374. Слово на освящение храма Святой Троицы в Махрищском монастыре

(Said on August 23 to the Trinity Seminary of Higher Eloquence and Rhetoric by teacher Vasily Drozdov; published in 1867 in the History of Trinity Seminary by S. Smirnov from a handwritten collection donated to the Moscow Theological Academy by Pavel Archbishop of Chernigov, with the preacher himself making a significant edition and some changes in the text.) This place is terrible: this is not, but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven (Gen. 28:17). This is how dead matter receives the living impression of living faith! This is how piety changes and glorifies the places it visits! Yesterday, the coverless wanderer stopped to rest in the desert, “and took some stones from that place and put it at his head” (Gen. 28:11), now opening his eyes, he sees that “this is a terrible place,” that this is not an ordinary place, but “the house of God, and the gates of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). - Jacob! Was it a single night's sleep that created this miracle? When my flesh slept, he answers, my faith was awake, “and the ladder..., whose head reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on her, and the Lord was established on her” (Gen. 28:12-13). Desert inhabitants! Do you not see with open eyes the dreams of Jacob? A man after God’s heart recently came to you, and you thought that he only wanted to live with you; but, seeing the ruins here, he took from the stones of this place and laid them as the foundation of a new building. Several times later I saw his resting place; but then his protective spirit watched over him; the beneficent hand was opened; the oil of generosity was shed, the stone grew and prospered. And what do you finally see? Sister, her head reaches to heaven; for the Lord is established in her. A terrible place, the house of God, the gates of heaven. This is since we have now seen you 901, builder of the mysteries and angel of God’s Church, ascending and descending along this ladder; You brought heaven down to its top, and established the throne of the Trinitarian God on it; however, we do not take away the work of your hands from you when we give it to God: we thereby confess your virtue. Vanity would make a dwelling of pleasures; pride would build a church for itself - piety builds a church of piety and the house of God. But since Jacob is spiritual, it is left to him to see clearly his secrets; the essence is not of those standing here, who see the single stone of this place and its outer beauty, then now call on this grace from above, so that even if I partially see with my spirit and, tearing apart the veil of coarse sensuality, I will reveal “the greatness of the house of God here.” When we call one place preferentially, above others, the house of God, let no one think that we represent God as capacious and limited. We willingly agree with the ancient opinion that God “is a circle, whose center is everywhere, and whose surroundings are nowhere.” But then only we can indicate the center of the circle when it is depicted by a visible sign; in a similar way, then we say with Jacob: the Lord is in this place, when His presence becomes perceptible to us. So we see the invisible of God from the creation of the world to be conceived by creatures and we say: nature is the church of the Creator. We are amazed at the vigilant eyes guarding day and night, finding the subtle being of light, more than anything visible, close to the spiritual, and we call heaven the throne of the invisible King. So the Apostle, noticing how God acts in His chosen ones, even in His will and in His deeds, greets them: “You are the living church of God” 902 (2 Cor. 6:16), “and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). The church of nature is vast or disrespected by habit or ignorance; the throne of heaven is beyond the reach of the earthly mind; the inner church is sometimes invisible even to its members themselves, as happened with Elijah, to whom God showed seven thousand men in it when he considered himself its last remnant; and for those who still need to be called to it, it is completely incomprehensible. Meanwhile, a more or less sensual person seeks to approach God sensually; in this case, without a doubt, He Himself approached the weakness of our flesh, to raise us through the sensory to the spiritual - when He revealed Himself visibly in supernatural and mysterious phenomena, and this was the pure beginning of both external worship and all sacred places, starting from Abel’s altar to the bloodless Christian altars; while places of worship became objects of worship and the power of the signified was attributed to signs, idolatry, superstition, idols, and churches were born. - What else would this church be if not a church, if only its sensual splendor attracted our respect? Wouldn’t these sacred images also turn into idols for us if we prostrated ourselves before them in the blind hope of receiving sanctification from them, and not because, by reading this open book of the mysteries of knowledge and Christian virtues, we rise in spirit to the heights? A substance can be sanctified by the Divine rather than sanctified by humanity. This is the church of the Lord: for the Creator here accepts 903 the worship of the creature, in the person of man. This is the throne of the King of kings: for here He is heard to execute His judgments and justifications upon the kings 904. This is the church of the living God: for here those who come to Christ are living stones, humbled by man, chosen and honorable by God, and you yourself, like living stones, are built into a church 905 spiritual, the priesthood is holy, offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God Jesus Christ. Most of all, this is the house of God: for here God appears 906 not so much in the vestment of majesty and glory, but in the meek simplicity of the Father, turning in the midst of his children and associates, speaking to them with love, listening to them with mercy, feeding them with the bread of his belly, and now extending His arms to them, now accepting them with his arms. This is the wonderful bed on which, under the cover of secrecy, rests the very Divine body of the Divine Redeemer, and together with the meal from which the faithful eat His flesh and drink His blood. (Further the preacher omitted 907). Christ-named listeners! If it is not in vain that you bear this glorious name and have flowed here accompanied by faith and love, then you yourself see in your spirit the advantage and inviolable shrine for the wicked, befitting the house of the Lord, whose shadow I dared to draw. In such a disposition, it is not difficult for you to understand how you can feel and say: “since Thy village is beloved, O Lord of hosts!” (Ps.83:2) “we rejoiced at those who said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Ps.121:1). It will also not seem surprising to you that the entire church recognizes itself as a debt to the creators of the holy churches and invites you to pray for their longevity and prosperity. Amen. But am I not falling into the substance that I recently trampled on; when I bear witness to the presence of the Divine by the mysterious body of Christ. No way, listeners, it is not a dead body, but immortal and life-giving. For where dark feelings touch the body of Christ, there the believing spirit draws closer to the spirit of the Son of God. Coming here with one accord in His name, blessing His magnificent name here, praying that His name may be hallowed in us, learning truth and virtue in His name, we are confident that He is not far away. We have His immutable promise about this: “where... two or three congregations will be in My name, I am also in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). After this, it may be asked: what is the need to attribute too excellent the honor of the house of God to known places, if Christ honors with His presence every place where His true worshipers are found? Not responding to this either with the ancient tradition of the Church, or with the inevitable need for every well-established class, much less for a society united by the bonds of purest love, sealed by the highest sacraments, to have meetings for the edification of the benefit of everyone, and to show special respect for the places designated for them, leaving all this, I only ask each other: where is that happy place, except here, in which would at least two or three constantly gather in the name of Christ? The most numerous, the most brilliant gatherings in the world are gathered by vanity, or even carnivorous people attend, in quiet, called friendly conversations, self-interest reflects or whispers slander. Deception screams in the marketplace, deceit wriggles in court, luxury reigns in the city, discord and drunkenness sweep through villages and villages. The name of Christ is constantly preserved only in the mouths of those asking for alms - for most of the others, at least we hear it less often than the disgusting name of the devil; for many no innocent word has any taste anymore; and a useful word is often punished with a cold response: “this is a sermon.” What else does the world want, arming itself against respect for places dedicated to the name of God? Is it necessary that virtue, worn out by the storms of life, should not find a haven for rest, that hungry souls should not know where to satisfy their hunger, that piety, having become less solemn, should seem less important for the good of mankind, and that the name of Jesus should not have a better fate than to wander among the poor? My God! What else should I say? Not everyone gathers in Your sacred enclosure in Your name. Sometimes I don’t know, but You see how the tares oppress Your wheat, and the goats stink among the lambs; as the Pharisee leaves the publican behind him, and strangers mingle with Thine. One appears to tell You about his good deeds, as if You knew him little, just as He knows You; the other is to show the people his rich clothes. Others are attracted by custom or fear of exposure. Others, bored with wasting time at home, hasten to kill it instead of sacrifice before Your altar. They conveniently forget about who they are coming to, and are busy with each other, looking around, judging, talking, quarreling. Come to your senses, daring ones! This is not a market place; not a house of vanity and idleness, “this is not, but the house of God” (Gen. 28:17). He is here, of whom you think so little, He notices your disorders in your midst. What am I saying?.. You would be happy if He were “a mediator for you too.” He is not among those who have gathered “in His name” (Matthew 18:20); but He drives you out from before His presence. Not all those who are within these walls are in the house of God. The house of God constitutes not only the condescension of God towards man, but also the mutual approach of man to God. Prayer presses at his door; faith allows in; love dwells in him eternally. Flowing here with one accord in His name and blessing His magnificent name here, praying that His name may be hallowed in us, learning truth and virtue according to His will, we are confident that He is not far from us. We have His immutable promise about this: “where... two or three congregations are in My name, I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). After this they will ask: what is the need to attribute excellent honor to the houses of God in certain places, if Christ honors with His presence every place where His true worshipers are found? Not responding to this either with the ancient tradition of the Church, or with the inevitable need for every well-established class, much less for a society bound by the bonds of purest love, sealed with the highest sacraments, to have meetings for the edification of the benefit of everyone, and to show special respect for the places designated for them - we ask each other: where can there be a happy place, except here, in which two or three would constantly gather in the name of Christ's? Where will virtue, tired of the storms of life, find a refuge for rest? Where can souls hungry for truth satisfy their hunger? So! but what am I saying? Already, not everyone gathers into Thy, O God, sacred enclosure in Thy name. We do not see, but You see how the tares oppress your wheat, and the goats stink among the lambs; as the Pharisee leaves the publican behind him and strangers mingle with Thine! One appears to tell You about his good deeds, as if You knew him as little as he knew You; another is to show the people his rich clothes; others are attracted by custom, or fear of exposure; others, bored with wasting time at home, hasten to kill it instead of sacrifice before Your altar. They easily forget about who they are coming to, and are busy with each other, looking, judging, talking, quarreling... Oh, may my lips not speak of human deeds!!! Come to your senses, daring ones! This is not a market place, not a house of vanity and idleness, “this is not, but the house of God” (Gen. 28:17). He is here, of whom you think so little: He is “in the midst of you”; notices your disorder. But what did I say? Would you be happy if He were among you... No! He is among those who have gathered “in His name”; but He drives you out from before His presence. And thus, not all those who are within these walls are in the house of God. The House of God constitutes not only the condescension of God to man, but also the mutual approach of man to God: if prayer presses into the door of his heart, faith is allowed in, love dwells in him unconditionally. Appeal to Met. Plato. The collection says: “grateful worship.” The same word was published, after the death of the preacher, in 1868 in the readings of the Moscow Society of Love. Spirit. Enlightenment Here the word “kings” is added: “and nations.” In the collection: “The Lord is spiritual.” Omission [ omitted . – AV.] this one is also in the “collection”, printed in the “readings”. In view of the significant difference between the “collection” and the “readings”, we print what was missing from both texts. You might be interested in: