Words, conversations and speeches at the consecration of churches and the foundation of saints and public buildings

Contents Word on the consecration of the church in the name of Michael, the first metropolitan of Kyiv Word on the day of the consecration of the church of the Holy Great Martyr George Word on the consecration of the church Word on the consecration of the church at the Vologda bishop's house, in the name of all the saints of Vologda Word on the consecration of the new cemetery church on Kholodnaya Gora, in the name of all saints Word on the consecration of the chapel Word on the consecration of the lower church in Kharkov Cathedral Word on the consecration of the Kharkov Cathedral Word on the occasion of the consecration of the church Word on the consecration of the church Word on the consecration of the church Word on the consecration of the church Word on the founding of the church Word on the consecration of the ancient underground church, recently opened and again restored in the Svyatogorsk cenobitic Hermitage Word on the day of the opening of the Svyatogorsk Assumption Monastery Word on the day of the opening of the Akhtyrsky Holy Trinity Monastery Speech on the next day after the opening of the Akhtyrsky Holy Trinity Monastery Speech on the consecration of a warm church in the temporary premises of the newly opened Nikolsky Monastery Speech on the opening of the women's Verkho-Kharkov Nikolsky Monastery, and on the foundation of buildings for it Speech on the consecration of a prayer house in the village of Bogorodichnoye Speech at the foundation of a church in Sevastopol in the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir Speech at the founding of a chapel with an altar in the name of All Russian Saints Speech at the opening of a monastery in the Bakhchisarai desert Speech at the consecration of a cistern built at the Odessa Cathedral for the benefit of the poor, supported by the Odessa citizen G.I. halls at the House of the Noble Assembly Word on the consecration of the church in the name of Michael, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv Was there any church in heaven on earth? There was none. Will there be a church in heavenly paradise? It won't. Why was this church built and consecrated? Because we are all now neither in earthly paradise nor in heavenly paradise, but on the way from the first to the last. No houses are built along the way, no shelters are provided; and so we, by the grace of God, have now established one of these shelters. Who was it for? Not for those who do not feel any longing for their homeland, live in this world as if they never needed to go out, but leave the world as if they should never return again to the land of the living. What is a refuge for such people? They are not on the way, they are at home, everything is with them. No, if we have now consecrated this church with such care, then we have consecrated it as a refuge and tranquility for you, a believing soul and seeker of the Heavenly Fatherland! In the midst of the desert of the world, walking along the thorny path of external sorrows and internal temptations, being attacked by those far and near, you will more than once be forced to say with David: “Woe is me, for my coming continues!” (Ps. 119:5), more than once you will not find a place “where to bow your head” (Matt. 8:20): then come here, bow her here at the feet of your Savior, and you will find peace and joy. Sometimes your mind will require admonition from the law of God: here the word of faith, hope and love will always be heard; sometimes the conscience will need oil and duties for wounds: here you will always find both; sometimes your entire inner man will become exhausted: then the Body and Blood of the God-Man, taught here, will serve you to strengthen your spirit and body. And if, beloved, your heart has been opened by grace “to the eye and ear” (Eph. 1:18); then here you can see and hear what we ourselves, weak servants of the altar, do not hear or see: perhaps, with Samuel, a voice will reach you, elevating you to special exploits for the glory of God and the good of your neighbors; Perhaps, with Vasily and Gregory, you will witness how the Holy Spirit visibly descends on the gifts when we call upon Him for their sanctification; like Andrew and Epiphanius, you too will be able to see the Mother of the Lord in the air, praying for us with all the saints. I will no longer lift the veil of the church: for the worthy it rises by itself, but for others this is too much. So, believing souls, thank the Lord with us for the consecration of this church: this is a new refuge for you on the way, a new clinic in case of spiritual illnesses, a new stronghold against the attacks of enemies. And so that you do not doubt the reality of this newly appeared house of God because of the unworthiness of us, its servants, we will point you in this case not to us, but to the great saint of God Michael, in whose name this church is dedicated. He himself is your guarantee for the validity of your service in this church; he himself will accept your prayers and lift them up to the throne of grace when for some reason we are unable to do this. Give thanks to the Lord who is with us today! Why invite those who, not feeling longing for their homeland, go to churches not for the sake of churches, who even now have come here without the inclination to pray, but simply as a spectacle? If such people wanted to listen to good advice, and they should listen, since every feeling of goodness has not been extinguished in their hearts, then I would invite them to now turn to the Lord with gratitude. For what? Because He, for the sake of their coldness and frivolity, does not cease to infuse His grace among us, and now deigned to apparently approach them in this church. Perhaps the same thing will happen to them here that sometimes happens to people visiting hotels along the way; seeing how those passing by are in a hurry to go somewhere, and they quietly settle down to go there. Perhaps they too will suffer the good fate of Saul here, so that they, like him, going to look for the lost donkeys, will find a kingdom for themselves. It is not surprising that the world itself with its blessings will help in this holy work: it loves to lead away from the true path, but will never lead to the goal, it knows how to arouse thirst, but cannot satisfy the soul: it promises everything, but in the end, for the most part, it takes everything away. Then, when the friendship of the world leaves you, how health and strength fail you, how joys and amusements fly away, joys and laughter fade, and you are left alone - with infirmities, with poverty, with emptiness in your soul, with ulcers in your conscience - oh, then for you, too, the roof of the house of God will seem like paradise on earth, the only refuge where you can rest your soul, rest your heart, to know that you are still on the way, that there is still a goal before you! Let us all thank the Lord for His new condescension to us in the newly revealed house of God. But while we think about this condescension, let us not forget, brothers, about our ascent to the Lord through this visible church of Him. We called the church a refuge, but a refuge is not a home and should remind of an eternal home; it settles into an abode of peace, but temporary, and should lead to further activity. So, servants of the altar of the Lord, following the example of this altar, now consecrated by us, prepare your hearts for the new throne of the Lord. If those who are in the church during the sacred rite all secretly form the Cherubim, then you, the sacred celebrants, form those of the Cherubim on whom the glory of God directly rests and through whom the glory moves (Ezek. 10:19). So remember your great purpose - following the example of the great Intercessor, to be mediators between heaven and earth, to offer prayers for everyone, to bestow blessings on everyone. Let no one leave here who is not enlightened, not satisfied, not comforted by you! Singing and honoring! “Sing and read wisely” (Ps. 47:8)! “Let the Lord be pleased” not only in the psalm (Ps. 103:34), but also in your heart! Remember that what is read and sung here is read and sung not to delight the mortal ear, but to nourish the immortal spirit, that it is not only people like you who listen to you, but also the Angels of God who reside in churches. The words coming from your mouth should be like sparks of seraphic fire to ignite souls and hearts with love for the Lord; and they will be so if this fire burns in your own heart. Those coming and praying! Enter the church with reverence, putting aside all earthly concerns beyond its threshold; stand with fear, as you stand before the face of the King of Heaven; pray with tenderness, as it is fitting to pray for sinners seeking mercy. For what, brothers, are we all, no matter who we are, but criminals of God’s law condemned to death? Don’t all our merits before our Creator consist in the perfect recognition of His greatness and our impurity? Isn’t all our rights and all our hopes in His unconditional mercy? Is it possible for such creatures to seek first places here, to be distinguished by decoration and attire, to assume a stately and contemptuous appearance! Here is the place of meeting with the Lord and the Angels, and not with earthly friends and acquaintances; here is the time to talk in the depths of your soul with the Gospel and with your conscience, and not with the one who is standing next to you. Should we finally require any sacrifice from you, who do not go to church for the sake of the church? Oh! It would be most important to demand it from you! But what can you bring to the Lord? Until His almighty hand touches your heart and breaks the brass and iron that surrounds your neck, sacrifice at least one thing that you constantly offer to the world - decency and modesty. Without accepting spiritual benefits here, at least do not be to the detriment of others. Why in this paradise take on the image of the serpent tempters? If your Guardian Angels must cry, then let them cry for you alone. But, my God, what advice am I forced to give? Was this the language to be spoken from this sacred place? But what to do when our absent-mindedness has reached the point that some are ready to turn a house of prayer into a den of thieves! It is necessary to save many when it is impossible to save everyone. However, what are we all without the grace of God? Therefore, deciding to worthily serve, chant, stand and pray in this church, we must all turn our eyes and hearts again to the Lord, may He grant the altar servers the spirit of service, those who sing and read the spirit of understanding and edification, those who stand and pray the spirit of fear and tenderness. Lord and Master of heaven and earth! We have sanctified this church with Your grace as a refuge for our souls, but You alone can arrange and sanctify our souls in Your dwelling! Therefore, O All-Holy One, begin and complete this consecration. Use, we pray to Thee, everything that is needed for this: whether washing with tears of repentance, or sprinkling with the dew of grace, or incense from the fire of internal trials, or beating with the milk of external hardships and sorrows: in the image of destinies, sanctify and save our souls! Amen. Sermon on the day of the consecration of the Church of the Holy Great Martyr George I thought about the first days, and remembered the eternal summer, and learned - this is how the God-inspired singer of psalms testifies to himself. If for those who were chosen by God Himself to be the everlasting mentors of kings and peoples, the memory of the ancient years served as a lesson; then even more so it can be instead of instruction for all of us. And, if ever and where it is fitting for all of us to learn from the memories of ancient years, then on this day and in this church. For, whether we pay attention to the fate of the current festival and this church, or whether we direct our gaze to the insignia that adorns your chest: both of these call our thoughts back to times that formerly existed. So, following the example of Saint David, let us now take instruction from the past, in order to better arrange our future. A worthy son and successor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Vladimir, Yaroslav the Great is approaching the end of his days. His life, fruitful for his fatherland, is already full of great deeds: the peace and prosperity of the fatherland is externally protected by loud victories, externally by wise laws; for minds seeking the light of science, abodes of enlightenment have been erected; for souls thirsting for heavenly illumination, abodes of Christian piety have been built. The church of the wisdom of God has already raised its tops to heaven, as if as a sign that on Russian land faith and enlightenment will together lead their admirers to the same heaven. But on the soul of the venerable hero-legislator lies another holy thought: to erect a grateful monument to his heavenly patron, the Great Martyr and Victorious George. What should we dedicate to the saints, besides the saint? And so, according to the autocrat’s mania, a church begins to be erected in the name of the great martyr near the place that witnessed the flight of the Pechenegs from the sword of Yaroslav from under the walls of Kyiv. The generously squandered royal treasures encourage the now cooled zeal of the workers; the church was created, decorated with everything that Russia and foreign countries were rich in at that time; Metropolitan Hilarion, the first of the sons of the fatherland to become its supreme shepherd, consecrates the church, and at the same time intends it to be the place of consecration of all the supreme shepherds of the Russian Church. Heaven and earth rejoice at the holy triumph of the sovereign church builder; and the whole of Russia accepts the covenant to consecrate the annual commemoration of this day with a sacred celebration. This is the origin of the real celebration! The covenant is intact and in force, but where is the object of the covenant? Where is the church, whose splendor both compatriots and foreigners marveled at? Ah, he didn’t even outlive his sovereign builder for two centuries! The heavy hand of time, thunderstorms and storms of social upheavals even razed its ruins to the ground, so that now enlightened love for antiquity must look for the very traces of it in the heart of the earth. Such is the lot of earthly monuments! What is more common and holier than to commemorate your gratitude to God and His holy buildings in honor of their church? But these gifts of gratitude and love are accepted by the Lord from the hands of us mortals only for a time, and then are given to the authorities of the same time. For what? Let us know, “but the Most High does not live in churches made with hands” (Acts 7:48), and that the one, eternal, and indestructible church for Him is the one that is erected for Him in our hearts and souls. So that this instructive thought does not seem to you, brethren, only a random application to present circumstances, do not refuse to ascend with me in your thought to the very first times of mankind. What's there? Was there any church in heaven? There wasn't. Why? Did man really pray less before his fall than he prayed as much after his fall? No, then his whole life was worship; but, all pure, innocent, holy, he himself was then a victim, a priest, and a church; in the three-part tabernacle of his being, in body, soul and spirit, there was a vestibule, and a holy place, and a holy of holies; there was manna, and the ark of the covenant, and cherubim. After this, what would the church serve then? External churches became necessary when man himself ceased to be the church of the Divine, and they exist for no other purpose than so that man, entering the churches and seeing what and how is happening in them, learns to renew his own, internal, tripartite church, in order to perform eternal, unceasing worship in it for the glory of the Trinitarian Lord of all. Therefore, all external churches, with all their variety and splendor, exist only for a while, while the reconstruction of the fallen tabernacle of the human being continues; and after completing this great deed, they must give way forever to one internal church - in the souls and hearts of men. “And I saw,” the seer of this majestic future testifies, “and I saw a new heaven and a new earth... and... I saw the new city of Jerusalem descending... from heaven... and I saw no church in it” (Rev. 21:1-2, 22). Where is he? - In God. For “The Lord... the Almighty is his church and the Lamb.” After this, should it be surprising if the all-wise Providence of God in the creation of our salvation, among other reminders to us of this important truth, makes our very churches testify to it before us - with their ruins! The more magnificent the destruction, the fewer remains of it, the stronger the reminder of the state of our inner church, the louder the call for its restoration. Therefore, when encountering the ruins of ancient temples, hasten, brethren, to transport your thoughts not only to their beginning and history, but also to the fate of your own inner temple; pay attention to your soul and heart, and see if there are at least as many remains of the temple there as you see in front of you; Isn’t our internal temple in such a state that it is necessary to call upon experienced experts in spiritual antiquity and spiritual architecture to discover the very traces where it stood? If any city often presents occasions for the exercise of this holy love for precious antiquity, then ours, so rich in holy ruins. This is the first part of David's teaching - the first lesson from the remembrance of the ancient years of this church! Let us now ask: what destroyed the church, the consecration of which is the subject of a real celebration, and did not allow us to enjoy the contemplation of its ancient splendor? The ferocity of the Mongols, answers history. The ferocity of the Mongols!.., yes, but wasn’t it this ferocity that was lamented many times later, and finally, it was completely and forever lamented on the breasts of the courageous sons of the Church and the Fatherland? What prevented her from crushing then? Why could the Russian, who could so victoriously rise from the ruins of the Fatherland, not resist and defend the shrine itself, standing and defending himself on the strongholds of the Church, still strong, high, and adorned? There was, there was even before the invasion of external enemies, a cruel internal enemy, who occupied all the entrances and exits of the Russian land, took away all the strength and freedom from its sons, bound minds and hearts with chains, turned churches and altars into them, and thus, making us unable to defend the Church and the fatherland, opened the way everywhere to external enemies, gave us to them into blasphemous, two-century slavery. Open up the chronicles of the times before the Mongol invasion: what is there? Everywhere are the ruins of the former faith and love of God, the ruins of the former unanimity and civil peace, the ruins of the former good morals and customs. So, this is what delivered us into the hands of the Mongols!.. What happened to us was what happened to the ancient Israelites: we forgot the God of the fathers, and our churches suffered the fate of Solomon’s temple!.. What should we learn from this second, bitter memory of the ancient years? The right to condemn our ancestors for their shortcomings? Less than that! By humbly enduring their difficult fate, by bitter tears of repentance, by good deeds in the midst of bonds and captivity, by the self-sacrifice with which they later saved, amid a flood of disasters, the ark of the covenant - the Orthodox faith and love for their kings - with all this they have long since atoned for their weaknesses before the judgment of posterity; and often departing to heaven through torment, perhaps more than once later with their prayers they brought down the blessing of God onto the ranks of subsequent defenders of the fatherland. In such cases, we should not dwell on our ancestors, but on ourselves. Why stop? With the great and important lesson that the external prosperity of the fatherland and the Church is based on the internal Christian prosperity of its sons; that therefore, while caring about the construction of monuments to the greatness and glory of the fatherland, about the creation and decoration of the very churches of God, we must at the same time take even more care to ensure that faith and virtue, purity of morals and relationships, truthfulness and unselfishness, humility and hard work are strengthened and increased within us. Without this, there is no guarantee for the prosperity of the fatherland - neither the numerous ranks of men of war, nor the multiplication of the abodes of science and education, nor the very splendor of the churches of God. For the King of heaven and earth, since he has no need for a dwelling, deigns to dwell by his grace in the churches created for Him until they serve for spiritual edification and sanctification for those entering and going out. Otherwise, these houses of prayer are left empty and, thus abandoned, abandoned to desolation. It’s a blessing, at least, if they are not left empty forever; if repentance and correction of human morals bring grace from heaven back to earth and to churches: a wave from above. Remember this and do not take your sacrifice back from the throne of faith and fatherland. The Lord has brought you out from among you, where thousands have fallen around you; He, on His part, turned your life into a gift for you, brought to Him: know how to take advantage of this gift! We have no doubt that you are ready to bear your life a hundred times more against external enemies. But do not forget that there are internal enemies: not those unfortunate victims of self-delusion, whom it costs nothing to defeat by force, but it is only difficult to save ourselves from their own violence, but those who are born with us, grow, live and only die with us - our passions! Strengthen yourself in battle against these enemies, not sparing your very life to defeat them. May the prayers of the great martyr and the cross adorning your chest be an incentive to courage, a weapon in battle, and a guarantee of victory. Amen. In memory of what does the Holy Church celebrate today? In memory of the fact that on this day our Lord Jesus Christ once entered Jerusalem in triumph, visited the Temple of Solomon there, drove out the traders from it, and received from the Jewish children a joyful exclamation in His honor: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9). The mere memory of this glorious event is a subject of celebration for the entire Church of Christ. How, after this, dear children, is our Lord so merciful and generous to you, when He gave you the happiness of not only remembering now, with us, His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but also being witnesses of His present mysterious entry into this church! For for whom did He come here today in this way? For you, who will bring your prayers here for all your needs. How long did you log in? Not for a few hours, as you once entered the Temple of Jerusalem, but to remain here until you yourself leave this place. Can there be mercy greater than this mercy? What will our Lord do among you - in this church? He will, dear children, do here similar to what he did when he once lived on earth for our salvation. Do you remember what He did then? He taught and instructed, healed from physical and mental illnesses, fed and satisfied the hungry. The Lord will do something similar here, in this church. He will be here to teach and mentor you. For what are the prophets, evangelists, apostles whom you will listen to here? This is the mouth of Christ. Whatever they say, they say not from themselves, but from Him; He sent them to teach the whole world; He gave them the Holy Spirit and commanded them to tell us one truth and one truth for our salvation. Therefore, listening to the word of God here, accept it as if it were coming from the mouth of our Savior Himself, Who will always invisibly be present here among you; Therefore, accept with all attention and reverence, trying to actually fulfill everything that He commands. And how can you not be attentive to the word of God? What you hear from other mentors telling you about earthly things, no matter how good it is, is useful only for a while, until the end of this earthly life; and what you will hear here from the face of the Lord, through His priests, will be useful forever, will go with you beyond the boundaries of this life, into eternity itself. How can you not try to remember firmly and faithfully fulfill the word of God! If it is not good to forget the words of your father or the instructions of your mother; then it is a hundred times worse and more unforgivable to forget the commandments of the One who created us all, and in whose hands we, our fathers and mothers, are. Without implementation in practice, the word of God will serve not for salvation, but for our greater condemnation, making us irresponsible both before the judgment of conscience and at the future Last Judgment of Christ. The Lord will here heal your souls from sins with His grace. Your age, dear children, is the age of innocence; you are protected from falls on all sides: but do not think that because of this you are completely sinless. He who is not subject to temptations, like you, has even a small sin. And isn’t small poison poison? All trouble and fear. Therefore, everyone needs a divine Physician of souls and hearts; and He will appear to you in the person of a clergyman, during the sacrament of confession. For who are we that we should dare on our own not only to tell you forgiveness for your sins, but also to accept confession of them? The Lord commanded us to do this, and we do it, in His name, by His power. That is why what is done so firmly: what is forgiven in the sacrament of confession, here on earth, is forgiven there too - in heaven. Judge how after this you will need to accept absolution for your sins? It must be accepted with full faith in the power of the sacraments, with the deepest humility and the greatest gratitude. But there is only one true gratitude in this case - to no longer fall into those sins for which we have received forgiveness - to move away from everything that leads to them. If it is a shame to appear before an earthly ruler, having committed again the same crime, in which he has already done so, especially if he has forgiven us several times, the more shameful it is to come again to the church and appear before the face of God, with the same sins. So, dear children, try with all your might to maintain purity of morals; Beware not only of evil deeds, but also of evil words and evil thoughts. Thoughts are in the soul, like in the air in a room: the most decorated room, if the air in it is bad, is not good for living; Likewise, the most educated soul in the sciences, if there are bad thoughts in it, is unpleasant to God and people. The Lord will still miraculously nourish everything here. The very word of God is food for the soul. But the Lord will do more for you: He will feed you with what your fathers and mothers did not feed you - with His Body and Blood. Tell me, how can you give your body and blood for food? A person cannot do it, but a God-man can do it. What is this miracle food for, you ask? Because all our other food nourishes us for a while, the body alone cannot nourish the soul; and the Body and Blood of the Lord saturate the very soul for all eternity. They nourish and heal, they heal not just one ulcer, but our entire being - from the poison that we were infected with in paradise from the serpent, through eating from the forbidden fruit. But, dear children, while eating here such divine, all-healing food, we must remember that those who receive it are obliged to observe the strictest abstinence in everything; every immoderation, every reckless impulse of mental and physical strength, whether it consists of anger, envy, disobedience, laziness, or absent-mindedness, weakens the power of heavenly healing. Behold, dear children, what the merciful Lord will do for you here, and what you need to do for Him! When you are attentive to the words of the Lord, you listen and fulfill His commands, you unite with Him in faith, hope and love: then He will not stop at what He has already done for you, He will not remain in this church; no, He will move to dwell in your very souls and hearts. For the human soul itself, by its nature, must be the church of God and the dwelling place of the Most Holy Spirit, and if it is not such, then because of its fall and impurity. The external churches themselves are built and consecrated for no other purpose than to remind man of the renewal and consecration of his internal church, and to facilitate this. So, after performing prayers in this church, leaving it, ask, at least occasionally, one another: oh, dear sister, we would always be temples of the Holy Spirit! Amen. Word at the consecration of the church at the Vologda Bishop's House, in the name of all the saints of Vologda From prayers and chants it is time to move on to conversation and words, but my heart, before any word, turns me back to prayer. I feel the need to thank and pray. Whom? You, Trinitarian Being, God the Father, Son and Holy Soul, You, from whom comes every good gift and every perfect gift, without whom we ourselves cannot even conceive, much less do anything good. The idea came down to us from You - to build this house of prayer; By your grace we were inspired in overcoming the difficulties of this holy work; By Your all-powerful name the seal of consecration has now been placed on it: For this alone glory, honor and thanksgiving are due to You! - Look down from the heights of the saints of your glory, and grant that all who enter this church will leave it with the sanctification of soul and body! May the happy find here the motivation to use the gifts of happiness for Your glory and the good of others; may the unfortunate ones take from here consolation and strength to complacently bear their cross; Yes, the repentant sinner hears here the voice of pardon, and the unrepentant one is embraced here by the saving premonition of future judgment and eternal torment; Yes, everyone who asks here receives, and everyone who seeks finds! For this we pray to Your goodness today, and we will continue to pray until Your all-powerful will is pleased to listen to our weak prayers here. Take this church under your prayerful protection, you too, holy saints and miracle workers of Vologda, to whose name it is dedicated! We firmly believe that your spirit moves in prayer over our entire country, that everyone who turns to you in prayer, wherever he is, finds timely help from you, but we wanted to have a visible, permanent place where we could turn to you all in prayer and find you together. Where should this place be if not here, from where, through hierarchical sacred rites, sanctification comes to our entire country? Do not, saints of God, leave this house of prayer with your invisible presence; stand guard over the spiritual city of Vologda; purify, complement, inspire our cold prayers with your seraphic fire, so that we may be able to bring down here the grace of sanctification with sacred mystery to those who must then sanctify each and every one with the sacraments. Turning from this prayer to an interview with you, brethren, I must first of all share with you a feeling of spiritual joy. So, from now on we will have a church in the name of all the holy prayer books and representatives of our country. Who among us, on the day of remembrance of each of them, would not want to stand and pray at the most holy relics of the saint of God? But this is impossible. In replacement of this, we will now have the opportunity to gather here these days, organize a spiritual festival in honor of each righteous person, and thus maintain our spiritual union with them. This thought rejoices my heart, and, without a doubt, will rejoice everyone who believes in the power of the prayerful intercession of the saints of God for us. And how can one not believe in this? Isn’t this generally the order of things on earth, among us, that the perfect in age serves as a support for the young, the wise and experienced for the short-sighted and ignorant, the rich for the poor, the strong and powerful for the weak and insignificant? What are we all in relation to the inhabitants of heaven, if not young children, if not short-sighted, weak, needy creatures? What, on the other hand, should they use their spiritual wealth, strength, wisdom for, if not to help us, their earthly brothers? All the more so when this is included in the plan of the Divine world government, according to which all rational beings, on earth and in heaven, constitute a single family of the Heavenly Father, where the elders must help and serve the younger ones, until they all reach the age of the children of God. By virtue of this law of love, the Angels themselves, according to the testimony of St. Paul, are all “ministering souls, sent to serve for those who want to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14); By virtue of this same law, the saints of God, these new Angels, are all our mentors, protectors and guardians. As the word of God testifies, they enter into this high position while still in their life, surrounded by weak flesh. Thus, Abraham intercedes for cities already condemned to execution by heavenly justice; and the Lord graciously heeds his petition and promises to change the terrible decree if ten righteous people are found in the condemned cities. Moses does even more: he dares to stand alone for an entire people condemned to destruction, puts his own eternal salvation on the scales of mercy, as the price of deliverance; so what? The people were saved, even rewarded with new mercies. Who saved an entire city in our country and turned away the stone cloud hanging over it? Isn’t there only one righteous person - Saint Procopius of Ustyug? If one person could perform such a great miracle, then what are all the representatives of our country unable to do? And if they were so strong on earth, then what kind of help cannot be expected from them from heaven? And behold, they are all here now, with us, each with their own prayer, each with their own blessing, each with their own example of life! This thought gladdens my heart, cheers my spirit, makes me give thanks and praise. But, my brothers, while we rejoice in this way and righteously about our outward approach to the patron saints of our country, let us not forget that this approach, without maintaining and strengthening the internal union with them in spirit, morals and life, will not bring them closer to us, nor us to them. Ancient Israel, like us, once relied on the prayers and intercession of their holy forefathers before God. And indeed, as long as the people of Israel tried to be worthy of their holy protection, they strived to walk in their pure and holy footsteps; Until then, despite all his weaknesses and shortcomings, he enjoyed the special mercy of God. But when, in the hope of the intercession of the holy forefathers, the people of Israel fell asleep in the sleep of sin and unrepentance; then the Most High turned His face away from him and, so that Israel would not continue to be deceived by false hope, loudly through the mouth of one of the prophets spoke to him: “If Moses and Samuel stand before Me, My soul will not be with this people” (Jer. 15:1). The same can happen to us if we, in the hope of the visible closeness of the saints to us, dare to indulge in carelessness and neglect the sanctification of ourselves through living faith and good deeds. The Holy of Holies will hear the prayer of the most holy ones for unrepentant sinners. Will the most righteous dare to intercede for such? If on earth, among us, no one accepts the intercession of an incorrigible person: how much more in heaven, where there is and cannot be any partiality. If the saints, out of the abundance of heavenly love, continue to pray at the throne of grace for such a sinner: then, of course, not that everything will be sung into his hand, but that, to awaken him from the sinful sleep of death, heavenly thunder will thunder over him. Coming now, with the consecration of this church, into the closest visible union with the patron saints of our country, we will strive to strengthen and expand the invisible spiritual union with them. And for this we will imitate their lives and exploits. Their council, by the grace of God, is so great and varied that every state has in them a model for itself, according to its kind and type. Do pastors and spiritual teachers want to see how the flock of Christ should stand before them, how to perform the sacred rites of the word and sacraments, how to rightly administer the word of truth? “Behold, before you are Saint Stephen, Pitirim and Anthony, who laid down their very souls for the Gospel. Do the wise need a model of how not to be blinded by the brilliance of earthly wisdom, how to place the violence of the Cross of Christ above all worldly knowledge? Behold, before us are Saint Procopius of Ustyug, Saint Andrew of Totem, who so prostrated themselves in fulfillment of the commandment of self-sacrifice that all their lives they were exuberant for Christ’s sake. The holy noble princes Joasaph and Ignatius will show the strong and rich how not to rely on perishing wealth, on the strength and power of those who are crushed, how to be able to count everything in their minds - both glory and wealth, in order to gain and not lose Christ. Saint Cornelius of Komel, Dionysius of Glushitsky, Theodosius of Totemsky, with the council of saints, expect only desire and desire from those who have devoted themselves to monastic life, in order to guide them by example and prayers along the narrow path of hermit life. “Since we have,” let us conclude with the words of the apostle, “... so much... a cloud of witnesses has surrounded us, and from this cloud we have been continually watered with the dew of heavenly blessings,... let us run with patience to the task of salvation that is set before us all, looking continually to the very author of our faith and the Finisher of our salvation, the Lord Jesus” (Heb. 12:1-2). Amen. Word on the consecration of the new cemetery church on Kholodnaya Gora, in the name of all saints Having now come to this place to talk with you, my brothers, on the occasion of the consecration of this church, we fully feel that we are now not only among the living, but also, I think, much more dead. To whom should we turn first with a word: to the living or to the dead? We often have the opportunity to talk with the living in other places, and with the dead who rest here, we see each other in this way, as now, for the first time. This very church, now consecrated, is more for the dead than for the living, who have many other churches. So, since the present triumph and joy belong mainly to the dead, our word will turn to them first. May the Lord make it so that, addressed also to the dead, it is not dead, but alive by the power and action of Him before Whom there are no dead, but all are alive! What will we say to our now deceased brothers, who are resting here, and, as it seems, to those present here now? To the living we say: believe and trust; They have already passed from faith and hope to vision, and now they see before them what we still only hope for. To the living we say: repent and produce fruits worthy of repentance; for them the time given for repentance was over, and judgment and retribution began. To the living we say: remember your last hour and prepare for the transition to eternity; They have already passed through the canopy of death and reached it - halfway through life. But, departed brothers and sisters in Christ, does your present existence really consist of a single inaction? The life of a rational and godlike soul is feeling, thought and desire, and where there is thought and desire, there is spiritual action. So, think, feel and desire in accordance with the prayers that the Holy Church offers for you; Assimilate to yourself, as much as you can, the benefits that she asks for you, for she cannot ask for the impossible for you. Behold the church of all saints, built for you! Choose anyone from among them as intercessors and leaders for yourself: by the will of the all-merciful Lord, not a single one of them will refuse to provide timely help, if only you had the ability to accept it. For this purpose, do not allow the gift of grace given to you in the Holy Sacraments of the Church to fade away upon your departure from us. Flock together to this throne of grace, established among dark dwellings; feed on the word of God and church hymns, which will be abundantly proclaimed here; Be sanctified by the blood of the everlasting covenant, which will be shed here for the atonement of the sins of the whole world; soar along with the incense on the wings of the prayers of the church mountains - to the host of “the righteous in spirit” (Heb. 12:23). Moreover, what has now been done for you with the consecration of this church, nothing could be done by the love of your brothers and relatives who remained here for you. Use for your own good, as you know and can, what has been done for you: and if any of you has boldness towards the Lord, then do not give up praying for the God-loving creators of this church, that they may find grace and mercy from Him. Although we have hitherto addressed the dead, we hope that what was said to them will not be useless for us living. For those who have died will no longer be alive on this earth like us; and we are all inevitably destined to become dead, like them. Therefore, in advance, even in this life, we need to learn about everything that can serve us for our benefit - after death, and, having learned, try to acquire it. Therefore, now intending to talk with you, brethren, who are alive, we do not know how best to talk to you, as with you still alive, or as with the dead. For how long can we stay alive? And among the dead it will be necessary to rest for a long, long time. However, as in other cases, here too there is a middle ground: we will speak to you as to those who are still living, but soon to die, as to beings who are in time, but before whom is eternity! Before us is eternity!.. Ah, my brothers, have you ever addressed these formidable and soul-shattering words to yourself, and have you ever thought about this important subject?.. The thought of eternity has always produced a great effect: it inspired the martyrs and made the most severe suffering unafraid for them; she shut up ascetics in the desert and brought them to feats of inhuman self-sacrifice; she stopped even inveterate sinners on the path of lawlessness and gave them the courage to fight their passions. What thinking about eternity could not do for us if we, heeding the salvation of our souls, at least from time to time, knew how to indulge in it as we should! We have an eternity ahead of us! So, everything temporary, no matter how important it may seem, is like nothing in comparison with eternity. Glory, honor, dignity, titles and distinctions are nothing; for at the hour of death they will fall from us, just as the leaves are now falling from the trees. Whether there were many of them on the tree or few, it didn’t matter, the tree was bare. Wealth, acquisitions, houses, helicopter towns are nothing: for none of this will follow us into eternity, everything will go to others, perhaps even to our enemies, and will be used against our desires and intentions. The very sorrows and disasters from which we cried, grumbled in this life, did not know where to find a place - nothing; for at the hour of death they will appear as if they had never been. We have an eternity ahead of us! Because the only thing that is essential for me is that which can pass with me into another world. Let something have no importance for my temporary stay on earth, even if it harms it, but if it has a beneficial effect on me in eternity, then I will value it as a treasure, I will use all my strength and means to acquire it. We have an eternity ahead of us! So, pure madness would be, forgetting the eternal, to indulge in the temporary and perishable. It would be similar madness not to use the temporal to acquire the eternal, since it is possible to do so. No, whatever I do on earth, I will never do for earth alone, but will always keep in mind heaven and eternity. If happiness meets me, I will use its gifts to serve God and humanity, to atone for my sins through deeds of compassion and helping my distressed brethren. Should temptations befall me, I will bring them in a spirit of humility and devotion, turning my sorrow and tears to the benefit of my soul. Eternity is before us! Why are you, rich man, carelessly slumbering on your bed, saying madly to your soul: eat, drink and be merry, and do not rush to the aid of Lazarus, who, perhaps, alone will be able to cool your tongue when you are enveloped in the flames of hell? Eternity is before us! Why are you, sage, counting stones and grass, drawing numbers and figures, weighing and decomposing the elements, and not think about what element awaits you on the other side of the coffin, what figures make up the image of your moral existence, what number, lamb or animal, is inscribed invisibly on your forehead? Eternity is before us! Why are you, cruel ruler, mercilessly tormenting your henchmen, who, not finding protection against you on earth, have long since transferred their work to heaven, and are preparing to appear with you at the Last Judgment of God? One thing could calm us at the thought of eternity - if it was all the same no matter how we entered its gates, with a pure soul and conscience, or burdened with untruths and falls. But is it possible to think this way? How? For you, as a father, a rebellious and depraved son is disgusting, and you are ready to deprive him of his inheritance; and the Heavenly Father, Whose holiness is unchangeable, will indiscriminately accept into His arms the sons of destruction and unrepentance? For you, as a ruler, the unfaithful servant who has drawn up fetters on your life is unbearable, and the Lord of Heaven will dissolve His palace for a bitter sinner who does not want to know His holy laws, to whom his passions and pride are instead of any deity? No, if we, being evil and unclean, cannot tolerate lawlessness and untruth in others; then He, who is essentially truth and righteousness, purity and holiness, all the more cannot be one with a sinner. “No one who is evil will come to live with you, O Lord!” (Ps. 5:5). And if You, out of the abundance of Your mercy, had allowed him to come to You; then he himself, for his wickedness and uncleanness, would have disappeared from the unapproachable glory of Your face; for You are “a consuming fire” of the wicked (Heb. 12:29). And when this is so, then what does our inattention to the eternity that awaits us, and our carelessness about preparing ourselves for it, mean? This means that we have completely lost sight of our destiny, and the dust of earthly vanities has so blinded our spiritual eyes that we do not see the abyss into which we are striving! Let us awaken from this destructive insensibility! “It is sufficient”, let’s say in the words of the Apostle Peter, “it is sufficient for all of us ... the past time of life for those who did the will of the pagans and sinful people, who walked in uncleanness, in lusts, ... in drunkenness, in goat-speaking, in covetousness and other abominations of sin” (1 Pet. 4:3). vain; time to serve and work for our God and Savior. We have sufficiently ruined the talents given to us by causing harm to our souls and conscience: it is time to begin to think about repentance and returning to our father’s home. Let us go from this holiday to our homes so that we will not live as we lived before, or rather kill ourselves before; let us go and, with the help of God, build the eternal church of our soul, which now lies in ruins, so that when we come. time to come here and stay here forever, near this church, we have found here a place of rest appropriate for those who have worked well in time for eternity, and not a place of sadness and sighing awaiting unrepentant sinners. Amen. Word at the consecration of the chapel What if it were given to our departed brethren who rest near this church on this day to rise from their graves, come here and begin a conversation with us, what do you think they would say to us now? Would you express gratitude for our care of this church? Without a doubt; for this church is even more important for them than for us, who have put so much work and care into it; more important not because it is not important for us, but because they are much more capable than we are of feeling all its need and importance. Oh, death is a great teacher!.. She teaches many things that you cannot learn from anyone on earth, and most of all, to value faith and virtue. Therefore, I am sure that the deceased, having started a conversation with us, would first of all tell us the following: we thank you for this church! this is the best gift for all of us! From now on we will have a storm-proof shelter here; From now on, our graves will be more peaceful, and our mortal bodies will begin to lie more peacefully in the bowels of our common mother - the earth. But, after this, the deceased would probably tell us the following: brothers and friends! Because you care about the salvation of our souls; then accept this instruction from us as gratitude. Know that your earthly life will soon pass, and then it will turn out to be like a passing dream; know that all your successes in earthly and everyday affairs, as long as they are not dissolved by the spirit of faith and love of Christ, are nothing for eternity; know that here, where we are now, and where you will soon be, only virtue and purity of heart are valued, and everything else that you value so highly - your elemental wisdom, your perishing wealth, your vanishing glory, mean nothing: know, finally, that if you do not have time to wash away your sins with tears of repentance; then such grief awaits you here, which has no similarity in your world. This is what our departed brethren would probably say to us, if it were given to them in this church to preach to us now! Why, someone will ask, does not one of them appear to teach us a lesson of truth and truth? Therefore, beloved, because, as it is said in the Gospel, we have Moses and the prophets, let us listen to them, and if we do not want to listen to Moses and the prophets, then even if someone rises from the dead, we will not have faith. It is an extremely strange thing to not believe someone who has risen from the dead: but when the Holy Spirit himself affirms this in the Gospel, then it would be true; for He knows us more and better than we ourselves. However, let us imagine that some dead man appeared before us: do you think that everyone would immediately recognize him for who he is? Many would probably immediately say - this is not him, but only similar to him. So it was exactly with the man born blind, whom the Savior healed, although he was not a resurrected dead man, but alive: “I said that this is what he is: and I said that he is like him” (John 9:9). Moreover, the latter would say so about the one who rose from the dead. And those who would have believed at first, do you think that they would have remained with their faith for a long time? A week, a month would pass; and those who believed would first begin to think: did I really see the deceased? Was this some kind of forgery? Not one of those who saw the risen man would think so; and for the first time, I would probably have driven such a thought away from myself; and in another, another week, another month; I would have stopped at it without difficulty, and then I would have started to think and say: it was something unusual and strange, but what is it, God knows! cannot be rejected, but cannot be affirmed as true; for how many stories like this are told? So it would be with those who saw: what about those who did not see? At the first rumor of this, many would immediately become against it and would call those telling the story dreamers, ignorant people, not worthy of trust just because they tell such things. Let us even imagine that the resurrected one would appear before the judges, like the man born blind in the Gospel. How can we prove that he definitely rose from the dead? Similarity to the dead and buried? But aren't there two people who are exactly alike? A story about the circumstances of your earthly life? But you can recognize them and assimilate them, even if they are strangers. The absence of the body of the deceased from his coffin? But, they will say, couldn’t it have been taken and hidden by someone? A story about what is happening and happening in another world? But the story itself will require confirmation, and how to confirm it? You see how correctly it is said that “even if someone rises from the dead, they do not have faith!” (Luke 16:31). And whoever has faith, that is, in whose soul there is a disposition towards the invisible, spiritual and eternal, especially who lives according to this faith and has been honored to receive in the heart and conscience even a small guarantee of eternal life - partly in performing feats of love and self-sacrifice, partly in grace-filled insights and pleasures from above - there is no need for such miracles and signs: he is as sure of eternal life on the other side of the tomb as a smooth man he is sure that there is and exists food to satisfy hunger, even if he does not see it in front of him at all. Amen. Word on the consecration of the lower church in the Kharkov Cathedral Having heard about the new name of this renewed church, some will probably come to the question in their thoughts: why was the old name abandoned and a new one taken? Instead of avoiding this question, as unfavorable, we welcome it as a guest on this holiday; We ask only one thing - that the questioner take the trouble to think with us about what is being asked. In this way, part of the goal is already achieved, for which the very change in the name of the church followed. For why was a new name given to him? Obviously, not because the former was in any way bad. The entire Church of Christ, the entire universe, is filled with the memory of the three great saints: couldn’t it fill this small church with itself? Shepherds and teachers of all countries and centuries took refuge under their holy protection, their holy example was taken from them by shepherds and teachers of all countries and centuries: could we, the humble shepherds of this city, lack their spiritual guidance and example? Before you, saints of Christ, our soul and heart are open: you know with what reverence we read your holy creations, remember your holy deeds, with what feeling of faith and love we look at the very image of your faces on the icons: we would like to live with you, and die with you! But you yourself, while still on earth, proclaimed and preached “not to yourself” (2 Cor. 4:5), but to Christ crucified: to plant His Cross in the souls and hearts of believers was the goal of all your works and all your life. Moreover, having been relegated to heaven, you have, without a doubt, long ago already laid all your crowns at the foot of the Lamb, who was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 4:10). Therefore, we are absolutely sure that we are doing what is most pleasing to you when we dedicate your church to the suffering of Him for Whom you yourself were always ready to lay down your soul. Do not leave your place in this church; teach us to worship the Cross and the sufferings of our Lord, so that, having acquired this home Golgotha ​​for ourselves, we will not appear among it insensitive, like the foolish Jews. “But if the previous name of the church,” someone else asks, “did not contain any imperfection, then why the new name? Is it not because of someone’s desire for news?” Not at all, if we understand the news in a worldly sense, for what does the Church care about such news? Just as its Founder and Head, Jesus Christ, is one and the same yesterday, today and forever, so it itself is free from those incessant changes and transformations to which the world and everything in the world, the highest and most important, is subject. But there is also a place in the Church for the new, that new, about which Saint David says: “I will add to all your praise” (Ps. 71:14), and in another place: “they will go from strength to strength” (Ps. 84:8), and in the third: “this is the betrayal of the right hand of the Most High” (Ps. 76:11), - that new, about which Saint Paul says: “he has also forsaken the beginnings of Christ.” words, let us be led to perfection: not laying the foundation of repentance again on dead works, and faith in God" (Heb. 6:1), - that new thing, by the power of which every believer must come not only "from faith to faith" (Rom. 1:17), but also be transformed "from glory to glory" (2 Cor. 3:18), he himself must become the temple of the Holy Spirit, and after finishing his earthly career, appear to the great hero of heroism to receive the new name, “whose message no one knows, but only accept” (Rev. 2:17). Due to the desire for something new, if you like, a new name was given to this church, with its real renovation. Hitherto we have been overshadowed in this church by the intercession of the three great saints of Christ: it is time to show us at least some fruit of their spiritual guidance and care for us. What fruit? He, in order to begin with the greatest Bishop himself, who passed through heaven, to begin with what was most sacred and Divine in his service to the salvation of the human race - to His suffering and the Cross, by which, as the last sacrifice, the sins of the whole world were finally and completely blotted out and the kingdom of death was defeated. How to get closer and start doing this? Without a doubt, not only by dedication to the sufferings of Christ of this church, but most by faith and love and the active assimilation of the saving power of the Cross of Christ. But the very name of the Cross in this regard is not superfluous: for, given our tendency to forget spiritual objects, we all really need constant remembrance of them: since the Cross of Christ and His suffering are the most necessary objects for our salvation, then what is most necessary for us is the remembrance of this Cross and suffering, as the source of our salvation. And, from this side, this church will serve us to daily excite thoughts and feelings about this suffering; and entering and leaving it, we will involuntarily imagine who and how saved us from sin and death. Do you want to know and, we hope, share with us another thought that prompted us to give a new name to this church and dedicate it not to anyone else, but to the Cross and passion of our dear Savior? It has always seemed strange to us that we, constantly erecting church after church, when we dedicate them even to our Savior, we always dedicate them to some glorious and majestic event from His life, for example, the Transfiguration, or the Ascension; even when we dedicate them to His Cross, we usually choose the universal Exaltation of this Cross, that is, its already glorified state. Meanwhile, in our entire country there is not a single church dedicated directly to the suffering of the Lord and to the Cross in the form it stood on Calvary. Of course, all the most glorious events in the earthly life of our Savior belong to us: for whatever He did, he did for us, and whatever happened to Him also happened for our benefit; but we must not forget that the salvation of the world, and therefore ours, was accomplished not by the glory of the Savior, but by His suffering and death for us. And not a single church is dedicated to this suffering, this atoning death! We will not delve into the reason for this: but it is clear that this is an important deficiency that should have been corrected at the first opportunity. This opportunity has now presented itself and, moreover, in the most favorable form, for this church is the focus, and, one might say, the heart and head of all our churches. Let it be dedicated to the remembrance of that which is the focus of our salvation, that is, the suffering of the Lord, through which our salvation was accomplished “in the midst of the earth” (Isa. 19:24), as Saint David notes. From such thoughts and feelings, my brothers, came the new name of this church. It was not disdain for the previous name, not the desire for news that guided us during this change, but the desire to honor the memory of the passion of the Lord, to surround ourselves with their memory and to draw closer to them with faith and love. Knowing your Christ-loving soul and heart, we are quite sure that you have already warned us with your joy about this change, and have internalized it, as if it had happened with our common consent. Now we all have another concern: how to really achieve the goal that we proposed by changing the name of this church, that is, so that our Golgotha ​​(that’s what we’ll call this church) will serve us, like the whole world, for salvation, and not for condemnation, like the foolish Jews. At Golgotha ​​there were a considerable number of souls, whose presence eased the suffering of the Lord: His Mother was there with Her boundless devotion to the will of God; there was a student with his never-fading love for the Teacher; Joseph and Nicodemus were present with their holy boldness for truth and righteousness; there was the centurion with his perspicacious attention and faith, there was the thief with his repentance and confession; there were pious wives with their tears and love; Many of the very inhabitants of Jerusalem returned to their homes, “weeping and beating their breasts” (Luke 23:48). What will our Golgotha ​​see among itself? Will he see such devotion and faith? Will such repentance and confession of sins be seen? Will he see tears and zeal for the suffering Jesus? He will see, my brothers, if we, when visiting this church, stand in it not with scattered thoughts, but with diligent reflection on the sufferings of our Lord, and apply them to our hearts. For what cannot our suffering Savior teach us? His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane will teach us how to pray and surrender our fate to the will of the Heavenly Father; His meek responses to unjust judges will teach us generosity and meekness before persecutors; His care from the Cross not only for the Mother, but also for the repentant thief, will teach us not to abandon love for our neighbors in the midst of the most severe sorrows and suffering; His meek betrayal of His spirit in the hands of the Father will teach us how to betray the last spirit to us in this same hand; His grievous suffering, endured for our sins, will show us how terrible and grave sin is. Let us learn everything from our beloved Lord from His Cross; Let us not appear before Him in this church with the arrogance of the scribes, with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and with the bitterness of the high priests of the Jews. Amen. Word at the consecration of the Kharkov Cathedral And we are finally given the opportunity to have a church! I tell us; for everyone had a church, but we alone had almost none, because the situation was such that instead of joy it constantly aroused sorrow. We, brethren, are far from believing that the essence of the church is in its external splendor and richness of decorations: Christian churches are decorated not with purple and gold, but with divine sacraments and the zeal of those praying, but it cannot be said that our homes should be comfortable and splendid, and the churches of God should be cramped, gloomy and ugliness. In this case, we would have been convicted not only by Saint David, who was ashamed to dwell in cedar palaces when the ark of the covenant was under the tent, but also by our own conscience. Meanwhile, remember the state of this church: to which church was it not inferior in its interior? That is why, without a doubt, he was abandoned and, as it were, forgotten by everyone. But it should not have been left and forgotten simply because it was the first church in Kharkov; the first, perhaps, in time, much less in purpose. For, as a cathedral church, it is therefore the head of all other churches, a place of dedication for clergy and a place of general gatherings on special days of the year. Given the significance and purpose of this church, its sad state served as a reproach for our entire city, and therefore was a source of sadness and embarrassment for us. For what should anyone visiting our city think of us? That we neglect the churches of God and are completely cold towards the faith. For where is zeal if our very first church was no better than the last? It would also be an excuse if our houses were in the same condition as the church. But they most of all exposed our coldness towards the church, for everyone who visits our city notices the vastness and beauty of its houses. How could we not notice the poverty of this church and not condemn us? But thank God, this reproach has now been taken away, the reason for lamentation has ceased, and we can all now indulge in spiritual joy. Maybe even now someone else would wish for more and better. Let him know that we too could not lag behind in such desires: what was possible for us was done. Let him who is able and willing do more: we will be the first to joyfully concede victory over ourselves. No, that’s enough for the external, we must now direct our thoughts to the internal and spiritual, that is, take care that, along with the renovation of the church, we ourselves, both those who serve in the church and those who enter it for prayer, are renewed in morals and life. In a dilapidated and dark church, our spiritual dilapidation could not be so noticeable; Now, if we remain with this dilapidation, then the very walls of the renewed church will expose us daily. Do you want to know with what feelings you should enter the church, how to behave in it, and what to do to sanctify your soul and heart? Remember how Saint John in his Revelation depicts those who are in the heavenly Church, before the Throne of God. since the Church is rightly called heaven on earth: then those who are in the church are closest and best to imitate those who are in the heavenly Church. What did the Seer notice there? He noticed, firstly, purity and immaculateness: “I shall not bring into him all manner of evil and create abominations and lies” (Rev. 21:27); noticed, secondly, universal reverence and humility: “and fell on their faces before the throne and bowed down” (Rev. 7:11); noticed, thirdly, modesty and decency in their very outward position: “clothed in white garments, and robes in their hands” (Rev. 7:9). We cannot, covered with flesh and blood, appear in the church, like the inhabitants of heaven, completely without blemish. At the very least, we should come to church for chastity, with the desire and prayer that the Lord would recreate in us, by His grace, a pure heart and renew a right spirit in our womb. Moreover, is it not permissible in any case to come to church for a vice - in order, for example, to seduce others, or to be seduced ourselves? For, unfortunately, it also happens that a church, a place of prayer, turns into a place of seductive glances, conversations and dates. In this case, who are these people like? Obviously, not against the inhabitants of heaven, but perhaps against the spirits of darkness, which, by permission from above, sometimes appear at the very Throne of God, as we see with the tempter of Job. What can await such people in the future if not the most terrible execution? For, if at all, woe to him, “to whom the temptation comes” (Matt. 18:6), such grief that, according to the word of the Savior, it would be better for such people if they were thrown into the depths of the sea with a stone on their necks; then judge, what kind of grief should await a person who dares to sow temptation in the very church of God, to trap souls to destruction in the face of the Lord of heaven and earth Himself, at the foot of His Throne? The second property of those who are in the heavenly church, according to the instructions of the Seer of Mysteries, is their extreme humility and reverence: “and fell on their faces” (Matthew 17:6). With their great innocence and purity, it would seem possible, without surrendering to the work, with a frank, as the apostle puts it, face to look at the glory of Him who sits on the Throne: but cleansed, and whitened, and sanctified, they remember what they once were on earth, do not forget their former unworthiness, and in humility they are cast down to the foot of His Throne. After such an example, what should be expected from us - unworthy and sinners - in the church? The fact that most of the entire divine service will not stand, but cast themselves down into the dust, not daring, like the publican, to raise their eyes to heaven. Some people do like this; The Holy Church joyfully notices their humility. But what about others, especially some? There seems to be no place where they would come with more carelessness, insolence and, so to speak, fury, as in the church. For them, this is a house without an owner, where they can behave as they please. Unfortunately, the very ones from whom the opposite would be expected, who even by their very rank should serve as an example for others, sometimes indulge in untimely conversations or indecent movements in churches; and instead of following the inspiration of the Church, abandoning all earthly cares and giving themselves up to prayer, they try both for themselves and for others to continue the vanity of life through unreasonable conversations. How can one not regret such oblivion of both the holiness of the church and one’s own honor? For who among those present in the church is not ready to condemn such pathetic self-forgetfulness? The third quality of the inhabitants of heaven, seen by Saint John in heaven, at the Throne of God, consisted in the decency and modesty of their external position: “clothed in white vestments, and fins in their hands.” If the holy Seer Himself considered it necessary to notice this circumstance; Moreover, we will not do unnecessary things by reminding them of the same thing, so that those entering the church will know in what form to appear there. Do you need decorations and rich clothes for this? No, the Lord of the church equally accepts fine linen and rags; for he is not looking for our clothes, but for our hearts. However, if we, going to the house of respected people, try not to bring into them any uncleanness with us, then how much more, when going to church, will we take care of possible cleanliness and decency. The opposite can be excused only by some extreme. But while caring for external decency in the church, it is all the more necessary to be able not to exceed the measure of this concern. For for some it extends to the point that they spend a significant part of the time appointed for worship in cleaning themselves; That’s why they keep up only to half, and sometimes to the end of it. This is already very bad, and even worse is the reason why some try to decorate themselves in this way, that is, so that when they enter, everyone’s gaze will stop on them, in order to surpass this or that person with their decoration. Is this something to think about when going to church? Is there a place for rivalry and envy? No, a true Christian, getting ready to go to church, and even having every opportunity to surprise with her outfits, will consider it a duty to put aside everything magnificent and expensive, and will appear without decorations, in a simple form, so as not to otherwise make herself a spectacle in the church, and not to distract the eyes and attention from the holy icons - to herself. If we need an example of this, then let us take it from the celestials seen by Saint John. In what decoration could they not appear before the Throne of God? But they only appear dressed in white clothes and with dates in their hands, as if with a sign of victory over sin and passions. And for us, as if we have not yet won and are on the battlefield, we, who often fall and are vulnerable, it is most fitting to appear in churches with a sign of sadness and contrition of heart. Let us now put everything that has been said together. How should one enter the church and behave in it? We must enter as clean and decently as possible, for we are going to the house of God, but without decorations and fashionable embellishments, for we are going to prayer. One must stand and behave with reverence and humility, as befits repentant sinners seeking mercy. We must try to ensure that staying in church always serves to sanctify our souls and bring us closer to God. Those who, when visiting the church, do not have this internal self-sanctification in mind, it is better to stay at home, so as not to be a burden to the Lord of the church, remaining before His face with their unclean and evil heart. Amen. Word on the occasion of the consecration of the church “Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three canopies: one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said” (Luke 9:33) At the same time as they are not ordered to erect even a single canopy for three on Tabor, we have already erected a third canopy for the One on this mountain! Do we not therefore come three times under the reproach made to the Apostle of Christ? If it is said about him: “they do not know what they say”: then won’t they say even more about us: they do not know what they do? I feel that this thought is not very pleasant for the God-loving re-creators of this church: but I dwell on it because it, like a sharp stone, lies in the path of their present joy; This is exactly why I stop, so that through reverent reflection I can remove it from the path, so that anyone who walks, that is, who wants to rejoice in this day, does not stumble over it and lose heart. If Petrov’s idea of ​​creating three canopies is not currently approved on Tabor, then you need to know why it is not approved. Two of them were supposed to be created for Moses and Elijah, but what was the need for earthly dwellings for the inhabitants of heaven, who appeared on earth only for a short time and immediately had to depart again to the eternal and not made by hands abodes of the Heavenly Father? The concern for the canopy on Tabor was unnecessary for the Teacher Himself, for He also ascended to this mountain not for habitation, but for temporary prayer only. The time was already approaching for Him to leave not only Tabor, but also the earth itself, and return to heaven to the Father, from Whom He came to complete the work of our salvation. It's different with us! Although the inhabitants of this holy mountain ascended it in order to be transformed on it by that transformation of mind and will, which the holy Apostle Paul demands from the followers of Christ, at the same time they ascended this mountain with the vow that, after this transfiguration, they would not leave it again, not return to the world, but would remain here until the hour in which they would be called to heavenly Zion. In anticipation of this longed-for hour and call, they must come to the church every day and every night before the face of God to pray and receive spiritual food. During the summer time, the main church serves for this purpose, but among the autumn storms and winter blizzards, not only weak old age, but also vigorous youth are sometimes unable to endure the harshness of the air in this church. What was needed was a winter canopy, which, while bringing calm to the outer man, would thereby ward off obstacles to action on the inner man. And so, by the construction of this church, what was missing was filled, it was filled in such a way that now, having abandoned all worries about the material, all that remains is to care about the spiritual, that is, about the salvation of their souls. This means, someone will think, we acted better on our mountain than what the Supreme Apostle did on Tabor. No, beloved brother, it is enough for us if we did what we needed. At Tabor, probably, even with the current knowledge of the mysteries of salvation, which at that time were not yet fully revealed to the apostles, we would not have been able to resist saying something similar to what was said out of complete delight by Saint Peter. For who would not want to prolong for himself the vision of the glory of Tabor in the face of Christ? But in this case, too, the apostle shows self-forgetfulness worthy of him. We would probably take care first of all to arrange a canopy and a dwelling for ourselves, and then for Moses and Elijah, but Saint Peter completely forgets himself and cares only about arranging shelter and shelter on Tabor for the Teacher and the celestials who were now talking with Him. But why and for what purpose are comparisons made? Suffice it to say that for the erection of this holy canopy, although it is already the third on this mountain, we are not subject to Taborsky’s reproach. And here is the proof of this dream: the Lord, now transfigured on Tabor, not only did not shy away from this new canopy of ours, as from Peter’s on Tabor; but he chose her as a monastery for himself, and from now on established among her the visible throne of his grace. Therefore, here, in the sacraments and church services, something similar to what happened at Tabor will happen; the divine glory of the Savior will be seen, the voice of the Father will be heard testifying about the Son, Moses and Elijah will appear with their prophecies. There will be even more here than on Tabor: namely: a den with a manger, Jordan with baptism, Golgotha ​​with the cross and resurrection, Olivet with the ascending Lord, the upper room of Zion with the fiery tongues of the Spirit. All this, I say, will be in our new canopy; because in our worship the entire earthly life of our Lord is depicted and, as it were, repeated. What a wealth of edification for the souls of believers! How many new bonds that draw you to Christ! How much food for the heart, consolation in sorrow, encouragement for spiritual deeds! Let us also be raised up by faith, humility, love, patience, and hope. Let us begin to work more amicably and more diligently on recreating in ourselves that divine tabernacle, for which all the churches on earth are being built, which, once recreated, will not cease to exist forever. You know what the Apostle Peter once spoke about when he wrote to his disciples the following: “Coming to the unman (Christ the Savior), I live as stones; from man I am humbled and chosen honorably by God; and you yourself, like living stones, are built into a spiritual church, a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God” (1 Pet. 2:4-5). See what we are all destined for! Don’t just go to churches, but be churches yourself; not to sacrifice anything small or great, but to turn ourselves into the Lord’s sacrifice. Will we shy away from this honor simply because it is great and immeasurable? But the Lord knows where to lead us, and He will bring us there if we are only obedient to His voice and faithful to our vows. Amen. Word on the consecration of the church “O Lord God of Israel! It is not like You are God in heaven above and on earth below... if heaven and heaven do not suffice You, how much more than this church, which I created for Your name? And may you listen to my prayer... which Your servant prays before You... may Your eyes be open to the church this day and night... and hear the prayer... of Your people... They will pray for them in this place... and be merciful to their iniquities, by which You have sinned... for let all the people of earth understand... that they have called Your name this church which... I have created for Your name" (1 Kings 8:23, 27–29, 30, 43–44, 50,) This was the prayer that the wise king of Israel once prayed publicly before the Lord for his newly built temple in Jerusalem. We repeated the same prayer during the consecration of this church. There is no doubt that his Christ-loving re-creators shared it with us. After this, it should be both curious and instructive for all of us to know what answer was given to Solomon to his prayer for the church? Here it is: “And the Lord appeared to Solomon, ... and the Lord spoke to him: Having heard the voice of your prayer and your supplication, which you prayed before Me: you have created them according to all your prayer, and sanctified this church that you have created, so that you may place My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there all the days: and if you walk before Me as David thy father shall walk in honor of heart and in righteousness, and shall do according to all that he commanded, and shall keep My commandments and My commandments: and I will establish the throne of thy kingdom in Israel forever, as I spoke unto thy father David, saying, Thou art a ruler in Israel. If you and your children turn away from Me, and do not keep My commandments and My commandments, which Moses gave before you, and you go and serve as other gods and worship them: and the outgrowth of Israel out of the land, which I gave them, and this church, which I consecrated to My name, I will reject from before Me: and Israel will be a destruction and a blessing to all. people: and this house will be high, everyone who passes through it will be horrified, and will howl and say: for the sake of this, the Lord has created this land and this church; and they say, “Because you have forsaken the Lord your God, whom their fathers brought out of Egypt, from the house of work, and have accepted strange gods, and have worshiped them and served them, for this reason the Lord has brought this evil upon you” (1 Kings 9:2-10). This is how the Lord answered Solomon’s prayer for the newly built temple in Jerusalem! The answer is completely divine, for in it the One who searches hearts and wombs penetrates to the depths of the soul of the royal church builder, embraces with His gaze and word not only the past and present, but also the entire future - he bestows rather than accepts; promises and teaches; praises and admonishes. Is it possible for the re-creators of this church to assimilate this answer given to Solomon? Not only is it possible, but it should be. The Lord, even now, as in the time of Solomon, accepts with favor everything that is done for the glory of His most holy name. And what could be closer to this all-holy name than a house of prayer? If anywhere, then in the church thousands of hands and eyes rise directly to the sky; thousands of mouths open directly to prayer; thousands of souls and hearts enter into visible conversation with God. How can such a place fail to attract favorable attention? The One who said about Himself: “where... there are two or three gathered in My name, I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). But even more happens in the church: here a bloodless sacrifice is made for the sins of the whole world: can the eyes of the Father not be open to the place where the blood of His Son is? The Holy Church fully feels the importance of such places, that is, churches; and you have seen how many prayers, genuflections, secret and open sacred rites, signs and symbols she uses in order to establish, establish and beautify the place of settlement in the church for the glory of God. – After all this, one can truly say about each church what Patriarch Jacob once said about the place where the Lord appeared to him: “This is a terrible place, not this, but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). May the heart and soul of those who have been honored to serve in the reconstruction and beautification of this house of God rejoice! I say worthy, because away from us is that false and unclean thought, as if we have done some kind of favor to the Lord. If there is a favor in this case, it is for ourselves, consisting in the fact that the Almighty and Omnipresent has descended to our mercy, and despite the fact that heaven and heaven cannot contain Him, He has deigned to dwell in this church. But nevertheless, those who built this church to the Lord, like Solomon, can expect and hope for every mercy and blessing from the Lord of the church, who, by His very greatness, cannot remain in debt to us in any respect, and will undoubtedly find an opportunity and means to repay with interest what was sacrificed to him. The example of Solomon shows that the wisdom of God does not even wait for eternity in this case to reward the creators of the church, but accompanies them with blessing even during their lifetime, extending it to all their descendants. After this, we have the right to say that on this day, perhaps, the fate of these little chicks was decided, although, due to their youth, they were least able to take a reasonable part in what was happening here. But, having, to a certain extent, assimilated to the creators of this church the promises of God spoken to the creator of the temple of Jerusalem, we cannot help but draw their attention to the condition under which these promises were spoken. For the Lord, for the creation of the church, promises, as we have seen, a blessing to Solomon and his descendants, not simply, but in the event that he and his descendants do not turn their faces away from Him and go to worship other gods. God’s blessing will not rest on the creators of this church if they allow themselves to be carried away by serving alien gods, if they do not teach their children to be faithful to the one true God. There is no need to explain much about what kind of other gods these are, whose service deprives us of blessings from the true God. In the time of Solomon, these were idols and idols of pagan gods. Nowadays the smallest child does not fall before these idols, but now there are other invisible false gods, before whom the very giants of the world often fall to dust. These are idols of passions and idols of the vices that dominate the world. Look, for example, at a person devoted to carnal knowledge: who is his god? Obviously, his womb, to which he sacrifices everything. Look at the money lover, who is his god? Obviously, self-interest and profit, which they place above all else. Do not look for gods other than the objects of those same passions among those devoted to other passions. But in whose heart these unclean deities are given to dwell, there is, of necessity, no longer room for the true God. For, can He, the All-Perfect, be content with a part of our heart and share His dominion over it with the idols of our passions? One of two things is inevitable: either they must all fall and disappear, or He will leave our hearts, along with all His blessings. Let us understand the secret of our true prosperity in time and in eternity: both depend entirely on our fidelity to the true God. Let us remain faithful; and from this church, from this Throne of the glory of God, all blessings, temporal and eternal, will flow upon us. Let us not be faithful: even the church itself will turn into our reproach. Why turn to reproof? Because its construction testifies that we were close to the Lord and the Lord was far from us, but later withdrew, persecuted by our infidelity. Solomon, carried away by the temptations of flesh and blood, did not, as is known, keep the conditions under which it was promised to hear his prayer for the church; why his royal descendants were deprived of the blessing of God promised for the creation of the church, and the very church he erected was destroyed by foreigners. The example is terrible, but it should not confuse and dishearten the Christ-loving re-creators of this church, but should only constantly dispose them to unremitting vigil over their hearts and lives and to the most diligent education of their children in the fear of God. There would only be a sincere desire on our part to serve the Lord in purity and truth, and He Almighty Himself would find a means to strengthen our weakness and eliminate our unfaithfulness, even to atone for our voluntary and involuntary sins with repentance. Amen. So, the matter is over - the church is consecrated!.. No, beloved builder of the church in Christ, it is not over, far from over... Thank God, if only it has begun as it should; especially if it continues successfully. The matter is not over, for, you say, why was this church built? Is it really so that the shrine is enclosed within its walls, like dead treasure in an ark, and does not come out of them anywhere? Without a doubt, not for this, but for the opposite: that is, so that it, having revealed itself here as a source of life, flows from here incessantly, passes into our homes and dwellings, drinking souls and hearts, saving them from the heat of passions, from petrification in sin, nourishing in them seeds, flowers and spiritual fruits, that is, holy thoughts, feelings and deeds. Let's say more - this church is only one of the means to recreate within us that church about which the apostle speaks: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you?” (1 Cor. 6:19). But is this inner church ready? Is it sanctified as it should be? Thank God, if only we start with the building in the proper way; all the more so if its creation continues non-stop and with success. By saying this, we do not in the least wish to diminish the real joy of the creation and consecration of this beautiful church. How can one not rejoice, seeing that in this recently deserted place, the house of God has been erected and a visible dwelling place of grace has been established? How can one not rejoice that whole thousands of souls, who at a distance from the church barely once a year had the opportunity to attend divine services, will now flock here every Sunday to pray, to feed their souls with the word of life and to sanctify themselves with the sacraments of the Holy Church? All this brings us great joy. But even in the midst of joy one should not forget about one’s own good and think that when the means are obtained, the goal is achieved; no, it still needs to be achieved, for this you still need to think and work a lot. We have already said what this goal is - this is our inner sanctification, this is the re-creation of the spiritual church in us, this is our own, so to speak, churching. It is precisely this great and holy goal, as a means, that this church should serve. Without this, he will be like a witness of our inner desolation. Word for the consecration of the church “The Most High has sanctified His village” (Ps. 45:5) And who can sanctify anything except Him, the Most High and All-Sanctifying? Moreover, who can sanctify the village of the Most High, if not the Most High Himself? So, do not think, my brothers, and do not say that the church is consecrated by us. We were just a weak instrument in this secret action, and we did not so much sanctify as we ourselves were sanctified by what was happening here. “The Most High has sanctified His village.” The same power was at work here that brought all things into existence from oblivion, which raised the sun above our heads and scattered myriads of stars, the same power that poured seas over the earth, made rivers flow, raised mountains, and annually renews and beautifies the face of the entire earth, abundantly bringing out from it everything necessary for human needs. And if so, then, brethren, from now on do not look at this church as a simple building, as the work of human hands. No, this is no longer an ordinary meeting place, but the village of the Most High, this is the palace of the King of Glory, terrible and venerable for the Cherubim and Seraphim themselves. Here - from now on - will be accomplished and secretly performed that which is not in Heaven itself, despite all its greatness; for here the Sacrament of the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Son of God will be performed. Oh, the miracle of God’s love for us! What do we use to build the churches of the Lord? There are only excesses from our acquisitions, which, however, are themselves a gift of God’s love, but what about this love? She brings her Body and Blood to every church, and why does she bring it? Not to show them just to us, even if this was a sign of great mercy, but to betray them as food for the faithful, and how to betray them? Not once or twice, but, if we want, every day, thus supplying itself along with our daily nutrition. Let us forget all the labors incurred in creating this church; Let us not remember any of the sacrifices used for him. May one single gratitude remain and reign in the soul and heart for the fact that the Lord did not reject our zeal and deigned us to serve in whatever way we could to the village of His glory. And at the same time, let us not hesitate to take advantage of the new throne of grace that has been erected among us. For why did the Most High sanctify His village? Is it for yourself? Earthly rulers create palaces for themselves, for, like people like us, they need shelter and shelter. The King of Heaven is free from such needs; If He deigns to set up a settlement for Himself among us, it will be for ourselves, so that we know where to find Him, the Infinite, so that we can see where to flow to receive from Him light and truth, grace and mercy, spirit and life. It is possible, even without a church, to find access to the Almighty, as the forefathers once found it when there was not a single church in the whole world, and as those who, by the lot of their lives, are removed from all churches still find it. But it is all the more unforgivable, having among your dwellings the village of the Most High and the ever-flowing source of grace and sanctification in it, not being able or not wanting to draw from it and remaining distant in spirit from the Lord. In this case, the church itself, instead of interceding for us, will speak against us. What should we do for this church to bring us all spiritual benefit? First, visit it more often. It would be necessary to attend if divine services were performed every day, for would we refuse to be with the king if he invited us every day? But even more so, one should not miss the holy service, because it is performed only on holidays. Is it possible not to visit the church of God on holidays? This would show that we do not fear the Lord and are careless about the salvation of our souls. If the thought comes to stay on a holiday when they call for church, then be sure that this thought is from the evil one. He uses various pretexts for this: he says that you haven’t done this and that, do it now, and go to church next Sunday. Do not be deceived by this thought. How much do you get done at the hour when we are in church? And will the matter be successful when you do it without first praying in church and without asking for God’s blessing? For those who are pious and diligent in the church, all things are better; and among those who despise the holy church, even labor is of no use. Sometimes the enemy also says: “You’re not so healthy, stay home, rest.” It’s like going to church to work! There is rest for the soul and conscience! It’s different when you pray more earnestly: your soul becomes lighter, and your soul and body feel better. Warm prayer to the Lord is the best cure for all diseases. When visiting a church, you must be able to stand in it properly; otherwise, even if you are in church, you will not receive anything for your soul; Even instead of benefit you will receive harm. In fact, isn’t it harmful to those who go to church not looking like themselves? (And, unfortunately, there are also such...) This means cursing the name of God, and clearly coming under grave condemnation. Isn’t it harmful to those who, instead of praying, start conversations in church, often so noisy that they interfere with others’ listening and praying? Do not those who, going to church, dress up so that people will look at them, and think to seduce others with their embellishments, receive harm? Such will face the inevitable wrath of God. You must go to church with a clean mind, be neatly dressed, but without any special decorations; in church you must stand quietly, directing your gaze and thought to God and the holy icons. If you need to say something to someone, then say it briefly and quietly. One must refrain oneself from the most natural movements, so as not to interfere with what is being read or sung, for example, not coughing loudly, and the like. Having arranged yourself in this way, you need to nourish your soul with what happens in the church. Here, firstly, various readings are performed - the Gospel, the Apostle, prophecies, canons, stichera, prayers. When all this is read, especially the Gospel and the Apostle, then focus your whole mind on what you hear, for you hear the word of God, and the word of God is more precious, as St. David says, than pearls and gold. How would you choose if someone threw pearls or gold coins at you? So choose the words that come out of the mouth of the reader in church. Who knows which one will affect your soul? By not paying attention, you can utter exactly the word that is intended for you. We see from the lives of holy people that from one word of the Gospel they left a sinful life, changed completely and began to be saints. The same can happen to you if you are careful. And if you don’t, then no matter what you read, everything will pass by and will not leave any trace in the heart and, without bringing any benefit, will turn into condemnation. “The word,” says the Savior, “in every word, judges him on the last day” (John 12:48). Why does he judge? Because they heard it without attention and did not take advantage of it. It would be better not to hear him and not to know the way of the Lord, like the pagans. “If he had not come,” says the Lord, “he spoke to them, they had no sin: but now they have no guilt about their sin” (John 15:22). Further, the Sacraments are performed in the church, especially the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. This happens during the liturgy, especially the last part of it. Therefore, special attention and reverence are needed here, for this is a time of miracles. And when the deacon says: “Let us become kind, let us become fearful...” gather yourself with all your thoughts and feelings, put aside all earthly cares, imagine that you are standing on Calvary and before you on the cross is the Son of God, your Savior; or that you are in the upper room of Zion, and the Holy Spirit descends before you. Raise your hands to God together with the priest and pray; fall with him on the platform of the church, and thank God for His ineffable mercy. For is it not mercy when such a great sacrifice is offered on the holy throne at this very moment for our sins? Isn’t it a miracle when ordinary bread and wine, through the action of the Holy Spirit, turn at this moment into the Body and Blood of Christ in order to feed our souls into eternal life? When we visit the church of God in this way, each time we will return to our homes better than when we went to it: our mind will be brighter, our heart will be calmer, our conscience will be livelier, our hope will be stronger. When we visit the church in this way, everything will become better in our homes, we will stop indulging in intemperance, rotten words will not come out of our mouths, the worst thoughts will enter our minds less often from day to day. Amen. Word at the founding of the church We stand at the site of nationwide sadness and lamentation: it’s rare among you who haven’t shed bitter tears here. And so, in this place of crying and sobbing, the Lord gives us joy, and not for an hour or a day, but forever!.. For here there will be a church; and where the church is, there is joy. It will be more gratifying to leave those dear to your heart to eternal rest under the shadow of the house of God; it will be more gratifying to come to the place of their resting place and find that it is resounding with worship and the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice for them; It will be more gratifying for those passing by to see that our city is adorned not only with sights for the living, but also with places of sacred memory for the dead. Therefore, as soon as I visited this place for the first time, a desire was born within me to build a church here. Without this, it seemed to me, the graves here are not quiet, and those who rest in them are not peaceful. Now this wish is being fulfilled; and I, laying the first stone at the foundation of the church, am the first to rejoice and thank God for this. When, with God’s help, this matter comes to an end, then we will visit this place, no longer embarrassed by the thought of either the living or the deceased. Otherwise, how could you not be embarrassed? The living have so many high and spacious palaces, but the deceased fathers and brothers did not even have a church! Moreover, it was impossible not to be embarrassed for the dead. The living have different sources of consolation, but the deceased have one consolation - the throne of mercy, on which the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered for their sins. And this throne, this source of consolation was not here! But blessed is He who possesses the living and the dead! Behold, in this place of mourning joy is established for the living and the dead!.. Now, residents of the city of Kharkov, it is up to you to speed up and strengthen this joy with your feasible offerings to help the holy cause now being begun. For, let it be known to you, it begins without any ready-made means, just in the name of God and in the hope of your zeal and love for your fathers and brothers who lie here. Do you hear what they say to you from their graves? Brothers and friends, they say, we left you everything we had; they took nothing with them to the grave except the Cross of Christ; and now we don’t want anything from you except the church. Give us a church! Give shelter to our souls! Give prayer and the Bloodless Sacrifice for our sins! Show that we are not forgotten by you, that you still love us and care about our eternal destiny! If it were necessary to add something from us to this voice of your fathers and brothers, then we will tell you, brethren, that by doing good to this place, by helping to build the church here, you will do good to yourself in advance... For how long will you remain in your houses and dwellings? In a few years (and how soon they will pass!) you will all lie down in eternal rest, under the shadow of this church, and from it, perhaps, at the sound of the Archangel’s trumpet, you will rise in flesh to the world judgment. Hurry to assimilate this church or, moreover, yourself to this church - by participating in its construction within your means. May the good deed not last for lack of funds! Let them not say: here is a church that they cannot or do not want to complete! May we also have the utmost joy when we lay the first stone and light the first candle here; and just as we now offer prayer for the church, so in the prepared church we offer prayer for the living and the dead! Baptist of Christ, John! Your holy name is named on this church: accept both the church and this place under the canopy of your holy prayers! May the souls of our brothers lying here find in you an intercessor and intercessor before the throne of Him for Whom your honorable head was cut off! Amen. Word on the consecration of the ancient underground church, recently discovered and rebuilt in the Svyatogorsk communal Hermitage Few words are needed for this church, if you look at its visible, so small space, but a lot needs to be thought and understood when you want to reach its first beginning and purpose. Who and when laid the foundation of this church? Whose hands excavated this cave and established the throne of the living God in it?.. Neither living nor dead respondent to this is visible; neither contemporary nor late witnesses have been heard of this. It is only clear that these hands were not idle, but hardworking, and that they loved to delve into the heart of the earth, not to find perishing metal, but to collect spiritual and eternal treasures. Shall we turn our searching gaze to these stones, which alone have been spared by time?.. They, by their very appearance, say that there was once a church here, the walls of which were later strengthened by means of them; but when did this happen? again the unknown. One thing we can say is that the final construction of this church, in its present form, should not have happened at the very beginning of Christianity in our Fatherland, for the property of the plinths used here is not what we see in our primitive churches, but also not in times close to ours, otherwise the memory of this event would have been preserved. With such darkness and bewilderment, how precious was even a small ray of light! How desirable was any, even meager, but undoubted indication! And so, by the secret order of Providence, which does not allow the very traces of the feet of His faithful servants to be completely erased on our sinful earth, as if on purpose as a testimony to the fate of this church, the old, hundred-year-old old man was kept alive until last summer, over whose fresh grave, at the entrance to this cave, we now proclaimed eternal memory. We could not accept much from his weakening lips, but we accepted the very thing that was most necessary for us, namely, that this cave should be contemporary with the very existence of the local monastery, that there was a church in it in the name of the venerable and God-bearing Fathers Anthony and Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk, that this church was already hidden underground, in the unknown, at the time when the monastery came down from the cliff and, therefore, came to this unknown much earlier, in all likelihood, during the general desolation of this region and the entire Fatherland from the invasion of the Mongols who destroyed everything, that in the penultimate time - about eighty years before this - this cave was accidentally found and opened by the hands of the same old man, who was then a youth, but, due to the vague circumstances of the then monastery, left unattended, it soon disappeared underground in anticipation of the present, along with it, renewals and updates. After this, how can we not look at this small church as a sacred relic of the most ancient times?.. How can we not recognize in it the work of hands similar to those who labored in the Kyiv mountains and turned them into a sanctuary of faith and piety? Here and there are the same images and types of monastic existence; the same spirit must be one and the same, clothed in these images. It seems to me that I see how the holy monks of Mount Pechersk, having inherited from their first leaders a holy inclination to spread the life of the deserted monastic life throughout the Russian land, flogged, like the ancient prophet, by the spirit (2 Kings 2:2-6), leave their residence and go - some to the east, others to the west, others to the north, these to the south, looking for a place for exploits that the Lord will indicate. And so, some of them come to our country, reach this place: the extraordinary view of the mountains, the deep silence of the surroundings stop them, bringing the holy mountains of Kyiv to their memory; and they, calling on God and the saints of the Kiev-Pechersk for help, remain here to live, that is, what do they do? that is, following the example of the Kyiv brethren they left behind, they dig caves for their stay, some - perhaps especially inclined to contemplation - on a rock rising above the entire surrounding area, others - more devoted to silence and seclusion - here in this vale, thus transforming for the future monastery, which had to fit in the middle, as if two spiritual wings, opposite in appearance, but equally capable of lifting worthy of grief to the One Who deigned to call Himself the Lord of the “mountains... and... vale” (1 Kings 20:28). Who would not wish that, for our edification, the ancient chronicles preserved for us the deeds and exploits of the first inhabitants of this place, just as the memory of the exploits and deeds of the ancient inhabitants of the Kyiv caves is preserved? But even without special chronicle legends, we can conveniently imagine the image and type of their life, for it, as we said, should be similar to what we see among the holy hermits of Kyiv. Only one feature could not help but constantly distinguish this place, because it came out of its very position on the last borders of our then Fatherland. Being deprived of all earthly protection, surrounded by wild peoples who did not know the true God, the inhabitants of the holy mountains therefore constantly saw the sword over their heads, and, ending the day, from the depths of their souls they spoke to the Church: “The day is past, I thank Thee, Lord! the evening is peaceful and hateful, wait for me!” If on the Kyiv mountains tears of repentance and love flowed abundantly, here, along with these tears, the blood of martyrdom often flowed. Therefore, if anywhere, then here, when visiting these holy mountains, it is necessary to set the measure of your very feet, so as not to trample with your daring foot the bones or holy dust of any confessor of the faith and martyr. After this, let us cease to marvel that from so many centuries of existence of this monastery there are no legends left for us. Its chroniclers could not be people; single Angels wrote down deeds and exploits in the book of the belly. At the World Judgment, where all books will be unfurled and all deeds will be remembered, the history of the Svyatogorsk monastery will be heard. You, brothers of the renewed monastery, have been granted by the Providence of God to continue its history on earth, to continue not so much with the story of words and writing, but with deeds and holy deeds. Let us enter into the spirit of our holy destiny. It will be good for us if, with the help of zealots of piety, we restore the walls and restore the turret of the ancient monastery. But this work, although not without difficulty, constitutes only a scaffolding for a building, one approach to undying work. Our essential destiny, the main feat should be to resurrect the spirit of the ancient monastery in us, so that it, clothed as if with a new body, appears in its primitive beauty, so that everyone, near and far, seeing the works of faith and the fruits of our love in Christ, glorify the Father in heaven for us. May this renewed church remind you of this, among other things! When entering it underground, imagine that you have died to the world and are already walking along that last path along which we all must one day travel. Coming from here back into the world, imagine that you, like the Angels, are going forth into the world for the time being, to do the will of God, for the good of your neighbors. Remember that the God-bearing fathers, whose name is given to this church, will not cease to visit it invisibly and supervise your prayers and deeds. May they also find here what delights their spirit in the caves excavated by their own hands! Then unknown to us, but known to the Lord, the founders of this church “will rejoice over you on their beds” (Ps. 149:5), in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father; Then we too will consider ourselves happy that we have been honored, albeit in a small way, to serve in the acquisition and restoration of this church, and to bring down upon it the grace of consecration on this day. Amen. Word on the opening day of the Svyatogorsk Assumption Monastery So, Svyatogorsk captivity is over! Let Ezra and Nehemiah rejoice, who have hastened the end of it!.. So, Lazarus, who had been lying in the tomb not for three days, but for seventy years, rose up; All that remains is to loosen the burial shrouds and let him go (John 11:44): let Martha and Mary appear, and let him do this last service! Blessed is the Lord, who allowed desolation to come to this place, and did not allow it to turn into that terrible, eternal desolation that the prophet once threatened Jerusalem with. We must also give thanks for the past desolation, for it is now clear that this was the desolation of winter, among which both spring flowers and summer fruits are secretly prepared in the bowels of the earth. The temptation was great; but “faithful... God, who does not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear, for with temptation the abundance was finally created” (1 Cor. 10:13). Now the words of the prophet can be fully addressed to this desert: “let the desert rejoice and let the desert blossom like a tree”! (Is. 35:1). Let's have fun! For everything that caused and could cause sorrow has either already passed, or will pass soon, and not only will pass, but will itself be a cause for joy. Such is the nature of our hearts that it is even pleasant for us to remember past disasters, as long as they ended safely; especially if they are rewarded purely, as we hope here. Perhaps I see more for joy than there is; but it seems to me that yesterday, when we entered the gates of this monastery with the Heavenly Visitor, the river was more alive, the rock was loftier, the trees were more majestic, and everything seemed to sympathize with our joy. How, however, could even inanimate nature not rejoice when it saw before it the image of the miraculous face of the Mother of God, which the Cherubim and Seraphim cannot look at without reverence? When did you feel that the holy remains of the great saints of God, before whom the very spirits of evil tremble, were approaching this place, enclosed in this church? How could one not rejoice at the mountains and valleys here, when, instead of their former desolation, they again become a place of refuge for souls seeking the heavenly Fatherland, when an abode of piety is erected among them, in which the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord will be performed? But if there was a place for inanimate beings in our triumph, then with what joy should your hearts now be filled, God-loving inhabitants of the surrounding places, who hitherto looked with such regret at the ruins of this monastery, and for whom (we will not hide the truth) these ruins constantly constituted some kind of unjust reproach and reproach. Now this reproach will be taken away, and you will ascend with joy to the rock, which before you could not even look at without embarrassment. I'm not talking about my thoughts and feelings on this day; they are known by the Lord, who, without any of our merits, gave us the opportunity to serve, as best we could, in the reconstruction of this holy place. The feelings of those who were jealous with holy jealousy about the sad fate of the holy mountains and, at the first opportunity, hastened to remove them from their own inheritance in order to turn the packs into the lot of the Lord were almost similar in silence. Such deeds receive praise and reward not from us, but from the Almighty. Suffice it to say that all of us and everyone around us now have both a reason and an incentive for joy, and no one and nothing for sadness. So, let the desert rejoice, which for so many years was itself sad, and brought despondency to all who beheld! About what and about whom should he rejoice? Oh Lord. Any other joy would not be in the desert; any other joy can again turn it into a spiritual desert. The joy of the desert saints is the Lord, their consolation is the Holy Spirit, their adornment is the Cross of Christ. Let the desert rejoice with this joy, and let it spread this joy around itself! Let him wean by example from the noisy and muddy joys of the world, which cheer for a while and sadden forever, which, fattening the flesh, torment the soul and eat away at the heart! Let him rejoice and let him bloom like a creen! What does it bloom with? By faith, hope, humility, abstinence, prayers, a feeling of love and mercy, the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit. For how else could the desert bloom? Is it really worldly wisdom, which often ascends to the very mind of God? But this wisdom, even in those who devote themselves to it, does not produce color in the face and strength of strength, but often leads to the grave, so that “having applied the mind of the world, according to the remark of the wise Solomon, he rarely does not apply illness along with it” (Eccl. 1:18). Is it possible for the desert to bloom with acquisitions, treasures, gold and silver? But all this in the world does not help a person at all “on the day of death will it help in the desert? Will the desert finally blossom with the satiety of the flesh and the pleasures of life? But, “he sows to his flesh, and in the world from the flesh he finally reaps only corruption” (Gal. 6:8); in the wilderness, can incorruption and eternal life increase from carnal knowledge? No, we wish you a renewed abode of piety, not human wisdom, not earthly blessings, not honor and passing glory on the day of your rebirth! We loved you in Christ with an unearthly love, and therefore we wish the best for you. Let your fence be the fear of God and obedience to your superiors; Let your height be humility and spiritual contemplation; Let mutual love and the spirit of non-covetousness become your gold and adornment; May your precious pearls be made up of prayers and tears of tenderness. When these virtues establish their home here, then all your shortcomings will go away by themselves; then not only nearby villages, but also distant cities will come to you for blessings; then the very Angels of God, descending into our lower world, will with pleasure find peace among you. Will these good wishes come true?.. We believe that they will come true. For it was not in vain that the Mother of God from the holy mountains of Kyiv came to us here in Her wondrous face on the day of the renewal of this monastery? She saw here a place that was pleasing to Her. It was not in vain that the God-bearing saints of Kiev-Pechersk hastened to appear together with Her - in their honest relics; they provided here for their successors in monastic exploits. What happened yesterday happened in order to inspire you, brethren, who dwell here, with holy hope at the very beginning of your exploits, and to console us with good hope for you and for our zeal for this place. And why shouldn’t you and we have this good hope about you? Where did you come from? From that place which is famous everywhere for the severity of monastic life? You left it, like Abraham, who left his fatherland, and decided to move in among the local ruins. Rest assured that the Lord, who remembers every sacrifice, is all the more “not offended...forget your deeds and labors of love, which you have shown in His name” - to this holy place (Heb. 6:10). If any of you still have to sacrifice your Isaac - your last attachment to something earthly and temporary, then where better to make this sacrifice according to the order of Abraham, if not on these mountains? It was not in vain that the voice of the people called them saints. Here everything is conducive to piety: the river flowing at the gates of your monastery will hourly express before you the impermanence and transience of everything worldly, and the rock standing above your head will depict before you the fate of the servant of Christ, who, having ascended in spirit above the whole world, having the law of God in the midst of his belly, - as Mount Zion does not move forever. The most evergreen type of trees surrounding you will constantly bring to mind the words of St. David about the righteous - “and his leaf will not fall, and everything that he does will prosper” (Ps. 1:3). But with you, brothers in Christ, we will still have occasion to talk, to teach you, and to learn with you and from you. We must hasten to say something for the edification of those who have now gathered here in such large numbers to honor this day and share our joy, and whom, perhaps, we will never see again. Wouldn't it be comforting for you, our beloved visitors and guests, to return to your homes from such a celebration without bringing with you some desert gift? We ourselves do not have such a gift for you, but the One who raised these mountains, who commanded this river to flow at their feet, who now inhabits this desert and makes it a spiritual refuge for cities and towns, has it. Have you heard what He said to Martha in the Gospel now read? It is said: for “there is only one thing that is needed” (Luke 10:42). What is said to Martha is said to all of us, for all of us, like the much-concerned Martha, worry and say and, unfortunately, not just for an hour, like she, but all our lives about many things; Meanwhile, for all of us, one thing is essentially great and important - the eternal salvation of our souls. Take, my brothers, these precious words of the Savior, instead of a guide and a gift from the new monastery, into your homes. When you return to your relatives, and they ask you what you saw here, say that you saw “that there is one thing ... that is necessary” for man, and that those who, leaving the vanity of the world, devoted themselves here to the search for this one thing, chose the good part, “which will not be taken away from” them forever. When you are curious about what you heard from us from this sacred place, say that you heard, “for there is only one thing... there is one need,” and that this one thing is to save your soul, to preserve your faith and conscience, to prepare for death and the Last Judgment of God that awaits us all, in order to finally wash the clothes of your soul with tears of repentance and deeds of mercy. Meanwhile, my brothers, rejoicing at the restoration of this ancient monastery from the ruins, pay attention to the church of your soul and see if it lies in ruins, if it is overgrown with thistles and thorns, if ominous birds and beasts of divinity are hovering in it. For what good is it for us if everything around us is renewed and rises from the ruins, and we, with our morals, deeds and life, resemble the ruins abandoned by everyone? What good is it for us if our outer churches sparkle with gold and attract the eyes of everyone, but the inner church of our soul remains empty, silent and impenetrable? Therefore, when returning to your homes, review your life and delve into your conscience. Whoever finds something similar to ruins inside himself (and how many won’t find it if they look?..), let him be jealous of their restoration! The highest decree on this was signed long ago by the Heavenly Autocrat; All that remains is for everyone to carry it out on themselves! Amen. Word on the opening day of the Akhtyrsky Holy Trinity Monastery There is “a time for every thing under heaven, there is... a time to destroy and a time to build,” says the Wise One (Eccl. 3:1–3). No matter how deplorable it is to destroy this last time, and no matter how disgusting it is to the primitive order of things, as it once came from the hands of the Creator, in our present world, perverted by the fall of the first man and doomed for this destruction, this deplorable time cannot but have its course; and when she comes, she acts powerfully and irresistibly, not only in the affairs of the world, but also in the affairs of the Church, since she belongs to the world. An example and proof of this is this place. We don’t know how or why exactly, but six decades before this, a terrible time to destroy it came; and everything changed: the humble inhabitants of this place scattered; buildings and fences were destroyed; the shrine itself is scattered in different places. On the mountain not made by hands, only one man-made church remained, as if on guard in the midst of desolation and as a harbinger of future reconstruction. For a long time this guard stood alone in the desert; For a long time, only wild animals and birds of the air gathered here. The devout traveler, passing here to the holy places of Kyiv, looked with regret at the holy mountain, which once served as a refuge for all wanderers like him; a peaceful resident of the surrounding villages, with even greater regret, came from time to time here, to the place where his ancestors used to gather for prayer in every need and situation, public and private. Everyone complained about the fate of this holy place; and no one could raise him from the ruins. But finally the joyful “time to create” has arrived for this holy mountain; and behold, the monastery of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity is established here again! And, as if as a reward for past suffering, it is established in a purely form of piety - both as a haven of love for God for those who live in monasticism, and as a haven of love for others - for those burdened with years and illnesses. Let us thank the Lord, brothers, that it has been our joyful lot to be here not in a sad time of destruction, but in a joyful time of restoration. Let us fall in tenderness of spirit before this miraculous face of the Mother of God, and say from the depths of our souls: “You, All-Singing One, have spread Your constructive cover over this place; By Your omnipotent intercession with Your Son and God, it is now rising from the ruins!” At the same time, may the name of the most pious Monarch be glorified, who, in his vigilant care for the improvement of the Orthodox Church, at the first hearing of the sad fate of this holy place and the desire to restore it, did not hesitate to utter his sovereign: “Let it be!” Let us be grateful here, day and night, to the name of the Holy Governing Synod, through whose intercession at the throne and whose blessing the local monastery is now being rebuilt! Accept on her behalf the gratitude of you, God-loving residents of the surrounding villages, whose desires prompted us to petition for her re-establishment, and who, with your feasible offerings, gave us the opportunity to vouch not only for the way of her existence, but also for her good actions throughout our entire country. What can I wish for you, holy monastery, on the day of your renewal? Should we wish for high walls, spacious buildings, golden domes, silver and valuable pearls? Maybe this is not passing you by; but we wish you more and better. Monastic monasteries are not fenced off by high walls, but by grace, the rules of the holy fathers, obedience to superiors, mutual brotherly love, and all-surpassing humility. Fenced in this way, they themselves serve as an invisible fence for entire countries. It is not with golden heads and crosses that the holy monasteries shine before the eyes of God and the Angels, but with the purity and firmness of the Orthodox faith, unceasing prayer for the well-being of the whole world, deeds of Christian love and self-sacrifice. It is not silver and pearls that make up their wealth, but good morals and spiritual gifts, with which the Holy Spirit Himself enriches simple and humble souls. We prayerfully wish you this spiritual wealth, this imperishable decoration, this indestructible fence, new monastery! May you become not only a name, but also a deed, the abode of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity! As you are exalted above the whole country here by your very position, so may you be exalted by your inner height and the gifts of the Holy Spirit! If anyone, then you should constantly remember the words of the Gospel: “a hail cannot be hidden on top of a standing mountain” (Matthew 5:14). Everything that happens in you is visible to everyone far away; May everything visible be such that those who see for what is visible can always glorify the Father who is in Heaven! Then, despite your external poverty, you will not feel lacking in anything; You will no longer fear for your existence any vicissitudes of times and circumstances; Then we too will rejoice from our hearts and thank the Lord that we have been honored to serve for your restoration. And you, benevolent inhabitants of the surrounding areas, we ask you to continue and, if possible, intensify your zeal for the new monastery. For, as you can see, she, like a newborn baby, needs everything. When visiting this mountain, seek peace on it not for your body, but for your spirit; not worldly kindness and friendliness, but Christian edification and lessons. Bear with it patiently if the ministry and order of the church do not immediately appear here before you in all the glory befitting holy monasteries. Through the prayers of the Mother of God, this will not fail to happen; and we will especially take care of this. Mother of God! By your intercession with the Lord, this monastery is rising from half a century of ruins; accept her forever under Your almighty protection! Visit her yourself, both visibly and invisibly; Observe her progress yourself, external and internal; Lead both the led and the leaders here. “In You, in You alone, we hope, and in You – no one else – we boast: For we are Your servants, let us not be ashamed, O Lady!” Amen. Word for the next day after the opening of the Akhtyrsky Holy Trinity Monastery “Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord? Or who will stand in His holy place? He is innocent in his hand and pure in heart; he who does not deceive with his tongue” (Ps. 23:3–4) According to the all-creating providence of the Heavenly King and the sovereign permission of the earthly Autocrat, this place, my brothers, has again become a holy place since yesterday, and the mountain here has become the mountain of the Lord. Yesterday, from an abundance of joy, we were only able to praise and thank the Lord for the fulfillment of our common prayers and desires; Now we can turn to thinking about what happened, and, following the example of Saint David, “who will ascend to this new mountain of the Lord, and who will stand in this new holy place...? This question concerns two kinds of persons: firstly, those who, having left the world, will ascend to the local mountain for an everlasting stay on it; secondly, those who, without leaving life in the world, will appear at this holy place as its temporary visitors. In relation to the first, one can ask what is required of one who wants to become a son of a holy monastery and devote himself here forever to a monastic life? In relation to the latter, one might want to know with what disposition of spirit a layman should visit this holy place?.. The answer to the first question will indicate and define the responsibilities of permanent residents; and the answer to the second is the duties of visitors to the new monastery. It is useful to talk about both, so that everyone - both resident and visitor - knows in advance what the holy mountain expects from him, and behaves here accordingly, without apologizing for ignorance. “Who will then ascend to the mountain of the Lord?” Who does the new monastery expect to live in? Who has the right to want to be her son? “The hand is innocent and the heart is pure, who does not deceive with his tongue,” answers Saint David. Who among us would not wish such pure and holy inhabitants for a new monastery? We would be the first to go out far to meet, and would bow down to the ground to meet what we meet, if even one of these people of God came to live here. But where can I get them?.. Let these earthly angels not become scarce, at least in our whole country; for they, according to the word of the Savior Himself, are the light of the world and the salt of the earth; but, however, wherever they are, they are always ours; for everywhere they pray to the Lord for us. In relation to the new monastery, let us prayerfully wish that it will be able to accommodate, if the Holy Trinity wishes to send it such a vessel of grace as a gift. In saying this, we do not disagree at all with Saint David, and we do not think of destroying the power of his demand. He could not help but look for sinlessness and perfect purity in the one who ascends the mountain of the Lord; for he did not mean any earthly mountain, like we do, but the Heavenly one, the one that will appear on earth when there are no more mountains or valleys on it, that mountain that was shown in a wondrous vision to the Evangelist John. Obviously, no one can ascend this mountain except those “who... have made their garments white in the Blood of the Lamb,” and the rest are without blemish (Rev. 7:14). Regarding the heavenly abode on this future mountain, it is rightly said: “do not imitate anything that is evil... but only what is written in the books of the living creatures of the Lamb: without all love lies and do abomination” (Rev. 21:27). Our mountain does not have such height and inaccessibility; and should serve only as a ladder and threshold to this Mount Zion. Therefore, from the monastery on our mountain, not this strict sentence should be heard, but another voice of our dear Savior, heard from His lips throughout His earthly sojourn among people: “Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Accordingly, this monastery should be open to everyone who, feeling the need to get away from the noise of the world and the vanity of life, decides to devote their days to serving the Lord and preparing themselves for eternity. Whatever the past life, whatever the weaknesses of the spirit and body, whatever the heart and conscience suffered from; but as long as someone has a firm intention, “not according to the lusts of men, but to the will of God to live in the flesh for the time being” (1 Pet. 4:2), then this place, although holy, will accept such a person; this mountain, although the Lord’s, will allow him not only to stand, but also to dwell on its top. Thus, in relation to our mountain, we do not deviate at all from David’s requirement, only we turn it, as you see, not to the past life of those ascending the mountain to dwell on it, but to their subsequent life. Before living on the mountain, you could be anything you wanted; this is your business, about which only your spiritual father will ask you here; but since you have taken up residence on this mountain, not only Saint David, but also your abbot will demand from you - and rightly so - that you be “free from hand... pure in heart” and without flattery in your mouth (Ps. 23:4). And firstly, “the hand is blameless”: that is, blameless in life and actions, for the Psalmist’s hand means our activity. And from a layman, impeccable behavior is required, and from a monk - strictly. Why? Because, firstly, the monk did this in order to live piously and work for the salvation of his soul; secondly, because he has much more means to avoid vice and live virtuously than a layman. You yourself know how difficult it is sometimes in the midst of the world to stay within the limits of truth and justice due to the many temptations and enticements of life; and the monk is free from these bonds and snares. If he suffers temptations, it is more from within, from himself, to which a layman is also subject; From the outside, the monk enjoys great convenience for virtue. For example, who should a monk offend? Against whom and for what should I say a bad word? For around him there are only his brothers. In the world, covetousness and property constantly divide people and lead to sin; There is no such source of deceit and enmity between you here, for here everything is common. In the world they lie and quarrel for places, for honors, for differences; here there is one honor - to be the most humble of all, one difference - to be more obedient to everyone. In the midst of the world they sometimes fall into sin even out of extreme need; for example, they steal other people's property to satisfy hunger or cover nakedness; here, if there is no wealth, then there are no such needs. With such protection from temptations and seductions, with such serenity of spirit and body, with such a multitude of motives and means to advance in piety, how can a monk not remain blameless in his life and deeds, and how can he excuse himself if he appears as a transgressor of those laws of truth and duty, the violation of which the world itself inexorably persecutes? In this case, not only the authorities, but the mountain itself will be angry with those who live on it; not only the brethren, but the very stones here will move from their places and will be ready to fall on the head of the one who, forgetting the fear of God, allows himself to be stained - both himself and the monastery with inappropriate deeds. But we believe that the Holy Trinity will not allow the monastery adorned with Her name to suffer damage in its spiritual glory so quickly from any of Its sons. The Mother of God, under whose protection we have given this place, will Herself stand on guard and will not allow the spirits of evil to penetrate it. In the hope of this almighty fence and intercession, we willingly cease our fears and turn to David’s second requirement, extending it, like the first, to your life, not past in the world, but present, from the time you entered the monastery. “Who then,” we ask again, “will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?” Who is worthy to live in this holy place? He, answers the prophet king, who combines the inner purity of soul and heart with external impeccability of life and deeds: “blameless in hand and pure in heart”! It is necessary to combine both; otherwise you will have neither one nor the other. You can hide the ulcer of sin in your heart for a while, and appear clean and righteous on the outside; but it cannot be hidden for long, much less forever. The impurity of thoughts and desires, sooner or later, is revealed both in rotten words and in cold deeds; and even more so the longer they were hidden. Therefore, those who do not want to appear only, but to be honest, and in this world try to keep their minds from bad thoughts, their hearts from unclean desires, their imagination and memory from seductive pictures and views. This, I say, is what the best of people do in the world; all the more so should one do this in monasteries. A true monk therefore constantly watches over his heart; he does not have empty and idle thoughts, much less unclean and ungodly thoughts. God and eternity, death and the Last Judgment, the life and deeds of the Savior and the saints of God, the commandments and promises of the Gospel, worship, the Sacraments and rituals of the Holy Church, the obedience entrusted to him, this is where the thought of a true monk hovers, this is where the desires of his soul lie. He looks carefully at the very beauties of nature, so that, having slowed down on the visible and temporary, he does not lose sight of the Heavenly and eternal. The monk tries to lead the purest connections with the world in such a way that he can always immediately leave and terminate them when necessary, without any regret, for he remembers that he has renounced the world and everything in the world, and is for him like a dead man. Will such mastery over your thoughts and feelings seem difficult? But without it purity of heart cannot be achieved; and without purity of heart, purity of actions is fragile and insufficient. No matter how beautiful the vessel may be from the outside, if it is spoiled by a bad smell, then no one will use it with pleasure. Such is the monk who lives honestly, but harbors evil thoughts in his soul. The Heavenly Master will not accept such a one into His house, and will not allow him to sit among the host of His chosen servants. Remember this, my brothers, and do not cease to watch over the purity of your heart, abolishing it from all carnal thoughts, filling it with holy desires, thoughts pleasing to God, and the imagination of blessings not earthly and corruptible, but Heavenly and eternal. At first it will be difficult for our fallen and unclean nature, but then, the further it goes, the easier it will become. The Lord, seeing our feasible struggle with unclean thoughts, will Himself put an end to it, expel them forever from your soul, and give you that precious purity of heart, that sweet silence of spirit, which distinguishes all His faithful servants, and on earth rewards them a hundredfold for all their labors and deeds over themselves. The third requirement of St. David concerns our lips and tongue: “who shall not deceive with his tongue.” Only flattery is mentioned, but, without a doubt, all other shortcomings and impurities of the tongue are also understood, especially such shortcomings as slander, swearing, profanity and blasphemy. Is all this decent even for any Christian? And it is not decent for anyone, and in a monk it is completely intolerable; if whose mouth and tongue, then the monk’s should be an organ of the glory of God and spiritual edification for others. It's hard to control our lips! It was not in vain that the Apostle said that “the tongue... is an uncontrollable evil” (James 3:8). But why does he become like this? Because from our youth we get used to opening our lips as it happens, at the first movement of thought; and this is because we consider our words to be nothing and do not value them. But since words are an important thing, because for every word you will need to give an answer, then first of all you need to confirm in yourself the idea of ​​​​the importance and holiness of the human word. Remembering this, we will become cautious in all our words, for we take care of expensive things and none of us throws them away recklessly, except the insane. Having thus learned the value of the word and holding it dear, everyone, for that very reason, will stop wasting it at random; much less will he defile his lips with rotten and unclean words. You have to work hard on this, because the thing is worth it! We think that some snakes have poison in their mouths; no, if a person is careless and allows himself to do so, there is even more poison in his mouth. This is not our thought, but the apostle’s, who calls the evil tongue full of “deadly poison” (James 3:8). Thin and seductive words are just like poison; they infect the ears and heart of the listener, who may not have thought of any vice in his entire life, but you threw a poisonous word in front of him, and a grave temptation, and perhaps a mortal sin, will arise in him for the rest of his life. How can one not take care of this word when there can be such evil in it? However, when we maintain purity of heart, then purity of lips and tongue will follow, one might say, by itself; just as our material tongue is clean when our stomach is clean. But until this inner purity of thoughts and feelings has yet been achieved, it is necessary, in order to protect the lips, to take precautions from the outside; for, unguarded, they can defile, as the Apostle James puts it, “the entire circle of our existence” (James 3:6). Let us now condense everything that has been said into a few words for the sake of memory. So, what is required of a resident of this holy place? Firstly, a blameless and good life, secondly, purity of thoughts and hearts, thirdly, healthy and good words. All this, one might say, is just the ABC and the beginning of a monastic life, but without going through it, one cannot strive for further perfection. And the lower and closer the first steps in the ladder, the sooner you need to step on them and establish yourself with a firm and irreversible foot. Those of you who have now discussed the words of Saint David depicted on a charter will do no harm, and will always have them in your cell before your eyes. We are usually not too mindful of good things; therefore, you need to help yourself in every possible way in such cases; and the matter we are discussing is obviously of extreme importance for everyone. Therefore, in order not to forget it, we can also point out one more remedy. Make it a rule for yourself once or twice a week, in solitude, to reflect with yourself for a few minutes about why you climbed this mountain? Do you have the qualities necessary to be a monk? What do you lack in this regard, and how can you make up for what is missing? Likewise, when you get together for some reason, don’t forget to sometimes talk about this in between other conversations. The reason for this may, perhaps, be the memory of the opening of the monastery and our current conversation with you. Another reason for this is the Psalter of St. David. Almost every week you will hear a psalm in church, from which we borrowed the subject for this interview. So, when you hear the reader saying: “Who will ascend to the mountain of the Lord?” , remember our conversation and your mountain, look at yourself, and look with intelligent eyes - whether you have what St. David requires. Now, pious visitors to this mountain, it is your turn to find out and listen to what the holy monastery has the right to demand from those who visit it, and what you should observe so that a visit to this holy mountain, instead of spiritual benefit for you, does not turn into harm to both you and its inhabitants. It would not be great if all of you who visit this monastery were required to have the same impeccability of life, the same purity of heart and lips, which were now demanded of the monks. For who are you? Although they are not monks, they are not Jews, not Mohammedans, not pagans, but Christians, and Orthodox ones at that; Should we not demand such purity and perfection from a Christian? What would Christianity itself mean if it were not able to provide us with these virtues? For there are people among Christians who have tried and are trying to reach them. But since sad experience in many Christians represents the opposite of this, we will reduce our demands in relation to you to the last possible extent; We will also diminish it because even if we wanted to observe a strict examination between those ascending this mountain, we cannot, for this new monastery, as you see, does not yet have either a gate or a fence. This is a sign that this holy mountain should accept everyone; and let everyone ascend to it. Let him who has attached his heart to pernicious wealth and unrighteous acquisitions ascend to this mountain, let him see that there are spiritual treasures that neither aphids corrupt, nor thieves dig up or steal, and let him learn to become rich in good deeds. Let the sensualist and carnivore, who, as the apostle says, is “God’s belly” (Phil. 3:19), ascend to this mountain, let him be ashamed of his miserable slavery of the flesh, and know that for man there are not only pleasures of the senses, but also of the spirit, and that the purest joys of the heart are not obtained from the earth, but come from above. Let the non-believer ascend this mountain and see that there is still faith on earth, and that it is so strong that it lifts a person above everything, forces him to leave the world and doom himself to constant deeds and hardships. But, opening the entrance to the new monastery for everyone, we will also demand some things from everyone. Which ones?.. The smallest ones and not difficult for anyone. Let us demand, firstly, that no one brings worldly temptations with them. Whether you want or don’t want to take from here the spirit of piety and fear of God, that’s your business; at least don’t bring in the spirit of malice and blasphemy; do not disturb the peace of the peaceful brethren in Christ; stop, turn here, and leave here as befits an evil person. Therefore, if you find a divine service and enter the church, do not make noise or talk: you can talk about everything at home or outside the church. If you visit someone’s cell, again do not start conversations that are not according to the monastic ears; do not allow yourself those jokes and blasphemy that usually accompany some even to sacred places. It is not in vain that we touch upon this subject, for monastic monasteries often suffer from all this; and we are extremely sorry for the new holy place. When the monastery strengthens and grows, then it will be more able to endure worldly temptations; and now she is like a newborn baby, for whom even the small nasty breath of wind and cold is difficult and dangerous. We hope, my brothers, that all of you, out of love for the new monastery, fully share these thoughts and feelings with us. Let us lift up, in conclusion, a collective prayer to the Lord, so that He, the All-Good One, having brought it back from oblivion, will protect it with His grace from all visible and invisible slander and temptations, may He give the inhabitants of this mountain the desire and strength to live up to their title and holy vows, and may He overshadow those who visit it with a spirit of reverence for the holy place and prayer for their sins. Amen. Word on the consecration of a warm church in the temporary premises of the newly opened Nikolsky Monastery “God is wonderful in His saints” (Ps. 67:36), says one of those in whom the Lord was and is wonderful. And for us, looking at this church, which suddenly seemed to come out of the earth, or came down from the clouds, in humility and reverence it is appropriate to decide: “God is wonderful not only in His saints,” but also in us sinners! Who would have thought a few years before this that here, in this deserted place, there would be a church, and that so many people would flock to this church for constant prayer and habitation? the number of souls seeking the Mountainous Fatherland?.. But what never occurred to anyone is now being fulfilled in reality, let us learn from our own experience that “what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27), and that with Him, the Almighty, “every verb will not fail” (Luke 1:37). This church is not the conclusion and the end, but only the beginning and the guarantee of what is destined for it to happen in this place! For here there is an abode of piety, a permanent refuge for souls who, having left the world and everything in the world, sought the one thing they needed and doomed themselves to constant service to the Lord. But who so wonderfully changed the fate of this place and produced this event, so rare in our times, and almost a miracle? All this was done by faith and love for God and neighbors. They, like two Heavenly Angels, appeared in this place; captured the hearts of its owners; opened their eyes to the vanity of all earthly things; revived in their souls a longing for the Heavenly Fatherland, and inspired them to mark their earthly career not with vain plans and enterprises of worldly pride, but with the establishment of an abode of piety. Accept, God-loving creators of this church, accept now the first reward for your faith and love. The joy of this day is primarily yours. Without you and your sacrifices, there would not have been not only a monastery here, but also this church; and for centuries the same desert wind would still blow. But from now on, from this church, following prayers for the crowned leaders and shepherd leaders of the Church, prayer will be offered daily for you, as its creators. Inspired by this prayer, proceed vigilantly to the holy work set before you, without losing your spirit even if, in the midst of your labors, you encounter any sorrow or temptation. The Lord Himself, when He created this world for us, rested not on the first or second day, but on the seventh. We, too, will not hasten our premature peace and will leave it to the One who, having appointed “the Sabbath for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9), alone knows when and how to lead us into it. And you, who dwell here, learn from this church the greatness of God’s condescension towards you, and do not cease to thank the Lord for this. For think, this is not the actual place of your monastery; she’s not there yet; Tomorrow we will only consecrate the place for it. But since you did not doubt to appear here, you came to the One Who Carries and settled here in hope for the future, then He, the All-Good One, seeing your faith, love and patience, did not hesitate and wait; I came here to live with you and, one might say, to travel with you. Therefore, you can and should look at this church, as the Israelites once looked at the tabernacle of testimony, which walked with them in the Sinai desert. This is a sign of the visible presence of God between you and the visible cover of Heaven above you, such a cover, more powerful than which there is nothing not only on earth, but also in heaven. For here, in this church, there will be constantly with you not just an Angel as a guide, as was with the Israelites in the desert, but the Lord Himself of Angels and Archangels, the Only Begotten Son of God, who is offered and offers Himself at this Holy Table as a sacrifice for the sins of men. So, “do not be afraid,” we will say in the words of our dearest Savior, “do not be afraid, little, newly gathered, spiritual flock; please, Father... Heavenly, and will give you... the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32), that Kingdom, before which all the kingdoms and all the blessings of the world are like a shadow and a dream, which is acquired not by human wisdom and strength, but by tears, patience and ever-present "sorrow... for God" (2 Cor. 7:10); that Kingdom about which it is written: “The righteous women will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43). The promises and gifts of God, not like human vows, are “unrepentant” (Rom. 11:29). He loved this place, for He chose it and called you to it; “Whom he called,” says the apostle, “them he also vindicated; and these he also vindicated, these he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). So, be complacent. The Lord, who called you and me, and no one else! His Most Holy Mother, to whose name this church is dedicated, is with you, and no one else! The saint of Christ and the Wonderworker Nicholas is with you, and no one else is with you! Be diligent, we pray, that your new “calling and election,” as the Apostle Peter exhorts, “is known ... to work” (2 Pet. 1:10). What is known? Firstly, by unanimity and mutual love in Christ, which is all the more necessary for you since you have flocked here from different places; secondly, by obedience to your superiors, who, according to their news and yours, may be difficult even because to command you; thirdly, by good behavior and the spirit of true godliness, which consists not in words, but in life and power. Remember that the world from which you have retreated will not hesitate to turn its gaze to you in this desert, not only testing, but also maliciously. So, guard yourself, and in your person and your new abode, from any criticism, not just before God, but also before people, so that everyone, both near and far, will understand that we did not come here from cities and villages in vain, but that truly the Lord is in this place. Amen. Word at the opening of the women's Verkho-Kharkov Nikolsky Monastery, and at the foundation of buildings for it Glory to the holy, consubstantial and indivisible Trinity! Glory and thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity, for from the Trinity we began and reached the Trinity. Behold, the third new abode of piety! The abode is no longer of husbands, but of wives, and even for these, according to the apostle, weak vessels, there will be no shortage of refuge from the storms and troubles of the sea of ​​life. We did not know how to thank the Lord for the first gift, for the Holy Trinity Akhtyrsk monastery; and He, the great-gifted one, gave us a second, no less, monastery of the Svyatogorsk Assumption; The joy of this gift has not yet passed, and behold, the third is sent down - the Nikolskaya monastery! Glory and thanksgiving to the holy, consubstantial and indivisible Trinity! This is Her action, Her gift! And so that we do not doubt this, look how this last gift is sent down to us! The instrument for the establishment of the new monastery is not one person and not many, as it was before, but, as if in accordance with the heavenly trinity, three actors appear, separated bodies, but united by the spirit, about which not only according to flesh and blood, but also according to faith and love for Christ one can say that they are one in essence. For if they were not one, would they have rushed with such unanimity towards a single holy object and a single holy goal? If they were one, but only in flesh and blood, and not in spirit, would they have sought with such unanimity the one thing needed, bypassing everything else? Oh, flesh and blood do not reveal this! Such undertakings and intentions come from above, from the One who, in hearts open to His action, is Himself “both to will and to do well” (Phil. 2:13). World? For the sake of the most fraternal unanimity, he would point out many other enterprises that are seductive to the lust of desire and the pride of life. But our Christ-loving trinity was able, by the grace of God, to rise not only above the charms of earthly vanity, but also above the calculations of ordinary human activity. That is why, of course, she was chosen by the Heavenly Trinity as a useful instrument for the holy work now about to begin. May she find in this thought about her heavenly election a reward for her past labors, encouragement in upcoming exploits, an undoubted guarantee of success, and a shield against temptations, inseparable from every truly good deed. The monastery of piety established here will be the best sign of gratitude and the most sacred monument for your parents who died in God. Their spirit now invisibly rushes here and rejoices with the purest and most complete joy, seeing how what they have collected through prudence and their labors is not squandered according to the vain demands of the world and the whims of self-love, but is unenviously spent for the glory of God and the spiritual benefit of their neighbors. But what is the new monastery? What are we talking about her fate? What purpose of existence shall we indicate for it? What gift and perfection do we wish for her?.. Following with reverence the divine number and order of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity (for as we believe that we have received everything from the Trinity, we would like to elevate everything received to the Trinity), adhering to the very order (in time) of the establishment of our monasteries (for we, the lower ones, do not have time to ascend in thought to the Trinitarian supermundane radiance, as we fall down, into the circle of the temporary), the new monastery will have the high honor and holy privilege of being the abode of the Holy Spirit. Let us not doubt, inspired by faith and hope, let us not doubt at this solemn hour to make once and for all the distribution of our three new monasteries, and let us say: the Akhtyrskaya monastery, as the first in its establishment, may it be established unshakably by the sovereign name of God the Father! The Svyatogorsk monastery, as the second in time, may it flaunt and brighten with the sweetest name of God the Son! The Nikolskaya Monastery, which contains the number three, may it be the special destiny of God the Holy Spirit! We do not separate the inseparable and consubstantial, but rather, due to our weakness, we seek a special divine protection for each new place. With all, both this newly established and the previous two monasteries, may there be the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, and may they all and always be one in faith, love and the hope of eternal life! This is our desire! and behold our prayer! Accept, Most Holy Trinity, this tripartite gift, sent down from You and brought to You again from us, accept, strengthen and preserve it with Your grace, so that it serves for the glory of Your most holy name and for the spiritual sanctification of our country, so that having received these three new “cities... for refuge” (Num. 35:15), everyone will be able to find in them, in The time is ripe for salvation from that irreconcilable enemy and adversary who, “like a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Having become a part of the Holy Spirit, the new monastery will, without a doubt, desire, without delay, to find out what the gifts of the Spirit are and what His fruits are, so that, having learned what gifts, one can make oneself capable of receiving them, and having learned what fruits of the Holy Spirit, begin to be adorned with them. Let it be accepted with love that, due to the shortness of time, it is now possible to tell us about a subject so important, to say not definitively, but initially; for we will consider it our duty, having dedicated this monastery to the Spirit, to converse with it as often as possible about the Holy Spirit. What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? The evangelist of the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah, gives us an answer to this question. Prefiguring the fullness of spiritual gifts in the person of our Savior, he says that “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding will rest on Him, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness... The Spirit of the fear of God” (Is. 11:2-3). But for this reason our Savior “received the Spirit ... beyond measure” (John 3:34), so that from His fullness we would all later receive “grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Therefore, we find these gifts in all the true followers of Christ; all of them were living organs of the Holy Spirit, although not to the same extent as the Savior Himself (for the Head should be above the body, for his own perfection); however, in such abundance that before their gift of wisdom and knowledge all human knowledge and wisdom were often like violence, and before their spiritual strength all earthly power turned out to be weakness. They will not delay, beloved sisters in the Lord, and they will not delay these gifts of the Holy Spirit from resting on you, if you make yourself capable of receiving them. For the Holy Spirit is compassionate and diligently seeks those worthy of Him. But most of all we desire for you the last two gifts, that is, the spirit of godliness and the spirit of the fear of God. There is no reason to grieve if there are no perspicacious among you, with the gift of knowing secrets; and without this you can see everything that is necessary for life and salvation, since all this is revealed in the word of God. There is no need to lament if there is not among you the gift of that strength and strength that can say to a mountain: “move and cast yourself into the sea... and it will be” (Mark 11:23–24); and without this you can be strong in the battle with passions, in repelling the temptations of the age, in victory over the temptations of flesh and blood. But woe, woe, if the spirit of piety and fear of God becomes impoverished in you! Without this, a monastery is not a monastery, a nun is not a nun! Without this, it is better to live in the world, not to wear black robes, and not to pronounce monastic vows in vain, so that for our sake the name of the holy monastery, the most holy name of God, may not be blasphemed! After this, it is extremely important for all of you to learn how the gifts of the Holy Spirit are acquired and preserved. The main means of both receiving and preserving these gifts are: prayer and the Sacraments of the Holy Church... Prayer... The Lord Himself, who acquired for us the grace of the Holy Spirit through His Blood, says: “if... you are evil, you know how to give good things to your children, how much more will the Father who is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Lk. 11:13). Therefore, wishing to receive the grace of the Spirit, one must pray diligently and cleanse oneself at the same time from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, as incompatible with the purity and holiness of the Spirit of God. Knowing the need for such prayer, the Holy Church, for that very reason, forces us to say so often: “O Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth... come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth!” After prayer, the most reliable and visible means for everyone to receive the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit are the Sacraments of the Church, for each of the seven Sacraments it contains is nothing more than a visible instrument of the invisible grace of the Holy Spirit. That is why there are seven Sacraments, because there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. We cannot again accept some Sacraments, such as: Baptism and Confirmation, for they are taught once and forever; We also cannot participate in those Sacraments that are intended only for certain states, for example, in the Sacrament of the Priesthood; but it is in our power to administer the Sacraments of Repentance and Communion over ourselves. But these two Sacraments are sufficient for the most sincere union of us with the Holy Spirit, if we approach them as we should, according to the guidance of the Holy Church. By being cleansed by the Sacrament of Repentance and Confession from all sinful filth, we become capable of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us; and the Sacrament of the Divine Eucharist teaches Him to us along with the Body and Blood of the Savior. So, let us proceed to these two Sacraments as often as possible, for we have all the convenience to do so. The laity, of necessity, amuse themselves with worries about the affairs of everyday life, but what should we do but pray, repent of our sins, and feed our souls with the Body and Blood of our Savior? Therefore, someone who lives in a monastery and does not have the Spirit of God in him is like a person standing in water and, meanwhile, tormented by thirst. This is his own fault, a grave and unforgivable fault. But how, you ask, can you recognize the presence of the grace of the Holy Spirit in yourself? And I ask you: how is the presence of the worldly spirit recognized in a person? According to him, movements and actions. Also recognize the presence of the Spirit of God within you. He “breathes according to his inheritance,” the Holy Church sings, “he will soon lift him up from the earth.” Aversion from the earthly and temporary, and the aspiration of thoughts and feelings towards the Heavenly and eternal, is the first sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person. For just as fire always strives upward and wants to take everything there with it, so does the grace of the Spirit. Therefore, a person possessed by the Spirit of God acts differently, speaks differently, looks differently than a person without the Spirit of God. Anyone who is attentive can see that such a person does not live on the same earth, that there is something higher, holy and good in him, that he emanates anointing and grace. For the most precise guidance in this important matter for our salvation, we will try to study from memory the following passage from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians: “The fruit... spiritual,” it says there, “there is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control... And those who are Christ’s are,” the apostle then continues, as if by way of explanation, “the flesh crucified with passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:22-24). See how many signs and traces of the Spirit there are! So, if you do not find them in yourself, then know that there is no Holy Spirit in us, and this is the same as if there was nothing good in you, for everything truly good can only be in us from the Holy Spirit. Note also what follows in the apostle’s calculation of spiritual fruits: abstinence and crucifixion of the flesh. Without these two rings the whole chain cannot hold on. For flesh and blood constantly war within us and against our spirit, much less against the Spirit of God. How else can we tame them and disarm them, if not through abstinence? So, if you want the gifts of the Spirit to be in you, as well as His fruits, then love holy fasting and mercilessness of the flesh. We will establish the cross to establish your abode in the earth, and you, to establish the abode of the Holy Spirit in yourself, establish it in your heart, that is, make a firm determination to mortify everything carnal in yourself, starting with food and clothing, to the smallest inclinations and desires of the soul. As for the rest, the Holy Spirit Himself, according to the promise of the Savior, “will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) and will teach you what is right to do and what to reject, so that you humbly incline your heart to His teachings, and do not neglect to put into practice what He inspires, even if it seems contrary to your self-love. All that remains is to entrust the new monastery to someone for special spiritual supervision. Who will we entrust? There is not yet one among you who could immediately be greeted with the name of a common mother and mentor for all. Let us therefore offer warm prayers to the One, “from Worthless, according to the Apostle, every fatherland and authority in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph. 3:15), so that a person capable of bearing the yoke of the local new leadership will soon appear. And in anticipation of this, we all turn to you, Saint Nicholas of Christ, with a prayer: since your name is named on this monastery, then You, from now on and forever, take her under your spiritual protection and supervision! Be her leader and mentor, builder and nourisher, protector and guardian, so that not only her inhabitants, but our whole country will understand that names are not given to both people and holy monasteries, and that the “inexhaustible sea of miracles,” as the Holy Church calls you, has not been exhausted for us either! Word on the consecration of a prayer house in the village of Bogorodichnoye In addition to the many spiritual consolations that we have been given to enjoy during these days among these holy mountains, one more joy was sent down from the Lord - to consecrate this house of prayer! Joy is important at any other time, and now even more so, for without it all our other previous joys would be incomplete, they would even respond with a kind of sorrow, because joy is then good and pleasant when everyone and everyone rejoices; and when some rejoice, and others at the same time, especially if for the same reason, they mourn, then such joy is not bright and not easy for a good heart. But this same thing would have happened to us if this house of prayer had not appeared in this place, now. For in this case we would rejoice that the Svyatogorsk Church was transformed from a rural into a cathedral monastery church; and the inhabitants of this village, to whom this church belonged, would grieve that they had lost it, and with their just grief they would outrage our spiritual joy. All the more grateful to the Christ-loving re-creators of the monastery, who, having foreseen this in advance, hastened to take away any pretext for sadness for anyone, and with the construction of this house of prayer calmed everyone. Now the inhabitants of the local village not only have no reason to grieve, but, on the contrary, should feel extreme joy, because instead of the former church (in the distance, several miles away), they now have a house of prayer among their own homes. And this very thing, as we said, completes the fullness of all our joys, for this is true joy and triumph, when everyone rejoices and no one has a reason for sadness, as has now happened to us. But enough about ourselves. It’s time to turn my speech to you, inhabitants of this God-saved land! A great gift has now been sent down to you from the Lord, who has deigned to establish among you the place of residence of His glory. There would be much joy for you if even your own - good - owner chose all of yours as a permanent home for himself, but the house of God is more important than all the palaces of men, for where it is, there is the throne of grace, there are the sources of eternal life. Therefore, you must be grateful to the mercy of God and, having received the gift from above, be able to use it for the salvation of your souls. Otherwise, the more and more important the gift, the greater the condemnation for us. How, you ask, should you thank the Lord? Firstly, more frequent, in comparison with the previous, going to the church of God to pray. Previously, rightly or wrongly, one could make excuses for the remoteness of the church and the inconvenience of the path to it, for it was necessary to walk either across the river, or through the mountains and wilds, which in both cases, especially at certain times of the year, was not without difficulty and not without danger. Now how to apologize? It is now more convenient for almost each of you to come to church rather than go to another neighbor. After this, staying at home on any holiday and not going to church would mean showing obvious disrespect for the house of God. But, “God, as the apostle assures, is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). Woe to the one who despises the house of God! His own house will not last long. And the house of his soul is clearly already dilapidated and tending to fall. When a person is getting ready to go to church, various nasty thoughts often come to his mind: “You,” says the thought, “are not so healthy, where should you go, stay at home,” or: “You haven’t done this and that: get busy and do it.” Do not believe, brethren, such thoughts: they are from the evil one, who does not tolerate us going to the church of God, since it is bitter for him. Even if you are really unwell in body, do not stay at home, but go to church, for when you pray diligently, the illness will pass, and it will be easier for your soul and body, for health comes from the Lord. He is able to heal every disease and every plague. You won’t have time to do much if you don’t go to church and, under the pretext of doing something at home. For success depends most of all on the blessing of God. When God blesses, then everything will go well, but when He takes away His blessing, then no matter what you do, no matter how hard you work, you will not succeed in anything as you should. But will the Lord give a blessing to that person who despises His church and remains at home when everyone else is praying? So, Orthodox, be diligent to the church of God; hurry to it as your flocks hurry to the morning pasture of May, or to the springs of water; for here, in the church, there is incorruptible food and immortal drink for our soul. When you come to the church (this is your second gratitude to the Lord), stand as decorously and God-fearing as possible. For how do you usually stand before your boss, even a small one? You always try to stand as respectfully as possible. This is how it should be, for all authority is from the Lord. But even more so, we must not forget the deanery in the church, for here we no longer stand before earthly leaders, who, no matter how high they are, are still people like us, but before our Lord and Creator, before Whom the very Angels stand with fear in heaven. Meanwhile, how many stand in the church? So, as if standing and being in some kind of marketplace: the rich climb forward; minors make noise and look around; young people do even worse. Who would not condemn such disorder? And how disgusting he must be to our Lord and Savior! Beware, beloved, of riots everywhere, especially in the church; and if someone, out of foolishness, began to behave disorderly, make noise and look around, then you, elders, calm him down. It sometimes happens that it is difficult for everyone to stand - due to cramped conditions: bear this difficulty and cramped conditions with complacency. Don't we sometimes endure even more difficult things in other places? Moreover, one can and should show patience in the church. If anywhere, then here the Lord will see our love for Him and zeal, and will reward us for everything a hundredfold. Finally, testify, my brothers, your gratitude to the Lord for your new church by correcting your morals and moving away from vices. And above all, it is bad when someone on a holiday, walking through the streets, starts disorderly cliques and games; but then you still did not have a church. Now how can someone sing a shameful and violent song? How to start an ugly game for someone? All this will already be before the face of the church, and therefore, as if before the face of God Himself; and “God, as we said before, cannot be mocked” (Gal. 6:7). It is terrible to fall into the hands of Him - the Almighty! But how can we not fall if we, despite the fact that the church of God is before our eyes, continue to curse, lie, swear incorrectly, quarrel and indulge in inappropriate deeds? Therefore, both in gratitude to God and out of pity for the salvation of your own souls, try to abstain from now on, from all evil deeds, the old and elderly instill in the young and inexperienced how to behave and why to run away out of respect for the church. A father, for example, should say to his son: “Look, give up your dissipation and walk quietly, so as not to disgrace the church of God!” Let the mother say to her daughter: “Look, be bashful and modest among the games, for now the Lord Himself looks at all of us, both young and old, from His church!” When you pay attention to your behavior in this way and try to give up bad customs, then along with the new church new blessings from the Lord will come to you: neither drought nor hail will dare to approach your fields and fields; Neither fire nor water will dare to approach your houses; there will be no deadly diseases in your families and herds. And if you remain inattentive to the church, you will still rarely go to it, you will still stand in it absent-mindedly and disorderly, if, moreover, in your village there will still be disorderly shouting, foul language and demonic games, then know, Orthodox, that the Lord in His righteous anger will take away from you, from your houses and fields, His last blessing; and you will serve as an example of how despisers of shrines are punished, from which may the Lord protect you all through the prayers of the holy and blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, to whom this church is dedicated! Amen. Speech at the founding of a church in Sevastopol in the name of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir Apparently, it was the Lord’s will that I, without at all foreseeing the present event and without thinking about it, should suddenly find myself among you now, as if precisely to serve in prayer the foundation of this church. After this, can I remain silent and not share with you those feelings that spontaneously arouse in me during this sacred rite? The founding of this church and at any other time would have been an event not only in Sevastopol, but also in all Russia; for by whom is this church built? Not just the city here, and not even our Russia alone. By what motive is it created? In memory of the baptism and enlightenment by the faith of Christ, near this city, Grand Duke Vladimir; that is, almost the same as in memory of the conversion of the Russian land to Christianity; for in the person of her prince, all of Russia, one might say, was baptized here then and enlightened with faith. Therefore, in all the vast regions of the Fatherland, wherever they hear about our real sacred rite, they will sincerely rejoice and say from the heart: “Glory to God and the most pious Monarch! The long-standing sacred debt of all Russia to the memory of the great Vladimir will soon be paid!” But in the present circumstances of our beloved Fatherland, the founding of this church takes on even greater and broader significance. Who doesn’t know that one of our most sincere desires now is to tear away this country from Russia in any way possible?.. This would be, by their own admission, the height of their success against us. And we, at this very time, as if in response to their insane audacity, are now laying the foundation here of a church in the name of St. Vladimir!.. With this, stronger and more clearly than any words, we say to our enemies as if this: you are unforgivably grossly mistaken in imagining that the Tauride Peninsula constitutes for Russia only the recent extraction of the sword and the fruit of victories: no, this is our ancient and ancestral heritage, this is the legacy of St. Vladimir!.. Here the font of our baptism; here is the beginning of our sacred history and folk legends. After this, to cede this country to anyone would mean for Russia to abandon the font of its baptism, to betray the memory of St. Vladimir... Is this possible? Rather, there will not be one stone left on another in all the mountains here than the moon will take the place of the Cross of Christ here!.. Such, I say, is the power and such is the meaning of our current sacred rite in relation to our enemies! And it was necessary for them to appear yesterday in such a multitude in front of this city, as if on purpose to be present at the founding of this church and to listen to the lesson contained in it!.. Blinded by hatred of the greatness and glory of Russia, they will not now understand this lesson, but through this it will not lose its power, and will sweep across the entire Russian land; will be heard outside it, and will remind of the forgotten truth even to those who would like to hide it forever in the untruth of their wisdom. So, do not be discouraged, God-saved city of Sevastopol, from the multitude and malice of the enemies who have passed you by, remembering that you are the successor and heir not of the Muslim Akhtiar, but of the Orthodox Tauride Chersonese. What was created in your defense by human hands can still yield to human strength and art, but what is given and laid down from above, no one and nothing can change. since this country was inserted into the composition of Russia - in the person of Saint Vladimir - by the hand of Providence itself, there is no enemy who can tear it away: “even... God unites, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:6). In this case, if there were not enough earthly defenders to repel the enemies, the Heavenly ones would appear; the Equal-to-the-Apostles Knight himself will rise from the grave, or even more so, descend from heaven, descend and bring with him against the enemies the entire host of the holy martyrs of Kherson, who bought this land from the Lord of the Universe Himself - not with gold and silver, but with their tears and blood. Therefore, I rejoice in spirit for this city and its piously wise rulers, who, despite the many worries that now surround them, found the opportunity, in the face of their enemies themselves, to now lay the foundation of this church! Thus, to the material strongholds in defense of this city, they added a new, indestructible fortification - a spiritual one. I rejoice for the entire Orthodox Fatherland, which from our present sacred rite will see with special consolation that we stand here cheerfully against our enemies, we stand not only with carnal weapons, but also with the invincible power of the Life-giving Cross of Christ. Finally, I rejoice and thank God for myself, to whom, as if led by the Spirit (Luke 11:13), it was given to appear here so unexpectedly and at such a timely time. My weak prayers could always be replaced by the prayers of others, but for me for the rest of my life I would have a feeling of regret that I did not serve the foundation of this church... Let us conclude with a prayerful desire that the Lord, who has now brought us here so unexpectedly - let us lay the first stone here in the foundation of the church - will not judge us to be unworthy to light the first candle here, in the already created church, at its consecration! Amen. Speech at the foundation of a chapel with a throne in the name of All Russian Saints Who thought and expected that in this place, so recently contested by the waves of the sea, there would so soon become a house of prayer and would be dedicated not to just one divine or holy person, as is usually the case, but to the whole Council of Russian holy saints? immediate assimilation of what is being built in the name of their church? But what no one thought about, what no one expected, the same thing is now happening for the glory of God, wondrous in His saints - for the blessing of our city, at the end of its fiftieth anniversary!.. How did all this happen?.. It happened in a very instructive way for us: we become rich from our own poverty!.. In fact, when two years before this it was decided to perpetuate for our city the memory of its fiftieth anniversary with an annual solemn procession of the cross, it turned out that, due to the very youth of our civil existence, we do not, as in other cities, have ancient church shrines with which the processions of the cross were especially adorned. To make up for this deficiency, it was necessary, of necessity, to resort, so to speak, to a spiritual loan from other ancient cities and holy monasteries of our country; and so, thanks to the spirit of Christian communication, as soon as we heard about our need and spiritual poverty, holy images and images began to appear to us from all the cities and monasteries, famous for the relics of God’s saints and miraculous icons, for blessing, as if to prove that the Mother of God and the holy saints are always ready to help us, if only we would not turn our faces away from them. But here again our new spiritual poverty was revealed, for when these great and holy guests came to us, not one of our houses of prayer was able to accommodate them in full and with due decency; and dividing them into different churches would mean depriving those who wish of the opportunity to see them all together. What was to be done?.. The very necessity ordered us to think about a new house of prayer, which could serve as a common and inseparable refuge for them, for it was impossible to leave such great and holy guests without shelter and shelter. But it was easy to think about this, and to carry out what we had planned was not without difficulty: not because our city was not able to do what was necessary for the worthy reception of such great and holy visitors, but because for the first time, under the lively and joyful impression of our new celebration, we did not want to publicly reveal our spiritual poverty, in order to arouse in anyone the zeal to avert it. What was desired and expected was zeal, not caused on purpose, but completely arbitrary and, so to speak, spontaneous, and - thanks be to the Lord! – our hope has not been put to shame! Not even a week had passed since the celebration of the celebration, when the desired man appeared, who, out of pious zeal for God and the honor of His saints, became one for all and took upon himself - some would say labor and expenses, but we will say a holy and great honor - to arrange a special and permanent room for all our holy guests. It is not now, and not in the ear of the most Christ-loving creator, to appreciate this feat of faith and love: our entire city will appreciate it with gratitude; the most distant descendants will honor him by coming to this church to pray; much less will he remain in oblivion before Him in whose name it is said: “God loves a willing giver!” (2 Cor. 9:7). So, you see how we become rich from our very poverty! If we had the ancient shrine ourselves, we would not have resorted to other cities for it; If our houses of prayer were convenient for housing the entire face of holy icons, we would not now have founded a new church for them. Thus, “to those who believe in God, according to the word of the Apostle, everything, even the smallest, works for good!” I said that we are now becoming rich spiritually, for it is no small gain that we will have a new house of prayer, and, moreover, one such as, as far as we know, has never existed on Russian soil, that is, in honor and memory of all Russian saints. But, besides this, in our new church there will be something that is also not in other churches, not only ours, but also others: I mean such a significant collection of faithful and accurate images from the face of the miraculous icons of the Mother of God and from the face of the saints, whose incorruptible relics adorn the cities and monasteries of the Fatherland. After this, everyone, without leaving our city, but only coming to this church, can have the consolation of seeing in the aggregate the likeness of that shrine for which different parts of our vast Fatherland are famous. And what am I saying, to see only similarities... No, not just like a shrine, but, to some extent, one might say the shrine itself. For we will not hide our secret from you, brethren: when the news reached us about the readiness of our brethren to serve us in our need, we begged them to increase the price granted by performing prayer singing before the shrine of the saint of God, from whose face his icon came to us, by anointing it with holy oil, which burns inextinguishably before this, and sprinkling it with water from multi-healing his relics. A similar thing was done with the images taken for us from the miraculous icons. Thus, here, in this house of prayer, there will be not simple icons - not the work of one artist's brush - but faces filled with life-giving power, resting in miraculous icons and in the tombs of the holy saints of God. Thank you, city of Odessa, to the Lord for this new sign of God’s mercy to you! Looking at this sanctuary from the heights on the mountain, do not droop down with a lack of faith, but lift up your thoughts to the contemplation of the destinies of God, revealed above you, revealed and about to appear. From now on, look at everything that comes from across the sea, through this church, in which, despite its smallness, in the face of its shrine sent to you for blessing, all Orthodox Russia will stand and look at you!.. Black Sea - may the spiritual whiteness of the All-Russian shrine approaching you be reflected on your dark waves! You once brought us on your ridge the cross and the Gospel with the Orthodox faith! Look and rejoice! Behold, the disciples of this faith, who have reached “perfect manhood, grown to the measure of the stature... of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), come in their faces as a whole council to dwell on your shore, so that you understand that the seed of faith that you brought did not remain without fruit a hundredfold, and let you tell the rest of your shores, not yet enlightened by the light of this faith, that it is ready to shine for them from God-enlightened Russian state. How gratifying it will now be for everyone who is leaving the Fatherland for some reason, going to the pier, to go to this church and pray for the success of the undertaking sea journey to all the Russian saints, among whom he will find the patron saint of the country where he was born and from where he came! How comforting it will be for everyone who has returned from a long journey to step ashore and hasten to this same church in order to fall with tears of tenderness before the face of the holy intercessors of the Fatherland Land! Thanks be to the Lord, who has favored us and our city! Word at the opening of the monastery in the Bakhchisarai desert Where are we and what are we doing?.. Before us is a rock with its antediluvian, perhaps, top; behind us are the cliffs with their inaccessible heights; There are wilds and desert around us. And so many people and visitors flocked to this desert, to this rock and cliffs! What attracted you, brothers? They were obviously attracted by non-earthly motives and benefits: what is in this desert for them? Not the senses of flesh and blood: what food is there for them in these bare stones? And living faith in our Lord and Savior, whose most honorable and magnificent name is glorified in this place; attracted by the living love of His Most Pure Mother, Who in Her wondrous icon from ancient years chose this mountain as Her dwelling. In the name of our Lord and His Most Pure Mother, we bless you, brothers, for your faith and zeal, which you have not just shown now, but have shown every year and before, shown when this holy place was abandoned by almost everyone. Despite all the vicissitudes of time and circumstances, you continued to believe and love this holy mountain; and now the Lord has heard your desire; the place you love is restored to its ancient holy order and splendor. From now on, not only in the present days, as happened before, but throughout the whole year, when you visit this place, you will find in it not only prayer and worship, but also a way of living as a monk according to the rite of the Holy Mount Athos. Who among you has not heard of this wondrous Mountain, where thousands of good monks and humble hermits day and night send warm prayers to the Lord for the peace of the whole world? And from now on, within the boundaries of our own Fatherland, among our mountains, we will have the consolation of seeing the likeness of ancient Athos! Oh, what a majestic and glorious future awaits our mountains! It seems to me that I already see the fulfillment of what now requires only a single beginning! I see how Saint Vladimir again visits with his spirit that church in which he received baptism and faith not only for himself, but for all of Russia! I see how Saint Stephen of Sourozh finds a place for his memory among those valleys that he watered with streams of sound teaching in the days of iconoclastic evil; how the seven saints and holy martyrs of Kherson, now almost forgotten packs in churches in their name, are connected in spirit with their former flock and begin to teach them through their lives; how the Roman high priests Clement and Martin come to the place of their imprisonment and labors and find it not in desolation, as now, but in the beauty of worship and church rite; how, finally, the name of the first-called disciple and apostle, who first announced our mountains, and then all of Russia with the name of Christ, is named with honor on our churches! Blessed be the Lord, who has so pleased with this place and with our mountains! From now on, we must return among ourselves not only the sensual grapes, but also the spiritual ones, from that divine and life-giving vine, about which it is said: “I am the vine, you are the birth” (John 15:5). Thanks to the Most Pious Monarch, who did not despise our prayer, commanded to rise from the ruins of what had lain in desolation for centuries! Let us therefore, my brothers, collectively offer our fervent prayers to the Lord, so that our good aspirations may come true, so that our labors will not remain in vain. For unless the Lord builds a house here for the glory of His Most Holy Name, we who build it will labor in vain. God! You see the depths of hearts and thoughts, you see our readiness to serve the restoration of holy places scattered throughout our mountains! Look down from the heights of Your holy glory and send down Your grace to this place, and to all other places awaiting their restoration! Mother of God, who chose the Holy Mount Athos as Her dwelling, deign to overshadow our mountains with Your all-powerful protection, and accept them into Your Motherly care! Saints and holy martyrs, ascetics and confessors, you, whose tears and blood have watered and sanctified our land, come to the aid of our weakness, so that the Cross of Christ, for which you have laid down your souls, will assume in these countries its height and ancient beauty! Amen. Speech on the consecration of the cistern, built at the Odessa Cathedral for the benefit of the poor, at the expense of the Odessa citizen G.I. Zavadsky So, our “hope” has not been put to shame! (Rom. 5:5). Looking at the multitude of hundreds of people in our city, who, during the summer heat, melt away from thirst and, not being able to purchase a cup of clean and cold water, are forced to quench it with whatever comes their way - seeing at the same time how, during the rains that are rare among us, many streams of water fall idly from our churches to the ground, I, brethren, have often thought to myself that if we could collect this uselessly falling water at every church? How many poor brethren could cool their larynx and tongue with it during the heat? And how many blessings would fall for this on the head of the one who did this? But who will do it?.. Our churches, from which such a deed of mercy most likely and closer could be expected, due to the recentness of their existence, have not yet had time, as you know, to satisfy their own needs and requirements. Among our fellow citizens, many, being blessed with an abundance of property, could very easily do this without any effort or damage to themselves, but will there be a readiness and zeal in their hearts for this? Alas, the unfortunate property of earthly wealth is that it does not soften the heart into goodness, but makes it hard, self-confined and similar in insensibility to the metal that the rich possess. Is it possible, I thought, to turn to the Gospel for encouragement to do a good deed in this case and proclaim in the ears of everyone the promise of the Savior: “Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink... in My name, Amen, I say to you, and he will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). But what if not a single benefactor comes for this? What if the word of the Savior Himself, proclaimed from us, does not produce any effect and sounds in vain? Will this not serve as a condemnation for the rich, and shame and sadness for everyone? We, brothers, were among such opposing thoughts and feelings for a considerable time, but faith in the power and attractiveness of a good deed and trust in your compassion for the needs of your neighbor prevailed over all our doubts. And so, as soon as we had time to make the proclamation of the Gospel, we even, one might say, had not yet had time to make it in full force and bring it to universal knowledge, when a Christ-loving fellow citizen appeared, who with all the will of “the good giver, whom God loves” (2 Cor. 9:7), took upon himself the construction of this treasure, and you see how diligently he carried out his work! So, our hope has not been put to shame!.. Thanks be to the Lord, who put the thought of goodness on our hearts, and at the same time moved the heart of the Christ-loving benefactor to respond to the call of faith - with a deed of love!.. Now, at the end of the good deed, looking at how the lesser brethren will quench their thirst from this reservoir, may he accept the reward in the pure delight of his conscience, until the righteous Judge and Rewarder rewards him for this a hundredfold on that great and holy day, when each and every one of them will appear at His judgment with their deeds - both the first rich man and the last beggar. How gratifying and instructive it will be to see, my brothers, when each of our churches will be joined by a similar well, and water from under the cross that adorns them will pour out not onto the ground, but into the mouths of those who are thirsty! Then it will be possible to say about our city with boldness in the words of the prophet: “You who are thirsty, come to the water, and do not have any money, but... drink without money or price” (Is. 55:1). Then not only the one who quenched his thirst from such a source, but also everyone who visits our city, seeing how we care about quenching it, will give praise to God for us. Let those who can do this hasten, let them hasten to share among themselves the work of truly Christian love and mercy! A spring built at any church will not run out of water for its builder, that water about which it is said in the current 1 Gospel: “But the water that I will give it, there will be in it a fountain of water flowing into an eternal belly” (John 4:14); even, perhaps, that water about which it is written: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue: for I have suffered in this flame” (Luke 16:24). “Have an ear to hear and let him hear”! (Rev. 2:11). Amen. Speech at the groundbreaking of new buildings for the Richelieu Lyceum Finally, a matter conceived so long ago, so many times decided in the mind and on paper, recognized by everyone as very necessary, and therefore not stopped completely, and yet, despite all this, constantly encountering, one after another, new obstacles, both expected and unexpected, and therefore postponed, then changed, this matter, which due to its slowness almost turned into a subject of criticism, now, with the help of God, is beginning to come to fruition - apparently and irrevocably! This very minute the first stone will be laid at the foundation of the new building, after which all these masses of matter, prepared to form a new splendid building for the church of sciences, will not hesitate to descend here in orderly succession. Those who have hitherto been bored by the slowness of the present work can now, as a consolation, add to it the ancient remark: what is not quickly created is not quickly destroyed. In any case, it will no doubt be a long time before we get out of hiding and come to light on this board with evidence of this event, which we, along with our names, following the general custom, will consign to the depths of the earth; and God forbid that if this cannot but happen, it will not happen before it will be difficult for history itself to figure out who we were and what marked the earthly career of each of us. Meanwhile, what will happen?.. Meanwhile, the most chosen of the young sons of our country - generation after generation - will come to this sanctuary of sciences to quench the thirst for knowledge, to educate their minds and hearts; and at the end of their education, in the same continuous sequence, they will move from here to various fields of public service, bringing with them everywhere a love for law and truth, for work and order. And why shouldn’t we, by the way, also have the hope that from here, and perhaps more than one, a young man will come out, who will be an adornment not only of the new, so-called ours here, but also of all ancient Russia, who, with his famous exploits and generally useful labors, will somehow repay the Monarch and the Fatherland for what they have done and are doing for our region and for our city? Such thoughts - and they, as you see, come by themselves in such circumstances - suggest such a great difference between the foundation of private buildings, no matter how large and enormous they may be, and public buildings, especially those intended for the benefit of the sciences. What would it mean to found the house of the most famous nobleman, the most luxurious rich man? One simple event - perhaps the most important in his private life, nothing more; and the founding of buildings for a city of sciences, especially a higher one, such as the one here, is an important event for the whole region. Here you involuntarily transport your thoughts into the future, imagine the influence of what is happening on many generations and generations, and rise to thoughts about the fate of the entire Fatherland. From this side, without a doubt, our most august Autocrat himself looked and looks at the present matter, and that is why he honored it with such attention that he himself, and repeatedly, delved into all the drawings of the buildings, he himself deigned to decide both the place and time of construction, without being burdened by the fact that this matter came up to the august discretion more than once and with more than one change. These are the Russian kings! Their fate is halfway around the world; from their generosity streams should pour out from edge to edge of the Fatherland on everything great and small; and yet, when it comes to enlightening the Russian people, they always have new attention and new means to ensure that the cities of science not only do not lack anything necessary, but also testify with their most material splendor that they were created by the hand of the Tsar. Imitating such a high example, the builders of this building will, without a doubt, show all their diligence and attentiveness to the work, now successfully begun, so that the slowness in its completion will be rewarded with the kindness and perfection of what was done, so that those who enter and leave from here, and those who come and see can say from the heart: “It took a long time, but it turned out great.” But, my brethren, with all your efforts and vigilance, you will not forget, without a doubt, the words of the prophet-king, who himself had been planning to build the house of the Lord for many years, but was forced to leave this task to his successor: “Unless the Lord,” he says, “will build a house that has been toiled in vain” (Ps. 126:1). Indeed, you never know what kind of vicissitudes the now begun work of creation may be subject to, even from its material side! And who knows the future fate of the educational institution that is set up here, except the Omniscient? On whom does the whole matter depend, if not on His all-holy will? Remembering this and wishing from the bottom of our hearts perfection for our main hotbed of enlightenment, let us unite our thoughts and feelings in fervent prayer to the One who alone calls “what does not exist, as if it exists,” and gives strength and kindness to those who exist, may He abundantly pour out His grace upon this place, may it become the source of the true light of knowledge for our entire region, may all spirits flee from it darkness and malice, now flattering almost the entire universe, may the one spirit of Christ, the spirit of truth and righteousness, the spirit of faith and love, the spirit of humility and obedience, dwell here, that spirit in which our beloved Fatherland grew and strengthened, with which it rose and expanded, and with which alone our beloved Fatherland was so firmly and indestructibly. Amen. Speech at the foundation of buildings for the Institute of Noble Maidens What will happen here, in this place? There will be a home for the upbringing and education of noble maidens of our region. And what will happen to these girls at the end of their upbringing and education here? They will have to return to the houses of their parents or relatives, and be their consolation and consolation, until they find their lot and become spouses, mothers and heads of families, on whom the fate of entire hundreds and thousands often depends. Thus, here and now the main stone is laid not only of a material building, but also of a spiritual building, a church of education, not only of private good, but also of public well-being. Was it possible to lay such a stone without the holy cross and all-sanctifying prayer? And behold, the almighty name of God is called to this place; all the elements of the future building are sanctified by prayer and sprinkling of holy water; The very workers are overshadowed by the life-giving cross and are blessed for their work and labors. Now it depends on the very workers and managers of the work - great and small - that the work begun holy and Christian will be continued to the end in the same holy and Christian way; so that the pure spirit of prayer does not meet here with the dark spirit of murmuring and babbling, so that the blessing of God, brought down to this place, is not discouraged (not forbidden - ed.) and not driven out from here by the action of oaths and complaints. Yes, we, unfortunately, think that it doesn’t matter how anything is done, as long as it is done correctly and correctly. Meanwhile, there is a big difference when a thing is done in a Christian way, in the spirit of faith and with prayer, and when it is done, although faithfully and correctly, but in a pagan way, that is, with the spirit of murmuring, uncleanness, swearing and drunkenness. In the first case, the grace of Christ is present at work and the spirit of faith is infused into the buildings; in the second case, the spirit of darkness appears and establishes a dwelling for itself, and it is not without difficulty that it can be driven out. Let those who work on the work and manage the work not forget this; let them continue to act as they began; and the blessing of the Lord will be upon them and their work forever and ever. As for us, we rejoice in spirit in advance, imagining this building has already been successfully completed, how this place, deserted for a while, will come to life and prosper, how young pupils will flock here from all parts of our country, and how they will return and carry with them the guarantees of family prosperity, how everything will delight the heart of the August Patroness of this institution, and will be an honor for pupils and mentors; how the Holy Church itself will continue to rush under the roof of these buildings in order to be a witness of the spirit of Christ ruling here. God! Do it, so that all this imaginary reality will come sooner! Amen. Speech at the consecration of the new hall at the House of the Noble Assembly If this beautiful building had been erected only for one social need in it, or for one common pleasure, then even then those who erected it would owe fair gratitude for satisfying the need, for caring for public pleasure. But this sacred face of the Monarch, this inscription at its foot testifies that those who worked on the construction of this building had in mind not just the satisfaction of any need, and not even just general pleasure, but were driven and animated by a much higher feeling, that feeling from which not only buildings are erected and grow, but entire kingdoms are strengthened and towered. Several years before this, the most pious Monarch blessed our city with a visit and more than a one-day stay among it. Here, in this house, in the circle of the noble class of Kharkov nobles, she spent several hours, especially pleasant for her, all the more sweet and unforgettable for us. Could it be possible not to wish that the memory of this would be perpetuated by some sign of zeal and gratitude? And so, this desire was fulfilled: from now on, this building, not just with this inscription, but with its very existence, will testify to everyone how the noble sons of the once warlike, and now peaceful Ukraine know how to value the peace and joy of their crown-bearers, how valuable to them is every sign of the highest attention to them. May the Kharkov nobility receive gratitude for this from all classes and residents of the city and our country! With the construction of this beautiful building, it satisfied the desire of each and everyone, for for each and everyone the image of the one who has adorned the All-Russian throne for more than a quarter of a century is precious. To increase our general joy on this occasion, we can say in the hearing of everyone that the merciful Lord heeded the warm prayers of Russia for his beloved Monarch, that her health, which had been so weakened, is apparently returning to her former trustworthiness, and that, therefore, we too may have a strong hope of someday presenting to her own eyes what has been accomplished here in honor of her name. In anticipation of this happiness, let us intensify our prayers before the King of Kings, so that he will give strength to doctors and the medicines used by the beloved Monarch, and may he overshadow the one being healed with the influx of that life-giving power, before which no illness and no weakness can stand. Fervent prayer for kings is the best sign of love for them from their subjects. Amen. You might be interested in: