95. Слово в день Тезоименитства Благоверного Государя, Наследника Престола, Цесаревича Великого Князя Александра Николаевича

(Spoken in the Assumption Cathedral, August 30th; printed in meetings of 1844 and 1848) Fear God, honor the king. (1 Peter 2:17). In the congregation of those who fear God and honor the King, it is not difficult to proclaim this teaching. Before it is proposed, it is already accepted; before it is preached, 487 is fulfilled. For what brought you to this House of God if not piety, or the fear of God? What has gathered you precisely now, and is gathering you in days like these of glory, joy and hope of the Tsar, if not reverent respect for the Majesty of the Anointed of God, combined with love for Him and for the hopeful Heir of His greatness and virtues, and with the desire to preserve these gifts of God for a long time? So, is it necessary to repeat: “Fear God, honor the king”? I'm glad if it's not necessary; I hope that this will not be unnecessary. Perhaps not each of us has thought about what it means that the two commandments: “Fear God, honor the king,” in the teaching of the Holy Apostle Peter are placed side by side, in direct proximity to each other. And in this reflection, perhaps, there will be something worthy of attention. We find a similar convergence of the thought of God with the thought of the king in Jesus Christ himself, when He says: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto the Gods that are God's” (Matthew 22:21). But here the combination of thoughts is produced not simply by the will of the speaker, but by the complexity of the question to which He answers: “Is it worthy to eat kinson to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17) - the disciples of the Pharisees and followers of Herod asked the Lord, expecting that if the answer was: it must; then the Pharisees can accuse Jesus before the people of lack of zeal according to the law of God, in which it is written: “half a didrachm is a tribute to the Lord” (Ex. 30:13), and not to the earthly king; if the answer is: it shouldn’t; in this case, the Herodians will accuse Jesus before the Roman government of speaking outrageously against Caesar. In order to cut through this mutual network, a sharp response was required from both: give Caesar what is Caesar's, - pay tribute to Caesar with a coin that bears his image and inscription - a sign of his power, and his guarantee for the safety of property; give what is God to God - give half a didrachm as tribute to the church of God, as prescribed by the law of God. There are duties not only to God, but also to the King; one does not contradict the other; both can and should be performed together. The sayings of the Holy Apostle Peter in his Epistle are not governed by any noticeable, external, random reason. His thoughts freely follow the contemplation of truth, and his words follow his thoughts. Following the thought of God, the thought of the king will naturally be born in him, and the duty to the king becomes next to the duty to God. What especially remarkable can we discover in this combination of the Apostle’s thoughts? Before answering this question, we must remember that what was written in the first century of Christianity is now offered to the people of the nineteenth century, that, however, the spirit of the Gospel, like the Spirit of God, embraces all times; and that therefore he speaks in the first century that and in such a way that and in what way is necessary and satisfactory for the nineteenth, as well as for all other centuries. The unfortunate quality of wisdom, which dominates the minds more in modern times than before, is distrust of the truth, in all kinds of knowledge. About everything that was previously recognized as the solid foundation of other knowledge, they now ask whether this really is a foundation, and, under the pretext of testing and verification, they undermine it in various ways, not realizing that this work is only destructive, and not creative. What is the rule based on: “Fear God”? What is the basis of the rule: “Honor the Tsar”? Is it not because the Priest preaches respect for the Tsar that he hopes for his patronage for his ministry? Is it not because the Tsar patronizes the Altar that he hopes to have him as a support for the Throne? Is it not only mutual benefit that connects the Altar with the Throne? Forgive me, Holy 488 Divine Truth, that before Your Sanctuary I am forced to reveal part of the depths of the darkened, overthrown wisdom! And you, wisdom worthy of the last times, lofty only in a proud opinion of yourself, deep only because you rummage in the earth and dust of sensory experiences and petty research, fruitful only in doubts and suspicions, firm only in the stubbornness of unbelief! Listen, if you want to listen impartially, the truth does not hesitate to stand against your daring test, and simply appear before your cunning research. Yes, there is benefit when the Altar and the Throne are united; but it is not mutual benefit that is the first basis of their union, but an independent truth that supports both. Goodness and blessing to the King, patron of the Altar; but the Altar is not afraid of falling even without this protection. The Priest is right when he preaches respect for the Tsar: but not by right of reciprocity alone, but by pure obligation, even if this happened without the hope of reciprocity. Here is a man who was recently a fisherman, and who, having ceased to be such, has not become anything important for Jerusalem and Rome, and several others like him cry out to the Jerusalemites and Romans, Jews and pagans: “Fear God!” Believe in the Lord Jesus! This voice passes through the universe, passes through centuries. Thousands and myriads of Jews believe in Jesus, whom they crucified. Millions of former polytheists feared the One God. Everywhere there are Christian Altars on the ruins of Jewish Synagogues and pagan temples. Which powerful king helped this huge revolution? Constantine the Great? - No way! He came to the Altar of Christ when it already stood in the space of Asia, Europe and Africa; - came not in order to support him with his might, but in order to prostrate himself with his majesty before his shrine. “He who lives in heaven” early “mocked” (Psalm 2:4) those who late decided to humiliate His Divine Religion to dependence on human benefits. To make their wisdom ridiculous, He delayed for three centuries to call the strong King to the Altar of Christ; and meanwhile, from day to day, kings, peoples, priests, sages, strength, art, self-interest, untruth, cunning, rage rose up to destroy this Altar. What finally? - All this has disappeared: but the Church of Christ stands; not because it is supported by human strength, but because “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18); because Christ reigns and establishes the universe with His Kingdom, and not His Kingdom with the universe. “The Lord reigned, clothed with beauty; - for establish the universe, which cannot move” (Psalm 93:1). Here is another appeal from the former fisherman: “honor the king.” Let the sages look for doubts and suspicions, whatever reciprocity, benefit, hope could make this preacher biasedly favor the king. Who was the king who first and most closely encountered the preaching of St. Peter? - Herod. What services did Herod provide to Christianity? - “Lay,” says the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, “lay King Herod on the hand of someone who has embittered someone from the Church. Kill Jacob's brother John with the sword. And when he saw that he was a Jew, he put him and Peter into prison” (Acts 12:1-4). An angel miraculously delivered Peter from prison and from the Tsar: and after that Peter preaches: “Honor the Tsar.” What also did the Apostolic Power of Rome reward Peter for his exploits? Not the cross of honor, but the cross of crucifixion. Peter expected this, with probability, by examples, even with certainty, by the prediction of the Lord: and he preached respect for the king to the subjects of the king, from whom he was preparing to suffer. What was this sermon based on? – Of course not on reciprocity, benefit, hope. On what? - Without a doubt, on Divine truth, and not human. “Fear God: honor the king.” The first of these commandments is firm in its own right: the thought of God necessarily contains the thought of reverence for God. The first establishes the second: for if you fear God, you cannot help but respect what God has decreed; but as, according to the words of another Apostle, “there is no power except from God: the powers that exist are created by God” (Rom. 13:1), and the supreme power, the closest on earth to God, “God’s servant is” (Rom. 13:4): then, truly reverent before God, you cannot help but zealously honor the King. Now it has been revealed what the Apostle was thinking when he directly connected the thought of reverence for the king with the thought of the fear of God. He wanted to briefly, but at the same time, purely and thoroughly teach the doctrine of the office of a Christian and citizen. Having said: “Fear God,” he set forth the teaching of the Christian, and at the same time laid the foundation for the teaching of the citizen. Having said immediately: “Honor the king,” he not only set forth the teaching of a citizen, but also established it on the unshakable foundation of the Divine Religion. He suddenly showed both the independent, Divine dignity of Religion, and the dignity of the Royal Throne, depending on the dispensation of God; both the importance of the union between the Altar and the Throne, and the insignificance of low, unworthy thoughts about both. Christians! If the Apostolic commandment: “Fear God,” once with its inner strength subdued the minds that did not know God, the hearts of the pagans hostile to God; if it was faithfully fulfilled among the disasters of Christianity, under the torture of its persecutors: then we, who were born under the sacred and beneficial dominion of this commandment, now, when for its fulfillment they are not only not persecuted, but even approved, what excuse can we find for ourselves if we are cold to piety, inactive in fulfilling the will of God? If immediately next to the great commandment: “Fear God,” there could be a commandment: “Honor the king,” then, just as the king did not honor the true God and persecuted His worshipers: then how sacred, and easy, and sweet this last commandment should be for us, when the King who reigns over us not only knows and confesses the one true God with us, but is also sanctified by the anointing of God and protects the true piety with His authority, empowers by His example, protects with His laws and justice, honors the Saints of God, just as He recently honored the newly glorified Saint Mitrofan with the Church 489? “Fear God: honor the king.” These two commandments are so united for us, like two eyes on one face of truth and righteousness. Don't separate them; do not disfigure the face of truth; do not damage one of her eyes. We fear God, say some superstitions; and they refuse to pray for the king, or to give him tribute, or to enter into his service. Isn’t it obvious that these are not followers of piety, but enemies of it, as well as of the fatherland? Christ taught: “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” The apostles taught: “Honor the king.” Whoever teaches something other than what Christ and His Apostles taught is not a follower, but an enemy of Christ. There are no other kinds of political schismatics; They want, to the temptation of the nations, to have a king not sanctified by the King of kings, human law without God's law, earthly power without heavenly power, an oath without the name of God. Do you know what these restless wise men are doing? They want to gouge out the right eye of the truth. Is it possible to base law and power only on the shifting sand of human opinions? How can the earth stand without heaven? What does the word mean: Oath, without the All-Seeing and Almighty, Who alone gives this word spirit and strength that unwaveringly supports the faithful and inevitably punishes the traitor? Brethren! May we stand firm in all truth and righteousness. Those who fear God! "Honor the Tsar". Those who honor the King! "Fear God". Amen. According to Turk. collection: completed. According to Turk. collection: light,.. According to Turk. collection: Holy of God? You might be interested in: