285. Слово в день венчания и помазания на царство Благочестивейшего Государя Императора Николая Павловича

(Said in the Assumption Cathedral on August 22; printed in the Works of the Holy Father and in the Provincial Gazette of 1853 and in the collection of 1861) Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). With reverent joy we now look at the crown, which is unattainably exalted above us, but which overshadows us all, and in which we can all boast before the nations. This is the crown that has rested on the head of our Most Pious Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich for twenty-seven years. This crown is joyful for us; because for all of us it is a cover, protection, decoration, glory: but it is heavy for the Crown Bearer; because this is the crown of election and sanctification for great deeds, and not the crown of reward and peace after deeds. The “burdens” of vast Russia are “borne…” by the Most Pious Autocrat, “fulfilling the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2) and the royal law. What strength is needed to lift, and carry, and direct the forces of all Russia in motion! It is righteous, therefore, that all the forces of the Russians unite, in order, if possible, to lighten the burden borne by the Autocrat, so that all the hearts of the Russians unite, so that with sincere prayers they call upon Him strength from the One by whom “kings reign” ( Proverbs 8:15): “Lord, in Your power” let the Tsar “rejoice, and in Your salvation” let him “rejoice greatly” ( Ps.20:2). From the crown exalted above us and inviolable for us, would you like to turn your thought to the crown that can touch the head of each of us? - Yes, there is a crown that is not unattainable for us, which we can desire and seek, which the Supreme Crowner promises, offers, almost gives to us. “I’ll give you,” he says, “the crown of the belly.” Listen well to this word. A “crown of the belly” is offered, a crown with which life is connected, with which the one crowned will not fear death. Would anyone be so unreasonable as not to desire such a crown? If you desire the crown offered, then you must accept the condition with which the crown is offered: for the Crown-Giver is not obliged to give you the crown just by your will; and this would be inconsistent with the dignity of both the Crown-Giver and the crown. The condition with which the crown of the belly is offered is that you be faithful to the Crown-Giver Christ, and, moreover, faithful to death. “Be faithful... until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” We call faithful one who fulfills the duty of allegiance and obedience, a recognized obligation, a given oath, and even a simple given word or promise without betrayal, without evasion, without weakening, without hypocrisy, actively, accurately, and sincerely. One can be considered faithful to death who remains faithful throughout his life until the end of it; Most of all, he should be considered faithful to death who, encountering circumstances in which fidelity cannot be maintained except by sacrificing pleasures, benefits, honors and life itself, is decisively ready to sacrifice and actually sacrifices pleasures, benefits, honors, life itself in order to maintain fidelity. I hope no one will challenge these concepts of fidelity. Now, in order to determine our due and actual loyalty to Christ, we must take into account what duties we have to Him and how we fulfill them. We are natural slaves of God and Christ, according to the sovereign right of the Creator over His creatures, the Almighty over everything that enjoys His provision and management. But since we have violated this natural union with God by our unfaithfulness and disobedience; and since Christ desires to elevate slaves to the level of freemen, and even to the dignity of sons, He called us to voluntarily enter into a new covenant with Him; and we entered into it by baptism, and accepted the duties associated with it. Which? – We renounced Satan and all his works, and united with Christ, confessing faith in Him and recognizing in Him our King and God. Are we faithful to the responsibilities we have assumed through this? – It seems that we are shunning the works of Satan; we do not rebel against God; We do not worship idols; we feel disgusted by malice and depravity; we maintain faith in the Holy Trinity and in Christ the Savior; we continue to recognize Him as our King and God, and, in accordance with His teaching, we render to the best of our ability “the things that are Caesar’s and the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). What do you think? Have we not already stood the test of faithfulness to Christ? Can’t we already stretch out our hand to the Crowned One and say: Lord, it seems we are faithful: give us the crown of life 743! “No, brethren, it may happen that this self-examination, which seems so satisfactory in terms of the importance of the objects and the plausibility of the expressions, will turn out to be incomplete and unreliable if we continue to test ourselves not with a superficial, but with a penetrating gaze, and if we begin to verify our thoughts and words with deeds and experience. The truth will be better revealed if we ask ourselves: have we acquired fidelity to Christian duties “until death”? “They will say, perhaps, that we can answer this question only when we die.” This is partly true; because even one who is firm in virtue cannot guarantee that the next day and hour will not fall; but partly it is not true, because “loyalty unto death” must be formed and established before death; and, consequently, some of its features should be noticeable in life, and even more noticeable is its lack. When a certain young man asked Christ the Savior: “What good will I do so that I may have eternal life” (Matthew 19:16)? - through this he expressed his intention to be faithful to the teachings of Christ until death in order to receive the crown of the life. But soon things showed that his soul had not acquired the virtue that the ghost appeared in his words. When it was demanded of him that he distribute his property to the poor, so that, in complete freedom from worldly worries, he could follow Christ: his loyalty to Christ instantly disappeared; he chose to be faithful to gold. This unfortunate personal experience expressed the general truth: whoever did not die to selfishness, as well as self-honor and carnality, and every kind of self-love and self-indulgence, would in vain flatter himself with the thought of being faithful to death to Christ and His teaching, and would unreliably stretch out his hand to the crown of the belly. Remember the faithful unto death, not only mentally, but truly and completely, the martyrs of Christ. They listened to the death sentence for loyalty to Christ with joy; with peaceful prayer they bowed their heads under the sword, or stones thrown at them; Neither the temptation of sensual pleasures, nor the sights of human gain and glory, nor threats, nor prison, nor confiscation of property, nor condemnation to hard work, nor the various torments of inventive malice could shake their loyalty - this slow, indecisive death, against which it is more difficult to resist unshakably than against a decisive, instant death. Can people who, thinking to be faithful to Christ, be much more faithful to their whimsical desires, their unconscious habits and vain customs, their passions, be able to withstand such experiences of fidelity? For example, would someone who cannot endure a one-day voluntary confinement in his home complacently endure a long prison term for faith and truth, not for some kind of torture of himself, but for useful work, for caring for the soul, for thinking about God, but feels an irresistible attraction, if not in the morning, then in the evening, to throw himself into the scattered circle of similar people, or into a whirlwind of amusements? Would he be fearless and unshakable, protecting his faith and conscience, in the sight of deprivation, suffering and death threatening for this, who hesitates before deprivation - fat food on the day of fasting, is afraid of dying - from abstinence, shows inattention to the leadership of the Mother Church, so as not to cause grief - to his womb? Or do we not need to worry too much about strict tests of loyalty because we are not living in martyred times? “But, brothers, the immortal Crowned One demands loyalty to death, and without that he does not promise to give the crown of the life.” Что же нам должно делать? – It is necessary to find a means of becoming faithful until death and without martyrdom, and to use such a means before death: because it will be too late to sow when the time comes to gather the fruits. The Apostle offers us such a remedy when he says: “put to death... your evils that are in the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil lust and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Mortify carnal pride and self-indulgence, not only in external actions, but also in the innermost movements of your heart, and this not only by your own wisdom, which the more arrogant, the less reliable, but by the constant turning of your heart to Christ, with a sincere desire to please Him, with the help of His grace. May the grace of Christ our God help us all, through constancy in this feat, to achieve perfect and unchangeable fidelity to Him, for which the crown of life is ready for Him. Amen. According to Jew. Collection and to Gubern. Ved. starting from these words until the end of the section it reads like this: “No, brethren, the self-test now proposed still lacks much in order for it to be complete and reliable, although there is truth in it.” You might be interested in: