leniency? Or, for fear of error, should we adhere to the broadest meaning of the rule and expel you from the enclosure of the altar? May be. But I am afraid of severity for others because I am afraid of it for myself. And knowing that because of my sins I am the first worthy of expulsion, I am afraid to expel others unless absolutely necessary. And I confess what you accuse me of, that is, that I allowed you and even invited you to be within the altar in a decent place; and I think that those who stand here with fear, with recognition of their unworthiness, but with faith and hope in God’s mercy, do not offend holiness, but contribute to my weakness and unworthiness through the communication of prayer. But are there Angels here? Not only Angels, but also the Lord of Angels Himself. And you never know how many sinners we face: and He does not strike us. And He welcomes us in His holy place: He also enters into our unconsecrated dwellings to sanctify the souls of the sick. To Him and His ineffable mercy be due glory, and honor, and worship forever and ever. Amen. […] It’s a pity that Mr. Levison 128 is busy wandering the stars and wants to build a thousand-year reign on earth. It seems that enough is enough for a Christian to explore the depths and ways of his heart, thoughts, desires and deeds and to establish the Kingdom of God within himself by the power of God’s grace. […] It is too late to talk about the deceased 129 and the circumstances of his death. It is more useful to pray for his soul, which is what you are doing well. Let us pity those who attended the entertaining evenings in crowds at the house of the deceased, crowded his house during his ceremonial removal, and did not go to church to pray for him. Our customs, disfigured by vanity and not corrected by threatening times, threaten us more than external enemies. […] How to understand the prayer for the unification of the Churches? The Latin writer accuses the Orthodox Church of praying for the unification of the Churches and remaining inactive. The Orthodox writer, responding to this, says that she prays only for the “union of saints,” that is, of the Orthodox Churches. The answer is not given to what is being accused. They are accused not of prayer, but of inaction. And is it true that the Orthodox Church prays only for Orthodox Churches? Are they not insulting her by setting such narrow limits on her love? Doesn’t she really want the salvation of the heterodox Churches through their return to union with the Orthodox Church? How does the Orthodox Church express its prayer for the unification of the Churches? “For the peace and prosperity of God’s holy Churches, and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.” If the prayer were to have a limited meaning about the Orthodox Churches only, then the words should be put like this: “for peace, prosperity and the unification of all the holy Churches of God, let us pray to the Lord.” But this is not how it was done, but the prayer is divided into two parts: 1) “for the peace and prosperity of God’s holy Churches,” 2) “and the unity of all.” This prayer is always offered, both in peaceful and non-peaceful times for the Churches. Consequently, the first part of the prayer has the following meaning: for the peace and prosperity of God’s holy Orthodox Churches, so that the peace and prosperity already granted to them may be preserved, and if they are ever violated anywhere, they will be granted again by the grace of God. According to this, the second part of the prayer should be understood about the unity of the Churches, so that it is preserved insofar as it exists, and so that it is restored insofar as it is violated somewhere. In this second part of the prayer the word “all” is inserted, which is not in the first, and this makes it clear that the meaning of the second part is broader than the first. From the fact that the second part is not connected to the first, but is separated, it must be concluded that not everything contained in the first should be attributed to the second, and therefore there is no need to supplement the second like this: about the union of “all the holy Churches of God”; but it should be added only this way: “about the unification of all Churches.” Therefore, the Orthodox Church prays for the unification of the Churches so that the existing union of the Orthodox Churches will be preserved by the grace of God and so that by the grace of God the union with the Orthodox Church and those Churches that have been separated from it by some wrong teaching will be restored. To this explanation of the prayer, will they not present as an objection the fact that in the diptychs, at the proskomedia, non-Orthodox people are not remembered? We answer: this is a different matter. Another is to pray for the union of non-Orthodox Churches with the Orthodox Church in the Liturgy of the Catechumens, and another is to remember the Orthodox in diptychs at the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The non-Orthodox, by their very unorthodoxy, excommunicated themselves from the communion of the Sacrament of the Orthodox Church: this corresponds to their non-remembrance at the Sacrament of the Eucharist and their exclusion from the diptychs. And that at the Liturgy of the Faithful one can pray for the reunification of the Churches that have separated from Orthodoxy, see the prayer in the Liturgy of Basil the Great: “quench the discord of the Churches.” The discord among the Churches is due to the fact that another Church does not submit in some parts to Orthodox teaching and consequently falls into a state of schism. Saint Basil does not exclude such a Church from her prayer: “quench the discord of the Churches.” When the Antiochian Patriarch John with his bishops did not submit to the Orthodox definition of the Council of Ephesus 130 and pronounced condemnation on its chairman, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, and, consequently, fell into a state of schism with his Church, do you think that Saint Proclus with the Church of Constantinople, praying for the unification of all Churches, did not pray with this prayer for the reunification of the Antiochian Church? Do not embarrass the Christian love of the Orthodox Church and do not claim that she does not pray for the unification of the Roman Church. F[ilaret,] Metropolitan of Moscow You did not agree with me that it was possible to perform prayer services to St. Tikhon before the opening of his relics. I also do not agree with you that his condition before the discovery of the relics is the same as the condition of one who was ordained bishop before his ordination. A bishop is consecrated by ordination: the opening of relics is not consecrated by a saint; he has already been consecrated by the grace of God before, at least since the time when signs began to appear from him, and this began before the discovery of the relics and before the research. The study proved that there is a saint: an announcement from the Holy Synod made this known to the Church so that believers would undoubtedly resort to the prayers of the saint: consequently, they sang prayers to him, whether his relics were discovered or not. […] I also heard what you write about your nephew, and that before his death he ordered the Holy Scriptures to be read to himself, and he listened with pleasure, and among other things he said: “A believer is not afraid to die, he just needs to prepare beforehand.” Say peace to the soul of your brother, who probably did not have time to fulfill his duty to you, and your nephew, who probably wanted to, but did not have time. The Lord God is rich to fill the hardships that poor people endure from poor people. […] Compound of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in St. Petersburg. Since 1842, Metropolitan Filaret provided his chambers in the courtyard for those who did not have their own housing. A. N. Muravyova When the great war aroused the religious and patriotic spirit, when Emperor Alexander the Blessed, at the end of it, returned to the Fatherland, filled with religious feeling and faith in the all-governing Providence of God, I said to Bishop Ambrose 131: “It seems that a favorable time is coming for the Church, as well as for the Fatherland.” He answered me: “You are still inexperienced, wait and see what happens next.” Alas! The Lord was experienced and saw into the dim distance. When Baruch was yearning for his fatherland and for himself, the Lord said to him through Jeremiah: Behold, even I have made my neighbors, I will destroy 132. What a terrible decision. Lord, don't ruin me. Smite those who deserve it, but keep Yours in the sky. Shake the earth so that we awaken, so that we cry out to You, so that You hear our cry of repentance and so that you do not become completely angry with heaven. All new creators of akathists should wish that their akathists be a work of the spirit, and not literature, so that they raise the reader to contemplation or immerse them in tenderness and nourish them with edification, and not shower them with a hail of laudatory words, collected with intense effort from everywhere. Saint Gregory the Theologian did not write akathists to Saint Basil the Great. […] I didn’t say anything about your akathists, but spoke about new akathists. We perform the Orthodox service, ancient, wise, full of grace and edification, weakly, in a hurry, and shorten it; and we also constrain it with newly composed hymns, imitating one or two truly church ones in external verbal form, not caring much about whether the spirit of life is clear in them. What is more necessary: ​​should we try to give greater strength to existing worship or to complicate the force that constrains it? This is a question worthy of attention and concern. […] Letter to S. N. Mukhanov 133 The sent nobleman Ulaev 134 with the icon case and chains was returned to you with the same messenger. In response to your very attitude, dear sir, with the return of the documents of the one-palace, I have the honor to respond that 1) always carrying on his shoulders an entire chapel with a cross, icons and a lamp inside does not agree with the pious customs accepted in the Church; in many cases and situations, which are inevitable for a wanderer, it is indecent and incongruous; may give rise to superstitious rants and improper collection of alms; and since there is no visible need for which he would undertake this, this enterprise does not deserve approval, and therefore I advised him to place these icons in some church during his wanderings, and for himself, if he wishes, to arrange a small cross and an icon to be worn on the chest under his clothes, hidden from the eyes of strangers. 2) That he does not have the right to wear clothes belonging to monasticism, because although he was dismissed from society to join the monastery, but since he was not assigned to the monastery and determined to wander, he is not a monastic novice, but still remains a fellow palace member according to his passport. 3) That the wearing of chains under clothing is inconspicuous to outsiders, depends on the will of the nobleman and on the permission of his spiritual father. The obvious manifestation of various oddities of feigned piety fits the rule of the bishop's oath, by which bishops are obligated to send those who are pretending to be mad, in mats, barefoot and in shirts, to the city (civil) court. […] Letters to S. D. Nechaev 135 You admit that the sentence to destroy Tatishchev’s marriage is legal. Consequently, the approval of this marriage cannot but be combined with the weakening of church laws. For the Moscow diocesan administration, what this last thing will be like, judge by a circumstance that is not on paper, but which is quite public here. Tatishchev began by coming to me with a request for permission to perform this marriage. I said that not only could I not allow it, but that even if the marriage had taken place, according to the law it was impossible to leave it, and, as a noble man, I gave it up to him to accept the petition back or receive a written decision. He took the petition back and on the next or third day, bribing the priest, got married in the forbidden church. Consequently, the matter began not by ignorance, not simply by the action of passion, but by an outrage against church government. WITH . D. Nechaev. V. A. Tropinin. Late 1820s - early 1830s Ryazan region thin museum Do you feel sorry for the children of marriage? But here is another objection of contempt for church administration: Tatishchev, a few days after the wedding, was determined by the consistory to be separated from cohabitation. He has not only a child, but also children, because he despises the determination of spiritual authorities. Add that Tatishchev took the bride away and she fled from her relatives. This is badly corrected by the fact that they were forgiven when they saw that a lawless wife could no longer be made into a chaste girl. Please count how many crimes will be rewarded by the approval of this marriage, but it’s impossible to count how many innocent and well-intentioned people will be led into the temptation of judging the authorities. Don't you feel a little sorry for these people? You ask how I will accept this? I don’t really know what to say to this. One must accept with patience what can be endured without committing sin and without sharing in the sins of others. But sometimes you wonder about the application of this rule. From the leniency made by the decree of 1810 136, is it possible to derive rights to other leniencies? Hardly. The decree of 1810 is not leniency, but justice. He set aside local orders and settled on the rules of the Ecumenical Council. This is completely canonical - only ignorance could argue against this, and only so as not to tempt the ignorant, this decree was given in secret. Now let us decide in any case to allow the third or fourth degree of kinship for marriage. They will ask, on what basis? What can I say? Nothing. Neither ecumenical nor local rules have ever allowed this. In our wisdom, after so many centuries, will we decide to draw up new laws on subjects so important in their consequences? Is it too late? Will they believe these new rules like the ancient ones? And if we cross the solid boundary set by the universal rules, then where will we stop? I don’t want to be stubborn in my opinion, I want to accept the best, as soon as it is shown to me, I just think that the rule is very useful here: do not push the limits that the fathers have set. It is good to make new laws to ward off new crimes that arise from the changed types and relations of society, or to more reliably protect and provide for honest and innocent people. If some kind of law were needed in order to reduce the crimes against the sanctity of marriage, which are sometimes so clearly tolerated, or to ensure those seeking marriage according to reason, in the fear of God, in natural legal obedience to parents, perhaps I would not be frightened by the audacity of the news. But making a new law to please people of unbridled passions, who, where yesterday they saw the holiness of kinship, today extend criminal desires - is it enough, is it worth it? If the idea of ​​preserving the marriage out of pity for innocent children turns out to be victorious, it is necessary to at least close the image of injustice with such penance to the parents, the fulfillment of which would not be a new outrage against spiritual governance. […] “The measure of love for one’s neighbor must correspond to the measure of his needs.” If we accept this position, then it will be necessary to accept the following conclusion from it: since the rich have no need for the beggar, then the beggar is not obliged to have any love for the rich. And if this conclusion must be rejected as absurd, then it is obvious that the position of the author is also unsuitable. […] The auditor's approving review that the teacher of church history at the seminary likes to borrow his explanations from the holy fathers, presented to the academic board and the auditor as being dissatisfied with the subject and revealing confusion in the auditor's concepts. For one can and should borrow from the holy fathers explanations of the Holy Scriptures, the teachings of the faith and church orders. But historical teaching does not require explanations, but evidence and historical documents, often borrowed out of necessity and not from the holy fathers. Moreover, the research part of history, according to the regulations, does not belong to the seminary, but to the academic history department; and in the seminary one should study the narrative part of history. […] The third rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council is, in my opinion, not stated as it should be; for it gives the appearance that before this Council, bigamy among priests was common and permitted. This is not true. It has not been allowed since the apostle wrote: one wife to one husband 137. In times of decline in morality among the clergy, some dared to set a bad example, perhaps by reinterpreting the words of the apostle or simply forgetting them; and in bad times, a bad example easily finds imitators, some of whom, more out of foolishness than out of violence of conscience, are carried away by the examples of people who are more significant in society. That is why the Council should not look at the disorder with all severity, until order was restored better than before. The Council had to use leniency so as not to arouse stubbornness through severity and spoil the work of correction, for it could turn out that in the Council itself there were some guilty presbyters. But against the one who cited this rule as an example of moderation, it must be said: Firstly, that conciliar rules never sentence anything more than defrocking, for the imposition of civil punishments is not the business of the Church. Secondly, that the crime of interloping with a priest is not one of the most serious crimes. It is an important crime against the dignity, and therefore is punished by eruption; but this is not a crime against general morality, for Christians are allowed a second marriage. Therefore, there is no need to resort to civil punishment […] I return the words of the missionary. The words: if you are persecuted in a city, run to another 138 mean that when in one place it is completely impossible to act in favor of the truth, or to remain safe, then you need to move to another and act there. If the missionary is not safe, but can still act and is not expelled, then he cannot apply this saying to himself. […] Regarding dangers, there is another word of Christ: whoever wants to save his soul will destroy it 139. […] May Your Excellency's named assistant be a true assistant 140. It is strange that the bishop, with whom I sat for a long time yesterday, did not tell me about this appointment, with which he is pleased. It saddens me to think about the lack of unanimity. May God, the true source of unity, unite everything with truth and love. We need to look at things from the best side. I believe that the bishop simply forgot to tell me that your assistant was not looking for this place, that the one who recommended it was simply motivated by a desire for good to a relative. I think that you did well in believing this. An excess of trust is better than an excess of suspicion. For excess trust is my mistake; and unnecessary suspicion is an insult to one’s neighbor. I would rather be in error than to offend my neighbor. May God help you to guide you to the goodness and benefit of a person in whom there is goodness, although perhaps there is something else, not by choice. […] I cannot let myself go to sleep without telling you, dear sir Stefan Dmitrievich, peace and without asking you for peace, which after the conversation of the past morning could remain in doubt. Whether there is any reason for me to repent of the opinion I have expressed, this can be revealed from a calm reasoning about it. Now I ask your forgiveness for the feeling of grief that aroused in me from the conclusions that were too unexpectedly deduced from my words. Moreover, the Gospel tells me to take care not only that I have nothing against my brother, but when, he says, remember that your brother has something against you... then go... reconcile yourself with your brother 141. I hope that I will be accepted according to this commandment when I come to you according to this commandment. Letter to S. N. Ozerov 142 I cannot […] keep silent about the fact that with my sincere heart I share with you and your wife the feeling of deprivation. You have lost a much-loving mother, and I have lost a spiritual sister, whose pure intentions, obedience and trust made it easier and pleasant for me to fulfill my duties in relation to her and the monastery. Therefore, as I advise myself, I advise you too: remember her with gentle memories of love and prayer, and soften the feeling of deprivation with the memory of goodness that does not die. […] Letter to A. N. Olenin 143 Your Excellency, Dear Sir! 144 I humbly request that the enclosed extract from Plato 145 be delivered to Alexey Nikolaevich along with the extract from Feller’s dictionary previously received from him. It seems that I have found myself in the very place that they were looking for. As for my translation, I did not try to make it beautiful, but only close to the original, so that one could see more clearly and unambiguously how Mr. French cut the old Greek’s hair. In case of verification, I ask you to compare my translation with the original, and not with the Latin translation, because the translator (a little happier than Mr. Feller) sometimes gets entangled in a Greek beard. Your Honor's most humble servant Extract from Abbot Feller's Historical Dictionary, printed in Liege in 1791. Article "Plato", volume 7, p. 316. May this Divine Lawgiver come to imprint with fiery features, on marble and copper, the ancient law, erased from the human heart by passions and prejudices; may he come to proclaim it to the four ends of the universe, may he destroy (all the clouds) all darkness. If the severity of the law leads us to timidity, if it frightens our weakness, may He send a righteous man whose valor (virtue) would serve as encouragement and example. It is necessary that this person should not even have the glory of appearing righteous, so that they would not suspect him of being so out of sheer pride. President of the Academy of Arts A. N. Olenin. A. Warnek. Not earlier than 1824 Scientific Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Arts St. Petersburg It is necessary that he be deprived of everything except his valor (virtue); It is necessary that he does not harm anyone, but that he should nevertheless be treated as the worst of men, it is necessary that he should not deviate from the truth to the end, that he should be flogged, imprisoned in iron, crucified on a cross and killed in the most severe tortures. Extract from 2 Plato's conversation on citizenship 146 We can fairly judge both of whom we are talking about (that is, the righteous and the wicked), if we contrast the most righteous person with the most unrighteous: otherwise it is not possible to rightly judge this. But how to make this contrast? Let us in no way take away either lawlessness from the wicked or righteousness from the righteous: but let us present both as perfect for their subject matter. So, first, let the righteous act as the best artists do. A skilled shipmaster or doctor carries out both the impossible and the possible in his business, and accepts one and leaves the other; If he makes a mistake, he knows how to correct the mistake. In the same way, the lawless one, skillfully engaging in lawlessness, must be hidden if he wants to be a complete lawless person. He is a fool who can be caught in lawlessness. For extreme untruth is to appear righteous without being so. So, let us attribute to the perfect lawless man the most complete untruth and will not limit ourselves, but assume that he, still untruthful, acquires the greatest glory of righteousness; and if he is deceived in anything, let him be strong to correct the mistake; let him have the persuasiveness of his words in case any of his iniquities are revealed; let him, when necessary, use violence, having courage and strength, and a supply of friends and money. Having presented him as such, let us place next to him a righteous man, an open and noble-minded man who, in the words of Aeschylus, wants not to appear, but to be good. Let's take it away from seeming. For if he appears to be righteous, he will receive honors and gifts for appearing so. And then it will be unknown whether he is like this for the sake of truth or for the sake of gifts and honors. Let us strip it of everything except the truth, and make it completely opposite to the first. Let him, being completely uninvolved in unrighteousness, fall under the greatest dishonor of untruth, let him be tempted in righteousness by the fact that dishonor and its consequences have no influence on him, but let him be unshakable until death, let him seem lawless during his life while being a righteous man. Thus, when both of them reach the extreme degree, one of truth, the other of untruth, let them judge which of them is more prosperous. Oh! Dear Glaucon, I (Socrates) said, with what power do you depict each of these two men and present them for consideration, like a pure statue. As much as I can, he said. When they are truly like this, then, I think, it is not at all difficult to explain in words what kind of life awaits each of them. So it must be said, although it will be said cruelly; Only you, Socrates, do not attribute to me what I say, but to those who exalt untruth more than truth. They say that such a righteous person will be beaten, tortured, thrown into chains, lose his eyes from fire, and finally, having endured all the torment, he will be drunk (ὰνασκινδυλευφήσεται). And he learns that it was not necessary to desire to be righteous, but to appear so. Letter to V.D. Olsufiev 147 It’s sad to hear about fortune telling that many, like children looking for a new toy, rushed to it without thinking about what they were playing with, what kind of toy it was and how the game might end. I share your opinion that this activity is impermissible. Let us imagine that a son in his father’s house, having the freedom to use everything he needs and many things that are pleasant, is not content with this and, encountering a vault for which he is not given a key, forges the key and unlocks it, let’s say, not in order to steal, but only to see what is hidden there. Isn’t this ignoble, shouldn’t a son be ashamed? Shouldn't it be unpleasant for the father? Here is a judgment about any fortune-telling or divination, including fortune-telling, according to the simplest view of this matter. Chief Chamberlain V.D. Olsufiev. Brünnich. 1851 But if you look more closely at the experiments, the court should become stricter. I am not curious, but general curiosity, and in some the desire to know the truth and to beware of lies and harm, are set in such motion that rumors and information about centuries-old experiments reach me by themselves, and in such ways that one cannot doubt the truth of this information. The table appointed several months in advance a day in September on which an important incident should happen. The day passed and the incident did not happen. What if, believing in fortune-telling, they decided to make some orders in accordance with the predicted event? This would necessarily end in shame, but it could also end in harm. Before one passionate money-lender, the table slandered his wife. Now, they say, a husband struggling with suspicion and an insulted wife are spending sleepless nights. These few experiences are enough to understand how much are to blame and how those who do not submit to the Wise God, who has locked the hidden and the future from us, and who try to unlock it with counterfeit keys, behave towards punishment. But that's not all. The fortune tellers realized that the tree could not understand questions and give answers consistent with the questions. Therefore they asked who answered them; and many of them received in response the names of various dead people. Now the question is: do the souls of the dead, whose names are announced to them, really answer the fortune tellers, or are these names used falsely and some unknowns are hidden under them? In this last case, these unknown ones are liars, ascribing to themselves other people's names: but lies do not belong to pure beings; the father of lies is the devil. So, fortune tellers must carefully consider who they are dealing with and from whom they want to learn the secret. Here we can recall the instruction of St. Anthony the Great regarding demons: If they present themselves as soothsayers, let no one cleave to them. But if those who answer the givers are truly dead, then the judgment on this matter was pronounced long ago by God Himself, through the prophet Moses, in the eighteenth chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy. May you not be accustomed to work according to the abominations of those tongues: may it not be found in you that he purifies his son and his daughter with fire, the magician with sorcery and the enchanter and the bird-enchanter, the sorcerer possessing charm, the womb-witcher and the standard-keeper, and asking the dead: for this is an abomination of the Lord, for these are all who do this: for their sake The Lord your God will consume abominations before you 148. Do the table [magicians] who question the dead know this judgment? Do they even think about how severely their work is subject to condemnation? It is ranked among the abominations for which God condemned the Canaanite peoples to extermination. If one of these fortunetellers said that he does not seek a conversation with the dead, but simply receives signs from the table to resolve questions of curiosity or necessity, justice requires him to say to him: you are also wrong. You don't know who is answering you; but you know that the tree cannot answer: consequently, you must conclude that the unknown person answering you is one of those who called themselves different during similar experiments. In the fourth chapter of Hosea's prophecy the following saying is read: in the signs we ask questions, and in our rods we conquer those 149. It is clearer from the Hebrew: My people ask the tree, and its rod answers it. The Prophet shows two types of fortune telling: with a tree and with a rod. The name tree, without a doubt, refers to wooden idols, from which, by means unknown to us, answers were received (Judges 18:5-6). Obviously, this is a deed that is repugnant to God, as it is associated with idolatry. By the name of the answering wand is meant fortune telling by means of wands, according to the signs on which side they fall when placed, or whether the noticed side lies up or down, and so on, which was called wand divination or wand sorcery. Although in this second type of fortune-telling there is no visible relation to idolatry, it, together with the first, is condemned by the prophet as a betrayal of the true God: having been deceived by the spirit of wandering and having become a harlot from your God 150 . Fortune telling cannot escape this accusation, no matter how hard it tries to explain itself in an easy and plausible manner. For those who look at fortune telling as a new discovery of a hitherto unknown force in nature and on this basis, perhaps, are thinking of establishing for themselves the legal right to continue research on it, it is useful to note that their work does not have the honor of not only a reasonable, but also an accidental new discovery in nature: they have only somehow made their way into the area of ​​​​an old pagan superstition. Tertullian, in the 23rd chapter of his apology for Christianity, denouncing the dreams of pagan magic (magiae phantasmata) and attributing them to the action of demons, says: per quos et caprae et mensae divinare consueverunt: through them both goats and tables usually perform fortune telling. He just doesn’t explain what techniques were used to make the tables facilitate fortune telling. Will anyone say that his table says something worthy of acceptance? You shouldn’t be seduced by this either. The inquisitive spirit in the young woman of the city of Philippi spoke about Paul and Silas, apparently worthy of acceptance: these men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation (Acts 16:17), but the apostle was not only not pleased with this, but also could not bear it with patience: he cast out the spirit. Sorry I started talking. This is not necessary for you; but perhaps this will arouse your attention, so that you can give the advice of the Wise One to your neighbor who is able to receive: Do not seek those who are superior to you, and do not test those who are stronger for yourself. Even as you are commanded, understand this: for you have no secret needs: do not be curious about the abundance of your deeds: for that which is greater than the understanding of man is shown to you: for many deceive their opinion, and destroy their thought with crafty opinion (Sir. 3:21-24). Letters to M. P. Pogodin 151 Dear Sir Mikhail Petrovich! From a distance I can hear that you are complaining about me for not expressing consent for the news of Gethsemane 152 to be published. Not having the convenience now to say, I am writing to you my justification. There are subjects that cannot and should not escape fame, but there are others that are more likely to evade it. Without a doubt, the desert dwelling, which you call Gethsemane, should belong to these last ones, if only there is an institution of this name, because the authorities did not announce this. Having learned this explanation of my action, I hope you will relieve me from the thought that you are complaining about me. Invoking God's blessing and peace to you, I remain with true respect, your humble, respectful servant You wrote kind words to me from the countess’s letter, so that at this time 154 special prayers would be offered for the most pious sovereign emperor, and his house, and his army, and for those of the same faith who are suffering and awaiting deliverance. I can say to this that before hearing these words it has already been taken as a rule that, in addition to the prayers at the relics of St. Sergius performed during the general divine service, we perform the first [prayer service] for this daily before Matins. It is fitting for those who are called to arms and those who are unarmed to arm themselves with prayer to the Lord of hosts. I invoke God's blessing upon you, with true respect I remain Your Excellency, most humble servant M. P. Pogodin. V. Perov. 1872 GTT I am returning two manuscripts 155, the contents of which cannot be indifferent to a Russian. It is difficult to say whether the actions of the Turks, enemies of Christianity, or those who call themselves Christians, [but] support the Turks during their very fury, are more hateful at the present time. The Lord... has prepared His throne for judgment 156: we must strive so that we are, or become, worthy to defend His cause. May God bless the love for the Tsar and the Fatherland, which governed your word and pen. Your Excellency's most humble servant You were pleased to look for me 157, and I do not give an answer for a long time, because I have little control over time. You can give me the pleasure of talking with you this evening, if you wish. I earnestly invoke God's blessing upon you. I was surprised by both the idea and the expressions of your letter that you “consider yourself under my wrath” 158. Nothing of mine is above you. If you somehow saw my thoughts that it would be fairer and more useful to more carefully observe moderation and caution in the now very widespread accusatory writing, so as not to spread exaggerated positions, not to blame the present for the past, the general for the particular, society and classes for the shortcomings of some individuals, so that one dark, little bright side of people does not spread mutual distrust and contempt between them for the disorder of the good spirit of the public; and if you thought that perhaps these thoughts also concern you somewhat, since you seem to sometimes take part in accusatory writing, look at this without exaggeration. These are thoughts, not anger. The Fathers teach how to separate a person’s experience and word. You can judge whether a deed or a word is right, and not judge a person. The soul of a person is higher and more extensive than his deeds and words: and only the Knower of the Heart sees it completely and judges it completely. However, the forgiveness you write about is beneficial for everyone. If I have in any way become a cause of displeasure or embarrassment for you, then I apologize. May the Lord grant your soul complete forgiveness for what it requires forgiveness. Letters to A.K. Razumovsky 160 Returning to Your Excellency the book of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, I have the honor, by your will, to add my weak opinion about the first article of this book. Please note that I did not analyze the entire essay in my short note, but took from it only a few examples to explain and confirm my opinion. It is desirable that our compatriots should not be so hasty in adopting foreign fashions in learning as they are in dress. […] Count A.K. Razumovsky. L. Guttenbrunn. 1801 Note on note on the character of David as the author of the psalms The writer promises to portray David as the creator of psalms, but in fact describes him as the creator of shepherd, heroic and sad odes. It cannot be proven that both are the same. […] The creator of the Psalms of David is not so much David as the Holy Spirit. We must be sure of this by the word of God and the word of David himself: and these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse is faithful, and the man whom the Lord raised up in Christ the God of Jacob is faithful, and the psalms of Israel are beautiful. The Spirit of the Lord is in me, and his word is on my tongue (2 Samuel 23:1-2). But let us assume that David, who in relation to the spirit of the psalms was only an instrument of the Holy Spirit, can be considered as the creator of their writing. We also agree that the psalms can be considered as poems and, without touching their divine spirit, we can notice the perfection of the human word with which it is invested. But this should not in any way offend This Spirit, nor raise doubts against Him, much less destroy Him. But what does a writer do? He shows David as a poet and completely destroys the prophet. These and similar deviations from the truth are easy to discern in the following passages. Page 3. “Being a shepherd of sheep, he (David) spent the most beautiful spring of his years in the meadows and there he collected for himself the flowers of shepherd’s poetry, with which even his heroic and sad odes were often decorated.” Since we do not have any songs of David except the psalms, then of course the writer thinks between them to look for heroic and sad odes. But why doubt? He finds (p. 13) in Psalm 41 an example of Jewish elegy. If a simple Christian were told that in our church during services they read heroic odes and Jewish elegies, he would probably say a prayer. Wouldn’t a scientist have acted more fairly with David if he had said that between the psalms of David it is just as impossible to find heroic odes, as there are psalms between the odes of Horace, and that Psalm 41 is no more a Jewish elegy, just as in the book of Tristia, elegy 11 of Ovid is not a Roman psalm, although it contains the prayer of the poet? 161 […] Page 6. “They (the psalms) were preserved and kept, like royal psalms.” No, Mr. writer, like sacred, prophetic, God-inspired psalms. The Jews did not mix royal songs with sacred songs, which can be seen from the example: 2 Chronicles 35:2. […] Page 7. “With his psalms began explanations of the properties of God, human nature, virtues and vices, the happiness of the pious and the destruction of the wicked; since they were incompatible in the law of Moses and in the turbulent times of the judges of Israel.” It seems that here the writer did not quite listen to his own words. Let us repeat them: “With the psalms of David, explanations of the properties of God began. In the Law of Moses and during the time of the judges, explanations of the properties of God were incompatible. With the psalms of David, explanations of virtues and vices began. Explanations of virtues and vices. were incompatible in the law of Moses and in the troubled times of the judges.” So the divine legislator of the Jews left the Jews without an explanation of the properties of God. virtues and vices, that is, without knowledge of God and morality! So, in the books of Moses and the judges, explanations of the properties of God, virtues and vices were not even written! Let us not be bold judges of a brother whose heart only God knows, but let us say that this description of the character of David intentionally obscures the divine character of the sacred books. But one cannot help but say that many of his expressions have this appearance, although, perhaps, they arose only from dissatisfied attention to the subject. One German writer describes the German false interpreters of the Bible in the following words: “They strained every effort to create doubt against the Bible, hinting that the Old Testament consisted only of Jewish folk tales, fables and untrue stories; that Moses, although he was a great man and a great lawgiver, also deceived the stupid people. All this was not said openly, but a reasonable listener could get to the meaning. They called the books of the prophets Jewish poems, in which some of the events that happened were presented in a pompous style as future ones, and some of them were suggested mysteriously and enigmatically, which either happened later by chance, or could have been predicted due to some circumstances.” Perhaps one of the foreign works of this kind seduced our writer with its appearance, or the news, or the fame of the foreign author: and he who plucked a whole handful of fresh flowers from a foreign field captured the poisonous herbs mixed with them. We should wish him more caution, as well as his readers. Letters to F. Ya. Repninsky 162 Finally I had to respond to your entertaining and kind letter. But now I am more interested in what you feel in the present than in what you think about the ancient past. Your daughter’s illness is a hieroglyph in which, in order to find the desired meaning, you would, of course, give up all the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphs. For this hieroglyph it is not easy to find an interpreter who would fully resolve it; but I think that it is possible to show you partly the initial meaning of it. The meaning of this hieroglyph is: visitation of God. You have enough knowledge to verify that this interpretation is correct. With a believing heart, hold on to this spirit of the hieroglyph that appears to you and do not allow yourself to be much embarrassed by what remains dark in it. God, revealing secrets, reveals to you more and more hidden in the actions of His destinies: His mercy, love and salvation both for temporary life and for eternal life. The discoveries of Mr. Gulyanov 163 are truly worthy of attention, especially because they show in the mysterious darkness simply darkness, and not the gloomy light with which the partial admirers of Egyptian wisdom wanted to blind us. […] I received your letter and, at the same time, the gift of translating the notes on the third Book of Ezra with gratitude, but also with concern and with some shame: with concern that you had undertaken such work for me; with shame at the fact that you so quickly and surely satisfied my noticed need, and I, to the question you proposed to me, could hardly imagine my answer after a few months. It is quite fortunate to reduce my guilt that my answer is completed on the very day on which your translation is completed. Many of the notes seem weak to you, but to me many are quite entertaining. It is true that they are often unsatisfying; but sometimes it is not the interpreter who is to blame, but the book; sometimes he refrains from saying more in order to seem less strange to people of different ways of thinking, because the appearance of strangeness may prevent the book from spreading and disseminating what is useful in it. As for the addition taken from the Arabic translation, and the question in it about praying for others, it seems to me that we need to look closely at the question so as not to rush to condemn the answer. “Will a righteous person be allowed to pray to the Most High for a sinner on the day of judgment?” The words “at the day of judgment” may be used to defend a negative answer. The petition takes place while the judicial investigation is being carried out and the day of the verdict, called the day of trial, has not arrived. When the judge comes to pronounce the verdict, it is no longer time to admit a lawyer. However, I am not a defender of the Arabic article. […] May the Risen Lord and our Resurretor, with the gaze of light and life, look upon your heart, which is opened with the joy of the Resurrection, for communication with your neighbors in this joy. Let righteousness flow into your heart from the gaze of the Sun, just as life, joy and splendor continuously emanate from the gaze of the natural sun into the world. Even if it is cloudy, we will not be embarrassed: the sun sees through the cloud and acts beneficially without being visible. This action is sometimes felt, although not clearly contemplated, and sometimes even accepted, although not clearly felt. Doesn’t this also explain what you find strange, that a person cannot express in words, although he has something he would like to express? Thank God that your health has been restored. The soul, not burdened from this side, may use its strength, or, better, the strength given from God, to improve its own area, subject to its freedom. It is good to trust in the Lord; but we also need to use our small free efforts in order to accept the power given from Him and use it. It must be done in your own garden, although only God can grow it. If a cross comes to the princess after she wanted to take the cross, then shouldn’t she force herself to be in good spirits, because her wish is being fulfilled, although not in the way we thought? However, may the Supreme Crusader help her bear her cross, and may He who has received help in bearing the cross give her help if she becomes exhausted. To those who are sick and who bless God, I gladly invoke God’s blessing; may she continue to bless God, who knows what she does, and, through sorrows and patience, may God’s consolations rejoice her. […] For several days now, dear sir Fyodor Yakovlevich, I have shared your sadness in my heart before I could share it in words: I asked to see if you had met her; cared how you would receive her; I previously called for your consolation. Now I hear that you accepted God’s visit with tears and unquestioningly. A sad parent's heart needs them, and may they ease it. If tomorrow did not present me with an occupation that would prevent me from freely managing the other parts of the day, I would try to see you in order to satisfy, if not your consolation, then my participation in your grief. Not thinking that my words could in this case have the power that is needed, I turn to you the words of St. Basil the Great, written to Nektarios on the occasion of the death of his son: “I ask you, as a zealous ascetic, to stand against the greatness of the blow, not to fall into cruel sadness and not to lose heart, being confident that although the reasons for the incidents that happen by Providence are unknown to us, nevertheless, what is from the All-Wise and Loving One sent down, we must accept it, even if it is difficult for us; especially since God knows how to distribute what is useful to everyone, and why He puts unequal ends to our lives.” I will add: think that your consolation is needed, among other things, for those who can and should be a consolation to you. I again call upon you from the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. I am quite guilty of not writing for a long time, especially when the content of your letter of December 20 contains items that require an answer. This is the same as happens in the matter of our correction. So be it, this day will pass: “tomorrow”! "Tomorrow" means one day; but it can take a whole life, just as it took me two months after your letter. It is difficult and difficult to be in the struggle with the old Adam for a long time, to see him still in strength or renewing his strength after his deposition, and not yet see the rather decisive victory of the new man. But you solved this problem well. If everything became easy, quickly, with just the help given, almost without effort and care of ourselves, then where would there be battle and feat? So, there is no need to be discouraged that the battle continues; but we must look to the Leader, the Lord Jesus, follow Him, with His help, carefully use the weapons He gives and use strength or even weakness as a weapon; notice where and how the enemy attacks, and, depending on that, take precautions, do not rely on a private victory and do not doze off after it. The leader sees when we are exhausted not from our negligence and do not despair in the face of a desperate attack by the enemy, and at his discretion he gives wonderful help, exalts the victory, adorns the crown. Whether the fear about the Georgian prince ended and how, I don’t know. That the princess grieves about this is natural; and so that the grief is not excessive, let it be helped in this by prayer, reflection and attention to the reasoning of others who look at this with love for mankind and can better understand the matter than a mind outraged by grief. What is the disaster? Deprived of wealth? Don't people live in poverty? If others choose it voluntarily, as a weapon useful for a Christian, why not accept it in peace when it comes through Providence? But it is difficult for a person who has not prepared for it and is in old age to endure this change. This is true. But it is difficult, not impossible: because God does not allow one to be tempted beyond his might. What then? Should a daughter grieve to the extreme, thereby upsetting herself and thereby increasing her father’s misfortune? Isn’t it better to hold on more firmly to faith and hope in the goodness of God and, instead of engaging in useless and harmful grief in excess, with moderate grief turn more diligently to prayer, which can benefit both her and her father? It's sad to see my father condemned. And it's true. But human judgment will not decide the fate of man, but God’s. If convicted innocently, he will receive a reward more valuable than earthly wealth and earthly glory. If it is due to guilt, it is better to let it be cleansed by the deprivation here and blotted out before the coming judgment; let the scattering of earthly blessings help you to turn more zealously to the pursuit of heavenly ones. With similar reasoning, a person can fight with sorrowful thoughts and overcome through the Blood of the Lamb, the meekness and patience of Christ, contemplated in His example and assimilated by grace and faith. However, I wish that the prince’s business would and would end better than feared. […] Letter to V. Rostislavovich 164 You would like to demand my approval of your project of a people's lottery for the formation of a land bank. The question of the land bank is not subject to my inquiry or trial. It seems to me that the question requires considerable attention: is the degree of land productivity in Russia sufficiently reliable for a land bank? The question requires even more strict attention: with the hope of a big win, which will go to a few, to seduce many people so that they give up and lose three rubles, acquired, perhaps, through hard work - is this consistent with the pure beginning of Christian activity? You think that they will give you money without the lure of winning. If you are confident, then try without the temptation of winning, for the sake of the common good. And if this were successful, it would be honest and glorious. Letters to A.P. Tolstoy 165 It is a great pity for that curiosity which wants to play with Hume, 166 to amuse itself with the extraordinary and covet the hidden. Who knows if an unknown force might want to play with those playing with it? Without noticing, you can end up with a significant loss. If Hume's art is nothing more than subtle cunning, why surrender oneself to the arbitrariness of such cunning? If Hume says that he uses the assistance of spirits, and if this is believed, then one must take into account that there is a spiritual world of light in which truth lives, but there is also a spiritual world of gloom and darkness, in which dreams and lies have the same place as in the visible, sensory world, although they know something else there that they do not know here. Therefore, truly spiritual people warn against curiosity to enter into communication with the spiritual world, as dangerous. Those whom the meekness and abstinence of Onufriy Krainev 167 were strongly disposed in his favor must refrain from drawing a decisive conclusion about his dreams. Dreams are different. They can come from various states of the body, especially the nerves, from the heart, thoughts, imagination, as these are in reality, and finally from the influences of the spiritual world: pure, mixed and impure. In order to determine the merit of a dream, a lot of testing is required. I don’t put it off any further - to return the note about the widower who married the cousin of his deceased wife. This is exactly the fourth degree of kinship according to the rules of calculation taught in the Helmsman’s Book. […] I believe that you, the guardian of the law at the Holy Synod, will act in accordance with the nature of your ministry if you leave this matter in its legal course. Mother says: I have children. The truth will say to this: for seven years, when you started the business, you knew where it was leading according to the law; and therefore had to behave like a bride and groom, waiting to see whether the law would allow you to be spouses and have children. Philanthropy outside the law is not as reliable as on the path of the law. Count A. P. Tolstoy. P. F. Sokolov. First half of the 19th century It would not be superfluous for the Holy Synod to consider whether it is useful for the Church to print newly compiled services and akathists, in which there are many words and few spiritual thoughts, and to occupy the illegible with these, while the devoted essential services do not find enough time and zeal in the precise execution of the divinely inspired fathers. You rightly wish me consolation. There is a great need for it, because many sorrowful situations present themselves for the Church and the Fatherland. I find consolation when I meet souls walking in faith, good deeds and humility, in protection from the vanity of this age; but this consolation is also dissolved by sorrow at the thought that this too is threatened either by temptations or by sorrow from the increasing disorder of this world. […] It occurs to me to offer your meditation the word of the Lord: if you are persecuted in a city, flee to another 168. You see, it allows you to leave only when you are being persecuted, and when you are not yet persecuting, you must stand and, despite the controversy, testify to the truth. He who came to earth to proclaim to men the pleasant summer of the Lord 169 may he grant you the coming summer, pleasant to you, under the protection and guidance of Providence, pleasing to the Lord through your activity, for the peace of your soul and for the good of the public. But neither the evening dawn of this year nor the morning dawn of the coming year will seem bright to me. The clouds darken, the distant rumble of thunder strikes, lightning rods are either missing or they are being broken. The waves rise, but Jesus saves 170. Rise, Lord, rebuke the waves and light up the clouds! […] A good rule is that in case of bewilderment and difficulty, to surrender ourselves to the Lord, “as He wills” will arrange for us. May the Lord justify your faith with good consequences. […] The truth, although sad, must be seen and shown and learned from it, so as not to live to see a more bitter truth, which not only teaches, but also punishes for inattention to it. […] Letter to P.V. Khavsky 171 By letter dated June 25, you demand my consent to decorate your essay on fights, as you put it, with my name. I never thought that my name could serve as a decoration for any work, and I never gave my consent to such use of my name. The good sons of the world would probably consider my name insulted if they saw it on a book about duels, although written, of course, not in defense of duels. I call upon you God’s blessing and, as one of the blessings, the continuation of a peaceful long life. […] Letters to E. R. Vyazemskaya 172 I received the eagles and stood on them today, entrusting the work to the One for whom you worked them out with a needle and who commands us that, looking at them, we work out the eagle in spirit. You didn’t think, perhaps, that you were embroidering me an instruction, but I willingly accept your work. […] Shall I briefly say what all the reasons for your despondency and despondency itself mean? All are secret calls from God, so that you resort to God more and more. For although you are now running, you, without a doubt, do not consider yourself to have achieved it; and He, in His goodness, uses everything to attract you to Himself, to bring you closer and, finally, for a deep inner union with Him in faith and love. This is the answer to many mysterious things in life, but this answer is so great that while we live, the riddle often remains unsolved. Let us rely on the Wise One, Who composed the riddle of life, and from Him we wait with patience and hope for the solution. May He resolve your worries into peace, your sorrows into consolation, your prayers into fulfillment. Miter and eagle of Metropolitan Philaret. Gift for the 50th anniversary of the bishop's ministry. August 5, 1867 Talk about sorrows and embarrassments: without knowing them, I don’t know what to say about them, and perhaps even if I knew, I wouldn’t be able to say anything useful. I only know that they don’t go to heaven by flowers, but most often by thorns. Have you seen how food is cooked? What confusion in a boiling vessel! But the food will be tasty and healthy, but without it it would not be tasty or healthy. If your vessel is near the fire, what can you do if it is restless! Be patient! Perhaps, over time, what is written will become clear: I passed through fire and water, and brought us to rest 173. Blessed is the Lord, who exposes illnesses of the soul to those of the body, but does not completely defeat them. Oh, if only we did not prevent Him from healing us! Let us trust in Him, let us love Him; loving Him, we will hate evil: and He will show us good through the most evil. […] What’s on my mind is not so much the long summer, but the eternal memory of many of our brothers in St. Petersburg. A powerful lesson for those left behind! Oh, if only this lesson were understood and accepted! Letters to G. E. Golovina 174 May the Lord bless your new year and grant you His peace and good days, in His good pleasure. May He grant you strengthening in your strength: but if it is pleasing to Him, accept your infirmities with obedience to His good destiny in all things. […] Sincere repentance is a good thing, but there is a procedure for this. The Fathers say: reveal your infirmities to the one who can heal them, and for this, in fact; and do not disturb this peace of others unnecessarily. […] This is how it sometimes happens, according to the arrangement of Providence, that people remain silent about what a person is guilty of, and accuse him of what he is not guilty of. In this case, it is better to humble yourself before God’s justice than to complain about people. […] Try to patiently and quietly endure the difficulties of illness, thinking that the Lord turns sorrow, patiently endured, into healing and cleansing of the soul. Do not be afraid of the difficulty of illness, thinking that the Lord, as the apostle assures, will not leave you to be tempted beyond your might 175 . Fear and mental anxiety are not conducive to calming the body; peace of the soul, more or less, brings peace to the bodily powers. May the Lord grant you in peace and joy to meet and spend the day from heaven proclaiming the glory of Christ the Savior and God's favor to people. Having been born into our lives, He brought new life to us: may He grant you the communion of this grace-filled life, not diminishing, but increasing, although the outer man is exhausted. E[vgeniy] Aleksandrovich] 176 speaks of his illness as a punishment, it is good that he looks at it humbly, but sorrows are not only punishment, but also healing and a gift or reward, as the Apostle tells us: you have been granted not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for Him 177 . Although not for Him, yet with obedience and devotion to Him, to have sorrow is also a Gift. […] That you feel with sorrow your removal from church services is a just feeling. But when it pleases God to exercise your patience through this deprivation, temper your sorrow with patience and obedience to the will of God; and the Lord will accept this instead of sacrifice. […] The thought of receiving holy anointing is a good thought. But it is better for you to fulfill it without any of your sophistication, according to the exact words of the Apostle James: may the sick one call for the elders of the church, and may the Sacrament be accomplished with the prayer of faith in the Lord, the Physician of souls and bodies, and by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit acting in the Sacrament. May the Lord grant this to happen, for the good of your soul and to make your temporary life easier. I don’t mean to send you the icon of the vision of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine soon: turn to your patroness with your heart and without the mediation of her image. since your thought is already directed towards the transition from this temporary life to the eternal, I thought to send you an image that would facilitate this useful thought. On it you will see Christ the Savior receiving the soul of His Most Holy Mother into the heavenly abodes. Stretch your thoughts there and position your soul so that it can freely go there, without being attracted to anything earthly that must be left behind. A will devoted to God easily opens the door to heaven. […] The fate of the Lord is incomprehensible. The mind disappears before them. Thank God that sorrow and love can have prayer. Lord, accept those who have departed as a pure sacrifice, as a pledge is preserved for those who remain. […] The fathers are enlightening, the spiritual writers are edifying, but Divine food is in the Gospel. Taste and see that the Lord is good 178. May the Lord help you to pass through the field of fasting in a way that is beneficial for your soul and not burdensome for the outer person. Peace to you and patience in the devotion of your will to the will of God. One old man lived on the labor of his hands and did not want to accept offerings. But finally he weakened in strength, could not work, and when he received assistance from another, he said: “Glory to Thee, Lord, that I was deemed worthy to receive alms in Thy name.” The one who gives the benefit should thank God for what he can give; and the receiver must give thanks to God, who sent the giver. Think about this, and may peace be with you. Countess E. S. Deleur. Photo from the 70s. XIX century From day to day, my thoughts turn to you to say a word of participation about a sad event for all who love the Fatherland, and for you also for a special reason 180. But my old age is moving badly, and the sad thought, overwhelming with its heaviness, silently plunges me into thought. We pray with all our might for the ever-memorable boyar Count Mikhail 181, may the Lord remember in goodness his Christian feat of loyalty to the Tsar and love for the Fatherland until death, and may he reward him with peace and a heavenly crown. We included his name in the diptychs. The word about his death is on everyone’s lips, and everyone has a feeling of loss; therefore many prayers for him ascend to heaven. What to think about his sudden death? One might think that it should not increase feelings of sadness. He moved directly from the difficult feat of the state to a spiritual feat: he withdrew from all the worldly world, in the midst of rural simplicity he celebrated the consecration of the church he had created 182, he rejoiced spiritually, his soul was exalted, and then it was said to his Angel: “This is a good moment to take this soul.” Let us give him, ourselves, each other and our whole life to Christ our God. Letter to S. S. Meshcherskaya 183 Since the Holy Spirit fills everything, those who pray to Him everywhere pray in the one Church of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Your Excellency, both in absence in the flesh, but in fellowship in the spirit, did a good deed for me through your prayer on an important and difficult day for me 184. Please accept my sincere gratitude for this, and much more than for my congratulations (however, of course, also well-disposed) on a title that is especially terrible, both because of its essential strength and because of the little knowledge of its strength. […] Letters to E. A. Mukhanova 185 If the Lord does not give you a chance to say what you thought to say or hear: let the sacrifice of obedience be offered to Him by silence and lack of curiosity. […] Peace and blessings to you from the Lord. Tell the sick 186: The Lord kills and gives life, and because of the multitude of our illnesses in our hearts, His consolations make our souls glad, as the holy Psalmist says. And therefore, let us strengthen ourselves with obedience to surrender ourselves to the will of God, in the hope that He will not allow us to suffer more than we can endure. My prayers are weak: according to the will of God and trust in immeasurable mercy, and I call on her, as far as I can, from the Lord for strength, complacency in sorrow and relief from the unbearable. May the Lord grant you, in the days of holy sorrow, to participate by faith and love in the suffering of the Lord and to bring you into the joy of His Resurrection, complete and complete. I wish you health and peace of mind. Why should a person outrage himself with unfavorable guesses for some insignificant reason? And is it necessary to make your peace of mind dependent on human opinion? If we act rightly, thank God, and human opinion cannot deprive us of this. But I say this in general, as a person should lay a solid and safe foundation for his peace of mind. As for me: with the help of God, I do not allow the good opinion I have perceived about people whom I had the opportunity to thoroughly know to be easily shaken, as I said this before, and, I think, did not give any reason to doubt this. I pray to the Lord to preserve the souls who seek Him in peace, both with Him and among themselves, so that in mutual peace the treasure of God’s peace may be more conveniently preserved. The Lord sees our weakness and unworthiness. But His saints intercede for us sinners. His mercy intercedes before Him for us. The sufferings of His Only Begotten Son were sacrificed to Him in order to alleviate and dissolve our sufferings with consolation. May He help His servant, who is in charge of her fate. St. Sergius, who often helped her, may he visit her now with his holy help. Moreover, his icon and part of the clothes in which he rests. The Lord is with you. Do not give up trust in Him and devotion to His will. […] You knew the newly deceased well enough to have confidence that she endured the sorrows and suffering of her earthly life with obedience and obedience to the will of God, that she was still here from time to time to experience what was said: due to the multitude of illnesses in my heart, Your consolations made my soul glad 187; and that consequently the Lord has now called her into the world. Dissolve and temper your sadness with a comforting thought about her present world and a peaceful prayer for her, continue the harmony of your souls tuned by love. […] The writer says a lot as a person who looks at the East through Western glasses. It is not bad that he made, probably without noticing, a remarkable admission that “the spirit of Latin centralization was established on the basis of religion,” that is, that from the centralization of pagan Rome came the centralization of Christian Rome, and consequently the pope can more correctly be called the successor of Julius Caesar than the vicar of Christ. Do not complain about an illness that limits communication with people, but benefit from it by accepting it with obedience and, even more so, by talking with God, rather than less with people. […] Is it better to make excuses for using cruel words, or not to use them at all? The truth, expressed firmly but moderately, can be tolerated by those who do not like it and can reason with themselves. A cruel word irritates and thus prevents impartial attention and admonition. […] Your news is regrettable, but ignorance cannot destroy the deplorable; and therefore it is better to know what the Lord sends in order to humble yourself before His fate. When good souls land, they take with them part of the mercy of God that descends on them and through them, and the remaining sinners of us are more threatened by the wrath of God. Letter to P. A. Mukhanova 188 Apocalyptic times do not begin now. They began from the time the revelation was given to the evangelist. Many tried to attach the Apocalypse to the events, but not many succeeded. The prophecies become clear closer to their decisive fulfillment, so that one can recognize the hand of God and unerringly surrender to its guidance. However, don’t the signs of the times show that we are closer to the end than to the beginning of apocalyptic times? To this we can answer: yes, and there is some instruction in this. Letters to V. M. Naryshkina 189 I earnestly wish God’s blessings and hope in His help and obedience to His will to you who are sick and to you who grieve him! Your doctors have their own, and I have my own medical orders, or, as they say, prescriptions. Here is another one, which was written by a good disciple of the Only Physician: Does anyone in you hurt; let him call the elders of the church, and let them perform a prayer over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith will save the sick one, and the Lord will raise him up: and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him 190. You too pray and trust in God. However, sorrows are sent not only for hope, but also for patience. Expect help and be willing to endure tribulation in obedience. While illness little by little brings up the thought of death, which is sooner or later inevitable, gradually get used to the thought of death, so that when it finally appears, it does not appear too unexpectedly. “Or am I upsetting you with these thoughts when I should be comforting you?” I wouldn’t want to, but it seems to me that we should follow, as much as possible, the instructions of God’s Providence. Seek consolation not always in having what you want, but also in obediently enduring the uncertainty of the future and reconciling the present with the future. However, may God of consolation be with you and give you hope and more hope! If possible, I will try to see the patient and you. Packs and packs I entrust to God you and all of yours. May the Lord forgive you for every deed, word, or thought that requires forgiveness! Forgive me too; for the time of general repentance is coming. According to your letter, it turned out that I was coming to you, and you wrote to me on the feast of St. Alexis. God desires that on holidays we should not so much triumph as humble ourselves. Let us surrender to His will; but I, with the Psalmist, although not solemn, yet not entirely sad, sing a song: will not my soul obey God? From Him is my patience 191. However, I wish that God grants you speedy relief and recovery. […] One should find more difficulty in judging people than in looking at them simply, as one looks at trees shaken by the wind or at a flowing river; but it is clear that there is a difficulty in not judging. What to do? We must learn gradually to first condemn ourselves for condemning our neighbors, then to refrain from condemning ourselves in words, when the thought is prompted to do so, and then to hold back the thought itself. He who knows and judges himself well does not have the time to judge others. Yet all good things are acquired through heroism, recognition of one’s weakness and God’s help, which may be with you! […] Anyone who feels how grave their sinfulness is seems to belong to those who labor and are burdened, but it is they who the meek and humble-hearted Lord Jesus promises to give rest to. Let us bring to Him the burdens and burdens of our conscience and heart and lay them before Him in humility, and ask Him for relief in meekness. May He, in His mercy, give you the relief of every burden, the resolution of every bond that binds the soul, so that in the immaculate freedom of His children you may taste Him and see that He is good, and strengthen your mother-in-law’s path until peace is perfect in Him. Forgive me and everyone, may you be forgiven more completely. […] And that the word of consolation is not always there when expected, this, of course, is the poverty of the one from whom consolation is expected; however, sometimes the word does not come when the ear is not quite open. That sorrow and lamentation are powerfully armed against your peace, do not lose heart because of it. It is not a problem to be in a struggle, and often this is not from us: we must, with the help of God, struggle so as not to voluntarily surrender to the forces that fight us and to protect the remaining drops of tears and protect the small spark from the storm; Knowing our weaknesses, let us judge others less; Judging them less, complaining about them less. […] If you are not in the church, is it not possible for the church to be in you or with you? David is with you in the Psalter, the fathers and shepherds are with you in the prayer book. Listen to them and to yourself, praising and singing to the Lord in your hearts. We rejoiced because they said to me: Let us go to the house of the Lord. I deign to sneak into the house of my God 192. This is true, but the following is also true: I want... for men to say prayers in every place, raising their holy hands without anger or reflection 193. Let us not deprive ourselves of the church when we can, but let us also learn to carry it with us. The Lord and His mercy are with you all, everywhere and in every way! Indeed, the sickle of the harvest often shines near you. Well? Let good grains go into the Lord's granary. Looking at this, we should not wither without benefit, but rather grow and mature as much as possible while the long-suffering sickle passes us by. […] May the Lord open to you in your heart the book of prayer, for which external books are preparation and guidance, and which alone gave birth to all external and prayer books through the mouth of the saints, and it opens in the name of the Lord Jesus. Apply this key to your heart, which opens the Kingdom of God that is within; apply it often and simply: it will be opened to the one who interprets. […] Let fasting be not a change of food, but the taking away of food from passions and earthly desires and the nourishment of the spirit with the memory of God and divine desire. Let us supplement the lack of fasting in what comes into the mouth with fasting in what comes from the mouth and from the heart. […] Letters to E. V. Novosiltseva 194 If you are consoled by the fact that you were given a prosphora over which they prayed for you, then I am also consoled by seeing that you accept with due attention the church order, which is all, down to the very details, aimed at the union of believers and obedient souls with God and towards communion in Him with each other. If we participated in divine services with such directions and with full influence, how we ourselves would open up to the heavenly and spread our wings to each other! […] For embarrassment during confession, it would be useful to look for the reasons. It happens - from the remnants of pride, common in our carnal man, that the penitents are restlessly indignant, seeing themselves guilty and unclean, instead of meekly and tenderly complaining before the beloved Lord, whom we have offended. In such confusion, we must expose ourselves in advance and, moreover, think that God already sees us in all our guilt and impurity before our confession and awaits only our sincere confession in order to cleanse and forgive us. Reh: Let me confess my iniquity... and You have forsaken the wickedness of my heart 195. It happens that worrying about not omitting some sin in confession produces restlessness in the spirit and confusion in thoughts and memory. As a warning to this, we must think that the heart is deep 196, and therefore ask God, who tests hearts, to bring us into the knowledge of our sins and from our secret sins, that is, such sins that we did not notice and did not confess, to cleanse us, just as David prayed 197. A sin brought to memory after confession, if it is not convenient to reveal it to the spiritual father and if it does not disturb the conscience too much, can be confessed before God alone, with the firm intention of avoiding it and confessing it at the first opportunity. Writing a confession can sometimes be useful; and sometimes with greater simplicity and purity the heart of the repentant pours out in words not prepared in advance. The confessor, depending on the state of the penitent, is better able to resolve such cases: if only the penitent asks with a sincere desire and with faith to receive the word of salvation. Sorry if I said a lot and unnecessary things. […] Countess E. V. Novosiltseva Blessing and salvation from the Lord. Your letter dated October 26 – there is no need, it is not short. There is something in its content that does not burden, but facilitates. For the soul, if it is not completely immersed in spiritual insensibility, the desire for God is so natural that, seeing another soul on this path, it awakens and cries out, and in this case, what has been said can be unnoticeably fulfilled: If anyone understands you by strength in one field, go with him two 198 . According to this commandment, it is not a burden for me to walk with you along the path along which you have already forced me to walk mentally in your letter, and if He who is the way, the truth and the life 199 would grant me the grace to see and tell you sometimes - where the path is more certain or the procession is more reliable! But forgive me if I limit myself to the above commandment and do not dare to step forward to become a leader. My general and necessary duty so far exceeds my measure that it would be incompatible to arbitrarily assume private duties, the fulfillment of which requires constant attention. Let him, without whom no one comes to the Father 200, be your leader! They are, right - although invisible. However, I am ready, in any case, to tell you the will of God when you demand it and when, according to your faith, it is given to me. […] Sorrows have made you feel the need for the consolation of faith. It's good that you noticed her. If you were happier in the world, perhaps you would not have known this need and would not have found this consolation. What of this? Recognize that sorrows are a blessing from God, and thank God for them. It is good for me, for Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn by Thy justification 201. About the theater, which I have never been to and about which I therefore have only a conjectural idea, it is difficult for me to judge to what extent participation in this fun can be innocent. Being in the theater out of necessity is certainly better for another person than because of one’s own inclination towards music. Music, even if it was without words, is, if not tasteless, then not dumb; and theatrical music, no doubt, for the most part speaks in the language of some kind of passion and therefore, whether a lot or a little, breaks the inner silence and dissipates. I know a person who is sometimes forced to go to the theater: then he tries not to listen to the performance, but to think about the bustle of entertainment, and sometimes, in order to overcome distraction, he closes his eyes and gets ready to pray. Why shouldn’t the image of the Crucified Savior be above the bed? But at the same time, it is necessary that the proximity of this image reminds you of the presence of the Depicted One, and that you thereby awaken yourself to prayer and reverent meditation, and drive away idle and vain thoughts. I seek God at night. Remembering You on my bed 202. […] It would be useful to read the New Testament in order, one chapter a day, or two when time allows. It would be good to read the Psalter in order, according to kathisma, for example, at certain times. It contains prayers, instructions of consolation, for various occasions and states of mind. However, it is better not to multiply the number of prayers and readings, but to try to read the little things you read slowly, deepen your attention and, so to speak, give yourself time in peace to taste the spirit and power of what you read. To reduce the excessive variety of reading, it is most likely to leave reading someone's new sermons; It's enough if you read it once. The mental and heartfelt use of the sayings of Holy Scripture, in various cases, in order to place oneself in the presence of God and preserve or restore peace of mind, is a good deed and can bear fruit, as you seem to partly note. Continue this exercise in the name of the Lord. Self-love is the common enemy. But He who sacrificed endless love for us, laying down His soul for us and crucifying all our passions on this Cross, has the power to give us victory over our pride. For this, let us diligently look at His crucifixion and pray for our co-crucifixion, not complaining that victory is not suddenly granted, but also not becoming lazy in the feat. I was interrupted; and today they come for this letter another time. However, I will add. What you say about me, I accept as an indication of what I should be. But it’s better not to tempt me with words that are beyond my measure. Remember what the apostle said: I do not think I have reached 203. Even when Jesus Christ Himself was told: “Good Teacher,” He rejected this praise, saying: “No one is good, except one God.” Judge by this how praise between us is either inappropriate or dangerous. Praise be to the one God, who gives every good and perfects strength in weakness, which gifts I fervently wish for you. Your Excellency's most humble servant and worshiper. I wish God's blessing to everyone I named above in the letter. Don’t judge too much, especially people in whose good intentions both you and I are sure. Whoever has someone to take advice from, does well if he takes it constantly and does not turn unnecessarily from one to another and from another to a third. Let the universal Christian joy about the birth of the Savior be your own joy, true, pure and complete. Found by the wise men and the shepherds, the wise and the simple in the manger through the wise simplicity of faith, through the simple wisdom of love, may He be found by you in the heart in which He does not hesitate to lie down, as in a manger, until He makes it a throne for Himself. Or do you not know, ashamed, asks the apostle, or do you not know that Jesus Christ is with you? Are we really unskillful 205? What a treasure we carry within ourselves through the grace of baptism and communion, and it often happens that we are careless and do not know it! But I wrote this denunciation for myself, and for you I only wanted to write a congratulation. May the blessing of the silent Word, the Child, be upon you, by whom alone the weak words of human blessings are valid! You are preparing for communion. Let the Visitor of souls Himself prepare an abode for Himself in you, as it pleases Him. If you are outraged by the thought that your abode is not quite decorated for Him, remember the manger and calm down. It is only necessary to cleanse them and remove the dumb ones when the Word comes. Having said that it is more worthy, I can hereby thank Your Excellency for the kind memory of my day. My day is unworthy of this, but the deed of your love is all the more worthy of my gratitude before God. I already know that the intention of you and some others to bring together a prayer about my unworthiness was fulfilled by the deed itself. And I received the prosphora. You have given me not only consolation, but also edification. Here is the ancient communication of the disciples of Christ and the children of the Church! For I know that I do not have the slightest right to your participation in me, except that, despite all my unworthiness, I am considered a servant of Christ, Whom you love and seek, and of the Church, to which you are obedient and devoted. May our Head and Chief Shepherd reward you all according to your heart with such blessings as are most desirable for the consolation, confirmation and perfection of your souls; tell this to those praying with you before I have time to say anything to anyone. Oh, if instead of the mistrust and divisions that are so common today, the children of the Church would be more united in love, which believes everything and hopes everything! 206 And the weak would find strength in unity, and the small ears of corn in the sheaves would be more whole and safer. Say that I don’t remember about myself; I would like it to happen according to your word, but I cannot boast about it; I will only say about myself and you that it is good to look back at yourself as little as possible and to look more steadily to God as much as possible. Our eyes are directed to the Lord our God, until He will reward us! 207 Just as you care about some of your work, then I will tell you about my work, which began and ends, however, without further care. My sermons from the past year and the life of St. Sergius are printed and intertwined. I will send you and some others who favorably accept my half-trained teaching. Your letter promises that you remember me today with prayer: that is why I remember you today with gratitude and prayer. May the Lord bless the coming summer for you and make it for you, by grace, the summer of the Lord, and by the consolation of grace, a pleasant summer 208. If bitter grass is mixed with bread (for it seems to me that we are just leaving Egypt!), know that this is also according to the will of God, and may it be for the health of the soul. For the adventure of confession, condemning yourself for sin, thank God for your help. You see how good He is! You sinned with a proud thought, but when your heart rejected it, He used the feeling of sin as a means to give you tears, in which you finally found consolation. When, upon communion, we felt happy, this means that the tears were also cleansing. But having shown you mercy, now the Lord demands justice from you, once again arousing an accusatory feeling in your conscience. Justice requires that you, having condemned your confessor, albeit only mentally, condemn yourself for it before him and receive forgiveness from him. In this case, you can avoid self-praise if you only say that you sinned against him with a proud and condemning thought, because his instructions on prayer seemed unnecessary or insufficient to you. We can stop there. But if he asks about your prayer exercises, then say briefly out of obedience, sincerely, as before God, Who is the witness of confession and Who knows before confession. One should not talk about one’s spiritual exercises without need; but is there anything to be proud of, even if we talk about our exercises? The Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed until he sweated blood: what an intense prayer! Praying on Tabor, He was enlightened even down to his clothes: this is prayer that is graciously effective! The Apostle teaches to be in prayer unceasingly 209. If we compare our prayer exercises with these examples, then I think we should not be proud, but rather lament that we are so immeasurably far from them. If you think more often about the virtues of the saints and, moreover, turning to yourself, try to notice how even the small good that we do is given to us by grace (of which, perhaps, there is an example in your present sweet tears and in the joy before Matins), then you will find a weapon against the temptations of spiritual pride. If on the feast days of some saints you do not happen to be at the Divine service due to difficulties in your home life, do not outrage yourself. He who diligently performs an office, obeying every human decree, for the sake of the Lord 210, prays. Moreover, one can and should steal some minutes for God in everyday affairs. Why do we have the gospel? You say to call to church; but this is before the start of the Divine service; Why, in the middle of the priestly service, does the gospel sound, simply called “to the worthy,” that is, at the time when they sing: “It is worthy and righteous,” and so on? One of the reasons for this establishment is so that those who cannot be in the church can also use it. This is the gospel just before the consecration of the Gifts. So, having heard it, remember that at this time the Holy Spirit descends on the altar and the Body and Blood of Christ appear on it. Remembering this, think how close the Divine is, and in the depths of your soul worship the Lord and ask that He, by what means He knows, will give you participation in the grace of those who now serve the altar and partake of the Sacrament. This can be done without words and without much prolongation of time, with one reversal of thought and feeling of the heart, if circumstances prevent one from doing more. The Lord accepts such efforts to break out of the vanity of the world and cleave to Him. Don't imitate your early mentors. It is good for those who have already reaped the harvest to sow, but do not judge them. Let us not prevent the day that will open everyone’s business. Let's take care of our business! Where uncalled people instruct, and, moreover, with anger, one must withdraw from there quietly, so as not to add more wood to the fire. If you encounter an obstacle to fasting and joining the fast, this can be rewarded without any restrictions at another time. You just need to choose and arrange the time in a manner suitable for preparing for this. I do not approve of the words you said about my sermons, as if you cannot “obey.” In spiritual matters, one must beware of human pleasures, and obeying is more useful than the opposite. My sermons are not for daily reading. I did not completely forbid you to read them; but if you have read it, you should put it aside until you have time and leisure. I will insist on this. The book of short teachings published by the Synod, I doubt whether it is intelligible enough for you. Try to put it aside and read, instead, the conversations of Macarius of Egypt: I hope that you will find in them food that is simply prepared, but clean and healthy. Let me also reprimand you for disobedience to the doctor. I was afraid when I read that you got up before his permission. The subsequent news reassured me. I sincerely thank you for warning against those who complain about me, as a matter of philanthropy. May the Lord protect you as you protect others! I did what I could, but I could not do everything that was demanded: so that a person, admittedly guilty, but already convicted and punished, should be convicted and punished differently for the same thing. Moreover, the law does not dictate this, and the rural proverb knows that two skins cannot be removed from one ox. I wrote twice, explaining this matter, if, despite this, they want to remain dissatisfied, it’s their will! I know the law of pleasing: I will give everything to everyone, but I will save everyone 211. But I also know another law by which pleasing is limited: if he were a man, he would not be a servant of Christ 212. I am ready to be, not just by saying, but by deed, your most humble servant; but do me a favor, let me be, at least to some extent, a servant of Christ. I received the box and glass intact. I look at your work with pleasure, both because of the work itself and because of the thought that you are not wasting your time. May the Lord bless your time, so that it may be used as much as possible to fulfill His will, to care for your soul and to serve your neighbors with love and joy. […] I read with comfort the description of the day that you spent almost all of in church. Of course, you understand the feeling of the one who said: I deign to rush to the house of my God rather than live in the villages of sinners 213. Because it saddens me that you rejected spiritual healing, for the sole reason that it came from the hands of a person who seems to you not to be what, in your opinion, he should have been. What evil did this man do to you? What does an instructive book hold against you? This is not yet reassurance to send a book away from a person’s sight: by this contempt is shown to him, although he does not know it, but a deed was done that did not come from love. In order to truly calm down, one must be reconciled through the same means by which an unpeaceful disposition was revealed, that is, one must read a book, one must even have one; For this reason, I am sending it to you, having written on it the words of Holy Scripture, which, in my opinion, can be a cure for the disturbance of the spirit that you have experienced. Forgive me for rebuking you like this: I have nothing to seek here for myself; and if you conquer yourself, then you will receive the fruit of victory. May the Lord help you overcome every feeling and movement that does not come from the spirit of peace and love. For the spirit of Christ is the spirit of peace and love, and not of rebellion. I wonder if you found anything bitter in the letter in which I sent you “Mental Medicine.” Having decided to seek the truth, do yourself a favor and accept it peacefully, whether it is tasty or not. Do not think that I wrote with condemnation - there is enough to judge and condemn in myself. You are struggling with an unpeaceful feeling; but I would like it to be completely defeated, that’s why and why I wrote! Moreover, I could not keep silent that you were not peaceful for me: I do not want to be in such a position; and I’m not worth anyone declaring war on my behalf. I ask you to be at peace with my letter and with the one who filed the case. Now I will answer your letter as much as time allows me after some evening reading in the monastery, which lasted about four hours, having returned to Vasilyevsky Island not early and not without fatigue. About reading, I remember, I said that it’s not so much a lot, but one should read carefully. With the other readings you mention, two kathismas may be inconvenient to read every day all the time. If you read one slowly, quietly listening to the spirit of the psalmist, and try to remember something that touches your heart more closely at a leisure moment, your work will not be in vain before the Lord. In response to your complaint about gossip in conversations, I will remind you of the complaint of the prophet Isaiah that he has unclean lips and lives among people who have unclean lips 214. Note that he complains not only about his own lips, but also about the lips of others. Multitude and confusion quietly spread uncleanness; If you mix half a glass of clean water and half a glass of unclean water, you will get a whole glass of unclean water. The uncleanness of the lips is even more contagious, for it defiles the ears of others, and opens the lips of others to similar uncleanness. What to do? Whoever can, seeks a few clean lips or solitude. And whoever cannot do this, when going out into society, let him say from his heart: Lord, put guard on my mouth 215 and, with the hope of this help, let him guard his lips as much and as he can according to the circumstances. If it is impossible to have an edifying conversation, one should try to have an innocent one. If you condemn your neighbor, see if you can say something in his apology or defense. If your thought tends to agree with the condemner, remember your shortcomings, which, perhaps, others would condemn no less if they saw. And returning to yourself, you need to cleanse your lips with repentance before God and, noticing your falls, think about the best precautions, which, if you pay attention, the falls themselves teach. If a conversation about prayer was started and someone said that prayer is nothing other than deeds, then one could calmly, either immediately, or after collecting one’s thoughts, make a remark about this. For example: that this seems to be true, for it is said: not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven: but do the will of My Father who is in heaven 216 - but, why is this Savior Himself, teaching how to do the will of His Father, taught prayer, and even gave a sample prayer: “Our Father” and so on. To which He Himself, having done all possible good deeds, practiced prayer, as, for example, once at night in the prayer of God 217. After this, you can give free rein to the one who proposed the first thought to reason as he wants. If he makes new objections and they remain without further response, there is no need. If the word is spoken out of conviction in the truth and out of zeal, perhaps it will be remembered by him later and will protect itself. When they want to confuse you with the name of the “chosen one,” you can answer the speaker firmly: I want to be among the chosen ones, both for you and for myself; however, He who chooses knows this. Do not complain to the Lord about the supernatural experience of prayer, but pray that He, who knows the destinies, will give the doubter a certificate. In a damaged mind, recognize the cunning of the enemy, who usually interferes a lot with all our shortcomings, and especially with this pitiful state. Do you remember how the spirit-possessed servant bothered Paul and Barnabas, shouting after them and calling them “slaves of the Most High,” you see that he tried to ensnare the apostles with the bait of praise. But Paul soon resolved the matter by casting out the spirit. Whoever cannot do this, tell the spirit: “I understand that you want to deceive me, just as you deceived my ancestors with the word: “You will be like gods.” 218 But may the God of truth destroy your deceit, and may he turn your lies into truth, and may he count me among the last of His!” Don’t be embarrassed by the confession, but thank God for helping you in this way to remove from your heart an even though not very noticeable, but harmful existence. Whatever is pulled out of the ground by the roots will dry up. What is discovered by unfeigned recognition will, with God’s help, cease to grow. May the Lord cleanse your heart from arrogance and self-indulgence and grant you to see His help with a pure and humble eye! Whether to repeat the confession to your confessor will depend on how you feel after the current confession. However, it doesn’t matter to expose yourself to God more than once. Father Photius 219 did a lot of care and work for you, all, it seems to me, in vain. If you heard that he rebelled against someone, why should you worry about it? Your concern will not stop either the hearing or the matter itself. If love for mankind makes us feel sorry for our neighbor who is subject to slander, it is not up to us to correct the matter: our duty is to ask God for patience and protection for the tempted one, and for admonition for the attacker. Especially why did you need to talk about this to such a person, to whom your words, in all likelihood, should have brought grief, without any benefit? What is the need that someone else doesn’t want to know about a person about whom you have a good opinion? “I especially regret that you revealed to your sister your unpeaceful thoughts against the person she reveres.” By doing so, you could only damage the peace between her and you and also between you and that person, but there was no need for that, and no good could be expected from that. Why has the Lord clothed our soul with such a body through which our thoughts cannot be seen by other people? I think, by the way, because our thoughts are often unclean, and therefore it would not be useful, but would be harmful for other souls to see them all. So, secrecy is not order, for man is sociable; pretense is even worse, for it belongs to the image of their father; but modesty agrees with God's intention. If your thought is for the glory of God, say it, and let others glorify God. If it is for the benefit or consolation of your neighbor, say it: let it be benefit and consolation. If your heart opens innocently to communicating a word to your neighbors, even if it is not entirely necessary, let this be for the sake of community life. But if you receive an unpeaceful thought against your neighbor, bring repentance to God for it; with His help, drive her out of your heart. Convict yourself of it before someone in order to humble yourself or receive instruction. Confess to the one you thought against, if you are sure that he will accept it in a Christian way and, having respected the confession, will establish peace and love. But if there is a danger that he will pay attention to the unpeaceful thought itself and enter into an unpeaceful disposition, then by opening up, you are only spreading the unpeaceful disposition. Didn't this happen to you? Finally, after excessive frankness, forced silence is again the wrong path to peace. Leaving the hearts of others to the Master of Hearts, test your own: what effect did the conversation on Wednesday produce in him? Or did you notice more what was edifying in it? Or have more impressions made some strange things in you? If you find the latter, then take suspicion: are you quite peaceful on your part? Bring your heart to simplicity as much as possible: listen to what is good willingly, and what is not so, do not be irritated, but try to forget; do not argue for people who do not want to be a reason for disagreement; try to have either an innocent conversation or a calm silence. Here is the judgment of a man who, perhaps, sins more than those judged, but desires correction for himself and improvement for others. Use it as the Lord instructed you. May He grant you true peace both with your heart and with your loved ones! If the Lord shows you His help in secret prayer, recognize His mercy in this and be attentive to it. He who strives to be faithful in what is given may be given more. […] I cannot miss a good opportunity without saying a few words to Your Excellency. Having made, before this, some comments on cases, I am afraid that my words will not lead you into new difficulties. I wouldn’t bother you with the thought that you’re doing it wrong or that it doesn’t seem right to me. The first - I don’t think so; and about the second, I do not forbid you to use your reasoning, which God gave you. But it happens that I see something good, I thank God, I ask to preserve it, and I don’t tell the person about it, because praise does not always excite, but sometimes lulls you to sleep. And when I notice that it could have been better, I sincerely remind people of this who want correction and improvement, not out of severity against their shortcomings, for I know that I myself need leniency more than others, but out of a desire to see good things better and growing mature. Receive reminders with a similar disposition, that is, to try to achieve the best, and not be embarrassed by shortcomings or words of reproof. Better than reproof is revelation of secret love. The essence of a friend’s ulcer is more reliable than the free kiss of an enemy - this was written by Solomon 220. I wish you to peacefully enter the field of fasting and pass through it without stumbling. Give thanks to the One Good Shepherd, Who leaves ninety-nine sheep to go and look for one lost one, and knows the place and time - where and when - and the means by which to catch her for salvation. He left you in the struggle so that you recognized your own weakness, and gave you help when fatigue from the helpless struggle made you capable of accepting help. Now, with hope and gratitude we must: relentlessly continue the struggle with the old man in us and gradually clear more space for new life, the light of which sometimes appears to you in its beginnings. You are telling the truth that a vigil is needed. The enemy does not sleep, who comes to sow unclean things among the pure. As for example, it is best to look at the example of the Chief Shepherd in the Gospel. He is the way, the truth and the life 221. When you look at His example in order to conform to it, and use it as a path, at the same time He reveals the truth to you and, in an inconspicuous way, as He says, introduces you into the very life of the Kingdom of God. May He do this to you according to His mercy and His truth. In your adventure on the day of your communion, notice how the Lord shows us, the unworthy, His truth and mercy. In moments that should be especially important for you, your thoughts were drawn away from the Savior of your soul to your temporary worldly sorrows. Although this happened as if involuntarily, you, however, cannot say that it was innocent. You did not have the strength to drive away disturbing thoughts, because before you indulged in them voluntarily and, perhaps, because by this time you had not sufficiently strengthened your spirit with prayer and remembrance of God; For this reason, you were not given compassion for communion, and after that you were left with sorrow about this. But as at the same time you try to overcome unfavorable dispositions in yourself against the hoped-for meeting and wanted to follow meekness and peace, then you are shown in fact that this sacrifice of yours was accepted as mercy - the person had to return from the road in order to express to you his peaceful disposition, and moreover, when he had other obstacles to this. You see that not only the act of goodness, but also one effort towards goodness is invisibly accepted and blessed. I advise you: during your future confession, reveal to your spiritual father that the previous time before communion you were entertained by thoughts of temporary sorrows. However, thank the Lord for this, too, that He has vouchsafed you to receive communion when you have a noticeable lack of readiness: in the Sacraments He secretly does His work even when we do not know and do not feel; If only we were not scattered through negligence. […] It is natural to sympathize at the sight of a disheartened mother, but at the same time, seeing in her an example of Christian firmness should be both edifying and comforting in sorrow. But if the distressed woman is firm, and the stranger is horrified, then she must admit her weakness and ask God for strength. Try to love your Heavenly Father more and more, so that love for children is not a source of horror. See in what terrible case Abraham was not horrified 222; but, since he sacrificed everything to Divine love, he lost nothing, but received everything beyond his expectations. If such a sacrifice is not within our power, at least at the sacrifice of others we will revere and not shudder. About the attachment of different people to different people at the request of advice or guidance - remember how during the time of the Apostle Paul they said: “I am Pavlov, I am Apollosov.” - What about Pavel? Were you indignant at those who said: “I am Apollosov”? No: he stood up against attachment to Paul: “Is Christ divided? were you really baptized in the name of Pavlovo?” 223 Beware, too, of being indignant at someone in whose name you were not baptized, and do not share Christ, who was crucified for you. Even if others separate Him, union will not come through indignation, but rather through patience and love. Don’t repent that you stopped making excuses to preserve peace. In this silence, He who alone can truly justify us will see greater justification. About sin, or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the evangelist himself partly gives an explanation when, having mentioned it, he adds: this is why the Lord said this because they said “there is an unclean spirit in Him” 224. So, the scribes’ blasphemy against the Holy Spirit consisted in the fact that, seeing the power of God in the miracles of Jesus Christ, against their conscience and with stubborn impenitence they called His works demonic. There is no need to intensify further - to penetrate these depths of Satan. The fear of sinning against the Holy Spirit out of ignorance is a mental temptation. To resolve this, it is enough to note that every sin committed out of ignorance is not a sin against the Holy Spirit, but against the Son, Who is Wisdom and the source of knowledge: sins against the Son are forgiven, as stated by the Evangelist Matthew in chapter twelve. Whether you defended the omnipotence of God correctly or incorrectly, the trouble is not very big; if a warrior defended the king, but was poor in using weapons, he is still not a traitor, although, of course, the one who uses weapons skillfully does better. Against the idea that God cannot make something like Himself, it should be said that this is not a lack of omnipotence, but on the contrary: that is why God is omnipotent, because there cannot be another equal power. The first of these thoughts is only a deception in words, and if it is not proposed as a deception or a daring joke, then it is extravagance. Imagine that someone would come to the Sovereign and seriously say to him: “If you are sovereign in your state, then make another sovereign Sovereign in it.” – Isn’t this crazy? For the sovereignty of the Sovereign consists in complete power over the subject, and to make another sovereign Sovereign would mean to destroy one’s own sovereignty. The one who says to God, “If You are omnipotent, then make another omnipotent God,” is just as crazy.” For the omnipotence of God consists in the fact that in His endless Kingdom He can do whatever He pleases, in accordance with His wisdom, and not in making gods, which in itself is absurd. As for the Son of God: firstly, He is not made or created, but begotten; secondly, he is not only similar to God, but God Himself; thirdly, not another God, but One with the Father. Finally, that the incarnation of the Son of God is the greatest proof of the omnipotence of God - this can be said fairly, for through this humanity is elevated even to deification. But here the apostle’s admonition is very appropriate: do not hold back words, neither will I demand anything, for the ruin of those who hear 225. Forgive me for writing untidy: I ​​don’t have time to straighten the letters. May He who gives His laws in thoughts and writes them on hearts place this His scripture not made with hands purely in your heart! I wish you the blessed blessing of the Lord, which I ask you to express to others who remember me. Please accept my gratitude for your participation in my kindred grief. - Why should I burden others with it, who have enough of their own worries? I thank God that she gave me both consolation and instruction. I wrote about my late sister 226 to Varvara Mikhailovich, having this occasion. At the end of forty days I put aside the sadness that brings me questions. Moreover, even in the Old Testament, those serving the altar were less allowed mourning than others. You ask about the saying of the Savior: whoever loses his soul for the sake of Me and the Gospel, he will save you 227. Your opinion is correct that the one who would rather lose his life than betray Christ and His Gospel will be saved. The one who objected to you that this does not mean destroying the soul, I don’t know, what he thought, and whether he was just attached to the word, not paying attention to its use in speech; for even now they call the robber a murderer, although he destroys, of course, not the soul, but the body, or takes away natural life. Isn’t another question more important: if in order to be saved one must surrender one’s soul or natural life to destruction, otherwise one must suffer and die for Christ, then how will this come true for those who do not have the opportunity to suffer martyrdom? To resolve this, we can recall the special use of the name “soul” in the Holy Scriptures, as, for example, in the following saying: a soulful person does not accept even the Spirit of God 228 . Here, the soulful is contrasted with the one who lives by the Spirit of God, the spiritual man, and consequently, “spiritual” means the same as a “carnal”, sensual, person controlled by spiritual passions. Consequently, to destroy the soul can mean the same thing as to crucify the flesh with passions and lusts 229. Let us imagine that the soul is aroused to anger - whoever at this time, remembering the Christian commandment: put aside anger, rage, etc. 230, restrains not only the external, but also the internal spiritual movements of this passion and arouses in himself the opposite feelings of love, crucifies this passion. Whoever, with the help of the grace of God, will thus crucify all sinful passions and lusts, with the surrender of his entire will to the will of God, will thus undergo spiritual martyrdom - he will destroy his soul for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, he will endure to the end - he will be saved. You also ask what it means: they have not tasted death until they see the Kingdom of God come in power 231? Read the words immediately following this in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, and you will find the interpretation. It is here that the transfiguration of the Savior is described, in which three of the apostles saw Him in such glory in which He will appear blessed in the Kingdom of God and in which they themselves will participate, for the spiritual bodies of the blessed will be similar to that in which the Savior appeared during His transfiguration. Thus, three of the apostles, before their death, saw the Kingdom of God come in power. Perhaps there is still a mystery in these words of the Savior: but we should not be bold in testing His mysteries. It is enough if doubts are resolved and what we need as a guide to salvation is revealed. Curiosity is close to pride, secrets are revealed to the meek! […] The desire to judge and teach everyone, and set yourself up as an example, is not an enviable position. But when we run away from a person for this reason, have we not condemned him? Another, perhaps, would not notice the desire to teach in another, but would try to turn the opportunity to be taught to his advantage. Perfection is in heaven! Here on earth, we will be content, seeing good intentions in people, and we will cover up our shortcomings with love, knowing that they do the same to us. Why do you threaten yourself with shame after confessing to a person who, perhaps, is guilty of a greater confession than what he hears, and indeed this is true, for the sole reason that he is more obliged? Confessions are not shameful, but honorable, because they testify to a desire for correction; is this really unknown even before the confession? There will be a time when the book of our life will open before heaven and earth: how can we endure and prevent this shame? Not otherwise than if we reconcile ourselves in the current private confessions. And in order to put shame in the place that belongs to it, let us be ashamed before God, who sees our secrets, to do and think what we are ashamed to admit to people. […] Truly Christ is Risen! This answer to words of joy will not soon reach Your Excellency, but it is never too late to rejoice in the Lord and His saving deeds. Always rejoice in the Lord, teaches the apostle, and again the river: rejoice 232. I wish that you could rejoice in this way and that nothing could steal your inner spiritual joy completely, if in this fickle world it is impossible for it to be diminished by nothing. If, as you say, sometimes the light dims in the struggle of the soul, do not lose courage, but even through the darkness and storm cry out to the Lord with hope: He is such a light that shines even in the darkness, and His darkness is not enveloped 233. He extends a saving hand to the overwhelmed and drowning, when a person admits that he cannot save himself and asks for salvation from Him. “Bodily training is useful in small ways, but piety is useful for everything.” Therefore, it was necessary to leave painting for worship, and it was even more necessary if painting for you is not just an exercise, but a passion. From this experience, take the instruction that he who begins to walk with attention before God must be faithful before Him in every matter pleasing to Him. To your thoughts regarding Ekaterina Sergeevna, I remember, I responded: It is necessary, as the apostle says, to endure each other with love 234. I thank you for your prayers and ask you not to forget me in them. I need help. And repent of the fact that you spoke a harsh word against those who removed me from the flock. They know what they're doing. And about those who “knew not what they were doing,” we have an example of what needs to be said: Father! let them go! 235 […] It is strange how anyone could come up with the idea that on Holy Saturday they are looking for the body of the Lord - what the Church represents in models, the same thing is depicted in the words of sacred songs. In them you will hear, for example: “All the people bring a song to Your burial” 236, and understand that the rituals with the shroud mean the removal of the Lord’s body from the Cross, carrying it to the tomb and burial... It would take a long time to write about the detailed arrangement of these rituals; I will only say that all the details have a sign - where they are faithfully and carefully fulfilled. During sacred remembrances, the Church wants to occupy all the senses with the Divine object: what occupies the ear through reading and singing, the same through rites occupies the sight, so that nothing dissipates the senses and their dispersion does not interfere with the contemplation of the spirit. For St. Sergius, you can travel to the Lavra whenever you want, but for me you shouldn’t take a single extra step. I don’t even know how long my visit will last; One day they agree to let me go, but the next they find it difficult. Any day now I expect to learn something more decisive and precise. Peace to you and to everyone who wishes peace, whether they know or not the one who wishes peace for them. You rightly talk about earthly happiness. God will give it either to those who use it innocently, or to those to whom, in His truth, it should belong for some earthly virtues, or to those who are not capable of better things, or to those through whom it can conveniently be used in accordance with the many different intentions of His Providence. It is easy for anyone who has it to forget or neglect the best. Therefore, we must diligently thank God for the fact that He deprives us of worldly consolations, to which we could become addicted with extreme danger to the soul, and through sorrows teaches us to recognize our inner shortcomings and encourages us to seek His Kingdom. The Lord loves him and punishes him 237. Bring your care for your sick spouse before God, as you do, without being discouraged by the fact that you do not see the success of your prayers. And we, humans, do not fulfill all the wishes of even those we love. The knower of the heart has much more reasons to act not according to our desires, but according to His destinies, always wise and good. In addition, there are real fruits of prayer, but which cannot be revealed to the person praying until the time comes. Under the name of Elijah, who was to come before our Savior, we certainly understand John 238. This is how the apostles understood the words of Christ. But who will be the forerunner before the future coming of Christ - about this there is a lot and an inconceivable word. Being too weak for strict laws, I am not inclined to prescribe such to others, but only say what I find correct and advise them to do what they can to the best of their ability. Otherwise – frequent visits at will, without need, without a useful object; in such visits one should be wary of self-indulgence or people-pleasing. And the other is visiting for needs and one’s own business or to promote some good deed of others; here some duty is fulfilled. I advise you to moderate visits of the first kind, so that through them, out of the silence of the spirit, it does not happen that you enter into vanity or useless worries and lead others into similar dispositions. For visits of any other kind, I do not prescribe not only a strict law, but also no law other than the law of prudence, which is necessary in every matter and given to everyone who is attentive to the extent necessary by God. God preserve me, so that I will be disposed to reject those who seek benefit, especially spiritual benefit. Together with such people we must seek, ask and push at the door of God’s mercy. I entrust you to the Lawgiver and the law of grace. Save yourself in the Lord, without losing hope even in the midst of obstacles. Remember the One who said: My soul has come many times: I am at peace with those who hate peace 239 . Between two things that are both bad, it's hard to choose which is better. Therefore, it is not surprising that you are in difficulty. It is not good for the spiritual to end in the worldly; It is not good to completely abandon the spiritual for the worldly. It is better to sacrifice the worldly for the spiritual. But as long as the nets of the world are so entangled that when you untangle one leg, the other becomes entangled, it is necessary: ​​what is free, as much as you can stretch to God. Lifting up my hand is the evening sacrifice. I lift up my eyes to You, who live in heaven. My heart will speak to you, I will seek the Lord 240. - When it happens that after a spiritual matter you fall into the worldly, then, returning to yourself, read Psalm 136: On the rivers of Babylon, there is a gray horse, etc., and think about it, how God will enlighten you. It is not bad to weep for Jerusalem in captivity until we come to freedom. Fasting is inconvenient when the time is short and there is a confluence of worries: choose a time in which you could have more freedom and silence. Sanctify your day (which may come to you with blessing) in a solitary hour by reflecting on the blessings of God in the past year and on preparation for the unknown future, which, however, is in the hands of the same All-Good God. About family concerns that confuse thoughts, I said and repeat: run to God with patience and meekness and notice whether a trace of the path of Providence appears somewhere. […] Open your way to the Lord and trust in Him, and He will create 241. An experienced researcher of human ways teaches us to do this. And how else can we act when our path to continue is closed and dark? Why confusion and why thoughts enter the heart when there is no trouble except the dull sound of the wind, that is, dubious rumors? – We must give up thoughts, apply ourselves to prayer and, calming down and strengthening ourselves by it, expect what the Lord will do, and trust that He will do it only according to His great mercy and the multitude of His bounties 242. Say that you are struggling in vain with your thoughts. This is why temptation came, to recognize one’s weakness. Recognizing it, fall to the one who bore our weaknesses and believe that He, having exposed our weakness, will overcome by His power. In the meantime, let’s take a moment to reflect on our thoughts. What is the threat? Marriage with an industry whose strength is questionable. If it is bound by passion, out of ambition, for self-interest, it must be afraid that these impurities will harm the blessing. If it is connected by innocent and pure consent, with the fear of God and with prayer, then God’s blessing will either completely heal previous shortcomings, or at least make a saving cleansing of what in other circumstances would be a curse and punishment. And what is the best lot on earth, as a saving purification for heaven? It will seem to you that I am already advising; no, I’m not advising, I’m not advising, I’m only showing that what’s threatening may be scary, but maybe not. Perhaps, therefore, you yourself will notice that the excitement of thoughts is not due to the greatness of the danger presented, but more from love for the son: and here is another reason why such temptations are experienced - precisely in order to purify natural love: let us not love a son or daughter more than the Lord, but let our hearts learn to comprehend Abraham’s work: the sacrifice of the only Isaac. Do not be afraid: the sacrificed Isaac brought fruit like the stars of heaven and like the sand that opened the seas 243. That you do not tell anyone about your concern, this, in my opinion, is correct, for this would increase worries and lead to human inventions before the path from the Lord opens. Speak to God and expect to hear from people. […] What did you write about the psalm: Lord, let Thy gentleness reprove me 244, “that is an unmistakable mistake. We must pray with this psalm for sinners,” of whom I am the first. […] One should pray in peace; but when a person involuntarily finds himself in the whirl of the world, why not then pray mentally so that thought will at least somewhat adhere to God, when the world wants to scatter the whole person? […] By the grace of God, I wish His servant pure repentance, perfect forgiveness, complete consolation in communion with the Lord! – And the teachers are told: don’t be too many teachers 245. – What need does a student or student, without being called, give advice to a teacher so that he takes another teacher? Forgive me that after repentance I still reprove: it is necessary that the sorrow of reproof become a teacher in caution. The words: “last sin” should be carefully pronounced in repentance. One must want it to be so, without which repentance would not be true; However, one should not rely on one’s caution. Unless the Lord preserves the city: spiritual Jerusalem: a faithful soul, guarded in vain 246. But just as we trust in the Lord faithfully, so faithfully will He preserve us. May He grant you forgiveness for the past, caution for the future, hope in Him, and peace with all your neighbors. May there be peace in your conscience. […] It’s good that you remembered what you said against those who love to teach. And I wanted to remind you of this. What we condemn others for, the Lord often takes His guarding hand away from us, and the enemy drags us into those guilts with which we arrogantly blamed others. Gratitude belongs to God, who benefits us in many ways, and the subject of grief should be our sins. So there will be gratitude and sorrow in the place. And one must seek consolation in God. Any other consolation is distorted. […] If the Lord sometimes allows you to taste in your heart how good He is, offer Him this feeling as a pure sacrifice of gratitude, thinking that it is His gift, sent by grace, and not the acquisition of our labors. What are our small efforts worth before God, which we do in no other way than with His help? And if we do anything for Him, isn’t there always more left over that we should do, but have not yet done? So, if He gives us a feeling of consolation, then this truly is a gift of His pure mercy, so that we may come to know the Merciful One more, believe in Him more, love Him more and be confirmed in love for Him, and in the event that He deems it necessary to visit us with new sorrows for our purification. Therefore, it is commanded to rejoice before God with trembling, 247 with fear, lest we, instead of being comforted by the Good Lord, begin to be comforted by ourselves. God! What is a man, since you remember him? or son of man, because you visit him? 248 Let us recognize our unworthiness and humble ourselves and humiliate ourselves before the One who visits us with mercy and bounty. Let us recognize His mercy and bounty, and let us do His will the more willingly, the more joyfully. If He opens a little the door of the Kingdom, which, according to His word, is within us, 249 we will stand firmly on guard over this door, against every thought hostile to the Kingdom of God. May He help you in every good deed, through faith and love for Him, for the glory of His name! […] Looking at your previous letters, I find a question: did you act as you should in the adventure of a person forced by creditors to sell her estate. It seems to me that you acted hastily, without having any evidence of the authenticity of the story; It is especially wrong that, without knowing her, you hid this circumstance from those to whom you wrote about her. This shows that although a philanthropic impulse acted in this case, in seeking help there was a lot of hope for human help and for human, even one’s own, art. All hope should be placed on God, then there would be no need to act insincerely; because God's help comes not through the art of our words, but through His mercy and through our faith and hope, and He is more helpful to a simple word and not darkened by any admixture of human cunning than to any other. […] The distance between a Christian and an atheist is so great that here one can encounter an innumerable number of misconceptions. Without need, it is better not to read what is subject to doubt. Enough to eat clean and healthy food. If by the name of blessing you mean prayer, I pray to the Lord to arrange for you a path, as far as possible, that is not far from the calmness at the beginning and that would lead you to peace and consolation. […] But most of all, open your path to the Lord and trust in Him, and He will do 250 what is best and saving. Try, as much as possible, by thinking about God and calling on Him to bring order and a quiet state to your feelings. Aren't you living too much as a son? Most of all, we need to live by God. God gave Isaac with great blessing when his father gave him completely to God. […] If I keep the law of God and conscience and spare the life of another, and people say that out of cowardice I am saving my own life, it is their will. Being pure before God is more important than avoiding the unfounded suspicion of people. […] Those who threaten to take revenge to death are truly terrible, but the one who decided to respond in this way did not decide on something pleasant. One cannot willingly agree to put oneself in close proximity with the former, and not everyone will agree with the latter. […] As for devoting the night hours to the Lord, confess your weakness and lack of zeal to Him for the shortcomings of this and ask for His help in the future; for without Me, He says, you cannot do anything 251. First try to steal from yourself and from sleep, at least minute by minute, and sacrifice them to the Lord. What should we, the poor and weak, do? We rise with difficulty, but easily fall; we have not yet made correction and again damage what has been corrected, not thinking that what is once damaged is easier to correct than what is damaged again after correction. When we see our sins, the enemy says: “They are not so great.” When we think about correction, he suggests that it is difficult and boring. When we do a little good, he assures us that we are already excellent people. But we do not think that even evil people have some good deeds; for evil, completely alien to good, tends not to exist on earth, but in hell. We cannot imagine how others struggle to the point of death for eternal life and mourn their little sins in secret. May the Lord awaken with His grace those who indulge in spiritual slumber; May he grant prayer to those who pray, light against the hidden, and strength against the visible tricks of the enemy of souls. […] From what I have heard and noticed, your illness seems to be not so much from the air as from your spirit. But I don't understand well what kind of fear it is. Be that as it may, haven’t you already experienced God’s merciful care? Have you not experienced this in circumstances where there were more reasons for fear than now? Isn't it time to learn to hope in God? Isn’t it time to be firmer, so as not to be wavered by every wind of rumor? Will God not have the means to justify the hope in Him? But it would not seem to you that I am reproaching: no, I know the weakness of our nature; I know that there is no hope in God without His help. Look to Him as often as possible, as close as possible, as quietly and simply as possible; and be established and rested in Him. Where a sorrowful feeling shakes the spiritual strength to the point of shock and bodily strength, place a thought looking to the Lord Jesus Christ, calling on Him and finding peace in Him. May he help you with this good help! May God bless your removal from the noise of the city and in greater proximity to the simplicity of nature and grant you the most convenient approach to its Creator! It’s regrettable to think about the destroyed hope of a farmer even from afar, especially when you think that he asked for his daily bread, and not for whims, but he who opens his hand to fulfill every animal’s good will 252 apparently does not open it. God! Who knows the power of Your wrath 253? Are the sins of these ordinary people visited, or does this visit extend more to the sins of others, and they, like victims, suffer for the sake of future retribution? One way or another, are we, the excesses, worthy of excess? […] In order not to be burdened by the fear of surprises, let us seek not men, just like us, who are subject to surprises, but God, with whom there are neither surprises nor changes, but always security and eternal salvation. […] I also remember joyful memories. I wish that your solitude there will be peaceful and bring you the fruit of peace. If you do not listen to me in not taking a single extra step for me, then you will be committing disobedience, and disobedience is not good. Rule with the intention of disobedience, in the hope that it will be forgiven, is a dangerous rule. I have nothing to fear, but we need to think for ourselves what the consequences will be if we act according to such rules. If you say that the case is not important, I answer: the easier it is to carry out what is advised. And if someone does not obey in small things, what hope of obedience in large things? Moreover, it was not I who burdened you with the word, but you asked me: it was your will not to ask and to do as you please. But I, having said my word upon challenge and not without reason, cannot deviate from it and convincingly ask you to fulfill what you previously agreed to, for otherwise there would be no point in asking if there was no intention to do as they say. I turn to another, more attention-worthy subject of your letter. Poverty in the Gospel is not prescribed to everyone indiscriminately and to the same extent. Look, when the rich young man asks the Savior how to be saved, the Lord’s first answer is: keep the commandments 254. And in the commandments it is only prescribed not to steal from another, but it is not required to give the last to another. When the young man says that he has kept this, the Savior presents to him what he can do in order to enter the number not only of those saved from hell, but also of the perfect or saints, capable of superior glory in heaven, namely: if you want to be perfect, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and follow Me, and have treasure in heaven 255. From this you see that the Gospel does not prescribe poverty for everyone, but for those who are zealous for perfection, and that those who do not have the gift of poverty can be saved from hell if they believe and do good to their measure, but these will not be as rich in heaven as those who left everything to follow Christ 256 . In addition, there is a way for a rich man to be a beggar even when he is rich, namely, when he does not have the slightest addiction to wealth and does not use anything according to his whim; but as a steward of the treasure that belongs to God, he uses it according to his best understanding for the good of his neighbors. So Abraham was at one time both rich outwardly and perfect in poverty inwardly. The rich man in the Gospel, who, having heard about the perfection of poverty, was saddened because of an addiction to wealth, perhaps died from this addiction, if it enslaved him, and perhaps he was also saved later, overcoming this passion and another, namely pride, by which he considered himself to have fulfilled the whole law. It is true that the Savior strongly depicted the inconvenience of being saved for a rich man and thereby horrified the disciples, who asked: who can be saved? But to this He immediately responded that this is impossible only according to the strength and understanding of men, but that this can be accomplished by the all-wise Providence of God and by the power of God, which is communicated to man through faith. It is impossible to eat this from man, but from God all things are possible 257. These are the concepts that, as far as I understand, I take from the lips of my Lord: I cannot remember everything that I said to whom, but I don’t think that I said otherwise. And to the one who says: I’m sure it’s a sin, but he’s a sinner, I would ask: how will it end? A prudent person, of course, will not want to go to certain death between jokes, and therefore is it not better to think, while there is a favorable time, while the day of salvation continues, how to be saved from the judgment by which sin will certainly be condemned. Let us pray for ourselves and for others who sin to the One who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth 258! […] It’s hard to have the need to say: my neighbors are farther away than me stasha 259. But David also had to say this. Was there not a time when the one who had mercy on everyone was not merciful to his neighbors and said: my poisonous bread has raised up my heel 260 . However, the fathers order us to reject our most probable suspicions to the last possible opportunity. Frivolous speech can easily seem ill-intentioned. Be patient without judging, as long as you can. […] If a person who should have been closer to others sometimes shuns you, do not be surprised and do not attribute this to a lack of love; keep love on your part and try not to let it be bound by anything, as you find it bound in another. […] Lent has arrived. If you find it convenient to prepare for the Sacrament, may God bless this, may He prepare you, may He accept and grant you the renewal and increase of the law of grace. Fighting with entertainment was to be expected. May He who has conquered all enemies in every kind of battle strengthen you. Resort to Him with a complaint about your hesitation in the struggle. It is necessary that stumblings not weaken the desire to strive for Him who strengthens the weak. […] May the God of patience and consolation not leave you! I still don’t know exactly what your real need for consolation is. May God grant that in no case will grief close the source of consolation. So vain is human salvation 261! So we don’t know what the finding day 262 will give birth to! It is so unreliable to say on earth: peace and affirmation 263. Now is the time to cry out to God: give us help from sorrow 264. And those who are unanimous in your opinion cry out for you and with you. Now is the time to take courage, endure, obey. Take courage, and let your heart be strong, be patient with the Lord. – Will not my soul obey God? From Him is my salvation. - Obey God, my soul: for from Him is my patience 265. If it is not the time to wish you peace, I wish you gentle tears that water your heart until the sun of consolation rises, so that from what is sown in tears something will grow for a joyful harvest. May the God of patience and consolation grant His servant not to faint in the feat of patience, and may He send His consolation in sorrow, in which human consolations fail! 266 – May the Mother of Him Crucified for us, having experienced the greatest of the Mother’s sorrows, accept the prayer of the grieving mother in order to bring it to the throne of Her Son and God. After the first, partly sad, partly even more threatening news (on which I immediately wrote to you), yesterday I received news that completely consoled me, namely, that he hastily, on his own impulse, sought Christian consolation and received it, and that in the fatal action he did not at all have a hostile intention, but acted only as was necessarily required either by the law of self-preservation, or by a prejudice, which unfortunately prevails no less than the law. At the same time, I thought: either he will live, or he will leave here as a Christian. But what about the current news? Whatever the Lord of life desired was fulfilled. No sorrow will change this. Be that as it may, it is truly a great consolation that we have the right and hope to pray for the departed God of the living, the God of those who repent, the God of those who eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Son of God. If anything else, in my opinion, can contribute to your consolation, then this is to forgive everyone, especially - but I will postpone until time the thought that is coming to meet me halfway, but which you may not yet meet halfway. And forgive everyone, I’m sure of that. Here, everyone who hears takes part in you, and those closest to you would like to be closer to you in order to share the time of grief. May God give you strength to return to us. I hand you over and over again to him. Wing Adjutant V. Novosiltsev The burden that the humbling hand of God has placed on you will be supported by the hand of God. But don’t increase it for yourself. Carry it in as simple an obedience as possible. May God grant you true Christian courage, but what is this kind of courage, this matter of hope in one’s strength, this solemnity of sorrow? Comfort us who grieve you: prescribe for yourself a way of behavior, and especially a way of traveling, as much as possible consistent with frugality in relation to health and peace of mind. The guides that the one who left you desires are prayer and devotion to the will of God: for this you need less varied enterprises, but more tranquility. Listen to us, and may God listen to you in every good and saving desire. To the question about the tears of tomorrow, it seems to me that it would not be superfluous to say a few more words. Quiet tears in grief are natural, and the Lord shed tears for Lazarus. But just as a Christian’s joy and sorrow should be accompanied by prayer, then, with God’s merciful help, one must keep tears within limits so that they do not interrupt one’s prayer and not disturb the prayers of others. Let it be told to you that the prophet Jeremiah said that Rachel was weeping for her children. This is what the Lord says: let your voice rest from the plan, and let your tears rest, for there is a reward for your deeds, says the Lord 267. Especially when the impulse to cry loudly comes, you must stop yourself with the words of the prophet: let your voice rest from crying. Here is another project 268 with your inscription project. The deceased does not want the inscription to mention anyone’s malice, because through the evil of people God created good for him. The building of the Orlovo-Novosiltsevskaya almshouse at the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir in the Forestry Institute. 1838 May the Lord of goodness bless your new summer! People want to live for a long time out of attachment to this world - it’s wrong; they don’t want to live long out of displeasure with this world—it’s also wrong. I wish you as many new years as you need, so that you may completely put on a new person, created according to God, renewed according to Christ, so that without obstacles and without damage you can receive that new life in which there are no new years, because there are no old ones. […] The burial of the Savior is a spectacle that is as sad as it is comforting for the sad, looking at it with the eye of faith. It consoles me that you try to notice spots on the clothes of the soul that require cleansing. May the blood shed for us on Calvary touch them and cleanse the soul, may it free it from the binding garment of darkness and may it finally appear in the garment of light. I don’t have time to make comments on special cases of your letter. In general, I present to you for reflection, how long are you still living as a dead person? But it is true that we must strive and live more and more in God. When you see that despondency is found in absentmindedness of thoughts, then you have already said the cure for this. Alexander I in St. Petersburg. September 1, 1825. G. Chernetsov As for the late sovereign 269, it is clear to me that we are guilty of many things that he is accused of, and therefore our local court will not condemn him in heaven. We must cleanse our sins with prayer and tears, and not judge others. May God forgive you and allow you in everything. Forgive me. God of the penitent and Savior of those who sin are with you! I hasten to answer as time permits. Don't suspect how possible. This is what the Spirit of Christ commands. And considering the circumstances, as an outsider, it seems to me that suspicions should be rejected. It’s hard to be the object of enmity among your neighbors. At the very least, it is difficult to incite suspicion of this enmity on one’s neighbor. There is no need to despise the light, just as there is no need to respect it. Good is worthy of respect, evil is contemptible, and in the world there is both. That it is hard to be in contempt, this thought should be the subject of repentance. Blessed is he to whom glory and dishonor in the world are all the same. Sorrow, that the ill-fated are not respected enough, suggests the idea that ill-fated is a virtue. And it is neither dignity nor unworthiness, but a visitation from God, partly strict, partly merciful. People should respect the unfortunate, but the unfortunate do not have the right to demand this. The thought of the unfortunate that he is considered an outcast is a temptation that must be rejected with all his might. Do not believe the thought that wants to instill hatred of humanity in you, while God has given you the sincere participation of many. How do you say that God did not hear your prayer for your son? “He heard and performed it better than you can understand.” The thought that it is painful to see oneself comforted contains two others: the thought of making one’s glory out of sorrow and the thought of idolizing one’s sorrow. Forgive me for bringing it out that you, of course, don’t notice. This is not to humiliate you (having more than any other shortcomings for my own humiliation), but to give you a means to dissolve the network of thoughts into which is woven what you, of course, do not want. Mental confusion in the work of mercy is the usual abuse in such cases. It is necessary for the soul to strive through the crowds of thoughts to break into the realm of pure love. This is done by asceticism, and not by a wave, by grace, and not by a plan of reason. Strive, pray, wait, hope. May the Lord do His work in you and may He give you consolation, victory, strength and protection in communication with Him. Forgive me for my unworthiness and do me a favor, do not give me any of the above names that I am not able to bear. I regret your weakness, and more than once the thought has come to me to tell you whether you are carelessly treating her. If someone forgets his own weakness and life, going to the feat for the salvation of his neighbors, this is a matter of self-sacrifice! And if someone neglects life because he has lost his beloved consolation in it, this is a kind of continuing reproach to Providence. Do not stop using means to preserve or restore health: this is in accordance with the intention of the Giver and the One who leaves us life. If, after taking remedies for health, weakness remains, then it is necessary to accept it with calmer patience rather than resistance, although, however, remedies that counteract illness should also be used calmly and patiently. Job says that life is war 270. And so this is not an extreme misfortune when a person is in a struggle. I remember that I used to tell you that he who receives certain consolations from God should not consider himself to have achieved everything, but retain a grateful memory of them during the time of deprivation. And now I will say that even those left in deprivation, in sorrow, in dryness should not doubt that beyond this desert there is a promised land: only one must not grumble and not become discouraged in this waterless dryness and not give up the intention and deed to reach the promised land. It may happen that in a dry desert water will flow from a stone, and manna from heaven will fall into a barren desert. He who stands in the struggle must remember Jacob, for whom it was not easy when his shoulder was dislocated; despite this, he did not leave his place in the struggle and said to the One who put him in the struggle: I will not let You in unless you bless me 271. What proof do you want about the bliss of the departed? Who can give them to you on earth? Who is obliged to give them to you from heaven? Especially when you, perhaps, missed the one you heard? Evidence is light; pure light is the destiny of heaven; the earth is a region of light and shadow: is it necessary to change the order of the world in order to give you the desired evidence? I pray to God and the Father for consolation, that He will give you in your heart to sing with David: You have spread me out in sorrow, have mercy on me and hear my prayer 272. Don't give up your good intentions. God does not require more than weakness allows. May a meal be prepared for you to resist your chilling thoughts! The mercy of the Lord, who accepts the weak, is with you. […] Your mental adventure is, of course, painful; but doesn't surprise me much. The machinations of the enemy of souls are known. When it does not find its side in the flesh, the more it attacks the spirit. Now you know why sins of thought are so often mentioned in prayers. Thank God that you defeated false fear with recognition. Trust in God that he will forgive the past and will not leave you with the help of grace in the future. […] Do you have close experience of how another thought can be used as a weapon against one thought, what to do if at first the sinful one is not completely pure? As the feat continues in this mental battle, a thought that is not entirely pure can be corrected and replaced by another, better one. Take advantage of this, albeit perhaps small, experience and continue to stand under the sign of the victorious name of Jesus Christ. However, may the philanthropic God forgive every sin of yours in thought, or word, or deed, may He restore you from every fall, and instead of the sweet sensations of the heart, killed by His fate, in which natural life flourished (which is the life of an earthly, temporary, old man), may He grant you living sensations of the spirit, in which a life of grace would be revealed, the life of a heavenly, immortal, new man. The flattery of the father of lies in a letter to an overwhelmed soul is so rude that you, I hope, do not need to warn you against temptation. And it must be said that the same spirit of seduction presents one as a phantom of light in order to seduce with self-confidence, and spreads darkness over another in order to despondency; that dreaming, as much as in the first case, should not be believed in the second; that we should not occupy ourselves and occupy others with dreams of the imagination, but turn to God with a calm heart and fulfill His commandments in deed. Regarding the forgetting of the name of the Mother of God in prayer, we can say that the disordered recollection associated with this seems not only strange, but also terrible; that she needs to cleanse her sins with diligent prayer to the Mother of God and not write letters to you that are scary to read. It can be said about the confessor that the contents of the letter show the need for spiritual advice and that in this case one must look not at coldness or sensitivity, but at the benefit of the soul. If one does not dispose her to trust, you can look for another. Spiritual warfare rightly advises not to desire a good opinion of oneself, for this would not mean seeking purely good things, but seeking oneself in good things. If you have not yet found yourself on this good path, it is good that you at least see it, you should hope that you will make the effort to step on it and stay on it. May He who is the way and the truth and the life never cease to be your guide on the true path of the life. Don’t stop at how a falling person looks at your stumbling. Probably the one who is falling, trying to get up, either does not notice the other person’s stumbling block, or he is not in the mood to make unfavorable conclusions about his companion. There is no reason to contradict you in using the day of sad memories for solitude or charity. It would be desirable if the method of solitude were simpler; however, you can use the one that seems possible this time. I wish you solitude from the multitude in closeness to the One, from Whom every good and gift descends and to Whom must return, Who visits with sorrow and dissolves it with consolation, under Whose cover is painful birth and in Whom is the blessed resurrection. The word according to the Apostle is true that Christ came into the world of sinners to save 273. And if this is true that He came to them, then they can come to Him with hope. Remembering this and admitting your sinfulness, approach Him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed, 274 as another man of God says. One should excite oneself from laziness in pursuit of a feat, but not be discouraged by the fact that success in a feat is not at will. We are told to search and push. If you are looking for a long time, so be it, just to find the lost jewel. If, having knocked once and not seeing the door opening, you walk away, you will not be in the house, but if you stay at the door and continue to knock, sooner or later they will open and accept you. May our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the pure, essential, holy, Divine truth, accept both from your lips and from your heart a pure confession of faith in Him; and let every word or thought of blasphemy bring down upon the head the father of lies, who slanderes, as St. John says, our brethren day and night 275 . Truly, this is one of the slander of the father of lies, that he sometimes says a bad word in the ear of the soul and tries to attribute this crime to it itself. This is one of the mistakes of mental warfare. There is no need to become timid, because this would be harmful in repelling the attack. We must take up the weapons of prayer and the word of God more quickly and firmly. For example: get away from me, Satan. Or: let their sword enter into their hearts 276. We must cry out to God: Save me, O God, as you brought water down to my soul 277 . Or something similar. Those who enter inside are met with this warfare, and those who strive unremittingly go so deep inside and approach the light of God that the arrows of darkness do not reach them. Access to the enemy is given either by considering themselves to be something, or by judging others, and so on. His own unclean thought becomes the road along which he comes and sows his hellish weeds. Humility, self-condemnation and sincere repentance crush the enemy's bridge, and he falls into the abyss. […] May the humane-loving God free you from every fall into sin, in word, or deed, or thought, and with His omnipotent grace will support and strengthen you and protect you from new falls. Do not faint even in the thirsty desert, remembering God, who pours out water from stones when needed, who sometimes watered your dryness, and whose waters, which are above the heavens 278, are inexhaustible. I recently read that despair is a product of pride. So, let humility be your guardian from thoughts of despair. We are worth despairing, but God's grace is not worth losing hope in. It gives us the right, and more than hope, to believe in hope 279. May the true and only Physician and Healer of souls cover with mercy every ulcer of your soul and may He heal every illness of it with the complete power of His Spirit and His flesh and blood. The adventures of saints are often incredible, but how many natural things are incredible to those who don’t know? We should not envy the saints, but rather humble and excite ourselves by their example. The Savior must be the focus of all prayers: the prayers of the saints are the ways of our prayer and the support of faith. Do not those who hate You, O Lord, hate You? I hated 280 with complete hatred. So the saints hated the enemies of God, but their complete hatred is not what worldly people know by this name. The sacrifice of Christ is so great that at the sight of it all small human sacrifices should disappear. Let us purify our senses and see her 281, not being entertained by any lower objects and placing our small sacrifices at the foot of her altar, solely for their sanctification. The fact that the condemned will see the consolation of those they blame should be scary for the critic, and in those condemned it should arouse compassion for the blamers, and not joy about their punishment. The consolation that we seek from God cannot be taken away by people. When it is necessary for them to accompany us in this quest, God brings them closer to us through various orders of His Providence, sometimes completely unexpected. And sometimes, if we have somewhat learned the path, he removes the companion so that we do not rely on a person who is never a solid support, but in order to confirm our heart in the Lord 282 - which I sincerely wish for you. God's blessing is upon you always and everywhere. The Lord's land 283. The place should not mean much to us, unless we add other causes of grief that are closer to the soul. May God free you from such and preserve you. Feeding the poor is a good thing, it is only necessary that this be done as little as possible publicly. […] It is not in our power to avoid external impressions, whether music or anything else, when we would like to avoid them. It is in our power, with the help of the highest power, to strengthen the soul so that external impressions do not lead it into agitation. Is it possible to embark on this feat more decisively? More prayer, more attention inward, and external impressions pass less deeply. However, when the need for distance from external impressions is felt, and this is possible and removal is good, it is only necessary that this removal does not extend to some kind of strangeness, without special need. May God teach you through immediate experience the means to soften harsh memories and make peace with the past and present in the hope of the future. I regret that the presence of fun even now increases your despondency. What is to blame for your despondency is innocent joy, or the image of joy in an inanimate creature that God has adorned? Is it necessary to be more upset that the works of God that we see are beautiful? If the garden you were in looked less like paradise, then you would not be so depressed in it: what a strange thought! For God's sake, try to be reconciled with everyone and everything. The society in which you were should have dissolved, and not oppressed, your heart, for I am sure that it sincerely wished to console you. […] The inscription above the entrance to the church 284, in my opinion, does not achieve its goal: most of the readers will not be aroused by it to prayer, but to remarks about why the name of one is above the entrance to many who are reposed and why it is here when it is in its place, while others will judge this enhanced rendering. So, if you want to know my opinion: I think it’s better not to do things that are so mutual. This will not reduce the number of prayer books for the servant of God Vladimir. […] What is less for people is closer to God. So it seems to me, however, you reason for yourself and don’t be angry with me. […] It is not a sin to say: blessed are the dead, but with the addition: those who die in the Lord 285. Do we know how to die in the Lord? If the answer to this makes it difficult for us, then it is better not to rush to desire death, but to let the Lord first teach us to die in the Lord. […] Consolation in this world should not be sought passionately; but the consolation that God's grace bestows, even in this world, must be received with thanksgiving. It is good to renounce the consolations of this world and at the same time not consider yourself inconsolable. The Lord is good: and just as He placed taste in the harshest food, so He placed some consolation in the most difficult lot of this world. To want to make sure of the details of the future in this world is to want to see and know in solitary confinement what is happening in society. This is why we are imprisoned in this world, so that by removing ourselves from the society of the blessed, we can be taught to appreciate the bliss of this society and deserve it. In whom solitary confinement achieves its goal and he is close to being admitted into society, sometimes even in confinement he is allowed to know something about what is happening in society... Sometimes!.. Something!.. Have you sometimes encountered something? I sought Him and did not find Him! 286 – No need. May we not cease to seek the Beloved, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Our business is to seek His work and gift: to give to him who has found it. He knows when I will be found and will not seek, if they sought Him faithfully and if they are strong, so as not to abandon Him after finding Him. If we understood, perhaps, sometimes we would say: do not rush to be revealed, teach me first to be faithful to You and not to leave You when You are found and appear, sought and unfound, called and not shown, and with all this, the One who is near! […] The paths of the spiritual world are little known to us; also the physical world of spirits, if I make myself clear. Deprivations should be in moderation, not willful, not stubborn. Not everyone can follow the cruel path of their fathers, and even less so without such a leader as they are. Let us fulfill in obedience what is due and known: the extraordinary and the unknown are dangerous when they are sought after. If God sends this, then the matter is different: He will also send protection. […] Resist in deciding the fate of people before God's judgment. To call one a righteous man and another a monster means to place him at the right hand and at the left. The one whom you have elevated to righteousness, if he is careful, will not want to be righteous before Him who came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance 287; and on the contrary, I do not know a monster who could not become righteous through repentance from Him who came to save sinners. What will a premature judgment do to us, will it condemn us, the judges? […] Vanity steals days, time does not bring freedom, attention is always distracted. May the Lord Himself allow you to hear and understand what He says: as He speaks peace to His people... and to those who turn their hearts to Him 288. One should not always ask what it is: for this curiosity produces care or entertainment. When a drop of rain falls on the withering grass, it comes to life without wondering where the drops will come from. When a drop of peace falls into the soul, let it cry out in love and gratitude to God, the source of peace, without experiencing how He acts and what certain accidents mean. In order not to mistake delusions for truth, one is not ordered to become attached to any vision that appears in a sensual image. This also includes advice not to be curious, because through this a person personally becomes attached. What goes by, let it go and pass. And it will pass by itself if the person of desire does not attract something passing by. […] Whether you think, whether you hear, test what you think and hear by the word of God and reasoning: act both according to the word of God and according to the reasoning given from God. In this way, the advice of a good adviser will not be despised, and the deceit of the evil one will not succeed. Finally, you notice something for which you have been given a continuation of life, albeit a sorrowful one. Consequently, you see that God’s Providence is wise and good. May this encourage you to continue your days with greater devotion to God, carefully note what they are given to you for, and use them according to the will of the Supreme Manager of our fate in time and eternity. […] It is not easy and even unsafe to experience the signs of the times unless a person protects himself with reasoning, caution and, most of all, humility. Read the beginning of the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. Notice the expression: you will not quickly strive out of your mind, nor be terrified in spirit. And what seems to be a spiritual insight is not suddenly allowed to be shown. Further: the man of lawlessness will be revealed, and also: the mystery of lawlessness is already being done. So, this case is closed for now. It is not easy to find out the secret, to penetrate what is closed when, perhaps, the time of discovery has not yet come. One can rather guarantee that prophecies will not be fulfilled in the way people think, than that some people think about it correctly. […] Do yourself a favor and listen patiently to what I think about gifts. I’m not talking about the virtue of the unmercenary: I’ll limit myself to ordinary people. Gifts come from custom, another from zeal, and another from generosity. Custom can be obeyed calmly, zeal must be responded to with zeal, and sometimes one can yield to generosity. You can take an offering of generosity with the desire to bless the giver and use its excess for the best, so that by refusal you do not upset unnecessarily and do not alienate you from free communication, which can be turned to benefit. But to make gifts more frequent and multiply to a person with whom you trust in spirit, and even after he admits that he is embarrassed, to force him by the fact that the thing is already being prepared - judge for yourself, what is this? I will not analyze this, but will only say that it is not beneficial either to the giver, or to the one to whom they want to give, or to those who look at it. I repeat that I am not angry; Do not be angry that I must adhere to these words. This, however, will not prevent me from accepting and using them in the future, as before, if you send me woolen stockings from your work, as a blessing from your labors. Do not complain that you did not see a sign that confirms hope, but rather blame yourself for wanting a sign. In the Gospel you see that the Lord did not praise those who sought a sign. If you needed anything to support you, God did not deprive you of it and will not deprive you in the future, according to your need and faith. Would you consider it decent if your neighbor unnecessarily demanded from you a letter without fail on the day appointed by him? What decency is it to ask God for notice unnecessarily at the time appointed by us? Ask for what is beneficial to your soul and pleasing to God, and not what would please you. As for the communion of the Holy Mysteries both on Holy Thursday and on the day of Easter, this was previously considered not only common to every faithful, but also obligatory. Jesus Christ is the same now 289. The only question that remains is whether we are ready to draw closer to Him. The answer can be given by conscience and the spiritual father. […] May the Lord be a helper to both those who mourn and those who rejoice, and may He also give joy. Sorrow is often saving, so that it knows the beginnings of joy in it; that sorrow follows her, and let every sorrow look forward to joy, so that in joy she does not forget the Giver of joy, and even if she forgot, let sorrow remind her. If the desire to serve God in purity is supported by a pure desire for bliss for the benefit of a fallen neighbor, this is not perfect purity, but let this also be the path to perfect purity. And this is the work of the all-wise Providence of God, that we use our pure desires as instruments for the true and complete purification of our souls. When I say cleansing, I do not reproach anyone for sins and do not consider them worthy of punishment, but I only think that, by birth from fallen Adam, we were born in sins 290 and therefore we all demand cleansing. Therefore, people who interpret, as you say, that the misfortunes that befall a person are nothing more than punishment, either do not speak accurately, or do not understand them accurately; not all means of purification are punishments; but the punishments themselves do not make a person an outcast. While the Lord punished me, He did not give me over to death 291. This man was not ashamed to admit that his misfortunes were punishments. What we don’t understand in the behavior of our neighbors, even if it seems strange, we should try to see from the best side. It’s not a problem not to suspect the guilty, but to suspect the innocent is injustice and insult. Judge not, lest ye be judged 292. […] I understand the difficulty of the abuse you endured. But blessed be God! Do not seek perishable reward for fulfilling your duties; do not complain about the perceived inconvenience of fulfilling your intentions. If the intentions are pleasing to God, He will provide the means to fulfill them. If a person is passionately attached to his intentions, good is the Lord, who, through obstacles to intentions, wants to free a person from passions. May God help you to overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, that is, by the patience of Christ, to be strengthened by the memory of His suffering for us; and may he cleanse your soul from all sin; may he confirm caution against falls already experienced, and may he protect you with invisible help from unexpected falls. Taste and see that the Lord is good 293. That spiritual warfare causes division in you, this should prompt you to pay careful attention, so that God, according to the Apostle, may grant you to be strengthened by the Spirit... in your inner man 294. About sensory-figurative visions, I see that by the way I read to you, and therefore I have no need to write more here. If fasting does not yet bring exhaustion, then it is ok and not yet a great fast; but by the way, not always and not everyone needs to strive for great things. Feelings and speeches that arose from the fact that you were not named among those leading an active and full life are the offspring of the root of pride. This experience shows you that sometimes our evil tree is crushed by the fate of God and, apparently, does not grow; [however] there may still be a root that has not yet dried up, ready to send out shoots in different directions. Therefore, there is no need to provide for yourself when a person does not know his previous sins; but you must increase your attention and vigilance over yourself and not forget the prayer: cleanse me from my secrets, Lord 295. Again I see in your letter the name of the righteous man is out of place and again I cannot leave it without comment. The Word of God says: my people, those who are blessed flatter you and trouble the paths of your feet 296 . Truly, when a sinner is called righteous, the paths of his feet are disturbed. And the one who, seeing a multitude of people around him, many of whom are undoubtedly good, chooses who to bestow the honorary title of righteous, has not already made himself a judge? Where is the commandment: do not judge, lest you be judged 297! Leave the name of the righteous to the One to whom it essentially belongs: imams... Jesus Christ the righteous 298. About your neighbor, when you wish good, simply say: “Save, Lord, and have mercy on Your servant.” This is decent for everyone and does not offend anyone. In saying this, it seems to me that I am no longer idle; and I almost dare to say: if you have ears to hear, let him hear 299. Looking at the image of the Mother of God shedding tears in those places where Her Son suffered, reverence and do not forget that this image is infinitely lofty. “You don’t know where the Lord is leading you?” How not to know? Will He be willing to lead you somewhere other than to His Kingdom, which, according to His word, is within you and which is in heaven? 300 Just take careful note of His path; walk along it willingly, although sometimes it is difficult, and in case of any stumbling, according to the expression of the Psalter, lift up your soul to Him. Blessing, and peace, and comfort from the Source of the Comforter, the Spirit of the Lord! The dream you narrate is truly comforting, and since it has already produced this effect, there is no need to talk more about it in this regard. Or maybe it’s not superfluous to remember the parable: honey... eating in moderation 301. Accept, that is, consolation with spiritual abstinence; do not indulge in unlimited enjoyment of the sweetness of consolation, but look with reverent gratitude to the Merciful Comforter; do not be provided with consolation, but be strengthened by it for achievement. Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling 302. If anyone is already clothed in a white robe, like a smoky one, let him also whiten his robe in the Blood of the Lamb, so that it will be absolutely white and bright. For many, retelling what was said in secret, in my opinion, is not entirely safe. They will see that we do not protect secrets and, perhaps, are vainglorious about our powers of attorney, and perhaps they will stop telling us in secret. […] I don’t know whether you received my letter no later than the 24th day; and I received yours later. But a little worry about this. Yesterday and today stand together before God. Let our hearts be drawn out to Him. It’s a new idea for me that you considered the Archimandrite of Yuryev to be among the culprits for your misfortune. Your will, this is both a sin before God and a shame before people. How can you demand that the whole world rise up to act on the private cause of one person? Yuryevsky Archimandrite might not have known at all what was happening; and if he had known, his whole duty was to say: deliver, Lord, from trouble everyone close to trouble! How do you know that he did not say this in his heart? And what more do you demand from a monk for secular affairs that are completely alien to him? You should not have refrained from speaking only about this, but mentally sorted it out with reasoning and discarded it as unfounded. Don’t think that I am taking the side of Archimandrite Yuryev, having visited his monastery. I take the side of your soul, its purity, its peace. To paint a portrait of the deceased in the image of a dream is a sinful thought, I will not put myself as a judge, otherwise it must be said that the thought is wrong and not useful. Spiritual things are shown not in order to decorate the sensory realm with them, as with dreams, but in order to place the spirit in gratitude to God, in reverence for His destinies, in love for Him, in humility before Him. If it is not this effect that the vision produces, but turns into images pleasing to the sensual imagination, then by the actions on my vision it becomes uncertain whether it is true or at least it is abused. My words will seem harsh to you. Forgive me for preaching to others, although I myself am not correct. But I think that my words belong to the truth, as much as I hear and understand them, and in what other way than the truth can I thank you for the consolation that you allowed me to be a witness of your desire for good? But whether I really tell you the truth, test it yourself, by reasoning, and by the word of God, and by the writings of those who know the way of the Spirit. As I write this and look out the window, I see a funeral taking place. Pyotr Stepanovich Molchanov lost his sight; was on trial for a long time; These days he was acquitted, but he was dismissed and today he buried his eighteen or nineteen year old son, in whom he had placed his hopes. It takes a lot of patience, God bless him! Remember what the Lord said about a person who grieves but trusts in Him: I am with him in sorrow 303. So, Lord, you are with him not only in consolation, but also in sorrow itself. So truly. Let us learn to bear our sorrow with the thought that the Lord is with us in it. The Lord is with you in sorrow! The Lord is with you in consolation! The origin of the dryness that you complain about can perhaps be explained somewhat if you think about it, taking into account what I wrote in the letter before this. But the idea of ​​overcoming dryness is hardly correct: when there is a drought, you cannot overcome it by force, but you must ask and expect beneficial rain from God and endure if He does not hurry. Look closely in your heart so that there is nothing hostile against anyone left in it, so as not to hinder the place of Christ, who wants to indwell our hearts with faith and love. This idea was given to me by the sad lines of your letter, in which you called some thing an abomination of desolation, really, too strongly; and I, perhaps, sinned that with my story I gave you the opportunity to speak with displeasure. Forgive me; Take care of the peace of your soul and do not unnecessarily interpret other people’s affairs when they are incomprehensible. About the one who told the vision and dream, from the note of the words spoken in the dream, I remind you that they said before, that you should not look at such things, but go your own way, like a wanderer hurrying home, who, hearing news from strangers about his relatives, says thank you and, without stopping, continues on his way, without entering into questions that slow down rather than satisfy, and sometimes even upset. It is especially inconvenient to chase news from the Mountainous Fatherland; because there they don’t know idle reports and don’t write idle letters, like with us, but they reveal the secrets of the Kingdom carefully and carefully, so that sometimes, even having already received a secret in your hands, you will not soon find the key to it. I am not a tester of spirits, but, according to the signs, it seems that they do not say what is written in the note, why the note in a dream or in reality became such, it is not our business to sort it out, but our business is not to judge and be careful. Recently, I remember, there was a harvest of bread with smut 304; people ate bread, thought to be full and strong; and became sick. […] Mercy and peace from the Lord. May God strengthen the soul of Elisaveta Petrovna Glebova in her struggle. Now it is not she who acts, but her illness. But this case gives us an instruction, while we have enough strength and freedom, to bend our will and submit to good advice, so that in a moment of temptation the habitual stubbornness of our will does not become a weapon of our enemy against us. […] The thought of interceding for the estranged is definitely a temptation, and not a spiritual impulse, for in it lies the thought of insolence. Moreover, you certainly judge the one whose decision you want to change with your petition. Judge not, lest ye be judged. I'll give you another example. What is more holy, what is more desirable for a Christian, how to confess Christ before the pagan government for the glory of Christ, for the confirmation of believers, for the instruction of the ignorant? But the faithful servants of God were in no hurry to volunteer for this, but waited for the calling of God. And the Savior said: You will be led before rulers and kings for My sake... and he will bow down to you as a testimony... When you are led, then you have the opportunity to testify 305 about the truth, and bear witness to it; and without being called, do not rush; have zeal, but beware of insolence. Whoever can, let him give the homeless a place, an allowance, advice: this is a matter of philanthropy; you need to do it, and not force others. That the communion of the Holy Mysteries was postponed for the sake of the cause of philanthropy and obedience, there is no harm in that. And, perhaps, by this coincidence of circumstances, Providence leads you to consider whether you have not dwelled too much on this thought until now in order to remember in the memory of your son what the Son of God said: do this in My remembrance 306. This memory is the main, essential, saving one both for you and for the other memory that actually belongs to you. You are led from one memory to another, so that the memory of your son can be sacrificed to the memory of Christ. […] You complain that the day of sorrow has passed without consolation. Think about this complaint. Have you made an agreement with God so that He would send you consolation at a certain time, and, moreover, on such days as you have appointed for yourself, and not on those on which His goodness and wisdom considers it appropriate to give you consolation? He sometimes unexpectedly sends consolation, when it is needed to strengthen the weary, which you may have experienced, but when there is no such special need, but only our will, discontentedly subdued, thirsts for the consolation of a self-excited thirst and arrogantly promises it to itself, then, judge for yourself, is it necessary to send us consolation or is it better to continue our wait and exercise us in patience, in the knowledge of our unworthiness and humility! And we need to think about the fight against the desire to see something from the supersensible world. Let's assume that you would have seen it. What you see is either the truth, or a ghost of the imagination, or the charm of the father of lies, who is not yet forbidden, even now, as before, to be transformed into the Angel of Light. Which of the three exactly? Do you vouch for yourself that you will recognize and discern? Anyone who has seen a dove and a crow can easily distinguish them. And whoever has not seen it and has studied little natural history will easily mistake a crow for a dove, especially if he sees it for a short time and it does not have time to reveal itself by the crow’s cry. Such an error is even more convenient in the supersensible, and its consequences are much more important. I think I have already told you about this, but since my words are powerless, here are the words of Isaac the Syrian: “Terrible is the demon, and desired by God and His Angel, with warm zeal they uprooted the thorns growing in him from the enemy.” Further: “Let him not seek the manifestation of God in himself, lest he accept that which truly is darkness, but the light of being is hypocritical” 307. You will say that you are not thinking about the appearance of God; but in the manifestation of the created spirit it is even more convenient to be deceived. The name of Jesus Christ is with you, and with Him all heaven: what else? In Him all the treasures are hidden: one must wait until it deigns to reveal something, and not pick up the keys to what has been locked up for a time. […] You always pretend that you don't want to praise me and always praise me. This is not useful either for me or for you, and therefore it is necessary to finish this, and not continue. I urgently ask for this, as well as for you not to decorate my insignificance with lofty names, newly invented. I know that I am also unworthy of ordinary names, as they say according to custom, but what is approved by custom is less of an answer. If the heart does not rejoice, it is impossible to force it to rejoice, but it is necessary to moderate the sadness; how you can calmly look at the joy of others and at your own little-pleasant state: sacrifice your condition to God, such as it is; and with the help of God the soul comes into order. Having a fiery prayer hardly depends on us. Pure fire brings Christ into purified souls. His goodness inflames the heart, as the apostles say: was not my heart filled with grief 308 when He was near them without being recognized. We need to pray as the Church commands: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace.” We must try to ensure that prayer is performed in peace and with complete, undistracted attention. If we experience some beneficial effect of inner prayer, then we should take instruction from experience to try to be more successful in inner prayer, so that its effect is more beneficial. Let the Spirit of the Lord intercede for you with inner groanings that cannot be uttered. Enduring sorrow... ever rejoicing 309. This is what the apostle commands. You don’t want to rejoice yet, but at least you can endure your sorrows peacefully. […] So that cheerful sights do not aggravate your sadness, you must more diligently turn to the Source of consolation and, moreover, try to look more indifferently both at cheerful sights and at your sadness; impatient effort against it intensifies the struggle. The purpose of any prosphora is to use it as a blessing from the Lord's Table, and not to protect it under glass. Without special need, there is no need to take things out of their natural order. Peace to you and your venerable parent and blessed joy to those who follow in the ordinary course of life. The prophet said: the son will not take the iniquity of his father 310. Consequently, the sin or deficiency of a father or mother cannot deprive a son of bliss, especially in that area of ​​existence, which is given the opportunity to bring to the measure of truth rewards, the calculation of which is not completed in this life. One can live in hope and anticipation of bliss, despite a certain kind of fear brought on by the memory of loved ones struggling with sin and disaster. So: your doubt is unfounded. […] That it is painful to be forced to act against the enemy, this thought is correct. But let’s look at another thought: it’s scary to be an instrument of God’s punishment. Whoever is punished has, of course, already been condemned. Consequently, by speaking about the enemy in this way, we have already condemned him. So sometimes a person runs away from a feeling of enmity, but it still creeps up on him secretly. We must remain vigilant and continue our feat. “How to make peace with people who do not want peace?” – you ask. The answer is in Scripture: be peaceable with those who hate. Consequently, there is a way to do this, and you yourself talk about this method. He is: to pray and do charity. Try to use the method you have found against condemnation. […] I don’t have time to talk much now. The enemy of souls, just as he himself has retreated from a sound mind, sows strange and absurd thoughts. One must admit one’s weakness in the fact that one can proceed and sow them; reject them at all costs; and you should not be embarrassed by them, from which the evil one can take for himself a new weapon. God may make you happy if you want to dispose yourself to accept this, and if you find in yourself an inability to joy, he, however, is not to blame who wishes you joy. But the desire for tangible consolation, and even a sign from God, and, moreover, passionately, of course, is insolence. When you feel that you could die of joy after receiving the desired sign, then you are pronouncing a sentence that you should not give you a sign that you would not accept in order. What benefit comes from prayer to you, you should feel this, and I hope you will not say that you do not experience this benefit. What does it matter whether outsiders recognize this benefit? It is true that those who themselves pray, and who themselves do not know the power of prayer, admit that they are not judges of the prayers of others. Whatever is needed for the glory of God, God does. And what he doesn’t do, it’s clear that we are seeking for ourselves under the pretext of the glory of God. How high does a person rise when he wants to prescribe to God the best ways to save a person! It’s good to move away from this thought through prayer if you don’t have the strength to overcome it with contrary, healthy thoughts. One must calmly pray for someone who speaks incorrectly and unreliably about the future. Annoyance hinders prayer and involves condemnation of the one who is annoyed with for his opinions. Who came from the other world? It would not be bad to answer this question: “Christ appeared after the resurrection.” […] The threat of God's judgment can humble a peaceful person and lead to better things; and not peaceful - more likely to upset than to turn for the better. […] I thank your venerable parent for remembering me: I ask you to show him your zealous respect. If I had seen him, I would have told him that to visit Aglaida 311 you can sometimes not go to the grave in bad weather, but it is much more likely to come in prayer to God, Who, as it is written in the Gospel, is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living... for all things live to Him 312. Before this living God, and not before a dead grave, the living draw closer to the dead. […] I am not as surprised at the dream of the Right Reverend Tobolsky 313 as at how far information about it has reached. Whether the vision is significant, time will tell. […] God's blessing to you and to those who ask for blessings. With the supreme action of God's grace, the prayers and example of the Great Martyr Catherine, who endured everything to the end, may they help you day by day to pass the sorrowful path of life more complacently and, with the support of faith, in the light of hope, approach the blissful peace of love in Him who is life and peace in time and in eternity. […] May the peace of your soul increase; and let her bliss be not in the fortune-telling of dreams, but in the firm hope of the invisible. If the dream gave you a new motivation to pray: good. This consequence corresponds to a dream; and the dream is justified by this consequence. But you should neither desire dreams nor seek an explanation for them, as I think I already told you. The desire to dream is curiosity; curiosity is not a pure state of mind, a not quite pure state of mind does not promise pure dreams; Consequently, the one who desires dreams leads himself to the danger of becoming entangled in dreams. If a dream is a dream, there is no need to ask about its meaning, just as there is no need to ask a parrot about the meaning of its words. If a dream is a vision, it is sent as needed for us. If it should enlighten us with its clarity, it is sent in clarity and does not require much interpretation. If it is supposed to awe us with its mystery, it is sent in the garb of mystery, and then an untimely effort to make the mysterious clear is a kind of struggle with the intentions of Providence. Not every Jacob. And he was limping from such a struggle 314. To be attentive, to pray, to trust in God and expect enlightenment from Him is the duty in this case. And in the sensory world, an optical illusion can easily be mistaken for truth: it is even easier in the spiritual world, whose light and laws are less familiar to us. And in the sensory world it is not easy to understand the visible signs of the interiority and power of things; Is it easier to understand the meaning of spiritual images? It is enough that your dream does not give reasons to be afraid and embarrassed, but partly consoles, partly encourages you to take some action in accordance with legal obligations. Pray diligently for your parents, not speculating about what they need, but simply asking them for grace, peace and salvation. I would rather have you read the Akathist to the Lord Jesus on Friday. Isn’t it better to follow the order of Christ’s days than to make our days holidays, and those for which the best thing is for God’s mercy to cover them with grace-filled oblivion? I grieve for the Greeks, even if I am not a Greek, that they are given a ruler of a foreign tribe and a different faith. And what will Count K. 315 do? However, of course, it is not Russia that needs to be complained about. He who lives in heaven sees who loves mankind and who loves greed under the guise of love for mankind. Everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds, and earthly politics will not deceive heavenly justice. May the Lord have mercy and save the Greeks and us. About the grief of a sad mother. I understand that it is especially difficult for a distressed mother to feel, so to speak, the taste of this consolation. For this, I would advise her, among other things, to diligently resort to the Great Mother, Who alone experienced maternal grief, incomparably greater than all the mothers together, when she saw Her Only Begotten and Divine Son on the Cross rather than in the tomb. According to Simeon’s predictive saying, a weapon passed through Her soul, but Divine grace found medicine to heal Her; and since the grace-filled is Divine, the Divine is infinite, the healing given to Her is not exhausted in Her for Her alone, but since there is a spiritual law that the tempted himself can... help those who are tempted 316, then the once sorrowful Mother of the Lord at the Cross now possesses an inexhaustible treasure of consolation for every sorrowful mother who resorts with faith to Her, and through Her to Her Son and God, who sends the Spirit Comforter from the Father. May the mercy of the Lord be with you and may it cleanse your soul from every act, desire and thought that darkens or aggravates it. The feeling of love for the Lord was more vivid in you before, because a feeling of natural love was instilled in him; or maybe the first one was given to you so that you could pass it on to your son. Now it's a different state. One must offer the Lord a sorrowful sacrifice, pain over the lack or imperfection of love for Him, and not retreat from Him, whether He gives the consolation of His love or is still testing patience. […] All... tempting, good hold 317, teaches the apostle. Why not want to get to know more closely the way of thinking of a person, in which there are signs of the spiritual. These phenomena are not so numerous as to pass them by without attention. […] It is necessary to serve one's neighbor by communicating the ultimate truth, when there is a case for it, but without impatience, with reasoning and observation of the ways of Providence. Letters that renew, rather than heal, sadness are useful to re-read, you can see for yourself. It is good for someone who can offer not only a sacrifice to God, from which there are leftovers for the sacrificer, but also a complete and complete burnt offering. The Lord gives Himself completely: word, power, spirit, flesh and blood. Let us accept and let us surrender ourselves alike. […] He who searches curiously is more likely to find a dream than the truth. If a blind man were to gain his sight at night and see the moon, he would easily mistake it for the sun. And sighted people have long known how little it means before the sun. This can happen with many unusual sensations. If they thank God for a natural good feeling, then through this they come closer to the grace-filled One. Recognizing oneself as unworthy of natural consolations is also a means to accepting these consolations in purity. […] May our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, absolve you from all sin of thought, word and deed, and by His prevenient grace protect you from new stumblings. Not suddenly should a person believe that earthly desires do not touch his heart. Others, perhaps, attribute to us more earthly things than we have, but don’t they truly see in us what we do not notice about ourselves? There is no harm in continuing to test your heart. For the heart is deep 318. It is necessary to expose wickedness in order to convert people to sincerity, but this must be done with love; then only success. By being embarrassed by others, we confuse others, rather than correct them. Confusion that hinders prayer proves that we do not deal with external events or affairs as dispassionately as we should. If the desire for the work of philanthropy to be done is pure and dispassionate, then it will help to pray for this, and will not hinder it. One must desire a good deed; but when it does not depend on us and is not being done, do not be indignant against those who do not do it, but ask for help from God and surrender to His will that which does not depend on us. Experienced people say that one should be more wary of what one hears from the left side than from the right. There are signs in these accidents. […] I said and still say, do not pay much attention, and even less curiosity, to what is seen in a dream or without sleep, not with the external gaze, but, perhaps, with dissatisfaction with the internal one. To pass by a picture, even if it is a good one, is not much good, significant, if it does not represent something, especially edifying, but to stop and look at it means to waste time and, perhaps, to deviate from the true direction of the path. I also ask you not to waste time by talking a lot about my small affairs. In a long absence of sleep after midnight, you could sometimes, without getting up, speak quietly, or completely mentally, the psalm “Alive in the help of the Most High” all in order and others. […] God will bless you a new summer with renewal of life, and especially spiritual, according to the gracious action of the Sun of Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems that it does not mean to wish for much if you wish that the coming year would be better than the previous one, but will God give it? “We don’t deserve much.” During the punishment 319 in Moscow there appeared repentance, patience, and charity: the punishment was also merciful; and the Lord saved us from the troubles that happened in some smaller cities with less difficulties. But the trouble is that at this very time the seeds for new punishments are being sown. For example, I know for sure that from one factory located outside of Moscow, workers, well-fed and working profitably, having heard that bread was being distributed to the poor in Moscow, sneaked through the cordon into Moscow, got tickets, left their wives or others to receive bread, and themselves returned to the factory. In France, Christianity is again in the same position as it was under the pagan governments, except for the bloody persecutions for it, which did not always happen from the pagans 320. The gates of hell are opening wider and wider; they will not prevail against the Church, so that the word of Christ may be fulfilled; but it is clear that they are being allowed to overcome. […] Peace to the departed soul! 321 Gather the strength of your soul to deliver him in peace into the hands of the Lord. I think his last days were difficult, but one must hope that in this state there was hidden something useful for the soul, which had been given a timely admonition by the Holy Sacrament. I believe you are tired: give yourself peace in quiet prayer and in trusting in the One who died for us and who rose for us. […] I agree with you that many things happen between people, and Christians at that, that an observer would sometimes want to escape to other times, if it were possible. God shakes nature in order to clearly say to people: “They do not listen.” The whole earth is devastated by ruin, for there is not one who thinks with his heart 322. This was written before the captivity of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem. They speak here about the Rothschild project to buy Palestine, it seems, not without a thorough knowledge that the news about this is unfounded. However, the news resumes. We need to think more about the Great Jerusalem, which cannot be bought for selfish gain, nor conquered with ambition, into which nothing bad will enter. Let us pray that he will be the mother of us all 323. The giver is free to give, but is another slave also free to take a thing he doesn’t need and become its guardian, no one knows why? In order not to write you more similar objections to your letter, I postpone until the conversation. My fur coat is good for that very reason, for which you scold it. I gave away an expensive one to buy a cheap one. From the experience that at first it was upsetting not to receive the same thing, then to receive it turned out to be not entirely desirable, learn how pure dispassion for earthly things is not suddenly acquired; and how necessary is the instruction of the word of God: guard with all care... the heart 324. As for accepting or not accepting this thing: it is good to adhere to such a course of affairs so that this is not decided by your will. You can remain with your proposal of lot, but if the other two parties insistently sentence you without lot, you can obey this insistence. You should take care of churches in villages before you take care of monasteries. Help for monasteries should be done carefully. It happens that they are beyond need. They care about huge stone churches, and more than about living churches. Against secret vanity we must put the knowledge of our shortcomings and our insignificance outside the protection and help of God. May the Lord help you to successfully pray this prayer: deliver me from my secrets 325. […] It is natural that, turning to the Lord, one becomes enlightened: for He is the Light. But those who walk in darkness, or only in the bosom of nature, do not know this from experience. Anyone who has noticed this through experience is encouraged to practice more accurately in the fact that a good outcome has been shown to him, at least in part. But therefore we must try not to cut short the external exercises of piety that are accepted as rules for the sake of worldly affairs. Entertainment by caring for the family world is not entirely unseemly, but there is no need to excuse it. Entertainment is a distraction from God: whether with a silk thread or a rough rope. He who allows himself plausible entertainment will be drawn where he does not think. May the Lord enlighten you and help you to use earthly things to gain, and not to lose, heavenly things. When the thought of the Sacrament came to you and you were afraid of it, the latter circumstance means that you did not want this sin, and the first is that your soul was not sufficiently protected from the arrow of a flattering enemy. So, we must admit involuntary sin and the sin of negligence: May the Blood of Christ, shed on Calvary, and shed to this day, and taught in the Sacrament, cleanse you from it, as it cleanses you from all sin. If, out of embarrassment from this, you had postponed the intention of communion with the Holy Mysteries, you would have given the enemy a gain in battle, so that he removed you from holy help. Therefore, do not stop in confusion; trust in the grace and mercy of the Lord; do not delay your intention. In such cases, say about enemies: let their sword fall into their heart, and let their hands be broken 326! […] Cunning, and, moreover, against one’s own people, is a truly unpleasant thing. But do not forget that the one who does wrong does not look at it in the face, as if it were a sin, but from the side or behind, where it is covered with the appearance of truth or excusability. To be troubled by anger at cunning means to sin because another has sinned. Who are you punishing? Guilty or yourself? – May the God of peace be with you and teach you to speak not only with your lips, but also with your heart: be at peace with those who hate peace. In order for the thought to be less distracted in prayer, it is necessary not to quickly prostrate in prayer, but to stop attention on a little and let the soul taste what is gained before moving on to the next. One who combines every meal with prayer and thanksgiving to God finds moderation in bodily food. Avoiding this, they fall into only bodily taste and forget the measure. The thought and desire that what is unpleasant to us be miraculously averted is an insult to the miraculous power, which is appointed for the glory of God, and not for our pleasures, which are unnecessary and useless. To think that G.A.A.’s intentions regarding deceased relatives is not good, it seems to me, is directly partial to one’s opinion and injustice. My opinion in this case has no reason to be biased, and especially against you. So, in this case, one must avoid not just condemnation, but injustice. And may God help you overcome righteous sorrow through prayer, and may He help you in everything that is for peace, for good, for salvation. The peace of Christ is with you! What to do? – Temptation... a person’s life on earth 327, and not one day or hour of life. We are looking for peace, but the enemy is looking to disturb us. We often doze over our work, and he, sleepless, tries to lie in wait for us both during our vigil and during our slumber. What to do? - to be vigilant to the fullest, not to rely on yourself for a minute, not to put aside hope from God for a minute. If my will were completely devoted to the will of God, then when the matter succeeds, I would thank God, and when the matter becomes difficult, I would think: apparently, God, according to His destinies, wants something else or at another time; and I would have stopped there, waiting and noticing whether the door would open to the matter in a different way or at a different time than I thought. But if my will is not quite submissive, then in difficulties, when it cannot do its own thing, I fall into despondency or get a tendency to annoyance, which, having occupied and filled my heart, breaks out wherever it happens. It seems not difficult to see that in order to heal our attacks we need to turn to humility and renunciation of our will. Condemning deeds should not be praised, and people should not be condemned. Between flattery and condemnation of one's neighbor there is a path along which humble wisdom knows how to walk. […] You are doing well to submit yourself to the will of God’s Providence. And do, if possible, what does not require permission from any higher or lesser human authority - read the word of God, more or less, but do not deprive yourself of this truly essential bread every day. […] Blessed is God, who through the inner promptings and outer paths of His Providence assists us in testing our hearts in order to cast out from it the hidden impurity of thoughts. People often either excuse thoughts like those you point out, or, feeling their unworthiness, somehow want to suppress them within themselves, ashamed to open them, that is, to cast them out; or, being hurt by them for a short time, they forget them, that is, everyone leaves the unclean seed cast into the heart. But the pure eye of God sees the depth of our heart and cannot, without disgust, see uncleanness where the sanctuary of God should be. Therefore, it is worth the effort to move or stop the mountain from the outside in order to spew out a speck of dust from the inside. So, endure external obstacles, let the inner be purified, as you do with the help of God, may God forgive you for everything you have done wrong, wished wrongly, thought wrongly, and may He lead you to purity of heart and, consequently, to the bliss of the pure in heart. […] Peace from the Lord! Having received a message from you, I do not want to miss the opportunity to say what has been on my mind since your departure: did the last experience of my originality leave you sad? Forgive me, I’m still saying. In a strange way, the idea was given to me to again draw your attention to whether you have completely forgiven everyone against whom you had cause for indignation in your grief? I’ll explain the case when you remind me; and now I’m just reminding you to still test yourself superficially. To say: “He is guilty against me, but I am not angry with him” is not always complete and pure forgiveness. By saying “I’m not angry,” we try to eliminate the feeling of enmity. By saying “guilty,” we also reveal the thought in which the root of enmity lurks. Love tries to uproot this root. She says: “Whether this person is truly guilty, the Knower of the Heart knows; I can be mistaken in my knowledge even of affairs, and even more so of intentions; if he is guilty, then God is to blame, just as I am in many ways; I need to be at peace with him just as I want others to be with me; for this is love for one’s neighbor; and I don’t want anyone to have a firm thought about my guilt.” In this or another way - seek peace, according to the prophet, and marry, and pursue him with all your might 328. […] I shouldn't be angry. But you should not tempt me with words of praise, which were said before. Not only should one not speak about the special ways of God with man in front of enemies of the spirit, which would be contrary to the commandment: do not cast beads, etc. [329], but also one should not speak unnecessarily before believers. The works of God are not for curiosity, not for human self-praise, but for the salvation of souls. To say about someone unnecessarily, without a legitimate reason for this announcement, that he lies shamelessly, and also to retell this also unnecessarily - what is this, if not condemnation of one’s neighbor? The dispassionate, hearing about a lie, understands that this is not the truth; and that something comes from lack of conscience, he does not accept assurance, does not pay attention to it, does not have the taste to retell about it. A great deed is not appreciated; and it is not easy to say: I was not valued. It happened that those who felt free from passions did not boldly say that they were not valued; but only that they do not have a fight from them, more believing that the enemies have hidden and that, consequently, those free from an overt attack must beware of a hidden trap. Let us humble ourselves, and the Lord will save us. The eyes of the Lord, in those darknesses... brighter than the sun 330 and in those darknesses purer than any eye of the purest heavenly creatures, see all the secrets of the human heart. Why is it both unreasonable and sinful to be ashamed of any eye of a sinful person? This shame is inspired by the passion of self-love and the desire to appear to people in a kind and respectable form, that is, the desire for human glory. This is a fairly common sin, which people fall into at the very time when they want to be cleansed of sins, but those seeking cleansing must note that this is also a sin. Look what the desire to be right sometimes leads to - to suspicion of people whose character does not deserve it at all and whose circumstances clear it of it. If a person did not notice this and fell into this kind of suspicion, this is a sign that the desire to be right in the wrong way is strong, passionate, and selfish. You need to humble your thoughts about yourself in order to get rid of the temptation to suspect the innocent. Prayer is undoubtedly stronger than some involuntary movement of an immoderate soul. In theory this is true. But in experience, the matter depends on what kind of prayer, what kind of effort to resist the involuntary movement. As the prayer becomes stronger and purer, the involuntary movement should disappear. So, if it continues, you should not blindly justify yourself and reassure yourself, but rather humble yourself, seek correction and ask for help from above. It is good to do the work of peace in order to purify the unpeaceful disposition of the soul and find peace in conscience. […] Let us pray to the Lord today and tomorrow for those who live and those who have departed, since He will accept us in our unworthiness. Metropolitan Filaret. Mid-19th century Wood, oil. CAC MDA The Fathers say that involuntary sins come from voluntary ones. Therefore, extraneous thoughts in prayer are not the consequences of the fact that at other times we are biasedly occupied with thoughts about earthly things? Let us cleanse ourselves of addictions, and prayer will be cleansed of entertainment. Curiosity directed toward the spiritual world is no more a good state than curiosity directed toward the objects of this world. The curious is tormented and not satisfied; and they hide more from him than from someone who is less curious. The Church teaches us to daily ask ourselves from God for an angel of peace, a faithful mentor; but does not give us the right, with our guesses and passion of love, to honor someone as a Guardian Angel. Do you think that your son belongs more to you than to God? I hope you will say: how dare you think like that? And if we do not dare to think so, then why dare to appropriate it to ourselves with arbitrary, dreamy guesses and allow the power of guesses to dominate the will? Your sacrifice has already been made: be careful not to appropriate it after this. May God rest the soul of Your servant Vladimir! And you favor her repose with your prayer, but do not disturb her with your imagination. One should be afraid of evil doubt, and it would be even better if there was no need to fear it, so that the disposition towards it would cease. The Lord said: love your enemies 331. He who loves them is not afraid to talk about them with us. […] If we are angry with our neighbor and we see our anger to him, therefore he is offended, then we need to ask for forgiveness. And if our anger is within us, then this is our evil, which did not reach our neighbor: therefore, it must be cleansed by repentance before God; explaining with someone you are angry with is sometimes both inconvenient and unhelpful. Thoughts of worldly care that come inappropriately during holy exercises show that the soul has not freed itself from attachment to earthly things. Give us the little fox that destroys the grapes 332! How can we demand that our every intention be fulfilled? Isn't this too much for a person? Can we be quite sure that it is better for our undertakings to be fulfilled than not to be fulfilled? You will say: how could it not be better for a charitable institution to be established rather than not to be established? Here's how: an institution can fall into the wrong hands and be used biasedly and selfishly, therefore for sin and not for good. And on the contrary, the estate may remain in the hands of the good owner and good heirs: and there will be a lot of good of justice, if not very much of the good of mercy. So, there is no need to passionately desire fulfillment and good undertakings, but to pray to God that He will bless them to be fulfilled, if it is for good, or give them a direction other than what we want, in His holy will. It is good to consecrate certain hours of the day with the remembrance of the sufferings of the Lord, whenever possible. And when obstacles change this order, you should not be embarrassed, but carefully use the time that is in your will. […] The Guardian Angel, whom we have accepted from infancy (according to what was said: “Their (babies’) angels always see the face of your Heavenly Father”) or, better, from holy baptism, may not depart from you, protecting your soul and body, entrances and exits 333. […] May our Lord Jesus Christ, who takes away the sins of the world, blot out your handwriting of your sins through the cleansing action of repentance and His atoning Blood. And you take care not to damage the scroll of life with new incorrect features. You yourself have sufficiently exposed the error of thinking that there is no salvation for you. – How happy many dead would consider it if they were returned to their bodies and given one day of real life! They could do here in one day what would be forever impossible there. We are generously given the treasure of days, and we do not find happiness in it. Doesn’t this mean that we don’t know or don’t understand the value and use of time when we neglect it so much? God does not reject reverent offerings, but wants them to be offered in purity. Impatience is not a pure quality. So, perhaps God wants to wait it out and accept the gift of reverence, offered with patience and obedience to His destinies, and not with impatience of self-will. And how many reasons could there be why God does not speed up the fulfillment of our desires? Do the good that you can, and obey the will of God in that which you do not do at will. The deceased 334 may truly wish that the house would be successfully sold and that the money would be used for good. But in vain from this case you take the idea of ​​​​demanding a visit [from] the deceased. And on earth, some visit you unexpectedly, while others do not visit you as expected? How do you want to prescribe the laws of visits to the unearthly? For the sake of the heavenly, stop dragging the heavenly to the earth, whereas we need to leave the earthly and strive for the heavenly. Your son thanks you before the Heavenly Father for the memory of him, but with the laws of heaven, which does not obey earthly arbitrariness; and you should not value your deeds so highly that they deserve gratitude; do them in a spirit of repentance and love; and neither repentance nor love thinks about gratitude for what they do. It would be better not to hear about someone else’s family feud, and if you have already heard, you could not judge and not interfere, which is not up to us; I don’t think that we can protect the clergy from reproach: do not look for a spiritual father who cannot justify his decision to you because he cannot reveal the secrets of confession. Have you heard that a certain Sarah, having no children, persuaded her husband to have a son with a slave, and then forced him to throw both this slave and this son out of the house with such a meager travel supply that the child soon almost died of thirst 335? Will you say: what a cruel wife, what a weak husband? What spiritual father allowed this evil? But the spiritual Father, Who did not condemn, but resolved this matter of Abraham and Sarah, is the Heavenly Father Himself. It seems to me that this example shows quite clearly how difficult it is to talk about other people’s disputes and about those who resolve them through more internal inquiry than according to the orders of rumor. Remember the commandment: do not judge, lest you be judged. The psalmist says: I rose up at midnight to confess to Your name 336. And if even now this is difficult for the weak among us, then he shows the easiest thing: remembering Thee on my bed 337. Are we really not going to do this too? Perhaps, sometimes the Guardian Angel approaches to awaken the sleeping person and call him to the memory of God: will we neglect the help of the faithful mentor whom we ask every day in the Church? Do we so bind the soul with cares and vanity that when night frees it from the inevitable, perhaps rumors, the bonds bound by day remain unbroken? This reminder, necessary for my laziness, may not be superfluous for you. During prayer, let the heart be strengthened in the Lord with the meek attention of love and contrition, so that thoughts do not wander. Blessed is the one whose thoughts have no place to wander, that is, who is not attached to anything earthly. It is the duty of philanthropy to pray for the sick, and not to judge the one whom God visits. The best spiritual father is the one who is accepted with faith, as an instrument of God. To humiliate a spiritual father in the eyes of a spiritual son means offending one and harming the other. […] It is up to a person to place himself in the presence of God by reflecting that the Lord is near, that He sees us and our innermost interior, but to revive in us the feeling of the presence of God is the work of God and the gift of God. We must accept this deprivation with humility and condemnation of our unworthiness and assure ourselves that God is nevertheless present, although we do not feel His presence. Dryness and hardness of the heart can occur from the immersion of the mind and heart in worldly concerns. We need to remind ourselves of what was said to Martha: worry and talk about many things, but there is one thing you need 338. When requests for help lead to impatience, then it may be useful, in spite of this feeling, to condemn oneself to do the work of humanity. God sometimes sends a feeling to get things done; and sometimes, seeing a person’s effort to do His will with a lack of feeling, He bestows feeling as a reward and evidence of His mercy. If you have noticed the example of mothers to whom the doctors of their dead children seem guilty for a long time, then draw a useful conclusion from this, how a person who is upset is disposed to blame others, how easily he sins in this accusation, and how it would be better to put aside false and useless human accusations in order to resolutely humble himself under the strong hand of God. A person is mistaken in believing that doctors are enemies; But he would judge more fairly if he thought that his enemies were doctors. Admitting a mistake and humiliating yourself before inferiors is more useful than paying double money for a mistake. May God help you to pay more attention to your deeds, words and thoughts, so as not to allow the tares to be sown among the wheat. May he forgive you for the past and may he preserve you in the future. You need to slowly bind yourself to many arbitrary rules, but if a rule is taken, you need to be careful in its implementation, so as not to step back when you wanted to go forward. A visit to a person can be prevented, and this does not matter, but neither a place nor anything else can hinder prayer. God also accepts intention as a deed. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to be indignant at the case that you have been worrying about for so long; and there would not have been this embarrassment if one had sufficiently sacrificed one’s own will to the ways of Providence. This is peace. […] We must test our thoughts and be careful not to confuse human with divine and worldly with spiritual. In the place where the eyes of those praying are directed, is it proper to place human memory instead of God’s memory? 339 Above the royal doors it is proper to depict an eye in radiance and put the inscription: My eyes will be there. Or one inscription: My eyes and my heart will always be 340. The Lord commands us to pray and not to be cold, that is, not to get bored due to the lack of signs of hearing prayer. God fulfills prayers more than those we ask or understand, therefore sometimes failure to fulfill a prayer is a true gift. The ability to understand the suggestions of God is formed by the detachment of the heart from earthly things, attention to the spiritual and faithfulness in fulfilling the suggestions, known internally or through external means. Raising one's eyes to heaven in prayer represents boldness toward God, while bowing one's eyes to the earth represents humility. Therefore, perhaps, we are still little worthy of raising our eyes to heaven. The thought of this is not a temptation. […] If thoughts do not always follow prayer, is it not because they follow some attachment of this world, which entertains them, like a burden, and prevents grief from crying out? In this case, let us remember how the Church teaches in hymns: “Let us put aside every care of this life, so that we may raise up the King of all.” Renounce, soul, from all earthly cares, and your thoughts will have no reason to return when called to heavenly things. To oppose a thought inclined towards condemnation with prayer for someone who was trying to condemn is a good rule, and one should not be careless about this, to the extreme detriment of prayer and brotherly love. If the enemy cannot prevent a good deed from being done, then he tries to steal what has been done with thoughts of vanity. You have to do it and not allow yourself to be justified. They don't let me continue. May God forgive you everything that requires forgiveness and may He guide you on His path, to walk in His truth. One of the tricks of the enemy of souls is that when the soul does not want to do the deeds suggested by him and enjoy the thoughts inspired by him, inflict sinful thoughts on it in order to confuse and despondency. The soul does not want these thoughts, but would like them not to exist, therefore one can notice that they are not hers; that a strange dog is barking in her yard, but she would have done better if her yard had been fenced higher and locked more tightly. When the soul is humble, then its fence is high. When she is not partial to vanity, but is turned inward and towards God, then her door is well closed. There is no need to hesitate to confess these thoughts, since in this way they are weakened and expelled, but one must use attention to block the weak points through which strangers enter. May the Lord preserve your soul with the weapon of His light and the ministry of the Guardian Angel. May the Lord forgive you every sin, voluntary and involuntary; May He establish you on the path of pleasing Him. May the Holy Great Martyr Catherine teach you a way for God, internally, to die to the world, and passions, and self-love, so that you may live for Christ and receive from Him the reward of undying life. Tell the servant of God, the virgin Vera 341, the word of Christ: what I do, you do not weigh now, but you will understand from this 342. For the present time, it is enough to know that we must thank the Lord for the consolation given in suffering, and, out of gratitude to Him, maintain ourselves in devotion to the will of God; finally, according to the mercy of the Lord shown, trust in the mercy of the Lord in the future. Peace from the Lord to her and to you who approach her in the love of the spirit and in the fellowship of prayer. […] They did the right thing in not revealing doubts, so as not to disturb the simple faith of their neighbor. But doubt definitely belongs to the subjects of repentance. How can we assign to God which signs are more decent to give? He gives them according to the concept of a person, sometimes very simple, as long as it is innocent. To rejoice over the simplicity of one’s faith is a Christian disposition, but being annoyed with oneself for not having such faith is a sign of dissatisfied success in humility. The humble person, without vexation, humiliates himself in thoughts before the virtue of another. […] If you cannot help the poor, at least you must not upset him. That it is impossible to love all people equally - this is what I think seems to us, who have not achieved perfect love. Complete love wants to save its crucifier, and therefore there is no damage, no diminution of love; and where there is no diminution, there is no inequality. Forgive me too and pray, so that by preaching to others, I myself will be turned off 343. The will of the parents must be fulfilled until it turns out to be contrary to the will of God. A spiritual daughter should not arbitrarily change her confessor, for this is contrary to spiritual rules. But if this is demanded of her, she must present this case to him for permission. No matter what happens, no one can take Christ the Lord from a soul as long as it maintains faith, hope and love. If external means are taken away, He will approach the soul directly. Let there only be faith. […] People can make mistakes, but they cannot snatch other people and affairs from the hands of Providence, and it arranges or allows what is useful or at least harmless for the soul if it does not upset itself. I think that even in a difficult and painful state, you can remember with your heart the Lord Jesus, the Savior of sinners, and mentally look at His Cross. This is already prayer. The patient can also take medications on the day of communion of the Holy Mysteries. […] I advise you not to leave the sick person and hope that in this case God will forgive you for leaving some church services and replace them with the service of spiritual sisterly love. […] Finally, tell her: blessed is he who, for the sake of Christ and following His example, does not contradict or cry out 344 when consolation is taken away. For every minute and drop of earthly consolation sacrificed to obedience, Christ has rivers and rivers of heavenly consolations. When we see condemnation in our neighbor, we can and should always think that perhaps we see worse than what is, and perhaps God sees in the present or future of this person good, which covers or will cover the shortcomings that we untimely judged. How we would condemn the thief who took it according to his deeds when he was led to the cross! But one word on the cross: “Remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom” 345 - put him ahead of us on the path of salvation and made him a model for us. You are in vain mistaking my words of bewilderment for words of displeasure. How can one be displeased for wanting to draw closer to the Lord? But one can be perplexed about the different types of good intentions, which are more truly and purely good. Coming to the Lord's Table more often is a matter of faith and love, but there is boldness; but not everyone can have the right kind of boldness. Therefore, sometimes a person can refuse his boldness, thinking that he is no better than those who do not so often approach the Lord’s Table, considering himself unworthy to accept this boldness and fearing that the boldness will not be contrary to humility. Therefore, I recognized the intention to partake of the Holy Mysteries on Holy Thursday and on the day of Easter not as strongly approved, but as subject to consideration by the spiritual father. I repeat the same opinion now, when you choose one of these days. Your current intention is good with a humble thought; good and last year with the boldness of faith. May the Lord grant you a bold intention and humble boldness. Who or what can block the Lord's ear from prayer? When it does not seem to be heard, then either we do not understand the intention of God who heard, or we did not pray as we should. In the latter one must look after oneself, and leave the former to God. Where would faith be if we saw every time what God does through our prayer? Blesseds who have not seen and believed 346. Tell Vera Nikitichna that I wish her blessings, patience and peace; But I regret that she restlessly accepts what comes not according to her desire. When the Lord visits, what difference does it make which His servant accompanies Him? How much partial attention you devote to His servant, so much do you take away from the Lord! When they act against our will, they give us an opportunity to renounce our will. We must use this opportunity for good, which, of course, we would not have done without the opportunity, when and on occasion, it turns out, we are not ready for it. And is it necessary to be upset about a good event? This reflection may not have passed you by either. May the Lord instruct you in all that is good and saving. Don't complain that it is difficult to know God's will. A good and pure intention recognizes it, although the mind becomes entangled in contradictory considerations. I am glad that you stayed with the sick woman, and I think that you fulfilled the will of God. What a pity that your misunderstandings continue! Of the words you retold, I would like some to be softer: a prejudiced person is repelled by harsh reproof, not attracted; do you need it? Only through patience can enmity be extinguished, and through love can love for one’s neighbors be restored. Not suddenly we need to trust the thought that we are right and others are wrong. It is more likely that they are right in some ways, and we are to blame in some ways. Not only must we forgive, but we must forgive in the same way as those who need forgiveness themselves. […] Do yourself a favor, do not often talk about inconsolability: a Christian should not remain inconsolable forever and be careful not to reproach Providence with inconsolability. Has the God of all consolation 347 really become so poor in consolation that he does not have it for you? Has and bestows: open your heart and receive; do not put up sad memories as a strong wall against the consolation of God; let them find and pass like clouds, and the light of Christ freely enters the sad soul and shines in it with its bright consolation so that the darkness of sadness does not overcome it. […] When they were allowed to partake of the Holy Mysteries, it was necessary to use this gift, and thank God, and not notice whether they were willingly allowed, and not bring to mind what they had previously delayed, and especially not to reproach. What is to be considered and judged when a person is called to leave everything? 348 Read the word of faith to Faith: For your sake we are put to death all day long, counted as sheep for the slaughter 349 . But in all these we overcome because I love him (Rom. 8:37). Tell her that it is not a problem to find yourself in a worse state in spirit than before: we will condemn ourselves more than before, and the Lord will accept this humility and have more mercy. If despondency comes, let him remember the consolation of God: the Lord loves him, punishes him 350, and let him bear the despondency that was sent, and not increase it with another arbitrary despondency about why the despondency came. Weakness will not prevent us from improving if we are faithful to obedience to the will of God: for the power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness 351. I told her before that in her desire to die there is a mixture of boldness, perhaps still early, and hope in herself: the present thought of unworthiness to enter a better world is not so meek, but by the goodness of God may it serve to perfect the previous feeling. […] I would ask the suffering person, as much as possible, not to allow herself to be brought out of the inner refuge of peace and silence by the vividness of feeling against what seems to her unfair or offensive to the people in which she takes part. Look meekly and quietly at the disorders that not your liveliness, but God's goodness and wisdom will correct; look with love and expectation of hope at the souls that He is constantly seeking to have mercy on, and of course you will be able to do this better than you. The fruit of righteousness is sown in the world by those who create peace 352. Speak a word of salvation from a peaceful soul to the soul of your neighbor; and what you cannot say in this way, then tell the Lord about it in prayer: and your duty is fulfilled. That's what I would tell her. […] We must beware of arbitrary predictions that interfere with curiosity and our own will. Doesn’t the Church teach better: let us give our whole life to Christ our God, 353 without calculating or choosing the day, which He alone chooses faithfully, sometimes it is well foreseen for us, and sometimes it is good because it is unforeseeable for us? […] The celestial appearance of the army would undoubtedly be more worthy of attention than the daily observations of the thermometer and barometer, but the reports, daily replete with the latter, did not mention the former. The age does not want to believe the signs and is afraid to talk about them. What a contradiction! If you don’t believe what an entire village is saying, you need to investigate, and not remain silent. If he is afraid to speak, he consequently believes that there is something here; Consequently, it is not in conscience that he exhibits disbelief. This contradiction is a bad sign, no matter what the heavenly sign may be. […] From your other letter I see that the suffering of your patient is not decreasing and is almost increasing. May God strengthen her with His grace. It is clear that this is the only benefit left for her - thanks to God - the benefit is always strong and inexhaustible for faith when it lives up to its name. When the fear of becoming weak in spirit comes to her, let her remember Christ the Savior praying in Gethsemane, and mentally fall to Him, thinking that at this time He took upon Himself our weakness of spirit and endured it, in order to thereby deserve and, indeed, give us help. And you pray for her with peace and hope. Strong, invincible, victorious over everything is the Lord who suffered for us. […] Against the temptation of fear, let the Christian soul say to the Lord: even if... I walk into the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me 354. After the Lord was horrified and tormented in Gethsemane and conquered the torment and horror, if a Christian is brought to Gethsemane, it will no longer be so scary after Him and with Him. He won in order to give us His victory. What wonder is it that the blindness of Israel continues for another thousand years? How short is the time when they look at it from eternity!! Meanwhile, at this time the door of salvation is not closed to any of the Israelis; The Christian Church is open; The Gospel is before our eyes; those who are impartial believe and are saved, those who are stubborn cannot blame anyone but themselves for not wanting to believe and be saved. The saying: all Israel will be saved 355 does not mean that every one of them, but that there will be a great public conversion, instead of what previously there were only private conversions, and the mass of Israel remained in opposition. But we’ll find out how to do this during performance. Daniel, a prayer book and contemplator, understood the prophecy about the seventy-year captivity of Babylon at the end of this period 356, therefore others did not understand it at this time, although the prophecy seems simple. So, we would like to be greater than Daniel if we wanted to determine in advance the fulfillment of the predictions of the apostles Paul and John, whose subjects about time are without comparison more extensive than the prophecies about the captivity of Babylon. […] He who has tasted in inner prayer that the Lord is good has received a good calling to exercise in this prayer and may he follow this calling. […] It is good to pray for your enemies more often and try to see them not as enemies, but simply as neighbors. Writing down misdeeds can be helpful; But whether it is really useful must be determined from experience. It is necessary that the note that denounces us helps us condemn ourselves and beware of what we condemn ourselves for, and not be a simple counting of misdeeds: for we are not yet made more right and better because the misdeeds are numbered. As for success in correction and goodness, the apostle says: the back... forgetting, in the front... extended 357. And the Lord Himself: if you create everything whitewashed..., say that we are servants without keys 358. May God help you to succeed in good things and not to take credit for success, but to thank God, who helps by grace, and pray for continued help. Knowing my weaknesses, which are greater than others, I, thanks to God, look with peace at the weaknesses of my neighbor and, without judging, I say what seems fair and beneficial. Listen in peace and do better than my weakness says. […] May the Lord rebuke the devil, who puts his wicked words into an unwary ear, and may the Lord cleanse the soul that has allowed the barking of a hellish dog to reach its ears. One must humble oneself and put aside one’s will in every possible way in order to protect the soul with the silence of purity. You console those who console you, if possible, with care, gentle management and charity. We must do the best we can. There is no use in grumbling about the impossible. What is there to judge who is suffering for whom or for what? Love for everyone and for enemies regrets the suffering one, asks God to ease his suffering and turn what was sent for the good of his soul. If we want to help those who have died with deeds of love, let us also use love for our enemies for this purpose; Let us also perform this virtue for them, as a sacrifice for them. The fathers say: if you cannot do a good deed to the poor, at least do not upset him, but tell him a good word, from which you will not have a loss. […] If we are afraid of unexpected death, we will try to make it not unexpected, that is, we will diligently think about death and keep ourselves, if possible, prepared for it. God sends the fear of death for instruction, not for confusion. In the dryness of prayer these two things must be separated: dryness and prayer; and hold on to prayers, and do not disturb yourself with thoughts of dryness. People also live by dry eating, sometimes they feed on the bread of tears and drink tears in moderation, and sometimes on Thy true holiday, O Lord, they will be drunk with the fatness of Thy house, and I will give streams of Thy sweetness to drink 359 . But even in appearance, not every day is a holiday. Taking care of prayer at night is better than pleasant dreams, and only in prayer do those who rest and in their dreams see the destinies of God, and those who chase a dream will, or will they not, catch a dream, and not the truth. It is not bad to think about a will, but not passionately, but scrupulously, as one disposes of someone else’s property in preparation for an account. That people whom we know as dreamers dream good things about us, there is both a vice in them, for it comes from passion, and a virtue, because, thinking too well of us, they place themselves low in front of us, or, in other words, they humble themselves. So, if their dreams seduce us, let us think that in this case we become more unfounded than the dreamers themselves, that it is worse to flatter ourselves than to flatter others; that our selfish seduction is more sinful than their humble dreams. With these thoughts let us drive away flattering thoughts and crush our hearts: but a broken heart... God will not despise 360. It is easy to engage in charity, as if it were a game, at a convenient time: more work, more true charity. May God accept that goodness that is done for the sake of saving a beloved neighbor, and may He teach us to do good with greater purity, for the sake of the One who has loved all. We sin when we do not follow good intentions and motives faithfully and accurately, but the Lord is also good in sending good intentions and motives. Let us repent of sin, acknowledge grace, be strengthened in hope, be encouraged in deeds and not become lazy while there is time and God grants help. Tell her 361 that she should thank God for her sorrows and sufferings, in which God did not leave her without consolation and reinforcement, and presented her parents with useful reminders for them at the time of their need, and raised their love for her, apparently wavering, to a higher and purer level. Let us know that all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth 362; Let us bless the ways of the Lord; We tell ourselves to follow obediently, humbly and faithfully to the Lord who leads us invisibly; Let us not worry about what we do not see; whether He will lead us further, whether in an easy or difficult way, quietly or hastily. Tell me too, souls who seek the Lord, that I too should act as I advise you; ask for the help of the Faithful One, the Lord who is faithful to Him, for me, as I ask for it for you. What can I say to Evdokia Silvestrovna, not knowing why she is especially sad for her brother. If it’s just that he died, that doesn’t require my straw words; there are the golden words of the Apostle Paul: do not grieve for those who have died, as do others who have no hope 363. Will he say that suddenly you can’t do everything? To this I can say: put at least a drop of quiet and humble prayer into the cup of sorrow; the whole bowl will gradually acquire a non-bitter taste. I don’t see anything in our reports about the special phenomena in nature that you talk about from foreign reports. The Lord sends signs, but people close their eyes so as not to see, and their ears so as not to hear, and their lips so as not to proclaim to their neighbors, as if they were afraid that they would not turn and repent, so that the Lord would not stop the troubles that He sends and turn away those that He threatens. We must pray that the Lord will have mercy on us, and if not from troubles, then from bitterness and an unrepentant spirit: for it is better and easier for the repentant to suffer than for the unrepentant. They ask me about the inscription on the iconostasis. It would be appropriate to elect her with your advice. For example: God is in His holy place; or: Pour out your hearts before Him; or: Obey God, soul 364. All this is from the psalms. But enough about the church. The last of the written sayings is also suitable in response to your sadness that in a dream you had a pleasant meeting with your parents, but not with your son. Perhaps the vision of our souls has not yet been sufficiently purified so that visions in sleep are not just dreams. Or, if there is some grain in these tares, it is not easy to find where it is and what it is. To see, you need light: everything that appears is light 365. Peaceful and quiet love has light. Love that is immoderate, but disturbs itself with sorrowful memories, darkens its own light and does not see what it seeks to see. So, obey God, my soul. […] The blessing of the Lord to His servant the virgin Vera. I wish that separation from you would not be difficult for her. Let the name of the Lord Jesus abide in her heart, and she will not be alone in spirit. I wrote to Countess Anna Alekseevna after the death of Father Photius. Her answer and other information show that she obediently accepted the will of God, which determined her deprivation. Based on the obedience that she had towards her late spiritual father, the deprivation sent to her, of course, is not a punishment; but without a doubt the Lord has merciful intentions for her soul in this. May the peace of the Lord be with you. One must submit to the judgment of the spiritual father with faith. With the obedience of faith, deprivation is useful as a gift. The less we fall into condemning our neighbor, the better we know ourselves. From this thought let us take an incentive to exercise self-knowledge and a weapon against condemning our neighbor. Inner prayer is a treasure hidden in the countryside, for the acquisition of which one can and must sell everything that is not internal, that is, leave behind everything that entertains and prevents one from going deeper into the foundation of the soul and entering into grace-filled communion with God. Let's look around, didn't we regret selling anything? Imagination of a sleeper. And good people have a path along which are more often walked by random passers-by than by special messengers, and often by fugitives and deceivers. Gullibility opens the door for thieves. Prudence is in no hurry to open the door to the messenger. The true messenger enters not by kindness, but by the power of the Sender. Beware of engaging in dreaming with arbitrary curiosity. The late Metropolitan of Kiev Eugene 367, who died on February 23, wrote the following to the Archbishop of Kazan on the 16th day: “Not very long ago, a fever with such strange quirks became attached to me, which did not prevent me from doing things at all, but in which I, as in a mirror, see my death. I’ll hardly survive this month.” It was clear that he was a messenger, and not a passer-by. An angel of peace, proclaiming life, consolation and salvation, I call upon you and the Virgin Vera from the Lord, Angels and men. In order not to complicate the conscience of your spiritual father, I consider it best to let him decide the question of whether you should begin the Lord’s Table tomorrow. And I advise you to put your will into obedience. If you receive permission, accept mercy and comfort. If you receive advice to hold back, accept the encouragement to humility, to greater reverence for the Sacrament, to the recognition of your unworthiness and to attention during the time of preparation. In this way, even deprivation can serve you for spiritual gain. However, may the Lord, like the news, arrange something beneficial for your soul. […] If we cannot bring deeds and virtues to the Lord, let us at least bring to Him sorrow for our sins and unworthiness, complaints about ourselves and humble pleas for forgiveness and help. Just as He is righteous to give good reward to those who strive, so He is abundantly merciful to forgive the repentant and show mercy to the weak. […] The Fathers say that the door to tenderness and tears is blocked either by vanity or addiction to earthly things. Let's test ourselves; and if these barriers stand, let us strive to destroy them. If the soul of an awakening person reluctantly rises to the Lord, is it not because they tried little to inspire it with heavenly thoughts and allowed it to be burdened with earthly worries? If so, let us strive to take away these obstacles too. What I said above in the first article, I see confirmation of this in the continuation of your letter. Analyze impartially what vanity says, and you can tell it: you are unfoundedly flattering and lying and, by comforting with lies, you are depriving the true consolation that would be found in tenderness and humility. Is not noticing the punishment of enemies in a calculated manner a remnant of enmity? The Lord does not tell us who he punishes for what. Let us not judge, so that we will not be judged: let us pray for mercy towards our enemies, so that we too will receive mercy. […] You are rightly concerned with your duty to thank God, especially for giving you the means and time to erect churches that will extend the prayer for you and for your relatives beyond your opportunity on earth and during your opportunity will reinforce your prayer. We must beware of inattention to this gift of God, but we must also give thanks with humility and recognition of our unworthiness, so that the Lord will elevate the humble 368 soul to the exalted degrees of grace, so that we do not turn back through negligence, but extend ourselves 369 to the fore with increasing zeal. […] The more carefully we look after ourselves, the easier it will be to guard against the condemnation of our neighbor. […] The Apostle James says that if anyone does not sin in word, he is able to bridle his whole body 370. So, it is of no small importance to refrain from speaking, especially from the word of condemnation, and also from the word of condemnation against those whom God created our judgment to establish and form. To sin is a human matter, but to notice one’s mistakes in order to put oneself on vigilant caution in the future is a spiritual, Christian matter. If the tempter leads us into errors, let us use them to motivate ourselves to correct and improve and, thus, defeat him with his weapon. […] If you notice that in St. Petersburg your soul was more inclined to internal prayer, then it is worth the trouble to think: why is this so? Is it because at that time your soul was very busy with matters of serving God and the very obstacles encountered in this matter were prompted to more zealously resort to Him, and that in such a state of mind you were less occupied with the affairs and worries of this world? Doesn’t this experience teach that in all other circumstances one must try to position oneself in such a way that the desire to please God is the main occupation and activity, and worldly affairs are the last, secondary, lower occupation, to which the soul descends only out of need, trying to constantly return to a higher and better matter? If you have succeeded enough in placing the work of God above human and worldly affairs, then you have succeeded in them better and have avoided many sins. […] You should not have been embarrassed by an incomprehensible incident. Didn’t you know before this that the Lord’s destinies are many in the abyss 371 and that, consequently, it is impossible to exhaust them with a handful of human understanding? Death, combined with terrifying circumstances, is either the revelation of what was hidden in a person and what must be revealed for eternity, or the last punishment, cleansing, admonition, the last crucible in which the remnants of hope for oneself and for one’s virtues should burn, when a person, feeling himself in hell, will feel himself not alienated from mercy and torn out by fire. Looking at the phenomena and not seeing the soul, we do not know what judgment is pronounced. Cases of this kind only repeat the teaching already known to us from Scripture - that we must work out our salvation with fear and carefully test ourselves if we are in faith. It should not be ignored when the Church prays for the Christian death of our life, not shameful, peaceful. […] A soul purified and detached from the world and participating in the grace of God, without a doubt, remains in communion with God, but this communion is higher than all images and manifests itself more or less when and how it is convenient for grace, and is not tied to the image that a person would like to assign to it. The Apostle says that the anointing from the Holy One teaches, 372 but does not say that it necessarily speaks within with a voice, as they say on the street. God... speaks peace to His people... and to those who turn their hearts to Him 373: therefore, let us turn our hearts to Him, so that we strive to be people of God, loving God and doing His will; and let us believe that He speaks peace upon us, but let us recognize ourselves as unworthy to hear His word. If we hear only the breath of this world, only its will, only pure silence, after the cessation of the noise and movement of earthly thoughts and desires, and for this glory to Christ God, Who is our peace. […] You ask whether you are not worthy to perform a hereditary work of charity. Which of us will dare to call himself worthy in any case before God? So this is a general concern. But the thought of our unworthiness should not depress us or discourage us, but should lead us to humility and humble prayer. It would be no better or more reliable if we recognized ourselves as worthy. However, the fate of the Lord is a great abyss, 374 and He deeply tests hearts and intentions and with an all-seeing eye sees deeds and their consequences, and therefore we cannot always understand why the bad is sometimes allowed and the way for the good is not opened. And that the Lord did not reject your sacrifice, you can see this with consolation and gratitude from the fact that your church is perfect, dedicated and in it prayer for you and for the souls precious to your heart is immortalized. I am talking especially about the church, which would not exist without you. So, peacefully surrender to the will of God and without disturbing yourself with your own thoughts. Without providing ourselves with a general recognition of guilt, let us practice self-knowledge and let us catch ourselves in sinful and passionate thoughts in order to kill them, each with a corresponding blow of self-condemnation and repentance, constantly directing ourselves to pure thoughts and to the achievement of dispassion. I don’t see very clearly what the confusion in prayer consists of, but for you to act against the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, I consider you to be alien; do not outrage yourself with suspiciousness; but simply with humility repent of the imperfection of prayer or the violation of its order and try to make up for what happened by paying attention to prayer and its order in the future. Time for church. God's peace to your soul. Note the ways of the Lord in temptation. If our desires were fulfilled more successfully than those of others, perhaps we would thank God, but with gratitude combined with self-satisfaction and not quite pure, and we would not even know that within us lies an inclination to envy our neighbor’s successes, instead of only being comforted by his consolation; and not knowing this shortcoming in ourselves, we did nothing to correct ourselves from it. Failure to fulfill our desires causes a feeling that we did not suspect in ourselves: it comes out; let us enter into self-knowledge; Let us condemn ourselves, call on repentance, prayer and love for our neighbors to help us correct ourselves; and let us give glory to God, who does not interfere with the improvement of some of our external affairs, but thereby opens for us the path to the improvement of our spiritual home. […] May the Lord bless you with a new summer, with new good deeds and new successes in a new life according to His commandments and according to His Spirit. God's providence introduces you into a period of years, which, according to the Psalmist, lies beyond the ordinary limit of life and which includes a smaller number of people, even if they are able 375. Thank God, who gave you the strength to continue your career, despite severe sorrows. Accept with special attention the gift of days, which is not given to everyone, and multiply the fruits of the offering to the One who multiplies the talent of time. […] Be that as it may, people are crazy, but Providence allows them to do crazy things with a wise purpose. If slander or a bitter reminder comes, then through this we are given a touchstone to test our virtue. If we accept it with patience and humility, thank God, there is hope that our work of love for our enemies will not burn out. If we are indignant, then through this experience we are given a reminder and encouragement to strive even more, so that our gold will be purer, our work more perfect. In this way one can benefit from the slander of a bitter reminder; and no enemy can harm us if we do not harm ourselves with impatience and mutual hostile feelings. […] Deeds of charity must be done for God and for neighbors in need; One should not desire visible honors for them, but it is good when the righteous authorities look at them with love. Solitude and intimacy of life is a good thing. But, as you put it, it is horror to be in society - let me say that this is not a virtue; and what is not virtue must be corrected, and not enslaved to it. Consider the case and your situation. You can do what is good and desirable, establish a charity for many, for posterity, do good to the souls of yours and yours who have departed, but for this you must endure the horror of appearing among people. What to do? Ask Christian philanthropy for advice: what to do here? I think it will say that for such a great good, how can so many not endure this insignificant horror? Put me on the street all day long to be watched by people, just to do this good. But whose voice is it that says that although it is desirable to achieve the fulfillment of a good intention, it is impossible; does not allow horror to appear to people? Of course, this is not the voice of humanity. You will say this is the voice of sadness. I must add in fairness: self-pleasing sadness, unwilling to bend one’s will for the sake of love for one’s neighbors. For God's sake, don't be angry with me; but judge what I say calmly, and accept what you recognize as the truth, and forgive me for the fact that I want to remove the mote from my neighbor’s eye, without seeing the log in my eye 376 . […] Is this coldness towards the spiritual due to the fact that we are not cold enough to the affairs of the world and the flesh, that our attention is greatly occupied with earthly things and, being attracted to this, it is not easy to ascend to the heavenly? Let us strive to be more indifferent to that which is alien to the soul, which quickly passes away and will not follow it on its eternal path. Thanking God for everything is an easy and good way for the soul. May we guide ourselves along this path. While in the monastery at the village school, when I forced a student to read some commandment of the Decalogue, he was baptized and then read the words of the Divine Law. Not everyone and not everywhere can so freely express a feeling of reverence with a visible sign of the cross; but whoever wants to sanctify every undertaking with the blessing of God, without external obstacles, can inwardly turn to God and mentally protect himself with the sign and power of the Cross of the Lord. This is worthy of attention and care. […] To read the Holy Scriptures, if you miss time in the morning, you can find time throughout the day. And when possible, correction is better than just acknowledging or apologizing for the problem. […] We should not indulge in the dreams of the imagination and create plans for the next century, when even in the present not everything happens according to our assumptions. We must simply pray for those who have gone there with faith and hope, so that the All-Good God will do good for them through destinies, which He knows and which we do not understand. If someone is afraid that he has sinned against the Holy Spirit with the sin about which the Lord spoke so threateningly, this very fear serves as a sign that his sins are of a different kind. He who is afraid lest he become a blasphemer does not blaspheme. The one who blasphemes is not afraid. How do you know if a person is reborn? – you ask. Is it necessary to notify him about this? Wouldn't the thought of finding oneself reborn harm the very cause of revival? It is enough that the Gospel showed the means of revival: faith, prayer, the Sacraments, the commandments. Use the means carefully - and I believe the Lord will do His work. Those born again of God were born 377. Those who test us, for the most part, do not see what they are doing. And those to whom God allows a test and through this gives instruction and who, by His goodness, perceive this, must learn from repeatedly repeated experiences to face a new test without embarrassment and withstand it with the acquisition of spiritual success and with confirmation, and not with a shock, of their inner world. […] We poor people! We stumble, we see a mistake, we grieve, we repent, we receive forgiveness and, having calmed down, instead of strengthening ourselves and being more vigilant, we forget and stumble again in the same place where before. The Lord, who commanded us to forgive seventy times sevenfold, 378, of course, forgives innumerably more, but we should not be careless because He is long-suffering and abundantly merciful. Let us strive to be faithful to Him in a little while, so that He may bless us greatly and forever. May the Lord accept your repentance and grant peace to your conscience. You try to preserve this world. Do not be embarrassed by the incident that occurred during the reception of the Holy Mysteries; but just pray to the Lord that He will help you to establish yourself in reverent attention and protect you from unexpected embarrassment with His Angel. And cast your sorrow for your pain upon the Lord. He knows better than us how to preserve life and arrange a peaceful death. Be careful not to give yourself more credit when you think that it will be more difficult for her without you. Blessings of the Lord and peace to your souls. I say to myself and to you: you need to awaken yourself from laziness, adhere to the spiritual breathing of the inner man, listen to yourself, so that cases of good do not pass by and so that vanity does not enter the heart. Being preoccupied with earthly things makes the heart cold toward heavenly things. Let us tear our heart away from the world and, if it has not yet been purified in order to rush straight to heaven, let us carry it to Golgotha ​​and lay it at the feet of the Lord who suffers for us; even if it were made of stone, the stone also disintegrates from the creature’s compassion for the Creator, who suffers for our sins. […] Of course, the best motive for doing good is love for God, but the desire to do good to beloved departed souls is also a good impulse: let this also help diligently; let the first rule. Anything that in any way resembles envy should be rejected at first glance. […] If we did not do the possible good, either because the opportunity came at the wrong time, or because we did not wait in time for how best to use the time, we will condemn ourselves as either inattentive, as not yet worthy of the gift of doing good successfully; and with diligent attention and prayer, position ourselves so that the time is given to us and we do not miss it. […] Metropolitan Filaret. Mid-19th century Lord, send Thy light and Thy truth, that they may guide us and lead us into Thy holy mountain and into Thy villages 379. You did not say what kind of doubt was fighting with your soul. Maybe not necessary. There are thoughts which, like a dark wind, are blown upon the soul by its enemy, the repetition of which brings burden to it and evil pleasure to him, and which are therefore better to be buried in non-remembering, as in the ground. Thank the Lord for directing your soul to prayer and giving help through prayer. We must beware of arbitrary inattention to what requires reverence: for this arbitrary inattention opens the way for the dark wind to invade the soul against its will and expectation. It is necessary to constantly strive against distraction in prayer. Without trying to win, [for] we are quietly defeated and make it difficult for ourselves to win. Contemplation of the works and benefits of God is a desirable activity. It is necessary that it be produced more by the heart than by thoughts; then the extraneous thoughts that find it can harm it less. To avoid the sin of condemnation, one must think that condemnation returns to the condemner, not only by the judgment of God, but, according to the secret destinies of God, often by deed itself. Where a man condemns his neighbor for stumbling, he himself stumbles, beyond fear. The blessing is prayer for enemies and, when necessary, helping them. Whoever does this, God will grant him perfect love for his enemies. Let the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, take yours too, but you, accepting Him who was sacrificed for us, sacrifice your heart, thoughts, and deeds to Him. A thought that could hardly be written is an alien wind blown upon the soul. It is the work of the strong to fight against such thoughts, but the weak need to remain silent, not listen to alien noise and rush to the Lord in prayer, as if to safety from a beast. But you must keep your soul in reverence and humility in order to protect yourself from such accidents. The wind is more threatening to the high than to the low. Confusion about external affairs is worldly. There is less attachment to earthly things, less such confusion, and they are weaker. […] Blessing, peace and salvation from the Lord. Permission for you to begin the Lord's Table tomorrow belongs to your spiritual father. In my opinion, it is a good thing that out of overwhelm you resort to the Chief of Silence. May He hear your prayer and recognition of your weaknesses; let him forbid the wind of thoughts and the agitation of feelings; and into peace of heart and conscience may he grant you to feel who this is, who commands the wind and waves to subside, and they will listen to Him. It is good that the stubborn comes to repentance and is exposed to untruth; but even if it were not so, the temptation would not reach you, it is human and not very difficult to bear. Let us be strong in the Lord, so as not to be shaken by every wave. Your neighbors, who promised to help your cause and did not fulfill it, should be embarrassed as if they were guilty, and not you, since you are not guilty. It is easy to judge judges, it is difficult for judges to judge, but it is easiest for a judge to sin when he judges the judges who judge his case. One must be careful in this, even according to the simple rule of prudence, much less according to the commandment of God. Let us seek love, which covers all, and humility, which condemns only itself, and may we find this, and then we will be justified and will not have the need to blame anyone. If there must be patience, then there must also be sorrow; if self-sacrifice is necessary, then it is necessary that not everyone give us what seems due. It seems to me that a test has been sent to both [of you]: if both of you suffer misunderstandings in the world, both will succeed more than before and will thank each other where, without a doubt, it is known how zealous each one was. […] One of the sensible people, it seems not even a Christian, said that friends do not do him as much good as ill-wishers, because from them you learn the truth more 380 . How much more should we, Christians, not be angry at those who are ill-wishers and at unfavorable judgments related to us, but use them in order to listen to ourselves with greater caution and test our deeds. Unselfish people, looking at the wealth of others as their own future, are afraid that it will leave them; those who fear easily believe what they fear. Here is a ready-made nest for slander. People-pleasing people put petty trends, guesses and suspicions in this nest, and real troubles hatch unnoticed from them. It is difficult to determine who is to blame and who is to blame. But how did the information not reach you that there is deception and oppression around you? You should pay attention to this. You cannot assure yourself in advance that everything has been examined and everything is fine: even the discerning are sometimes deceived. And sometimes it is given somehow, but in any case not against the will of God’s Providence, a reminder of caution: one must use it. If it turns out that everything is in order, thank God; unfavorable judgments will not make a good thing bad. And if you find something wrong, you need to correct it and thank those who brought it up, although they did not do it out of zeal. Accounts are also true for those who deceive: both registration and caution must go beyond paper and written numbers. You demand a lot from the peasants: you need to see if any burdens unknown to you are being imposed on them. We need to think about this, deal with it with peace, with benefit, and not with why people do not judge as we would like. […] We are poor people. Repeatedly and often we remember our failures and again we stumble in the same places. Let us arouse our attention and become kind guardians of the peace of our soul. […] Do not judge decisively about the departed soul, what she thought in the fight against the disease, without clearly understanding herself and others. Maybe her idea was better than what you guess. It is enough that you fulfilled your duty to her: continue to fulfill it through prayer, with peace and love, so that you have hope better than until now to understand mutual misunderstandings and embrace each other in the love of the Lord. The omission of the time appointed for the word of God and prayer is an important loss. Let us be attentive and use the sorrowful memory of this as a weapon against laziness. […] The Lord, who has risen and assumed all power in heaven and on earth as the God-man, which He has from all eternity as God, forbid the evil spirit that slanderes our brethren from bringing its blasphemous thoughts to the soul that believes in the incarnate Son of God. Bold thoughts about the destinies of God are allowed to fall on a person for the unhumble use of the word of God and, in general, for failure to strive for humility. Tell your thought: does he really know better than the Lord what is appropriate for the Lord God to do for the salvation of man? And to the question: how did the devil appear before God and not disappear? - answer with another question: how are all sinners constantly present before the eyes of God’s omniscience and do not disappear? Instead of marveling at God’s long-suffering, to which we are immensely indebted, we want to compete with God as to why He is long-suffering. Let us humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness from the Long-Suffering and Ready to Forgive. […] There is no anxiety in seeing a person examining his conscience, humbling himself by admitting his shortcomings and sins and seeking forgiveness and resolution, but there is consolation and edification in this. If in heaven there is joy about a repentant sinner, 381 then on earth a sinner who sees another sinner repenting should have joy about the hope of his salvation, and an opportunity to repentantly remember his sins, and an incentive to intensify the feat of repentance. […] Stand in a good opinion about people about whom you know good things; but it does not follow from this that anyone who is not on good terms with these people must be decisively condemned. For you do not know his heart and his thoughts, by which he was brought into this relationship. The Apostle did not order judgment until the Lord comes and reveals the secret darkness and reveals the counsels of the heart 382. Do we really know what the Apostle, by the Spirit of God, declares to be hidden until the coming of Christ? Thank you for the books. But if you need it soon, then demand it, because I will hardly have time to look through it soon. There is something remarkable in St. Andrew’s interpretation of Apocalypse 383, but the Revelation of John in a different interpretation is still awaiting revelation. Prophecies are for the time for which they are appointed: they do not reveal their secrets to early curiosity. […] It is important and worthy not to be forgotten that your remark is that the signs of the times and the summer of our life remind us of the approach of eternity, and we, feeling unprepared for it, are in no hurry to prepare. Let us excite our thought, and our feeling, and our activity. […] May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence. As the smoke disappears, let them disappear 384. May the Lord forbid the devil, who, in the light of truth, attempts to interfere with his darkness and slander the soul that wants to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten, eternal Son of God, who in time was incarnate, suffered and died for the salvation of people, who all sinned and were deprived of the glory of God and therefore all, without excluding a single one, demanded a Redeemer, sinless, omnipotent, in a word, God and God-man. […] When we prepare to approach the Lord, worldly affairs and worries must be left behind. If there is something unpleasant in earthly things, let us use this in order to more easily free ourselves from addiction to them. We will think about how to ensure peace of mind for those entrusted to us later, calling on God for help, who provides for you and for them. But of course it’s good to put things in a calm state while they are in our hands. It seems to us that we do not succeed in spiritual matters and fall into negligence, despite a zealous desire: but one can ask, will God refuse to help a zealous desire? And if help is not fully given, shouldn’t one suspect oneself that the desire is not complete? The Fathers say that one must repent of sins without the admixture of self-justification. The more the Lord sees humility, the more he will help. […] The one who deeply felt his sinfulness and said: my wounds grew stale and rotted, 385 was not in a bad state. It is necessary that we humble ourselves with the sorrow of repentance, so as not to lose heart and put aside hope in God’s mercy. You can not condemn anyone when a person has become sufficiently aware of his sins and weaknesses. May the Lord help you, through the sorrow of repentance, to find the consolation of forgiveness and in this consolation to find strength to preserve yourself from falling into sin. […] It’s good that you noticed the consequence of idle talk or condemnation of one’s neighbor, that after this a person does not so freely enter into inner prayer. Let us use this experience to motivate us to be careful from judging our neighbor and the like. […] Letters to E. P. Rostopchina 386 An extract from Slavic books testifying, as the one who wrote it out, in favor of the Roman Catholic Church, having received, as I have opened one part of the Chetya-Menya, precisely on the fourth day of January, I immediately encounter evidence that is useful to compare with the testimony of the defender of the Roman Catholic Church, taken from the same book. Position of the defender of the Roman Catholic Church: the bishops of Rome are the successors of St. Peter. Proof from the Four Men, namely from the life of Clement, November 25: “I passed away to Peter and after him to Bishop Lyinus, also to Bishop Clitus, who ruled Clement in Rome, good ship of Christ to the Church.” I make exactly the same point: the bishops of Antioch are the successors of St. Peter. Here is the proof from the Fourth Menaion, namely from the legend of the 70 apostles, January 4, sheet 25, on the back: “Ignatius the holy God-bearer, whose Lord, was received into His arms, and became, according to St. Peter in Antioch, bishop apostolically preaching Christ.” Let us put this and that statement, that and that proof, on the right scales; one will not outweigh the other. Just as much as the bishops of Rome are the successors of Saint Peter, so are the bishops of Antioch the successors of the same Saint Peter. As much as one testimony speaks in favor of the Church of Rome, as much another speaks in favor of the Church of Antioch. Both bishops are equal. Both Churches are equal. Both bishops (Antioch and Rome) are equal. Both Churches (Antioch and Rome) are equal. It will be possible to be considered equal only when evidence in favor of the Church of Antioch turns out to be as strong, numerous and clear as there is in favor of the Roman Church. Out of thousands of examples, I will give two or three. St. Jérôme écrivoit au Pape Damase: Ne suivant autre chose que J. S. je suis attaché à la communion de votre sainteté, c'est à dire à la chaire de St. Pierre. Je sais que L' Église est batie sur cette pierre, et quiconque mange l' agneau hors de cette maison est un prophane. Quiconque n'est pas dans l'arche de Noé, périt par le déluge. (ep. 14 et 57, au P. Damase, T. 4, part. 2) 387 . St. Cyrille d'Alexandrie (Évêque) exhorte les fidèles à s'adresser au Pontife Romain pour savoir ce qu' il faut croire, ou observer; parceque seul il a le droit de reprendre, de corriger, de statuer avec la tete puissanse que Jesus Christ dont il tient la place (li Thesaur. V) 388 . L'Église, écrit St. Ambroise de Milan, est là où est Pierre. La barque de St. Pierre est cette arche, hors de laquelle tout périt: la communion de Rome est celle, qui suffit pour être uni à tous les Evêques Catholiques, son autorité est celle, à laquelle il faut s'en tenir dans les difficultés qui surviennen (Jn psalm. 40. serm. I.I ep. 74. ad Theoph.) 389. From these texts it must be concluded that the Churches of Antioch and Rome are not equal. Countess E. P. Rostopchina. O. Kiprensky. 1809 Moreover, from these same texts, as well as from many others, the following 8th proposition is clearly proven by these texts, as well as from many others: point de salut hors de la sainte Église Catholic Apostolique Romanie 390. St. Cyprien ne regarde pas l' vque de Rome seulement comme chef de l' glise, mais comme un chef, dont l' abandon est la sourse de tous les schismes et de toutes les hrsies (De unitat.). Rome, dit il encore, est la chaire de St. Pierre, la source de 1' unit sacerdotale. Elle ast non seulement la plus honorable, elle est encore celle qu' on ne peut abandonner sans abandonner la St. Eglise (ep. 42, 45, 54) 391. Was it said to the Bishop of Antioch: You are the head of the Church? Is it said: separation (l' abandon), falling away from your throne is falling away from the Holy Church? It is not said: therefore, the Church of Antioch is not equal to the Church of Rome, and separation from this latter leads to heresy and, consequently, to eternal destruction. So it must be concluded. Or decide not to believe St. Cyprian, St. Jerome, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Theodore the Studite, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Irenaeus and many other saints. However, one should never forget the words of the Savior: whoever does not listen (does not obey) the Church is worse than a tax collector and a pagan, that is, worse than an idolater. But how can we obey the Church when we do not see the vicar of Jesus Christ, the successor of St. Peter? And Lutherans, and Calvinists, and Herrnhuters, 392 and Anabaptists, and Quakers have their own Church. In continuation of the extracts delivered to me in favor of the Roman Church, which from Slavic books have already turned to foreign languages, under the formidable position that there is no salvation outside the Roman Church, I read the following proof: “St. Cyprian looks at the Bishop of Rome not only as the head of the Church, but as such a head, whose abandonment is the source of all schisms and all heresies” (De unitat.). The book De unitate Ecclesiae, On the Unity of the Church, is quite well chosen to mediate the dispute. For it is impossible for the current follower of the Roman confession to remain silent about the pope and the Roman Church when discussing the unity of the Church. These objects are inseparable in his concept of the Church and constitute one. Whoever, speaking about the unity of the Church, forms this concept without the concept of the pope and the Roman Church, its current defenders will immediately declare that there is no salvation for him. So, let us begin to read the book of St. Cyprian De unitate Ecclesiae, “On the unity of the Church.” I read it from beginning to end. What happened? There is neither the name of the Bishop of Rome, nor the name of the Roman Church, nor the name of the head of the Church in relation to any bishop in the entire book. Is it possible? People who gave such faith to the writer of the extracts will say that they no longer have any power of attorney left for anyone who dares to say something contrary to him. I answer: it is possible to see in the imagination an object which the senses do not represent; it is possible to take personally words that were not spoken with this thought at all; It is possible to apply the words of the writer to the subject we desire, about which he did not think at all. Saint Cyprian speaks about the one Church, but the writer of the extracts thinks that this must be understood about the Roman Church, and so on. I think they will say again: is it possible? The answer is simple: read the book De unitate Ecclesiae. Since this book has been chosen as a mediator in the dispute, I will also say what I found in it and what everyone who can read will surely find in it. Hoc erant utique et ceteri Apostoli, quod fuit Petrus, pari consorio praediti et honoris et potestatis. That is: the same, without a doubt, were the other apostles that Peter was, endowed with equal participation in both honor and power. (De unitat. On the unity of the Church. Paris. 1643. P. 254). Unum corpus et unus spiritus, una spes vocationis vesrtae, unus Dominus, una fides, unum baptismum, unus Deus. Quam unitatem firmiter tenere et vindicare debemus, maxime Episcopi, qui in ecclesia praesidemus, ut episcopatum quoque unum atque indivisum probemus. That is: one body and one spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. We must firmly maintain and defend this unity, especially the bishops who preside over the Church, in order to thus show that the bishopric itself is one and indivisible. There, on the same page. It seems that there is no need to expand to show whether these sayings of St. Cyprian are in favor of the present Roman Church or in favor of the one Holy, truly Catholic and Apostolic Church, additionally called Eastern since the western part of it was broken off by its schism? Do not be afraid, good people, no one is forcing you to decide not to believe Saint Cyprian: think instead and decide whether to believe or not believe the one who quotes the words of Saint Cyprian, which Saint Cyprian did not say. Just don’t dare decide not to believe your eyes in what is written in the book of St. Cyprian De unitate Ecclesiae. Let us rewrite the rest of the extract from Saint Cyprian, supposedly in favor of the Roman Church. “Rome,” he also says, “is the see of St. Peter, the source of priestly unity. He is not only primarily worthy of reverence, but is also such that one cannot leave him without leaving the Holy Church” (Letters 42, 45, 54). The answer to this should be the same as the answer to the first part of the statement. In these three letters there is no name of Rome at all. They were written to the Roman Bishop Cornelius, but they were written to him by Saint Cyprian in the ancient spirit of episcopal brotherhood, and not in the form of servility before the Roman throne, which is so necessary in the West. For example, in letter 42, Saint Cyprian writes: “Hoc enim vel maxime, frater, et laboramus et laborare debemus? "Ut unitatem a Domino et per Apostolos nobis successoribus traditam, quanyum possimus, obtinere ceremus." That is: “It is about this most of all, brother, that we work, and we must work, so that, as much as we can, we try to achieve unity, from the Lord and through the apostles to our faithful successors.” It would take a long time to sort through entire letters in order to prove that they do not contain what they think is found in them. If they truly want the truth, let them write down the exact words of Saint Cyprian or someone else, then we will see in favor of which Church what was written by whom. About communion under one guise In a well-known extract from Slavic books it is said that Theophylact, who chose his interpretation of the Gospels partly from Chrysostom, recognized that Jesus Christ communed under one guise with disciples at Emmaus. These are the words of the Evangelist Luke, (Luke 24:30, 31) - And as he sat with them, we received the bread, blessed it, and broke it. His eyes were opened and he knew Him: and He was invisible to Him. Here are the words of Theophylact of Bulgaria: “When he let it go, then his eyes were opened and he knew Him. He also shows, as if those who partook of the blessed bread, opened their eyes to know Him: for the Lord’s flesh has great and unspeakable power.” I confess that I would like a new interpretation of this interpretation, just like the words of the Evangelist that it interprets. What do the words of the evangelist mean: let us bless the bread and break it? What do the interpreter’s words mean: “to those who partake of the blessed bread”? Let us compare almost the same words from the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 14:19): Let us take the bread and both fish, looking up to heaven, blessing and breaking it. What do these words describe? Is Holy Communion a sacrament? Everyone will say: no! For here we are talking about fish. Consequently, what is described here is simply the blessing of the loaves. Why not think that in the Emaus adventure there should be a simple blessing of bread? As the dispute goes on with the followers of the Roman Church, I take this testimony, instead of Slavic books, from the books of the writer of the Roman Church, namely Dionysius of Carthus, who, in response to the above words of the Evangelist Luke, says: “He took the bread and blessed; He did not transform it into His body, as at the supper, but as food is usually blessed, and thereby gave us instructions to bless food and drink before eating.” So, here there is no communion under one guise, for there is no sacramental communion at all, but a simple blessing of the bread. But what does Theophylact say? And he speaks “about the communion of the blessed bread” 393, and not “about the communion of the Flesh of the Lord,” which he later mentions as an object that is something else that the Lord reveals, shows, makes clear through what happened in Emmaus. The question to which the interpreter answers is this: what does it mean that the Lord was recognized during the breaking of bread? He responds to this, firstly, simply, that they knew when it pleased the Lord: “Whenever he let it go, then his eyes were opened and he knew Him.” Then he adds another hidden sign of this circumstance: he also reveals something else, that is, the Lord shows something else, or makes it clear, when those who ate the blessed bread opened their eyes to recognize Him, namely the power of His Body in holy communion; for the flesh of the Lord has great and unspeakable power. But it is useless to remember here that the Sacrament of Holy Communion was established by the Lord three days before His appearance in Emmaus, just before His departure to suffer, and was then performed once before only twelve apostles; that the following days of His suffering and death were for them days of flight and horror; that therefore the two disciples who supped with the Lord at Emmaus, who, according to Church Tradition, were from among the seventy, in all likelihood, until now did not know the Sacrament of Communion at all. So, in order to more conveniently recognize the Lord for them, they needed His usual blessing of bread, which they, no doubt, saw many times; for it happened more than once among several thousand people. But at the same time, He showed something else, that is, He gave an idea about the power of holy communion, which they were soon to learn. If you like, let us also assume that Theophylact (for I have already said that his interpretation is not quite clear to me) recognized the Emmaus Supper as the Last Supper; Let us assume that you have decided to believe precisely the interpretation of Theophylact; I ask: where does he recognize communion under one form? He mentions only the Lord's Flesh, keeping silent about the Blood; because the evangelist mentions only bread. Why does the evangelist mention only bread? Is it because there was nothing else? Is it possible that the traveling disciples, who did not even recognize the Lord, considered the Lord to be a traveler, reclining with Him for supper, or, in our opinion, sitting down to lunch or dinner, they offered only bread and did not place water below for drinking. This doesn't happen. Why does the evangelist speak only about bread? Because bread had to be offered first and because the Lord was recognized over the bread, which was the subject of the Gospel narrative. Whether the wine was offered and how they treated it when the Lord became invisible immediately after blessing the bread was not necessary to say for the Gospel story, but this silence does not prove that the wine was not offered or was not eaten by the disciples. But if the question is: should one receive communion under both types or under one, why agonize over the short story about the blessing of bread at Emmaus and over Theophylact’s unclear explanation? Is there no clear evidence of this? Is it necessary to go away from the clear sun into a dark church and look for light? What does the Divine Establisher of the Sacrament say? Take it, eat it. Drink everything from it (Matthew 26:26, 27). Let us receive the bread, having given praise, break it and give it to them, saying: This is My body, which is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise the cup at supper, saying: This cup is the New Testament of My blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:19-20). To whom was this said? Is it just the apostles? Is it to them alone that the remembrance of the Lord belongs? Is it to them alone that the New Testament belongs, through His shed blood? Isn’t all this the property of the whole Church? So. He looks at the entire Church, from the Upper Room of Zion to the extremes of the world, until the last day of time, and in the person of the apostles he says to all its members: Take, eat. Drink everything from it; or simply: eat, drink; but one day simply: eat; and in another case it’s different: drink everything from her? Doesn’t this mean that He does not see people who would want to take away the communion of His Body from others, and therefore says simply: eat, that on the contrary He sees people who want to take away the holy cup from others, and therefore says: drink from it, all of you? An incredible thing, if it were not in our eyes! Drink from it, all of you, says the Lord. No, not all, says the Roman Church: the laity does not need it. So is the cup, writes the evangelist. No, not in the same way, the Roman Church answers: the bread is different, and the cup is different; there is bread for everyone, but a cup not for everyone. The New Testament is by My blood, says the Savior. You have been delivered, says the Apostle Peter, by the pure blood of Christ, like that of a lamb (1 Pet. 1:18–19). Imams deliverance through His blood, writes the Apostle Paul (Eph.1:7). The blood of Jesus Christ, writes the Apostle John, cleanses us from all sin. Who does not see how universal the instrument and power of salvation for Christians is the Blood of Christ? The Roman Church recognizes that the saving Blood of Christ, which was shed for everyone on the Cross, is also shed on the bloodless altar, but does not want it to be shed for everyone here either. There were, they say, examples in ancient times that they received communion under one guise. I can add, if you like, and now there is the communion of infants and the sick who cannot eat solids. But so what? There was an example in ancient times that in the steppe people baptized with sand instead of water: is it really permissible to make a general rule from this example? Note the general order of the Apostolic Church in relation to communion in chapters 10 and 11 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians: there is no doubt that the apostle is speaking there not to one clergy, but to all believers; and consequently, in relation to everyone, mentioning the Sacrament of Communion many times, each time he places a meal and a cup, or bread and a cup. They also say that the power of the Blood of Christ lies in the Body of Christ. But what of this? The sacrament must be performed not according to conjectural speculation about the power of its parts (which, in fact, as mysterious and Divine, is incomprehensible), but according to the exact decree of the Lord. You would go and tell the Lord: do not say: drink from it, all of you, for the power of Your Blood... But I am afraid to think about this competition, about which others think that they have already won, in which they have done, in their own mind, better than what was established according to the word of the Lord. If, due to extreme need, it is possible to shorten the form of communion, then it is more convenient to allow communion under one type of wine, rather than, on the contrary, under one type of bread. Firstly, according to the exact power of the words of the Lord about the type of wine: drink of it, all of you. Secondly, the power of redemption, which was revealed through the mortal shedding of the Blood of the Lord in suffering and on the Cross. Thirdly, because, just as the Flesh of the Lord is truly meat, and the Blood of the Lord is truly drink (John 6:55), then, as in the natural order, some may be without bread for some time, for example infants, but drink is for everyone without exception; so in the spiritual, mysterious order, it is the Blood of the Lord that must be for everyone without exception. Since the extract from the Slavic books in the testimony of Theophylact also thought to have the testimony of Chrysostom (whose interpretation, however, does not exist from Luke), it is not superfluous to bring here not the imaginary, but the genuine testimony of this father of the Church on the real subject, which we find in his XVIII conversation on the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Here it is: “There is a case in which the priest does not distinguish in any way from those over whom he rules, namely, when the Terrible Mysteries must be participated: for everyone is still allowed to them, not as in the old law, the priest ate some things, and the subordinate ate others, and the people were not allowed to eat what the priest ate. For now it happens differently: since there is one Body for all, one Cup is offered to all.” Logic teaches, or, if you prefer, reason says that when the evidence is fair and the conclusion from the evidence is correctly drawn, then one cannot argue against the conclusion. For whatever is deduced from the truth and deduced correctly is necessarily the truth and not a lie. I was offered an object and assigned a type of evidence. Having used this type of evidence, I drew a conclusion. They do not say that the evidence is false; they do not say that the conclusion was drawn incorrectly: consequently, the conclusion is undeniable. But having passed the proof, they again begin to argue against the conclusion: thus, anyone who has the leisure can continue any argument endlessly, looking for various ghosts of opposing evidence. By the way, they require a lot of evidence. Evidence is not money, of which the more someone has, the more he can buy. If there is one solid proof, then the truth stands safe, even if clouds of arrows, that is, objections, are fired at it. The Lord had to prove an important truth against the Sadducees - the resurrection of the dead. He used one piece of evidence. About the resurrection of the dead, did you not honor what was spoken to you by God, saying: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living (Matthew 22:31–32). Is it really possible to say that this proof is not suitable, because it is one, but many are needed? And the enemies of the Lord did not say this; But when the people heard it, they marveled (v. 33), and even the Pharisees themselves admitted that the Sadducees had been disgraced (v. 34). So, the requirement of many proofs does not weaken one given, although, however, it is useful to present many when circumstances require it. A thousand examples and many texts, which are not actually given, constitute a proof to which something must be answered, because it seems solemn; but to which it is difficult to give an answer that would not seem unpleasant. May they forgive me and listen calmly to what I say calmly, being summoned as necessary. This thousand and this multitude are words in which there is much sound, but little light; and truth requires light, just as it itself is light. This is a kind of learned threat, but threat does not always mean strength and does not always guarantee victory. Three extracts are presented: I count three, not a thousand. I won’t say anything now about two extracts in favor of the Roman Church from Jerome and Cyril of Alexandria, because I don’t have the books of these writers at hand. I don’t know if I’ll find an extract from Kirill; because the indication does not promise this. The third extract is from Ambrose of Milan, to whom the book is close. So, let’s rewrite the French extract in Russian and compare it with the original book of St. Ambrose. “The Church,” writes Saint Ambrose of Milan, “is where Peter is. The ship of St. Peter is Noah's ark, outside of which everything perishes. Communication (communion) with Rome is that which is sufficient to unite with all Catholic bishops: it is this important judgment (autorité) that must be maintained in the difficulties that arise (On Psalm 40; Homily 11; Letter 74, to Theophilus). I open the interpretation to Psalm 40 and find the following: “Where Peter is, there is the Church: where the Church is, there is no death, but eternal life.” Not a word about the Roman Church. Peter was not only in Rome, where the current Roman bishops would like to imprison him, but also in Antioch, and above all in Jerusalem, which is called in the liturgy of St. James 394 and in the verses of St. John of Damascus, still sung at Sunday Vespers, “Matter of the Churches” 395. I open the Word, according to the Paris edition of 1661, 62nd, and according to previous editions 11th, and I find explanations of the Gospel story about the Savior teaching the nations from Petrov’s ship. By the way, Saint Ambrose says about the Lord: “He chooses Peter’s ship, abandons Moses’, that is, he despises the treacherous synagogue; accepts the faithful Church." Further: “Go into the depths, that is, into the depths of reasoning about the Divine birth: for is there anything as deep as what Peter said to the Lord: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God?” Even further: “Just as Noah’s Ark, when the world was drowning, kept everyone it received safe, so Peter’s Church, when the world burns, will present everyone it embraces unharmed.” Again, not a word about the Roman Church. The “Peter’s” Church of Christ is obviously called by its application to the ship of Peter and to his confession of faith, on which the Church is established and according to which Peter, the first confessor of Christ, the Son of God, as the “first stone” was laid in the foundation of the Church of Christ, however, “next to” the ancient stones of the ancient church, and with other, new ones, the renewed church, on the same cornerstone and chief stone for all, according to what was said: the apostle and prophet were created on the foundation, which is the cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph. 2:20). For no one can lay any other foundation than he who lies down, even Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). I finally open Letter 74; but it is not “to Theophilus”, but “to Alypius”. I am looking for a letter to Theophilus, I find it under the number 9 and in it I see the following: “It is necessary that the grace of the granted peace between all be preserved and that, however, the deviation of one side cannot result in deception. Really, I think it is necessary to treat our holy brother the priest (sacerdotem) of the Roman Church, for I assume that your judgment will be such that he cannot but like it. This will be done for the benefit of opinion, and peace and tranquility will be protected, if your council decides something that will not cause discord in our society, so that we, when, having received a number of your decrees, learn that something has been done that the Roman Church will no doubt approve of, we will joyfully accept the fruit of such a trial.” What does Saint Ambrose say here about the Roman Church? The main thing is that one must act in accordance with the duty to maintain peace. Adds his opinion, please pay attention! An opinion, not a church law, to apply to the Bishop of Rome. Finally, he says that he will more willingly accept what the Roman Church approves; he is one of the bishops of the West, where from ancient times the Roman Church took precedence, just as in the South of Alexandria, and in the East first of Jerusalem and Antioch, and then of Constantinople. What the western bishop says here about the Roman Church, the southern bishop would say the same about Alexandria, the eastern - about one of the three others, and every bishop of the lesser Church - about any of the named main Churches. What is important here in favor of the Roman Church? What is especially worth impartial consideration is: was it impartial in the extract delivered to me that two passages that do not speak at all about the Roman Church were merged into one with a third, in which, fortunately, her name was found, and that in this last passage both the words and the meaning of the writer were changed? Is this the correct evidence? Do they serve the truth so sincerely? If they think that Saint Ambrose in the above letter speaks in favor of the Roman Church, then let them advise some bishop, I don’t say Italian, but boasting of the liberties of the Gallican Church granted or forced from the Holy See, to write now in the words of Saint Ambrose: Right, I think it is necessary to treat our holy brother as a priest of the Roman Church? Will it not be said that such language is too disrespectful and even offensive to the Holy See and the Holy Father? So, it can be noted for this reason that our former holy brother, the priest of the Roman Church, now stands much higher in the opinion of the West than he stood in the days of Saint Ambrose. Letters to an unknown woman (presumably to S.I. Barataeva) 396 May the Lord take care of your soul and grant it peace. Having given you good desires, He will also send help in fulfilling them. What you do to calm your distressed neighbors, He will turn into a source of inner peace for you. If it is not difficult to refract other natural dispositions by the law of grace, it is necessary; and the fruit thereof is faithful. But if we act with selflessness, then we no longer need to strive for something unnecessary, but only arbitrary, so that it is our way. If we have the freedom to offer something to our neighbor, then he also has the freedom to accept or not accept the offer, and perhaps for reasons more important than for which we are disposed. Let us leave our neighbor freedom in what is not a position, and we will not judge unfavorably for him or for ourselves, because he does not act according to our opinion or desire. That which resembles the revered deceased should be preserved among his neighbors. If you want to use something for charity, you can do it yourself, without imposing labor on someone else who may be more burdened than you. […] Peace from the Lord to your inner man, may there be peace to the outer man as well. It was not for lack of participation that I did not say a word of sympathy to you, but I thought that I should not bother you with a word during your weakness. It seems that you were told that a body that is not early accustomed to labor and deprivation must carefully impose labor and deprivation. Take care of your body and keep your soul calm. To think that we don’t love someone is not consistent with peace of mind. Therefore, there is no need to think about this. But you need to pray for your neighbor with the thought of your duty and the will of God. […] If the Lord has granted paradise to be in your soul, then may it remain in it, and do not give up making it and maintaining it by exercising yourself in goodness and abstaining from everything that happens not according to the will of God, but according to human willfulness. […] From the Lord blessing to you, and peace, and admonition for the best. Let your law be the will of God, carefully cognized, and not human. It is good and useful to cover with love, if there was any past dislike, and to overcome, if any real dislike remains, and completely establish love. This is pleasing to God and possible from God. But if you think that local rapprochement will not lead to this goal, but threatens difficulties, choose the best means you know, without losing sight of the same goal. If a person has worked for God for a year and does not abandon his good intentions, this work cannot be lost due to a change in circumstances. And in family life you can find and set aside time for prayer and silence. The Lord will accept home prayer instead of church services when it is not convenient to participate in this. Nobody advises you to work for two gentlemen. But you can work for the Lord both in solitude and in the family. If you definitely see obstacles in this last position, stay in the first. The commandment not to love a son or daughter more than the Lord can be kept by someone who lives in the same house with his son and daughter, and can be violated by someone who does not live in the same house. But in which of these provisions you best hope to preserve the commandment, then choose. Get used to humble yourself for yourself and for your loved ones who are humiliated, whether in person or in absentia. Try to understand the intention and heart of your neighbor for the good, and not for the bad: then you will be safer from harmful errors, and he will more easily become better. May the blessing and grace of the Lord abide with you and grant you pure consolation, may it strengthen you from weakness, may it ease the sorrows that are inevitable in this area of ​​fallen and corrected creatures. I soon heard about the difficulties at the beginning of your journey and was concerned about continuing it. Do not willingly return to unpleasant memories: thank God for helping you endure difficult times and meet the consolation of love. Bitter cannot be sweetened with bitter, only with sweet. Likewise, bitter cases cannot be sweetened by a bitter judgment about them: but meekness, patience and love can not only sweeten what flows from a bitter source, but also correct a bitter source. If you were in a cold church and listened to a service that was not very splendid, then you made a sacrifice to God and received His blessing, although you did not feel consolation. Perhaps you will find consolation if you listen with a simpler heart rather than with a squeamishly discriminating feeling. […] May the God of patience, hope and consolation grant you patience, hope and consolation. Do not be discouraged and do not give joy to the enemy of souls. He wants to weaken and stop the soul in its path with despondency. God wants patience and hope when He subjects the soul to privation for its testing and purification. Dryness and coldness, of course, have their source in our imperfection, inattention, errors, obvious or not quite noticeable, but internally disturbing the silence of conscience. Let us admit this, arouse our attention, clear our conscience by admitting our mistakes and humbly asking for forgiveness from the Lord, we admit that we are unworthy of consolation; let us decide to obediently endure the deprivation: the Lord will see and be merciful, and again grant us peace and consolation. By judging our neighbors, we deprive ourselves of much. We must take care of this, and make up for it by condemning and rooting ourselves, and pray that God will be merciful to those whom we have condemned, and to us along with them. The grace given in the Sacrament acts in sincere believers both openly, in a feeling of peace and consolation, and secretly, through the very feeling of deprivation. God's gift is stronger than our unworthiness. You need to know that those who struggle better than us are not always in the desired position. Here is what, for example, St. Neil writes: “Whenever you stand in prayer, pray well; But then, even if you work hard, you don’t improve your intentions, and even if you look for it, you will have an inalienable correction” 397. And the Lord says: seek and you will find, search and it will be opened to you 398. Those who seek do not always find quickly, and they do not always quickly open to those who knock. But nevertheless it is true that he who seeks finds, and it is opened to him who interprets 399 . May the Lord open the door of mercy for you through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and all the saints. Thank God that in a dream that might have disturbed you, the Guardian Angel, although hidden, reminded you of the cross and prayer. Do not put aside this protective weapon. […] If one must love one’s neighbor as oneself, then it is also in order not to neglect oneself as one’s neighbor. Hearing walking and knocking in the room is not a big problem; Or maybe God, if you pray, will send you a person who will be both quiet and favorable for your spiritual exercises. If I unfairly accused you of disobedience (which I don’t think), what harm would it do to you? To have obedience and not have praise for it is the better, the greater the reward from God. It is not good for the one who condemns his neighbor, especially in vain. However, I don’t think that I would condemn you, even if, perhaps, I said, hearing about your fasting, that, apparently, you did not moderate it enough, as you were advised. If I understand your words correctly, that you exhausted yourself correcting what was not corrected on the road; if, that is, this concerns the daily rule of prayer or reading, then, given the current state of your health, do not take this into account with yourself and do what you can now. May the Lord not leave you with His holy help. May the Lord accept your prayer and repentance and grant you peace of forgiveness and the grace of communication with Him. Have a humble thought and not condemn anyone but yourself: and the Lord will give you peace and consolation. By remembering past embarrassment, do not attract new embarrassment to yourself. Just trust in the Lord. What does it mean to go to the pit and confess there? If there is a spiritual father whom you previously had, then this is so. There is no need to invent something new. First of all, it must be said, and probably not for the first time, that we ourselves must treat the person from whom we want to hear the truth, especially spiritual truth, with simple truth and not magnify the person in vain, because if he is weak and is seduced by magnification, then he will not stand in the truth, and consequently it will be unreliable to hear the truth from him; and if he is strict, it may happen that he will not answer. The Apostle said that God in Christ chose us... before the foundation of the world 400. Consequently, your philosopher, who finds it more consistent with logic that God did not foresee the Fall and its consequences, is not guided by apostolic logic. From the same words of the apostle it is clear that God predestined us to salvation: but sound teaching does not say that God predestined the fall of Adam. If an astute doctor foresaw a disease and prepared medicine, it cannot be concluded from this that the doctor intended the disease or that he was to blame for the disease. Basil the Great to the question: how did evil happen? - answers: it happened the way darkness happens when you close your eyes. It is not the one who created the eye who is to blame that you closed your eyes and it became dark for you. What does freedom serve? - To choose good and be blissful in an angelic and human way, and not just wander the earth like cattle or vegetate like grass. But wouldn’t it be better not to give such freedom that can be used for evil, or to give one that cannot be used for evil? - With this question, it is difficult to resist the apostolic reproach: Food says to the building that created it: Why did you create me like this? 401 – Freedom, which excludes any possibility of deviation from good, is all-perfect, Divine: it would be absurd to demand that God create man as God, instead of a creature. Not to give man the limited freedom inherent in a creature, which does not exclude the possibility of deviating from good, would mean making man a machine. If a machine cannot do evil, then it cannot do good and be blissful. Wouldn't it be better for a man or an Angel not to exist at all, since the deviation from good began among the Angels and from there passed on to man? - How angry would be the one who wished this! For this would mean wishing that the nine orders of angels did not exist and were not blessed, that millions of people saved by Christ did not exist and were not blessed. The lie of a horse for salvation 402 means: it is false that a horse can serve for salvation; Those who think that on horseback they can escape from danger when God allows it are deceived; hope for human resources and benefits is deceptive; The only true hope is in God and His salvation. It is true that God leads some to salvation through poverty: but He Himself does this, and He did not instruct you to do this, but the Son of God told you: from those who exist, do alms 403 . Fulfill this commandment and be saved by it. And in order to determine whether someone needs to be purified by poverty, God will not ask you for help. If you want to do good and are tempted by the thought of vanity, and if the matter takes time, do not rush to do it and tame the thought of vanity. But if you need to feed the hungry, hurry to feed him and also hasten to condemn and trample on your vanity. Why not use prayers when taking medicine? Hear that the Church prays for those who are sailing, traveling, and the sick. Whoever, praying for the soul, simply leaves health to the will of God, but he who prays for health in order to use it to cleanse his sins does not sin. If conscience says that it is doubtful to entrust the person going to the ball to the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, then of course it would be best to listen to the voices of conscience, give up vanity and, without a doubt, enter into the protection of the Mother of God and Guardian Angel. But if this firmness is lacking, then of course it would not be better for the mother to throw her daughter into the whirlwind of vanity without hope of protection and not to pray, so that she will not be betrayed to look into the vanity and false frenzy 404, according to the word of the psalm. If there is haste in judging your neighbor, you need to strengthen yourself, not be quick to judge your neighbor and trust unkind words. You shouldn't be sad. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is much deliverance 405. May the Lord grant you patience and in patience hope and peace. I wish that the word “despair” would be far from you, much less the feeling. […] Sins confessed and resolved are cast into the abyss of God’s mercy, and the one who repents must think that he is living a new life after that. One must take care of this. […] If a person does not feel calm and firm enough to maintain the necessary caution and moderation in a difficult conversation, and is afraid in this way to alienate the world he wants to approach, then of course it is better to remain silent for the time being and ask God for peace for himself and others. Experienced wisdom says: in joy, do not forget to prepare for sorrow, in sorrow, do not forget to hope for the best. […] Blessings and peace to you from the Lord. If God grants a sense of faith and comforts those around us with peace, the one who has this should be faithful and grateful, keeping himself from what is not pleasing to the Spirit of God. Anyone who fears that they will be insulted by a refusal, it is best for him not to unnecessarily do anything for which he may be insulted by a refusal. We must respect the freedom of our neighbor, so as not to force him to force himself, so as not to offend us with a refusal. […] We have an amazing desire to think and care about what does not concern us. […] It is another thing to judge according to the spiritual law, and another according to the law of human societies. According to spiritual law, it is better for a person to give his life than to take it from another. But according to this law, the safety of human societies cannot be protected: rulers, judges, and warriors cannot act like hermits and martyrs. Another distinction: it is another thing to approve an action, and another thing not to judge. “Don’t judge someone else’s business,” we can say about a matter that we would not approve of when asked: “Shall we do it?” and from participation in which they would run away. Do not be insistent that every question you have is resolved with a clear answer. We must trust in God that he will resolve the necessary issue in good time, and let the unnecessary lie unresolved and exercise patience and humility. We heard about tears in Lent, as Saint Andrew more than once prayed to God: “As you are gracious, give me tears of tenderness.” So, if tears are given, one must thank the gracious God and use them to cleanse the soul. But just as nothing should be excessive, sometimes it is necessary to put a limit on tears by turning the mind to another good activity. If you see the paths to bliss in the words of the Lord, follow these paths; and then there is no need to run anywhere. May the Lord guide you on His path, may you walk in His truth. May the Lord renew the days of your daughter, blessing her with health and peace and happiness to know and find her happiness in living according to the will of God. I wish that reading St. Maximus will be to your liking. It's wholesome food for the soul. The cell prayer rule does not need to be multiplied so much as it needs to be carefully followed. Judge not, lest ye be judged 406 , even though it may seem that you judge not without reason, because your neighbor stands or falls to the Lord 407 . And it’s even worse if you judge as judges judge evil thoughts. You think that people talk idlely: but they talk about the benefit of the soul and about doing good. If, as the apostle says: those who want to get rich fall into misfortunes and into snares and many senseless and harmful lusts 408, then how is it not sinful to harbor such desires? Some, bound by the bonds of social life, can excuse themselves for this, as if it were an involuntary sin, but those who have more or less freed themselves from these bonds, how can they justify themselves if they unnecessarily want to surround themselves with nets, flattering themselves that they will not get entangled in them? If you don't want to say that it's sinful, at least you can't say that it's prudent. If it is said: if wealth flows by itself, do not apply your heart, 409 isn’t it much worse for your heart to chase after it? Why does a person find time to dream? He has quite a significant business. May the Lord give you understanding about everything. God pleases every good deed, but a person must undertake deeds with reason, so that, having begun to create, he can accomplish 410. Anyone who has experienced failure in raising children and has sworn off taking it upon himself (although he shouldn’t have sworn off), especially needs to think about whether to take on this out of sheer arbitrariness, without special instructions from Providence. Whoever passes from delight to coldness and is not sufficiently established in the peaceful dispensation of the spirit, it is still enough for him to continue his education. The experience of the desire to serve the crippled and then the realization that there would be a lack of calm patience for this shows that there is no need to ask for a heavy burden, but to perform more ordinary duties, faithfully and carefully. It would be a great difficulty if, after taking the children into care, they happened to suffer or become exhausted before the end of the matter. To renounce everything, to desire to lead a humble life, and suddenly to desire to amuse oneself with a precious thing, whatever it may be—is there any consistency here? If the former should not remain just a dream, then of course the latter should not be allowed. There is only one thing needed. Mary chose the good part 411 - silently crouching at the feet of the Lord Jesus and reverently paying attention to His word. The fear of God before the Divine Sacrament is a just feeling: and therefore one must have fear and not be afraid of fear. With fear and humility, the one who approaches God is also given hope, tempering fear. Don't waste great words on trifles. Save them for what is truly great. […] God will bless you not with one silence, but with several silences. Let anger be silent, let the condemnation of one's neighbor be silent, let idle talk be silent, let all passion be silent. But what is necessary and useful for oneself and one’s neighbor, let not one’s mouth be blocked. Not every feat you hear about needs to be adopted. Not every feat is useful or convenient for everyone. Enough work and enough benefit if we strive to fulfill the commandments that are prescribed for everyone. If you know that virtues free the mind from passions, then to achieve this, it is obvious that you must practice virtues as much as possible. The mind, detached from passions, will find the way to contemplation and pure prayer, with all possible and constant exercise in prayer, which we can do. One should not be afraid to do good to one’s neighbor, trusting in God and not in oneself. The Lord will not deprive the one who does this of His protection and protection. Whoever begins to wash something that has fallen into the mud may see his hands not as clean as before. But he washes the dirt both from the thing and from his hands, and his hands, having served to cleanse the thing, remain clean. May our Lord and God Jesus Christ have mercy, and protect, and preserve, and save you. May all opposing forces be crushed under the sign of His Cross. When the Assyrians under the walls of Jerusalem shouted to the Jerusalemites standing on the walls, uttering blasphemous words against God and trying to shake them in their faith in God and in loyalty to the king, then the pious Hezekiah did not order his people to answer, but he himself went to the church and prayed 412. This is what Christians should do when their thoughts are overwhelmed. Don’t answer, don’t listen, go deep into your heart, call on the name of the Lord Jesus, protect yourself with the sign of the cross, externally and internally. Your controversial conversation is not very clear to me. I know one thing: I will not hold back words, I will demand nothing, for the ruin of those who hear 413. If someone says that he was disturbed, then you can simply ask: by what? But to say: what is true in a trifle means to judge one’s neighbor, and to insult, and to sow the seed of contentiousness. It would not be surprising if an unpleasant harvest followed. The word of man can be sharpened like a sword, and then it will wound and kill; and can be softened like oil, and then it will heal. May the only true Doctor of souls and bodies heal you mentally and physically. Peace be with you from the Lord, and let not your thoughts disturb your peace. We were told to remember the latter. It is necessary to try to be prepared for death at every hour, if possible. But in order to establish ourselves in dreams, this rule is not given to us. What will I show up with? – This thought should always be with us. And one must strive in prayer, self-sacrifice and good deeds, so as not to appear to the Eternal Giver with nothing. But you know the prophetic word: if you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? 414 And therefore we must not rest on what we can bring to the unwashed Judge, but on what His Only Begotten Son brought to Him for us. We will embrace His sacrifice on the cross, made for us, with faith: it alone is satisfied and favorable, and with it we will be accepted not into judgment, but into pardon, forgiveness, peace, and bliss. Don’t do anything extraordinary that you may not be able to do. Try carefully and with a tender heart to do what you say you do poorly. Should you rush to begin the Holy Mysteries, take the advice of your spiritual father and follow it. In choosing a place of rest, there is no need to deviate far from the accepted rules and customs. When pious custom allows us to place our mortal remains near the church, where the breath of the spirit of church prayer and the Spirit of God is close, we must use this grace, which is given to us by those who know better than us what is useful. God's mercy alone is the hope of each of us, and this alone is everything. Thank God for everything! God bless you and peace. You have heard the words of the apostle: when you die, your life is hidden with Christ in God 415. The Lord wants to direct us to this state by sending the thought of death. The task and feat of a Christian is not to live for the world and for oneself in passions, but to live for Christ according to His will and commandments. After this, death, usually so-called, can come sooner or slower, as God will better deem, and it can never be considered remote. In the misfortune you described, I cannot advise anything other than prayer, patience with humility and protecting yourself and your children in every possible way. I can’t say anything more definitely, due to the difficulty of the circumstances and because I don’t know much that should be known for definite advice. Divorce is not forbidden in order to protect the pure from the unclean and ward off danger, but there is also a lot of sorrow and misfortune in it, among other things for children; and it is not possible to achieve it reliably when the fault is covered. Your advice does not seem feasible or reliable. May the Lord be merciful to those in need and may he turn the sinner from the error of his ways. The physician of souls and bodies may He Himself heal and completely heal all your infirmities. For He alone heals and heals. Go to Him without stopping at the means. Receive medicine from Him, which is always equally life-giving, no matter what instrument He uses to teach it to you. But since He rests in the saints, it is a good idea that, for the most convenient approach to Him on your part, you should approach St. Sergius. Why be afraid and why stop when you pray the Psalm of David? This is an inspired word. It can give the mind of Christ, and not shake the natural mind. If a certain understanding was revealed in prayer and then disappeared, it does not matter. The Word of God is full of light. But the vessels for receiving it are not always open. The Lord opened the minds of the Apostles, understand the Scriptures 416: our mind is sometimes not opened, sometimes it is barely opened for a while. We must try to be constant in prayer and unshakable by unexpected events, but we also need to be quiet and humble in it and not give daring to the imagination. He who has become rich from music would do well if he said, like Zacchaeus: Behold, half of my wealth, Lord, I will give to the poor 417. I know this; but I don’t know whether to ask him for the beggars. God bless your children and may the good seed grow in them. It seems that you might have known that not all virtuous people are in prison, and therefore you should not be very embarrassed that something bad happened, but you should, without fainting in good intentions, try to correct the wrong and take care to prevent this from happening in the future 418. […] Do not exhaust yourself for good, although success is far from satisfying your desire. Peace to you from the Lord, who suffered and died for us and rose again for us. It is true that some Christians are more grievous to the Lord than the Jews, but the Lord shed His blood in order to wash away all the sins of all people who, by faith, bow under His side, which flows blood and water, which flows to this day, in the Sacraments of baptism, repentance and the Eucharist. Let the sinner grieve that he became guilty of Christ’s suffering, but even more so let him love Christ and not put aside his hope; and the Lord will use this sorrow to cleanse the soul and encourage the sinner to keep himself from stumbling. […] Do not say that the Jews thought to fulfill their law by condemning Christ. Nicodemus, an enlightened prince, proved to them by their law that they should not condemn Christ. Caiaphas threw the law and conscience behind his back when he said: there is no one to die for the people, 419 it is better to kill one innocent person than to leave him with the danger of political difficulties. But Providence made the speech, evil in intent, turn out to have a prophetic meaning. From the Lord blessing to you, peace and salvation. The Holy Spirit said through the Apostle: There is more in you than in the world 420. Whatever you draw a conclusion from that does not agree with this, it will not be fair. Evil is strong over some people who do not want to work to resist it, but it is weak before grace. Why not consult a doctor about your illness? The master's work is afraid. Maybe even a small remedy, unknown to you, will help. You judged someone before, but now you have stopped because you see many worse than him. But don’t you see that before you condemned one, but now you condemn many? But you don’t see their hearts. Does what has been said really not concern you: do not judge, lest you be judged 421 . If your strength declines, you need to support it. A strong body must be pacified and calmed by fasting, but a weak body must not be deprived of the necessary reinforcement. A person does not see his soul to the depths. Like the Kingdom of Heaven is like a seed, a man sows into the ground, and the seed vegetates and grows, as if he did not know 422. Between the harvest and the harvest there is not only rain, and wind, and cold, and heat, but also winter. Let a person sow good seed into his soul, let him water it, let him preserve what he sows, and let him expect mercy from God, Who alone gives back. […] Slander is not new in the world, and there are sorrows from it; but the Lord does not forsake those who trust in Him. You think that anyone who is silent after receiving the plan has not read the plan. And I think that one of the answers, sometimes necessary, is silence. May the Lord bless you with peace. Telling the truth is a good thing when we are called to do so by duty or love for our neighbor, but this must be done, as far as possible, without condemning our neighbor and without vanity and exaltation of ourselves, as if we know the truth better than someone else. But at the same time, you need to know people and affairs, so that instead of truth you do not say reproaches and instead of peace and benefit, do not create enmity and harm. He who admits his guilt gives hope of being right. It is good to accept punishment graciously, but there is no need to proclaim this, lest it be vanity of humility or a reproach to those who imposed the punishment. St. John Climacus and St. Maxim do not take away, but give hope of salvation. If a person sees himself worse than he seemed before, perhaps it is because the eye becomes clearer; and that's not bad. Curiosity is not a good guide. He is right who advised to talk alone with nature and contemplate the greatness of God in it. We must go to God and not stumble on people on the road. There is no need to be discouraged and imagine yourself pitiful, especially where there is no trouble. How many people will not be in the monastery, and this will not prevent them from being calm and content? Going to the Lord's Table is what is necessary and desired. Peace be with you in faith and humility. It would be surprising if we, beings who have not emerged from the dirt, could well judge what is appropriate or indecent for the All-Pure God. God said to Moses: I am going into the camp of the Israelites; it is necessary for people to be clean and the country to be clean 423. Because the unclean earthly cannot stand, without cleansing preparation, the pure heavenly and is destroyed. Moses divided this command into rules that were understandable to the people and definitive for their implementation. What is there not to like about a man who is probably less pure than Moses? The pure eye simply looks at physical imperfections. And the word is not defiled when it expresses them, out of necessity, for instruction. It's not good to be angry. The wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God 424. Anger can only produce or increase the irritation of another, but one can only be brought into a better disposition through patience and peace. Spiritual law says that one must help one’s neighbor – and, moreover, not offend another. The details can be determined by human prudence, for which God gave man reason. May the Lord grant you the understanding of salvation and faithful walking along the path of salvation. From the fact that they wanted to do something pleasing to their neighbor and benefit the unfortunate, but that it was poorly received, to draw a conclusion in order to stop friendly intercourse - this is not a conclusion according to the mind of Christ. The Word of God teaches us to overcome evil with good, coldness with love, and impatience with patience. You should only run when you are being driven. Comfort the orphan as much as possible; advise her to be quieter and more patient; teach to expect an improvement from God if this does not seem to be achieved by people; pray for those who are tempted to be angry; try to develop your abilities with the means you have, when there are no better ones. If a good intention is not fulfilled, all is not lost. God, in the words of St. Chrysostom, kisses intentions and, according to their sincerity, if not now, then later, bestows a good consequence. And if it happened that something wrong was mixed with the intention, for example, relying on oneself or condemning one’s neighbor, then in case of failure one should not complain about fate or one’s neighbor, but improve one’s intentions in the future, and then it will be better. God will bless your desire to serve the Lord to propitiate Him and in thanksgiving for His mercies. But I do not advise you to undertake the feat you are inventing. He is not in compliance with many circumstances, and among other things with the obligation to use natural means to protect health and life, especially during painful times. To neglect this duty unnecessarily would be to tempt the Lord. If danger comes upon us according to the destinies of God, then we must meet it without grumbling and despondency, with prayer, devotion to the will of the Lord and with trust in His mercy. But we have no right to put ourselves in danger. Be faithful in the service of the Lord that is assigned to you, without arbitrary and intense search. The Lord is faithful to reward the faithful with much. When those serving the altar are afraid of their boldness, which often approaches the Holy Mysteries, they have the thought that they are obeying in this duty the calling and will of the Lord who called them to His service. Those who do not have this calling can sometimes approach the Holy Mysteries more often, out of a special desire or for a special need, and sometimes restrain themselves so as not to be too daring. The current painful time provides a good reason to partake of the Holy Mysteries more often. Reverence for the shrine should be acquired permanently, if possible, and not aroused for a short time. If awe before a shrine comes and goes, it is necessary that a humble and tender desire to communicate with the Lord remain in the soul. May the Lord grant you to acquire and preserve good things. Those consecrated according to the rank of the Church must precede the worldly: but no one will forbid the unveiled, especially old people, to precede them 425 . You yourself say that a spiritual person should desire glory in heaven, and not on earth. From this it was not difficult to draw the conclusion that praying for the deliverance of the needy for the glory of man on earth is not a matter moving in a spiritual direction and that such prayer should not bear true fruit. One should pray for the needy out of love for humanity. Asking for God's mercy must be for the glory of God. A dream is a bad companion on the spiritual path. Let a person walk in humility, in simplicity, in devotion to the will of God. May the Lord help you with this. May the Lord speak peace to you and calm your agitated mental and physical strength. […] If the prison is bad, you need to pray for its correction, and prayer will not make a person sick, but this can happen from grief combined with impatience. It is necessary to encourage patience, and to tell the right person to stop the reasons for abuse. Now there is no Apostle Paul whom the leaders and Ubrists could heal, but something like this is being sent to you from Saint Mitrofan. You are told and reminded that he who comes to God can use a person to show him the way, but he should not stop with a person. What I have in heaven, what I desire more than You on earth, O God of my heart, and my portion, O God, forever 426. You see that the one who walks the right way does not stop at heavenly things, striving for God, much less at earthly things. […] If the doctors of the prison hospital wish to be relieved of their duties without harm to the patients, let them ask for orders from the chief doctor. Only the disease still does not want us to doze off 427. […] Do not be afraid, but pray and trust in God. Peace to you from the Lord and the mind of salvation. You say that we see prayer of self-denial in the prophets. This is true. But there are degrees of prayer and self-sacrifice. And does he know himself who thinks that he can have the prayer and self-sacrifice of the prophets? And is it appropriate to apply to a trivial case the example of Moses or Paul, who prayed for the salvation of the people of Israel? It has been told to you that dreams are not a good companion on the spiritual path. Asking yourself five diseases and the like is a dream and absurdity. Pray that the Lord will consign to oblivion the foolish words spoken by thought before His eyes. If you want salvation and love the Lord above all else, then you don’t need to ask what to do. Do what you do. Prayers, labors and hardships cannot be displeasing to God if a person has the goal of pleasing Him. But whatever human is mixed with divine desire must be purified by the best attention of man or by a special visit from God. Why see the Lord from afar when you can be close? – The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth 428. If it is necessary to prevent a person from communicating with another, unreliable person, then it is necessary to say this at the right time to someone who should, and not to pronounce judgments between many that can disturb without bringing any benefit. […] If a wife goes into secular society not out of passion, but out of captivity, that’s good. Let her think that she is fulfilling her duty by doing what pleases her husband, and she will be calm. What could a trifle be used for? Is it really to test whether a person who boldly thinks about self-sacrifice has given up his will in trifles? Fasting is good on time, in moderation, according to church rules, or according to instructions, but arbitrary and not in moderation is sometimes not beneficial. Maintain moderation in food and moderation in fasting. Fasting on the evening of the day of Epiphany is legal, but on the holiday it is not legal. The Church orders to honor certain days by fasting and holidays by allowing fasting. You ask what a dream means; and you don’t notice that you are presenting examples to resolve the issue. The question of whether righteous souls shine in the stars is a dream. Representing God the Father from afar as justice is a dream. Distance and proximity belong to a limited way of being, but God is omnipresent. His justice is no more distant from us than His wisdom. We must reverence God and humble ourselves, and not create images in our imagination of what is above any image. This is where the mixture of the human and the Divine needs to be purified with the best attention, that is, reverent and humble. The idea of ​​the Most Holy Trinity is Divine, as given to God, and human artificial mental constructions of this sacrament are always imperfect and never achieve their object. The Gospel teaches to do holy things in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and not to test about the Divine, what and how. Man was not created in such a way that the imagination would wander and pile up images upon images, but that the imagination would be controlled by the mind, and the mind would be controlled by God and His words. Engaging in work can be one of the means to keep thoughts from fermenting. Man did not create his heart; therefore, it is not he who can transform it. There is no need to torment your own heart, but, with the recognition of your unworthiness and weakness, lay it at the foot of the Cross of Christ and quietly but diligently pray: Create a pure heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb 429 . It is necessary to calm the agitation of the soul and the noise of thoughts by invoking the name of Jesus meekly and peacefully. The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who create peace 430. With the power of His Cross, may the Lord protect your world and your loved ones. We must use every means possible to do good for our neighbors to the best of our ability and strength. It would not be within your strength and convenience to live with the prisoners. Take care of them as much as you can, except for this. About the monastery, you may think that you have already been assigned to the monastery as a sister of mercy and that the abbess has entrusted you with moral care for those in prison. Perform this obedience as long as you can and until a visible or invisible signal calls you to another. To contemplate the heavenly liturgy, this was not easy for John the Theologian. It is necessary that a command come to him from above: go up this way, and that he be in spirit. Then he saw a throne in heaven, and other things that you can read in the Apocalypse 431. It is enough for us if, without seeing, with faith and humility we worship the same One who sits on the throne and the Lamb in the mysterious liturgy, brought down for our weakness from heaven to earth. We must be faithful in the small things that have been entrusted to us, and not boldly extend ourselves to much that is prepared for those who have stood the test of faithfulness in small things. The humble considers himself unworthy of those above, but does not fear the underworld. When going to bed, read the prayer: “May God rise again” or the full psalm beginning with these words 432, protect yourself with the sign of the cross, as the prayer book teaches. Do not embarrass yourself by remembering some accident that you do not understand, or perhaps understand worse than it is. It is true that before the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 433 that is, either it will bow reverently, or it will fall and faint in fear. We all need to often think about the fact that we will die soon. What's the harm if someone said this? […] Whoever writes to the Angels must expect an answer from the Angels. A person can only tell you that he who has read the Philokalia should not lose heart, but learn, if possible, to do good, with love for good; that one must endure the shortcomings of one’s neighbors, because he who sees these shortcomings has his own shortcomings and takes advantage of God’s long-suffering; that in enterprises and affairs one must desire approval from God and conscience and not be too concerned about human approval. It was not your enterprise that was not approved, but the turnover, which, after the refusal of the money you asked for, was forced to double the amount through the apartment. God loves a willing giver 434. But maybe it was done better than it seems. God will bless your New Year, growing and establishing you in a new life according to His will and commandments. Having experienced His long-suffering and mercy, use your life with thanksgiving and in thanksgiving to the Merciful without merit, in the expectation that they will know and feel His mercies. May Saint Nicholas intercede for you. May the Lord grant you, with the renewal of the year, a renewal of life, so that you may live in a new person, putting aside the old, that is, the thoughts and dispositions inherited from the old Adam. May He protect both your child and his babies. If someone received us unkindly, he cares about this, whether he did something wrong, but for us it is only gain - an opportunity for patience and humility. […] Seeing God's help, thank the merciful God and be confirmed in faith. Hearing that the pagans are reeling 435, we must pray, so that the time of temptation will not come to us because of our sin, which has already been punished, but not corrected. […] From the Lord blessing you, and peace, and health, necessary for serving Him. And in times of weakness, it is good to glorify Him and call on Him on the bed, but to imitate the one who wrote: remembering You on my bed 436. The merciful Lord does not deny the gift of faith to anyone, if only a person, for his part, strives to acquire faith and live with it and according to it. Sorrow for God approves of the word of God, as bringing repentance to salvation 437: but it should not turn into despondency. […] We must beware of the tendency to suspicion. For example, you think that a person is angry, but this is not true, and your thought is perjury. The commandment does not want this. Peace be with you and salvation from the Lord. […] If a wife is applied to her husband, the purpose of this should be the consent of the spouses and this should be looked at from the good side. For this reason, the mother must endure her daughter’s lack of frankness with patience; and if she reaches the point of inconsistency, try to meekly correct this. What are the needs, that parental love awakens with strength? - She is natural. It is necessary to moderate it, but there is no need to exterminate it or be afraid of it. Either you are thinking about going to the hospital, or walking to St. Sergius. How to reconcile one with the other? I wish that you don’t need to go to the hospital, and if you feel any need to go to the hospital, I don’t advise you to go on foot. Consult your weakness and take care of your strength, which is no longer in a state of growth and abundance. He who saves little strength serves himself and does not burden others with himself: if you do not save and fall into the hands of others, you may be bored that you burden others with yourself. If you involuntarily feel the burden of life, you must raise your gaze to the merciful God, but you should not complain about the burden of life. God gives and continues it for our salvation, therefore it is a gift: we should thank the giver, and not complain. May God help you to see and do what is best and pleasing to Him. Peace be with you and salvation from the Lord. If yours are located as you see them, then of course why bother them and yourself with your presence? Pray for them, write them a word of motherly love, and that’s enough. I haven't heard anything about them. Isn’t it more useful to worry about how to meet death with peace and good hope, rather than choosing a place in the earth for the earth, certainly the one that came to mind, and preparing a monument, and composing a tombstone? What if after the grave the thought comes that the order is wrong and that so much of one’s will was used in vain where one could surrender to the will of God without care? – If your desire is not displeasing to God, it will be fulfilled one way or another. And if it is objectionable, nothing will ensure its fulfillment. Open your way to the Lord and trust in Him 438. Peace and salvation to you from the Lord. Every person, to the best of his ability and accepted responsibility, must set limits of action for himself and not cross them unnecessarily. This way, the strength in action is preserved, and things go better than when they suddenly want to chase two birds with one stone. Members of the male and female committees of the Prison Guardianship Society must each act within their own circle. If you had done this and not crossed into someone else’s territory, you would have seen and heard less hard things and would have been more comfortable retaining the firmness and strength of spirit to act in your own circle. Failure in an unnecessary undertaking does not lead to the conclusion that one must give up everything. The failure of the proposal to wear bast shoes for humility could have been foreseen in advance, and there was no need to demand this. It is necessary to calm the heart with humility, and not put shoes on your feet. However, if you are unable to endure prison labor, you are not in captivity; You can leave it, especially if this is necessary to preserve the remains of your health, which you have a duty to protect. That sinners who should not be admitted are allowed to receive Holy Communion before punishment is based on the assumption that punishment is associated more or less with the danger of life, and when death is foreseen, then, according to the rules, every sinner must be admitted. Returning to life, he will return to penance. […] You need to think as best as possible about your neighbors, and as low as possible about yourself: then a person can be calm. The truth, if unpleasant, is medical, and therefore it is necessary to know it. Tell the mourner not to become angry if she does not find the open door. The door of God's mercy is always open and will easily open again if you knock with faith, humility and patience, without pronouncing in advance a strict judgment on the Merciful One, as if He is not disposed to open, and without retreating impatiently if the door does not open at the first knock. This is not the case with humans, and often cannot be so. Sometimes, if the door opens too easily, the house becomes full and many who enter prevent each other from telling the owner what is needed. Therefore, you need to know the time so as not to burden yourself and others without benefit. May the Lord grant her comfort and peace. Peace be with you and impartial reasoning. The more different kinds of people come together, the more idle the conversation becomes. And therefore, perhaps, the one who tries not to multiply people and gives another time to those who come not for idle talk and who can understand this order does not sin. And it’s not a problem to talk about family matters, but it’s necessary for the benefit, and not to reproach your neighbors. If they said an unfavorable word about you (which, having come to their senses, of course, is not excused by the one who said it), and you take the opportunity with evidence to say a word of reproach and ridicule about your neighbor, what is the use of this? Unless you want to equal the error with the one who has sinned. Christians used to say: we are reproached, we bless 439. If you also believe, according to rumors, bad things about people you don’t know, what is the benefit other than the sin of judging your neighbor, and perhaps, or even probably, or surely, the innocent? With a suspicious eye you can reach the point of hatred of man; whoever wants to have love for his neighbor must have a simple eye. He, who in His meekness will not extinguish the smoking flax 440, will not allow the aroused desire for salvation, although weak, but sincere, to remain without action and success. If a good and pure soul is taken by the Lord from sorrows and difficulties, then this is good and fair. She became pure because she was reconciled with her sorrows through patience and devotion to the will of God. If a soul that has not achieved this is left here to continue its purification, this is also good and fair. If a person finds himself worse than before, let him consider his stumbling blocks and increase his caution. Or perhaps he finds himself worse because he enters into self-knowledge more than before. Let him not be discouraged. It's true to the Lord, but it's a shame for us 441. One must experience shame on one's face in order to more diligently seek the truth of the Lord and partake of it. It is necessary to speak the truth when a person is called to it by a position or is excited by fear of harm and desire for benefit, but with humility and patience. Prudence is also given to good intentions and humility. I don’t think that you read the Philokalia and Nil Sorsky without benefit. Of course there is a benefit, although perhaps not yet visible. However, the point is not to read a lot, but to ensure that in what one reads, one finds something relevant to one’s condition and need, and does it with action. Those who are grieving or troubled should be visited even more than those who are calm and peaceful. Anyone who encounters a non-peaceful person must remember the word of Scripture: be peaceful with those who hate peace 442 . If you pray for such a person, then you are fine. In that case, what is there to be afraid of? Meet with him, as if nothing unpeaceful had preceded this. Both you and people with you want to be in peace: contribute to this on your part, and do not hinder it. May our Lord Jesus Christ, meek and humble in heart, teach us meekness and humility. To warn one's neighbor against harm in false brethren or anything else harmful is a right thing, but a person can do this without going into extraneous judgments and condemning others. The spiritual one rises up all 443. Therefore, does not one place himself too highly who strives for spiritual mediocrity in others and what, in his opinion, is higher or lower than it? The disciples of Christ, according to the teaching of Christ, do not judge, lest they be judged. Therefore, whoever judges others without a calling does not call judgment upon himself? Is harsh judgment of one's neighbor a sign of humility? Is justifying a harsh judgment by one’s directness again an act of humility and modesty? This is the advice of both Moses and the Apostles, the teaching of both law and grace. God's blessing to you and your grandson, and may the Lord grant you and your parents good hope in him. It is neither useful nor fair to extract dark thoughts from every unexpected occasion. Which person is worthy? “But the Lord is merciful to everyone.” Let us not only remove His mercy from ourselves through negligence or impatience: but let us embrace it with faith, hope and love. Peace and salvation and health to you from the Lord. People, like the Apostle Paul, can ask for the end of temporary life, by proven faith and grace, after deeds and sacrifices for Christ. But he, having expressed a desire of this kind, stops and adds: what I want, I don’t know. But what if another person asks for death and is not refused; and then they will demand an answer as to why he left the field, where he still had to complete his purification with patience? Would you like to return? But this will no longer be allowed. And so, even if someone was in a fiery, but earthly and temporary, purification, shouldn’t he, although he should cry out for mercy, but at the same time obediently leave himself in the hands of the Great Artist, Who can and wants to make pure gold from base or impure metal? May the Lord give you the understanding of salvation and help for salvation. May the Lord, enlightenment and Savior of all, enlighten you and show you the right and true path of salvation. […] One should be wary of a proud dream, but it is not always safe to interrupt a good deed, especially prayer, to eliminate this dream. If an evil thought comes, attempting to expel a person from the region of the spiritual world, stop and confess your weakness in the words of the three youths: It is true for you, Lord, but for us it is a shame of face 445; then, on the advice of Saint Demetrius, cry out to the Lord with the words of the psalm: those who drive me out now have destroyed me 446, my joy, deliver me 447. Then continue your work with attention, without entertaining yourself with what happened. May the Lord do good things for you according to His mercy and His bounty. The imagination should not be given free rein even in good things, and even more so in representing human affairs, as it should not be. Remember the death and judgment of God for yourself, and there will be no leisure to judge others. When you sin by condemning your neighbor, there is forgiveness, especially when you are already condemning yourself for condemning your neighbor. Therefore, ask your spiritual father to allow you to begin the Holy Mysteries, to which we all come not as worthy, but as those seeking healing and help. Peace, health and salvation to you. Do evil to them, O Lord, do evil to the glorious ones of the earth (Is. 26:15). We are not talking about all the glorious ones of the earth, but about those mentioned above in verse 10, who do not learn the truth and do not do the truth. The very words add evil show that we are talking about people who already have evil in them and to whom more evil needs to be added. People who have the evil of sin in them, all the more dangerous if, according to their position in the world, it has a strong effect on seducing and infecting others by a strong example, sometimes it is necessary to add the evil of punishment to the evil of sin in order to correct them or at least stop the evil of sin and, through the spectacle of punishment, to keep others from being carried away by temptation. This is what the prophet asks from the Providence of God, which punishes and saves. By patience you will win your souls 448. He who endures to the end will be saved 449. If the Lord calls you to fulfill the duty contained in these sayings, may He fulfill over you the promise given in them. Thank God that He gave me the longing for the church. When possible, let her lead you to church, and when it is not possible, the Lord will accept the sorrow of deprivation from you as a sacrifice. Having heard the gospel, come to church with your thoughts, remember the action there and pray. […] No one should be considered the cause of illness. We must accept them as a visit from God for our purification. For the grieving and sick, it is best to read the Gospel, especially about the suffering of the Lord, as well as the Psalter. This is our daily bread. I am sending you a prayer rule to the Holy Spirit: it is useful to read it sometimes, for example, once a week. I am also sending you a little book by St. Demetrius about quenching sorrow. […] The Lord, according to His destinies known to Him, who visited you with illness, may He grant you, firstly, to accept the visit with obedience, then may He grant you healing, according to His mercy; If He pleases to prolong this visit, may He set such a measure of grief so that it does not exceed your patience. It is not forbidden to ask for healing: you just need to ask not out of love for temporary life, but in order to have more time for repentance. It is not sinful for a sick person to provide more services than a healthy person had, but it is natural, and it can even be humane, so that one person is not greatly burdened by caring for the sick person. If you cannot fulfill the evening rule according to custom, mentally and heartily cry out to the Lord and also recite the psalms and prayers that you know from memory. The Lord demands the heart. The Church puts prayer into the mouth so that it penetrates the heart. […] Peace to you and help from the Lord. Apostolic Canon 69 condemns those who do not fast on Holy Pentecost, or Wednesday, or Friday, “except for the obstacle of bodily infirmity.” Consequently, allowing fasting due to bodily weakness is not condemned, and even more so if on the advice of a doctor. Don't embarrass yourself with this. It was time for fasting; and the Lord will preserve its fruit. Letter to a mother on the death of her daughter Comfort and peace to you from the Lord! Let faith sweeten the past for you, love the present, hope the future. Finally, both the past and the future will be present, and faith and hope will be rewarded with eternal love. On the Inner Conversion with Jesus Christ He who seeks union with God must love heartfelt solitude. It is incomparably more useful and sublime than physical solitude. Solitude of the heart keeps the inner man pure from vices and protects him from temptations. Although sometimes sinful thoughts and human aspirations increase; but the enemy cannot take possession of us so much as to bend us to consent. He who maintains heartfelt solitude, despite the most external labors and exercises, does not cease to be inwardly in prayer, and therefore in God. If sometimes he is entertained, he soon returns to himself again. The more the external feelings are blocked and the attention of the soul is united in its interior, the freer the spirit is and the more capable of divine speculation. This requires the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, without which we are poor, without which all our efforts are in vain. But when this Supreme Power overshadows us, then we soar into the lofty. Seek the consolations of Jesus, seek that He may be your friend and companion; for no one comes to the Father except by Me 450. Look for Jesus with the shepherds in the manger, or with the wise men in the arms of the Mother, or with Simeon and St. Anna in the church, or with Mary Magdalene in the tomb, or with the apostles in the upper room. Blessed is he who reverently seeks Him in these and other holy places, not in body, but in spirit and truth. Listen to the grace given to you and live according to its management; then the Divine spirit of Jesus Christ will inseparably abide with you, enlightening and sanctifying every person coming into the world 451, and you will have no need for any human communities or any consolation. He brings to His chosen ones sweet outpourings of grace, inexpressible inner pleasures; He drives out vices and passions, takes away temptations and all burdens; He gives peace to body and soul, but often, for the sake of benefit, He allows the opposite, so that He may purify our faith, as gold is purified by fire. Also, Jesus Christ, for our good, for the destruction of pride and self-love, is hidden from us; in this case, be patient, don’t be discouraged, don’t lose faith, but don’t stop praying, don’t stop crying out to Him: Lord, let us not be ashamed in You; push and it will open; I am the door, By Me whoever enters will be saved 452. Often there is a sign of pride - a desire for revelation; run away from this; consider yourself better than unworthy of divine consolations: this is more pleasing to God than testing the heavenly mysteries. In the simplicity of your heart, pray better with the prophet David: Lord, I have come to You, teach me to do Your will 453. There are many blessings in the world; but they all produce thirst in the soul, and do not quench it; This requires one most perfect good - God. It is good to cleave to Him and to abide in Him! 454 Lord, my God, my enlightenment and salvation, I will walk in Your light and rejoice in Your name. May God's blessing cover you, beloved in the Lord N.N., and may the peace of God guard your heart and your mind! May the Angel of God accompany you and remain with you! I felt empty when you left me, and it occurred to me whether you were dooming me to my end with your farewell. Whether this is a presentiment or a near one, He knows, in whose hand is the power and measure of our days. But when you see or hear my departure from me, and with the same closeness of soul to soul, with a propitiatory word, you will lift up my name and memory before the face of my Judge and yours. Just as you look at me condescendingly and differently from others, so simple and free will your prayer for me be, and such a prayer will not be despised by the One who commanded: let us be like children 455. Here is my will for you! I wish that you are given a lot of time to fulfill it. The selection includes letters addressed to parents: Archpriest of the Kolomna Assumption Cathedral Mikhail Fedorovich Drozdov and mother Evdokia Nikitichna Drozdova; Nikita Afanasyevich, maternal grandfather, priest of the Kolomna Epiphany Church; brother Nikita Mikhailovich, priest of the Kolomna Epiphany Church, and his wife Anna Ksenofontovna (1805–1865); G. I. Epiphany (1791–1891), priest of the Moscow Trinity Church in Listy, husband of Metropolitan Philaret’s sister Agrippina Mikhailovna. – Approx. comp. Metropolitan Platon (Levshin). – Approx. comp. On November 16, in the Refectory Church of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra by its abbot, Archimandrite Simeon, V. M. Drozdov was tonsured a monk. – Approx. comp. Metropolitan Ambrose (Podobedov) and Archbishop Theophylact (Rusanov). Oh, if only I could be a good person and worry less about whether I will be well (lat.). Grigory Ivanovich Epiphany, priest, husband of the saint's sister. Next comes congratulations on the birth of his son John, later deacon of the Church of Nikita the Martyr in Basmannaya Sloboda († 1881). John - the grace of God (Heb.). – Approx. comp. Nikita Mikhailovich Drozdov (09/12/1799 – 07/14/1839), archpriest. – Approx. comp. Addressed to priest G.I. Bogoyavlensky, husband of Metropolitan Philaret’s sister Agrippina Mikhailovna. – Approx. comp. Rom.14:17. – Approx. comp. Nikita Afanasyevich († September 8, 1824), father of Metropolitan Philaret’s mother. – Approx. comp. Addressed to Anna Ksenofontovna, wife of brother Nikita Mikhailovich. – Approx. comp. Alexander II (1818–1881), Emperor of All Russia (1855–1881). – Approx. comp. On April 12, at the age of 22, the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, died in Nice. On April 4, 1866, an attempt was made on the life of Emperor Alexander II. In the Collection of Opinions and Reviews of Metropolitan Philaret, V. 881, directly: “Your sister.” Noblewoman of the Kharkov province Yu. N. Perova. She came to Moscow in 1841 for treatment of a serious illness and died on November 26, 1853. Alexandra Feodorovna, empress (1798–1860), wife of Emperor Nicholas I. Known for extensive charity. She had a moral and spiritual influence on the formation of the personality of her son, the future Tsar-Reformer Alexander II. She warmly treated A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov. – Approx. comp. Alexey Petrovich Akhmatov (1817–1870), chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod (1862–1865). – Approx. comp. A. V. Gorsky (1814–1875), archpriest, professor. The award was made by Emperor Alexander II on the recommendation of the chief prosecutor. – Approx. comp. Lev Karlovich (Karl Ludwig) Bode (1787–1859), baron, chief chamberlain. His father emigrated during the French bourgeois revolution (1789–1794) to Russia. He took part in the Patriotic War of 1812. Since 1842, he was a marshal and vice-president of the Moscow palace office. Oversaw the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace. In 1853–1856 - leader of the nobility of the Podolsk district of the Moscow province. He was married to a representative of the Kolychev family. He was buried under the Church of St. Philip in the village. Lukino (now the Patriarchal Compound). – Approx. comp. Lev Karlovich Bode (1820–1855), eldest son of L. K. Bode - Approx. comp. Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Pokrovskoye, Podolsk district, Moscow province. The archive (F. 35, section III, volume 3, item 2, sheet 18) contains a letter dated June 7, 1847 signed by Metropolitan Philaret with a message about permission received from the Holy Synod for the construction of this church. – Approx. comp. Below there is an inscription made by the hand of an unknown person: June 16, 1855 to His Excellency Mr. Chief Chamberlain Baron and Cavalier Lev Karlovich Bode. The last five words and the day of the month are in the hand of Metropolitan Philaret. NIOR RSL. F. 35 (Bode-Kolychev Foundation), section. III, building 3, unit. hr. 2. – Approx. comp. Alexander Yakovlevich Bulgakov (1781–1863), senator. He held the post of Moscow postal director until 1856. He was close to some members of the St. Petersburg literary circle “Arzamas” and was familiar with V. A. Zhukovsky and A. S. Pushkin. The Manuscripts Department of the Russian State Library contains 11 autographs of letters and notes from Metropolitan Philaret to A. Ya. Bulgakov (NIOR RSL. F. 41 (Bulgakov Foundation), room 140, item 22). 8 notes were selected for this publication. F. 41, room 140, unit. hr. 22, l. 1. – Approx. comp. This and the following letter deals with the Union of Brest in 1596, which laid the foundation for the Uniate Church in the Polish-Lithuanian state, and the events associated with the reunification of this Church with the Russian Church in 1839. Metropolitan Philaret was directly related to the matter of reunification - in 1838 he compiled an “Opinion on the reunification of the Greek-Uniate Church in Russia with Eastern Catholic Russian Church", which was laid by the government as the basis for the reunification order. – Approx. comp. Gregory XVII, Pope (1831–1846). – Approx. comp. The note was published in the Russian Archive, 1874, No. 9. P. 637. For this publication, the text was verified with the autograph. F. 41, room 140, unit. hr. 22, l. 3. – Approx. comp. Liszt - newspaper Metropolitan Philaret spoke French, which he quickly learned while at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, although he later regretted that he had not learned German, which, in his opinion, was more useful for studying theological sciences. – Approx. comp. Metropolitan Joseph (Semashko), before converting to Orthodoxy in 1822, was a Uniate protopresbyter and assessor in the Uniate department of the Roman Catholic College in St. Petersburg, where the highest administration of the entire Uniate Church was concentrated. For more information about him and Metropolitan Philaret’s letter to him, see p. 464–466. – Approx. comp. F. 41, room 140, unit. hr. 22, l. 5. – Approx. comp. A. N. Golitsyn (born 1773), prince, in 1803–1824. Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, from 1816 Minister of Public Education and Spiritual Affairs, from 1817 Minister of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education (double ministry); founder and since 1813 president of the St. Petersburg (Russian) Bible Society. Chairman of the Council of the Humane Society and trustee of a number of societies. In 1824 he was dismissed from his main positions. Under Nicholas I he was close to the imperial family. In 1842 he retired and settled in Crimea; he died on December 4, 1844, near Yalta, on the Gaspra-Alexandria estate. He was buried in the Church of the Great Martyr. George in the Balaklava St. George Monastery in Sevastopol. Metropolitan Philaret was in correspondence with A.N. Golitsyn. See the letter to him on p. 74–75. – Approx. comp. F. 41, room 140, unit. hr. 22, l. 13. – Approx. comp. A. I. Turgenev (1784–1845), in 1810–1824 - Director of the Department of the Main Directorate of Spiritual Affairs of Foreign Denominations, Secretary of the President of the Russian Bible Society A. N. Golitsyn. From 1825 he worked abroad in archives and published “Historical Acts Relating to Russia, Extracted from Foreign Archives and Libraries.” Before his death he returned to Moscow. Metropolitan Philaret was present at his burial. – Approx. comp. F. 41, room 140, unit. hr. 22, l. 19. – Approx. comp. About Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, see p. 70. (see footnote 49 above – note from the electronic edition). Alexander I. – Approx. comp. Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1771–1844), His Serene Highness Prince, Governor General of Moscow (1820–1844), member of the State Council. – Approx. comp. Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1774–1859), prince, owner of the Kuzminki estate near Moscow. From 1807 - honorary guardian of the Moscow Board of Trustees and chief director of the Moscow Golitsyn Hospital, in 1828 - vice-president of the Moscow Board of Trustees for prisons, from 1830 - trustee of the Moscow educational district, in 1839 - member of the commission for the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. He cared a lot about the poor, arranged the fate of orphans, distributed alms and awarded lifelong, sometimes large, pensions. He was close to the royal family (successor from the font of the future Emperor Alexander II). He had a close and cordial relationship with Metropolitan Philaret. – Approx. comp. Director of the Orphanage. Those entering into a third marriage are subject to a five-year penance according to the rule of Basil the Great (pr. 4). About the death of the prince’s niece, Princess A.I. Trubetskoy. See: Luke 2:35. – Approx. comp. See: Phil.2:18. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 5:18. – Approx. comp. Due to the intense heat of the sun, the wax-mastic of the icon began to melt and merged in some places. The Blachernae Icon of the Mother of God (celebration July 7/20) was brought to Russia in 1654. The revered copy of this icon is from the middle. XVIII century was a family shrine of the Golitsyn family and was located in the church of the village. Vlahernskoye (Kuzminki). Currently in the Tretyakov Gallery. – Approx. comp. In the Gethsemane monastery there is news of the death of S. M. Golitsyn’s sister Elena. – Approx. comp. Reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825–1855). – Approx. comp. Emperor Alexander II. The peace treaty was signed on March 30, 1856 at the Paris Congress. – Approx. comp. Alexander Vasilyevich Golovin (1821–1870), Secretary of State, a prominent figure in the era of Alexander II, Minister of Public Education, who raised the authority of this hitherto “minor” ministry, initiator of the development of a new university charter, laid the foundations for the development of the zemstvo public school, patron of science and art. – Approx. comp. Mikhail Mikhailovich Evreinov (1788–1878), a long-term acquaintance of Metropolitan Philaret, in the 30s. elder of the Church of the Holy Trinity on Kapelki, trustee of the Nabilkovo almshouse in Moscow, writer, author of memoirs about St. Philaret. – Approx. comp. 2 Corinthians 12:10. – Approx. comp. Proverbs 6:6. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Cor. 3:11. – Approx. comp. A. I. Karasevsky (1796–1856), headed the Commission of Theological Schools (1832–1839), then held the same position in the new Theological Educational Administration (1839–1855), from January 1855 he was appointed acting chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod, but in September 1856, due to serious illness, he was dismissed from this position. – Approx. comp. Plato (P. G. Levshin, 1737–1812), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna (1775–1811). In 1759–1762 prefect and later rector of Trinity Seminary. – Approx. comp. In the letter to the rector it was written, in particular: “Will they say: an unimportant subject does not require strict attention? But why don’t you give up an unimportant item, but hold on to it stubbornly; and want others to abandon it in favor of your whim? Is this word of little importance: woe to the man to whom temptation comes (Matthew 18:7)? – Approx. comp. Gabriel (P.P. Petrov-Shaposhnikov, 1730–1801), Metropolitan of Novgorod and Olonets (1775–1799). Ambrose (A.I. Podobedov, 1742–1818), Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg (1799–1801). – Approx. comp. At that time the leading member of the Synod. – Approx. comp. This refers to the recent (February 18, 1855) death of Emperor Nicholas I and the unfavorable course of the Crimean War for Russia. – Approx. comp. Alexander Semenovich Kovalevsky, lieutenant general, chairman of the Moscow Military District Court. – Approx. comp. Fyodor Petrovich Litke (1797–1882), admiral, count, president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences (1864–1881). Russian navigator and Arctic explorer, honorary member of many foreign scientific institutions. – Approx. comp. N. M. Karamzin (1766–1826), Russian writer, publicist, historian. Author of "History of the Russian State". The reading of the chapter about Ivan the Terrible took place on January 12, 1820 in St. Petersburg. – Approx. comp. Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible (monastically Jonah). Grand Duke of Moscow (1533–1547). The first Russian Tsar (1547–1584). – Approx. comp. Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov (1806–1874), writer, poet, church historian, pilgrim to holy places, collector, official of the Holy Synod, chamberlain. He came from a family of prominent figures in Russian history and culture. Saint Philaret maintained a close acquaintance with A. N. Muravyov for thirty-five years, from 1832 until his death in 1867, and reviewed and corrected all of his church works. – Approx. comp. Sermon on Good Friday by the rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy, Archimandrite Innocent (Borisov), later Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride. – Approx. comp. See: Ancient Patericon, set out in chapters. Ch.3:9 (19). – Approx. comp. Luke 23:28; John 19:30; Mark 15:39. – Approx. comp. The Metropolitan speaks about the spiritual mood of my brother, who, being depressed by grief over the death of his wife, was carried away by the suggestions of one dreamer, as if through some kind of material purification one could achieve a spiritual vision of the deceased. – Approx. A. N. Muravyova. See: Isa.22:22. – Approx. comp. We are talking about the original court case of Patriarch Nikon, recently discovered by the church historian and archaeographer P. M. Stroev in the Moscow Synodal Library. – Approx. comp. We are talking about the synaxarion of the Cheese Week of the Lenten Triodion, where the 38th Sermon of Gregory the Theologian, “On Epiphany or on the Nativity of Christ,” is mentioned. – Approx. comp. I asked the bishop to join me in his courtyard; Therefore, he draws my attention to the Sacrament itself, and not to the face of the communicant. – Approx. A. N. Muravyova. See: 2 Mark 12:39–43. – Approx. comp. The translation was made for me by the Bishop from Greek, from the Book of Maccabees, as a denunciation to Protestants about the need for church commemoration. – Approx. A. N. Muravyova. See: 1 Cor.14:20. – Approx. comp. A. N. Muravyov’s father died in October 1840 - Approx. comp. See: Isa.43:25. – Approx. comp. See: Hebrews 13:9. – Approx. comp. Octoechos, tone 3, blessed Wednesday. – Approx. comp. Hieromartyr Zenon, Bishop of Verona (Veronia) († c. 380, commemorated April 12/25). “A Word about Hope, Faith and Love” was published in the second volume of Christian Reading for 1843 - Approx. comp. See: 1 John 2:16. – Approx. comp. Corpus Christi is a holiday celebrated on the Thursday after the Catholic holiday of Trinity in remembrance of the establishment of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The custom of venerating the Holy Gifts first arose in 1247 in Belgium. – Approx. comp. Ava Agathon. See: Ancient Patericon, set out in chapters. 10, 12. – Approx. comp. We are talking about an article in the Addendum to the Works of the Holy Fathers, published by the MDA, and the response to it by A. N. Muravyov, “Discourse on the Time of Transmission of the Holy Gifts,” written regarding the inaccurately used terms in the published article. The correspondence on this issue amounted to several extensive letters. – Approx. comp. Athanasius of Paros (Paria) (1721–1813), Greek theologian and educator, author of numerous apologetic, liturgical and dogmatic-canonical works. – Approx. comp. The English monarch - the head of the Anglican Church - takes the oath at the coronation: “I declare and sincerely swear before God that I believe that in the Sacrament of Communion there is no transubstantiation of bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of Christ before and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, no matter who performs it...” - Approx. comp. 2 Timothy 2:14. – Approx. comp. See: Basil the Great. “Ascetic regulations for those who labor in the community and in hermitage”, ch. 22. – Approx. comp. “Dogmatic Theology” by Archimandrite Macarius. – Approx. comp. See also letter on p. 106–107. – Approx. comp. (See footnote 97 - electronic edition note). See: Eph.5:19. – Approx. comp. The question of the effectiveness of baptism through pouring upon admission to Orthodoxy from Catholicism was raised about Palmer’s article (see note about him on p. 485). – Approx. comp. (See footnote 492 electronic edition note). That is, who spoke during the service. – Approx. comp. See previous letter. – Approx. comp. The death of mother Evdokia Nikitichna Drozdova. – Approx. comp. Neophyte (Sosnin, † 1868), bishop, later Archbishop of Perm and Verkhoturye. Philotheus (T. G. Uspensky, 1808–1882), Bishop of Dmitrov, vicar of the Moscow diocese, later Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. – Approx. comp. Mikhail (M. M. Desnitsky, 1762–1821), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Novgorod, archpastor revered by St. Philaret. We are talking about the work “Conversations Explaining Church Services for the Common People.” – Approx. comp. The Laodicean Council (363–364?) adopted rules concerning various details of the liturgical rite, clergy discipline, etc. - Approx. comp. Levison, a former rabbi, under the influence of A. N. Muravyov’s book “Letters on Worship,” converted to Orthodoxy, taught at St. Petersburg, and later was at the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem. At one time I was fascinated by the idea of ​​​​building a thousand-year kingdom of Christ on earth. – Approx. comp. About Chief Prosecutor Count Protasov, who died suddenly on January 16, 1855 - Note. comp. The Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431) was convened against the non-Orthodox teaching of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople (428–431), about the Mother of God. John, Patriarch of Antioch (423–440), supporter of Nestorius. Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria (412–444), the main defender of Orthodoxy against the heresy of Nestorius. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (436–446), one of the close relatives of St. John Chrysostom of people and the first denouncer of the non-Orthodox views of Nestorius. – Approx. comp. Ambrose (A.I. Podobedov, 1742–1818), Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. – Approx. comp. Sergei Nikolaevich Mukhanov (1796–1858), Moscow Chief of Police, Privy Councilor, Major General. Subsequently, governor of the Kharkov (1840–1849) and Oryol (1849–1851) provinces. The first chairman of the Kharkov Charitable Society. – Approx. comp. Odnodvorets is a state peasant of a special group of descendants of small service people, who occupied an intermediate position between the peasantry and the small nobility. – Approx. comp. Stepan Dmitrievich Nechaev (1792–1860), poet, archaeologist, chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod (1833–1836). – Approx. comp. The decree of 1810 “On the degrees of kinship and property” was published in the “Complete Collection of Laws” (No. 24091) See: Matthew 10:39. – Approx. comp. A. N. Muravyov. See Metropolitan Philaret’s letters to him on p. 101–141. – Approx. comp. Matthew 5:23–24. – Approx. comp. Semyon Nikolaevich Ozerov (1776–1844), senator, husband of the daughter of Abbess Evgenia (E.N. Meshcherskaya, 1774–1837), founder of the Anosina Borisoglebsk hermitage. For letters to her, see p. 711–713. – Approx. comp. Alexey Nikolaevich Olenin (1763–1843), Russian historian, archaeologist, artist, statesman, director of the Imperial Public Library (since 1811), president of the Russian Academy of Arts (since 1817), member of the State Council (since 1827). – Approx. comp. The letter is addressed to A. N. Ermolaev, an employee of A. N. Olenin. – Approx. comp. The following evidence about the attitude towards Plato's philosophy is interesting. The draft Charter of Theological Academies, prepared in St. Petersburg in 1814, defined Platonism as the main guideline in the teaching of philosophy: “Among the ancients, Plato is the first pillar of true philosophy. In his writings and in the writings of his best followers, the professor must look for solid philosophical teaching.” – Approx. comp. Wed: Plato State / Transl. A. N. Egunova. Book 2. – M.: Mysl, 1999. pp. 120–121. – Approx. comp. Vasily Dmitrievich Olsufiev (1796–1858), count, Moscow civil governor, later chamberlain. The text is published by: NIOR RSL. F. 219 (Orlovs-Davydovs), room 65, e.x. 16.6 pp. Extract from Filaret’s letter to an unidentified person “V. D.O." from November 1853 - Approx. comp. Deut.18:9–12. – Approx. comp. Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (1800–1875), historian, writer, journalist, professor at Moscow University, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1841). M.P. Pogodin treated Metropolitan Philaret with great respect and highly valued his sermons. “This is a treasure of Russian literature,” he wrote, “even more so: this is a domestic treasure, and neither aphids will rot it, nor tatie will dig it up.” Letters are published based on autographs (NIOR RSL. F. 231 (Pogodin Foundation), section II, volume 34, item 53). – Approx. comp. M.P. Pogodin wanted to publish a description of the monastery in the book he published in 1841–1856. magazine "Moskovityanin". The skete at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra was founded by Metropolitan Philaret in 1844. Its construction was undertaken without the blessing of the Synod. A formal report to the Synod about the monastery was made only in 1851. Another reason why Metropolitan Philaret did not want the existence of the monastery to be made public was the preservation of monastic silence in this monastery. “The monastery is not for curiosity and rumor,” wrote Metropolitan Philaret to Archimandrite Anthony on October 13, 1844. NIOR RSL. F. 231, section. II, room 34, unit. hr. 53, l. 3. – Approx. comp. We are talking about a letter from Countess A.D. Bludova dated November 25, 1853 to M.P. Pogodin. Metropolitan Philaret wrote this and the following letter in the first months of the Crimean War (1853–1856), in which Russia opposed the union of European states. The reason for the war was a dispute between the Catholic and Orthodox clergy over the ownership of the Holy Places in Palestine. Without sharing the optimistic forecasts about the outcome of the war (letter to the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony, dated November 10, 1853), Metropolitan Philaret supported the movement that arose in society in support of fellow believers. NIOR RSL. F. 231, section. II, room 34, unit. hr. 53, l. 5. – Approx. comp. Perhaps we are talking about the manuscript of “Political Letters” in defense of the Fatherland, with which, inspired by the calls of Countess A.D. Bludova, M.P. Pogodin appeared in print, publishing 14 letters in 1854. The letters were very famous and were even rewritten for distribution. NIOR RSL. F. 231, section. II, room 34, unit. hr. 53, l. 7. – Approx. comp. Ps.102:19. – Approx. comp. NIOR RSL. F. 231, section. II, room 34, unit. hr. 53, l. 8. The note is a response to Pogodin’s request for a meeting and blessing in connection with a possible appointment to a new position of trustee in Odessa. (N.P. Barsukov Book 15. P. 139). – Approx. comp. Pogodin’s participation in 1863 in the publication of Rostislavov’s book “On the Organization of Theological Schools” prompted the remark from the vicar of the Moscow Metropolitan, Bishop Savva, that Pogodin was “the patron of all protesters against the existing order.” On February 4, Pogodin wrote in his diary: “I saw Filaret in a dream.” On February 9, the historian was visited by N.P. Kireevskaya, the spiritual daughter of the saint, and talked with him “about Filaret.” The result of the conversation was a letter, soon after which Pogodin was favorably received at the Trinity Compound. The Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library contains a draft letter from M.P. Pogodin to Metropolitan Philaret, dated 1863 (NIOR RSL. Pog. I, k. 46, item 5, l. 1). The other day I saw Your Eminence in a dream. You blessed me with the holy one (icon?). I immediately wanted to go to you, but it was night and it was known about your ill health]. I now ask in writing, in the days of forgiveness (the days of preparation for Lent, which began in 1863 on February 11. - Note by author), your archbishop's blessing, and if you allow, I will appear in person. Although I considered myself, by misunderstanding, under your wrath, I never apologized, and now the hour has struck (for forgiveness?). – Approx. comp. NIOR RSL. F. 231, section. II, room 34, unit. hr. 53, l. 10–11. – Approx. comp. Alexey Kirillovich Razumovsky (1748–1822), count. Trustee of Moscow University (1807–1810), Minister of Public Education (1810–1816), initiator of the creation of the Lyceum in Tsarskoe Selo (1810). – Approx. comp. “Sorrowful Elegies” written by Ovid (43 BC - c. 18) in exile. – Approx. comp. Fyodor Yakovlevich Repninsky, retired captain, and his relative E. S. Gerard († 1851), pious Muscovites, friends of Metropolitan Philaret. – Approx. comp. Ivan Aleksandrovich Gulyanov (1789–1841), Russian Egyptologist. – Approx. comp. Vladimir Rostislavovich, honorary nobleman. – Approx. comp. Alexander Petrovich Tolstoy (1801–1873), count, chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod (1856–1862), member of the State Council. – Approx. comp. Daniel Hume, a Scot, a well-known spiritualist at that time, who was popular in St. Petersburg. – Approx. comp. Onufriy Krainev, a retired soldier, who claimed that in a dream vision a place was revealed to him where the relics of Metropolitan Theodore of Krutitsa were hidden. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 10:23. – Approx. comp. See: Mark 4:37, Luke 8:23. – Approx. comp. Pyotr Vasilyevich Khavsky (1771–1876), actual state councilor, lawyer and researcher of Russian chronology, author of works on church chronology, Easter and genealogy. – Approx. comp. Elizaveta Rostislavovna Vyazemskaya, née Tatishcheva (granddaughter of the historian V.N. Tatishchev (1786–1860)), princess, famous public figure, trustee of charitable committees. Helped talented orphan students. – Approx. comp. G. E. Golovina and E. P. Golovina (see letters to her on p. 199), representatives of the Golovin family, on whose estate and at whose expense it was established in 1852–1854. Spaso-Vlaherna Convent. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Corinthians 10:13. – Approx. comp. Husband of G. E. Golovina. – Approx. comp. See: Phil.1:29. – Approx. comp. Elizaveta Sergeevna Deleur (born Sheremetev, 1818–1890), countess, wife of the famous pianist and composer Theodor Deleur. The letter is published from a manuscript, rewritten by the addressee (NIOR RSL. F. 817, k. 70, item 57, pp. 22–23). The exact date is not indicated on the letter. – Approx. comp. M. N. Muravyov was married to Pelageya Vasilievna Sheremeteva, who was a relative of E. S. Deleur. – Approx. comp. Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov, brother of A. N. Muravyov (letters to him, see pp. 101–141), count. He took part in the activities of Decembrist societies, but in 1820 he stopped participating in their meetings. From 1828 the governor was in Mogilev, from 1831 - in Grodno, from 1832 - in Minsk. In 1842 he was appointed to the Senate, and from 1850 he was a member of the State Council. In 1850–1857 Vice-Chairman of the Imperial Geographical Society. During the uprising in Poland (1863–1864) - Governor-General of the Western Region (Lithuania and Belarus). He defeated rebel groups, limited the activities of the Catholic clergy, and opened access to all positions for local Orthodox natives. In 1866, he headed the commission of inquiry into the assassination attempt (April 4, 1866) on Emperor Alexander II. He died on August 29, 1866. On May 17, 1863, Metropolitan Philaret wrote to M.N. Muravyov: “It was heard and seen that Your Excellency’s busy public service finally required relief, so that part of the official work could be replaced by a share of peace. But as the royal word called you to defend and pacify the Fatherland, you forgot the need for relief and peace; without hesitation, you took on a burden that required strong strength and tireless activity, and found new strength in love for the Tsar and the Fatherland... Your destiny is already the defeat of the enemies of the Fatherland. Your name is victory." – Approx. comp. M. N. Muravyov died suddenly on his Syrets estate near St. Petersburg during the consecration of the church in the name of the Archangel Michael of God (architect A. I. Rezanov, the church was closed in 1939, burned down in 1994). He was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Emperor Alexander II attended the funeral. – Approx. comp. Sofya Sergeevna Meshcherskaya, ur. Vsevolozhskaya (1775–1848), princess, chairman of the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trustee Committee on Prisons. Writer and translator, one of the main and zealous employees of the Bible Society. – Approx. comp. August 5, 1817 - the day of consecration as Bishop of Revel. – Approx. comp. Ekaterina Alekseevna Mukhanov (1804–1856), daughter of the actual Privy Councilor, Senator A. I. Mukhanov (1753–1836). – Approx. comp. Praskovya Alekseevna Mukhanova (1809–1894), sister of E. A. Mukhanova. – Approx. comp. Varvara Mikhailovna Naryshkina, sister of Abbess Maria Tuchkova (letters to her, see pp. 714–759), princess. The first five letters to her were written during her parents' illness. – Approx. comp. James 5:14–15. – Approx. comp. Eph.5:19; Ps.121:1; Ps.83:11. – Approx. comp. Ekaterina Vladimirovna Novosiltseva (c. 1770–1849), countess, adopted daughter of Count V. G. Orlov. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.18:13. – Approx. comp. See: John 14:6. – Approx. comp. Ps.119:71. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.77:3; Ps.63:7. – Approx. comp. See: Phil.3:3. – Approx. comp. 2 Corinthians 13:5. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Cor.13:7. – Approx. comp. See Acts 5:29 - Note. comp. 1 Cor.9:22. – Approx. comp. See: Gal.1:10. – Approx. comp. See: Isa.6:5. – Approx. comp. See: Gen.3:5. – Approx. comp. Photius (P.N. Spassky, 1792–1838), archimandrite, abbot of the Novgorod Yuryevsky Monastery. A well-known church figure of the era of Emperor Alexander I, one of the main opponents of the activities of the Bible Society. In his attitude towards the activities of Metropolitan Philaret, he underwent changes from “considerable respect” to accusations of “unbelief, innovations and church temptations.” Nevertheless, Metropolitan Philaret’s reviews of Archimandrite Photius were always filled with calm and benevolence. – Approx. comp. Proverbs 27:5–6. – Approx. comp. See: Gen. 22:1–18. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Cor.1:12–13. – Approx. comp. See: Mark 3:30. – Approx. comp. Olga Mikhailovna Sergievskaya (Drozdova) is the second child in the family of Archpriest Mikhail Drozdov. Her grandson was Ignatius (Rozhdestvensky N.D., 1827–1883), Bishop of Kostroma. – Approx. comp. 1 Corinthians 2:14. – Approx. comp. See: Col.3:8. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Cor.13:4. – Approx. comp. Matins of Great Saturday. Third article, first praise. – Approx. comp. Proverbs 3:12. – Approx. comp. See: Mark 17:10–13. – Approx. comp. Ps.140:2; Ps.122:1; Ps.27:8. – Approx. comp. Gen.22:17. – Approx. comp. Ps.144:16. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 19:17. – Approx. comp. See ibid., 21. – Approx. comp. See: Luke 18:28. – Approx. comp. Matthew 19:25–26. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Timothy 2:4. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.40:10. – Approx. comp. See Proverbs 3:28 - Note. comp. Ps.26:14, Ps.61:2, 6 – Note. comp. The son of E.V. Novosiltseva, aide-de-camp Vladimir Novosiltsev, died on September 14, 1825 in a duel with Lieutenant K. Chernov, who was also mortally wounded by him. E.V. Novosiltseva purchased an inn in Lesnoy, where her son died, and in 1838 erected an almshouse and the Church of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir on this site. In June 1932, the church was destroyed. The following evidence of this fight has been preserved in a letter dated March 18, 1881 from Veniamin (S.I. Protopopov, 1818–1892), Archbishop of Irkutsk, to Archbishop Vladimir of Kazan (I.P. Petrov, 1828–1897). “I’ll tell you what the Most Reverend Seraphim conveyed to me when he was still serving with me at the Kazan Academy. ...One young man (it seems Novosiltsev, about whom Metropolitan Philaret spoke in letters to Archimandrite Anthony) fought a duel and was killed (according to the Catechism, the greatest sin is attempted murder and suicide). The pious mother... was heartbroken, and asked for prayer to pious people known to her, among other things, to one archimandrite of a monastery near Moscow (wasn’t it Anthony?). The archimandrite began to pray for the suicidal duelist. Soon she sees him in a dream, covered in blood and wearing bloody clothes. He intensifies the prayer and again sees him whitened to half his body. The prayer intensifies even more, and the deceased appears to him completely white.” – Approx. comp. Jer.31:16. – Approx. comp. About the inscription on the monument to his son. In the Novospassky Monastery, where V. Novosiltsev was buried, on the monument, in particular, it was written that the mother believes “the only consolation is in prayer for him and in hope, based on unshakable faith.” – Approx. comp. Emperor Alexander I, who died on November 19, 1825 - Approx. comp. See: Job 7:1. – Approx. comp. Gen.32:26. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.4:2. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Timothy 1:15. – Approx. comp. See: John 8:44; Rev.12:10. – Prich comp. See: Matthew 4:10; Ps.36:15. – Approx. comp. See: Rom.4:18. – Approx. comp. Ps.139:21–22. – Approx. comp. 1st Troparion of the 1st Song of the Paschal Canon. – Approx. comp. See: 1 Samuel 2:1. – Approx. comp. The tomb over the body of Vladimir's son. Rev.14:13. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 9:13. – Approx. comp. See: Hebrews 13:8. – Approx. comp. Luke 17:21; Phil.3:20. – Approx. comp. Proverbs 26:16. – Approx. comp. Smut is a disease of cereals that turns them into black dust or a hard black growth. – Approx. comp. Matthew 10:18; Luke 21:13; see: 10, 42. – Approx. comp. Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic words. Word 8. – Approx. comp. Rom.12:12; 2 Corinthians 6:10. – Approx. comp. Ezek.18:20. – Approx. comp. A. N. Panina is the niece of E. V. Novosiltseva. – Approx. comp. Mark 12:27; Luke 20:38. – Approx. comp. Evgeny (A.E. Kazantsev, 1778–1871), Archbishop of Tobolsk and Siberia, later Archbishop of Yaroslavl. In 1825, at his personal request, he was appointed to the Tobolsk department. The request for transfer to Siberia was caused by three dreams, in which first his mother, then his father and, finally, Metropolitan Platon persistently pointed out to him the need to ask for a transfer to another diocese, and Metropolitan Platon indicated precisely Tobolsk. He was in correspondence with Metropolitan Philaret, whose opinion he highly valued. – Approx. comp. See: Gen. 32:24–25. – Approx. comp. I. Kapodistrias (1776–1831), count, Greek statesman. In 1809–1827 in the Russian civil service. In April 1827 he was elected president of Greece. Fell victim to a conspiracy. – Approx. comp. 1 Thessalonians 5:21. – Approx. comp. An outbreak of a cholera epidemic in Russia and “cholera riots” in some provinces. – Approx. comp. Events of the July Revolution of 1830 in Paris. – Approx. comp. On this day, the adoptive father of E.V. Novosiltseva, Count V.G. Orlov (born in 1743), Privy Councilor, honorary member of the Academy of Sciences, died. – Approx. comp. Jeremiah 12:11. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.86:5; Isa.1:26. – Approx. comp. Proverbs 4:23. - Proverbs comp. See: Ps.36:15. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 7:6. – Approx. comp. Sir.23:27. – Approx. comp. Song 2:15. – Approx. comp. Written on November 24/December 7, the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, heavenly patroness of E. V. Novosiltseva. – Approx. comp. Son of E. V. Novosiltseva. – Approx. comp. See: Gen. 21:1–19. – Approx. comp. Ps.119:62; Ps.105:47. – Approx. comp. See: Luke 10:41. – Approx. comp. About the construction of a church at the Forestry Institute. – Approx. comp. Vera Nikitichna Panina, countess, niece of E. V. Novosiltseva. – Approx. comp. 1 Corinthians 9:27. – Approx. comp. See: Luke 23:42. – Approx. comp. See: 2 Cor.1:3. – Approx. comp. We are talking about the seriously ill V.N. Panina, the niece of E.V. Novosiltseva. See also about her in the letter on p. 306. – Approx. comp. 2 Corinthians 12:9. – Approx. comp. See: James 3:18. – Approx. comp. The last petition of most litanies. – Approx. comp. Rom.11:26. – Approx. comp. See: Dan.9:24–27. – Approx. comp. V. N. Panina. – Approx. comp. 1 Thessalonians 4:13. – Approx. comp. Ps.67:6; Ps.61:9; Ps.61:6. – Approx. comp. A. A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya (1785–1848), countess, spiritual daughter of Archimandrite Photius and benefactor of the Yuriev Monastery. – Approx. comp. Evgeniy (E. A. Bolkhovitinov, 1767–1837), Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, a learned hierarch, distinguished by his hard work. Archbishop of Kazan - Filaret (F. G. Amfitheatrov, 1779–1857), later Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia, an outstanding ascetic and hierarch. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.149:4. – Approx. comp. See: Phil.3:13. – Approx. comp. See: James 6:2. – Approx. comp. See: 1 John 2:20. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 7:3–5; Luke 6:41–42. – Approx. comp. See: Matthew 18:22. – Approx. comp. Xenophon of Athens. Domostroy. Chapter 1:15. – Approx. comp. See: Luke 15:7, 10. – Approx. comp. The interpretation of Andrew, Archbishop of Caesarea, on the Apocalypse was compiled in the 5th century. – Approx. comp. Ekaterina Petrovna Rostopchina, ur. Protasova (1775–1858), countess, wife of the commander-in-chief in Moscow, Count Rostopchin, who converted to Catholicism in 1806 under the influence of the Jesuits. According to the memoirs of M. M. Evreinov (see letters to him on pp. 90–93), one day, in 1825, he heard her talk about Metropolitan Philaret’s book “Conversation between the Testing and the Confident.” According to the countess, in Paris a refutation of this book was compiled in several books and that she “would like to know what your Philaret will say now.” Knowing that Evreinov often visited the Bishop, Count A.P. Protasov, the owner of the salon and a relative of the Countess, offered to convey this conversation to the Metropolitan. Not having much time to refute all the books, Metropolitan Philaret received a question the next day and gave an answer an hour later. Thus began a correspondence. The abbots wrote answers for the countess, and she, not having anything to object to the metropolitan’s judgments, began more and more new disputes. The Bishop got bored with this, he said that he no longer wanted to engage in disputes that lead nowhere. This correspondence was kept by M. M. Evreinov and was published in 1865. without indicating the author's name. Not all notes with questions have survived. – Approx. comp. Blessed Jerome wrote to Pope Damasus: “Following none other than Jesus Christ, I am committed to communion with Your Holiness, that is, with the see of St. Peter. I know that the Church is built on this rock, and whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is ignorant. He who is outside Noah’s Ark perishes in the flood.” (Episodes 14 and 57 to Pope Damasus. Vol. 4, part 2) (French). Saint Cyril of Alexandria (bishop) calls on the faithful to turn to the Roman Pontiff to learn what to believe and what to adhere to, because only he has the right to renew, correct, make a decision with the same authority as Jesus Christ, whose place he occupies (French). “The Church,” writes Saint Ambrose of Milan, “is where Peter is. The ship of St. Peter is Noah's ark, outside of which everything perishes. Communication (communion) with Rome is that which is sufficient to unite with all Catholic bishops: it is this important judgment (autorité) that must be maintained in the difficulties that arise.” (On Psalm 40; Homily 11; Letter 74, to Theophilus). – Per. Metropolitan Philareta. There is no salvation outside the Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church. – Hereinafter translation from French. Hieromonk Simeon (Tomachinsky). There is no salvation outside the Holy Catholic Apostolic Roman Church. Saint Cyprian sees in the Bishop of Rome not just the head of the Church, but such a head, whose abandonment is the source of all division and all heresy (“On Unity”). Rome, he also says, is the see of St. Peter, the source of the unity of the priesthood. She is not only the most revered, but also such that when she leaves, everyone leaves the Holy Church. (Epistle 42, 45, 54) (French). Herrnhuters (by the name of the locality), a Protestant sect, followers of the Moravian (Bohemian) brothers. – Approx. comp. Simpler in Russian: about eating the blessed bread. – Approx. Metropolitan Philareta. “We offer to You, Master, and about Your holy places, which You have glorified through the Theophany of Your Christ and the visitation of Your Most Holy Spirit. Most of all, about holy and glorious Zion, the mother of all Churches.” From the priestly prayer for the consecration of the Holy Gifts. Liturgy of the Apostle James. Sofia. 1948. – Approx. comp. "Rejoice, Holy Zion, Mother of the Churches." Great Vespers, 3rd stichera on “Lord, I cried,” 8th tone. – Approx. comp. Sofya Ivanovna Barataeva (Novokschenova), princess. – Approx. comp. Neil of Sinai. A Word about Prayer // Philokalia: in 5 volumes (Russian translation). T. 2. Ch. 29; Philokalia: in 2 volumes (ts.-s. trans.). T. 2. – Approx. comp. See: 2 Kings 18:17–19. – Approx. comp. The letter may be related to the activities of the addressee in the Committee for the Care of Prisons (created in 1819), the deputy chairman of the Moscow branch of which was Metropolitan Philaret. In a letter dated March 16, 1845 to an unknown woman, he noted, in particular, the successes of the Moscow Ladies' Prison Trustee Committee, which succeeded in “Christian trusteeship and philanthropic activity.” – Approx. comp. See: Deut.23:14. – Approx. comp. When approaching the Holy Chalice. – Approx. comp. Cholera epidemic. – Approx. comp. Rev.4:1, 2; further Rev. 5:13. – Approx. comp. See: Phil.2:10. – Approx. comp. Revolutionary unrest in France, Germany and the Austrian Empire - Approx. comp. Ps.15:1; Matthew 7:7; John 10:9. – Approx. comp. See: Ps.72:28. - Note, comp. See: Matthew 18:3. – Approx. comp. You might be interested in: