244. Беседа на обновление храма Святаго Архистратига Михаила, в кафедральном Чудове монастыре

(Said on September 6th; printed in the Works of the Holy Father in 1849 and in the collection of 1861) If you have found grace before God, ask to find a settlement for the God of Jacob: So Solomon built a church for Him (Acts 7:46–47). This is what Stephen the First Martyr says about Kings David and Solomon. What did David do? How did he “find” a “home for the God of Jacob”? – His biography shows that he undertook to create the church of God, and, by the revelation of God through an Angel, he determined a place for it. So, in the opinion of the holy First Martyr, in order to become a church builder, for this you must acquire the “grace” of God, you must “ask” this from God as mercy. Saint Alexy received the grace to turn the place where we are now into a village for the God of Jacob, to create this church for Him. Now, by the grace of God, we see this temple renewed in its interior with every possible preservation of its ancient image, and renewed not so much out of the need for its use, but out of respect for its antiquity. By now there is a renewal, a renewal in our thoughts of the ancient fate of this place, stretching from ancient to modern times. For four hundred and eighty years, and somewhat more before this, this place belonged to the Tatar Khan: because Tatar power then weighed heavily on Russia. There is no doubt that as a Grand Duke it was unpleasant to see in his Kremlin itself, not far from his palace, the possession of the Horde king; Likewise, Saint Alexy was unpleasant to see, not far from the cathedral church, a nest of worshipers of the false prophet. And if the Grand Duke has not yet found the means to change this, then of course, even less so the Bishop. But Alexy “find grace before God”: and she gave him the means to turn the courtyard of the enemies of Christianity into the house and village of the Christian God. The owner of this place, Khan Janibek, wife, Taidula, suffered severe seizures and lost her sight. As once with the pagan Naaman, the severity of his illness forced faith in the spiritual power of the Prophet Elisha: so it happened with the Mohammedan Taidula, according to rumors about the spiritual power of Saint Alexis. Khan demanded that he come and heal her. The saint did not waver in his faith: he came to the horde and healed the queen. The grateful Taidula gave him this place, and he, twelve years before his repose, created a monastery and church here in the name of the Holy Archangel Michael, “by the revelation of God,” as the ancient narrative says; but we don’t know what kind of revelation there was. The saint reposed and, according to his will, was buried here, in the church created by him. When about sixty years later, the church suddenly collapsed during the Divine service taking place in it. But, by the grace acquired by Saint Alexy, this did not cause harm to anyone, and was a call of Providence to the discovery of the relics of the Saint. Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich ordered to build a new stone church on the site of the destroyed one: and when it was necessary to deepen its foundation into the ground, then the relics of St. Alexis were found, fragrant with incorruption and healing power. If the church now renovated is not in all parts the same one that was founded by Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich: at least it is the same in its foundation; because, even after its re-creation at the beginning of the sixteenth century, it still retained the tomb of St. Alexis, in which Novgorod Archbishop Gennady was then honored to be enshrined, who diligently served this monastery and Orthodoxy. This church, upon its consecration, received into the chapel of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, already reverently venerated, the relics of St. Alexis, and kept them for several decades. Then, near this ancient church, a new church was erected in the name of St. Alexis, into which his relics were transferred; but over time this new church fell into disrepair, and traces of it disappeared. It was replaced by the now visible Church of St. Alexis and the Annunciation of the Mother of God, and already there the relics of St. Alexis, brought in by the hands of Kings John and Peter, rested. We can say that this ancient church quite firmly withstood the test that, according to the word of the Gospel, the church created by the wise man withstands: “the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and attacked that church, and did not fall: it was founded on stone” (Matthew 7:25). More than once the rain of misfortunes fell on this earth, sent by heaven to wash it away from sins and to incite good vegetation; more than once fiery rivers of fires came; more than once the winds of various human vicissitudes roared violently; The Lyakhs went on a rampage here, and from them, in this very monastery, the blessed Patriarch Hermogenes, for his zeal for the faith and unshakable loyalty to the fatherland, tasted the smooth death of martyrdom; the Gauls devastated and destroyed the Kremlin: but this church and this wall of ancient sacred images stands, having withstood the battles of people, times and elements; because it is established “in stone.” Which one? - On the stone of faith of Saint Alexis, on the grace given to him, on his initial blessing here, on himself, on his body, which rested at the foundation of this church, before its stone foundation. Not every person is given the lot to create or restore a church to God, stone or wooden: but each of us has an animated church of God, more or less dilapidated, which can and must be restored. By creating man, God created an animated church for Himself, and placed His image in it. Man, seduced by a flattering spirit, not content with the honor of being the church of God, wanted to be God himself: and he overshadowed the image of God in himself, and the church of God led to desolation and disrepair. The all-good God the Father, without yielding his work to evil, sent His only begotten Son, by whom “all things were created” (Col. 1:16), to re-create His church in man; and in order to renew His image in him, through incarnation he introduced into humanity the consubstantial “image of His Hypostasis” (Heb. 1:3). The God-man, Jesus Christ, according to His own destiny and prophecy, “ruined” by death on the cross, “erected the church of His body” (Matthew 27:40) by resurrection, so that, in the likeness of this and by the power of this, a new church of God, or the Church, could be erected both in all humanity and in every person. Christ himself is the foundation of this church, according to the word of the Apostle: “No one can lay another foundation than the one that lies, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11); himself and the builder, according to His own word: “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). There are also auxiliary creators, building with the instruments of the word and the sacraments, as the Apostle says about this: “We are helpers for God; For the Architect is wise and lays a foundation; but he edifies” (1 Cor. 3:9–10). But since it is not dead, but living churches that are built: then we, who are being built, should not be idle, which the Apostle gives us when he says: “I come to Christ as living stones; I was made low of man, but chosen by God, honorable, and you, like living stones, are built into a spiritual church” (1 Pet. 2:4-5). Build yourself into a spiritual church: isn’t this a difficult requirement? “Truly, brethren, it is difficult; I will say more: even the impossible can be accomplished if we decide to build ourselves up only with our own mind, only with our own strength.” When the first of the Apostles, called Peter, that is, “the stone” (Mark 3:16), no doubt, due to his special firmness, wanted to establish himself in his own thoughts and in his strength, and said: “even if all are offended, I will never be put off” (Matthew 26:33): it soon turned out that he was building on the sand: from a light wind from the lips of an idle slave she fell his spiritual church by renouncing Christ. But “what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). The same Peter, when he corrected the error of self-foundation and self-reliance, when he ceased to assert himself on his strength and virtue, why did he say: “Did I create them by my own strength or piety” (Acts 3:12)? When he began to establish himself on the gracious power of Christ, as he said: “This is the stone that is at the head of the corner: and there is no other salvation” (Acts 4:11): then he not only firmly founded his spiritual church and created it high, but also sometimes created several thousand living churches in one day, through teaching, baptism and the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the other supreme Apostle, while “working more than all” the Apostles, did not attribute anything to himself, but attributed everything to grace: “not I, but the grace of God who is with me” (1 Cor. 15:10), - he created many and great Churches, and he strengthened and adorned the entire universal Church with his writings. These examples are high for us: however, the law of a solid foundation and creation, both for great and small buildings, is the same. And each of us, in order to build ourselves into a spiritual church, let us not rely on our own wisdom, let us not rely on our own strength, but seek the grace of God; let him ask for God's mercy; Let him place Christ, and faith in Him, and love for Him as the foundation of his thoughts, deeds and life; and on this “foundation” let us “edify” according to the allegory of St. Paul, not “wood, hay, reeds,” that is, not vain and corruptible thoughts and deeds of the flesh and world, but “silver, gold, honorable stones” (1 Cor. 3:12), that is, pure thoughts and deeds of piety and virtue. If we build ourselves up in this way, then “even if our earthly church of the body is destroyed, we will have a creation from God, a church not made with hands, eternal in heaven” (2 Cor. 5:1). Amen. You might be interested in: