Заключение

Saint Demetrius of Rostov in the history of Russian pastoralism is an exceptional phenomenon, both in terms of the wealth of natural talents that manifested themselves in a wide variety of ministries, and in terms of the “power of life”, thanks to which his constant and intense labors brought and continue to bear abundant spiritual fruits. For the pastorate as a whole, what is important, first of all, is the example of his personality, which accommodated and harmoniously developed the numerous talents of an inspired pastor-preacher and a demanding administrator, a learned theologian and spiritual poet, a fatherly caring teacher of youth and a zealous apologist for the Orthodox faith. And with all this variety of talents, his integrity is amazing; the basis of all his activities is constant self-motivation, overcoming the “old man” within himself, true monasticism, patient bearing of his life’s cross and tireless asceticism. It was this unshakable determination to follow the paths of God in life that attracted grace to his soul and filled him with spiritual strength, with which he so skillfully and irresistibly acted on his flock. Having become acquainted with his teaching about grace, about virtues, about passions and means of combating them, you notice that the saint did not teach his flock anything new and unusual. On the contrary, his thought flows as if along a beaten path, repeating the preaching path of the holy fathers - ascetics. But this is the strength of the pastoral word of Saint Demetrius, that he does not simply repeat other people’s thoughts and sayings, but speaks from his own experience, as an ascetic who has experienced the harsh school of struggle with passions and acquired inner conviction, which he could convey to his listeners. At the heart of all his instructions is one desire, one desire - to make people morally better and kinder, to turn them away from slavery to sin and captivate them into obedience to Christ. And this pastoral love of his knows how, when necessary, to find a word of consolation and a formidable warning, to expose vice and to hit the heart with an unexpected comparison, an example from biblical history or from the life around us. Truly, “all things work together for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:28). The example of the life of St. Demetrius shows that a true shepherd is not withered by learned scholasticism, that in the high post of metropolitan one can remain an ascetic, that one can expose the tsar for moral laxity and preserve the reputation of a holy man in his eyes. This is probably the main significance of the activity of St. Demetrius for his time: he revealed the ideal of a holy shepherd and with his holiness was able to reconcile the confrontation between the “Great Russians” and the “Little Russians” in the circles of the highest hierarchy, to eliminate prejudice against “Latin” education in central Russia; finally, being a “Little Russian” himself, he accomplished a task of truly all-Russian scale - the compilation of the “Lives of the Saints”, a task that forever attracted the hearts of the Russian people to him and imprinted his holy name in the memory of grateful descendants.