Архипастырь

“Every good deed attracts the attention of the enemy of our salvation - the devil. Churches are not needed by God, whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is earth, but we need them. I urge you, first of all, to be Orthodox Christians, and everything else can only be added to that.” Archbishop John In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Long before Christ came to earth, when Moses led the Israelites to the Promised Land, when the Israelites sinned, the Lord sent snakes to them, but then ordered Moses to hang a copper snake on a high tree, on a high branch. Those who looked at this copper serpent received healing from the plagues inflicted by the snakes. Then the serpent represented Christ crucified on the tree. And so the Lord gave us the Cross as an omnipotent, special protection from all troubles and sorrows. The Lord saved us with the Cross from eternal death. The Lord helps us with the Cross in this earthly life. When there was a cruel persecution of Christians and the Lord was pleased to stop it, He showed the sign of the cross high in the sky to King Constantine, and around the Cross it was written: By this conquer. Then Constantine made the sign of the Cross and with this sign defeated the enemy. Here the Lord gives us the Cross and protects us from all troubles, from all evils and protects us from the prince of this world - the devil. Here we raise the sign of the Cross, here, over San Francisco, the Cross rises to protect this city, to protect each of us. The cross is a sign of Christ's victory over the devil, a sign of Christ's victory over those who rebel against Him. The cross is an invincible weapon. From now on the Cross rises above us. Overshadows the city of San Francisco. This is our sign. This is our weapon against all temptations, against all troubles, against all misfortunes. When we see from afar the shining Cross over our cathedral, we will remember that Christ crucified, Christ Almighty, is with us. Christ is our Savior. When some evil feeling comes into someone’s head, let him look at this Cross and be afraid. And then, when the terrible trumpets sound and Christ appears on the clouds, the sign of the Cross will appear as a sign of Christ, as a sign of the end of the world. May the Cross illuminate us both when we travel and when we are at home. Coming from afar and passing by the cathedral, we will look at this Cross and perform the sign of the cross of Christ the Lord, who suffered for us. Day and night, may the Cross remind us of the Crucified One. Let it overshadow us and give us help in our affairs here. Let the glory of God be done, and not the fulfillment of our lusts and desires. May the Cross overshadow all those who come to San Francisco. When someone sails from San Francisco, let this Cross bring a blessing for the journey; when people come to the city on ships, let San Francisco meet them with the Cross and be a blessing on them, so that their stay here will be safe and to the glory of God. The Cross overshadows everyone in the city, entering and leaving, and may it forever remind us of Christ, Who for our sake accepted His Cross, settled in heaven and protects us with His Cross. Let us thank the Lord God for giving us His Cross. Let us thank the Lord God and let us not forget that the Cross is both our instrument and at the same time a reminder to us of the Last Judgment of the Lord. I believe, Lord, save us, Lord, by the power of Thy Cross, save us and protect us by the power of Thy Cross, by the prayers of the Mother of God and all the saints. We have all united around our Christ, for the Lord said: “Therefore everyone will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection. Amen. About the Nativity Fast and the Thanksgiving holiday On Thursday, November 15, the Nativity Fast begins, established to prepare oneself for a worthy meeting of Christ coming from heaven. That day this year coincides with the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Let us give thanks to God for His blessings shown to us in our lives and especially in this country, but let us not violate the church institutions. Gratitude to God is expressed not so much in words as in deeds. In other years, when the Thanksgiving holiday does not coincide with fasting, all food is allowed, but when it coincides with fasting, gratitude to God should be expressed in observing fasting, which is especially necessary for us now, when, under the influence of the bodiless forces of darkness, passions have flared up here, shaking our lives, for the Lord himself said: “This generation (demonic) is not driven out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29). Christ from heaven, come down! More than a month in advance, the Church calls on its children to prepare with dignity to meet the King of glory coming from heaven. When preparing for the meeting of earthly kings, all the places through which the king will have to travel are cleansed and put in a festive appearance. So, in preparing for the meeting of the Heavenly King, we must cleanse our souls and decorate them with good feelings and thoughts. All believers in all countries and in whatever circumstances they are called to do this. We, who are in America, in particular in its Western part, are called upon to do the same. How can we prepare ourselves for a worthy celebration of the Nativity of Christ? First of all, we must remember daily the approach of the Day when the Son of God Himself mysteriously appeared on earth in the person of the Child. Mentally looking at Bethlehem, we must understand how small and insignificant all our daily affairs are in comparison with the greatness of the coming event. Before him, we must expel from our hearts all malice, all ill will, try to be friendly even to those with whom we have disagreed and whose actions we do not approve. Let us remember that good parents also love disobedient children, although they sometimes punish them, and we are all children of the Heavenly Father! We need to observe the fast established by the Church, with the help of which we restrain our passions, abstaining from both food prohibited by fasting and entertainment. In no case should they break fast even when in these places part of the population is already celebrating the holiday of the Nativity of Christ in their own way. Jesus Christ was not born twice, He was born only once from the Virgin Mary. You cannot simultaneously prepare for its real celebration and have fun in a secular way, trampling on the traditions and statutes of the Church! This is not a celebration of Christ’s coming to earth, but the satisfaction of our desire to have fun, which does not bring us any benefit. Let us try to prepare for the Day when “Your Nativity, O Christ our God, rises up in the world’s light of reason,” will ring out and then we will feel the joy of Christmas, our soul will touch Bethlehem and our heart will spiritually receive Christ into itself. Today the waters sanctify nature On Epiphany, i.e. On the day of the Epiphany, a great miracle occurs every year. The Holy Spirit, descending on the water, changes its natural properties. It becomes incorruptible, i.e. is not damaged, remains transparent and fresh for many years, receives the grace to heal illnesses, drive away demons and all evil forces, protect people and their homes from all danger, consecrate various objects, both for church and home use. Therefore, Orthodox Christians reverently partake of Holy Water, the Great Agiasma (Shrine), as the Greeks call it. You should always have enough Epiphany water at home so that it lasts for a whole year, and use it for every need - when you are sick, when you go on a trip, when you are in a restless state, when students are going for exams. Those who drink a little Holy water every day before any food do well. It strengthens our spiritual strength, of course, if we do it with prayer and reverence, and not just expect a mechanical action from it. Each priest should take care to consecrate a sufficient amount of water for his church, so that throughout the year it will be available for all needs and for distribution to those who ask, and parishioners should stock up on Holy water for the whole year at Epiphany and even for storing it in subsequent years. To our beloved flock in the city of Urumqi and surrounding areas of Xinjiang Always having you in my thoughts since I took spiritual care of you, being transported in spirit to you and mentally looking at you, whom I have never seen with my own eyes, I deeply grieve that I cannot fulfill my archpastoral duty towards you and satisfy your spiritual needs. Having appointed the rector of your church in the name of the Holy Spirit, I was sure that at the beginning of the Nativity Fast he would arrive to you and the day of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the church would be the beginning of a new church life for the parish of your church. However, God did not want this to happen. At first there were no means of transportation, which, however, were expected after some time, so there was hope that by Christmas you would already be with the shepherd. Then other events came. With God's forgiveness for our sins, new disasters began, which were reflected in church affairs. Due to the current situation in the country, the evacuation of the Russian population was announced, which began before Christmas. The majority of our flock is already on the island of Samar, in the Philippines, where most of the clergy have followed, the rest are waiting for what will happen next. Remaining for now in our God-saved city of Shanghai with a few clergy, I am sick at heart that you are again left without a shepherd and the opportunity to fast and have church services, especially since it is unknown when and how this can be restored. Events and circumstances are not in our will, and only the Lord God must be prayed for peace from above and the salvation of our souls, for the peace of the whole world, the well-being of God’s holy Churches and the unification of all into one flock. Do not lose heart in these sorrows and do not waver in these temptations. Be faithful children of the Orthodox Church and continue to gather in the Church of God on Sundays, holidays and the upcoming Holy Days in the absence of a priest. Sing to God and read what was laid down for worship on those days, like the first hermits, who were also sometimes deprived of a priest for a long time. Do not look for grace in any other faith, for the truth is only in the Orthodox Church, about which Christ said: “I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Do not allow any baby to die unbaptized; in case of danger, laymen baptize, as I have given separate instructions. Let us know about those newly presented for funeral services in absentia. You can also send names for commemoration. Live a Christian life, avoiding everything that discredits and defiles a person, live in peace and harmony, without judging other people’s sins and shortcomings, forgive each other’s offenses, so that the Heavenly Father will forgive us. Raise your children in godliness. And most importantly, pray fervently, that the Lord will direct everything for the better and grant us what is useful in this life and especially in the future. May the blessing of the Lord be upon each and every one of you. Week of the Worship of the Cross March 17, 1949 St. Alexis the Man of God.” What is the best way we can honor our departed loved ones? We often see the desire of the relatives of the deceased to hold a funeral and arrange a grave as richly as possible. Large amounts of money are sometimes spent on luxurious monuments. Relatives and friends spend a lot of money on wreaths and flowers, and the latter have to be removed from the coffin even before it is closed so that they do not accelerate the decomposition of the body. Others want to express their respect for the deceased and their sympathy to his relatives by means of announcements through the press, although this very method of revealing one’s feelings shows their shallowness, and sometimes deceitfulness, since a sincerely grieving person will not show off his grief, but one can express one’s sympathy much warmer in person. But no matter what we do from all this, the deceased will not receive any benefit from it. It is the same for a dead body to lie in a poor or rich coffin, a luxurious or modest grave. It does not smell the flowers brought, it does not need feigned expressions of grief. The body indulges in decay, the soul lives, but no longer experiences sensations perceived through the bodily organs. A different life has come for her and something else needs to be provided to her. This is what we should do if we really love the deceased and want to bring him our gifts! What exactly will bring joy to the soul of the deceased? First of all, sincere prayers for him, both personal and home prayers, and especially church prayers connected with the Bloodless Sacrifice, i.e. commemoration at the liturgy. Many apparitions of the dead and other visions confirm the enormous benefits that the deceased receive from praying for them and from offering the Bloodless Sacrifice for them. Another thing that brings great joy to the souls of the departed is alms done for them. To feed the hungry in the name of the deceased, to help the needy is the same as doing it to him himself. The Monk Athanasia (April 12) bequeathed before her death to feed the poor in memory of her for forty days; however, the sisters of the monastery, due to negligence, performed this for only nine days. Then the saint appeared to them with two angels and said: “Why have you forgotten my will? Know that alms and priestly prayers offered for the soul for forty days appease God: if the souls of the departed were sinners, then the Lord will grant them remission of sins; if they are righteous, then those who pray for them will be rewarded with benefits.” Especially in our difficult days for everyone, it is crazy to spend money on useless items and deeds, when, by using it for the poor, you can simultaneously do two good deeds: both for the deceased himself and for those who will be helped. Recently, on the anniversary of the death of nun Marina, according to her will, using voluntarily collected donations, a dinner was organized for the poor in the fence of the Bishop's Church. About 150 people came to the announcement of this, and all of them were fed. A great thing was done! But if you don’t provide help on such a scale, but feed at least a few or even one hungry person, is it really a small matter? And this is easy to do by donating a certain amount for the funeral to the Committee for Relief of the Poor at the Bishop's Church, to the House of Mercy or the Public Canteen. With prayer for the deceased, food will be given to the poor. They will be nourished physically, and the deceased will be nourished spiritually. 