Великий светильник церкви Христовой

I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; and now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who loved His appearance. Bishop Seraphim (Chichagov). Word before the memorial service on the fortieth day of the death of Father John of Kronstadt In Bose, Father John of Kronstadt, dear to us all, who died, the great righteous man and all-Russian prayer book, a true friend of all those who suffer, toil and are burdened, will always remain close to the heart of the Russian people and the purest source of inspiration for ministers and primates at the Throne of God. Such exceptional people as Father John during their lifetime always enjoy more popular love than earthly glory, since obvious and secret forces rebel against it, but after their death they are especially exalted by the descendants of that enlightened society, which could not recognize their spirit in a timely manner for various reasons, but mainly due to their small spiritual development. For the majority of educated people, alien to the apostolic commandment about the need to be able to distinguish people by their spirit and choosing an easier way of knowledge, almost always erroneous, in appearance and in the first impression, the dear favorite of the Russian people, Father John, was always a riddle and some kind of secret. Therefore, in his toiling life, he was twice subjected to the most severe persecution, at the beginning of his activity - due to the envy of those around him and at the end of his life - due to the malice of the enemies of Orthodoxy. Fashionable fame, which the highest circles of society are so greedy for, brought Father John to rich and noble families, where they expected to see him as a majestic, graceful shepherd, impressing with the intonation of his voice, piercing gaze and the mystery of his sayings. But his small, thin figure, speed and nervousness in his movements, difficulty in speech, and the characteristic features of a rural priest made an unfavorable impression on many. His appearance further increased the mystery with which educated society rushed about in its endless and outrageous gossip. The first fifteen years of Father John’s service and asceticism in Kronstadt aroused not only the fears of the highest hierarchs and guardians in the Orthodox department for the fate of this extraordinary shepherd, but also confused, for completely different reasons, the great spiritual figures living at that time, such as, for example, His Grace Theophan the Recluse. To me, as someone who has been in obedience to Father John for thirty years, all these facts are well known. Several times the strict Metropolitan Isidore interrogated Father John, forced him to serve with him and found out what was special, even sectarian, about him, as the closest clergy assured and reported. K.P. Pobedonostsev summoned him to his place, and their first explanation so characterizes both wonderful people that I cannot remain silent. K.P. said: “Well, you pray there, you receive the sick, they say you work miracles, many started like you, but what will you end up with?” “Don’t worry,” answered the wondrous Father in his holy simplicity, “take the trouble to wait for the end!” His Grace Theophan considered it necessary to address Father John in writing with a word of love and instruction and to express that he had taken up such an ascetic life in the world, among all everyday temptations and adversities, which should inevitably lead him to a terrible fall or end in nothing, that no one else, since the adoption of Christianity, not only in Russia, but also in the East, had dared to take a similar path, being not a monk, but a priest, living outside the fence and regulations of the monastery, and this will certainly give rise to the greatest temptation among the clergy and among the people. Indeed, if you delve into the life of Father John in detail and follow his gradual spiritual ascent and compare the well-known ascetic labor of our ascetics and monks with the situation and conditions of the path chosen by Father John, then one cannot help but be amazed at how much more difficult it was for him to improve and remain in invisible spiritual warfare. On his extraordinary path he appeared first in a worldly environment so dangerous and full of stumbling blocks; he has always been an amazing example for our pastors, who are now in such need of revival for modern activities, and therefore each of the clergy now needs to study and research such an extraordinary ascetic life of the unforgettable Russian hero of spirit. How could he not seem like a mystery, the greatest mystery, when he remained in the position of a simple parish priest in a multi-staff cathedral clergy and chose the path of perfection, according to the commandment of Christ the Savior, in order to justify the immutability of the word of God. This is something neither spiritual nor secular people could understand! The ascetic monastic spirit requires initial improvement in an environment detached from the world in order for a person to be reborn in this new difficult and spiritual school, strengthen himself with internal forces, and only then open the entrance to those seeking consolation, instruction and guidance, or reappear in the world to serve people. But Father John possessed a different spirit, with its own distinctive characteristics and gifts. The spirit of Father John, so to speak, longed to be conquered by inner human forces, by the inner improvement of all this surrounding externality, which complicates the spiritual path in a depraved and perverted world, without ceasing to fulfill any duty imposed on him by the circumstances of life, any service to people, but, on the contrary, improving in everyday work, which, of course, is necessary for any spiritual path, if one can combine it with unceasing prayer. The spirit of Father John demanded the preservation of all his natural appearance in order to avoid in the spiritual struggle a collision with the easily creeping hypocrisy that distracts from the inner work, when monastic clothing, furnishings, living conditions easily give advantages and acquire apparent virtues, his spirit strived for the most sincere, pure truth, to never seem better than one is, but only to really be like that for God and people. Therefore, he preferred to deserve condemnation rather than praise by his appearance; he dressed without embarrassment in the rich clothes that were given to him; he drank and ate for his friends and hospitable hosts whatever was offered to him, of course, in limited quantities, and covered everything with his love. Undoubtedly, Father John had a blessed spirit, which in extreme forms among the common people reaches the point of foolishness for Christ's sake. Having chosen such a difficult path of improvement, he loved to be in society, talk, and always found endless, continuous spiritual work in this social life. No one in society could understand how Father John achieved such perfect qualities in secular life? In response, let me briefly outline what I know. Father John achieved everything in the simplest way: by fulfilling the commandments of the beloved Lord Jesus Christ. Having accepted holy orders, he, first of all, made it a rule to fulfill his duties as a shepherd, teacher and preacher with the greatest zeal and strictly monitor his inner life, for which he did not go to bed without confessing all his sins for the day, studied the Holy Scriptures, used all his leisure time and free minutes on this, even on trips and travels, and so on until the end of his life. Nothing instructs, teaches, instructs and inspires so much as reading the Holy Gospel and the Epistles of the Holy Apostles, eternally new, joyful and edifying, if you study in them your duties as a person, as a priest and as a member of society. Then, to monitor his inner life, Father John kept a diary every day, in which he recorded all his innermost thoughts, feelings and prayers to God and recorded his internal struggle with himself. These diaries, included in the now famous book “My Life in Christ,” are our greatest asset, left to pastors and society for edification. Thirdly, being a poor man himself, the son of a village clerk, he had the need to take care of all the needy and suffering. It is known that he always shared his last with the poor, so that Metropolitan Isidore was forced to order that the salary be given not to him, but to his wife. Finally, striving to ensure that his soul was not divided into good and evil, he achieved amazing, childlike simplicity in dealing with people and in prayer to God. Simplicity, truth and authenticity - these three qualities of love constituted the goal of his spiritual work, and Father John prayed to the Lord about this with tears, saying: “Lord, grant me a heart that is simple, kind, open, believing, loving, generous, a worthy receptacle for You, the All-Good!” Possessing extreme simplicity and sincerity, Father John had the greatest gift of prayer. This is its distinctive feature. He deeply believed, with all his heart, in the grace given to him as a priest from God to pray for the people of God and that the Lord is as close to a believing Christian as his own body and heart, for our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in us, which we have from God (1 Cor. 6:19). He believed in prayer that the word, like a shadow behind the body, is followed by deed, since with the Lord word and deed are inseparable, and, not allowing the slightest doubt about God’s fulfillment of his requests, he asked quite simply, sincerely, like a child, with a living, clairvoyant faith in the Lord, imagining Him not only standing before him, but also himself as if being in Him, in such closeness. He considered doubt to be blasphemy against God, a daring lie of the heart, and said: “Is it not enough for us to see powerlessness in people, that we also want to see powerlessness in God Himself and secretly think that God will not fulfill our request?” When Father John prayed, he generally tried to pray more for all the faithful than for himself alone, without separating from the believers and being in spiritual unity with them. If he saw shortcomings or any passions in a person, he always prayed secretly for him, no matter where he was: during the service of the liturgy, on the road, or in conversation. Driving along the street and seeing vicious people, he immediately lifted up his heartfelt prayer to the Lord and cried out: “Lord, enlighten the mind and heart of this servant of Yours, cleanse him from filth!” or other, more suitable words from the psalms for a given person. He never missed an opportunity to pray for a person at someone’s request, he rejoiced at such a request, believing that prayer for others is good for himself, because it cleanses the heart, confirms faith and hope in God, and kindles love for Christ and one’s neighbor. Father John prayed out of faith in the prayer of those asking and never took credit for anything. If he had to admonish the lost, console those who fell into despair, at the end of the conversation he would certainly invite them to pray together for that person, sincerely realizing that words alone could not correct the shortcomings of others, but one must also beg for the help and power of God. The peculiarity of Father John’s feat of prayer was that he was unusually attentive to the sincerity of his prayer and immediately stopped it for a while if he realized that prayer was becoming only external, mechanical, so to speak. He practiced moving his heart in prayer and this confirmed the peculiarity of his spirit that I spoke about at the beginning. Considering one mental or superficial prayer an insult to God, who calls humanity to Himself with the words: Give Me, son, your heart! (Prov. 23:26), Father John taught that it is good to show obedience in everything to the Mother Church, to read long prayers prescribed by the charter, akathists, but this should be done with prudence, and whoever can accommodate a long prayer, let him accommodate, but if this duration is incompatible with the ardor of the spirit, then it is better to say a short prayer, for, as the holy Apostle says: The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power ( 1 Corinthians 4:20). “When praying, we must certainly take control of the heart and turn it to the Lord, but never allow a single cry to God that does not come from the depths of the heart. When we learn to speak from our hearts only the truth during prayer, what we really recognize and feel, then sincere or true prayer will cleanse our hearts of lies, and we will not allow ourselves to lie in life.” Therefore, Father John considered it useful to sometimes say a few words of his own during the service and in prayer, breathing with ardent faith and love for the Lord. Dear Father John amazed and sometimes shocked everyone with the depth of his prayer. Based on my conversations with him, I can only depict his state of prayer. He stood before the Lord as before the sun, and, feeling the inexpressible brilliance of the Divine light, he closed his eyes and clearly felt his presence in the rays of this light and from them the warmth, joy and closeness to Christ the Savior. During prayer after communion of the Holy Mysteries, Father sometimes felt the Lord penetrating through his body into his heart, just as after the Resurrection He passed through the walls of the house to the apostles, and then he received the consciousness that his invisible soul was resting in the invisible God. But in order to understand the faith and spirit of Father John, it was necessary to pray with him at the altar during the liturgy. At first, he earnestly commemorated all the living and the dead at the altar, prayed with tears for everyone, boldly asked the Lord for the mourning and suffering, went away from time to time, then returned again and prayed again, knelt down, hugged the paten and apparently suffered along with the people for whom he prayed. When the liturgy began, he continued to commemorate at the altar according to the numerous notes that were read to him, but when reading the Holy Gospel he always returned to his place and listened with full attention to the word of God, delving into every word, shaking his head as a sign of the immutability and truth of the gospel. After the transfer of the Holy Gifts to the throne, the great prayer book began, as it were, to prepare for a joyful meeting with the Lord and was already thinking more about those present in the church, about their participation in common prayer and in common joy with him, and sometimes prayed for them: “Lord! Many of those standing in Your church stand idle in their souls, like idle vessels, and do not know what they should pray for; Fill their hearts now, on this day of salvation, with the grace of Your All-Holy Spirit and grant them to me, my prayer, my love, filled with the knowledge of Your goodness and contrition and heartfelt tenderness, grant them Your Holy Spirit, interceding in them with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26)!” Upon the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ, Father John was completely transformed. The thought of people at first seemed to fly away from him, he began to glorify the Lord, to thank Him for his endless mercy, for boundless love, for the salvation of the human race, for the incarnation of man, suffering on the cross, for the gift of this daily bread, and as proof of his faith that the bread and wine were certainly transformed into the Body and Blood of the Lord, by the will of the Lord Himself and by the action of the Holy Spirit, he proclaimed with great with inner strength that “heaven and earth pass by, but the words of the Lord do not pass by!” Then Father John delved into his prayer for the faithful, for whom he had to boldly ask the Lord Christ. There were days when at these moments he turned into some kind of motionless shadow, as if he froze, standing on his feet, and his face gradually turned from alive to pale, and then dark. As soon as the time came for him to say an exclamation, he instantly came to his senses, opened his eyes, and large tears rolled down his already revived face. At such moments of his service, those present felt eerie and afraid. Father always communed for a very long time, with tears, in his words, focusing on firm faith and on the idea that before him was the Blood and Body of Christ Himself. As he communed, he mentally conveyed them to the depths of his heart. His face quickly brightened at this. Joyful, happy, he folded the palms of his hands, imperceptibly beat them, in his quick and nervous movements, and always ended his service triumphant. While the Holy Chalice stood on the throne, he bent over it, hugged it with his hands, touched it with his head and joyfully prayed, experiencing the holiest hours of his life. After taking the Holy Gifts to the altar, at the first free moment, he approached them again and prayed again. “It’s good for me to pray for people,” he wrote in his diary, “when I receive communion worthily, consciously, then my God is in me, and I have great boldness before Him!” Father John always himself consumed part of the Holy Gifts and then, having undressed himself, again knelt before the throne and, bowing his head on it, prayed for quite a long time. While performing the Liturgy, the unforgettable Father found the greatest pleasure and bliss for himself. “I fade away, die spiritually,” he said, “when I don’t serve in church for several days, and I kindle, come to life in soul and heart when I serve, forcing myself to pray not formally, but really, spiritually, sincerely, passionately. I love to pray in the Church of God, in the holy altar, at the throne and the altar, for I am miraculously changed in the church by the grace of God, in the prayer of repentance and tenderness the bonds of passions fall from my soul, and it becomes so easy for me, as if I were dying for the world, and the world is for me with all its blessings, I come to life in God and for God, for the One God, and I am completely imbued with Him, and I become one spirit with Him, I become like a child, comforted on the lap of my mother, my heart is then full of heavenly sweet peace, my soul is enlightened by heavenly light, you see everything brightly, you look at everything correctly, you feel community and love for everyone, even for your enemies, and you willingly forgive and forgive them! Oh, how blessed is the soul with God! The Church is truly an earthly paradise! What boldness you have towards the Lord and the Mother of God! What meekness, humility and gentleness I feel! What dispassion for earthly things! What an ardent desire for heavenly, purest, eternal pleasures! The tongue cannot express the bliss that you taste when you have God in your heart! With him everything earthly is dust and decay.” They will now write and talk a lot about our beloved Father John, the great ascetic and all-Russian prayer book. Hundreds of thousands of people saw him, knew him, prayed with him, many received healing through his prayers, but I will not be mistaken if I say that not many educated people understood him, were so experienced and spiritually developed to understand his spirit, mainly to understand his extraordinary path to perfection. He began to enjoy fame after almost fifteen years of great exploits, and then among the common people; Twenty-five years of asceticism, spent as one day, did not convince educated society of his righteousness. After fifty years of this remarkable life, enlightened society still continued to doubt him and even later attacked him with accusations and persecution, expressing their condemnation and doubt in him. After this, can one think that people understood the great shepherd of the Russian Orthodox Church? It is not difficult to convey your memories of a visit to Kronstadt, it is also easiest to describe what you saw and heard, it is quite natural to feel ardent love for such a person for affection, kindness, for help, all this will be published and communicated, but in my heart, grieving over this difficult separation, now there was a desire to answer the perplexed questions that served as the reason for the unfair attitude of so many people towards this real Russian hero of the spirit. It seemed to me that it was my direct duty to clarify spiritually what was not understood by many during his lifetime and was considered some kind of secret. This spiritual conclusion from the many years of ascetic life of our unforgettable teacher, confirmed by his own descriptions, is especially necessary and important at this time for the entire Russian clergy, for the death of the great prayer book of the Russian land and the loving call of the deeply believing Tsar for the clergy to be inspired by the example and exploits of the deceased righteous man should lead to the revival of all the forces of the Russian clergy for great service before the Throne of God and in the field folk A few more words... Dear Father John endured all the persecution with amazing humility. For thirty years I have not heard from him a word of reproach to his enemies, nor a word of offense against anyone, both during the first persecution in his youth, and now in the cruel times of his dying trial. He looked at all this with a true spiritual gaze, always considering the culprit to be the aging ancient evil on earth. His struggle with the spirit of malice in his youth was amazing: hundreds of times I saw how the enemy bound him invisibly at the Throne of God, and he was not able to take a step for several minutes, and then with sharp movements after fervent prayer he freed himself from the prince of this world, who was put to shame by his faith. At the end of such temptations, he began to be completely unexpectedly subjected to the violence of fanatics; he was strangled, bitten, beaten, and slandered by some in fits of frenzy. What did he not endure! Therefore, the shame erected on him in the press, shame in theaters, shame among people, even those who had benefited from him during the insane revolution, was not an insult to him, of course, to the great all-Russian prayer book, who was still burning with a bright candle for Holy Rus' before the heavenly altar of Almighty God, but an unbearable insult to us, the Orthodox Russian people, to all of Russia, which had the right to consider its faith, its Orthodoxy, its wondrous the pilgrim and the Righteous are inviolable. His illness developed rapidly in recent years due to the influence of the trials of his homeland on him. God alone was a witness to his fiery prayer, lamentation, endless tears and daring prayers for the Tsar and Russia, for the salvation of the Russian Orthodox Church, which he offered from his sick bed or while sitting in a chair with the Holy Gospel in his hands, haunted by severe pain, inflamed by fever and exhausted and withered from exploits and suffering. Orthodoxy is what he has been talking about most of the last year and whispering in exhaustion, as if bequeathing to us the protection of this great Russian treasure and offering his final prayers for all of us who remained to continue his holy work. But now it’s all over: we can talk, cry and beg, seek consolation, thirst for this love, truth, truth, only by falling on the grave of our beloved father, friend and mentor! Scary for the future. He taught for so long and a lot, but did everyone listen to him? He was a true servant of God, but how many received this truth from him? He was a sincere, truthful God-bearer, but why didn’t everyone heed his truth? He asked, begged... Why didn’t they fulfill it? Let us come to understanding through your prayers, servant of God! Amen. Archpriest John Vostorgov. Easter Father Filled all ecu with joy, Our Savior, who came to save the world. Here is the church prayer, which naturally suggests itself to the lips of those who had the good fortune to personally know the shepherd - the righteous Father John of Kronstadt and have communication with him. Many times and many have asked the question: what is the secret of Father John’s charm, what is the secret of his great influence both in depth and breadth on the hearts of people? Of course, there are many answers: the purity of his life, the sincerity of his faith, the integrity of his spiritual and moral personality, the simplicity of his conversion, the fervor of his prayer, the boldness of his pastoral word and authority, the gift of miracles, and his kind heart. All this is a wonderful wreath of spiritually fragrant flowers in praise of the unforgettable Father. But there is one side in his spiritual appearance that is little noted or, more correctly, little interpreted. Father John was charming because he appeared amid the noise of life and the despondency of hearts in our century as a living bearer and preacher of Christian joy. In this regard, he is very close in spirit to another righteous man of his age, now already glorified, the holy Venerable Seraphim of Sarov. People with little church, those who judge Orthodoxy and the life of the Orthodox people only by appearance, often, and lately especially intensely, say and write that the Orthodox Church preaches only the sadness and sorrow of life, that it speaks only about the vanity of everything earthly, instills in its sons a spirit of despondency and cowardice, makes them think more about death than about life. They say that the very image and example of a saint and righteous person, in the minds of Russian people, under the influence of the monastic inclinations of the teachers of the Orthodox Church, is certainly a faster, a schema-monk who has left living people, a half-dead man... He is sad and silent, he is separated from people, he even hates and condemns everything earthly, everything living, denies life with all its interests and joys, with all its diversity. This is said by people who frivolously chatter in newspapers about faith and the Church, who practice intricate verbal eloquence in various so-called religious and philosophical circles and societies, but who are far from the real life of the real, not fictitious, Russian people, alien to the living faith and the living Church. If they were really church children, they wouldn't say that. Let us explain the question with a clear example. We, believers, really fast, pray, lament our sins, and cry during the sacred memories of Great Lent and Holy Week. Then black clothes, then sad chants, then everything bears the stamp of sorrow... But Easter comes, and the whole church shines with the lights of triumph and joy, and wonderfully joyful songs flow, and everything is clothed in clothes of joy, and everything is filled with light, Heaven and earth and the underworld. Then we all experience the greatest joy of the Resurrection, and this joy can only be understood, imagined and experienced by people who know that they, who suffered and died with Christ, redeemed by Him, will be resurrected with Christ, that they are saved in Christ Jesus, in His new Zion and new Jerusalem, in the holy Church. Nothing in the world can compare with such joy - and how insignificant before it is that pagan cheerfulness of the flesh and sensuality, which those sages who blame the Church for the spirit of sorrow and despondency would like to see in Christianity! People like St. Seraphim and Father John of Kronstadt serve as a living reproach and indicator of the untruth of their false wisdom. These sons of the Orthodox Church, inspired by it, deeply imprinted in their hearts precisely the joy of faith, hope and consciousness of salvation in Christ. And what do we see? The Monk Seraphim greets everyone this way and calls everyone “my joy.” Easter songs are constantly in his mouth, constant greetings - “Christ is Risen!” And his great spiritual joy overflowed into the souls of the mournful and repentant people who came to him, and they left his wretched cell inspired in faith and hope. Father John loved St. Seraphim very much and revered him very much. He was close to him in his mood. The same calm joy never left him. The same smile of greeting and love played on his lips. He addressed the same word of greeting: “my friends,” “my dears,” “my brothers,” to everyone who came to him. Just think how many sorrows and sorrows were told to him, how many painful confessions he listened to, how many tears were shed before him, how many unfortunates beat at his feet, seeking the soothing of a restless conscience, the healing of spiritual wounds... The mountain of people's grief rose to him in its waves - and he listened to everything, experienced and felt everything in his heart, shared everything with his neighbors. How often he was and is condemned for the fact that he approached and caressed unworthy, bad, deceivers who abused his name; how often he himself saw that before him stood people who were morally degraded, the scum of society, deceivers and extortionists. But in the great heart lived and shone that holy love that was bequeathed from the Cross to Him Who said about Himself: If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Himself (John 12:32). Malice completely died in his heart, and he greeted all these suffering, fallen, unfortunate people, poisoned by a bitter life, friendly, with a joyful word and look, awakening in them the consciousness and faith that they were redeemed by Christ, would be saved in His Church and that not everything was lost for them. Deep in his soul was imprinted a prayer to the Redeemer: “Thou hast filled all joy, O our Savior, who came to save the world.” The spirit of Easter joy constantly wafted from his words, from his prayer, from his treatment of his brothers in Christ, even from his appearance, from these light and rich clothes, orders that were given to him, which he accepted, placed on himself, without adding to the vanity of his heart, for which gloomy slander condemned him... The spirit of joy wafted from his entire spiritual appearance, and as if faithful to the Easter call the famous Catechetical Word of Easter, and he preached throughout his life: “All of you will enjoy the feast of faith, you will all receive the riches of grace. God's table is abundant; All of you, take your fill, great calf; let no one go hungry... Let no one cry about poverty: the common kingdom has opened; let no one cry hopelessly over sins: forgiveness has shone forth from the tomb of Christ; Let no one fear death: the death of the Savior has freed us.” And just as on Easter Day every hardened heart is accessible to grace, and just as on Easter Day the most inveterate unbeliever does not remain indifferent to the general joy and alien to it, so before Father John, from his greetings, from the joy that lived in his soul, every Christian soul, sorrowful and embittered, found tenderness. And everyone wanted to see and experience this living holiday among the dull everyday life, and everyone was drawn to this rich source of Christian joy and vigor. Father John commands us joy and good spirits from beyond the grave. And he tells us that the Orthodox Church gives a person both saving sadness for God, but not gloomy despair, and the great joy of salvation, but not the joy of disastrous carelessness. Where could St. Seraphim and Father John get this mood if the Church, to which they were faithful sons, poured into their souls only hatred of life and all living things? Such clarity and balance of spirit are given to believers only in that Church, which, during the years of unbelief of the last century, in the age of the dominance of the most terrifying pessimism in philosophy, literature and in the moods of people, at the time of the most difficult trials of people's life, raised such high bearers and preachers of spiritual joy who knew the science of the sciences - the ability to transfer the treasures of their souls to their other brothers. Faithful to the behests of Father John, let us also remember him with a prayer of hope and joy for eternal life. We believe that the hosts and spirits of the righteous, who died and reached perfection (Heb. 12:23), met him in the villages of heaven, and the intercessions of many (2 Cop. 1:11) before the one Mediator and eternal Redeemer Christ. Even now he anticipates the joy that was promised to the faithful servants of Christ and which he began here on earth and confessed in the wonderful and invigorating prayer of the Church: “Thou art filled with all joy, O our Savior, who came to save the world.” E. Villager. What did Father John do for us? We, his contemporaries, lived under him, perhaps, little better than we would have lived if he had not appeared among us. The same tragedy of human existence occurred. In rare best moments - aspiration to heights, a desire to serve God, to embody His commandments, to glorify Him with your pure life given to Him. And in the general order of life there is the same oblivion of God, the same insignificant grain of good deeds on top of pounds of evil deeds. Gusts there, into the heights, towards the light; occasionally illuminating the brain with the consciousness of how insignificant and transitory everything earthly is, how it disappears and fades before the happiness of the spirit, accessible even in the greatest earthly suffering, and, at the same time, the pursuit of external goods, the calculations of selfishness and self-interest. The eternal discord of life and ideal, aspiration that is at odds with deeds, and above all this weakness of life, above the eternal involuntary and voluntary betrayals - a feeling of abandonment, a feeling of alienation from everything earthly, some memories of another world, a premonition of a better bright and blissful life there, far from evil, under God's protection in the eternal kingdom. And from time to time some element of light passed over this dull existence. A man appeared who was full of strength, animation, who, for at least a few hours, maybe minutes, but still with an imperious hand, tore us away from the trifles and insignificance of life and led us with him into the higher spiritual worlds. He appeared - and we felt closer to the distant, incomprehensible Christ, passionately desired by us, but so coldly called upon by us! He appeared, and prayer suddenly descended on the heart, and it was felt that the One to whom we pray heard us, heard us until the last words of our prayer, until the last breath of our hearts, and at that moment earthly things lost value for us and it was as if the sky was opening slightly and rays of Divine glory were pouring out of it... And life became so bright, as if you were torn from this earthly prison and taken to the kingdom of God... And so he walked from house to house, from city to city of the wide Russian land, bringing with him the same mood and temporarily tearing everyone away from the earth and lifting them to the sky. A representative of triumphant Christianity, full of joy as a redeemed person by the Blood of Christ, he walked everywhere with the bright, serene joy of redemption, resurrection and the future, endless bliss, covering up all those horrors, torment and ugliness that were revealed to him more deeply than to any other person. From the very day that Father John served his first liturgy, from the day that he dressed the first freezing person he met and brought into his house and fed the first hungry person, and the prayers he uttered first shook hearts, the solemn procession across Russia of this victory of faith began. We believe coldly, inertly, we have no personal relationship with Christ. Alien, distant, incomprehensible to us is the bright world of saints, to whom we accidentally pray, turning only to them in difficult moments. And Father John brought this whole world of faith to us with the power of his faith, consecrated it to us with extreme brightness, trying so that we could feel it with our hands and see it with our own eyes. He prayed, and we felt that before this soul there was a living God, with whom this soul was talking, asking Hero, persuading, demanding with persistence, relentlessness: “Fulfill, give. I will not leave You until You do according to my prayer.” He spoke about the Mother of God and the saints as beings close, dear, who are here with us, hear us, care about us, are ready to extend their hands to us and guide us. He performed the Sacrament, and one had to see him in the altar at these moments to understand how dear the mystery of Transubstantiation was to him, how real this miracle was for him. “He prays, he undertakes to pray to God for us, and God fulfills his prayers, and what he asks for, he receives: this means that God exists if he prays to Him and hears Him.” This is the involuntary conclusion that arose when we thought about Father John, and our faith grew stronger. When doctors refused a patient, then they called Father John so that his great spirit would overcome the natural course of things, and the traditions of how many families keep grateful stories about those things that are called miraculous healing. How different his love was from the love with which we love people in the world! For him, everyone was equally dear, every person who approached him and needed him. Speaking with him, you felt that all the fullness of affection, care and goodwill that a person can give to a person, he is giving you at that moment and that he cannot love anyone more than you, because he gave you all the fullness and integrity of his love, as he gave it to everyone else. And the great victory of love was that people who had never seen him felt at first sight some kind of closeness with him, and he spoke to them, and they spoke to him, as if they had known each other for decades, and revealed to him all the most hidden things in their souls, and waited and demanded help from him in all their needs. Everyone rushed to him, everyone was drawn to him, and no one could complain about him, he warmed everyone, he shone for everyone, like the high sun shines in the sky, which illuminates everyone, which is enough for everyone. Anyone who says that “the Church is dead”, that the work of Christianity has failed, can point to this church man. He was a true child of the Church, nourished by her juices, animated by her spirit, full of her wisdom, walking along her paths. He was the fruit of the Church, her pet - and could a dead Church give birth to such a child? His direct image, breathing Russian sincerity and simplicity, was gratifying. There was no pride, no selfishness, no selfishness; there was some kind of childishness that Christ demanded, saying: “if you do not turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Great humility, the absence of pride and personal motives that we see in small children, one’s own personality is erased, abolished, nothing remains except God’s will acting in him, God’s grace acting through him, God’s voice speaking to him. A bright, joyful face, smiling tenderly, dousing you with an inexpressible charm of love and greetings, a kind of joy and confidence in everything. “Lord,” I thought, looking at him, “how, in essence, life is good! Here, despite all human sin, all our weaknesses and failures, God’s grace is wafting over the world, all-solving, endless waves of this grace, and there ahead is the Kingdom of God!” But did his love flare up with a more and more violent flame in order to go out in the highest form of his being? Or now will his eyes, which have already seen so much on earth, go blind, and his hearing, which so sensitively discerned every earthly groan, will now become coarse and not hear the call?.. No! “There are lights that, once lit, never go out, and there are flowers that, once bloomed, never fade.” These are miracles of the spiritual, heavenly world, and the good shepherd, having taken the sheep in his arms, will never abandon them. Archpriest Joseph Fudel. The life work of Father John Future impartial historians of the life of Russia, describing the second half of the 19th century, will stop with amazement at an extraordinary phenomenon in history, at how a simple Orthodox priest for a quarter of a century attracted the attention of the population throughout Russia, and partly beyond its borders, what influence he had on Orthodox believers, starting with the first son of the Church - the Tsar and ending with millions of unknown laity, what a marvelous combination of exponents of the national spirit gave life in the person of this shepherd and his contemporary, who died in Bose’s arms - Alexander the Third! Indeed. Isn't this an extraordinary, unique phenomenon? We had great saints of the Church, sufferers for the Russian land, its organizers. There were ascetic monks who hid in monasteries and forests, but with their exploits they nurtured the spirit of the people. There were great prayer books and healers among them. There were eloquent popular preachers, such as Tikhon of Zadonsk 75. And only the last quarter of a century we have experienced has given a priest extraordinary spiritual power and influence. Is this by chance? At a time when a mass of sects appeared among the liberated people in the transitional era of their history, when, under the influence of this, as well as the beginning of the collapse of the moral foundations of life, the authority of shepherds in the eyes of the people was undermined, it seemed that a shepherd finally appeared, raising this authority with his personality to an unprecedented height. When the shepherds themselves, under the influence of the humiliation they experienced, lowered their heads, began to spit on themselves and even be ashamed of their dignity, at that time an ordinary parish priest showed what a shepherd should be and what influence he can have. Isn’t this the path of God’s Providence for Russia? I see this path both in the miraculous growth of the popularity of Father John, and in the fact that this lamp did not remain in one place “at the top of the mountain,” but, as if by an invisible hand, constantly moved from place to place, so that everyone could see and receive from it what they needed for themselves. This latter caused Father John a lot of suffering, but this was also his mission. What made him great? When people talk about Father John, they usually remember his healings, insight, and widespread charity. All these are gifts of God. What made Father John great was not this, but his life in Christ, the fact that he completely gave himself up to serving the Lord and His Holy Church. Hence his prayerful deeds, healings, and boundless generosity. He sacrificed himself for his flock, and his heart contained the needs, suffering, and tears of millions of people. This is the pastoral feat. And many shepherds with immeasurable joy reached out to Father John for consolation and strengthening of their drooping spirit and always found it. Thousands of students of theological schools, who studied the pastorate from textbooks in school, saw with amazement in Father John the living implementation of the idea and learned and were inspired by him... There is no Father John... and he is. Everything temporary and perishable has died, everything unimportant will be forgotten. But the spirit lives, which has always lived in the Lord. All members of the Church of Christ now have a new prayer book for themselves, and we, the shepherds of the Church, in addition, have a living image and an unfading example for ourselves. Archimandrite Konstantin (Zaitsev). What does the holiness of Father John of Kronstadt call us to? The holiness of a person, distinguishing him from the ranks of humanity, makes his every word and gesture, every little detail of life and everyday life significant. There are no insignificant events in the life of a saint. This does not mean that his every action is sinless and deserves imitation. This only means that no phenomenon related to the life of a saint is indifferent, forming one of the links in his uniquely individual path of ascension to a mountainous place, to the Throne of God. One circumstance separates Father John of Kronstadt from the host of saints. The title of saint is unthinkably high, removing every holy person from subordination to the laws of nature. But we see something in the image of Father John that puts him in a special place even among the saints. The holiness of the priest is the peculiarity, one might even say, the uniqueness of the appearance of Father John. It is not important that Father John was a priest, but that the priesthood, in his image, was filled with the light of holiness. Nothing exceptional would have happened if Father John, having been a priest, had acquired holiness at some further stages of his life’s journey or, even as a priest, had acquired the halo of holiness in martyrdom. It is significant that Father John became a saint - in all conceivable manifestations of everyday pastoral activity. This is the uniqueness, uniqueness, inexplicability - one could even say, the mystery of the personality of Father John, if it were not revealed to us to the depth of his inner man accessible to us and to the last detail of his outer life. We will not find, with rare exceptions, holy priests in the calendar. Why is this so? To understand this, it is enough to turn to the words of Chrysostom dedicated to the priesthood. Here, with unattainable power, the contrast is shown between the task of a priest to be constantly in public, on the one hand, and the height of spirit that must correspond to the greatness of the title of priest. The matter of saving one’s own soul becomes a task of exceptional difficulty for a priest, which not all priests successfully cope with. What can we say about holiness? From here we will understand the bewilderment, filled with incredulity, with which Father John was greeted by people of exceptionally high spirituality: isn’t it a charm?.. Two luminaries shine to us from the depths of centuries, who were able to demonstrate the greatness of the priestly rank and express it in words: then John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian. Let's take a closer look at these two colossi. John Chrysostom is the embodiment of the bright will of the pastor. His words to this day are a living pastoral word, and this despite their vastness, which is so unusual now. His voice penetrates hearts like a call to salvation - immediately indicating the path of this salvation and providing the means for its implementation. This is an authoritative, powerful word, breathing the grace of the priesthood. This is the voice of a shepherd, deliberately appointed to lead us, the sheep of Christ’s flock, despite our sin-loving nature, to salvation. Any reason is enough for Chrysostom. Starting from a random point, it reveals the boundless horizon of Christ’s economy, with whom as its center? – you, to whom the word is addressed. We're talking about you. You feel it with every fiber of your soul. The pastorally sharpened appeal to man created the fact that the word of Chrysostom not only attracted crowds of people to churches, and they were able to listen to him for hours with delight, which was unexpectedly discharged by bursts of uncontrollable applause. People were looking for this living word, even if it was written, and this is the reason why we have the words of Chrysostom in such abundance. He did not write them down himself, but cursive writers wrote them down after him, in order to satisfy this need, which has not died out to this day. As a student at the Theological Academy, another John, the future of Kronstadt, in his cell, reading these words, discharged his delight with applause... Is it only the success of eloquence and spiritual depth? If you love Me, feed My sheep (John 21:16). These words exhaust the nature of shepherding. John Chrysostom loved his flock. Sometimes meaningful confessions burst out from him. “You are everything to me,” he once said to his flock. “If my heart, having burst, could open before you: you would see that you are all spaciously placed there - wives, children, men...” “Even if you scold me six hundred times,” he says under different circumstances, “from a pure heart, with a pure thought, I say to you: PEACE, and I cannot say anything bad, for the love of the Father is in me...” “All the more will I love you, the more loving, the less I will be loved by you...” “I die a thousand deaths for you every day: your sinful customs seem to tear my heart into small pieces.” Saint John compares pastoral service with the feat of martyrdom. “The martyr died once for Christ, but the shepherd, if he is what he should be, dies a thousand times for his flock.” The word of Saint John is filled with the blood of a loving heart - that is why it remains alive even after one and a half thousand years, finding a living echo in the hearts of those to whom it is addressed. If any mortal was born a shepherd, it was Saint John. Let him flee from the priesthood, leaving his friend Vasily in bewilderment, for thereby betraying the friendship that bound them. He is forced to justify himself - this is where the famous words about the priesthood arose. And what kind of recognition do they consist of? Having revealed to the amazed, alarmed, and ultimately even frightened consciousness of his friend the greatness of the unspeakable pastoral service - how does Saint John end his confession? An unexpected testimony: he fled not because he did not want to become a priest, but because he wanted it too ardently. It was then that the greatness of the dignity brought him into fear: suppressed by passions, would he become a playground of dark forces, instead of being a driver to salvation? The time came - and Father John nevertheless became a shepherd. Once immersed in this grace-filled element, Saint Chrysostom only lives and breathes with it until his last breath, which, as is known, was given in the priestly presence of God - in the conditions of a grueling, merciless, last-strength dragging in exile. Another is Saint Gregory the Theologian. And he runs away from the shepherd, depressed by the greatness of this title. He is not running away from initiation, but already in the priesthood. He runs so that, having come to his senses, he returns, being drawn by the consciousness of duty. He reveals his soul to his father and his flock. He shows the psychological compulsion of escape for his nature. He, Gregory, could not have acted differently as he is - capable of seeing, at the same time, all the greatness of the priestly rank. But if he justifies his behavior with such convincingness, it is only in order to immediately reduce it to nothing. He confesses. He sees himself forced to overcome everything, just to observe the main thing in which he sinned - to maintain obedience. It was not without the will of God that what was done was done to him. There is almost a sense of doom in his agreement to remain on the pastoral path. Unlike Saint Chrysostom, Saint Gregory is not a shepherd by vocation. Timid in nature, he is drawn to contemplation. He is a man of feeling, not will. He is a poet in the highest sense of the word. And if, by force of circumstances, the pastoral staff is placed in his hands, he takes the first opportunity to retreat into the silence that is dear to him. This silence is not silence. Rumor means vanity. The Word is the highest gift of God to man. Saint Gregory brings it to God, pouring out his appeal to Him in words. For Saint Gregory, the word is not an instrument of pastoral influence on people, as for Saint John, but a grace-filled organ of communication with God. “I own the Word,” he says, “as a servant of the Word, I never wanted to voluntarily neglect this wealth... it is a companion of my whole life... a leader on the path to Heaven and a zealous companion.” At the same time, the poetic word serves as a consolation to Saint Gregory: “Exhausted by illness, I found consolation in poetry, like an elderly swan retelling to itself the sounds of its wings.” Saint Gregory's aversion from people is not coldness of heart. Seeing himself as a shepherd connected with people, he burns with love for his flock. How expressive are the words in his mouth addressed to the Constantinople flock, from which he was cut off! “My legs walked on their own,” he says. “Truly one day is a whole human life for those who suffer from love.” He did not have the patience to continue living apart. This impulse of Saint Gregory is as holy as his consciousness of his doom was sacred when he saw himself called to the shepherd. “The anointing and the Spirit are upon me again,” his lamentation is heard, “and again I go weeping and lamenting.” He submits to be, and not just to appear, pleasing to God. But he finds inner balance when he can turn entirely to God: here, indeed, there is peace and tranquility. Beautiful are the words of his last farewell to his flock and to the pulpit, this enviable and dangerous height. “Here I am, a breathing dead man, here I am, defeated and at the same time (isn’t it a miracle?) crowned, in exchange for the Throne and empty pomp, having acquired for myself God and divine friends... I will stand with the angels... I will focus on God... What will I bring as a gift to the churches?.. Tears.” This will be the case until the desired merging with the Holy Trinity occurs, “with which even obscure shadows delight me.” Next to these two giants of the spirit, everything pales. Much was said that was valuable and important, divinely inspired and sublime, instructive and edifying about shepherding by those who bore this high rank for the salvation of themselves and others and wrote about it on the basis of personal experience. But nothing can be placed next to what Saints John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian showed us in word and deed. Only one phenomenon can withstand comparison with these colossi and rises next to them as something of equal value and value in itself, as something giving birth to some new experience of the priesthood and introducing us into this experience, with a force no less than what we see in the example of Saints John Chrysostom and Gregory the Theologian. This is our Father John. Everything is different here. Just before our spiritual gaze stood brilliant people who embodied the human culture of their day - the highest ever created by mankind. They brought the richest heritage to the foot of Christ God, devoting themselves to the complete service of the Church in this magnificent full armor. And who is next to them? A village boy from the northern Russian outback, the son of a poor clerk, who with considerable difficulty made it through the village school. There is selflessness in the flowering of genius. Here is the initial misery and from it growth, rise, ascension, which occurs with some naturalness and gradualness of the plant process. If consciousness participates in it, then not in the sense of responsible decisions made based on deep and varied reasoning, but in the form of humble prayer, working wondrous miracles of overcoming human weakness. And what to decide? Everything flows in the direction of obedience and following one’s destined destiny from birth, in which everything is clear and simple. There is an untranslatable Russian word - “byt”. It is sometimes applied to any familiar everyday situation. This is how they talk about everyday life in relation to theatrical life, even in relation to the criminal world. Here is an ill-considered transfer of a concept born in one element to another, alien one. Life, in its original and true sense, is the solidification of life in its durable, God-established, good, internally enlightened manifestations that withstand stable and good heredity. Everyday life is an order of life that, in its basic elements, can be traced back to the origins of human society and can be carried to its ultimate limit. Elements of everyday life in this sense are inherent in every viable human system, being the basis and manifestation of this vitality. But with special power this good life-giving principle was preserved in ancient Israel, in the chosen people of God, who, even having betrayed their purpose, retained this life-giving principle within themselves, obviously so that this people in recent times, as predicted by the Apostle Paul, could publicly return to God. In modern times, Russia, like the New Israel, has absorbed this life-giving principle with some special power - and, of course, in a new form, enlightened by the spirit of Christianity. Russia has managed to embody the integrity of the Church-Orthodox consciousness in its way of life, in its “everyday life.” From someone’s light hand a significant phrase appeared: “Everyday confession.” This is how Russian people perceived Russian reality with their Westernized consciousness, which had lost their original chastity, who were able to appreciate, from the outside, the blessed content absorbed into the Russian way of life. This definition is profound. Yes, our fatherland confessed the faith of Christ in the fullness of its life. It lived in complete agreement with the precepts of the Church, not only in words, not in the individual deeds of individual people, but in all life activity, the whole being, all the functions of the national and state organism - be it household chores, be it military affairs, be it government service or zemstvo work. And so - in relation to everyone, be it a Tsar or just a peasant. This holy life was rooted in the heart of everyone. The Russian people carried it with them, even when breaking away from the Russian land. How was the free Cossack inextricably tied to Russia, if not by this everyday connection, which had a deep spiritual basis? So Rus' grew and became stronger, from each, the smallest, section of its grandiose “living space” ascending “with its mind to Heaven” and from there bringing to earth there a language found there, common to all, which transformed the scattered church into a single family. Our North has preserved Russian life most firmly, for centuries it has been affirmed in successive generations, who were able, without changing a single word, not a single intonation, not a single shade, not a single hint, to pass on from fathers to children and so convey untouchably to this day the Kyiv epic, forgotten, due to the shocks experienced, in the place of its origin. This North nurtured in its fertile bosom the fragrant appearance of Father John, who had behind him three hundred years of continuity of church life in a family that invariably served the Church. One can arrogantly talk about the “provincial” limitations of our North, about its narrowed horizon by the local bell tower; one can perceive with a condescending smile this narrowness, which allowed the infallibility of memory, characteristic only of the “Analphabetes,” to transmit from century to century strings of words and concepts born on a different soil and which did not give rise to any specific idea among local people; you can look down on the monotony of life, which found its only joy in the contemplation of the wooden churches it gave birth to, combining the bizarre monumentality of the whole with the even greater bizarreness of the filigree trimmed smallest parts; one can look with aloof eyes at the leisurely pace of a monotonously flowing life, which opened up long leisure time filled with the memory of the past, reproduced with invariable accuracy. This was a closed narrow gutter through which unclouded living holy water flowed from a holy source, protected by Providence itself from all external influences. A culture of holiness! There is one. If our fatherland rightfully received the name Holy Rus', is it not because it, alone among all the countries of the world, felt its historical task was precisely the planting of this culture and its careful preservation? Russian life, as we know it in its universal reverent observation, answered this task - both in the royal chambers, and in the peasant hut, and in the Cossack camp, and in the landowner's estate, and in the merchant's house. The Westernizing culture of Imperial Russia owes its inner beauty to the subsoil of Russian life, which nurtured and nourished it. But true Holy Rus' lived and blossomed, not losing its chaste power even in the midst of this brilliant new culture. Only in this regard will we understand the fragrant wonder of the appearance of the Royal Family. In this regard, Father John will stand before us in all his significance. Father John of Kronstadt is the best and highest growth of our national culture of holiness. It was not by chance that the Lord chose for the highest manifestation of Russian holiness not a hermit, not a holy fool, not an archpastor, not a warrior who did not sacrifice his life, in the image of which Russian holiness was usually embodied. In all these discoveries, holiness is abstracted from everyday life, the task of which is only to educate this discovery of holiness and properly subsequently please this phenomenon. Glorification is distracted from life; it presupposes the expiration of sufficiently long periods of time, making it possible to forget the living personality of the saint in the everyday concreteness of his everyday appearance. Otherwise Father John. A modest priest, flesh and blood of the Russian patriarchal life, he, while remaining such, brought to light, revealed, discovered, bringing to the utmost intensity, the potential holiness contained in this life. By demonstrating this holiness, Father John, naturally, evoked around himself, from the entire life that embraced him, on an all-Russian scale, the striving for holiness hidden in it. The reaction was twofold. Wherever he went, no matter who he met, the soul of everyone who still remained in Russian life rushed towards him on alien wings. And then misunderstanding, inattention, even hostility were indicated on the part of everything that had already completely immersed itself in new forms of culture, retaining at best only the appearance of Russian life. The condenser of the holiness of Russian life, Father John, like a strong magnet, attracted to himself scattered particles of this life in its preserved holiness, scattered throughout the face of the Russian land. Elements of a “miracle” are contained in the so-called popularity of Father John. Like the elements of satanic rebellion, a certain evil obsession of resistance, albeit sometimes in benign forms, is expressed in Tolstoy’s popularity. Tolstoy and Father John embody the two Russias between which people made a choice. An all-Russian plebiscite arose. Russia, without knowing it, was deciding its fate, in one part rushing with elemental force, with some kind of gust of enthusiasm, into which people unconsciously invested even a farewell to the Russian holiness of life - to Father John, and in the other, in solidarity with Tolstoy. And how deeply the evil of resistance penetrated, nothing testified to this so clearly as the speech against Father John by the right-wing Russian writer and famous writer of everyday life Leskov, a Tolstoyan. Father John's walk across the Russian land was a demonstration of Russian holiness, confirmed in our everyday life. This holiness received a new revelation in the revolution, in its rejection, in the new martyrs, and this on such a massive scale that, as one holy elder testified, the angels did not have time to receive the souls of the departed... Russia, too, justified its name as Holy Russia. The holiness inherent in Russian life has not faded even now, revealing its existence in that undiminished stream of miracles that continues to pour out from Father John. This is a reality of our days, beyond doubt. But what is this - isn’t it the burning out of the Russian fire, or more precisely, the Russian altar, lit before the Throne of the Lord and in the image of the Third Rome, which fed the universe with its light and warmth until its defeat? From this angle, the issue of glorifying Father John receives special coverage. Shouldn’t it happen then, when there is no longer any doubt about the revival of Russian life, about its inherent holiness? Shouldn't the glorification of Father John, like the glorification of the Royal Family, be a free act of the revived Holy Rus', ready to establish itself again in the image of the Third Rome, which has the culture of holiness as the basis of its life? From this point of view, the “cult” of Father John receives exceptional significance these days, on a par with the “cult” of the Royal Family! Isn’t this a new vote before the Throne of God, determining our national-state future? Our veneration of Father John is not just a prayerful appeal for help and not just a reverent sign of attention to our holy past, embodied in Father John. This is also evidence of our will to live, of our already materializing church-national revival. And our very communication under the cover of the name of Father John takes on the meaning of a certain covenant, mutually given. Both in thoughts and in deeds, we accept, as it were, an obligation to feel like participants in the holy Russian way of life, seeing in it a kind of material symbol of faith, giving an ecclesiastical answer to the basic questions of conscience, in relation to the entire course of our life. And then we will not consider ourselves as freedmen, preparing to build a new life on new principles, in a new situation, but as the army of Christ, folding our banners only in order to unfurl them at the first call, either in the feat of confession on a foreign land, or in a campaign for the liberation of our native land, returning to Christ. Even if we are sinners, our life is holy. It is our sinfulness that he makes especially clear. But the path to holiness is open only to sinners - those who honestly acknowledge their sinfulness in the face of holiness. To see holiness and desire it - this was characteristic of the Russian person. Father John teaches us this with every word, with every gesture. Do we want to be sons of him? With his help he shows us his closeness - we will answer him properly. God help! Elder Silouan (Antonov). About Father John of Kronstadt I saw Father John in Kronstadt. He served the liturgy. I was amazed at the power of his prayer and until now, almost forty years have passed, I have not seen anyone serve like him. The people loved him, and everyone stood with the fear of God. And it’s no wonder: the Holy Spirit draws people’s hearts to Himself. We see from the Gospel how many people followed the Lord. The Word of the Lord attracted the people, for it is spoken by the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is sweet and pleasing to the soul. When Luke and Cleopas walked to Emmaus and on the way the Lord approached them and spoke to them, their hearts burned with love for God. And Father John had within himself abundantly the Holy Spirit, which warmed his soul to love God, and through him the same Spirit acted on people. I saw how the people ran after him, as if into a fire, to take a blessing from him, and, having received it, rejoiced, for the Holy Spirit is pleasant and gives peace and sweetness to the soul. Some people think badly of Father John and thereby offend the Holy Spirit, Who lived in him and lives after death. They say he was rich and dressed well. But they do not know that in whom the Holy Spirit lives, wealth does not harm him, for his soul is entirely in God, and has changed from God, and has forgotten its wealth and attire. Happy are those people who love Father John, for he will pray for us. His love for God is ardent; he is all in the flame of love. Oh, great Father John, our prayer book! I thank God that I saw you, I thank you too, good and holy shepherd, for for the sake of your prayers I parted with the world and came to Holy Mount Athos, where I saw great mercy from God. And now I am writing, rejoicing that the Lord has made me understand the life and deeds of the good shepherd. Saint Tikhon of Voronezh, Zadonsky (Sokolov; 1724–1783) – hierarch and theologian, spiritual writer. His spiritual heritage is represented by many works. Canonized by the Church in 1861, remembrance day is August 13/26. – Ed.