Speeches and toasts made at a dinner given by the city on the day of the anniversary celebration of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus'

1. We celebrate in grateful awe of God the 900th anniversary of the greatest event in our history. In these 900 years, the miracle of God's destinies happened over us: a great state arose from the coarse scattered Slavic language, the people's consciousness grew, the Russian land gathered through Kyiv to Moscow. The kingdoms of the Slavic tribes were destroyed around them under the yoke of infidels. God allowed the Russian people to hold on, to grow, to endure the heavy yoke of the steppe barbarians, to throw it off, to survive and overcome the disastrous anarchy, to repel the Roman-Polish attack, to return their outskirts seized by enemies, to reach the sea, to strengthen themselves in the strength and glory of Russian weapons, to establish themselves unshakably in the faith commanded by their ancestors. It was not by our power that all this was accomplished, but by the power of God in the destinies of our people. And the power of God appeared in the Orthodox Church, into which our language entered 900 years ago through the leadership of the holy and blessed Grand Duke Vladimir. Blessed and blessed is this day, which laid a solid foundation for our destinies. What would happen to us without this church is scary to even think about. She alone helped us remain Russian people, gather our scattered forces, inspired both the leaders and the people, gave them the patience to endure terrible adversities, from hunger and pestilence, both from their own dashing people and from strangers - and to overcome their enemies; sent the sons of our land to die for their land, taught the scattered flock to gather around the shepherd. From the east, from where the light of Christ shone to the whole world, we accepted our faith, accepted the church rules, accepted the indescribable, incomparable beauty of the Divine service and put our Russian soul into it - with the deep and powerful words of our language and the wonderful sound of our native song. And yet, is it not the Russian soul alone that has embellished and loved that wonderful sound of the Russian bell, which so mysteriously wakes it up and calls it to church and - from earth - home to heaven. From the ancient tree, planted in the East by the apostles and saints of the universal church, we received a mighty grain, and from it the same hay-leaved tree, one with it, grew on our land and covered the whole earth under its canopy and attracts under its canopy the languages ​​of the same tribe, and our own foreigners, to whom we joyfully give both the gospel and church services in their native dialect. Fathers and brothers! what is sweeter and more amiable, what is dearer than the church - to all of us, both great and small, what beauty is sweeter and more sympathetic than church beauty for the Russian heart! The Church is a dear and dear mother to the Russian people - we are all her children, and if anyone wanders far from her, they, God willing, will return to their parental home, to their mother. Our church is the home of the Russian people, the closest home, where everyone is equal, young and old, everyone has and finds their place, where they equally draw joy and consolation. Here is our strength, here is the secret treasury of our destinies, here is the repository of our most precious traditions and the spring of our strength, which are destined to appear in the future, if in the future we justify the whole truth of our faith with deeds of truth and love. May God help us! That is why we have gathered here, to remember His great mercy to the Russian people, and from the fullness of our hearts, burning with love for our homeland, to thank Him and pray that our faith may be justified in our deeds and in our destinies, that our great church may grow and prosper - the church united with the people and the people united with the church! 2. Today we celebrate the memory of the blessed Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, the one who led himself and all his people to baptism in the waters of the Dnieper, which served as the font of our salvation. There is hardly a time when, in such a peaceful and bloodless way, a people’s leader brought his people to the faith of Christ, and it is not without significance that our villagers have long been called Christians, while in the West they are still called, according to legend, by the name of pagans. This is how the Russian people believed, this is how from ancient times they were obedient to their prince, then to their sovereign. The monarchy, which grew in our country together with the church and in inextricable unity with it, it, together with the church, strengthened, gathered and saved the state integrity of the Russian land and created the Russian state. Let us bless God, who delivered us from the disasters and strife of the people’s government, which from ancient times destroyed and continues to destroy those Slavic states where, unfortunately for them and ours, it managed to establish itself. We grew up under the banner of autocracy and autocracy, under it we stand, under it we form a single body and guard in it a single will, and in it we see in future times the guarantee of truth, order and the good of our land. And here is our first cup of health: long live our most pious Sovereign, to all of us the Father, Eldest Son and Supreme Defender of the Orthodox Church on earth, Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich with the Sovereign Empress and Sovereign Heir Tsarevich, with the current birthday boy Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich and with the entire August House. 3. For the health of the Holy Governing Senate and all currently present archpastors of the Orthodox Church. 4. Glory and honor and prosperity to the Orthodox Ecumenical See of the Second Rome, the city of Constantine, from which our Holy Rus' received the light of the Gospel teaching! Glory and honor and prosperity to the most holy patriarchs: Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria and Antioch, and representatives of all autocephalous Orthodox churches! And in spite of all enemies, visible and invisible, may our unity in the Orthodox faith and in Christian love not weaken and be destroyed forever. 5. On this day, let us honor with blessed memory the great service of the Russian clergy, who, from the eparch to the cleric, came from the people, lived with the people, suffered and rejoiced and was not afraid to separate from the people and rise above them. That is why his inseparable connection with the people was preserved. So it always will be. Whoever knows the difficult conditions of life in which our clergy, especially the rural ones, live and operate, the word of judgment, ready for the unworthy, will fall silent before the greatness of the feat accomplished by many who work unknown in the middle of the deserts, forests and swamps of vast Russia, in great need, in cold, in hunger, in poverty and often in resentment. Legions of these workers already stand before God as prayer books for us, and our church stands on their bones, but even now how many living people, like them, are unknown to work on its creation! Glory and honor to our clergy, and may the grace of God and the strong power of faith and a feeling of love and pity increase for them to teach in word and deed. 6. The Russian people, in times of trial and battle, stood unitedly for their native land and did not spare their blood. But who so patiently, so simply and sincerely shows his love in his native land, dying for the faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland - who, if not the Russian soldier, from the highest to the lowest rank! Who is more pious and devoted to the Orthodox faith and his church! Who is so submissive to the command from above, who is so complacent and meek, in the midst of the horrors of war, with a defeated enemy! May God bless you with peace and righteousness in the midst of the world. But both in peace and in war, long live the Christ-loving Russian army and may there be honor and glory to it forever! 7. On these mountains the grace of God shone on the Russian land, on these mountains the first hierarchs of the Russian church laid the foundation for the entire structure of the church life of the Russian people and founded a church school - the beginning and end of Russian enlightenment. His highest school was founded on these mountains, where spiritual weapons were forged against the Roman spiritual yoke and against the machinations of Roman wisdom and lust for power. Glory and honor to the department of the Kyiv Metropolis, glorified by such great shrines that stood on it! In patience we hope and believe that the hour will come when all those who were torn from her by violence will be reunited through love. Health and longevity to the venerable Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia, His Eminence Plato! 8. Long live the great daughter of the great mother - the first-throne, golden-domed, pious, splendid Moscow: the people adorned her like a bride with church beauty, and may she flaunt herself like Solomon’s noble wife, both with the outer splendor of her robes and with her inner truth and virtue, for she is the heart of Russia. Long live the great Novgorod, with the City of Peter, shining with both its ancient and new shrine. Long live Novgorod. The lower lands, in an abundance of spiritual and physical blessings and in the strength of the Russian heart, ready for anything to defend the fatherland! Long live and prosper all the great and small cities and towns of the Russian kingdom!