Глава IV. Служба в сане епископа

“The vineyard of God (the Church) has been one since the beginning of the world, and the purpose of its workers has been, is and will be until the end of the age - to bring fruit to the lord of the vine - saved souls. This is the task of the Christian hierarchy. Preaching the word of God is a true garden knife in the hands of the workers of God’s grapes.” The main task of pastoral activity On June 1, 1859, the rector of the St. Petersburg Academy, Archimandrite Theophan, was consecrated to the rank of bishop in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, which service lasted for seven years, four of them in Tambov (1859–1863) and three in Vladimir (1863–1866). Both dioceses were extensive and the bishop had a lot to do, especially in view of the demands of the time. This was the time of the beginning and preparation of the most extensive reforms of Emperor Alexander II. Our homeland especially needed then, in all fields of public service, energetic and enlightened figures capable of improving and moving forward the stagnant Russian life. Rev. Theophan deeply sympathized and from the first steps of his archpastoral activity he moved towards beneficial transformations. So the government cared about the development of education in Russian society, and it laid the foundation for women's education in the clergy by opening women's diocesan schools in Tambov and Vladimir, issued rules and established many church schools in the Tambov province. The government encourages the spread of publicity through the development of periodicals, and Rev. Feofan founded the Diocesan Gazette in Tambov and Vladimir, in which the local clergy would express and discuss their needs, for which he personally draws up a program and at first writes most of the articles in the publication himself (in Tambov). But such social activity, although deeply fruitful in itself, was external, having, according to the saint, of secondary importance. He considered his most important duty and concentrated all his concern mainly on the creation of the inner, spiritual good of the flock entrusted to him, namely on guiding it to salvation. This was a true bishop of God, a true gospel shepherd, capable of laying down his life for his sheep. He was united with his flock by strong, inextricable ties, considered himself morally responsible for it, and therefore devoted his entire life to its spiritual guidance. He expressed his cherished desires and thoughts about the mutual duty of the bishop and his flock during his first ministry in Tambov. “We are no longer strangers to each other,” said the new ruler. - At the hour of the naming, not yet knowing you, I entered into communication with you, making a vow to God and St. The Church belongs to you with your care, your labors, and even this life. From this moment we have both good and evil in common, and this is not only for a while, but also for eternity; for this coexistence, being associated with mutual obligations, determined above, will also serve in our justification or condemnation on the day of judgment. This seems to be enough motivation for us to walk before each other, as before the face of God, with all attention and kindness, with mutual good wishes, in prayer for each other, in mutual assistance to each other, working out our salvation with fear and trembling” 35. The last words determined the nature and direction of the new archpastor’s public service among the Tambov flock; namely, he wanted to devote all his activities to achieving the salvation of her children. The saint considered the zealous preaching of the word of God to be the best means of achieving this, and he paid his main attention to it. He preached tirelessly himself and by all means encouraged his collaborators - the pastors, of whom he encouraged the experienced and zealous, and instructed the less experienced, personally compiling articles for their leadership on the correct delivery of sermons and printing the best examples of it in a special department of the local diocesan body. The center of preaching was the Kazan Monastery at the bishop's house. Here constant and systematic conversations were held not only during the liturgy, but also during all-night vigils. During the liturgy, the Right Reverend usually spoke, and during the all-night vigil, the seminary teachers, the priests, preached in turn, among whom the talented Archpriest I.M. Sladkopevtsev stood out for his wonderful teachings. During Lent, there were also interviews at vespers in the cathedral, which were conducted mainly by the church speaker Archpriest G.V. Khitrov, who was famous in his time in Tambov. Such intensive preaching activity developed under the direct leadership of the bishop, and he personally did not miss a single conversation. Rev. Theophanes rarely left his service without teaching, taking advantage of every convenient excuse. Ordinary holiday services and any special occasions, for example, the consecration of a church, a visit to this or that place while traveling around the diocese, or simply the intention to reveal a number of any saving truths were an incentive for him and provided abundant material for preaching the Word of God. Beginning his teaching activity at the Tambov department, the saint wanted at the very beginning to establish its program as accurately and definitely as possible, so that at the very beginning there would be no misunderstandings between him and the flock, so that the latter would clearly understand what he was striving for and what he would seek and demand from them. Sample confession of the Orthodox faith This program is clearly outlined in the very first word of the new bishop in Tambov and truly should be called a complete and accurate example of the confession of the Orthodox faith. This is a wonderful confession: “Listen to what I confess, what I will teach and believe in, what I will seek in the duty of shepherding, and according to this, judge who is ours and who is alien to us, with whom we should communicate and whom we should run away, what we should follow and what we should move away from. It will not be something new or our own that will be offered, but something that has been handed down to us since ancient times, like St. the law of faith and the unchangeable rule of life. Thus I confess that God, one in essence, is threefold in persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that these Three names are one and the same person, and not the name of different actions of the same person, but three hypostases of one Divinity. “I confess that this Trinitarian God, all-perfect, by His free will, without any internal or external necessity, in six days, with His one word, created this world, not pouring into the world and not merging with it, but remaining in Himself whole and unchangeable, although He is omnipresent and fulfills everything.” “I confess that the all-good God, having created the world, did not leave it to the mercy of fate and did not bind it with the bonds of some inexorable necessity, as unbelief and superstition teach; and with the same freedom and power with which he created it, with the same he rules over it and graciously cares for every creature, especially rational ones, freely directing everything towards His good goals, not constrained by the laws of nature, which themselves are nothing more than the expression of His will, and therefore are entirely subject to His free order and change where His infinite wisdom requires it.” “I confess that we, having been created for constant communion with God and unchangeable bliss in Him, in our first parents, by violating His commandments, fell away from Him, incurred His righteous wrath, and fell to temporary punishment and eternal condemnation, and that therefore every evil visible and experienced by us, internally or externally, is not our natural state, or a consequence of our limitations, but is the direct fruit of sin, - punishment, only by the grace of God converted into a cleansing instrument for us, under the condition of faith, repentance and humble submission to the will of God.” “I confess that the Lord, moved by love, not tolerating His beloved creation, man, perishing in this plight, deigned to descend to earth, take upon Himself human nature, satisfy the truth of God through suffering and death and, after the resurrection, ascend to heaven and, sitting at the right hand of God and the Father, again open to man free access to living communication with God.” “I confess that all the restorative Divine powers, including life and piety, were placed by the Lord in the Holy Spirit. His church, as our only physician, acts in it with the Holy Spirit, through St. sacraments and other sanctifying institutions, over everyone who approaches them with a heart open to faith... and that there is no other way to receive the forces of grace and there cannot be, no matter what some dreamy minds may plan and no matter how otherwise they dream of being inspired.” “I confess that everyone seeking salvation must first of all repent with the determination not to sin again, even if it costs his life; then proceed to the sacraments to receive grace, to strengthen the weak for the good of their natural powers; further to go as far as we can along the path of Christ’s commandments, among all the sanctifying institutions and prayers of the church, which are essential for kindling in us the spirit of grace, under the influence of feats of self-denial towards the mortification of passions - until, finally, we reach the bright region of dispassion and purity, to this measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ.” “I confess that those who begin to walk this path, entering into communion with God, at the same time enter into communion with the invisible world - the Angels and all the Saints who previously pleased God, and, resorting to their intercession, receive timely help from them - most of all from our Most Pure Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary - our all-powerful intercessor and intercessor.” “I confess that for original sin the soul will be separated from the body by the action of death, and will remain in this separation until the future resurrection and judgment, either nourished by the hope of eternal bliss, if it followed the will of God in everything, or languishing with the fear of eternal torment, if it resisted the commandments of the Lord.” “I confess all this with all my soul, with all my heart and with all my thought, because St. commands to confess this way. Church... This is how I will teach and this is the kind of faith I will seek from all of you” 36 . And this broad program did not remain a dead letter, but found its full realization in the church-teaching feat of the Most Reverend. Feofan. The zealous archpastor sought to explain to his flock the entire Christian teaching, to embrace their entire spiritual life, fearing moral responsibility for the omission of the smallest and most insignificant. “At least I could say,” he said in one sermon before his separation from the Tambov flock, “that without hesitation he told you the whole will of God, both himself and through others; but fearing that there might be something left unfinished, I don’t want to let this day pass without teaching.” Three volumes of more than 200 printed words and conversations of the most varied content, delivered in Tambov and Vladimir, clearly testify to the teaching zeal of the saint. Teaching on home and church prayer The main subject of the preaching word of Rev. Theophanes is a moral teaching and edification. In it, he is a true spiritual mentor, primarily occupied with solving and clarifying for his flock the most important issue of Christian life - the question of the paths to moral perfection. Sometimes he conducts a whole series of systematic conversations on this subject (five words on the path to salvation), and more often he touches on it in parts, in relation to the cases and vital needs of the flock. In some teachings the concept of a true Christian life is established and clarified, in others the means and methods for it are indicated, in others the steps of gradual ascent along this path are depicted in detail, etc. It seems that there is not a single important moral issue left that the teaching word does not touch upon. The saint considers prayer to be the beginning and focus of true Christian life, its true breath. He who does not have prayer has no signs of spiritual principles. Meanwhile, he could not help but see how unsatisfactorily this important matter stood in reality. Many pray, but due to their spiritual blindness, they do not believe that the essence of the prayerful spirit is what it should be. Others would understand, but their minds are wasted and immersed in worldly concerns, they do not care about prayer. Finally, there are those who consciously do not want to pray. The zealous bishop could not remain indifferent to such a moral state of his flock. Just as pious parents consider the beginning of a child’s religious development to be through teaching prayers, so he hastens to teach his spiritual children prayer. In many teachings he speaks about the necessity and importance of prayer for the beginning and development of spiritual life; a rare word does not end with an invitation to pray; finally, he deliberately conducts a whole series of systematic conversations about prayer, in which he gives complete guidance on the feat of prayer. In the latter, as steps, three types of prayer are distinguished - ordinary in the words of the prayer book, more perfect - in one’s own words, and higher in the sense of unceasing standing before God. The second degree is characteristic of people who are more or less strengthened and firmly established on the path of virtue. Only the perfect pass through the third, but the first is accessible to everyone, and therefore morally obligatory for everyone. Here is the teaching of Rev. Feofan about this public prayer. “The work of prayer is the first task in Christian life. If the saying is true in relation to the usual order of affairs: live forever, learn forever; then it is even more applicable to prayer, the action of which should not have an interruption and the extent of which has no limit.” “I remember the wise custom of the ancient holy fathers, according to which, when greeting each other when meeting, they asked not about health or anything else, but about prayer, saying: how is it going, or how does prayer work? For them, the action of prayer was a sign of spiritual life, and they called it the breath of the spirit. – There is breath in the body, – the body lives; - breathing stops, - life stops. So it is in spirit. There is prayer, the spirit lives; no prayer, no life in the spirit.” “Not every performance of prayer or prayer is, however, prayer. To stand in front of an icon at home, or here 37, and bow down is not yet prayer, but an accessory to prayer; reading prayers from memory, or from a book, or listening to someone else reading them is not yet prayer, but only a tool or a way of discovering and arousing it. Prayer itself is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God - feelings of self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, glorification, forgiveness, diligent prostration, contrition, submission to the will of God, and so on. All our concern should be that during our prayers these and similar feelings fill our soul, so that when the tongue reads prayers, or the ear listens, and the body makes bows, the heart is not empty, but there is some kind of feeling in it, directed towards God. When these feelings are present, our prayer is prayer, and when not, it is not yet prayer.” “It seems that what is simpler and more natural for us, like prayer or the aspiration of our hearts to God? And yet it does not happen to everyone and does not always happen. It must be aroused and the excited one must be strengthened, or what is the same, one must cultivate in oneself a spirit of prayer. The first way to do this is through nourishing or listening prayer. Perform prayers as you should, and you will certainly arouse and strengthen the ascent in your heart to God, or you will enter into the spirit of prayer.” “Our prayer books contain the prayers of St. fathers: Ephraim the Syrian, Macarius of Egypt, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and other great prayer books. - Being filled with a spirit of prayer, they set out what was inspired by this spirit in word and handed it over to us. Great prayer power moves in their prayers, and whoever penetrates them with all attention and zeal will, by virtue of the law of interaction, certainly taste the power of prayer as his mood approaches the content. – In order for our prayer to become a real means of cultivating prayer, we must perform it in such a way that both the thought and the heart perceive the content of the prayers that make it up. “I will indicate for this the three simplest methods: do not begin prayer without preliminary, albeit brief, preparation, - do not do it somehow, but with attention and feeling, - and do not immediately after finishing the prayers, proceed to ordinary activities.” “Even though prayer is the most common thing for us, it is impossible that it does not require preparation. What is more common than reading or writing for those who can read and write? - meanwhile, however, when we sit down to write or read, we do not suddenly begin the task, but rather hesitate a little before, at least enough to put ourselves in a suitable position. All the more necessary before prayer are preparatory actions for prayer, especially when the previous activity was from a completely different area than the one to which prayer belongs.” “So, when starting to pray, in the morning or in the evening, stand a little, or sit, or walk, and try at this time to sober up your thoughts, distracting it from all earthly affairs and objects. Then think about who is the One to whom you turn in prayer, and who you are who now has to begin this prayerful appeal to Him - and accordingly, arouse in your soul a mood of self-abasement and reverent fear of standing before God in your heart. This is all the preparation - to stand reverently before God - small, but not insignificant. This is where prayer begins; a good start is half the battle.” “Having thus established yourself internally, then stand in front of the icon and, after bowing a few times, begin the usual prayer: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!” “Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, come and dwell in us,” and so on. Read slowly, delve into every word, and bring the thought of every word to your heart, accompanying it with bows. This is the whole point of reading a prayer that is pleasing and fruitful to God. Delve into every word and bring every thought to your heart, otherwise, understand what you read and feel what you understand. No other rules are required. These two - understand and feel, fulfilled as they should, adorn every prayer with full dignity and impart to it all its fruitful effect. “You read: cleanse us from all filth,” feel your filth, desire purity and confidently seek it from the Lord. You read: forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors - and in your soul forgive everyone, and in your heart ask the Lord for forgiveness to everyone who has forgiven everyone. “You read: Thy will be done,” and in your heart completely commit your fate to the Lord and unquestioningly express your readiness to graciously meet everything that the Lord pleases to send you. “If you act like this with every verse of your prayer, then you will have a proper prayer.” “So that you can complete it more successfully in this way, do this: 1) have a prayer rule, with the blessing of your spiritual father, - a small one, one that you could fulfill slowly, during the normal course of your affairs; 2) before you pray, in your free time, read through the prayers included in your rule, understand each one fully and feel it, so that you know in advance what should be in your soul with each word, and even better, if you memorize the prescribed prayers. Having done this, you will carry prayers within you. While they are in the prayer book, they are outside you, and when you memorize them, they will become inside you; and you, no matter what your circumstances, will always have your prayer book with you. In addition, by memorizing prayers, you will imprint prayerful thoughts and feelings more deeply in yourself than by simply discussing them and feeling them. From such study, a prayerful structure will be formed in you, if you not only memorize the words, but also be in the thoughts and feelings that are contained in prayer. And this is the best path to success in the skill of worthy prayer. One difficulty will remain: the fleeting thought will continue to run off to other objects. Here's what you need: 3) You need to use tension to maintain attention, knowing in advance that the thought will run away. Then, when she runs away during prayer, return her; If he runs away again, come back again; - like this every time. But every time what is read while the thought is running away - and a trace. without attention or feeling - don’t forget to read it again; - and even if your thought wanders off in one place several times, read it several times until you read it with understanding and feeling. Once you overcome this difficulty, another time, perhaps, it will not happen again, or it will not happen again with such force. – This is what you should do when a thought runs away and dissipates. But it may also be that another word will have such a strong effect on the soul that the soul will not want to extend further in prayer, and although the tongue reads the prayers, the thought still runs back to the place that had such an effect on it. - In this case, 4) stop, do not read further, but stand with attention and feeling in that place, feed your soul with it, or with the thoughts that it will produce. – And don’t rush to tear yourself away from this state; - so if time is pressing, it’s better to leave the rule unfinished, and don’t ruin this fortune. It will overshadow you, perhaps all day, like a Guardian Angel! This kind of beneficial influence on the soul during prayer means that the spirit of prayer begins to take root and that, consequently, maintaining this state is the most reliable means of nurturing and strengthening the spirit of prayer in us.” “Finally, when you finish your prayer, do not immediately move on to any other activities, but also, a little, although wait and think that you have done this and what this obliges you to, trying, if you are given something to feel during prayer, to preserve it after prayer. However, if someone really completes his prayers as he should, he himself will not want to quickly become preoccupied with matters. - Such is the nature of prayer! What our ancestors said when returning from Constantinople: whoever has tasted the sweet will not want the bitter; this comes true for everyone who prays well during his prayer. “And one must know that tasting this sweetness of prayer is the goal of prayer, and that if prayer cultivates the spirit of prayer, it is precisely through this tasting.”38 Along with home prayer, the saint considered it necessary to teach his flock church prayer. In his deeply edifying word on how an Orthodox Christian should stand before the face of the Lord in the church of God, the following guidance is given on this important subject: “When entering the church, remember that you are entering the house of God; Therefore, enter quietly, modestly, without disturbing anyone’s prayerful peace, go to your place - and settle in it in a reverent position, turning your eyes either only to the shrines, or to the valley and mountain - and make bows - large and small - according to the movement of your heart, not paying attention to how and what others are doing around you. “This is an external order, however, without observing which it is difficult to believe that anyone would establish himself in prayer as he should.” “But correctness in this does not embrace the whole matter of prayer...” “We must apply spiritual work to this, namely, concentrate within ourselves. Leave all worries and all worldly thoughts behind the threshold of the church and enter it with a free soul. Then gather your attention around your heart, turn the eye of your mind to the one Lord, Who is everywhere and sees your heart, and then begin to cry out to Him with contrition, with inner self-abasement falling at His invisible feet. – From the first minute of entering the church, hurry up and get yourself settled in this way. To help yourself with this, to detached attention from everything to the Lord and to the work of prayer, add bows - large and small, teaching them and kneading your soul with them until it warms up, until the prayer candle begins to glow in your heart. Note that warmth is the foundation of prayer. Try to put it in your soul at the very beginning of your entry into the church. This is the most necessary link in the chain of prayer actions.” “Having established yourself this way at the very beginning, externally and internally, then continue to maintain the same mood throughout the entire service. Know that the external comes from the internal. Therefore, turn all your concern to this last point. – The mind is not willing to stand on one thing for a long time, and constantly strives for different thoughts and entertainment. Just as a caught bird is torn from one’s hands, so is a thought torn from the embrace of attention to soar in reverie. How can this be? “Everyone knows from experience that when there is warmth in the heart, even if it is slight, attention always hovers around the heart, and the mind remains not plundered. The whole point, then, is to maintain the warmth of the heart. - And for this, this is what you do! – Having, as it was said, warmed up your heart from coming to church, further listen to what is read, sung and acted in the church; understand the meaning of this and apply it to your heart - and this from the beginning of the service to the end. Just as the power of fire is hidden in flint, so in everything done in the church the power of spiritual fire is hidden. Strike it with the flint of the mind, and a spiritual spark will be emitted, which, falling on the heart, will impart warmth to it and keep it burning. Just as in a furnace, at the beginning, the kindled fire is supported by the lining of new firewood: so, putting into the heart one after another Divine stimulating thoughts in accordance with the course of the service, we will maintain a warmth in ourselves throughout its continuation that is not only unquenchable, but also constantly rising.” “The consequence of this will be that during our entire stay in the church we will be like in a paradise of sweets, moving from one sweet sensation to another. For someone who stays in church like this, there are never long services... For him they pass very quickly, no matter how long they are. His concern is not how to wait for the end, but that the end does not come soon, because it is good for him to be as he is. - Blessed souls! – Having stocked up with such a prayerful spirit in the church, they take it with them into their homes, bring it into all their relationships - family, everyday, official and into all orders of life, and sanctify everything with prayer. - Judge, if we all stayed in churches like this and left churches like this, then our entire city would be filled with a prayerful, pleasing and protective spirit. And if, like us, all other cities and towns acted in the same way, then our entire fatherland would be filled with the same spirit, and would be like the camps of the Israelites, overshadowed by the pillar of cloud, which guarded them and guided them on their journey to a safe and contented Canaan.” “See, what a blessing! But how much work is required to get it? - Slowly enter the church and calmly take your place; then gather your attention and warm up the warmth of your heart; then listen to everything that is read, sung and acted in the church and thereby maintain the burning of the spirit. “So simple, a little complicated and not difficult” 39! Rev. Feofan with deep and unflagging attention followed the moral life and spiritual needs of his flock and, with true fatherly love and courtesy, always sought to satisfy them. For example, the flock fasts during Lent, and the bishop hurries to tell them everything necessary for this. The table of contents of the teachings on this subject clearly demonstrates the archpastor’s concern: 1) what fasting is and what true fasting consists of; 2) how to repent and prepare for confession; 3) how to spend the eve and day of communion; 4) with those who commune worthily the Lord Himself; 5) what is required for the one who has repented and received communion, etc. Together with the disclosure of positive teaching, Rev. Theophan energetically and persistently strove, on the one hand, to protect his flock from all negative influences, and on the other, to clarify the arising perplexities and doubts on religious issues, pointing out and exposing their real shortcomings. Once, during a religious conversation in one large meeting, the saint noticed that some of his members misunderstood the ritual of anathematization, considering it cruel and outdated, and so in his speech on the week of Orthodoxy, he hastens to communicate the true teaching about the ritual, proving the right and necessity for the Church to protect its life from enemies and destroyers of it and to excommunicate them from its communion. Another time, the Right Reverend heard that many residents of Vladimir celebrated the New Year too vigorously, not in a Christian way, and that some kind of soothsayer appeared in the city - a clairvoyant, to whom the townspeople went in droves, in the hope of getting a solution to the mysteries of life. On the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, the bishop decided to say an accusatory word about these disorders, in which he reproached his flock for becoming like the ancient pagans, who naively sought solutions to the mysteries of their lives from absurd oracles in soothsayers, that the noisy meeting of the New Year with glasses and dancing is nothing more than serving Bacchus, and at the same time, on the one hand, he thoroughly clarified how to conduct such an important moment as the meeting of a new summer of life in a Christian way, and on the other hand, he persistently convinced that the revelation of life’s secrets should be sought by a Christian only in frank teaching. Justice, however, requires us to note that a word of reproof very rarely came from the lips of the loving archpastor. Such a word was very difficult for him and the determination to speak it appeared only in extreme cases, as can be judged by the following conclusion of the same teaching on Epiphany. “Forgive me, for the Lord’s sake, that on the bright feast of Epiphany I address you with such reproachful words. I have a duty to say this - for one purpose, so that you look around and remove from your behavior everything that may lie as a black spot on the light clothes that you put on in baptism" 40 . Living in Vladimir, Rev. Theophan saw what an evil and serious danger to the Orthodox faith the highly developed schism in this diocese represented. There were frequent cases of obvious propaganda of it, with open seduction of the Orthodox, especially among our common people. The bishop could not be calm about the purity of faith and Christian life of his flock, and hence his long, persistent struggle with the schism. He repeatedly talks from the church pulpit in Vladimir itself, takes deliberate trips to the schismatic centers of the diocese, where he delivers a whole series of teachings in which, in the simplest and most accessible form, he revealed the complete failure of the schism, both from a historical point of view and in the essence of its doctrine. According to the conviction of Rev. Feofan, our schism is nothing more than the fruit of popular ignorance and thoughtlessness. Having separated from the Orthodox Church, schismatics imagine that they can be saved on their own and consider such unimportant, sometimes even trivial things as the cornerstone of their salvation such as double-fingering, extreme alleluia, not shaving their beards, etc. Meanwhile, for these renegades of Orthodoxy, from a canonical point of view, there can be no talk of salvation, since their society is fundamentally devoid of saving grace. They lack grace because there is no guardian of it - the church, and the necessary organs of grace-filled revelation - the sacraments and the sacred hierarchy. The schismatics, after a long search and great material sacrifices, managed to find the source of the latter in the last century in the person of the famous Austrian Metropolitan Ambrose, but this root turned out to be rotten and therefore fruitless. Ambrose was banned from priestly service by the highest church authority and, as bound on earth, was also bound in heaven, and therefore could not have the influx of Christ's grace, so necessary for his legal and fruitful ministry. Although the schismatics claim that it was resolved from being prohibited by the council of their elders; but such a thought is absurd, because secular people have never and nowhere been given the right to authorize their own bishop. Thus, the schismatic hierarchy established by Ambrose turned out to be in its essence nothing more than impostor and false. The schismatics consider their false teachings to be ancient, yet none of the fathers and teachers of the ancient Church knew anything about them. In fact, Old Believer antiquity goes back no more than 150 years before Patriarch Nikon, when severe damage to church books began and was noticed. Our liturgical books, translated from Greek, in the first time after the enlightenment of Rus' with Christianity, were quite correct, since the Greek metropolitans of that time, who knew the Greek and Slavic languages ​​well, easily corrected mistakes if they occurred. When later metropolitans began to be elected from Russians who did not know Greek, the damage to books increased significantly. Copyists often distorted the text, either by mistake or carelessness, or by their own peculiar reasoning and interpretation. Matters did not improve with the advent of printing, since printed copies were only reproductions of damaged manuscripts. The highest, enlightened representatives of the Church saw and pointed out the damage to the books, but did not dare to undertake a radical correction, some due to a lack of rights and powers, and others, bearing in mind the reverence of the ancient Russian people for the church shrine and fearing popular unrest. Only a hierarch with such a strong mind, and most importantly with such a strong will, as Patriarch Nikon had the courage and energy to begin and carry out such a major historical undertaking as the general correction of books, carried out by him with the consent and full approval of the Eastern patriarchs, according to the best, carefully verified Greek originals. Nikon returned our damaged books to intact primary sources, and the false teachings of the schism turned out to be innovations invented by ignorant people, and not ancient fatherly traditions. Anyone who has looked through the rich collection of ancient Greek liturgical manuscripts in our patriarchal library can easily be convinced of this. “The schismatics say that they have ancient fatherly dogmas! Listen, what kind of ancient fatherly dogmas do they have? This is a two-fingered addition, double alleluia, walking on salty soil, not shaving your mustache and beard, speaking the name of the Lord Savior in a corrupt way - Jesus. - But look at all the saints. Fathers and look, is there at least one who would consider these petty things to be dogmas? Not a single one. Do they have any hint that salvation depends on these things? None! - Why are they called ancient fathers? - Because St. They haven’t read the fathers, but they know that St. Fathers should be listened to. Although they don’t know anything, they think that the reference to St. fathers will justify themselves and win the case.” “They (dogmas) are all new, and the ancient fathers did not know about them at all. This is how it happened: immediately after the baptism of our forefathers, at St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir, the sacred books were accepted from the Greeks in Slavic translation - and when anyone needed them, he hired copyists and they copied them. While we had Greek metropolitans, they, knowing both the Greek and Slavic languages ​​well, and strictly watching the scribes, immediately corrected them if they noticed errors. But when the Greeks ceased to be metropolitans among us, the Russians, not knowing the Greek language, could not notice the mistakes. - So the books began to deteriorate. This began about 150 years before Patriarch Nikon, and the books became more and more deteriorated. One omitted one thing - alleluia from 3, and the other did not dare to add it, and they began to write alleluia twice. The name of the Lord: Jesus - was written as Isa, but was still pronounced Jesus. Not knowing the Greek language from which this word was taken, they began to pronounce - Isus, and then write in all letters - Isus. You should have asked the Greeks, but they didn’t. “Someone thought that it was better to cross himself with two fingers,” and he put it in the books. - So one introduced one error into the books, another another; one made one increase, the other another. – As it was written, they began to print it later. At least the printers were ordered to correct the books; but as they corrected them according to already damaged books, and more according to their own intelligence, they made even more mistakes and additions. By the time of Patriarch Nikon there were so many of these errors and additions that the true teaching began to be damaged. Noticing this, Patriarch Nikon entered into a council with all the patriarchs and everyone unanimously ordered the books to be corrected not according to their own intelligence and not according to the Russians, but according to the ancient Greek ones, of which a great many were brought then of all kinds. When the books were corrected in this order, then they all became as they were from the beginning until the time of Vladimir Equal to the Apostles. All new additions and errors have been thrown out, and everything has been put back as it should be, and as it was in the beginning. So Patriarch Nikon did not update the sacred books, but returned to the old ones. Still, I discarded the novelty. In our books now everything is as it is in the Greek, and as in our ancient ones, after Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles. Anyone who wants to, go and look at the old books in the patriarchal library in Moscow, and see for yourself. “We have the old books, not the schismatics, and the ancient tradition is also with us, and not with them.” They have everything new - the books are new and the tradition is new. Let me explain this to you with an example. St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv - the oldest cathedral - was painted from the beginning on the walls. Sometime later, no one remembers, they plastered over this painting and, using new plaster, painted the church again. “But recently, this new plaster with the schedule was knocked off, and the schedule that was under it, the oldest, was restored. - What is it - did they bring something new to the St. Sophia Church, or did they put it in its ancient form? - Of course, they put it in an ancient form. Now the St. Sophia Church is in the same form as it was in ancient times, and not as it was 20 years ago. That’s how it was with books. When they threw out everything that was newly introduced, they did not update them, but returned them to the ancient ones - and our corrected books are truly ancient, and not schismatic - corrupted.” “So reflect back when one of the schismatics begins to explain to you that they have ancient books. – Their books are no more than 2, many 3 hundred years old, but ours are 1000 or more. And when they begin to assure that they have an ancient patristic tradition, ask them where you have the ancient patristic tradition - among the priests, or the bespopovts, - among the Filipovites or Fedoseevites, - among the Spasov consent, or among the re-baptized people, or among the new Austrian rogues? Are there ten ancient fatherly legends? After all, it is one. - When they have more than one, it became not ancient and paternal, but all human inventions. We have one, and it is completely in agreement with our most ancient tradition, in agreement with the Greeks and all Orthodox Christians existing throughout the entire earth. We have agreement everywhere, but they have disagreement everywhere. In another village, three or four conversations, or even in one house, also happen - and they do not communicate with each other. Where is the united Church of Christ here? What kind of body of the Church is this when all the members disintegrated and went in different directions? “Judging by this, it is clear as day that they have no truth, no following of Christ, no Church. And when there is no Church, there is no salvation: for only in the Church is salvation, as in Noah’s ark. – The Church of Christ has a priesthood. They have no priesthood, and there is no Church. – The Church of Christ has sacraments. They have no one to perform the sacraments; therefore they don’t have a church. - How dare they still open their mouths and approach the Orthodox and seduce them! - They say we want to save. – How to save people when they themselves are dying!? They themselves perish and drag others into destruction, rather than saving them. Note to self. – Salvation without grace is impossible; grace is not given without the sacraments; - the sacraments are not performed without the priesthood. – No priesthood, no sacraments; no sacraments, no grace; there is no grace, there is no salvation.” “Some of them say: now we have found the priesthood, or have planted the root of the priesthood. - They started a root, but it was rotten - barren. - Judge for yourself. - Ambrose, whom they lured to themselves, was bound by prohibition - bound by legal authority. The Lord promised this legal power: if you bind them on earth, they will be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18). Therefore, Ambrose was also bound in heaven. - If he is bound in heaven, then how could he, bound in heaven, communicate heavenly grace? Where did he get it?! “He couldn’t tell her, and didn’t tell him; - and everyone who was appointed to them, just as they were laymen, remained laymen, even though they are called priests and bishops. “These are just names, like when children play and give themselves different titles - colonels, generals, commanders-in-chief.” “Let them say it was banned. The elders allowed it. - Wonderful thing! - ordinary laity allow the bishop and return to him the power to episcopate. – Don’t you know that only those who have the power to ordain can authorize. Their old men did not even have sexton consecration; how could they return episcopal power to the bishop when this is the same thing as ordaining? “They didn’t return it,” and Ambrose remained banned, despite the rituals that were ridiculous over him. – If it is prohibited, then the grace in it is stopped; if suppressed, it could not pour out on others. – When, for example, water flows through a gutter, it overflows from it onto other gutters and vessels; - and when the gutter is locked, water will not flow through it and will not overflow to other places and things. “So Ambrose, until he was banned, was like a trench overflowing water, and when he fell under the ban, he became the same as a dry, locked trench, and could no longer communicate to others the blessed water that he himself did not have. “It is in vain that some of the schismatics deceive themselves and others, thinking that they have obtained the priesthood. “The names were brought in, but there was no case” 41. Activities during fires in the Tambov diocese But it is not only the spiritual needs of the flock that the bishop satisfies. No, he lives her life to the fullest, cares about material interests, shares joy and sorrow. In the summer of 1860, the Tambov province suffered a terrible drought, and in the fall fires began in Tambov itself and in district towns and villages. The whole of Tambov, for fear of new fires and suspicion of arsonists, moved out of their homes and lived in constant fear in the squares, and many went outside the city. In the county town of Borisoglebsk, four fires destroyed half the city. In such a difficult situation for the diocese, Rev. Theophan appeared as a true angel-comforter of his flock and a prophetic interpreter of the will of God, manifested in the people's disasters. Not limiting himself to activities in Tambov, he also visited a significant part of the province that suffered from fires, pouring a healing balm into souls depressed by grief with words of edification and consolation. The zealous archpastor responded to the people’s misfortune in nine whole words. These speeches, in their inner strength of thought, warmth and animation, resemble the words of Chrysostom in such cases. They are the best characteristic of the ideal, selfless public service of a bishop. In the moments of the diocese’s difficult life test, the latter gave himself entirely to his flock, decisively morally merged with it, experiencing all its bitter feelings and situations. Deeply aware of how dangerous misfortunes are for a person’s moral life, when even weak people are capable of falling into despair, the saint, from the very beginning of public misfortune, cheerfully stood on spiritual watch and jealously watched over the life of his flock until its end. During the most severe and acute period of fires, for three days in a row he calls believers to the church of God for public prayer, where in passionate speeches full of deep sorrow and heartache he reveals the moral significance of the disaster as a cleansing temptation of God, courageously calls not to lose heart and be inspired by the hope for a better future. He weeps with his flock when trouble reaches its final limits, and heartily rejoices at the first signs of its weakening. Having likened the then plight of the city to Job, suffering in his rot outside the city walls, Rev. Feofan, in his first conversation, exclaims bitterly: “What should I tell you and what should I start talking to you about? Our situation is sad, our sorrow is great! The hand of the Lord is heavy on us! How long have we been tormented by drought? But before this disaster had passed, another one struck - a fire. We had not even begun to think about how to recover from this fire when another one attacked. Before this was over, the evil news about the continuity of fires spread everywhere and drove us out of our homes. Our city is now almost Job, who was oppressed by one disaster after another, until, having been deprived of everything and covered with wounds, they were thrown out of the city. And so, just as he sat on the rotting heap, so now all of us have almost been taken out of our houses and live in wastelands, coastal areas and dried-up streams, like bees driven out of their hives by suffocating smoke. This is what we have come to! It would seem that quite a test. But the hand of the Lord is still high. Everything that can depend on human foresight has been done, and - thanks be to the Lord! – the danger is no longer as formidable as it was at the beginning. But still peace does not return to us, a sense of security does not come and trust does not dawn on our spirit. What else could be done for the Lord to return our peace to us? – I’ll offer you one comparison, and you yourself will guess what we need to do so that the Lord accepts His hand weighing on us. When the teacher, raising his hand, begins to threaten, all the students, who know that they are doing something wrong, correct their liberties. If order is not established, the teacher will not lower his menacing hand. But what is our life if not a school of piety, and who is the teacher in it if not the all-caring Lord? Here His threatening hand is stretched out over us and does not fall. It is true that we have not yet come to everything in order, or have not put everything in order within ourselves, that He does not let it go. So let’s not be more ignorant than inexperienced children! Each of us, now in a shy position, let him come into himself, admit everything that he finds faulty in himself - whether it is small or large, and put a firm intention to improve. Let one realize one thing, another another, each one his own, and let us all cry out together: we have sinned, O Lord, we have become worthy of Thy extreme disgust; but do not take Your mercy away from us and have mercy on us who humbly repent to You! And - the Lord is merciful! – our trouble will probably end! Is the Lord consoled by our suffering?! No. But our souls are dear to Him, and as soon as they come to their order, He immediately stops any corrective disaster. Such is the law of God’s providence for us!” The next day, on the Feast of the Dormition, the Right Reverend again said: “Yesterday, although a small fire, renewed our fear, and we are again restless in anticipation of a sudden disaster - we have no trust in anyone or anything, and in every unfamiliar face we continue to meet our ill-wisher. That is why our holiday is not a holiday, so that the prophetic threat has been fulfilled over us: I will turn your holidays into pity, and all your songs into lamentation.” Well? - And let's cry... We have now gathered at the place of crying. Behold a field watered with tears! And who among the city residents has not spilled them here?! - So come, let us mourn before the Lord, who created us, like the Israelites who mourned Jerusalem on the rivers of Babylon! But let us weep and grieve in sorrow, only in a Christian way, and not like pagans who have no hope. May the word of murmuring not come from our lips, and may the feeling of despondency and hopelessness not darken our hearts. Grieving, crying and being sick is a human thing, but giving in to despondency, despair, murmuring and blasphemy is a satanic thing. Let us dissolve sorrow with hope, and a cry of tenderness will be born, not burning and tormenting, but spreading joy and softening. Let us cast sorrow upon the Lord, and He will preserve us; For whoever trusts in the Lord will receive mercy. We confess the truth of God in punishing us, and He will send mercy to meet it: for with Him is not only judgment, but also mercy. Let us endure in complacency; For the Lord is not completely angry and does not quarrel forever. He beats us; Let us feel the pain, and, praying for mercy, let us strengthen our prayer with the determination not to offend Him any more with our sins. Let us cry out: have mercy, Lord, have mercy” 42! The saint saw that not only the citizens of Tambov, but also all the affected cities and villages of the diocese needed a word of consolation, and so he hurried to share the difficult fate with them. “If compassion can console you,” he said to the residents of Borisoglebsk, “I will sympathize with you with all my soul, and I testify that everyone who receives the news of the disaster that has befallen you will sincerely sympathize with you. If prayer can bring down consolation; then I prayed and pray my sinful prayer, so that God of all joys, the Father of generosity, Himself will pour consolation into your hearts! “Let us all unite, now gathered here in this one prayer, and we will surely receive what we ask, according to the false promise of the Lord Himself: the one in need will call to Me, and I will hear him, I will remove him from trouble, and I will glorify him.” Traveling around the diocese, the bishop lives in the hope of seeing his cathedral city safe and calm upon his return, and suffers greatly when he does not find it. “Upon my return, I hoped to find you completely reassured and in my first service to celebrate with you the complete cessation of all your troubles; but I am not worthy of such consolation! “I saw a lot of people suffering in other cities and towns, and I hoped to ease my heart with some consolation, having seen the beginnings of your calm and recovery; but now the fears and anxieties that had subsided have been renewed again! “What should we do and where should we turn!? Where to look for relief and what medicine to apply to your wounds? There is nothing left for us to do but turn to the Lord in tears and cry: “God, be merciful to us sinners!” “We are weak. Do not allow us, Lord, to fall under the weight of troubles. Give strength to our hearts, overshadow us with good faith, so that despair does not overwhelm our spirit - and, God, be merciful to us sinners! “Praying thus contritely, let us add to the crying the persistence of prayer. So the Syrophoenician woman, mentioned in the current Gospel, received what she asked for the sake of persistence, adorned with humility. The Lord has already said - it was to her: go, you are not ours. But then he was defeated by the persistence of her prayer. Let us cry out for ourselves relentlessly, and we will surely receive mercy. He who Himself disposed one to patience and prayer by the example of an unjust judge, implored by the widow’s persistence, will yield to our persistence and show mercy to us.” “Ah, brothers, has the Lord really abandoned us alone, to be trampled upon by everyone who passes by, and will not return His mercies to us?! - No, the Lord is merciful! - do not lose heart, lift up your heads, arise to trust! It’s not enough yet, the Coming One will come and will not hesitate to help us” 43. At the first signs of the easing of the disaster, the archpastor hastens to share the joyful news of this with his flock. “Thank the Lord! Calm begins to overshadow our city, houses welcome their residents and the flow of business no longer encounters obstacles due to the absence of workers. So, thank the Lord, we have good hopes! “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!” – Now we are almost completely calmed down! The expectation of troubles no longer torments us and does not strike us with crushing fear - and everything with us has taken its usual course.” In a time of such severe public disaster, Rev. Feofan supported his flock not only with strong words, but also with deeds. From his personal funds, he provided significant material assistance to those affected by the fires, especially from among the poor clergy - his widows and orphans. He placed his apartment and all the free premises of the bishop's compound at the complete disposal of the fire victims, and he himself settled in a country house. Private life and attitude towards subordinates The private, home life of the saint was no less pure and sublime. According to the recollections of one of his relatives, Rev. Feofan, while serving in Tambov, led a very simple lifestyle. His everyday, ordinary suit was a cassock, and on top of it was a duckweed made of black, inexpensive woolen material. He had the most undemanding table and ate very little; he never dined. The whole day was spent in prayer, work on managing the diocese and literary work. Small periods of leisure were filled with handicrafts - carpentry, turning, wood carving. Only for a short time did the Bishop go for a walk in the garden at the bishop’s house, and occasionally allowed himself to go for a ride in the summer. He passionately loved nature, admired beauty, and in its entire structure he saw traces of the wisdom of the Creator. He was especially interested in astronomy and almost every day in the summer, in clear weather, in the evenings he made observations of celestial bodies using a fairly large telescope. “The heavens will tell the glory of God” was usually heard then from the lips of an astronomer, touched by the contemplation of the greatness and beauty of God’s vast world 44 . The closest, purely family relationships were established between the diocesan bishop and the clergy subordinate to him. The always affectionate and friendly archpastor treated everyone lovingly, with the greatest humility and meekness, no matter what their rank and position. Not only did he not embarrass any of his subordinates, but with remarkable patience and complacency he endured the troubles that were sometimes inflicted on him by the clergy. If, out of a duty of justice, it was necessary to punish someone with a reprimand or reprimand, then this burdensome duty for the loving heart of the bishop was usually fulfilled by his cleric. Trust of Rev. Feofan's love for people and in particular for the officials subordinate to him was limitless. Due to his moral delicacy and nobility of soul, he was afraid to offend a person even with any hint of suspicion or distrust towards him. Receiving papers from representatives of various departments and institutions, the Eminence always consulted with them, and often directly asked which was the best resolution to put into practice. So, together with the secretary of the consistory, he discussed general diocesan issues, with the dean of his district, with the housekeeper for the management of the bishop's house, etc. Such an ideal moral trait in itself, however, in the practice of diocesan administration was often a source of important inconveniences, and sometimes direct abuses. Persons invested with trust did not always justify it. Some of them, especially among the consistory leaders, found a reason for themselves here and received freedom for extremely incorrect and biased decisions in matters. Hence, complaints arose against the diocesan bishop, and with them serious personal troubles for him. One fact - namely the designation of the deacon of the Vladimir Cathedral directly to the archpriest - by the district rectors especially aroused great criticism and even murmur and caused the bishop serious concern. Using the indicated character trait of Rev. Feofan, some private individuals allowed themselves to illegally interfere in the affairs of the diocesan administration. There is a well-known case when his admirer, Princess Lskaya, intervened in the case of a student of the Tambov Seminary, who was formally dismissed for bad behavior. At the request of Princess Rev. Feofan demanded that the seminary authorities return the student to the seminary, and the latter was accepted again. Another fact. The Bishop needed a teacher for his nephew and he was recommended to the hieromonk of the Trinity Kozlov Monastery Am-iya from the seminary students. The latter, summoned to Tambov, did not want to take on the proposed duties and was already released back to his monastery. But soon the same L-skaya appeared and offered to appoint the disobedient monk administratively. And oh. Am-ii was immediately identified. There were also individuals who exploited the extraordinary kindness and trust in the people of the Most Reverend. Feofan for his personal unclean goals and interests. The then housekeeper of the Tambov bishop's house, now the rector of the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, relayed to us the following incident. One day two Palestinian Greeks came to the saint, saying that they knew him from his service in Jerusalem. One of them was secular and called himself an archaeologist interested in local antiquities, and the other had the clothes of a monk. The Bishop received them very cordially, spoke with great interest and enthusiasm in Greek about the affairs of the East, and at the end of the conversation ordered them to be given an apartment in the bishop’s house and to be given board. The guests behaved rather strangely. The archaeologist kept disappearing somewhere, and the monk wandered around the city with nothing to do. The latter, not content with the fish table of the bishop's cuisine, decided to buy himself meat and carried it around the city from the market openly, on a bundle, to the great temptation of the believing townspeople. When the steward reported to the Eminence about the behavior of the guests, he was greatly embarrassed; out of kindness, I didn’t want to remove them and didn’t know what to do. Having explained the monk’s act and, as it were, excusing him by the fact that in the east even monastics eat meat, Rev. Feofan asked the steward to somehow settle this delicate matter himself. It would have taken a lot of trouble to send the unceremonious eastern people out and clean the apartment of the dirt they had created, added Fr. Archimandrite at the conclusion of his story. The decision to leave the pulpit and farewell to the Vladimir flock Undoubtedly, even higher than the pedagogical activity of Rev. Theophan organized the public ministry of the bishop, but it also contained many unfavorable conditions for his spirit. He, as a diocesan bishop, often had to deal with matters that were not at all close to his heart - a non-covetous monk to take care of saving and increasing church capital and property, a meek and loving one - to sort out slanderous consistory affairs, subject the guilty to punishment, etc. Moreover, in the personal character of the saint during the last time of his ministry in Vladimir, a significant change took place. Having devoted himself entirely to literary work and books, he was little involved in diocesan affairs and apparently sought solitude - he rarely received petitioners, often secluded himself in the inner chambers for prolonged prayer and contemplation of God, took distant country walks, etc. He did not even see the relatives who were brought up with him for weeks at a time. His spiritual mood at that time was clearly expressed in the following words of his letter to St. Petersburg. “I don’t see any difficulty in business, I just don’t have a heart for it. I do what I love. But the incessant interruptions do not allow me to do anything I would like to do. The fulfillment of this is expected from the monastery” 45. So she gradually prepared herself until she finally matured at the Most Reverend. Fofana is the thought of complete abandonment of the world. On June 17, 1866, in accordance with his wishes, he was dismissed by the Holy Synod from the administration of the Vladimir diocese with the right to settle in the Tambov Vyshenskaya Hermitage as its rector. And now the time has come for the saint’s departure from Vladimir. It was then that it clearly showed how dear he was, how much love he enjoyed in his diocese. June 24, the day of memory of St. John the Baptist, the bishop celebrated the last liturgy. The townspeople flocked to the church in large numbers for farewell prayer. The farewell was deeply heartfelt and truly touching. These were the last minutes of sweet mutual spiritual communication of children, connected by strong moral ties with their true spiritual father, the archpastor, before a long separation, and, perhaps, without the hope of ever seeing him. According to an eyewitness, many of those present in the church “were shed in copious tears.” The feelings that animate the Vladimir flock towards their bishop resulted in the farewell speech of one of the clergy representatives. “We sincerely and deeply mourn,” said the latter, “about the real separation from our priceless archpastor; We grieve no less, Saint of Christ, just as the elders of Ephesus grieved in ancient times when they last saw the blessed Apostle of the Gentiles, who for three years labored holyly among them in the gospel of Christ. Truly you were for the Vladimir Church a living image of Christ, not only by the rank of hierarch, but also by your hierarchal life. Our grief is increased by the fact that you are leaving us by your own will. From this we assume that your holiness has not found enough in us, in our morals and life, such that your Eminence could calm your perspicacious gaze with love. But with these tears that we shed for you, we beg your holy love to forgive us all our guilt. Forgive me, priceless archpastor of the Vladimir Church and bless it! And when you depart from us with your body, do not depart from us with your pious soul, but always remember us in your holy prayers” 46. Rev. Feofan, naturally, could not be indifferent to such feelings of genuine love and affection from his flock. In response to them, he uttered his wonderful word - a testament, in which, on the one hand, he indicated the reasons for his leaving the episcopal see, and on the other, he spoke as a true archpastor who did not want to stop moral communication with his spiritual children, who considered himself responsible for their salvation even after separation and the cessation of all official, obligatory relations with them. This is a truly touching “Testament”, vividly painting the bright image of the great saint of Christ. “Don’t blame me, for the Lord’s sake, for leaving you. I’m not leaving so that I’ll be forced to leave you. Your kindness would not allow me to change you to another flock. But, as a follower, I lead myself to stay free from worries, looking for the best tea - as is akin to our nature. How this could have happened, I cannot explain. One thing I will say is that in addition to the external course of events that determines actions, there are internal changes in dispositions that lead to certain decisions; There is, in addition to external necessity, an internal necessity, which the conscience heeds and which the heart does not strongly contradict. Finding yourself in this position, I ask your love for one thing - leaving judgment and condemnation of the step I have already taken, intensify your prayer, so that the Lord will not deny my aspirations and grant me, even if not without difficulty, to find what I am looking for. And I will pray for you, - I will pray that the Lord will always send you every good thing, improve your well-being and avert every misfortune, and, moreover, arrange your salvation. Save yourself, and be saved in the Lord. I can't wish you anything better. Everything will happen when you are saved. The path of salvation is known to you, and the whole saving dispensation of God is known. In this regard, it is enough to remind you of the words of Ap. Pavla: Oh, Timofey! keep the legend. Preserve what is the Lord and His holy. The apostles' devotion to the Church and what one generation of Christians passes on to the next. I am compelled to remind you of this because today there are many false teachings circulating among us, corrupting teachings that undermine the foundations of faith, upset family happiness and destroy the well-being of the state. For the sake of the Lord, beware of these teachings. There is a stone with which gold is tested. Let St. be your testing stone. a doctrine preached in the Church from ancient times. Reject everything that disagrees with this teaching as evil, no matter how plausible it may be covered with a title. You just observe this, and everything else will come naturally to you. Purity of faith will be followed by the overshadowing of grace. Grace and faith will make your hearts holy and blameless. Pure hearts begin to see God even here - they will undoubtedly see Him there, and will forever see and bliss in this vision. Please accept this small reminder as your “last testament” 47 . “Words to the Tambov flock.” Book, art. 9. "Words to the Vladimir flock." Page 496–500. “Words to the Tambov flock.” Book II, p. 150. "Words to the Vladimir flock." Page 529. "Words to the Vladimir flock." Page 419, 420, 339, 341. “Words to the Tambov flock.” Book I, pp. 218–226. Right there. Page 231, 248, 252, 254. I. Korsunsky. “Reverend. Feofan." Page 107–109. I. Krutikov. Page 99, 119. "Vladimir Diocesan Gazette". 1866, No. 15. “Words to the Vladimir flock” by Rev. Feofan. Page 682–683.