7th Sunday after Easter, 1941 Shanghai.” Appeal from Bishop John When Christ was condemned to death by Pilate and carried His cross to Calvary, many people followed Him. Among Him walked both the enemies of Christ and His followers. However, the majority of the latter hid their closeness to Christ, and only women openly cried and sobbed for Their Teacher. Therefore, Christ turned to them alone on His way to Golgotha. Even after the crucifixion, Christ’s disciples did not dare to approach Him, except for one virgin, John the Theologian. But the women who came with Him from Galilee, with His Most Pure Mother at their head, did not leave Him here either. They stood at the cross before Christ handed over his spirit to His Divine Father, and they stood when He hung lifeless on the Cross. When evening came, Joseph of Arimathea dared to ask Pilate for the body of Christ and, together with Nicodemus, give Him up for burial. The women remained mournful spectators here too and left when the stone was rolled against the coffin, and the darkness of the night began to approach the earth. However, their hearts were filled with such love for Christ that even after leaving the tomb, their thoughts were with him. Since the body of the Lord was not anointed with fragrant myrrh during its hasty burial, they prepared aromas to anoint Him with them the next day. While still in deep darkness, they went again to the tomb, but no longer found there what they were looking for. Christ has already risen from the dead, as the angels sitting at the tomb informed the myrrh-bearers. They hastily announced this to the apostles, themselves still not believing what they heard with joy. At first, bewilderment also gripped the apostles. But bewilderment and sorrow soon gave way to joy. Christ appeared to those who mourned for Him, and first of all to the Most Pure Virgin Mary and the Myrrh-Bearing Mary Magdalene. Thus, those who showed the greatest devotion to the Savior were rewarded for their loyalty to Him by being the first to hear the good news and the first to see the Risen Lord. Through them, women, joy was proclaimed to humanity, the joy of the Resurrection and eternal salvation. Women, who give themselves more to the desires of the heart than to the judgments of the mind, often go ahead of the male sex when a sacrificial feat in the service of God is required. And it is understandable because it was women who took upon themselves the difficult work of collecting funds for the construction of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Shanghai. In a few days they will go out to collect all possible donations for the Day of Sacrifice, the day of remembrance of Bishop Simon, who bore the name of the Apostle Simon the Zealot - the zealot. Let their call find a response in the hearts of the Orthodox Shanghai flock. Let the coming of the gatherers remind us that today is the day of the joy of the Resurrection, the joy announced through women. Whoever can, let him make his donation immediately; whoever wants to pay gradually, let him make an inscription on the sheet. Let us remember that by giving to the church, we are giving to Christ, who, although he does not need anything material, did not refuse to share the meal offered to Him by disciples who did not recognize Him. It was when He accepted their treat that their eyes were opened and they recognized the Risen One (Luke 24:30-31). May the call addressed to us by those who, bearing the joy of the Resurrection, which illuminated the hearts of the faithful on Easter Day, with the words “Christ is Risen,” not go unheard and fruitless, ask to donate to the church of the Mother of the Risen One! In their person, Christ Himself will receive us, and our heart will tell us: “Truly He is Risen!” Week of St. Myrrh-Bearing Women, 1936 Shanghai.” The myrrh-bearers prepared myrrh to anoint the body of Christ. They failed to fulfill this, since Christ rose from the dead before they came to the tomb. Nevertheless, their sacrifice was accepted by the Lord, since He looks at the hearts of people and accepts the intention as done if it could not be fulfilled, despite all the zeal and effort. “A merciful intention will please God,” is sung on St. Women of the Myrrh-Bearers (2nd section of Sunday Matins). “The Lord is curious, and accepts deeds, and kisses intentions, and honors deeds, and praises proposals” (Word of St. John Chrysostom for Easter). There were, however, myrrh-bearers who, not only by intention, but also by deed, anointed Christ with myrrh, and they did this even before the days of suffering. They were Mary, the sister of Lazarus, the woman who anointed Christ during the supper in the house of Simon the Pharisee, and the woman who anointed Christ two days before His death on the cross. About the latter, the Lord directly said that she prepared His Body for burial and that it would be announced throughout the world, where the Gospel would be preached. Thus, the Lord accepted the “merciful intention” of the myrrh-bearing wives, who loved Christ with all their hearts, who relentlessly followed Him from Galilee and did not leave Him even during the crucifixion, He also accepted the anointing of His feet with the world of pure Mary, about whom even earlier He said that “Mary has chosen the good part” (Luke 10:42), He did not reject the kissing of His feet by a sinner, from the unclean way collected with her possessions she brought a sacrifice pleasing to God - myrrh, dissolved in tears of repentance. “I am rich in aromas, but poor in virtues, which I bring to You, give Him, as Imashi, and weaken, leave,” she cried to Christ (the canon of Compline on Holy Tuesday). “The myrrh is perishable, the myrrh of life is Yours,” sounded in her soul (ibid.). And indeed, instead of perishable wealth, the Lord gave her an imperishable gift - He forgave her many sins and raised her soul, mortified by sins, like the four-day-old Lazarus from the tomb. He rewarded and glorified the myrrh-bearers faithful to Him even more, for He appeared to them first and through them announced His Resurrection to the apostles and the whole world. Thus, the Lord does not remain in debt to anyone and rewards with gifts incomparably better than those brought to Him. “Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good in Your holy Churches and who remember the poor, reward them with Your rich heavenly gifts,” prays the Holy Church at the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice. “Give them heavenly instead of earthly, eternal instead of temporary, incorruptible instead of perishable” (Eucharistic Canon of the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great). When we bring something as a gift to God, be it a sacrifice to the church or helping the poor, we essentially do not give, but receive. We give material treasures, and in due time we will receive spiritual gifts according to our diligence. The magnitude of our gift to God in His Eyes is determined not by its quantity and value, but by the will of our heart. “Truly I say to you, for this wretched widow has been cast down more than all others: all of these, out of their abundance, have been cast down into the gifts of God, but because of their deprivation, all the life that they have has been cast down,” said the Lord about the widow who gave two mites to the church (Luke 21:3-4; Mark 12:41-44). Likewise, our gifts have value before God, since our love for God, prayers and heartfelt repentance for our sins are connected with them. The Lord accepts all our material gifts only as an external manifestation of our inner admiration for Him, and accepts them just like any other external expression of love for Him and His veneration. Therefore, go boldly, all of you, to Christ, bring gifts to Him, everyone you can; Be like the myrrh-bearers, those who stand on the righteous path and have fallen into the abyss of sins. Bring to Him fervent prayers and repentance from the depths of your heart, and as their external expression let there be gifts to the Church, which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23; Col. 1:24), help to His lesser brothers (Matthew 25:40), decoration of churches, kissing icons and other shrines. The Lord will accept each of our gifts to the Church as fragrant ointment, will not reject our tears and kisses, but will reward for them the remission of many sins to those who have loved much. We must only take care that our gift is truly a pure gift to God, that in our feelings there is no vanity or pride, contempt or hatred of our neighbors, and also that all zeal is shown, so that our gift is pleasing to God, so that we do not become like those who said to Christ - “Rejoice” - in mockery of Him. Sacrifices are displeasing to God when they are made with cold calculation, when, having the opportunity to bring the best, we bring the worst (Mal. 1:8-14), when we try not to do something useful for the church or our neighbors, but to ensure that it is exactly the way we want. It is also abominable before Him to kiss holy things when it is done with lips that testify that our attention is directed to our appearance, and, moreover, with lips that defile holy things. It is not forgiveness, but condemnation that will bring such a fall to God! “Let us cleanse ourselves, brethren, from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, let us enlighten the lights of our souls with love of poverty, not devouring each other with slander” (the stichera of the heel of the cheese), but most of all “let us cleanse our feelings” and then with our hearts “we will see the impregnable light of the Resurrection of Christ shining, and rejoice when we cry, we will clearly hear” the victory over our sins singing. Orthodox Russian people! The Lord said: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). Our churches are an image of that Invisible Church, which is spoken of in the Creed: “I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” By building them, we testify to our faith in the Orthodox Church, our faith in Orthodox teaching. When churches are consecrated, they are filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which invisibly acts on those praying in them. Prayer flows into them more easily and, having reached the Throne of Heaven, brings down God’s mercies to us from there. Church construction began in Rus' immediately after its baptism and continued until the Tsar-Martyr, who personally took an active part in the construction of churches. Now, when many churches have been destroyed by atheists and their destruction continues in our Fatherland, they began to be erected in the Russian Abroad. Many churches have already been built in different cities of America and other countries. But in San Francisco, the largest gathering place of Russian emigration, there is still no church built by her. The construction of the new Church of the Most Holy Theotokos “Joy of All Who Sorrow,” which had begun, was interrupted more than a year ago, becoming the subject of divisions and unrest in our flock. Every good deed attracts the attention of the enemy of our salvation - the devil, who tries in every possible way to hinder it. He tries to turn each of those participating in it away from him, to exploit his weaknesses, to create discord and thereby destroy the business. This almost happened with the construction of the cathedral. But let the temporary delay not ruin the whole thing and let the devil not triumph! Let us perk up in spirit, “let us lift our eyes, thoughts and feelings to the heights” to the Lord ascending to heaven! Let no incidental deeds stop our desire to erect a church to the Lord God, a church of gratitude for our deliverance from many troubles and dangers, for our stay in this country, a sacrifice for the repose of the Royal Family and all those martyred in our Fatherland, a place of prayer for all those who mourn! Let us complete the work begun and blessed by our late Archpastor Tikhon, let us hasten to finish the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God! She will accept every sacrifice and every labor brought to Her with zeal and from a pure heart, and will change the sorrows that come upon us into joy. And our soul will feel the divine voice of Her Son: “I am with you and no one else is with you!” May the blessing of the Lord be on all donors, and on everyone who, through their labor or otherwise, helps in the construction of the church! May the Lord bless those who started this godly work, who will help him with their work, their sacrifices, their knowledge, and may He reward them in their present and future lives! To our beloved San Francisco congregation God's enemy the devil, always striving to destroy the work of God, from the very foundation of the Holy Church by Christ tried to sow discord among her children. Even the Apostle Paul had to write to Corinth, exhorting them to stop dividing and not to say “I am Pavlov,” “I am Apollosov,” “and I am Cephas.” Something similar happened in our city, and recently the formerly united flock was divided into several movements, called by the names of their spiritual leaders. In their hostility towards each other, they often do not notice that what happened is not only destructive for each individual, but harms the entire church life, thereby increasing sin. Again we must repeat the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “I beseech you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all... say the same thing, and there be no divisions among you” (1 Cor. 1:1-10). If it is difficult for many to erase from the soul the traces of the events that have taken place, everyone should try to abstain from everything that could in one way or another disturb the peace, avoid all words, letters and deeds that could interfere with the restoration of peace. I urge everyone to beware of signing any sheets or statements without firm assurance that they will not be used for new divisions. Let us concentrate on building the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos, with common efforts, without at all detracting from the spiritual value of the prayed old cathedral, which will also remain a place of prayer. Those who make their sacrifices for the construction of the church bring them as a Gift to the Lord God Himself, who accepts our zeal and rewards it with rich mercies, punishing everyone who would dare to use what was offered to God differently. Having cast aside all hesitations and doubts, let us direct everything towards the establishment of peaceful church life, and, as an external expression of this, the Council of the Queen of Heaven. Those who are unable to take this path now, let them not hinder others and, God willing, join them! The blessing of God and the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos will be on all of you and over all of us. To our beloved San Francisco flock (Introduction of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Church) “Christ is born, glorify, Christ is from heaven, drop down,” is heard in churches from this day on. The Orthodox Church calls on its children to prepare for the meeting of the Son of God coming from heaven. We are called upon to cleanse our hearts of anger and all that is bad and to prepare with fasting and prayer for the great feast of the Nativity of Christ. And at the same time, the news spread around our flock that part of it had raised a church rebellion and declared its refusal to submit to both the local and the higher ecclesiastical authorities of the Russian Church Abroad. It has been a year since we have been appealing, and today we are again appealing to stop divisions and discord, and although most of the flock strives for this, some of them continue to worry to this day, not finding peace in themselves and not giving it to others. Someone obviously benefits from our divisions and is inventing new reasons for them in order to prevent the onset of complete peace among the flock and the successful completion of the construction of a new cathedral. We know that if anyone is guilty of this, then only a few, while others only succumb to various rumors, often completely untrue. I call on our entire flock, regardless of their previous views on local church affairs, to unite around us and not follow calls for a new schism and the rejection of some part of it. Great sin is committed first of all by those who lead, and then by those who follow them. Now Christ is coming from heaven to save the human race; let us prepare to meet Him worthily, so that we will not be ashamed when He comes again on the clouds to judge the whole world. May the Lord grant us all the joy of glorifying the Nativity of Christ and worshiping the True Sun of Truth with the shepherds and wise men. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you all.” Climb the mountain and carry wood and build a church So the Lord of hosts said: “This people says: the time has not yet come, it is not the time to build the House of the Lord.” And the word of the Lord came... “And it is time for you to live in your adorned houses, while this House is desolate” (Hag. 1:2-4). To whom are these words of the Lord addressed? Long before the Nativity of Christ, through the prophet Haggai, the Lord spoke thus to the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. But the Lord’s appeal also literally applies to the Orthodox flock of San Francisco. Are these not the same words heard today? “This is not the time to build a church,” say people, many of whom buy houses for themselves, live in their houses in complete prosperity, or resell their houses, moving from better to better and increasing their property. It is understandable when such words are heard from the lips of non-believers. It is understandable when atheists, hating everything that reminds of God, destroy churches built by our pious ancestors. But how can believers who themselves attend church repeat this? The Church is a sanctified, holy place in which the grace of God eternally abides. At the dedication of Solomon's temple, the glory of the Lord in the form of a cloud filled the house of God. This is how it was in the Old Testament church. How much more powerful is the grace of God in the New Testament churches, in which true cleansing from sins is given, in which we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, in which the Holy Spirit constantly descends during the Liturgy on the consecrated Gifts and on the people present? You can pray anywhere and the Lord hears your prayers from everywhere. But it is much easier to pray in a church, where everything is conducive to prayer. From there our prayers ascend to God and bring down God’s mercies upon us. Building a church is a sacrifice to God; allocating a plot of land for worship, donating part of one’s property to God, and most importantly, bringing Him one’s love and one’s zeal. Churches were erected under various circumstances, and during joyful and sad events, they were placed like candles from all the people across the face of their native land. St. Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev, having visited the small city of Moscow at that time, told Prince John Kalita to build the “House of the Mother of God.” “What is the need for a new church,” some would now say, because already in little Moscow there were enough churches built by Kalita’s father, the Venerable Prince Daniel. But without hesitation, the prince began to build the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and as soon as it was finished, Moscow began to rise and its princes united the entire Russian Land around it. Churches are not needed by God, whose throne is heaven and whose footstool is earth, but we need them. Our sacrifices to churches are useful to us, but the Lord accepts not so much the substance as our zeal. Christ approved of the widow’s contribution, saying that she contributed more than anyone else, for the rich contributed much from their abundance, but she gave everything she had, all her food. Our sacrifices in the name of God are accepted by God Himself. Spiritually, our sacrifices go into the heavenly treasuries, God’s, from where no one can snatch them, and if someone steals church property, then he is stealing from God Himself and the Lord God Himself will punish him. This is how the pious Russian people looked, giving their pennies to the gray-haired uncles Vlas who collected for the churches. At every service, the builders of the churches are remembered. By building churches here on earth, we thereby create eternal shelters for ourselves in heaven. Decades will pass, our bodies will decay, and perhaps there will be nothing left of our bones. And our souls will live forever. Good for him who has prepared an abode for his soul in the palaces of Heaven! Even if the built churches are already destroyed, the names of their builders will be written in the eternal books of God and the prayers offered in them will be recorded. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Turn your hearts to your ways. Go up the mountain and carry wood and build a church; and I will favor him and be glorified." “I'm with you! says the Lord. ( Haggai 1:7–8, 13 ) Having thanked the Lord God for ending the litigation with a court decision, we call on the entire flock to stop all mutual accusations and try to make amends for everything brought about by the church turmoil. Defending the truth, as anyone understood it, they insulted each other, expressed or harbored suspicions that divided Russian society into a number of warring camps. With the court decision, it is clear that all suspicions and accusations were unfounded. This decision of the State Court has cleared the Russian name, and it is gratifying not only for the accused, but also for all Russians, and especially for those who donated to the construction of the new Cathedral and the parishioners of the Cathedral, who can rest assured that the funds they donated to the Church went (and are now going) for their intended purpose. Glorification of St. John of Kronstadt and he himself, through his prayers, help us to erase all ill will from our hearts, and, having restored peace, to unite around the Church of God. May God's blessing be upon everyone! A Word to the San Francisco Congregation ...I must note the diligence of our San Francisco congregation in church affairs and attending services on major holidays, and some even daily. The very great sacrifice that was shown in the construction of the cathedral testifies to the devotion of our flock to the Church. However, speaking about the joyful phenomena in parish life, I cannot remain silent about the regrettable phenomena. This is the gradual decrease in the number of people attending religious services. It is in vain to blame the fact that the area has become dangerous - it is not the main reason, but the main thing is that people are drawn into everyday life and gradually move away from the spiritual. This is a common phenomenon seen in America. Unfortunately, there are almost no descendants left from our first emigration of the 20s; only a few exist from those families that arrived here in the 20s. Why? They dissolved, they moved away from the Orthodox faith and from Russian nationality, and most of them also changed their surnames, so you wouldn’t recognize that they were Russian. This phenomenon has been noticed before, but those who moved not from sovereign Russia, but from the jugular Rus-Galicia, Carpathian Rus, Bukovina, have already been living here for many decades and have somehow retained their originality. We must remember those Old Believers who lived in Turkey for 300 years, but arrived in America as purely Russians, speak the purest Russian language and wear their folk clothes. And they arrived here because... the present Turkish government began to oppress them in the area of ​​confession of faith. Now, if our emigration were also firm in confessing their faith and their Russian dignity, then we would truly represent a force before which other nationalities would bow. It was not in vain that the Lord threw us out of our country, not only for our sins, but also so that we could be preachers of the Gospel, so that, as it is said in the Gospel: “before the end of the world, the Gospel will be preached throughout the world.” When leading others to Orthodoxy, we must be careful that we ourselves do not become “overwhelming salt,” but preserve holy Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, we violate not only fasts, but also other church rules. It is especially harmful that it is customary here to organize charitable entertainment during the holidays. They distract Christians, our pilgrims, from worship. Then, when the main part of the holiday service takes place, when an all-night vigil is celebrated, at which this or that event is glorified, perfected by the Lord God for our eternal salvation, when the saints of God are glorified, when their lives are described in wonderful church hymns and readings, bright examples are indicated, then the majority of pilgrims are absent and instead go for entertainment. According to church canons, providing such entertainment is a grave sin. True, the main worship service is the Liturgy. Liturgy is the culmination, the end of the service, when we must ascend to such a spiritual height in order to realize the meaning of the sacraments and, if not with our lips, then with our spirit, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. This is why we need an all-night vigil, so that we can become spiritually closer to the holiday and actually attending the Liturgy would be complete and saving for us. They may say that such entertainment was organized here in Russia. Unfortunately, this has been the case lately. Even under Alexander III, it was firmly held that there were no entertainments, no amusements, no theatrical performances on fast days and the eves of holidays. Only when the roars of the revolution began to roar and began to shake Russia, freedoms gradually began to be given, which led to the present freedoms, when millions of people are enslaved. True, this has not only been the case recently. Saint John Chrysostom was expelled from Constantinople for delivering a thunderous sermon against horse racing on the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist. And in those days, people left the services in order to watch some competitions, or comedies, or something else. It was the same then, but John Chrysostom went into exile, but did not abandon his preaching. And the day after tomorrow we will remember how solemnly his relics were returned to Constantinople. Yes, it was like that. But this does not mean that you don’t have to fight it. There are even more serious crimes, such as murder, like Cain killed Abel, but no one believes that since something was committed in ancient times, it is permitted now. And now both the church and the authorities are trying to fight such crimes. The antiquity of the crime does not justify it, therefore we must resist such phenomena in every possible way. It is especially harmful when young people are distracted by these entertainments. Now old people still remember the previous holidays in Russia and from time to time they are drawn, especially on great holidays, to attend divine services. Young people are not particularly used to this, and if they don’t get used to it from childhood, then what will happen after? It is in vain then that we build churches here; they will be empty in two decades. We must encourage in every possible way and especially instill in children a love for the church, and praise be given to those parents who teach them to church from childhood, especially those who teach them to serve in church and actively participate in divine services. This naturally sinks into their souls and, while contributing to the splendor of worship, at the same time educates them in our church Russian-Orthodox consciousness. The Church is not an earthly institution. I need to say a little about this so that we have a clear picture of what we want to do. The Church stands on earth, but its head rises above heaven, and the Head of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He established that the Church should be governed through persons who received from Him the grace of His Spirit, grace that helps lead people to eternal salvation, to the Kingdom of God. Therefore, those who have received grace through ordination have the main guiding importance in the Church, i.e. priesthood. And since they lead spiritual life, it is clear that the rest can only be assistants; persons who have not received the grace of the Holy Spirit can only help the clergy. After all, it would be absurd if the leaders were not those who could fulfill the main purposes of this or that institution, but only secondary ones. We cannot imagine that the chairman of the court would be the head of the building of that court, and if, for example, the army was commanded by the head of the economy. True, under the Soviet regime there were attempts to have the army commanded not by the military, but by political instructors, who had the goal of political propaganda, but what happened then other than collapse? Likewise, in the Church, only those who are empowered by the Holy Spirit and who have received the grace to lead the Church for eternal salvation can stand at the head. Economic issues, no matter how important they are, can and should be handled by the laity, but under the guidance of the pastors of the Church. Therefore, all secular positions in the church are only auxiliary to the clergy, but are in no way leading. Both church ktitors and elders, according to the charter, are only assistants to the abbots. Parish Councils arose in our country after the revolution, specifically to support the clergy. I was on the first Parish Council after the revolution in our parish; we have gathered to help our father. And now parish positions are auxiliary to the clergy. Therefore, there can be no question of them having any independent work and feeling like they are the main ones in the Church. The laity can be in charge in a private society, in some artistic, literary, or commercial enterprise, but not in the Church. The main meaning of the Church is: leading to eternal salvation, and everything else must be adapted to this. The Church has, first of all, the task of fighting sin, and in this it must be helped by the laity. I am very grateful on my own, and the Holy Church blesses those who, correctly understanding their purpose, are helpers for the building of the Church, like a ship leading us through the sea of ​​life to where Christ leads us - to the Kingdom of Heaven. I encourage everyone to diligently attend divine services during this Lent. Remember that receiving communion once a year is the minimum, after which a person leaves the Church. According to church regulations, anyone who has not attended liturgy for three weeks without good reason is considered to have fallen away from the church community. Therefore, those who violate the rules of church confession or the rules of not attending church, or who openly despise church laws, even if they are guided by civil rules, can have a place in civil institutions, but not in church ones. Our Church has its own rules, and regardless of how others look, it goes its own way. She survived the time of Nero and Diocletian... Different laws apply abroad; we are forced to reckon with civil authorities; after all, in the Soviet Union, those laws that are not directly directed against the Church are executed by those who live there. Moreover, we must where the Church is not persecuted, where the state gives the Church the opportunity to develop its activities in every possible way, to fulfill all the laws, but in our inner life we ​​must be guided only by church laws. No one can order us to accept a member of the community or admit to church positions someone who, say, violated the rules on marriage; anyone who has not received the grace of the Holy Spirit during the sacrament of marriage is a criminal before church laws, no matter what state authorities believe. The Church has its own laws and the Church goes its own way. States are formed and disappear, but the Church is eternal. I urge you, first of all, to be Orthodox Christians, and everything else can only be added to this. From the Word at the meeting of the parish of the Most Holy Theotokos Joy of All Who Sorrow January 25 February 7, 1965 Address by Archbishop John to the general parish annual meeting The current General Meeting is taking place on the day of remembrance of the Last Judgment, and we must all remember that one day we will appear before the Judge of the whole world, who sees even our innermost thoughts, and we must carefully monitor our desires, words and thoughts, so as not to be condemned at the Judgment. Our meeting is a church meeting to decide matters concerning our churches and church life. Therefore, although we have not gathered in a church, we must behave as if in a church, not allowing anything that cannot be allowed in a church, including noisy expressions of approval and indignation. We are children of the Orthodox Church and must first of all obey its laws, the laws of the Orthodox Church, established by the Lord God Himself (the basic laws were laid down by Him). The Lord said: “I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18), and also said: “Behold, I am with you... for all the days, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The Lord breathed the Holy Spirit into the apostles, gave them the power to hold and absolve sins, and gave them the power and responsibility of preaching the Gospel throughout the entire universe. Preaching the Gospel, they established the Church on earth, as disciples and friends of Christ. They then transferred their power to their successors, i.e. to the bishops whom they appointed. We see this already from the Holy Scriptures, the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul - all the laws of the Church are important for Christians. There are different relationships between the Church and the state. At first the Church was severely persecuted. There were moments when the state did not persecute people for their faith if state laws were followed - the state law was to honor Caesar as God, and then there were stages that said that you could continue to pray in your own way, you just had to make a sacrifice to Caesar or a sacrifice to some idol, and that was enough. But Christians did not comply with such laws. They were going to suffer. We glorify them as martyrs: St. Gregory the God-Bearer, Demetrius, Panteleimon and others. What did they do? They followed the faith of Christ and did not accept any respect for those laws that were contrary to faith. Until the end of the century, Christians will be persecuted, and there will be martyrs until the end of the century... And those who were not sent to death are glorified as confessors. Recently, when we were in the Far East, the Japanese, who occupied Manchuria, passed a law requiring all residents of the city to go to worship at the church of the goddess Amaturasa - this was declared a state law, because the goddess was revered as the head of the imperial house. Well, did Christians go there? “Some went, but Metropolitan Meletius of Harbin and Archbishop Dimitri, the father of our First Hierarch, Metropolitan Philaret, courageously rebelled against this. And when one of the priests, who occupied a prominent place in the Harbin diocese, was about to compromise, he was immediately deprived of all his posts and banned from the priesthood and was not allowed until the Japanese agreed not to apply their law. So the flock remained faithful to their archpastors, because this law went against the faith of Christ. We must always courageously stand for the rules of the church. If they demand something impossible from us, then we should not do it. We see how our brothers suffer in our Fatherland. Many of them endure courageously for their confession of the faith of Christ. They are deprived of their places, they are deprived of earnings, they are deprived of food, and yet they still confess the faith of Christ. If so, then how much should we, being here in freedom, if the law does not persecute for faith, confess our faith. In this country, the laws do not persecute anyone for their faith. The rules concerning church life are established only for internal life, without disturbing others. When this does not threaten anyone or anything, the confession of one’s faith is left to every person and every community. In our inner life we ​​can fearlessly be guided only by the statutes of the Orthodox Church, for which we must be ready to die, if it were otherwise. The Church of Christ is a divine institution, and the foundations of its structure are given by Christ and the Holy Spirit, through the Apostles and holy men. The development of church rules and the leadership of the Church was entrusted to the Bishops, as we see from the letters of the Apostles and their immediate successors. The Orthodox Church, also the Catholic Church, reveres Church Tradition, as well as the Holy Scriptures. This is how Protestants and Protestant sects that do not recognize Holy Tradition differ from them. The Holy Tradition regarding church government speaks in the canons. Canons are church rules that are the basis of church life, just as in the state they are the basic laws. The difference, however, is that in the state they are composed of people, but the Church is inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Head of the Church is Christ, and He gave the power to establish the earthly Church to the Apostles. This is what the 41st rule of St. says. Apostles: “We command the bishop to have power over the church estate, since human souls are precious and must be entrusted to him: then how much more should he command about money, so that he manages everything according to his authority.” According to further church rules, he must have a manager of church property (canon 26, IV Ecumenical Council). At first they were clergy, then they began to entrust this to the laity, but their leadership continued to remain in the hands of the bishop, as well as spiritual power, since “the people of the Lord are entrusted to him and he will give an answer about their souls.” Why is this so? Because everything in the Church must be directed and coordinated with the main goal: the salvation of human souls through faith and life according to the commandments of Christ and the direction of their Life towards the Heavenly Kingdom. Democracy is alien to the Orthodox Church. In the Church of Christ, everything comes from the divine beginning, and God is given the final account for his actions. Therefore, at the head of church administration are bishops, as successors to the apostles. So that they and the rest of the clergy do not become immersed in worldly and everyday affairs, the laity help them in those matters and sometimes take almost entirely the care of the laity, but acting in the spirit of the instructions of the shepherds, since shepherds and especially their head, the bishop, are responsible for the life of the church. Leadership continues to remain in the hands of the bishops, and the bishop must be revered as long as he does not depart from the true teaching, i.e. will not become a heretic and will not retreat from the hierarchy. The bishop is responsible both for souls and for church life. The common expression “the voice of the people is the voice of God” is relatively true. When people feel the need for God’s help, pray earnestly, and want, first of all, to do according to the will of God, then the Lord admonishes, overshadows with good thoughts, and decisions are beneficial. This is what Christians did in ancient times. Our ancestors did the same. When the Zemsky Sobor met in 1613, Great Lent began, all those gathered and all the people prayed and fasted, and only after communion of the Holy Mysteries, with one mouth they named Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov Tsar - and then the voice of the people was truly the voice of God. But here we read in the Gospel about how the trial of Jesus Christ takes place, how they lead Him to Pilate and how Pilate brings Him out to the people: “all the people began to shout: death to Him, release Barabbas to us... Pilate... raised his voice, wanting to release Jesus. But they shouted: Crucify Him, crucify Him” (Luke 23:18, 20–21). Was that voice of the people the voice of God? And when the “people’s representatives,” supported by the commanders-in-chief of the entire front, who imagined themselves to be the spokesmen for the voice of the army, demanded that Emperor Nicholas II abdicate the throne, and noisy crowds then walked around Petrograd and welcomed the offensive of the so-called. people's democracy. Was then “the voice of the people the voice of God”? We hear the Voice of God in the Holy Scriptures, it also sounds in the Holy Tradition, we must obey them, observe church statutes, then the Voice of God will touch us, and not when we want to act according to our own will. Now we know that all over the world there is a struggle against Sacred Tradition. Having gathered to decide the affairs of our parish, we must clearly realize that the parish is a part of the great universal Church, a branch of the local Russian Church. We must be guided by church rules, created on the basis and in the spirit of the canons of the Church, in the spirit of those church foundations. If we do not trust the church canons and deviate from them, we thereby take the path of Protestantism and already lose the right to be called Orthodox Christians. When we gather in church meetings, we should think about how we can make decisions for the glory of God. For the glory of God - this means for our salvation. When we do something for the glory of God, we are like the angels who eternally praise the Lord God. Let us think not about what is pleasant and desirable for us, but what is in accordance with the truth of God and leads us all together and each individual to eternal salvation and a good answer at the Last Judgment, at which we will all appear, whether we want it or would like to avoid it, whether we remember about it or not. And, remembering the words of Christ that: “By our words we will be justified and by our words we will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37), let us now conduct our meeting as on the eve of the Last Judgment, to which we are called today by the Gospel and church prayers. Let us begin our church meeting in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving and Inseparable Trinity. Uniformity in worship The divine services and rituals of the Orthodox Church, having one charter at their core and maintaining commonality in everything essential, are very different from each other in execution. Not only do the customs of individual countries and local churches differ, but within the same locality, sometimes even in the same city, services are performed differently in nearby churches. The question of introducing one general, abbreviated charter, which would be mandatory for all churches, has been raised more than once. However, this can only be a theoretical solution, but in reality it is impracticable and even harmful. The difference in the implementation of church regulations occurs both due to ingrained customs, sometimes having a deeply meaningful meaning, but sometimes meaningless, and due to the available possibility of its implementation, and also depends on the zeal and zeal of its implementers. Of course, we must take into account what is already a consecrated custom, i.e. has been established since ancient times and has entered into the consciousness of not only the performers of worship, but also the people. However, to a much lesser extent must take into account what is only practice, i.e. it became only a habit of those who did it, without internal meaning and without entering the people's consciousness; This should be adhered to only if it is useful for the cause, without contradicting the church charter. Otherwise, we can only give a general indication: the closer to the church charter, the better. Our church charter is not a collection of dead rules and not the fruit of abstract armchair labor. He captured the spiritual experience of holy ascetics who perfectly knew the depths of the human spirit and the laws of spiritual life. The Holy Fathers themselves experienced the struggle with the infirmities of the spirit and flesh, as well as the method of healing them, and studied the path of prayerful feat and the power of prayer. The Church Charter is a guide for accustoming and teaching prayer, and the more you adhere to it, the more benefits will be obtained. If it is impossible to fulfill everything set out in the charter, it is necessary to do everything within our power, while maintaining its general structure and main content. It is necessary, on the one hand, to fulfill what is characteristic of a given service, unchanged in its composition and distinguished from others; on the other hand, it is necessary to supplement as much as possible with those parts of the service that, changing depending on the day, express the meaning and meaning of the memories of the day and event. Divine service combines prayer offered by believers, their receipt of God's grace in communion with Him, and the edification of believers. The latter concerns the teaching through liturgical readings and hymns of doctrine and instruction in Christian life. The divine service contains the entirety of the dogmatic teaching of the Church and sets out the path to salvation. It represents invaluable spiritual wealth. The more fully and accurately it is carried out, the greater the benefit received by those taking part in it. The clergy who perform it carelessly and cut through laziness rob their flock, depriving them of their most daily bread and stealing from them their most valuable treasure. Reductions made due to weakness of strength must be reasonable and made carefully so as not to touch what should not be touched. In particular, at Vespers, Psalm 103 should be read in its entirety, but when singing it, it is permissible to sing only a few verses, but in a beautiful manner. It is advisable to always sing or read the verses of Psalms 140, 141, 129 and 116 in full, beginning with the words “I have cried to the Lord,” but the stichera are certainly all. On the appointed days one must read the proverbs and perform litias. Matins should be performed in the morning and it is unacceptable to perform it so-called in the evening, with the exception of the days on which the All-Night Vigil is served, because in essence this is the abolition of morning worship, which is very necessary for believers; Even a short stay in the church in the morning has a beneficial effect on the soul and gives direction to the whole day, sanctifying it. The Six Psalms does not dare to shorten; the psalms of praise must also be read in full. Singing should not be replaced by reading unless it is completely impossible to sing, because... the effect of singing is much stronger, and very rarely reading can replace singing. The Theotokos do not dare descend from the troparions and other hymns, for they provide the basis for our faith - the teaching about the incarnation of the Son of God and God's Economy. The hours must be completed accurately without gaps, being already short. It is necessary to read all three psalms at each hour, the prescribed troparia and other prayers, and at the end of the hour, with special attention, a prayer expressing the meaning of the sacred event being remembered at a given hour. The Liturgy must be celebrated, if impossible daily, at least on all Sundays and church holidays, regardless of the number of pilgrims who may be present. It is a bloodless sacrifice for the whole world, and performing it is the duty of the priest. Of course, nothing contained in the service book should be omitted. One must also perform the chants required for the liturgy. These include Psalms 102, 145 and 33; if it is still permissible to abbreviate Psalm 102, in view of its size (although it is better not to do this), then in any case it is necessary to sing 145 in its entirety, except for the days on which both of them are replaced by antiphons; Psalm 33 is replaced only on Easter week by the singing of “Christ is risen”; on other days it should always be read or sung because of its edification, and there are no excuses for its omission. The troparia laid down for a given liturgy must also be sung all in the established order, since they are mainly a festive part of the liturgy, while its main composition remains unchanged. The Church Charter also prescribes strict adherence to the order of the Apostolic and Gospel readings, subject to which the entire Gospel and the entire Apostle will be read within a year in those churches where divine services are performed daily. That order requires that the ordinary beginning be read; its replacement with a festive one occurs only on great holidays, but even then the ordinary conception is not skipped. It is read for the day with the next conception: on middle holidays the ordinary and festive conceptions are read. The charter calls the reading of only the festive ones with the omission of ordinary people “unreasonableness”, because Thus, the whole meaning of distributing readings in a certain sequence is violated, and those who do this reveal their lack of understanding of it. The remaining sacraments, like all the rites of the breviary, must also be performed, without being shortened unless absolutely necessary, and even then observing everything essential and the order of the service, remembering one’s responsibility before God for any damage caused to the souls of the flock by one’s negligence. Everyone, performing a divine service, should be zealous for its more accurate and better performance, and thereby bringing spiritual benefit to others, and on the Day of Retribution he himself will be like a servant who brought ten coins, and will hear: “It is good, good servant, for you have been faithful in a little way” (Luke 19:17). From the decrees of Archbishop John The Lamb of God will be carried away by us in the sacred and luminous night of the Resurrection. We pray for this as soon as we begin to prepare for Lent and then repeatedly during Lent: that the Lord will grant us the privilege of communion on the night of Holy Pascha. Then the grace of God especially acts on the hearts of people. We then partake of the Risen Christ, we become participants in His Resurrection. Of course, you need to say the fast earlier and, having already received communion during Great Lent, partake of the Holy Mysteries again. There is no time to confess in detail before the Easter Liturgy; this must be done earlier. And on the luminous night, having received general permission, proceed to the Divine Lamb, the guarantee of our Resurrection. Let no one leave the Church prematurely, in a hurry to taste the meat of animals, instead of tasting the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ. Possible participation of the clergy in public life Having the main goal of their ministry is the revival of human souls and leading them to the eternal Kingdom of God, those who have received the gift of the priesthood should not be distracted from the work of the apostle and waste time on worldly affairs. What a priest gives to people cannot be given by anyone else, and nothing can compare with the eternal good to which he leads people. Therefore, the clergyman does not dare to be distracted from his direct duties, to engage even in useful worldly affairs, remembering that he is the guardian of human souls and will give an answer at the Last Judgment of God for every sheep that died due to his negligence. An example was set by the apostles, when disputes arose among their disciples about the distribution of benefits, saying: “It is not good for us who have left the word of God to serve meals.” Church canons strictly prohibit clergy from engaging in worldly duties and taking on public positions. However, this does not mean that clergy can completely withdraw from all worldly affairs. People consist of soul and body, and it is impossible, while caring for the soul, to completely forget about the needs of the body. The Lord commanded us to show love for our neighbors in acts of mercy, which He will ask about at the Last Judgment. Many saints and saints were active participants in the events that took place in their times, sometimes even heading states. But that happened when it was caused by persistent necessity. When it is necessary to save people in disasters, when the participation of a shepherd is necessary to guide them on the right path, the shepherd does not dare to remain indifferent. He not only can, but must come to their aid. This applies to both private and general matters. It is the pastor’s duty to encourage people to charity and, if necessary, to become the head of charitable institutions, to give direction to public affairs in accordance with the spirit of Christ’s teaching. But at the same time he must always remain a clergyman and a shepherd. It is unacceptable to join any party subject to its discipline. It is also inappropriate for a pastor to immerse himself in the purely everyday side of public affairs. Everything that the laity can do must be left to them, trying to concentrate on spiritual matters, which are the work of shepherds. The priesthood is the light of the world, and its participation in public life should consist in sanctifying the path of personal, social and state life. It is the duty of the clergy to indicate the moral foundations on which the life of society should be organized and to inspire its activities, imbuing it with the spirit of Christ’s teaching. Without descending into the midst of everyday vanity, the shepherd must hover over his flock and, vigilantly observing it, descend when it is necessary to support the weak in spirit or body, to stop and expose evil, to encourage them to do good deeds and deeds, and to strengthen them in doing good. The highest and most important gift of a clergyman to society is the calling upon him and the bringing down of the blessing and grace of God, for which the pastor must be especially diligent in prayer and, remembering that first of all he is a servant of God, be “an image of faithful word, life, love, spirit, faith, purity,” leading them to the Kingdom of God by prayer, example and instruction. Resolution regarding the distribution of eggs on Easter night I hereby have the duty to notify you that in response to your request dated April 2 for permission for your Circle to distribute red eggs to those praying in the Memorial Church after Easter Matins, because a large number of lonely, elderly, infirm and indigent pilgrims cannot remain until the end of the Divine Liturgy and then return to their place of residence in damp, cold weather - His Eminence, the Most Reverend Archbishop John, put forward the following resolution: “The main thing on the Bright Day of Easter is our communion with the Risen Christ, which is especially manifested in communion during the Bright Service, for which we repeatedly offer prayers in the services of Great Lent. Leaving the Easter service before the end of the liturgy is a sin or misunderstanding of the church service. If an irresistible necessity forces one to do something, then the egg, which is only a symbol of the Resurrection, cannot replace the actual tasting of the Resurrection of the Divine Liturgy, and distributing eggs before the Liturgy would be contempt for the Divine Sacrament and a deception of the faithful. Church rules strictly prohibit bringing to the altar anything other than bread and wine made by the Body and Blood of Christ, and oil for lamps and incense, and a clergyman who violates this, according to the 3rd rule of Sts. The Apostle is ejected from the sacred rank. I urge everyone to take close participation in the Divine feast of the Risen Christ - the Holy Liturgy, and after it is over, proclaim the Resurrection of Christ and greet each other with the symbol of the Resurrection.” Appeal for help to the Holy Land “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, my right hand will be forgotten” (Ps. 137:5), King David prophetically exclaimed, back in the days of Zion’s prosperity. The Jews sang that psalm with bitterness during the Babylonian captivity. The Lord Jesus Christ loved Jerusalem, shedding tears for the coming disasters. Jerusalem, sacred to the Old Testament Jews, became even more sacred to Christians, having been sanctified by the feet and then by the blood of our Divine Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As soon as the persecution of Christians stopped, pilgrims began to flock to him from all countries where the Name of Christ was glorified, starting with Queen Helena, who found the Cross of the Lord and built a number of magnificent churches in sacred places on the earthly path of Christ. Those places were also filled with monasteries, in which ascetics sought for themselves and showed others the path of salvation. The enslavement of those countries by heterodox eastern peoples did not diminish the veneration of the Holy Land by Christians. Western peoples undertook campaigns to liberate them, but did not achieve the desired goal. New pilgrims came from Rus', which was then baptized, from the very beginning of Christianity there. The Russian Church, from its earliest times, was in close communion with the Holy Land. Everything that came or was brought from the Holy Land was sacred in the eyes of the Russian people. The ultimate goal of pious people was to visit the Holy Land. Individuals succeeded even in times when it was fraught with incredible difficulties; in the last century, streams of pilgrims flowed there almost without ceasing. To facilitate the pilgrimage, the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem and the Palestinian Society were created, which acquired ownership of a number of plots in sacred places, and Russian monasteries appeared on them. Those monasteries, on the one hand, provided the opportunity for Russian people who arrived there to have refuge while worshiping holy places, and for those who wished, even to stay there until the end of their lives. On the other hand, those monasteries, thanks to funds flowing from Russia, could develop broad educational activities among the local population and thus provide significant support to the local Jerusalem Patriarchate. All that changed with the advent of sad times for Russia. Since the beginning of the First World War, the flow of pilgrims and funds for the activities of our holy monasteries stopped, and with its end, after the collapse of the Russian State, their situation became even more difficult. After the Second and the division of Palestine, new disasters and dangers appeared between the Kingdom of Jordan and the restored state of Israel. The monasteries that ended up in Israel were deprived of part of their property and transferred to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. The monasteries in the Kingdom of Jordan remained part of the Russian Church Abroad, despite the attempts of the Moscow Patriarchate to subjugate them; Those monasteries and other Orthodox Russian institutions there refused to submit to the Moscow Patriarch because of his connection with the Soviet government. The latter seeks to subjugate and extend its influence to all nations and by all means. For this reason, in the Middle East, taking into account the former importance of Orthodox Russia and its glory among Orthodox peoples, the Soviet government, being an enemy of the Church and religion, presents itself there as their patron and strives in every possible way to establish the influence of the Patriarch of Moscow, who is in the hands of Soviet power, in the Middle East. If there had been no opposition to that activity, it could have had great success and places with names dear to the entire Christian world could have become bases for anti-Christian influence. However, that plan and activity met an insurmountable obstacle in the face of the poor, and truly saints, monasteries and Russian Orthodox institutions in the Holy Land. Knowing the subordination of the Moscow church power to the Soviet government, knowing that the Moscow Patriarch is not a free servant of God and His Church, but a slave of the atheistic power, those holy monasteries and institutions refused to recognize his power and remained subordinate to the power of the free part of the Russian Church - the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, although through recognition they could have had great material benefits. Russian monasteries in the Holy Land are the personification of a pure Christian conscience in the Middle East, and their presence and confession do not allow the Orthodox peoples there to open their hearts to the influence of church authorities, which are dependent on the enemy of the Church and God. The courageous feat of confessing the truth in those monasteries evokes a feeling of tenderness and is worthy of admiration. It is natural and necessary that Russian people abroad recognize their duty to provide support, moral and material assistance, to that glorious feat of elderly nuns and monks who suffer great need in everything, but are strong in spirit. To organize this matter, the Synod of Bishops established the Palestine Committee under my chairmanship. As we begin to establish representative offices of the Committee throughout the world, I call on all Orthodox Christians to assist them and recognize the work of helping monasteries and Orthodox institutions in the Holy Land as their sacred duty to the Church and Holy Russia, which so sincerely and reverently revered Jerusalem. “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, my right hand will be forgotten.” Decree on the order of worship In order to avoid confusion or misunderstandings during the concelebration of clergy, the order of seniority of consecrations must be observed: archimandrites are ranked according to the seniority of their elevation to archimandrite, archpriests by the seniority of their elevation to protopresbyter, the rest of the priests according to the seniority of their ordination to the priesthood. The same order is observed by deacons, subdeacons and readers, although it is not forbidden on any occasion to voluntarily confer the honor of primacy on one's brother. Priests who are late for the start of the service stand at the end of the line of clergy so as not to cause confusion during the service, for the grace of God rests on them equally no matter where they stand before the Lord God. Decree on the inadmissibility of participation in entertainment on the eve of Sundays and holidays The sacred rules dictate that the eves of holy days should be spent by Christians in prayer and reverence, preparing for participation or presence in the Divine Liturgy. If all Orthodox Christians are called to this, then even more so it applies to those directly taking part in church services. Their participation in entertainment on the eve of holidays is especially sinful. In view of this, those who were at a ball or similar entertainment and amusements on the eve of a resurrection or holiday cannot the next day participate in the choir, serve, enter the altar or stand on the choir. Decree to the clergy and church choristers One must always remember and realize that church singing is prayer and that the singing of prayers must be done reverently, in order to excite those standing in the church to prayer. Tunes and chants that merely delight the ear, but in content or execution are not conducive to prayer, as well as those that are inappropriate for the given service, event celebrated by the church, day and church charter, are unacceptable. At the same time, the behavior of those singing should be reverent and consistent with the high rank of church singers, uniting their voices with the voices of angels. Supervision of this lies with the responsibility of the leaders of the singing and the clergyman performing the service, whose instructions must be followed unquestioningly. Decree on the inadmissibility of touching icons with painted lips It is the duty of the clergy, and especially the rectors of churches, to pay attention so that those who have painted lips do not touch icons, crosses or any shrine, leaving a trace of lipstick on them. This should be posted at the entrance to the church and repeatedly explained in sermons, how great is the sin of persons who desecrate holy things with an unclean touch, why those going to church should wash off the paint or not touch anything and, in any case, not partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ without thoroughly washing their lips. Decree on the correct naming of the church In view of the abbreviated name of the Cathedral “Holy Sorrow”, which has come into use, it is explained that the said cathedral in the name of the Most Holy Theotokos has in its church icon the image not of the Sorrowful Mother of God, depicting Her sorrow, but the image of All the Sorrowful Joy, depicting the joy of all those nourished and consoled by Her. Therefore, as personifying joy, and not sorrow, this image, and the cathedral bearing his name, should be called, in the case of shortening its name, Sorrowful-Joyful or Joyful-Sorrowful, as it should henceforth be called when shortening its name. Decree on the method of plate collections The order is confirmed that church elders and other persons who collect for the church and other needs during the service do not enter the altar and do not distract the clergy from prayer, but stand with their plates opposite the Royal Doors before the bishop or priest gives the general blessing, when at the same time the collecting sacrifices are blessed. Decree on postponing holidays The clergy and flock are reminded that even in the Old Testament, by God’s command, holiday days were established - “whom God has chosen and sanctified” - as well as days of fasting and mourning. The Lord Jesus Christ, having taught a true understanding of the meaning of the holiday, did not abolish, but approved the observance of holidays, and the New Testament Church of Christ from the beginning of its days observed sacred days. Establishing the annual cycle of worship, the Church defined holidays, especially highlighting those on which great manifestations of God's providence took place and on which God's grace is now poured out. In addition to them, we are commanded to honor other days on which significant events in the life of the Savior and the Mother of God, signs of God’s mercy and the memory of God’s saints are remembered. The Church has precisely established the meaning and order of their celebration, as well as the days on which they are celebrated, as well as the transfer to other days in certain cases. Whenever possible, the simultaneous remembrance of sacred events and saints is observed, so that Orthodox Christians are united with a single thought and common feelings, unanimously offering prayers and praises, which does not, however, exclude special local celebrations of events or saints, known or especially revered only in a particular area. Among the great days for each church is its patronal feast, i.e. a day of celebration of sacred events or the saint to whom it is dedicated. Church holidays are equated by the church charter with the Great Feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God in their meaning and are celebrated with an appropriate service intended specifically for this day, which is a solemn and blessed day for those praying in the church and its church community. Therefore, it is unacceptable to arbitrarily postpone a church holiday for worldly reasons. Both the clergy and the laity must clearly realize that transferring the celebration to another day does not make that day a church holiday, just as an uncelebrated church holiday is not diminished by this in its spiritual significance and remains such regardless of the attitude of the clergy and parishioners towards it. The clergy and parishioners should try in every possible way to celebrate their church holiday with dignity, perhaps by diligently taking part in the divine service of that day, gathering in it. Those who do not have the opportunity to visit the church even for a short time, transport your mind and heart to it, at least receiving into yourself the rays of grace poured out in it. Decree to the clergy of the Western European Diocese Having observed parts of the diocese, both in the south and in other places in France, I consider it necessary to give the clergy the following instructions and reminders: 1) It is necessary to carefully monitor the reserve gifts, in case of noticeable beginnings of dampening, dry them according to the “Izvestia Uchitelny”, remembering that a clergyman sins mortally, through whose negligence the St. The gifts will decay. 2) When preparing the reserve Gifts, it is necessary to water the entire particle of the Body of Christ with the Most Pure Blood, so that, when crushing them, there will be no particles not watered with Blood, the communion of which would be the communion of the laity under one type, contrary to the rules of the Holy Orthodox Church, which has always used Communion under two types, making an exception only for infants. 3) Those performing the liturgy must, at the end of it, carefully collect all the particles from the antimins, also checking the handkerchief, and put everything into the holy. cup before consuming the Holy Gifts. We must remember that those particles are the Most Pure Body of Christ or taken out during commemoration; just as negligence towards the Body of Christ is a mortal sin, so the failure to remove particles taken out for the living or dead leaves unfulfilled that for which the particles are taken out, i.e. for the mysterious washing away of the sins of those for whom they were taken out, for which a prayer is said and for the sake of which believers submit for commemoration. Therefore, everything from the antimension, down to the smallest particle, must be lowered into the Chalice. 4) When consuming St. Gifts, vessels must be washed with hot water, so that not the slightest trace of the Blood of Christ or the wine sometimes poured during consumption remains, and the vessels must always be immaculately clean. 5) Clergymen are obliged to study the rules relating to the performance of divine services and constantly develop their knowledge. Almost complete ignorance of the most ordinary church services shows a disregard for one's primary duties. 6) When performing a bishop's or conciliar service, during a mutual kiss, the one who approaches says, “Christ is in the midst of us,” and the one standing responds. 7) It should not be allowed to put on the surplice for those who do not have the right to be in the clergy, as well as for uninitiated servants; of those initiated into reading, only those who have special certificates for this purpose. Decree No. 37, September 20, 1951 Decree on the commemoration of non-Orthodox The clergy are reminded that during the Divine Liturgy only persons belonging to the Orthodox Church are commemorated, because such commemoration makes the person commemorated a participant in the divine service, in which only Orthodox Christians can participate. Also, conscious suicides cannot be remembered as those who willfully left the Church. The same should be said about funeral services, memorial services and other services intended to be performed for Orthodox believers, which is clear from the very expressions used in them. As an exception, in relation to persons who during their lifetime showed their affection for the Orthodox faith and the Church and took an active part in its life, a funeral prayer may be performed, consisting of singing or reading the 17th kathisma (Psalm 118) with the addition of a short litany for the repose of the deceased and eternal memory. In their private prayers, Orthodox Christians can pray to God for everyone, trusting in God’s mercy. Decree No. 39, September 23, 1951 Decree on entertainment on the eve of holidays In pursuance of the Decree of the Synod of Bishops dated November 4, 1951 No. 878 on the need to combat the appointment of entertainment gatherings and dances on the eves of Sundays and holidays, the o.o. parish rectors and all clergy should urge believers to avoid such untimely entertainment, explain to them the harmful significance of such and ensure that, in any case, they are not hosted on such days by the parishes and church institutions themselves, for which pastors bear special responsibility, to indicate that the use of fees from such entertainment for charitable purposes cannot justify either their organization, or the organizers and participants, because for a true Christian the rule is unacceptable: “the end justifies the means.” It must be realized that church holidays begin on their eve, that Vespers and Matins prepare Christians for prayerful participation in the Divine Liturgy, which is, as it were, their continuation and completion. Presence in the church during the performance of the Bloodless Sacrifice requires such preparation from all Christians, while entertainment and dancing on the previous night interfere with the creation of that reverent mood that is formed when the content of instructive chants and readings of Vespers and Matins, explaining the meaning and significance of the celebrated event, is introduced into the consciousness and feeling. Entertainment on the eves of Sundays and holidays deeply contradicts the entire church liturgical order, and is thus very harmful for the souls of their participants, some of whom are even usually late, due to fatigue, at the liturgy or miss it, while those who came are under the impression of the previous night. Decree No. 69, November 8, 1951 Decree on the procedure for starting the small entrance The clergy fathers are reminded of the order of the beginning of the small entrance at the bishop's services, with the full complement of the serving clergy. First, the senior clergyman and the first deacon stand at the throne, make three bows to the throne, kissing it, bow to the Bishop, the priest gives the Gospel to the deacon, who retreats to a high place facing the throne; then the senior priest with all the priests makes two bows from the waist, kisses the throne, the third bow, bow to the Bishop and begin to walk around the throne, and those standing on the left side do not walk around the throne, but from their place join those on the right when it is their turn. Decree No. 90, November 21, 1951 Decree on inviting parishioners to participate in worship services For a more active and effective participation of believers in divine services, Fr. the rectors of churches and all clergy involve the laity in as many possible numbers as possible in reading and singing in the choir, and children and young men also in serving at the divine service. At the same time, it is prescribed to introduce, whenever possible, the singing of individual parts of the service, or even the whole, by all believers, imitating in this the ancient Church. Of course, common singing on all Sundays and holidays should be performed: during the liturgy, “I Believe” and “Our Father,” and during the All-Night Vigil, when it is due, “Having seen the Resurrection of Christ.” To accomplish this, it is useful to send some of the singers to the middle of the church, and let the deacon or the director of the choir lead the singing. Decree No. 70, November 8, 1951 Decree on the lamp on the eve of the Nativity of Christ It is explained and reminded to the clergy and flock that placing a lamp in the middle of the church on the eve of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany after Vespers, usually connected with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, means the coming to earth and the establishment among people of the True Light, the Sun of Truth, announced by the Star, whose Light illuminated people (see the troparion of the Nativity and the kontakion of the Cross). In view of this, the lamp itself, mysteriously depicting that Invisible Light hidden under the flesh of the God-Man, is, as it were, an icon and then there is no need to place it in front of the icon, but should place it in the middle of the church and glorify Christ in front of it. Decree No. 105, December 24, 1952 Decree on the Veneration of the Ancient Saints of the West Being in dispersion in countries where the holy saints, honored by the Orthodox Church of Christ since ancient times, labored in ancient times and were glorified by their sufferings or other deeds, it behooves us to worthily honor them and resort to them, without at the same time growing cold towards the holy saints of God, to whom we have previously resorted in prayers. In various places of ancient Gaul, now France, and other countries of Western Europe, the sacred remains of martyrs of the first centuries and subsequent ones, who were confessors of the Orthodox faith, have been preserved to this day. We call on o.o. clergymen are remembered at divine services - at litias and in other prayers - saints of God who are the patrons of the place or country where the service takes place, and especially revered ones, also on vacation. In particular, within the boundaries of Paris, the Hieromartyr Dionysius, the Venerable Genoveva, and also the Venerable Clothwald should be commemorated, in Lyon - the Hieromartyr Irenaeus, in Marseilles - the Martyr Victor and the Venerable Cassian, within the boundaries of Toulouse - the Hieromartyr Saturninus, Bishop of Toulouse, in Tours - Saint Martin. In cases of ambiguity or confusion, contact us for clarification and guidance. The flock is called upon to honor these saints. Decree No. 223, April 23, 1953 Decree on the participation of clergy in public institutions, societies and unions The Consecrated Clergy is confirmed and reminded that the clergy, being the shepherds of the flock of Christ, have as their task leading it through the sea of ​​life to the haven of the Heavenly Church. Therefore, pastors are above divisions caused by everyday circumstances and cannot be bound by participation in any public institutions, societies or unions other than church ones. Being appointed or, with the blessing of the Bishop's authority, invited to lead any organizations, they appear there as spiritual leaders and shepherds, illuminating the paths of them and their individual members with the light of the Gospel, and indicating the resolution of emerging issues in the spirit of Orthodoxy, as well as performing the necessary services, submitting only to church rules and authorities. Decree No. 284, September 17, 1953 Decree on the possibility of clergy to testify as witnesses In cases where the authorities approach with a proposal to testify as a witness, the clergyman should be guided by the following: If it is proposed to testify to any event or incident that the priest saw as a casual observer or knows along with other people, then he can and must give testimony. If the authorities offer to testify to something known to him from his pastoral position or activity, then the priest should not be a witness on such issues, for everyone can come to the priest as a spiritual father and should not fear that anything will become known to outsiders. If the authorities need to cover any event in public or church life and ask the priest to give evidence about this, then the latter must declare that he is not authorized to do so and offer to contact the Church authorities, which will always give appropriate explanations. Decree No. 424, December 29, 1954 Decree on conciliar services It has been noticed that some clergy avoid “conciliar services” or, when performing such services, consider it obligatory that the number of those serving with the eldest must be even. In view of this, there are cases that some clergy are left without the opportunity to take part in worship. According to church rules, all clergy must take part in divine services, at least on Sundays and great holidays. According to the 8th Canon of Saints, the Apostle, a clergyman present at the liturgy and not receiving communion must indicate the reason for the latter and, only if it is respected, is not subject to penance. Although in Russia in some places it was observed that during ceremonial services there was an even number of priests, it happened where there were many churches and the clergy could be distributed among them, taking part in the service in one of them. Observing the external side of the divine service in violation of the essence of the priestly service, which consists in intervening before God for the flock in mutual brotherly love and communication in prayer, is absurd and sinful, in view of this, “all clergy” who do not have obstacles to serving, “must take part” in the liturgy and other festive services, regardless of their number. Decree No. 493, October 1955 Decree to the clergy on commemoration of suicides The clergy fathers are reminded for strict and strict observance that church canons prohibit the commemoration of suicides during the Divine Liturgy, as well as the performance of their funeral services and the service of memorial services. If that person has previously been in a home for the mentally ill or in other exceptional cases, he must present it to the Bishop for consideration and without his permission not dare to perform a sacred act without permission. Decree No. 489, October 8, 1955 Decree on the impossibility of non-Orthodox beings as successors Since the recipients of baptism are guarantors that the person being baptized will remain in the Orthodox faith and assumes the obligation to confirm his godchildren in it, it would be nonsense to allow a non-recipient to be a recipient, which can only be an Orthodox person. The registration of non-Orthodox persons as recipients is invalid, and the one who allows it is subject to liability. Decree No. 490, October 8, 1955 Decree on the singing of psalms at the liturgy Observing the rules established by the holy fathers, and the rites of the Church, one must especially carefully perform “during the service of the Divine Liturgy,” both as a serving priest and in the choir. In particular, this applies to the singing of the prescribed psalms, the great significance of which is spoken at length by St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom and other holy fathers. During the liturgy, on days when there are no special antiphons, the psalms “Bless my soul the Lord” 102 and 146 “Praise the Lord my soul” should always be sung and at the end of it the 33rd “I will bless the Lord” should be read or sung. If it is sometimes permissible to sing the first of them in abbreviated form, due to its vastness, then the other two must be performed in full. Neglect of this is an indicator of the lack of zeal for their duty and frivolous attitude towards sacred statutes among clergy and singers. Decree No. 507, January 1, 1956 Decree on substances for the Divine Liturgy In view of violations of church rules discovered in some places, it is recalled that when making a bloodless sacrifice for proskomedia, you need prosphora made from pure wheat flour and wine from grape juice without any impurities. When making prosphoras, in addition to flour, water and yeast, it is allowed to add only the smallest amount of salt, but this does not at all affect their taste. The addition of sugar or any other impurities is completely excluded. If such are discovered, the priest is obliged to act according to the rules specified in the teaching notice, and not to use a substance unsuitable for liturgy, so as not to fall into grave sin. Warn those preparing the prosphora. Decree No. 504, December 17, 1955 Decree on the meaning of Matins on Holy Saturday Reminds o.o. clergy that “The Burial of Christ is depicted by the removal of the shroud,” at the end of Vespers on Great Friday. Matins of Great Saturday is a reverent appearance at the tomb of Christ, containing the Most Pure Body, “when His Soul descended into hell and brought out the souls languishing in it, which descent is depicted by a procession of the cross,” with the encircling of the shroud around the church, which has “only an external resemblance” to the burial. Despite the previous explanations about this, in the service schedules of some churches, Matins on Holy Saturday last year was designated as a “burial” and even as a “funeral,” which showed complete disregard for the meaning of church services. It is the duty of pastors to explain the divine service to their flock, and not to follow the misinterpretation of uninformed persons, especially when it is widespread among the flock. Decree No. 607, March 23, 1957 Church minister's memo What is service in the Church?” Serving in the Church is feasible sacrificial service to God in the church for persons who do not have the highest degrees of the priesthood. How does sacrifice and service to God manifest itself?” Servants sacrifice to God: 1. time used for serving; 2. from one’s own will – voluntary willingness to perform whatever is necessary during the divine service; 3. from your mind - attention during worship; 4. from your heart - love for the Church and worship; 5. from their physical strength - their tension when performing their duties; 6. from your spiritual qualities - humility and submission; 7. from your spirit - fervent prayer within yourself. Serving is service to God, since there is participation in God's service. Servants must remember that they do not serve a bishop or priest, but the Lord God Himself, Who accepts the service and praise of countless angels, and nevertheless, out of His goodness, accepts our service from the heart, like two mites of a widow. Therefore, all positions and duties during worship are sacred and honorable. Acolytes must realize that they are receiving the greatest honor - to take part in the service of the King of kings, Whom the angels serve with trembling. Who do the acolytes represent during worship?” Since our earthly divine service is an image of the Heavenly divine service, during it the Bishop represents Christ Himself, the priests represent the apostles, the deacons represent the seraphim and cherubim, and the servants represent the archangels and angels who invisibly served Christ during His earthly life and eternally praise in heaven. Therefore, just as the angels in heaven have a strict order and the subordination of the younger to the elder, the strictest order must be observed between servants. The younger ones must unquestioningly carry out the orders given to them by the elders, just as the angels immediately carry out the orders they receive from the older angels. At the same time, one should not seek seniority in serving, remembering the words of the Lord: “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave” (Matthew 20:26-27). One must willingly perform every assigned task in order to hear from the Lord: “Good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful for a little, I will make thee ruler over many; enter into the joy of thy Lord” (Matthew 25:21). Rules for altar servers compiled by Archbishop John 1. To serve at the altar, you need to take a blessing from the priest, and in the case of a bishop’s service, from the Bishop. 2. Come to church before the service begins. 3. Upon entering the altar, you need to cross yourself facing the Holy Throne and make three bows to the ground - on weekdays, and on Sundays and the Lord's holidays - at the waist. 4. Non-serving persons are prohibited from entering the altar. 5. Only those who are going to serve can enter the altar. 6. When putting on a surplice, ties are removed. 7. Upon removal, the surplices should be neatly folded or hung in their places. 8. Do not talk at the altar, do not laugh or run around the church, and especially do not eat anything during the service. 9. All readers and servers must wear surplices. To remove the surplice, you must receive the blessing of the priest, and during the bishop’s service, from the Bishop. 10. At the communion of St. The servants of the sacraments remove the surplices, except for the readers. 11. To St. Do not touch the throne and the altar. 12. Do not walk around the church while reading the Gospel, the Apostle and between the exclamations: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...” before the exclamation “And may the mercies of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.” 13. Before putting on the surplice, your hands must be clean. 14. There should be no things in the altar and the sacristy that are not related to the divine service. 15. Sitting in surplices is not allowed. 16. Before leaving with a candle and ripida, the server must cross himself in front of the altarpiece and bow to the Bishop or priest who stands in front of the saint. The throne. Upon returning to the altar, the acolyte does as before leaving. 17. We must remember that the altar is the most holy place and you need to stand in it especially reverently, and when passing the High Place in the altar, you need to cross yourself and carefully follow the service. 18. During “I Believe” and “Our Father,” all altar servers go to the pulpit for general singing. 19. During the communion of the clergy, all the acolytes stand reverently in the altar, and before the sermon everyone goes to the pulpit to listen. 20. Those who violated the “Church Rules for Servants” will stand on the left choir until the end of the service. You might be interested in: