56. Слово при гробе в Бозе почившаго Государя Императора Александра Павловича

(Spoken in the Archangel Cathedral on February 4 days; printed separately and in meetings of 1835, 1844 and 1848). There was no king like him before him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength. – Otherwise, the Lord does not turn away from the fury of His great anger (2 Kings 23:25, 26). Oh God! Is Your anger so implacable? A king, not only pious, but also unparalleled in piety, a king who “do what is right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 22:2), a king who tried not only to cleanse Judah, subject to him, but also the entire land of Israel from idolatry, and to enlighten him with true worship, who, as soon as he learned the book of God’s law, immediately brought before her repentance for his iniquities people, and from then on he did not cease to be her disciple, executor, defender, preacher; such a king, with such a heart and soul, could not turn the Lord away from the fury of His great wrath; but this anger was revealed by the early and sudden death of this king himself, Josiah. Oh God! Is Your anger so inexorable? Is this not the wrath of God over us, Russians? For what does this, which did not threaten us, but is already real, mean, the death of this truly Most Pious King - a death that neither His summer called upon, nor His strength, apparently, did not allow, nor did His illness itself, at the beginning, foreshadow? Doesn’t this mean that God is angry with us, and “the Lord does not turn away from the fury of His great anger?” The Jewish people did not know the value of the treasure that they had in their king Josiah: they did not know when they had it, and did not use this treasure. “All Judah and Jerusalem wept for Josiah. And Jeremiah wept for Josiah, and all the princes and princesses said to weep for Josiah” (2 Chronicles 35:24, 25). Oh! late, most of them wept for Josiah, instead of previously weeping more earnestly with Josiah, when his heart was crushed by repentance, and humbled before the terrible judgment of God, when he wept before God and was heard. Jeremiah, without a doubt, knew better than anyone why he “weeped” when others only “cryed”: he wept with double weeping, weeping for the deprivation of the king, and weeping for the late weeping of the people. Nations to whom God gave Blessed Alexander on the day of His favor! (for He was given from God to the nations, and not to the Russian people alone) nations! Have you realized the full value of this Treasure? Have you secured for yourself all the benefits with which it could enrich you? What prophetic word can answer this? - Time will respond to this with events. - Eternal One, who reigns over time, may peace speak upon the Successor of the power and virtues of Alexander, so that the “voice of joy and salvation in the villages of the righteous” may be renewed and not silenced! (Ps. 118:15) But should we now talk about the great treasure? Should we mourn a great loss? Should I speak out of the abundance of a sad heart? or remain silent for lack of a worthy word? Give me the word, or teach me silence. I don’t know how to speak, and I don’t know how to remain silent. I renounce the immense feat of praising Alexander, already Blessed, but one cannot refrain from sad thoughts and words before the Church about the King, who, like Josiah, is worthy for the Prophets to weep for Him. Imagine a man who stands over a stream and sees his treasure being thrown into the depths. Touching the waters, it produces a sound and gives birth to circles, one more spacious than the other: but at the same moment it disappears into the depths, and only the trembling of the waters remains noticeable to the viewer. Like this, whoever can contemplate, let him now stand above the stream of times, above the waters of the nations, as the language of the Prophets expresses. See how precious life has appeared; she moved the nations with her strength; filled with her activity the most numerous circles, one more spacious than the other; made loud sounds of glory: but suddenly it plunged into eternity, and one trembling movement of a formidable accident spread across all known nations. Alexander, still in the cradle, the joy and hope of the fatherland, - Alexander, in the Porphyry family, joy and love, - Alexander, at the beginning of the century on the Throne, like the sun in the east, - Alexander in Russia, Father of the people, Savior of the Empire, - Alexander in Europe, restorer of Kings, reconciler of Kingdoms, soul of the royal Councils of Europe, - Alexander in the Kingdom of God, chosen instrument of King Christ, to solemnly console and exalt Christianity, where it was solemnly rejected and desecrated by an entire people, is the flesh-bearing Archangel of the heavenly forces on earth, conquering with heavenly weapons, the Blood of the Lamb, meekness and humility; - what bright views! what majestic images! But how suddenly they all close with one gloomy line: Alexander in the grave! If in the realm of nature there are omens and premonitions of the extraordinary and great, just as in the highest realm of the spirit of foreshadowing and prophecy: Alexander’s life was marked by them many times. What does it mean that His birth was on the day when the sun, distant from us, turns to us with its light; and the accession to the Throne of the Empire, at a time when the sun, having increased the light to balance with darkness, begins spring for our countries, a time of development and revitalization of earthly nature? - Did that happen? A calm answer for people who consider the work of reasoning unnecessary, and are afraid lest they learn something unusual, or lest they encounter Providence! The signs of the times are not so insignificant for the wise man, who knows that “the power of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, and He will raise up in time what is needed on it” (Sir.10:4). Saint Ambrose of Milan, even speaking about the Nativity of the Savior, so abundant in miraculous signs, does not leave without comment this natural sign of the times that “with the Nativity of Christ the day increases” (Words for the Birth of Christ). What did the unusually living joy mean, about which you can still ask your elders of Russia, and they say - unusually, I say, the living joy of the people, at the birth of Alexander, when the born baby was only still the Heir of the Heir? What did this mean that when the grandchildren, like new olive trees, surrounded the Great Catherine, all beautiful in soul, all beloved, Alexander was primarily Her admiration? What did Russia's delight mean when she saw Alexander on the Throne? – Experience gives us the right to say that these were great forebodings of the Great Empress and the Empire. In accordance with the signs of the times, one of the first exploits of Alexandrov’s reign was the effort to increase light in the North, subject to Him. Institutions for the education of the people have been multiplied, protected by regulations, located in the right circles, brought to a common focus, located near the Throne itself, decorated with new objects of knowledge, enriched with methods, elevated in rights, both for those who communicate and for those who receive enlightenment. How the light spread 300, from this, and how beneficial it was, let the enlightened see and determine. The royal business is to create monasteries of enlightenment firmly and splendidly, and to cover them with His High patronage, and not to teach doctrine or guide young men. But the special time for which “He who has in His hand the power of the earth,” as necessary, “raised” Alexander, was not the quiet morning of Russia, but the stormy evening of Europe. The storm of rebellion destroyed both the Throne of the King and the Altars of Christ among the people, who until then, apparently, breathed only a light wind; and the terrible ruins were washed by a continuous bloody rain. From the impulses of anarchy, a power-stealer was born, like a strong whirlwind, which either carried away the Thrones from the places where they were, or placed them in places where they were not; and which, finally, having raised most of Europe, brought it down on Russia. What if at this time, when this “superfluous” on earth has become so strong and exalted, what if the Lord had not raised up the “needed” on it? What would happen to the peoples who, from day to day, multiplying the number of enslaved people, thereby multiplying the number of instruments of enslavement, and increasing the power of the enslaver, and to whom he did not want to leave any other security than to enter into enslavement, or any other honor than to be the instruments of enslavement? What would happen to the sacred Royal dignity, which the non-porphyritic King insulted purely, and the humiliation of the Porphyritic, and the exaltation of the non-porphyritic? What would have happened to the spirit of the people, what would have happened to the enlightenment and intelligence of the most educated part of the world, when unlimited self-love, not respecting any boundaries of the ruler, certainly demanded that everyone should only be able to subservience to him, that virtue would strive only to fulfill his will, truth - to caress him, knowledge - to invent only means for his goals, art - to produce him monuments of his glory, or to multiply his idol? What should Christian worship also expect from the supposed restorer in his land, who gave him the form of restoration only in order to thereby receive for himself the form of sanctification, who with one hand restored the Altar of Christ, and with the other, with much greater effort, created the Synagogue of the Christ-killing people? What would happen to the land, so distressed and even more threatened? What an abyss of evils opens up upon this reflection! Therefore, what is the boundless goodness of “He who has in His hand the power of the earth” that he erected Alexander on it in order to close this abyss? The more disastrous and terrible is what was, and would have been, without Him: the more majestic and beneficial is what followed through Him. God, Who raised up Alexander for a time of extraordinary battles and exploits, taught Him to contrast the weapons of carnal warfare with not only carnal, but especially spiritual, even, without unfair reproach to anyone, one might say, the infernal weapons of heaven, cunning with truth, audacity with firmness and patience, arrogance with meekness and humility, hope in art and human strength - trust in help and providence of God. And what happened next? The idol of France was crushed on the chest of Russia. His unwitting admirers have been given the freedom to come out of their delusion. The union called the fetters of many kingdoms fell apart. Alexander with victory in the capital of the enemies who destroyed you, the Capital of Alexander was then revived, and “punishes” them with the punishment of “the righteous, with mercy” (Psalm 141:5). Doesn't touch anything; does not require anything; does not show or accept the glory of the winner; gives them captives, gives Christian honor to their Martyr King; gives them security to proclaim the exiled Tsar, and restore the legitimate, but long-destroyed Throne. What an extraordinary victory over our enemies! And since such a lofty victory did not for a moment move Alexandrov’s spirit from a deep foundation of humility: what an even more extraordinary victory over victory itself! And what else! the glory of victories in truth, previously almost forgotten, was brought to the Lord of hosts. The hitherto indomitable spirit of warfare is bound. For the unions of Kings and kingdoms, for which they had not hitherto found a more decent law, like the law of self-interest and mutual envy, Alexander, by His strong example, laid the foundation for the law of selflessness and benevolence, in a word, the Christian law. The disagreements of peoples are either stopped or weakened. The seditionists, if not destroyed, are driven to despair. Matters that were decided by the sword are already being resolved by councils. Alexander's numerous army stands in silence, like a majestic guardian of the world, not only of Russia, but also of Europe. Having protected himself from external enemies, Alexander, according to His own saying, turns against internal enemies, against injustice, indecency, impiety; like the sun, in regular processions, goes around the earth under His control, everywhere showing everyone the animating gaze of benevolence, an example of reverence for God, the action of truth and mercy. We enjoyed security and peace; expected and demanded bliss: - alas! perhaps they waited too impatiently and grumblingly, without thinking about the difficulties that those who create the good of nations encounter; - perhaps they unjustly demanded, being unworthy of bliss, themselves hindering the creation of it by a lack of pure and obedient zeal for the common good, depleting the general abundance with our luxury, complicating the laws and their action by multiplying lawlessness; - and the Lord saw; and became angry; “And the Lord do not turn away from the fury of His great wrath!” Where is this new Josiah, “who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength” (2 Kings 23:25)? What did the majestic procession bring us? What did our zealous meeting find? - One deathly thing left from an immortal one. “Let all Judas and Jerusalem weep” again – all the people and the Throne City! “Let all princes and princesses say weep!” Let the Servants of the Word and Sacraments “weep,” with the lament of “Jeremiah,” or the lament of David! I hear the singer of Israel crying: “Mountains of Gilboa! let the dew not fall, let the rain fall on you!” Why is this curse on innocent nature? – “For there the shield of the mighty was broken down” (2 Samuel 1:21), complains the singer of Israel. But the strong threw down the shield, yielding to the strongest in battle: why be indignant at the place that received them in their fall? Come, singer of sorrow: I will show you a place more worthy of indignation. Come, help me complain about the Taurian mountains. “Mountains of Tavria! let the dew not fall, let the rain fall on you!” The strong ones were not struck by the weapons of the enemies: the mountain wind pierced the Sacred Head. Not a small shield of the few strong ones was defeated there: the great shield of the prosperity of the great Empire, the strong shield of the peace of Europe, was pierced by an invisible arrow. It is not Saul who is abandoned who is looking for the death that surrounds him: but Beloved David is looking for life for his Beloved sick Spouse; and death, which no one suspects, seeks Himself. “Mountains of Tavria! let the dew not fall, let the rain fall on you!” But this indignation is also futile, and perhaps insolent. “Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God” (1 Peter 5:6). It is better for us and for those we mourn, to pray rather than to complain. King of Kings! You raised Him up for a time; You called Him to eternity. Accept what You have given; do not abandon those whom you deprive. You “took” this King as “righteous, from the presence of unrighteousness” (Is. 57:1), when she was preparing to again give birth to apostasy from the Kings; (for the destroyer of world sedition had to be removed from grave sorrow, to see their branch penetrating even into the fatherland;) have mercy, Lord, take this untruth from the face of the remaining righteous! Christ, our life! in You alone He sought healing and life during the days of His illness; make Him worthy “to commune with You in the unfading days of Your kingdom,” in the Council of the Kings who reign with You forever! Amen. In the department ed.: distributed. You might be interested in: