158. Слово в день сошествия Святаго Духа, по освящении храма Благовещения Пресвятыя Богородицы, более известного по придельному олтарю Святых Безсребренников Космы и Дамиана, что в Шубине

(Spoken June 8; printed separately and in collections of 1844 and 1848) Continuing now to triumph in the memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, and at the same time being honored to solemnly consecrate this church, we have a favorable opportunity to bring together in our thoughts the objects of both celebrations, and through this enter into reflections that are comforting and edifying for us. The Holy Evangelist Luke, outlining the circumstances that preceded the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, says that after the Lord’s Ascension into heaven, they returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, “and when they had descended, they ascended to the upper room, and there they abided”; that then, “all these endured with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and with the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren” (Acts 1:13–14); that finally, “and when the days of Pentecost were ended, all the apostles struck with one accord” (Acts 2:1). What kind of upper room is this in which this original Church of Christ dwelt? And what does it mean that the Apostles and others were in this upper room? Was it a simple residential church in which people spent the day and night? The very large number of those who seem to be in this upper room does not allow us to think this way. For the Twelve Apostles, the Most Holy Mother of the Lord, the Myrrh-Bearers and other pious women, other disciples of the Lord, of whom the Evangelist counts them all: “the names of the people together are like a hundred and twenty” (Acts 1:16), was it proper, was it convenient, was it possible to live in one upper room? What kind of room was this? – It reminds me of the “great upper room” mentioned by the same Evangelist, about which the Lord said to Peter and John: “prepare there” for Easter (Luke 22:12); and in which He established and for the first time performed the sacrament of His Body and Blood. Or is it one and the same upper room, in the very place; or at least both are identical in purpose and merit. Its purpose was not to spend the day and night in it, have lunch and dinner, sit and rest, but that those staying in it “endured with one accord in prayer and supplication”; the Lord's Secret Supper was celebrated in it; in it the election of Matthias to sacred service and his veneration as an Apostle took place. It was an “upper room” that towered “mountain” above everything earthly and worldly; and with the pious spirit of those who abided in it, she touched the heavenly and Divine, which is why she finally received the highest advantage that Heaven and the Divine appeared solemnly and miraculously in her. The Holy Spirit not only animated the Apostles with His almighty breath, and enlightened their minds with fiery tongues, inflamed their hearts, formed tongues for the worldwide preaching of salvation, but also filled the very place where they were with His holiness and grace: “fill the whole house where they sit” (Acts 2:2). I ask again: what kind of upper room is this? – And what I have said so far, I hope, is enough to justify the final answer that I give to the proposed question: the upper room of Zion, the Apostolic, the upper room of the descent of the Holy Spirit, is nothing more than the original example of the holy Christian church; and the mutually holy Christian church, consequently the now consecrated church, is a repeated, renewed, multiplied Apostolic upper room of the descent of the Holy Spirit. True, you have not heard a noise here today, “like a storm of breath” (Acts 2:2); did not see tongues of fire; no one speaks 610 here the different languages ​​of different tribal peoples. But take into consideration that in the Apostolic Upper Room, or in other words, in the Apostolic Holy Church, not every day was a stunning, violent breathing heard: only once did fiery tongues appear; however, at other times this church was not deprived of grace, with which the Holy Spirit filled it. Without the initial miraculous movement and fiery brilliance, the Holy Apostles continued to teach the same gift of the Holy Spirit, in the quiet laying on of hands, which in mutual acceptance extends to the present-day ecclesiastical mysteries in our sanctuaries. “The Gentiles,” says the Apostle Paul, “are a sign not to believers, but to unbelievers” (1 Cor. 14:22): that is, the miraculous gift of speaking in various unlearned tongues was sent down from God for people who have not yet believed, in order, through the gifted knowledge of their language, to teach them instruction in the faith, and at the same time, through a miraculous gift, to certify them of the Divinity of faith; but for those who have already believed, this sign is not needed. As Divine faith spread across the earth, the miraculous gift of languages ​​decreased; and consequently, the concealment of this gift is not an impoverishment of grace, but a cessation of need. The Lord does not approve of believers seeking obvious, confirming signs; but attributes special dignity to faith, which does not require them. “Blessed,” he says, “are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). What then, brothers? Do we dare to demand from God in our church what was not always the case in the Apostolic Church, since it was not always necessary? Would we consider it an extreme deprivation if miraculous signs did not appear here? But the word of Christ, which you hear here in the Gospel, is not as Divine as the fiery tongues of the Holy Spirit? Isn’t it the same true Body of Christ, isn’t it the same true Blood of Christ that is presented at the table of this church, as at the table in the upper room of Zion? In prayers and sacred rites, and here, according to the Apostolic tradition and rite, performed, is not the One and the same Holy Spirit breathing, overshadowing, sanctifying, transforming the earthly into the heavenly, penetrating the material into the spiritual, created by the Divine? Is it not through His influx that the water of baptism and sprinkling is sanctified and Chrismation performed? Didn’t He enter and dwell in this church in the relics of the Saints, whose bodies, according to His own testimony, are “the temple of the Holy Spirit living” in them (1 Cor. 6:19)? Do we need more for our faith, reverence, love, consolation, hope? Let us believe in the grace of the church, without seeking to see its miraculous signs. Let us revere: for truly “the Lord is in his holy church” (Ps. 10:3). Let us “love the beauty of the house of the Lord” (Ps. 25:8), not so much natural and visible as invisible and gracious. Let us “rejoice with David in those who said unto us, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). Let us hope that, like many before us, “the Lord will hide us in the mystery of His habitation in the day of our evils” (Ps. 26:5), - on the day of evils of sin, from the horror of justice He will hide us in the mystery of the grace of forgiveness, - On the day of evils of temporary punishment, He will hide us, fleeing into the mystery of His habitation with inner, sincere-hearted prayer, - He will hide us in grace protection, relief, deliverance. It is comforting to find, recognize and contemplate the mysterious rapprochement of the grace-filled Christian church with the wonderful Apostolic upper room of the descent of the Holy Spirit. But in order for this consolation to be complete and true, it is necessary to add another rapprochement - between those who were in that upper room and between the visitors to our church. That which was lofty and desirable in the Apostolic Upper Room was a gift from God, a gift and undeserved by the Apostles; because who can render merit to God, Who has no need of any merit, and Whom all His creatures serve not with their property, but with His gifts? - a gift that is not denied to us; because “the Lord is good to everyone, and His tender mercies are in all His works” (Ps. 144:9). But this gift would not have been given if it had not met the hands stretched out to him; this treasure would not have been laid up if it had not found vessels, purified and prepared if possible, such as were the Apostles and others who were with them. Insofar as we are approaching them, not by place, not by time, which in the strict sense is impossible, and not very necessary, because our church is also an Apostolic place according to the communion of Apostolic grace, - but insofar as we are approaching the Apostles and their fellow-participants in the disposition of our spirit and heart; We are approaching the Divine treasure of grace. What kind of disposition of spirit and heart is this? “All the Apostles were in vain,” says Saint Luke, “with one accord” (Acts 2:1). “They all endured with one accord in prayer and supplication” (Acts 1:14). The apostles and disciples of the Lord remained “in prayer and supplication” to God, and thereby prepared themselves to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit. Let us remember that the Lord, before His Ascension, did not give them a special commandment about prayer, but only commanded “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4), that is, the promised Holy Spirit. Why, it seems, should we pray for something that has already been promised and cannot fail to be fulfilled by God who is faithful in His promises? However, the Apostles and disciples of the Lord, out of their own sense of need, pray for the promised and expected, as if for something still sought and not yet expected. Such is the necessity of prayer for the attainment of grace. Prayer is the breath of the spiritual man. Just as by breathing a bodily person attracts the surrounding air, and inhales vitality and strength from it: so through prayer the soul opens itself to the omnipresent Spirit of God, and receives from Him life and spiritual strength. May we also continue in prayer and supplication, and may the Heavenly Father, according to the promise of His Only Begotten Son, “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13). The Apostles and disciples of the Lord “persevered” in prayer, that is, they remained in it constantly, tirelessly, unremittingly. After the Ascension of the Lord, they performed more than one all-night vigil; day after day passed, but the promised did not appear. But they did not complain about the delay; they did not doubt a promise that had not been fulfilled for a long time; they did not become weak, they did not become lazy, they prayed just as fervently on the tenth day as on the first: “I pray patiently.” And their patience was finally justified, and their prayer was solemnly fulfilled. Let us not be impatient in prayer, neither lazy nor lacking in faith; let us resort to prayer as often as possible; let us remain in it as constantly as possible; Let us not be faint-hearted, not seeing the quick-ripening fruits of prayer: sooner, or slower, more clearly, or more secretly, the Lord grants us, who endure in prayer, grace sufficient for our salvation. The apostles and disciples of the Lord stayed and prayed “together with one accord.” This union of them was arranged by the Lord Himself when He commanded them “not to leave Jerusalem”; and even earlier, when he taught them: “For if two of you speak on earth about any thing, if anyone asks for it, it will be given to him by My Father who is in heaven; For where there are two or three congregations in My name, I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19–20). An important aid in prayer is the unanimity of those praying! Just like the power of the Holy Spirit in His miraculous descent, the power of the united prayer of the Apostolic Church has more than once extended its action from spiritual to material nature. She once “moved the place where the congregation was gathered” (Acts 4:31) Apostles. At another time, she loosed the bonds and rivets, and opened the doors of the prison in which Peter the Apostle was imprisoned. Why is common church prayer even now, if not especially so that everyone’s prayer is increased in power by the assistance of the many “praying together with one accord”? Let us not be ashamed or afraid to admit that my or your prayer is both weak and unworthy to achieve the desired grace: but come, put your mite of prayer into the treasure of unanimous church prayer, and this treasure will be enough for you, along with everyone else, to acquire the priceless beads of God’s grace. Thanks be to God, even to this day the experiences have not failed, how can the diligent prayer of the Church, the sincere prayer of those who are unanimous, not only through the darkness of temptations, but also by the bonds of delusions, passions and sins, “bring a soul out of prison to confess to the name of the Lord” (Ps. 142:8). And for this reason, with hope and boldness, with the common voice of the souls of believers, we pray to Thee even now, “Heavenly King, Soul of truth, come and dwell in us.” Do not cease to overshadow this church with Your grace, consecrated by You on the day of Your influx; Fulfill the good wishes of those who come to him with faith and prayer, enlighten their minds with the light of truth, warm their hearts with love for all that is good, especially for You Yourself, the Source of all good! Do good to the soul of the one who loves the splendor of this Thy house; and bless the one who sacrificed earthly things for heavenly things with earthly and heavenly blessings. Save the souls of us all, so that in inalienable joy we may glorify You together with the Beginningless Father and His Beginning Son forever. Amen. In the department ed. and in collection 1844 did not say... You might be interested in: