Homily at the burial of the leading member of the Holy Synod, His Eminence Anthony

Homily at the burial of the leading member, His Eminence Anthony, Metropolitan of Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland, and various orders of the knight, delivered by the Most Reverend Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson and Tauride in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, 1848 November 19 days Remember your Teachers, who spoke the Word of God to you; as you look to the end of your life, imitate their faith (Heb. 13:7). Obeying the commandment of the Apostle of Christ, I survey the earthly career of the Archpastor who rested in God; I follow him along all the paths of his life; I ascend with him to the heights and descend to the bottom, and what do I see? Everywhere I see traces of the special Providence of God, which marked itself in the life of the deceased by the striking contrast of his ways. - On the one hand, it represents an extraordinary height of rank and title, which the deceased could not even think about for most of his life; on the other, a number of serious ailments, which seemed to be eliminated forever by the very strength of his physique. If anyone, then he, like David, without hesitation, could say about himself: I would be small among my brethren and who will proclaim my Lord? The Lord himself will hear; and sent his angel and took me 1. If anyone, then this same Shepherd could then cry out to the Lord with the words of David: save me, O God, as water came down to my soul 2 . Mortal diseases have taken hold of me 3. Suffered and sloshed until the end 4. It’s gone, because my strength has become weaker; My tongue is attached to my throat 5 , the light of my eyes and that one is with me 6 . Thou hast brought me into the dust of death 7! Given such a striking contrast to his earthly lot, the Deceased One had to have extreme strength of spirit: one so as not to wilt under the unexpected height of his dignity and title, the other so as to courageously endure the burden of an illness that was as unexpected as it was long-lasting. And, thank God, he had this ultimate power! – The Golden Turtle of the High Hierarch is not darkened by anything on the head of the deceased; The bed of long-suffering Job was never filled with cries of murmuring and cowardice. In the dark days of sadness, as in the bright days of joy, the same faith appeared, never doubting and the same love, never falling away 8. And here, brother, is a lesson that, one might say, comes naturally to all of us from this tomb - a lesson of faith and patience, humility and devotion to God! How desirable it would be that this instructive lesson would now be presented to us by one of those persons who knew all the events in the life of the deceased Shepherd, before whom the secrets of his soul and heart were revealed! But, since the sad lot of the sacred rite of the word has fallen upon us, who cannot boast of such knowledge and who are generally more capable of marveling at the ways of God in human life than of depicting them in human words; then, inspired by the power of the Apostolic commandment, which commands us to remember Mentors and Shepherds, let us do what we can; Let us walk briefly, in the spirit of faith and love, along the path of the life of the deceased. Thus, he himself, despite his mortal sleep, will once again - through the actions of his life - be a Teacher and Mentor for us. It is not without reason that it is noticed that for people with a special purpose, infancy itself is often surrounded by significant events. If it were not for the shortness of time, then we could tell you about similar events from the earliest days of the life of the deceased Shepherd, such events that would involuntarily bring to mind the wondrous fate of Samuel, when he, while still a youth, was instilled in the Tabernacle of the Testimony. Who, for example, could have imagined that he, while still a baby, was more than once brought by his parents to church and, during morning prayers, rested peacefully at the very foot of the Throne of God? - Meanwhile, may this serve to reassure those to whom the fate of the Deceased One may seem full of sudden surprises. No, the fate of the beloved Bride of Christ, the Holy Church, of which he was the High Priest, can never be subject to chance and suddenness! He who acquired it not with silver and gold, but with His priceless blood, will not sleep, he will fall asleep, keep it. As omniscient, He knows for sure when it is necessary to send Aaron, when Phinehas, when Ezra, when another one of the sons of the Prophets to be her High Priest, and in advance, He Himself prepares those chosen for the work of Shepherd ministry. Justice requires one thing to be said: that most of the life of the Deceased was like rivers that flow for a long time between deserted banks, known to few, although with the abundance of their waters they could serve the benefit of entire countries. In fact, what do we see? At the beginning (and for a considerable time) the Shepherd of a small verbal flock, the Mentor in the not famous, although important in its purpose, helicity of sciences; then the Primate of the brethren by rank, then the Guardian of the order and deanery of the Church, then the husband of the council in the Diocesan administration, then the Interpreter of law and morality for noble youth; Here are the different types of service, among which most of the life of the Deceased passed! Not famous services if we compare them with those that followed, but precisely those in which it was possible to collect a precious stock of all kinds of experiences from human life, to become familiar with all the needs of the Church, Shepherds and flock, so that later, following the example of St. Paul, one could be all things 9 . The strictest justice requires saying at the same time that each of the places on which the Deceased One stood immediately rose from his face and attracted general attention; not only those flocked by this Shepherd, not only his brothers in rank, not only the Chiefs and Archpastors, but the Gentiles themselves revered him as one of the rare people of their region. May this also serve as a lesson and consolation to those who allow themselves to cowardly complain about the low share of their rank and service. A truly worthy person is visible in every rank, high in every place. And it is a hundred times better when a person is higher than a place than when a place is higher than a person. Meanwhile, the future fate of the Deceased, despite universal respect for him, still remained under a strong seal; and this seal could not be opened until after a terrible storm that shook the country he inhabited from end to end. You know where it came from, how it broke out and how this storm ended. For our purpose, it is enough to say that the Holy Church, together with the Fatherland, emerged from the bloody struggle with new strength and new glory. Torn away by the vicissitudes of times, the ancient Monastery of Pochaev returns to the composition of its native Hierarchy... Among the capital of pacified Poland, as a sign of a primitive spiritual union, the chair of the Orthodox Saint is erected... At this time, when cheerful and good workers were so needed in the capital of the Church, the Shepherd who rested in God, as if by a special beck from above, leaves forever life in the world and devotes himself entirely to serving the Church in the rank of monk. It seemed that it was a pier after the troubles of the sea of ​​life; meanwhile, here, in this pier, a great and varied spiritual voyage began for him. Knowing the excellent merits of the Deceased One, the Shepherd of the Volyn Church will immediately accept him as a collaborator in the improvement of the Holy Monastery of Pochaev. This holy collaboration did not last long; but its traces and fruits will remain forever. Some of the means to the well-being of the Lavra have been guessed and discovered, others have been renewed and strengthened, others have been purified and ennobled, and all are directed towards the proper goal. Soon another, higher and most difficult field opened up for the deceased, in which it was no longer necessary to only assist and perfect, but to lay the foundation, set an example and guide everyone. The newly built Church of Warsaw needed its first Saint. Everyone felt the importance of the new field, everyone wished the future worker success in it. But who is this chosen one who has to appear with a sign of peace and love on behalf of the All-Russian Church to the Polish Church? - The deceased, due to the very recentness of his new title, seemed further than others from this holy, but arduous embassy. And so, beyond the aspirations of both him and others, it is entrusted to no one else, but to him specifically, so that even then he could with all accuracy apply to himself the words of St. David: I was small among my brethren; and who will tell my Lord? The Lord Himself will hear. And he sent his angel and took me. The spectacle is touching! The one who so recently left the vanity of the world and all the noise of the cities, seeking peace for his soul under the roof of the holy Abode, suddenly must take upon his shoulders the burden of the title of Saint and appear as a representative of the entire Orthodox Church. Where to appear? Not in the middle of an ordinary city, but in the middle of a majestic capital, which, as a result of the still imperfect illness, was ready, in the words of the Prophet 10, to call light darkness and darkness light. How much experience, insight, patience and generosity was required just to start successfully, not to mention successfully finish your work! – It was necessary, like Nehemiah, to build the walls of Zion with one hand, and with the other to repel the slander of the enemy 11. The deceased knew how to quickly find the secret of victory; because he looked for it not in the dark depths of worldly wisdom, but in the Gospel and his own heart. Instead of acting by force, he began to act by love; and love produced what force could never do. Less than a year later, those to whom the Orthodox Archpastor seemed a dangerous stranger joyfully recognized in him not only a worthy Saint, but also a wise adviser for themselves, a loving helper, and a meek peacemaker. Is it surprising after this if the Sovereign gaze of the Monarch, so often and with such love, began to turn to that Shepherd who knew how to overcome so many difficulties and earn spiritual respect even from the demanding sons of the Western Church? – The success of his ministry was a joy and honor for the entire Orthodox Church, for the entire Fatherland; and if he had not done anything more, then for his labors alone for the Church of Warsaw, of which he was the founder and decoration, his name should have been inscribed among the names of the Saints of Ever Memorable. Meanwhile, this is not the end of the exploits. The Angel will appear again, once again and just as unexpectedly, take him from his place and place him in a new, higher place. This Angel, as before, was the Anointed of God, whose heart, according to the assurance of the Prophet, I will take out in the hand of God 12. He spoke with His sovereign voice; and the staff of the High Priesthood, which Gabriel, Ambrose, Michael, and Seraphim carried with great difficulty, passes into the hands of the Deceased One!... A high purpose! But was it possible, without a difficult spiritual struggle, to accept the burden of the Shepherd, to whose spiritual care and supervision, one might say, the entire Orthodox Church belongs? Perhaps the One Who Deceased a hundred times cried out in his soul to the Lord: and who am I, Lord, that Thou didst speak thus of Thy servant? - But, submissive to the fate of Providence, he, although already weakened by labor and illness, wakefully appears on a new spiritual guard. And how does one start it? - It was as if I was vigilant and laboring only for the first time. What did not his pastoral attention and care immediately turn to, starting from this church and this monastery? - Who among those who heard does not remember those touching feelings with which his first word to this city was filled, upon entering the flock? With what zeal did they rush to the church where he performed Divine services, surrounded not so much by the greatness of his rank, but by the valor of the Shepherd-Father? On whose head of those present in the church, no matter how simple and small it was, did not his blessing rest? - Comforted by such pastoral actions, many involuntarily recalled that his venerable Predecessor, as if in the spirit of spiritual insight, not to anyone else, but to him alone, soon after his consecration as Bishop of Warsaw, gave both his golden mitre and his Primate's staff as a paternal instruction. So, it worked successfully with health already dilapidated, with strength apparently impoverished from illness! How much more could one expect after this from the further pastoral activity of the deceased, if he had been given the opportunity to fully reveal himself before his last flock and finish his career like others? “But the oil of life apparently and quickly became scarce in the lamp from the very brightness of its former light. Weak flesh could not constantly and completely follow the impulses and tension of a vigorous and vigilant spirit. – The last stage of illness and suffering has arrived. What can I say about him? Should we regret and be sad, or should we rather thank the Lord for him? – At the bed of a sick person it was impossible not to sigh, but at the tomb of the deceased it is not only possible, but also necessary to give thanks and be comforted in spirit. Why? Because, for our nature damaged by sin, illnesses and ailments in general are one of the most effective means for the purification and liberation of the spirit from under the dominion of flesh and blood, so that, as St. Paul says, even if the outer man decays, the inner man is renewed all the time 13. Even for those in whom a solid foundation for good has already been laid, who have spent their lives in the fullest possible fulfillment of the commandments of God, who, for their labors and fidelity to the law and conscience, have been rewarded with spiritual gifts, even for such people, illnesses, the most serious, never constitute an excess, but on the contrary often serve instead of that baptism by fire, the need for which for our spiritual restoration the Forerunner of Christ testified when he spoke to his disciples about the Savior: He who baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and fire 14. It was given to the Shepherd who rested in God to experience and undergo this baptism of fire. Not about days and weeks, but about the entire last years of his life, he could, like the Apostle, say: within ourselves we have the condemnation of death 15; that is, we already felt the sentence of death above us and saw, as if in parts, its execution. And why did you feel and see this above you? Let us not trust, as the Apostle explains, in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead 16. And indeed, for the deceased, especially in the last months of his illness, all hopes were apparently brought from people to the One God and he constantly had in mind the uprising, no longer from the bed of illness, but from the womb of the earth - on the day of the general resurrection. “There was, there was something to shake even the strongest spirit!” But, thanks be to the Lord! Imbued with living faith, the spirit of the deceased remained strong! When others encouraged him with hopes on earth, he raised his eyes to heaven. When those around him expressed grief and regret, he, if not with his tongue and lips, then with his eyes, said: if good things are received from the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure the evil ones 17? Blessed be the name of the Lord forever 18! Thus, the bed of the sick was no less instructive than the pulpit of the preacher. But, finally, the field of illness is over! The old rags of flesh are folded away forever! The dark gates of death have been passed! It remains for the immortal spirit to appear before the throne of the Eternal Judge and give an account of the order of the housewife... Yes, brother. mine, definitely exist, let us say in the words of St. Paul, definitely there is a man who has only one death, then the judgment 19, the judgment is no longer human, often incorrect and always incomplete, and therefore lacking completely decisive consequences, but the judgment of God, piercing the hearts and wombs, weighing our most incompetent 20, the consequence of which for a person is either life and eternal bliss, or rejection and endless torment. Who among us could stand this judgment if, O the land of the Judge, there were not for us the Almighty Intercessor and Intercessor, the Only Begotten Son of God, with His all-reconciling cross and all-cleansing blood? – May prayers ascend to this Divine Intercessor from each and every one of you, brethren, for the repose of the soul of the deceased Archpastor, and for the remission of his voluntary and involuntary falls into sin! Let everyone pray from the heart: for the One who died, as the Shepherd of this city, must testify not only for himself, but also for each of you at the judgment of God! Come in peace, worthy ascetic of the Vertograd of Christ, on your last journey! Join the host of Saints who adorned this sovereign city with themselves and their service! Proclaim to them that the Russian Orthodox Church, establishing itself on the cornerstone of faith in the Only Begotten Son of God, stands unshakable and rises from strength to strength! – And we, brother. my, conveying this coffin into the bowels of the earth, let us take from it as parting words for the rest of our lives, if nothing else, then the memory of our death: for there is no doubt that the trees from which our coffin will be built have been growing for a long time, and perhaps already under the hand of the cleaver. Amen.