Call on God for help

The collection “Call God to Help” is a publication of selected letters from St. Philaret of Moscow (Drozdov). The book consists of a preface, which presents the spiritual portrait of the saint and the historical context of his ministry, and two sections. The first section contains letters to secular persons. Here is the correspondence of the saint with representatives of various classes: members of the imperial family, statesmen and officials, representatives of aristocratic families, scientists and writers. The second section contains letters to clergy. This is correspondence with bishops of the Russian Church, monastics of various monasteries, priests and deacons, and abbess of women's monasteries. Letters are arranged in alphabetical order by recipients' names, with chronological ordering within sections. The text is accompanied by iconographic material. The collection reveals the multifaceted personality of St. Philaret as a theologian and preacher, translator of the Holy Scriptures (initiator and participant in the translation of the Bible into Russian), church administrator and spiritual mentor. The correspondence covers key events in Russian history of the 19th century: the Patriotic War of 1812, church reforms and spiritual education, the reunification of the Uniates (1839), the preparation and implementation of the Peasant Reform of 1861. Contents Preface “The Ever-Watching Eye of Thought” 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! With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' ALEXIY The collection includes selected letters from Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Kolomna (Drozdov, 1782–1867), an outstanding church figure, preacher, pastor and prayer book of the Russian Church, who headed the Moscow see for almost half a century. The correspondence of the great archpastor with his contemporaries, only a small part of which is published in the book, is diversely rich in spiritual reasoning, in which today’s reader will find answers to many questions of spiritual life. Some letters are being published in full for the first time. The letters are listed in alphabetical order by recipients' names, chronologically, and are grouped into two sections. For ease of reference, a subject index is provided at the end of the book. The letters are illustrated with iconographic material. Preface “The Ever-Everlasting Eye of Thought” The lamp has gone out, which for half a century shone on all of Russia without becoming scarce, without dimming, but as if feeding on the multiplication of years and appearing brighter as the evening twilight progressed. The never-ending eye of thought has closed From I. S. Aksakov’s response to the death of St. Philaret The birthplace of Saint Philaret is the ancient city of Kolomna near Moscow. Here, on December 26, 1782, a son was born into the family of a deacon, later a priest, Mikhail Drozdov, named Vasily in memory of St. Basil the Great. The father and mother of the future saint came from a hereditary clergy. Many years later, in 1822, Archbishop Philaret, in his Homily on All Saints Sunday, delivered while visiting his hometown, said: “By the inscrutable destinies of God, seeing myself again in the midst of this city, in which I was destined to see the light for the first time..., again being in the midst of my brothers and neighbors, in whose community I received the first pleasant sensations of life, I would like to completely surrender strong attraction of love for the Fatherland" 1. On December 20, 1791, the future saint was enrolled in the Kolomna Seminary. His rare natural talents were combined with excellent zeal. Soon, in connection with the transfer of the Kolomna Seminary to Tula, the young man, fulfilling the will of his father, went to the Lavra school in the monastery of St. Sergius. Moving to the Lavra filled his soul with unspeakable joy. At the beginning of 1802, Vasily was appointed senior over the seminary hospital. While caring for the sick, he learned compassionate love for his neighbors, learned the weakness and frailty of man’s bodily nature, and his soul learned to constantly remember death. In April of the same year, he was entrusted with a new obedience - preaching in the Refectory Church of St. Sergius. The talented student was noticed by Metropolitan Platon of Moscow (Levshin, † 1812), who at that time spent most of his time near the monastery - in the Bethany monastery. Upon completion of the course in August 1806, the future saint was appointed to the vacancy of a poetry teacher. At the same time, Metropolitan Platon appointed him the Lavra preacher. A famous preacher himself, he recognized the superiority of his favorite's preaching gift over his own. “I write like a human being,” said the generous archpastor, “and he writes like an angel.” Preoccupation with teaching and preaching obedience did not dampen the prayerfulness of the young teacher. The world weighed on him. Metropolitan Filaret. Unknown artist. First half of the 19th century On November 16, 1808, the future saint took monastic vows and was named in honor of Saint Philaret the Merciful (December 1/14). Five days later, Metropolitan Platon ordained him to the rank of hierodeacon. When the residents of Kolomna asked to appoint Vasily Drozdov, who had completed the seminary course, as a priest to one of the city churches, Metropolitan Platon said: “I will not give him to you, I am saving him in his place” 2 . The newly tonsured hierodeacon planned to spend his entire life in the Lavra of the Life-Giving Trinity. But in connection with the transformation of theological schools, the Commission of Theological Schools requested the most capable teachers from various educational institutions to come to the northern capital. Hierodeacon Philaret was summoned from Trinity Seminary. A new, reformed academy was opening in St. Petersburg. The old academy was converted into a seminary. Father Philaret was appointed its inspector and bachelor of philosophy class. In February 1810, Hieromonk Philaret was transferred from the seminary and school to the transformed St. Petersburg Academy with a bachelor's degree in theological sciences with teaching in church history. From 1810 to 1817, he developed almost a complete course of theological and church historical sciences, taught at the academy. Saint Philaret was the first at the St. Petersburg Academy to begin giving lectures in Russian. In St. Petersburg, Hieromonk Philaret preached a lot. His sermons attracted the attention of the capital; they started talking about him in court circles as a new bright luminary. On March 11, 1812, the Synod appointed him rector of the academy and professor of theological sciences; and soon after that he was appointed abbot of the ancient monastery - the Novgorod Yuriev Monastery. In 1812, the disasters of the Napoleonic invasion struck Russia. Together with the entire clergy, Archimandrite Filaret donated from his salary to military needs. Three years after the end of the Patriotic War, Archimandrite Philaret, on behalf of the Synod, compiled a prayer of thanks for the salvation of the Fatherland, which began to be performed annually on the day of the Nativity of Christ. The spiritual state of Russian society in the Alexander era was alarming. On the one hand, the disasters Russia experienced during the Patriotic War deepened religious sentiments. But on the other hand, in their spiritual quests, people who lagged behind the basic principles of Russian life often turned not to the faith of their ancestors, but to the books of Western theologians and mystics. Archimandrite Philaret saw the errors of his contemporaries, but did not believe in the benefit and reliability of harsh prohibitive measures, and was in no hurry to bind and condemn. He always distinguished a deluded person from error and treated with goodwill every sincere movement of the human soul. In the mystical dreams themselves, he felt a genuine spiritual thirst, a spiritual restlessness, which only pushed him onto illegal paths because “the legal path was not arranged well...” That is why he took an ardent part in translating the Bible into Russian, believing that “the very desire to read the Holy Books is the key to moral improvement” 3. Responsibility for translating the Bible was assigned by the Synod to the Commission of Theological Schools and personally to Archimandrite Philaret. The saint himself selected the translators. He took upon himself the translation of the Holy Gospel of John. He also compiled the “Rules” for translation. In 1819, the translation of the Four Gospels was completed and published. But the saint’s work in translating the Holy Scriptures did not end there. He was deeply convinced that translation was needed to satisfy “the hunger of hearing the word of God.” But he also understood well that only a full-fledged, high-quality translation, and not hasty experiments, could satisfy this hunger. On August 5, 1817, by decree of the Holy Synod, the consecration of Archimandrite Philaret as Bishop of Revel, vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese, took place in the Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. On March 15, 1819, Bishop Filaret was transferred to an independent Tver see with his elevation to the rank of archbishop and appointment as a member of the Synod. In Tver, he often performed divine services - both in the cathedral church and in parish churches; He preached tirelessly during services. Metropolitan Filaret. V. I. Gau. Watercolor. 1854 State Historical Museum He spent a lot of time traveling around the vast diocese. Once, during one of these trips, Archbishop Filaret asked the coachman the name of the village through which the road lay. “The village of Bad,” answered the coachman. “Still, there are some good people here, too?” - “We know that there will be. Otherwise God would not have tolerated the village.” “Here,” he said at the end of his conversation with me, his biographer writes, “I wanted to teach the coachman, but it turned out the other way around - the coachman taught me.” On September 26, 1820, the saint was transferred to Yaroslavl, where he stayed for about a year. In 1821, Divine Providence destined Archbishop Philaret to occupy the chair of Moscow's first hierarchs. In May 1823, his “Christian Catechism of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Greek-Russian Church” was published. The book sold like hot cakes, and before the end of 1823 it was necessary to publish a second edition. The Catechism was translated into Greek, English and other languages. In 1824, the saint’s ill-wishers sought his removal from Moscow. When rumors spread throughout Moscow about his upcoming move to Tiflis (Tbilisi), he was not embarrassed. “A monk, like a soldier,” he said, “must stand guard where he is posted; go where they send you." “Really, Vladyka,” exclaimed one lady, “will you go to this exile?” “After all, I went from Tver to Moscow,” the bishop said to her in response. The rumor, however, turned out to be false. In 1826, during the coronation celebrations, the Moscow saint was elevated to the rank of metropolitan, but he put on the white hood only after he took it to the Chudov Monastery on the relics of St. Alexis, and only after that, as if from the saint himself, he accepted it 4. In 1836, Count N.A. Protasov, a student of the Jesuits, was appointed chief prosecutor of the Synod. Protasov acquired a conviction in the omnipotent possibilities of the clerical method of management, in the omnipotence of orders. “When Mr. Protasov was made chief prosecutor,” wrote Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, “he came to Adjutant General Chicherin and told him: “Congratulate me; I’m a minister, I’m a bishop, I’m... who knows what.” Filaret of Kiev, hearing this, said: “Only the latter is fair.”5 And the members of the Synod soon felt his heavy hand on themselves. “One day,” recalled a contemporary, “Protasov came to Filaret and began talking to him about something very loudly, almost shouting, as is fashionable among military men and commanders. The Bishop said: “Even if you speak more quietly, Your Excellency, I will hear.” Since then, Protasov has stopped shouting, at least with Metropolitan Philaret” 6. Soon after his appointment to the chief prosecutor position. Protasov, appearing in the presence of the Synod, sat down in the bishop's chair. Metropolitan Philaret turned to him with the question: “How long ago, Your Excellency, did you receive consecration?” Protasov did not understand anything. “How long ago have you been ordained to the priesthood?” – the saint repeated and explained that the members of the Synod were sitting at the table at which he sat down. “Where is my place?” – asked Protasov. And Metropolitan Filaret showed him his place: the chief prosecutor’s desk standing to the side. In 1832, Metropolitan Philaret, on behalf of the Synod, compiled “The Legend of the discovery of the honorable relics of our father Mitrofan, the first bishop of Voronezh, and the grace-filled signs and miraculous healings.” Saint Philaret “was granted,” in his own words, “to be the first to vote for the recognition and glorification of the grace of God that exists in him,” as the Metropolitan wrote about this to the vicar of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony. People in power did not stop attacking the saint, not only for translating the Bible into Russian, but even for expressing thoughts about the usefulness of reading it for everyone. The saint wrote about this with regret in 1829 to his vicar Bishop Innocent (Selno-Krinov) from St. Petersburg. A serious clash between Metropolitan Philaret and Chief Prosecutor Protasov occurred in 1842, when the Moscow archpastor, together with the Kyiv metropolitan of the same name, spoke at the Synod in favor of resuming the translation of the Bible. Metropolitan Seraphim did not support his brothers; this was followed by the dismissal of both hierarchs from the presence in the Synod, leaving them with membership in the Synod. But the ill will of his enemies did not leave him. “At the courtyard (Trinity in St. Petersburg - comp.), - the saint wrote to Archimandrite Anthony in April 1844, - there was a secret investigation to see if there were heresies locked in the chest." After this, remaining continuously in the Moscow diocese, Metropolitan Philaret continued, however, to participate in the activities of the Synod, from where papers were sent to him for review. Moreover, Chief Prosecutor N.A. Protasov, who was responsible for the removal of the saint from St. Petersburg, himself often came to him in Moscow for advice and constantly carried on business correspondence with him. Metropolitan Filaret. N. D. Shprevich. Third quarter of the 19th century. CAC MDA The authority of Metropolitan Philaret grew in addition to his participation in resolving synodal affairs. Bishops from all over Russia came to him for instructions. When visiting Moscow, each hierarch considered it his duty to visit the “All-Russian Archpastor.” Metropolitan Philaret showed special concern for people who were forcibly rejected or, due to error, voluntarily separated from Orthodoxy. He took an active part in the reunification of the Uniates with the Orthodox Church. The saint was included in the committee for Uniate affairs and compiled a note that served as a guide for carrying out preparatory measures for reunification. The saint's enduring sadness was the Old Believer schism, which dissolved the spiritual and religious unity of the Russian people. In an effort to heal the sad division, in 1834 he compiled “Conversations to the Verbal Old Believer.” This book by Metropolitan Philaret, his numerous notes on the Old Believer issue, his missionary efforts did not remain without good fruits. In 1865, under the influence of his admonitions, the bishops of Belokrinitsky Consent joined the Orthodox Church on the terms of unity of faith: Brailovsky Onuphry, Kolomna Paphnuty, Tula Sergius and Tulchinsky Justin. As an example of the attitude towards the Old Believers, letters to Bishop Evlampius (Pyatnitsky) can serve. In this regard, the following evidence is interesting. “Once,” Bishop Leonid (Krasnopevkov) recalled, “I told Metropolitan Philaret that it would be desirable to record in writing his views regarding differences with the Old Believers. Filaret replied, “For what?” “For the future,” was my answer. The Metropolitan responded warmly and worriedly that he felt that the future was covered with a dark cloud and that when the storm broke out, people, shocked by thunderclaps, would forget about everything that happened before this storm” 7 . The saint did not remain indifferent to the fate of Western Christendom. He judged the spiritual state of the heterodox Churches with wise caution and balance, with unshakable faith in the truth of Orthodoxy and Christian love. Interesting in this regard are the small notes offered to the reader, published for the first time, addressed to A. Ya. Bulgakov, in which the Moscow saint expresses his opinion on the state of affairs in modern Europe and, in particular, in France. His biographer conveys the words he said shortly before his death: “Everyone baptized in the name of the Trinity is a Christian, no matter what confession he belongs to. There is only one true faith - Orthodox; but all Christian beliefs - through the long-suffering of the Almighty - endure. The Gospel is the same for everyone everywhere, but it is not understood and explained by everyone in the same way. The errors of those who have fallen away from the Universal Church are not a reproach from birth to those raised in one or another confession. Simple souls are in simplicity and believe according to the teachings commanded to them, without being embarrassed by religious debates, inaccessible to them. Their spiritual leaders will give an answer to God for them. Learned theologians are found in all Christian nations, and pious people have been and will be both in the Greek Catholic Orthodox Church and in the Roman Catholic Church. True religious tolerance is not embittered by the mediastinum that divides Christians, but grieves for those who are in error and prays “for the unification of all.” The great archpastor, the pillar of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Philaret was also one of the pillars of the Russian state. Emperors and grand dukes, ministers and senators, governors and generals listened to his experience and wisdom. None of the important political events left him indifferent. The name of Metropolitan Philaret is closely connected with the reform of 1861 - the liberation of landowner peasants from serfdom. It was he who was chosen when it was necessary to compose the Tsar’s appeal to the people - the “Manifesto”. Written by the saint after unsuccessful attempts to compile this document by others, the “Manifesto” was published on February 19, serving to pacify the peasants, excited by the expectation of great changes. For almost half a century, Metropolitan Philaret ruled the Moscow diocese. The bonds of mutual Christian love between the archpastor and his flock were especially strengthened after the cholera that struck Moscow in 1830. Without doubting the benefits of medical means, Metropolitan Philaret, however, more than earthly doctors, relied on the prayer and mercy of the Heavenly Physician of souls and bodies. He ordered religious processions with prayer singing. In the Kremlin, the Metropolitan himself, together with the brethren of the Chudov Monastery, prayed on their knees in the open air for an end to the pestilence. “Do not look,” the Moscow Metropolitan said in one of his sermons, “with big eyes of fear, which usually see what is not and do not see what is: look with the sharp and courageous eye of insight and prudent caution... Let us repent, brothers, and bear fruit worthy of repentance, that is, correction of life. Let us put aside pride, vanity and arrogance. Let us awaken our faith" 8 . Sulok, club and omophorion from the coronation vestments of Metropolitan Philaret 1855 MZ "Moscow Kremlin" A reverent altar server, Metropolitan Philaret considered the celebration of the liturgy his most important bishop's duty. Even in his feeble old age, he served every Sunday, unless illness confined him to his bed. Despite his quiet voice, his ministry was filled with prayer and beauty. After the service, no matter how many parishioners there were in the church, he blessed everyone, signing each one with a leisurely sign of the cross. The consecration of churches brought great joy to the saint; During his half-century of service in Moscow, he consecrated more than a dozen newly built churches. During his priestly service, the Moscow saint always remained in peace of mind. MM. Evreinov recalled: “On the day of the celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, he served the liturgy in the Sretensky Monastery; during the Cherubic Song, at that very moment when he had just managed to reach the altar from the throne to release the Holy Gifts, a huge window frame located above the altar itself broke off and fell headlong with a great crash, almost touching the altar; Everyone present and present at the altar was horrified. One bishop was not at all embarrassed; Without saying anything to anyone, he began to release the Holy Gifts and then continued the entire service, as if nothing had happened, with ordinary calm, whereas before he was within a hair’s breadth of death” 9 . At almost every service the saint delivered a sermon. He pronounced it in a quiet, weak voice, almost never improvised, did not speak by heart, but read from paper. The governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony (Medvedev), once asked the saint: “Why don’t you talk to the people in the church without preparation? And in your ordinary conversation, write every word you say in a book...” “I lack courage,” the great preacher, who was given a rare gift of speech from God, answered with humility. The saint did not abandon calls for true, spiritual enlightenment. On September 12, 1837, at the consecration of the university church in the name of the Holy Martyr Tatiana, Metropolitan Philaret began his sermon with the words: “So, here is a house of prayer under the same roof with the house of wisdom. The Sanctuary of the Mysteries was invited to the abode of knowledge, and entered here, and here it was founded and established in its arcane ways. It is clear that religion and science want to live together and work together for the ennoblement of humanity.” He speaks about this in his letters to A.V. Golovin and S.M. Golitsyn. In governing the diocese, Metropolitan Philaret did not attach particularly important importance to formal resolutions. In the judicial decisions that he had to make as a diocesan bishop, the saint was always fair in his consideration - in some cases he was lenient and merciful, and in others he was strict and unforgiving, guided not by partiality, but by concern for the good of the Church and the benefit of human souls. He especially closely monitored the state of the Moscow Theological Academy. Without his knowledge, no important business was carried out at the academy. With his blessing and under his supervision, the professors of the academy began an extremely important work - translating the works of the holy fathers into Russian. The favorite brainchild of the saint was the Gethsemane monastery, built in 1844 at the initiative of the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony. During the consecration of the skete church, Metropolitan Philaret put on the robe of St. Sergius. The saint loved Gethsemane so much that it seemed to him like an earthly paradise, the best abode in the world. The lofty monastic feats of his contemporaries and manifestations of holiness aroused deep interest and reverence in Metropolitan Philaret. He was an admirer of St. Seraphim, about whose amazing life he most often learned from conversations with Archimandrite Anthony; he highly valued the spiritual wisdom of the Sarov elder. “Father Seraphim’s advice is excellent,” he wrote, “not to scold for a vice, but only to show its shame and consequences. May the elder’s prayers help us learn how to fulfill them.” Many of the sayings of Metropolitan Philaret, spoken in conversations with visitors, amaze with the depth of wisdom and the power of words. One of the interlocutors, in a conversation about frequent falls, remarked philosophically: “What should I do? The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” “Isn’t it the other way around,” the Metropolitan objected, “the flesh is vigorous, but the spirit is weak.” Skufya, belt and rosary of Metropolitan Philaret of the TsAK MDA The saint's day usually began long before dawn with the morning rule and the performance of divine services or prayerful participation in it. After the liturgy, he drank tea - and service activities began: reports from the secretary and employees in the consistory, receiving visitors; between the second and third o'clock a light lunch; then an hour or two of rest, which consisted of reading books, newspapers and magazines; and again business - reports, official correspondence. He wrote about his busyness in one of his letters (dated February 28, 1849) to the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony: “They give more to do than my laziness wants and can do. One bishop finds it difficult whether a bigamist should wear a surplice: they send me a decree so that I answer him about this difficulty. One governor noticed that people were freezing in a snowstorm, unable to find their way to the village: I must say whether to ring the bells. In both capitals they want to give the burial to the tax farmer: I have to look into the matter and explain that there will be grumbling against the tax farmer and the authorities. One bishop wrote a history of the Russian Church: they ask me whether it needs to be corrected, and so that I am not lazy in answering, they add that the Emperor knows about this. But I still don’t know how to rush. Forgive the idle talk." His home environment both at the Trinity courtyard and in the Lavra chambers was simple and modest. He considered human praise that reached the ear of the saint to be harmful to the soul and reproached those who addressed him with words of praise, even those spoken sincerely. “Do me a favor,” he wrote, “do not talk to me about my humility, which I have not achieved, and do not attach to me names that I am not worthy to bear.” On September 17, 1867, Metropolitan Philaret, at the end of the early liturgy in the Lavra Cross Church, said to his confessor, Archimandrite Anthony: “I just had a dream, and I was told to take care of the 19th.” - “Holy Lord! Is it possible to trust dreams and look for some meaning in them? - said Father Anthony, trying to distract the saint from these thoughts. But the saint said with firm confidence: “I didn’t see a dream - my parent appeared to me and told me those words. I think from now on I will receive Holy Communion every 19th.” On October 19, having received communion in the house church, he again left for Gethsemane and, saying goodbye to it forever, returned to Moscow to the Trinity Compound. During these days, he did not refuse admission to anyone, but he once again told those who wanted to visit him to come before November 19th. Two days before the exodus, the saint felt more cheerful than usual and he himself figured out the reason for the sudden improvement: “Before death,” he said, “old people always feel fresher and lighter.” On Sunday, November 19, 1867, Metropolitan Philaret celebrated the liturgy at the Trinity Metochion. After the service he received visitors. Having seen off the guests, the archpastor went into his office to do business. To the cell attendant, who invited him to dinner a few hours later, he said: “Wait a little. I'll call." But there was no call. Then the worried cell attendant entered the Metropolitan’s office; he was not there. From the office he hurried into a side room - and found him kneeling, leaning his hands on the floor. He could no longer speak, and after a few hours the saint fell asleep. “Metropolitan Philaret is gone! – wrote publicist I. S. Aksakov. - The power, the great, moral, social power, in which the entire Russian world heard and felt its own power, was abolished - a power that was not created from the outside, generated by the power of the personal spirit, growing on the church's people's soil... The mass of glory with which the Church flaunted and the people were consoled collapsed. That majestic, long modernity that embraced the space of half a century, that has passed through a long series of events and generations, and has, as it were, already been transformed into an inalienable, historical heritage of Moscow, into its living element, has become obsolete forever. Which, it seemed, would never be extinguished... The lamp went out, which for half a century shone throughout all of Russia without becoming scarce, without dimming, but as if feeding on the increase of years and appearing brighter as the evening twilight advanced. The never-ending eye of thought closed. Half a century of edification to all Russian people was interrupted - in a marvelous example of a tirelessly awake spirit that remained awake to the end.” The funeral service of the Moscow archpastor, with a huge gathering of clergy and people, took place on November 25 in the refectory church of the Chudov Monastery. His remains were laid to rest in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in the church in the name of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, in the southern chapel of Philaret the Merciful, the saint’s heavenly patron. After the closure of the Lavra in the 20s of the 20th century, the chapel was destroyed to “restore the historical appearance of the building,” and the relics of the saint and the Monk Anthony, the governor of the Lavra, also resting in the chapel, were torn out of the church and desecrated. In 1992, Saint Philaret was canonized as a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church, the days of his memory: November 19 - on the day of his blessed death, May 23 - in the Cathedral of Rostov-Yaroslavl Saints, on the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost - in the Cathedral of St. Petersburg Saints and in the Cathedral of Moscow Saints - on the Sunday before August 26 (all dates are indicated in old style). Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. Icon. End of the 20th century On October 13, 1994, the relics of the saint were discovered, and on June 9, 2004, they were solemnly transferred to Moscow and now rest in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The epistolary heritage of Metropolitan Philaret is very large and has not been fully published. The saint was in long-term and extensive correspondence with representatives of all classes of Russia: from representatives of the imperial houses (Russian and European) to ordinary townspeople. Of course, letters were written by him on various occasions, but the way he spiritually judges what he writes about is an example and a lesson. This collection includes letters to more than 70 addressees. The interest of letters to relatives is, first of all, “that in relation to parents and grandfather they show... filial piety, respect, love, dissolved by deep gratitude for upbringing, blessings, prayers, to which he attaches special importance throughout his life. In relation to all relatives, he shows caring, combined with impartiality, when the arrangement of the fate of relatives met with Philaret’s duties in his service,” it was written in the preface to the 1882 edition of the Moscow saint’s letters to his relatives. Letters to fellow bishops, the abbot of the Lavra, St. Anthony, priests and abbesses of monasteries are completely different: they are full of spiritual reasoning and often draw the addressee’s attention to things that do not immediately attract attention in everyday life. Many letters to the laity are answers to questions. Whether sorrow, misunderstanding, or temptation befalls anyone, the saint hurries to him with words of consolation, imbued with warm faith and humble submission to the will of God, and tries, by helping in sorrow, to draw lessons from the very source of it to direct the grieving person to the path of repentance and moral correction. He placed the cause of charity above concern for the decoration and splendor of the clergy. At the same time, Metropolitan Philaret does not make his thoughts obligatory, without forcing the will of the questioner, but leaving plenty of room for the addressee’s opinion. “If the deeds and creations of famous people generally serve as sources for their biographies,” it was written in the preface to the first volume of Metropolitan Philaret’s correspondence with the Lavra’s governor, Archimandrite Anthony, “then their private letters, written without preparation, without any preconceived idea, without provision for general publicity, under the influence of the moment and pressing circumstances, should without a doubt be recognized as the most precious material for characterization both the writers themselves and their time. These are the letters now proposed. In them, the Moscow saint is, first of all, a man of spiritual activity, a contemplator of the Mysteries of God in the manifestations of the spiritual world, acceptable to him with the humble faith of the ancient holy fathers, who were so often rewarded with the direct manifestation of God’s grace.” The publishing house would like to thank O. L. Solomina, head of the RSL storage department, O. V. Serezhina, head of the library marketing department of the State Public Historical Library, T. E. Gribkova, for their assistance in compiling the collection, MDA teacher, candidate of theology V. V. Burega, deputy chief curator of the scientific research department of manuscripts of the Russian State Library (NIOR RSL); employee of the State Tretyakov Gallery M.V. Petrov - for help in selecting illustrations. Special thanks to the employees of the Sretensky Monastery publishing house G. G. Gulichkina and T. P. Ponomareva for their help in compiling the book and searching for sources. Letters are printed from the first editions or from those editions that were available for work, with minor corrections of outdated and obscure words. Some letters are printed from autographs or have been verified against autographs. The notes of St. Philaret are placed in the text or are specifically indicated in the footnotes. Publishers' notes appear in footnotes, and contributors' notes are indicated separately. Abbreviations and omissions in the text are indicated in straight brackets. All underlining in the text belongs to St. Philaret. All dates, except where otherwise noted, are indicated in the old style. The saint had an exceptionally deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, which allowed him to freely and widely use in his letters both extracts from sacred texts and quotation from memory, sometimes indicating the source. In those cases where quotations are given accurately, but there are no references to the source, they are in italics in the book, and references are given in footnotes. Those quotations in which there is no literal coincidence with the text of the Elizabethan Bible are left unchanged and are not highlighted in italics. In these cases, references are also given in footnotes. Quote by: Pushkin and Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Exhibition catalog album. – M., 2003. P. 22. I. Korsunsky. Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, his life and work at the Moscow pulpit according to his sermons. – Kharkov, 1894. P. 18. Quote by: John (Snychev), Metropolitan. The life and work of Metropolitan Philaret. – Tula, 1994. P. 390. Some memories of Metropolitan Filaret M. M. Evreinov. – M., 1873. P. 23. I. Korsunsky. Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, his life and work at the Moscow pulpit according to his sermons. P. 205. Quote from: Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, creations. Introductory article and composition by priest Maxim Kozlov. – M.: Father's House, 1994. pp. 28–29. Works of Metropolitan Philaret. T. III. pp. 149–152. Sermon after the consecration of the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea on September 18, 1830. Some memories of Metropolitan Filaret M. M. Evreinov. – M.: University Printing House, 1873. P. 46–47. You might be interested in: