38. Слово на Рождество Пресвятой Богородицы и день рождения наследника цесаревича (Два празднества: предмет первого – начало исполнения надежд рода человеческого, второе – основание благих надежд нашего отечества. Порядок Божий требует, чтобы мы трудились до поту, устрояя свой быт и благоприятное на

We now have two celebrations - the celebration of the Most Holy Theotokos and the celebration of the birth of the Sovereign Tsarevich, Heir to the All-Russian Throne. The subject of the first is the beginning of the fulfillment of the hopes of the human race, the subject of the second is the foundation of the good hopes of our fatherland. What a significant distance in time between the events being celebrated and what a remarkable difference in their meaning! Meanwhile, the all-wise Providence was pleased to combine the memory of them, and since recently every year they have been jointly presented to our attention and joy. Why would this happen? Believers in Providence cannot attribute this to accidents and, like everything that comes from the Lord goes for our edification, they cannot help but see in this a timely saving lesson. What did the Lord want to teach us with this? - That's what I believe. The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is a joy to proclaim throughout the entire universe, indicating in it the beginning of the fulfillment of the aspirations of humanity - through the Lord who was born of her, who saved us and erected a saving institution on earth in the Holy Church of God. The birth of the Heir to the throne heralds joy to the fatherland, indicating in it the basis for the continuous implementation of good hopes, kindled by royal wisdom, and foretelling in the trustworthy firmness of the one appointed for the transfer of the throne the indestructible fortress of the state. Combining these events in one celebration, the Lord seems to be telling us this: if you want your domestic hopes to be strong, make sure that they are absorbed by the hopes of humanity, and do not think of basing them on anything other than the One who was and is the hope of all languages. If you want your state body to be invincibly strong, and in it the royal throne and succession to the throne, take care in every possible way that it itself stands firmly on the foundation of which it is said that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Not a new lesson, who will say. This is how it has always been with us. It is fair that this has always been the case with us, and I am quite sure that it will always be this way and that in the Orthodox kingdom it cannot be otherwise. And, however, it is not in vain that in this celebration, as on a pillar, visible to everyone from everywhere, it is written: look, do not forget this lesson of God, which is significant for you! Not in vain. Remember that after the end of the Crimean War (as if some dam had broken), Western teachings about hitherto unheard-of, contrary to the spirit of Christ orders in family, religious, political life flowed to us like a wide river, which began to be publicly heard in speeches and read in the press. And it was at this time that the combination of the current celebrations was formed and it turned out that while the disorder of minds and hearts quickly began to grow from the former, the latter, like some kind of herald, admonished everyone: stop, don’t get carried away. Power does not lie in what your neighbors, who are lost and darkened, interpret to you, but in what you have had from time immemorial. May the Faith of Christ be for you and for you, as it was. Therefore, do not learn other rules of life other than those commanded by the holy faith; do not seek other contentment and happiness than that which is shared with Christianity, do not seek other orders and forms of state life other than those that flow from the spirit of Christ. Then, in the noise of turmoil, perhaps this suggestion was not well understood; but now, when we have calmed down a little and began to look more directly at foreign suggestions, exposing their harmfulness to us, it is rare who will not understand this. Let us pay attention, brethren, and this day let us learn to walk, as in the light of day, according to his lesson. If you need to apply this lesson more closely to our everyday life and indicate what it requires from us, I will help you with this with a few reminders. Remember the history of the Israeli judges. For four hundred years, the following course of events was repeated among them. As soon as they deviated from the rules of life commanded to them by God through Moses, and adopted new ones from their neighbors, they were immediately handed over into captivity to their very teachers. When they repented and returned to their former morals, God sent them a deliverer and freed them from under the yoke. If they deviated again, they again fell into the yoke of slavery, and when they corrected themselves, they were freed again. This happened up to twelve times, as if on purpose so that they would thoroughly solidify, and through them, everything that cannot be deviated from the rules of life, given by God, with impunity, that whoever does this attracts the wrath of God and undermines the prosperity and independence of the state, no matter what kind of this deviation may be, all of it, as a matter against God, is unsafe. In our country, for example, it sometimes happens that people do not observe holy fasts, they do not consider marriage sacred and do not observe its laws; They shun monasticism and would like to abolish it; they do not sanctify the Lord’s Day and holy holidays, turning them into cemeteries, shameful pleasures, and the like. All these are not our rules and customs, but were adopted from our neighbors. And, of course, they will not pass us by in vain if we do not lag behind them and let them generalize among ourselves. Let us take care that the Lord would not be angry with us and deliver us into the hands of our violent and evil teachers, as he once threatened. Further, the order of God requires that we work until we sweat, arranging our life and the course of our affairs favorable to us, and expect the success of our labors solely from the blessing of God. God will not help us if we do not work - but our work alone will not lead to the desired end, unless higher help descends to him and, especially, if he himself is not according to God. For this reason, every work according to the law of pious life begins with a petition from God and ends with thanksgiving to Him, and the whole life of people who observe this order in all its forms and outcomes is filled with church prayers and orders. This is how our ancestors lived! This is how, for the most part, sedate people still live! But meanwhile, one cannot help but see that prayer and churchliness have begun to be squeezed out of the circle of our life. Many live and act as if the Lord and His Holy Church did not exist for them. This link, that one must turn to God and seek protection and help for oneself in the prayers of the Church, fell out of their minds, from the chain of their considerations and thoughts. They are not embarrassed by the fact that this or that matter may conflict with the rules of piety. That's why they go to the theater when they should be going to church; they establish festivities with noise and music during church services, and even near the church, distracting the simple-minded from it and entertaining those who want to be pious in it; trading days are set on Sundays and holidays and wander around the markets, when they should indulge in prayer and godly activities. They walk past the church and don’t pray because they don’t remember about it: their minds are not occupied with that. When entering houses, they do not turn to icons, do not make the sign of the cross, and householders are greeted in a non-Christian way. Yes, and icons were taken out of houses, like the Molokans. There are even those who do not consider it their duty to baptize their children. There are many other bad things that our neighbors have done to us. Can't list everything. The above-mentioned cases are enough to make sure that customs have begun to creep into us, revealing in those who accept them the oblivion of God that sad mood of mind and heart, according to which they themselves want to arrange their prosperity and happiness. And this will not be in vain for us if we do not come to our senses and allow our pride to expand more and more. Finally, I will say a word or two regarding well-designed forms of state life. Remember what they started saying and what aspirations they expressed?! - God gives the Tsar - the Father to our fatherland, and in his heart he speaks good things for us. The Orthodox Kingdom given over to God is the Kingdom ruled by God. For the heart of the King is in the hand of God. Our neighbors do not think so, and we began to think and speak differently. And as it occurred to anyone, everyone was ready to rebuild everything, in general everyone was carried away by the spirit of arbitrariness. For those who have fallen away from the Holy Church and fallen into oblivion of God, this is natural, but it is not appropriate for the Orthodox people to philosophize in such a way. In addition to the forms of government formed in the West, there is also autocracy, paternal patriarchal rule. Western malicious superstition does not understand him. It is understandable only to a true believer, who contemplates the unity of command in the Most Holy Trinity, and in the angelic world - a single Archangel, and in the Church of God - a single head, and in the family of a father, caringly, but independently acting for the good of all. This should be considered the best, as in fact it is the best and most perfect. Thank the Lord! It is the prevailing conviction in our fatherland, before which the timidly expressed few of those who think differently are nothing. Enough to explain the lesson taught today. Let us learn from this, brothers, and, imprinting this in our hearts, we will introduce it into our lives and into our way of thinking. And let us pray fervently, so that the Lord will dispel the darkness that has fallen upon us and finally cleanse our atmosphere, in order to drive away from us the spirit of arbitrariness, self-reliance and walking in the wills of our hearts, and establish among us the rules of a holy, pious life and, by virtue of devotion to God, devoted to the Throne. Amen. You might be interested in: