161. Слово в день священного венчания и помазания на царство Благочестивейшаго Государя Императора Николая Павловича всея России

(Said in the Assumption Cathedral on August 22; printed separately, in the Moscow Gub. Gazette and in the collections of 1844 and 1848) Let us understand each other in encouraging love and good deeds, not abandoning our own meeting, as is a certain custom, but encouraging each other. ( Heb. 10:24–25 ). We celebrate the feast of the Royal Anointing and the Royal Crown, sons of Russia. We celebrate with dignity and righteousness. This is the holiday of the Sovereign, celebrating the loyalty and love of his subjects, and at the same time the holiday of the State, rejoicing in its own good. Because, although the Royal anointing and crown are given to the one King, it is not for Him alone. Without going into the test of how the teaching of spiritual gifts is connected with visible anointing (because a sacrament must always remain a sacrament, and therefore remain inaccessible to explanation); – we can, however, allow ourselves to point out that symbolic feature of the secret action that, just like from the simple anointing of one person with fragrant ointment, a feeling of fragrance is communicated to many around; Thus, from the mysterious anointing of the King, a life-giving fragrance spreads throughout the entire kingdom. In a similar way, the Royal Crown not only crowns the head of the King, but at the same time crowns the improvement, prosperity, and splendor of the kingdom. This is how it should be, according to the intention of Providence: this is how it is with us, Russians, by the goodness of Providence, and by the valor of the Most Pious Autocrat. But when the celebratory thought comes closer to the object of celebration, in order to rejoice in the contemplation of His greatness; when he examines how the sovereign mind passes through the entire vast composition of the State, embraces with attention and varied care the life, security, contentment, morals, enlightenment, faith of millions of people, in order to everywhere implant goodness, restore, protect, suppress evil, avert, warn, educate the uneducated, improve the imperfect, correct the damaged, and for this purpose from time to time utters new ones, or complements previous laws, constantly moves the numerous springs of government, watches over justice, builds and animates the army; how He extends penetrating and far-sighted glances beyond His borders, into other kingdoms, in order to protect and establish peace from everywhere, to acquire and support good allies, to suppress the seeds of discord, warfare and sedition, to disarm envy, to look out for what is generally beneficial, and to assimilate, to discover in the distance the creeping influence of some foreign infection, and to block its paths: with Such thoughts about the exploits of the Tsar, surprise and concern for love are added to the joy of Him. How many burdens, to the relief of all of us, are carried by the sovereign ramen alone! Oh, if only we could somehow contribute to the relief of these! The Holy Church teaches us some means for this. This is a prayer for the King. For if, according to the word of Scripture, “the prayer of one righteous person can do much” (James 5:16): then, of course, the prayer of a faithful people can do no little, in whom the Lord trusts to have more than one righteous person, because for the righteous He keeps the world. But in order to see if there is another way in which subjects, without touching the affairs of the Autocrat, could contribute to the relief of the Tsar’s burden, let us imagine that all subjects lived in love with each other and did nothing but good deeds. How much easier Tsarevo’s case would be! There would be no need to multiply laws; because love fulfills the law before it is written. Concerns about public order and decorum would decrease; because “love does not commit wickedness” (1 Cor. 13:5). There would be a long holiday from matters of justice; because it is not good deeds that give work to the Courts. Then the Tsar would be in the full sense what the praying Church represents, “a Father rejoicing over his children.” Well? Can't we ourselves help ensure that everyone in the kingdom lives in love, so that everyone strives to do good deeds? – We can, and we must. It is not I who invent this; this is what the Apostle preaches and bequeaths. “Let us understand,” he says, “one another in encouraging love and good deeds, not abandoning our gathering, as is a certain custom, but striving for each other.” In truth, brethren, if fate, birth, the law brought us into a single assembly, united us into a single society: then, of course, it was not so that everyone knew only himself, and did not care to know others and promote their good. This would be contrary to the concept and essence of society. The union of society is bound together only by reciprocity: mutual assistance, assistance, assistance. The mutual responsibilities of members of society are partly determined by laws and distributed according to ranks and positions; They are partly spoken to the conscience, and extend to everyone. When a thief breaks into a citizen’s house, or into a public treasury, who, well-intentioned, seeing this, will say: “It’s none of my business?” Will not everyone feel obliged to promote public and private safety? If, in this way, everyone has the duty to avert evil, private or public: is it less universal, less powerful, is it not more noble the duty to spread private good, and, as far as possible, through the private, public, and especially the highest moral and spiritual good, which is the soul of true public well-being? Christianity unites us, brothers, with a union closer than just human society - a union not only of a single power, mutual needs, common benefit, but also a union of a single life. According to the teachings of the Apostles and the Church, all of us, under the head of Christ, are one body. So, the more obvious this experimental truth is, that “if one oud suffers, all ouds suffer with it; If one ud is glorified, all uds rejoice with him” (1 Cor. 12:26); the more unshakable this law is, the more immutable this duty is, “so that all people may care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:25). And what care for each other is more necessary, more important, more beneficial for Christians than encouraging each other to Christian love and good deeds? Hearing this, don’t some mentally respond to me: your job is to encourage others to Christian love and good deeds; do your duty. - I have no argument against this; I acknowledge my responsibility; I accept your encouragement to fulfill it; I confess with the Apostle that “woe is I if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16). But you must not shy away from fulfilling the duty that the Apostolic Word entrusts to me and to you equally. On another occasion, Saint Paul said to me, that is, to the minister of Christian teaching generally appointed by the Church: “Preach the word, be present in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, entreat, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2). But he does not say distinctively: shepherds encourage those who flock to do good, priests encourage the people; but he speaks to everyone without distinction, without exception: “Let us understand each other in encouraging love and good deeds, and strive for each other.” And it is not in vain that he expands this responsibility so much: because for it the teachers appointed by the Church alone would not be enough. How many people, how many directions of mind, inclinations, activities, how many different situations and situations in life that require instruction, advice, exhortation, but which cannot be pursued by Church instruction and a Church mentor! And it is so necessary that those being instructed often admonish each other, warn each other, and encourage each other to do good. Here you can encounter a new contradiction. Is it really necessary, they will say, for everyone to be teachers of others? - Not at all. Against this extreme we have a clear Apostolic prohibition: “Do not be many teachers” (James 3:1). God gave His Church “apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers” (Eph. 4:11), and did not give it to everyone at will to appoint themselves as spiritual mentors. It is precisely about this that it is said that “no one receives honor to himself, but he who is called of God” (Heb. 5:4), either directly, as in the beginning the Apostles, or successively, through those called from God before. The Holy Spirit foreshadows us about the multitude of uncalled teachers as belonging to unfortunate times: “The time will come when they will not listen to sound teaching, but according to their own lusts they will choose for themselves teachers with scratchy ears, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4). The God-ordained teacher sets a barrier against this self-made, and therefore deceptive and dangerous teaching, when, admonishing us all to encourage each other to do good, he immediately adds: “not abandoning our gathering, as there is a certain custom.” “Our own” “assembly” for true Christians is the Collegiate Orthodox Church. One must adhere to it, remain in obedience to it, so that zeal to encourage others to do good does not turn into self-rule, and does not lead to divisions and delusions. When it comes to dogmas, sacraments, and hierarchy: beware lest you appear as a worker whom the Lord did not send into His grapes. If the One by whom “the whole body” of the Church, “the compositions and associations are given and taken down, grows the return of God” (Col. 2:19), has not appointed you with the eye or mouth of this body: do not assign to yourself the special responsibilities of these members. Hand or other member cannot say to eye or mouth: I will fulfill your office. But there are duties that are not alien to any member of the body, such as: preserving life, averting danger. The life of the spiritual body is love; since, on the contrary, “he who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14). Good deeds are manifestations of spiritual life. So, so that the vital force of Christian love does not fade away, so that its fruits do not become scarce, so that the dead works of vanity and vice do not suppress it, all members of the Church without exception must take care of this. Can any member of the body say to another: I do not care whether there is or will be life in you or not? – We all, brothers, members of the one body of the Church, need to protect each other from the death of sin, encourage each other to love God and brotherly love, encourage each other to do good deeds. But how can this be accomplished without the right of teaching, and without the inappropriate claims of teaching? “A good intention can teach you this almost better than reasoning.” There are countless opportunities to encourage each other to do good: if we diligently take advantage of at least some of the most convenient ones; then we have already entered on a good path: but whoever has entered the path does not want to stop; the further path opens up before itself. A special way of expression in the Apostolic exhortation is noteworthy: “let us understand one another in encouraging love and good deeds.” This indicates our knowledge of each other, and through it the path is paved for mutual encouragement to virtue. In fact, how many people we know, whom we meet, see, spend time unconsciously indulging in entertainment, often without even thinking to ask ourselves about the benefits of our communications! Why not make this knowledge more reasonable? Why not give dating a more elevated direction? “Let us understand each other”, not only according to the visible image, but more so according to the invisible image of God in us, not by affectionate greetings, but especially by the words of truth and chastity, not by earthly kinship only, but also by the heavenly kinship of the children of God, not only by connections of temporary needs, benefits, pleasures, but much more by holy union in the search for eternal blessings, not by types of curiosity, but by striving for the honor of the high calling in Christ Jesus. So, understanding each other, how much time and activity, sometimes so carelessly wasted on idle conversations, on amusements, on vanities, could we save and turn to use consistent with the dignity of a person and a son of the Church and the Fatherland, to reasoning about the true good of each and everyone, about our own and mutual improvement, to edifying and soul-helping reading, instead of fruitless and irritating passions, finally doing good deeds, and encouraging others to do good! But would this mean changing the direction of the prevailing customs in society? Who can do this? - Yes, you and I cannot do this: that is why the Apostolic wisdom does not address you or me with the command to encourage others to goodness, but commands everyone collectively: “Let us understand each other in encouraging love and good deeds.” Oh, if only not everyone, although quite a few, were jealous of this with active zeal, constantly had this in mind, and were not hampered by petty obstacles in an important feat! – A good union of good wills will, without a doubt, greatly increase their strength and attract in abundance the blessing and power of God; and then good will decisively prevail; love will reign; the prosperity of the kingdom and the King will be perfect; The kingdom of earth will be the precursor to the city of heaven. And let it be! - Amen. You might be interested in: