277. Слово в день Восшествия на Всероссийский Престол Благочестивейшего Государя Императора Николая Павловича

(Said in the Chudov monastery on November 20; printed in the Moscow Gazette, in the Police and Provincial Gazette, in the Works of the Holy Ot. 1853 and in the collection of 1861) Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and the things that are God's to the Gods (Matthew 22:21). We often hear this saying of Christ the Savior when, in days like these, a loyal feeling gathers us to the church, “to make prayers, supplications, petitions, thanksgivings... for the King” (1 Tim. 2:1-2), given by God and preserved by God. And without a doubt, it was not only the Herodians and the Pharisees who once “heard and marveled” (Matthew 22:22): but even those who now reflect do not cease to be amazed at the manifold wisdom contained in a short saying. If the question were: “Is it worthy to eat the dati kinson of Caesar?” (Matthew 22:17) The Lord answered only: It is worthy: He would have spoken the truth, but without conviction in it. He would destroy the Herodian cove, who wanted to betray His region to the hegemon under the pretext of His disrespect for state power; but he would not have disarmed the Pharisees, who were preparing to accuse Him of servility to pagan power and of insulting the dignity of the people of God and God Himself. But when He pointed to the image and inscription of Caesar on the coin, and said: “Render... Caesar's to Caesar”: He spoke the truth, and convinced of it with obvious evidence. And when he added: “Render... to the Gods of God”: He destroyed the formidable fetter, and repelled the two-sided attack of the Herodians and Pharisees. When to one question, about duty to earthly power, He gave not one, but suddenly two answers, about duty to heavenly power, and about duty to earthly power: Through this He made it clear that the latter duty must seek support for itself in the first, and without it it is incomplete, not firm and insufficient. After many times, no doubt, you have heard thoughts mainly about one part of the Lord’s saying: “Render... Caesar’s to Caesar,” let us now give a series of thoughts mainly about the other part of it: “God’s Gods.” "God's Gods". What does it mean here: God's? How to render “Godly things to God”? In order to understand this in accordance with the spirit of the Divine Teacher, it is necessary to come to this in His direction. Looking at the coin, He said: “Render... Caesar's to Caesar, and God's to the Gods.” What was Caesar's here was said in advance: this is Caesar's image and inscription. What about God? - What remains is gold. Caesar gave the coin his image and inscription: and God created its gold: which is why He says in the Prophet, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine” (Hag. 2:8). Or, perhaps, Christ the Savior had in mind, in addition to the Roman coin that was before His eyes, another coin, the Jewish one - the shekel paid by the Jews in favor of the temple of Jerusalem, and thus appropriated to God. Be that as it may, giving the things that are Caesar's to Caesar, of course, does not mean removing His image and inscription from the coin and giving to Caesar; for this is not in the nature of things. Consequently, the saying of the Lord must be taken in a meaning not so much literal as contemplative and more extensive. So, “to repay... Caesar to Caesar” means to reward the actions of the Royal power that are beneficial for the subjects by the steady fulfillment of the corresponding loyal obligations. The king gives you a coin, marked by His power, as a solid and convenient tool for determining the dignity of your property, for the production of economic and commercial transactions: repay him with a certain share of your property and this coin itself, so that He has the means to provide you with this and other conveniences of social life. The Tsar gives you law and government, so that there is order in society, so that the rights of your title are known and recognized, so that your property is undoubted, and your person is inviolable to outside self-will: reward Him with obedience to His law and management, and thereby make it easier for Him to deliver these benefits to you and everyone. The Tsar gives you judgment and justice against insults and unjust deprivations: repay Him with your well-intentioned jurisdiction; appear in court with the truth, and not with slander and deceit; do not allow yourself to be arbitrary; be a truthful witness when legally required by the court. The Tsar provides you with public silence and security from enemies, constantly vigilant against the spirit of anxiety and warfare, not only within and on the borders, but also outside of His Power, forming with many labors, using the army with many difficult considerations, and even Himself with His associates becoming the rank of warriors: give Him, on the one hand, love for a quiet and silent life, on the other hand, readiness to bring every kind of defense to public safety. such sacrifice as the Tsar and the Fatherland may require. If, in fairness, the meaning of the rule should be so broad: “Render... Caesar’s to Caesar,” what can we say about the meaning of another rule: “God’s Gods”? It is not difficult to see that the meaning of this should be even more extensive, since the power of God is higher and more extensive than the power of Caesar. It is not just the image of things, or some sign placed on them that is God’s: God’s is everything from the deep essence of beings to their visible appearance; everything is God's, by the right of creation, by the right of preservation, by the right of management, for the good of all God's creations, and especially for the good and bliss of man. Therefore, it is full of power, and no withdrawal can weaken the Apostle’s question: “What... imashi, did you receive it?” (1 Cor. 4:7) And this is necessarily followed by an equivalent question: what do you have that you would not be obliged to “repay” to the all-giving God, what could you deny God? God gave you a mind: give it to God, devoting it to the knowledge of God, to thinking about God; and if by purifying and exalting it you achieve that the “star of the day” of God’s day “shines in your heart” (2 Pet. 1:19), devote your mind to the contemplation of the Divine. God gave you will: give it to God; let “your will be done in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 1:2); use it to fulfill the commandments of the Lord. God gave you a heart: give it to God, in other words, love God with all your heart. God, by the arrangement and protection of His Providence, gives you external earthly blessings: give them to God, sending an excess of them to Him through the hands of the poor; and what you use for yourself, you can and should give to God, not taking away from yourself, but recognizing God’s gifts in everything you use, and using them with thanksgiving to God. And who will count the gifts of God to man? But we cannot help but point out one more greatest one. God gave you His only begotten Son through the incarnation. Don’t object that I speak boldly. I say what the Prophet said: “To us a son was born a child, and he was given to us” (Is. 9:6). I say what the Son of God Himself said: “so... God loved the world, as... He gave His only begotten Son.” And with what terrible generosity he gave Him! He gave Him not only so that He would be for us a teacher of truth, a leader and an example of life, but He gave Him to die for us, “so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). After this, is it necessary to determine how and to what extent you should “render God to the Gods”? If you give to God not only everything you have, but also everything you think, feel, do, soul, body, life: can you not admit that in this way you are still giving back little to “God’s Gods”? If this can be considered sufficient, is it not only because you cannot do more? But by expanding in this way to infinity the scope of the commandment: “God’s Gods,” aren’t we already taking away space from another commandment: “Caesar’s to Caesar’s”? - Not at all. Is not the King and His beneficent power also a gift from God? “There is no... authority except from God” (Rom. 13:1), teaches the Apostle. “By me kings reign” (Prov. 8:15), proclaims the wisdom of God. Consequently, both for the Tsar and His sovereign power must be rendered to God who gave Him. How? - In order to reverently accept this gift of God and faithfully preserve it; and this means to be actively loyal, to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Thus, both commandments are not only compatible, but also conjoined and inseparable. It is necessary, however, not to ignore the fact that there is an order between the commandments of God and Christ that should not be violated. This order is clearly shown in the word of Christ: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is similar to it: love your sincere person as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). The same order must be between the commandments, which are only a special type of these main and general ones. The commandment: “God's Gods” is “the first and greatest”; commandment: “Casarean to Caesar” is the “second” commandment. The thought of this order should not weaken this second commandment, but should contribute to the full strength and effect of the first, to reinforce the last. It is worthy of careful attention whether we violate this Divinely established order in our affairs; Are we not depriving the first commandment not only of primacy, but also of equality with the second? We undertake to serve the King, with the readiness to sacrifice our lives even to the last drop of blood; and a truly faithful warrior fights and wins with joy for the King; and, according to another lot of battle, he dies with joy fighting for it. So the duty to God was fulfilled by the Holy Martyrs, who fought against the enemies of the kingdom of Christ not with weapons, but only with the word of Christ’s truth, and whose victory could only consist in the fact that they died for the truth, without betraying it. Let us test ourselves, are we ready in this way to “give back God to the Gods”? Or, perhaps, such a test is inconvenient when there are no cases in mind, to carry it out not only in thoughts, but in reality. I propose a less difficult test: are we ready to give up to death our pride in order to please the Almighty with humility, to hand over to death our stinginess in order to sacrifice deeds of mercy to the All-Good, to hand over to death our luxury and laziness in order to serve God the Spirit with abstinence, fasting and prayer? “Whoever can, let him say that he is ready to repay, and indeed will completely “reward... to God” all this: but many, I think, will admit with me that for this there is still a lot missing in us. And for this reason I remind myself, and everyone who needs it, to arouse zeal in themselves, so that as purely and completely as possible, I fulfill the first and great commandment of Christ: “God’s Gods,” so that the fulfillment of the other commandment: “Caesar’s Caesar,” God may bless with strength and good fruits for everyone. Amen. You might be interested in: