66. Речь Благочестивейшему Государю Императору Николаю Павловичу, при сретении Его Величества в Свято-Троицкой Сергиевой лавре

(Spoken on September 25, printed separately and in collections of 1835, 1844 and 1848). Divinely Crowned Sovereign and Anointed One of God! From these sacred heights, which are before Your eyes, five centuries, rich in monuments, greet 354 this minute, which multiplies the monuments of this place. Here, where Demetrius Donskoy sought advice for victory, Peter the Great - for safety, many of Your Ancestors and predecessors - for reinforcement and encouragement of the spirit, for the great exploits of the great title - here You also appear to lay the Royal advice of Your soul before the Altar of the Trinitarian God, at the tomb of the chosen servant of God. A new, to the previous, feat of royal piety! Therefore, there is a new hope of heavenly blessings for the King and the kingdom. If anyone in particular asked what this journey to the deserted Altar meant; soon after Your Royal prayers and Your Royal consecration in Your Mother Throne City: to explain this, you can point out an even more ancient example, how a new, but already anointed and “fortified in his kingdom”, the King of the people of God, from the “Ark of the Lord”, which was in the Throne City of Jerusalem, ascended with prayer to Gibeon, “to the Tabernacle of the Testimony God, what Moses the servant of God did in the desert"; there he especially approached God, asked Him for Royal wisdom, and, for this excellent request, was abundantly rewarded with wisdom, wealth, and glory (2 Chronicles 1:1-12). Enlightened by such memories 355 about the spirit of the present event, we again hasten, Most Pious Sovereign, and here in the desert, just as before in the Capital, to join Your Royal prayer with common prayers: may the Lord give You according to Your heart, and carry out all Your counsel (Ps. 19:5), may Your Crown be endowed with wisdom, Power Yours is invincibly strong in truth and goodness, Your scepter is powerful through law and order; may Your Kingdom become a model of well-governed kingdoms, may Your August Family be preserved as a model of blessed families! In the department ed. and in collection 1835: looking at... In the department ed.: understandable... You might be interested in: