Selected Letters on Sects and Heresies

Contents Letter 8. First letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About preachers of the faith not on behalf of the Church. About the harmfulness of the words of false teachers: “Believe and you are saved.” Preachers preach about salvation differently from the Lord and the Apostles. About the degrees of descent into lies and darkness of Catholics, Protestants and new preachers and their falling away from the one faith and the Church. Do they have the truth of God? The Orthodox Church is the only true one, containing God’s truth. All teachings that distort the truth about Christ are denounced and cursed by the Church. Preachers misinterpret and distort the Gospel. About the Holy Trinity. What is necessary to save everyone. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. What we must contain if we wish to be saved. About the sign of the cross. Why are our pastors silent, and preachers everywhere teach Letter 24. Second letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is the highest in Christianity. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not true Christian actions. About the mystery of sin living in us and liberation from it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the Lord leads to the receipt of grace, grace builds the believer into the habitation of God. All sinful, passionate, even rotten words coming from the mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit. About the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism. How the work of salvation is accomplished. How the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored Letter 25. Third letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there 1. About the path of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation 2. Denouncing the false teaching that salvation is given freely and cannot be earned by anything. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Do not be jealous of those who crafty Letter 26. Fourth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Denunciation of the wrong teaching that all who believe in Christ are saved and that the gifts of God, as eternal ones, cannot be taken away. Sin after baptism interrupts the effects of the gifts of grace. The remission of sins after baptism is performed only in the Sacrament of Repentance. The sin of every person is a great offense to God; The sin of a Christian immeasurably offends God. About saving good deeds. Do not seek the Lord from someone who has separated from the Church. About the difference in the degrees of bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners. Whoever does not honor the holy holidays acts impiously and unreasonably. Letter 27. Fifth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Salvation is possible only in a living union with the Church. About the one true Church - the Holy Orthodox Church. On the origin and essence of the Latin Church and Protestant societies. The Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. About work and exploits - physical, mental and spiritual. Living the life of the Church, you will be in living union with the Lord. The one who discourages others from the Church of God is a real murderer and enemy of God. Letter 28. Sixth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. What should be done by someone who, living in half with sin or completely sinfully, recognizes his fault and wants to correct himself. The answer to the words of preachers that our church life is materialized. What is a ritual? All church prayer rituals are the most spiritual prayers. Our faith should be clothed in outward splendor. How our salvation was accomplished by the Lord. How we can enjoy the benefits of salvation and work out our salvation. About philosophy. How to develop spiritual life in yourself through visible, bodily action Letter 29. Seventh letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there The Church is the house of God. The Church preserves and provides for her children everything necessary for their salvation. The Church is the living body of the Lord; without the Lord nothing - neither great nor small - entered into it; only apostates can say that something else can be replaced or abolished. About freedom. The outer rite of the church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body. Letter 75. The origin of the Pashkov heresy. Sectarians do not make the sign of the cross, since this is contrary to the spirits living in them. Letter 76. On the habit of unceasing prayer. How to better grasp the sacraments of our holy faith. How to perceive the dogmas of faith with your heart. On maintaining prayer zeal. About thoughts inspired by the enemy Letter 188. About his leadership, about his attitude towards the Molokans, grace and the Jesus Prayer Letter 217. The Saint’s concern for readers of spiritual and moral books. News and reviews: about his sore eye, about the death of the Right Reverend, about Shipka and the new false teacher Redstock Letter 220. Sending books to expose Pashkov. Advice to the Kyiv brethren to pray for their sick Bishop Letter 222. Good review of Ushinsky’s book against the Stundists and encouragement to continue the fight against the Stunda Letter 224. After the greetings, a review is made of the works of Leo Tolstoy Letter 228. Review of Count Leo Tolstoy. To Morshchansky Archpriest L.Ya. Voskresensky, a friend of the late saint at the Kyiv Theological Academy Letter 239. Gratitude for the troubles for the monks. A reproach to those who accuse monks of parasitism. A Dream about the Right Reverend Ignatius and the Spiritualists Letter 268. Request for the publication of photographs from the Kozelshchansk Icon of B. Mother. About the letters of the Saint against Pashkov and about the Society established to expose him Letter 281. The works of the Saint on familiarization with the false teaching of gr. Tolstoy to expose this Leo, roaring against the Church of God Letter 282. Efforts continue to familiarize ourselves with Tolstoy’s writings in order to expose his absurd false teachings Letter 283. The same efforts to expose other new false teachers. Instructions on engaging in science without damaging spiritual well-being Letter 284. The Saint’s attempts to write in refutation of Tolstoy’s nonsense, characterization of his false teaching. Economy and memory of God Letter 285. What is the criticism of the dogmas of gr. Tolstoy. Refutation of it in our magazines. Blessing for removal from the rumors of everyday life Letter 289. The saint proposes to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' with a new translation of liturgical books and indicates the urgent need for this and the expected benefits. Feedback on the good news about his son Letter 367. To the convalescent: appropriate instructions and about the works of Tolstoy Letter 383. Those who have turned from error are given advice to admonish others and books are sent that guide the denunciation of the Stundists and other sectarians Letter 574. About the venerable. Leontiy. Misunderstanding in correspondence. About the stunda and the health of the saint Letter 582. Heavenly protection. About the fight against false teachers Letter 626. About the nonsense of Leo Tolstoy Letter 745. Dangerously ill, instructions on prayer, food and bows. Magnetism, homeopathy and spiritualism. The mental body and the spiritual body Letter 789. Denunciation of Molokan errors. The importance of church tradition. Addition to the apology for icon veneration Letter 793. Advice to someone complaining about the reduction in activities and about the Invirgians Letter 1058. The fight against spiritualists and materialism Letter 1128. On the results of a meeting with an eye doctor. The tares of Redstock. Refusal of proposed service in Japan Letter 1129. Efforts to suppress Redstock propaganda. In the case of recognition of the schismatic hierarchy. Religious readings from home Letter 1131. Second note. Details about the St. Petersburg Redstockist sect Letter 1132. Proposal for the publication of instructions on prayer and sobriety. The new wolf from Redstock’s party is Pashkov and measures to suppress the false teaching he sows. Letter 1135. Grief over the unreceived letter. The zeal of the saint in opposing the false teacher Pashkov Letter 1136. Upon receipt of sources clarifying the false teaching of Pashkov. About the distribution of the saint's pamphlets against Pashkov. About the change of Chief Prosecutor Letter 1137. About the same subjects Letter 1138. About the new Chief Prosecutor. To the history of the saint's activities in the field of struggle against Pashkov. Acute nicknames for this sect Letter 1140. New Year's greetings. On the Rules of Theodore the Studite. More on the matter of the Pashkovites. Bad news about the academy. Demon Society Letter 1151. About the religion of the Stundists. The result of a meeting with a Tambov doctor about eyes. About sending letters against sectarians. The darkness of the Slavic church books and the need for their clarification Letter 1152. More about his letters and about Ushinsky’s note about the Stunda. About the Latin text of the works of Abba Isaiah Letter 1153. The need for a new translation of liturgical books, Prologue and teachings. The promiscuity of literature. Pashkov's propaganda in Riga. About my works and assumptions. Draft response to the pope's call for unity Letter 1154. About the book of Ivan Buyan and the path to salvation of Emin. About St. Petersburg sects. About your eye and so on. Letter 1158. About Ushinsky and viewing his works against the Stundists. Assumptions about your works and advice to the compiler of the book “The Life of the Savior” Letter 1171. More about Leo Tolstoy. A modest review of myself Letter 1172. Criticism of Ostroumov on the confession of Leo from the herd of Antichrist. About your current affairs. Athos in his hut Letter 1175. Who should be interested in the Gospel History. More about the denunciation of Leo Tolstoy. Cheesy criticism Letter 1359. Congratulations on communion. A special kind of martyrdom. Proud unbelief and its future. About Leo Tolstoy Letter 1413. About Tolstoy's ravings Letter 1444. To Archpriest NN. Characteristics of the Khlysty sect and instructions on interviews with them Letter 8. First letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About preachers of the faith not on behalf of the Church. About the harmfulness of the words of false teachers: “Believe and you are saved.” Preachers preach about salvation differently from the Lord and the Apostles. About the degrees of descent into lies and darkness of Catholics, Protestants and new preachers and their falling away from the one faith and the Church. Do they have the truth of God? The Orthodox Church is the only true one, containing God’s truth. All teachings that distort the truth about Christ are denounced and cursed by the Church. Preachers misinterpret and distort the Gospel. About the Holy Trinity. What is necessary to save everyone. From the grace of the Holy Spirit. What we must contain if we wish to be saved. About the sign of the cross. Why are our shepherds silent, while preachers teach everywhere? It is with pleasure that I undertake to answer you or, better yet, discuss with you everything that you wrote about in your noteworthy letter. I've heard something of what you're talking about before; but it was thought that this was some kind of trifle. Now, from your words, I see that something like a church fire is starting there, and I hasten to write to you what God will send, according to your letter. 1) You write: “We have some kind of preacher of the faith, presumably from the nobility and, it seems, of considerable rank, who travels to houses, not only the rich, but also the poor, reads the Gospel, interprets and teaches to believe in Christ and repent. A poor bookbinder lives not far from me. That preacher comes to him. People gather, and I was there two or three times. We hear that there are such meetings in other places, and there are quite a lot of people there.” Let's stay with you on these words. A preacher of the faith appeared, a preacher not on behalf of the Church, as is obvious. This alone should have given rise to bewilderment among you: how can someone who has not been appointed to be a teacher teach this way? This is unprecedented news for us. From such bewilderment you should have immediately moved on to the following judgments: something is wrong here; he is not from the house of God, but from elsewhere (from another place - Ed.); therefore you should keep yourself on your guard. – Is that what you did?! “It didn’t even occur to anyone to be careful, but everyone listened and listened, not giving themselves the trouble to discuss: is what you hear right, and will it lead to good if you follow it?” This is your first mistake! You say that he teaches to believe in Christ and takes everything from the Gospel. But this should have prompted you to keep your ears open. Are you Tatars or some kind of infidels?! You, after all, believe in Christ the Lord and create your salvation in the Holy Orthodox Church, and create in the image of the salvation of all our saints who preceded us, glorified by God! From this you should have directly concluded that if he began to talk about faith, and to talk to us, believers, then this faith of his must be different from the one in which we believe. When he began to explain to you: believe in Christ, you should have asked him: what are you talking about this? Are we some kind of unbaptized? - And no one turned their tongues at you. Saying to you: believe in Christ, he convicted you of unbelief; and you listen as if you really don’t believe. If he preaches a different faith, and you still listen, then together with him you denounce your former faith, condemn the Holy Church and all those saved and those being saved in it. Here is your second fault, greater than the first! And how is it all going on there?! Is it happening among those who truly believe in the Lord and follow the saving path indicated from above?! The sons of the Church calmly and peacefully work out their salvation. But someone comes, previously unknown to them, and begins to scream: do you know what? – Christ died for us. Believe this way, repent, and you are saved. - And they, as if having heard something unusual, stick to him, being ready to leave their Church, and their shepherds, and everything that they previously treasured, with which their soul was nourished and sanctified! - This is wonderful! But before, didn’t you work out your salvation in the Lord the Savior? Are you not baptized in His name? Was it not by His power that you received the remission of sins so many times in the Sacrament of Repentance? Didn’t they take Himself into themselves, partaking of His most pure Body and His most pure Blood? Didn’t you turn to Him in your prayers, and didn’t you place all your hope of salvation in Him alone? So what is special, what is new, what would you not hold in your mind and heart, is this stranger, unknown to you, announcing to you, saying: “Christ died for you; believe this way, and you are saved”? Isn’t this what you confess when you read every day in the Creed: “I believe... in the Lord Jesus Christ... for our sake as a man and for our salvation, who came down from heaven and became incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. “He was crucified for us...” and so on? Isn’t this what you proclaim to yourself when you sing in the Church: “Only Begotten Son... crucified Christ God... save us, save us”? Or: “Come, let us worship and fall before Christ: save us, Son of God”? Or: “Quiet light of holy glory... Give life to the Son of God”? Or: “Now you let go... for my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:29–30)? - And the liturgy is all that is, if not a memory or, more, if not a mysterious reproduction in the bloodless sacrifice of the blood sacrifice on the cross for our salvation? So what new do you hear from the lips of this stranger that you are ready to leave everything that was before and rush after him, not yet knowing for sure where he will lead you, knowing, however, undoubtedly that the path you have walked hitherto is the real path? Truly this is incomprehensible. You are like this: they sing, let’s say, something in chorus, and you yourself participate in this singing. The singing proceeds harmoniously, all the voices merge into one. But suddenly someone appears among everyone, interferes with your singing and stands out from everyone with his voice. And you, leaving the choir and stopping your singing, turn all your attention to this outstanding voice, amazed at how it produces notes. Whether he is doing well and whether you are doing well, it doesn’t even occur to you to think; you listen only because he stands out, but the old singing has become ingrained and listened to. And experts in the art of singing say that to stand out from others with a voice in singing is contrary to the rules of this art, and that those who marvel at this outstanding singer expose their lack of true taste. This is what you are like in working out your salvation. You accomplished your salvation peacefully and quietly in the choir of other brothers and sisters who were being saved. But a screamer appeared and began to shout out one verse from the entire set of saving truths. And you fixed your eyes on him, leaving everything else and ready to separate from everyone. And they didn’t even think about whether he was doing the right thing by standing out with his rhyme, and whether you were doing the right thing by taking his side. Those who properly manage the work of salvation will rightly reproach you for spiritual lack of taste - you, and even more so that loudmouth. Thus, you should have pushed him away from you from the very first words or turned away from him, but you got involved with him, and are becoming more and more involved. 2) You write: “He talks about everything about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation in Him,” he says with enthusiasm. It’s pleasant to listen to him, and one is drawn to him.” Did you and the others listening with you figure out whether he was ours or a stranger? – You thought that since he speaks Russian and is Russian, speaks about Christ the Savior and, moreover, with such enthusiasm, then of course he is ours, stands in the truth and proclaims the truth. You reached out to him; but with all this you have been deceived. He is Russian, but no longer of the Russian faith. He was Orthodox, but fell into heterodoxy. He preaches about salvation in the Lord, but not in the way that the Lord Himself and His holy Apostles announced this. He speaks with enthusiasm, but this does not testify to the truth of his words, but only proves that he is wholeheartedly passionate about his teaching and stands up for it as true, although it is full of lies and deception. Is all this really unknown to you? And don’t you know whose disciple this loudmouth is? Judge the student by the teacher. After all, the birth of this lie or this spiritual infection took place there before everyone’s eyes. Some Englishman arrived, began to travel from house to house and invite people to visit him, and with his preaching he confused some of our ladies and gentlemen who were unsteady in the truth. Among these confused ones is your loudmouth, who now, instead of that driven Englishman, drives around everywhere and shouts, so as to confuse others, just as he himself was confused. So - that there is that Englishman in the matter of faith, that is, this loudmouth of yours. And the Englishman is the one who is by faith? – He is one who has fallen away from the truth of God and stands on the fourth degree of descent into lies and darkness. That's how it is! I will not explain to you the very essence of the matter, but will briefly outline only the external course of such a descent. – There was one Church on earth with one true faith. But a temptation came: the pope and his people became carried away by superstition and fell away from the one Church and faith. This is the first degree of descent into lies and darkness. Protestants then arose among the papists and, like the pope, carried away by their superstition, they fell away from the papal faith and the church. This is the second degree of descent into lies and darkness. English superstition was born from Protestants. This is the third degree of descent into lies and darkness. The English superstition has finally degenerated into that which the Englishman, who came to seduce our people, was carried away by, and seduced your loudmouth along with others. This is the fourth degree of descent into lies and darkness. “And it is at this level that your loudmouth stands, who rushes around your houses and haystacks with his sermon. He is a true disciple of that Englishman, unless he added something else of his own to the lies he accepted from the Englishman, in order to thus stop already at the fifth degree of descent into lies and darkness. - So that’s who your screamer is! Neither the Papists, nor the Protestants, nor the English, nor these, to which your infector with the infected screamer belongs, has the truth of God - real, pure, complete. It resides only in the one true Orthodox Church. It is true that they themselves, in deception, think that they possess the truth, but the truth is far from them. The papists were the first to fall away from the truth, but they think that they are the ones who hold it. The Protestants exposed the failure of the papists in many ways, but they themselves did not get to the truth, and ran even further from it, building their new faith according to their own superstition, and not according to the truth of God; to think that they, like the papists, think that they have attacked the truth, which the papists were considered alien to. The British did not like the German faith, and they built their own, also according to their own superstition, and not according to the truth of God, saying: with the Germans this and that is not good; We will invent our own faith, which is suitable for us - and we have composed it, deviating even further from the truth of God, thinking, however, that we stand firmer in it than others. Later, the British, as well as the Germans, bred many faiths, which all also boast that they have finally attacked the truth, while in fact they have retreated even further from it. Since they were looking for it not where God placed it, but in their superstition, they did not attack the truth, but accepted various ghosts of truth as truth, and built their beliefs on them. Among them is that superstitious wisdom that the Englishman brought to you and with which your loudmouth was seduced. – But when such a variety of faiths, more or less false, multiplied in the West, in the East the Orthodox Church remained unchanged in its belief, the only true one, containing God’s truth, the very truth that was proclaimed by the Lord the Savior and planted in the Church by His holy Apostles. We - the sons of the Orthodox Church - contain this truth and stand in it. Through a number of centuries, the immutable truth has spread in the Orthodox Church and has reached us. The Holy Church stands in truth; We stand in it too. Thanks be to the Lord, who has deigned to give birth to us in the bosom of the one true Orthodox Church! So you stand in eternal truth; and this loudmouth only learned seductive lies yesterday from an Englishman seduced by lies, also yesterday. But then he began to hang around among you and shout out his lies, and you indiscriminately rushed to him and took his side, ready to completely abandon the Holy Church and the truth of God that it contains. – Is this consistent with anything?! What we profess and how we work out our salvation was in force with our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, ancestors, great-great-grandfathers - and all Russians from the very enlightenment of their true faith under Saint Vladimir. This is already a thousand years old. And how many saints our Holy Church has raised, intercessors and prayer books for us before the Lord, as their incorruptible relics indicate, scattered throughout the Russian land! And suddenly this screamer, who was seduced by lies yesterday, attempts to tear you away from this holy host!!! But go further - you will see the same confession and the same achievement of salvation among the Greeks, from whom we received the holy faith. Go through their centuries too; you will reach the Councils that defended and affirmed the universal truth. Go through the Councils to Constantine the Great, and everywhere you will see the same truth, contained by the entire host of believers and reigning throughout the entire universe. Move even further - you will go through centuries of persecution, you will reach the apostolic age - and you will see there the same confession and the same work of salvation that is now contained and active among us. And what the Apostles taught and established was received by them from the Lord, and the Lord spoke and did as He received from His Father, in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. – This is where our faith comes from! That's where its source is! This is how it, having flowed from the depths of God, flowed along the course of centuries and reached us! “And you are ready to abandon this Divine and eternal faith and change it for a lie, which your screamer, seduced by it, is shouting yesterday!” – Does this make any sense?! 3) I hear that you and your comrades, chasing after this loudmouth, are ready to object: “What lie is he preaching? He proclaims the truth, shows salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, preaches the Gospel.” Wait, wait! Do not rush with your objection, but please decide: is it possible to preach about Christ Jesus uncleanly and perversely, and teach about salvation in Him in such a way that if you follow this teaching, you will not find salvation, but destruction? However, there is nothing to decide here or be at a loss for; because this is what actually happened and is. How many teachings were there that distorted the truth about Christ Jesus, both before Arius and even more after him? “They are all denounced by the Church and cursed. How many of them have multiplied in the West? No account. But they are all rejected by the Orthodox Church, despite the fact that all they talk about is the Lord the Savior. Therefore, one cannot conclude: because such and such preaches about Christ Jesus, then for that very reason he proclaims the truth; but one must check whether he is right in proclaiming the truth about Christ Jesus. No one there, it seems, bothered to do this, and everyone, as soon as they heard from his lips the sweetest name of the Lord Savior, indiscriminately took his side, not suspecting that this worshiped name was in his lips, seduced, a bait to entrap your souls simple in faith. Have you not read in the Gospel the warning words of the Lord Himself: “Take heed (beware) from lying prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15)? Do not think that the Lord means here those who do not even know His name. No, He does not mean such people, but precisely those who hide behind His name, leading them into lies; for he immediately says: “Many will say to Me on that day” (that is, on the day of judgment): “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name.” - Do you see? They preach in the name of the Lord; and the Lord commands us to beware of them. And at the trial, he says, I will tell them: “For I have never known you better” (Matthew 7:22–23). How did He who knows everything never know?! The Lord says that He never knew them as they pretend to be, that is, true preachers about Him. They preached about Him, but in such a way that the Lord did not see Himself in their words, that they showed a different Christ, and not the true One who wrought our salvation in the midst of the earth. You see that what may be preached under the name of Christ is not Christ the Lord at all. And you indiscriminately rushed to this loudmouth, because he covered up his lies with the name of Christ. Do you think that what was said cannot apply to him: “Many will come in My name... and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5)?! “It is fair to turn to you the reproachful speech of St. Paul that he made to the Corinthians. I have betrothed you, he says, to Christ the Lord, as a pure virgin. But I fear for you, lest someone corrupt your minds, just as the serpent once deceived Eve with his wickedness. You are so greedy for new teachings that if someone comes to you and begins to preach a different Jesus, you will immediately take his side, accepting him favorably (2 Cor. 11:2-4). And this is what the Apostle feared among the Corinthians is now happening among you. A loudmouth came and started preaching a different Jesus, and you reached out to him. You say: “No, what other Jesus is there?” After all, whatever he says, he takes it from the Gospel and teaches with the words of the Gospel: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). He keeps repeating: Christ died for us; believe so, and you are saved. How can there be lies and charm here?!” – This is truly a sweet gospel. And who can listen to him without warmth of heart? - But that lies can be grafted into this gospel and pervert it, about this let us listen to St. Paul, who wrote to the Galatians: “I wonder that you are so quickly being changed from him who called by the grace of Christ into another gospel” (Gal. 1:6). The Galatians sincerely believed in the Lord the Savior and wholeheartedly accepted the joyful gospel of salvation in Him; They were so grateful to Saint Paul for enlightening them with the truth that they were ready to open up their eyes and give them to him. But, after Saint Paul moved away from them, some superstitious people also came with the Gospel, or gospel, but not pure, but with an admixture of lies, and began to re-educate them. The Galatians, without strictly examining them, but only being carried away by the name of the gospel, accepted these evangelists, and fell into the net of lies. Their word seemed an attractive gospel, but in essence it was a destructive sinister. So seductive is the lie that hides behind sacred and sweet names! Saint Paul found out about this and, having brought them to their senses, he prescribed, as an urgent law for all times, the following decree: “If we, or an Angel from heaven, bring you good news, let him be anathema.” And so that we could confirm this better, he repeated again: “Again I say, if anyone preaches the gospel to you any more than he eats, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9). – So you see that there is an evangelism, or a “different” Gospel, to which the evangelists are subject to anathema. You and I forgot about this, and as soon as some loudmouth appeared with the Gospel in his hands, we rushed to him and not remembering that we truly believe and work for our salvation. You are exactly like the Galatians. And it is right to address you with an apostolic reproach: “O foolish Galatians, who deceived you into not submitting to the truth?” (Gal.3:1). 4) You say that he reads from the Gospel and teaches. – The Holy Gospel and the Apostolic Scriptures, the entire New Testament is the most reliable source of true Christian knowledge, knowledge of the true path to salvation. All those who are saved there will receive knowledge of how their salvation should proceed. But not everyone who reads the Gospel truly understands the path of salvation. Another reads the Gospel, but, by crookedly interpreting what he reads, he distorts the Gospel. The Gospel does not serve such a person in favor, and the fact that he holds the Gospel in his hands does not save him from reproach and condemnation for ignorance of the truth. The same thing happens here as, for example, with a piece of matter. Here in front of you is a piece of good material. But a tailor who knows his business comes, cuts out and sews good clothes, and when an incompetent tailor comes, he will cut and sew such clothes that they will neither cover shame nor protect from the weather: they will only ruin the material. So, from the Gospel, others extract a teaching that is worthless and cannot lead to good both the teacher and those who follow him. - Why is that so? Because he doesn't know how to get down to business. What is the essence of the work of salvation, it consists of several points: one must believe, one must fulfill the commandments, one must acquire grace, and so on. But in the Gospel these points are not written in one place, but in different places - in one one thing is said, in another something else. In order to truly know the whole image of salvation, you need to collect all these points from different places together, and collect everything, without missing a single one. It is in this matter that all those who stumble continue to stumble. Another will begin to collect, not understanding how this should be done, will fix his eyes on one or two points, pull them out of the general Scripture, and shout: I have found it, this is the way of salvation! Another shouts: believe - and you are saved; another: acquire grace - and you don’t need anything else; another: love - and you will come to a blissful end; different - something else. All such provisions are true and strictly prescribed in Scripture, but not one of them alone embraces the entire matter of salvation. We need to put them all together - and then we will get a complete representation of the real image of salvation. So your screamer reads, you say, from the Gospel, and explains how to be saved. But does he select all the points from there, or only some of them? – Listen, and you will find that not everything. All he has on his tongue is: “Repent and believe.” Is everything here? Not all of them. And even at these very points, not everything affects them. Repent, he says. Ask him: should he confess? Do I need to get permission? And he won’t say anything to you about this, but will turn away with empty words. Because if he tells you what he thinks, you will immediately turn away from him (according to his wisdom, none of this is needed, although it is commanded in the word of God). He says, you write: “Prove to me from the Gospel that I’m lying!” “No one will prove to him that he is lying when he says: repent and believe.” For this is necessary for salvation and is so commanded by the Lord. But as he insists that this is all that is needed for salvation, he is lying, because much else is needed for salvation. Imagine that the doctor gave a prescription for a medicine made from many herbs and essences, and the pharmacist takes two or three things instead of all of them and gives them, saying: here you go, here’s the medicine. He will be a liar and a deceiver. So our Physician of souls, Christ the Savior, prescribed for us in the Gospel complete healing for the salvation of our souls, expressed in several points; and your loudmouth tore out two or three points from the Gospel and shouts: here is saving medicine for you! Accept and you will be saved. He is therefore a liar and a deceiver. But you, as soon as he shouted out his appeal, became stumped, and the more you gave him audacity and courage to cry out your position louder and louder: believe in the Lord Savior, and you are saved. 5) Truly it is! - “There is no other name under heaven... in which it is fitting that we should be saved” (Acts 4:12). “The great mystery of godliness: God appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16); “Bow down the heavens and come down” (Ps. 143:5), so that he will lead us to heaven. Rejoice, give thanks, and follow Him, our Savior and God, who ascended into heaven and seated our nature at the right hand of God and the Father. But still, do not forget that this is only one point in the matter of salvation. The Lord Savior Himself attached to it other points that also must be contained in order to be saved. I'll tell you about them later. Now I will explain to you that this very point: “Believe in the Lord the Savior,” must be so contemplated and kept in mind and heart so that it stands in harmony with the sacrament of the Most Holy Trinity. Otherwise, it may happen that, while listening and speaking everything about salvation only in the Lord Jesus, you will become so filled with this truth that the thought of the Most Holy Trinity will completely fall out of your mind, and the Most Holy Trinity will be completely obscured by the face of Christ the Savior. And this will mean distorting the saving structure of thoughts, or, I will say this, it is wrong to plant Christian consciousness in oneself and darken it. This is what I want to remind you with this - that just as the image of our salvation was created by the Son of God, who became incarnate not without the Father and the Holy Spirit, so the salvation of each of us is accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ not without the participation of the Father and the Holy Spirit. And salvation has been arranged for us and is saved by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This must be planted in the consciousness, and all those who are being saved have this planted in their minds and hearts. See how the baptism of Christ the Savior is performed! The Son of God made man is baptized; but on Him and in Him God the Father rests with His favor and the Holy Spirit with His fellowship. This obviously means that the accomplishment of our salvation, which began from this moment, was brought into action by the Lord Jesus Christ with the always inherent favor of the Father and the action of the Holy Spirit. The Son did nothing without the Father and the Spirit; for even when He became incarnate, He did not leave the bosom of the Father. Do you see how our salvation was accomplished by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity? – Now look how the salvation of each of us is also accomplished by God, who is worshiped in the Trinity. Our life and our salvation are in living communion with God. Through the fall we lost this communication. God appeared in the flesh - the only begotten Son of God, and in His person reunited fallen humanity with God, and through the union of believers with Himself, He reunites them all with God. The Savior Himself showed this, speaking to the holy Apostles: “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). But what is said here to the Apostles applies to all believers. This is the golden chain of our reunification with God! The Lord confirmed this in another place: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one will come to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). - So, they come to the Father through the Son, but how to get to the Son? – And they are brought to the Son by the Father, as the Lord Himself says: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). If the work of everyone’s salvation cannot begin without attraction to the Son, and this attraction is accomplished by the Father, then it is obvious that the initial Creator of everyone’s salvation is God the Father. Remember this and confess this to everyone who seeks and expects to be saved in the Lord Jesus, and behind Him always contemplate the right hand of Your Heavenly Father drawing you to Him. But how does the Father also attract to the Son? – He is drawn by the Holy Spirit, who then accomplishes everything required for salvation in the minds and hearts of those being saved. Christ the Savior, having suffered, died on the cross and was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father; Instead of Himself, He sent from the Father the Holy Spirit, Who, being in the true Church, now arranges the salvation of everyone. As at first He descended upon the Apostles, He led them across the face of the universe, gave them a word and this word a power stimulating to faith, then He clothed those who believed in Christ, sanctified and strengthened them in every good thing, and from their host He built the Holy Church: and so He acts in this Church to this day and arranges the salvation of all. And without the Spirit of God no one is saved or can be saved. That’s why the Lord said: “It’s better to eat... but I’m going. Unless I go, the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7). With this He said: My incarnation is in vain, death is in vain, resurrection is in vain, if the Comforter - the Holy Spirit - does not come. You will remain unsaved; for without the Spirit it is impossible for you to be transformed into such as those who are being saved should be. - Thus, undoubtedly believing and trusting to be saved in the Lord the Savior, by the good will of the Father, believe and maintain that the Holy Spirit makes you saved, given in the Holy Church through the Divine Sacraments, and then constantly working in your heart to guide and strengthen you in the work of salvation. So do you see how we are saved? We are saved in the Lord Jesus Christ by the good pleasure of the Father, by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Always keep this in your mind and heart, and in your confession. And know that whoever tells you only: believe in the Lord, believe in the Lord, and never supplements this with an explanation of the participation of God the Father and the Holy Spirit in this matter, apparently does not contain the complete truth, outrages the Christian consciousness and darkens the light of Christ. The holy Apostles understood this, and look how they expressed their goodwill for the salvation of believers! The Holy Apostle Peter writes: “According to the vision of God the Father, in the holiness of the Spirit, in obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace to you” (1 Peter 1:2). The Holy Apostle Paul prays: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!” (2 Cor. 13:13). The last words are repeated without change in the church before the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord Savior begins at the liturgy. And all our holy fathers, speaking about salvation, raised it to God, worshiped in the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as to a single source. Understand this, too, and become accustomed to contemplating the work of salvation being accomplished within yourself, and then use this standard to measure both the present and any other new teacher. 6) I will now show you at once everything that is necessary for the salvation of everyone. Briefly, this can be expressed as follows: believe and receive the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live according to the commandments of God, under the guidance of divinely appointed shepherds, being in a living union with the Holy Church. To make it clearer to you how necessary all this is, compare the journey along the path of salvation with an ordinary journey. In order for a traveler to walk comfortably and safely, it is necessary that there be light, that there be a paved road, that he himself be healthy and strong, so that in case of need, for example, when turning and crossing roads, there is someone who would show him which road to take. A similar thing is necessary in the journey along the path of salvation: light is needed - this is faith; a paved road is necessary - these are the commandments; health and strength are needed - these are grace-filled forces given through the Sacraments; guides and leaders are needed - these are the shepherds of the Church. You see all this operating in the Holy Church of God, with which therefore everyone who properly works out his salvation is in living union. All those who were saved walked this way, and all those who are saved follow it... there is no other way of salvation. I don’t think that you need to especially explain and prove the necessity for saving each of these points. However, I will give you something. That faith is necessary in achieving salvation, there is nothing to say about this. An unbeliever does not even think about salvation. Therefore, the Apostle Paul writes: “Without faith it is not possible to please God: but believing is fitting for him who comes to God as he is, and he is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). We must believe fully - in everything that God has deigned to reveal to us, without adding or subtracting, and believe as contained in the Holy Orthodox Church. Namely: that God is One in essence, and Trinity in Persons; that He created the world with His Word and provides for it; that He created us for heavenly life, honoring us in His image in creation, but we lost it, having disobeyed His commandment in our ancestors; that from this fall we ourselves could not rise, but that the Son of God took pity on us and, having taken upon Himself the work of our redemption and restoration, came to earth, became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, as evidence of His acceptance of His sacrifice and as intercessory power for the salvation of those who believe in Him; that after His Ascension He sent down from the Father the Holy Spirit, Who, descending on the Apostles, filled them with all wisdom and power, and they, inspired by Him, planted the Christian faith on earth, and from all believers they formed one body of the Holy Church, under the Head of Christ the Lord, entrusting to it all the secrets of the faith and all the Sacraments that bestow grace; that as the distributors of these blessed treasures and in general the continuers of the apostolic work of building the Church, the Apostles, by command of the Lord Himself, left their successors - bishops and priests, who receive special grace for this through the laying on of hands, which continuously comes from the Apostles and has come down to us; that those who are saved are saved in the body of the Church, that is, not alone, but in common with everyone, common to all true believers, living a life sanctified by the Sacraments of the Church and under the guidance of pastors; that the salvation of everyone here on earth is hidden, especially in the spirit, is accomplished, although it is known to the one being saved, but in his lordship it will appear in another life - the hope of which inspires us in enduring voluntary and involuntary deprivations for the sake of salvation; that those who depart from us through the gates of death into another life do not cease to abide in the same single body of the Church and are not deprived of mutual communication with us, they only have it invisible instead of visible. All this must be believed. And we profess this faith by reading the Creed more than once every day. Briefly, all faith can be combined in the following position: God, worshiped in the Trinity, who created the world and provides for it, saves us, the fallen, by the good will of the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit in His Holy Church, saves us with salvation, here hidden in the spirit, having to appear in all the ineffable light of it in the future life. You see that all the points that I listed as conditions for salvation are included in the objects of faith. And believe with all your soul that this is how it is, and it cannot be otherwise. 7) But faith alone is not enough for salvation. It is necessary to live holyly according to all the commandments of the Lord. “Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of God, but do the will of My Father,” says the Lord (Matthew 7:21). The will of the Heavenly Father is expressed in His commandments. Read the Gospel, and you will find there, of course, requirements and faith, but not too much. Mostly, it offers lessons in a holy and godly life. Rather, the following conclusion emerges from it: fulfill the commandments sincerely and tirelessly, and you will be saved, guided, of course, by faith and directing this to please the Lord. Hear what the Lord says: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and show myself to him” (John 14:21). And again: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Likewise, in the Epistles of the Apostles much is written about faith, but even more about holy life. St. Paul summed up the whole matter of salvation in two words: “Faith making progress through love” (Gal. 5:6). By love he means fulfilling all the commandments and alienation from all sins and sinful passions (Rom. 13:8–14). Why in all his epistles does he turn all the concern of Christians to a holy and godly life, saying: “What is true, what is honorable, what is righteous, what is most pure, what is most lovable, what is good and praiseworthy, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about this... and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8-9). And, he says, the economy of our salvation then took place to make us able to live holy. “For the saving grace of God has appeared to all man, chastening us, so that, having rejected ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live chastely and righteously and godly in this present world, awaiting the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). All the other Apostles insistently repeat the same thing. I will quote the words of the Apostle James. “What good is it, my brethren,” he says, “if someone says he has faith, but does not do them? food can faith save him? ...Faith, if it has no deeds, is dead about itself. But someone says: you are the imam of faith, but I am the imam of deeds: show me your faith by your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe, for there is only one God: do good: and the demons believe and tremble. Do you want to understand, concerning the vanity of man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father, justified by his works, and offered up his son Isaac on the altar? Do you see how your faith has advanced by his work, and by works faith is made perfect... Behold, for by works a man will be justified, and not by faith alone” (James 2:14-24). Do you see how much the fulfillment of the commandments is necessary for everyone’s salvation! I wrote more about this on purpose, because those who have confused your new teacher are thinking wrongly about this, attributing the entire matter of salvation to faith, while almost completely eliminating the matter. Probably this teacher of yours is also thinking wrongly. So look. According to the word of God, faith and fulfillment of the commandments stand on the same line - and neither one nor the other is given preference. Faith without works and works without faith mean nothing. Only in inextricable connection do they create our salvation, and at the same time they themselves accept their true value, strength and significance. 8) In order for faith to be as it should be, and deeds to be done as it should be, we need the grace of the Holy Spirit. Without it, we cannot not only believe, but also think about good things (2 Cor. 3:5); but even if we thought about it, we don’t have the strength to do it. For, as the Apostle says, we still wish for good things; but as soon as the matter comes, we are away: “Whatever I want,” he says, “I am diligent, but I do not find it to do good” (Rom. 7:18). Thus, if the Lord only showed us what to believe and how to live, and left us with this alone, then we would be like someone who is illuminated by the light of the sun, sees the road along which he must walk, and realizes that he must follow it, otherwise he will be lost; but does not have the strength to walk, because he is weakened and sick. But in this case, it would be better not to know and not see anything, than, having learned and seen, not to be able to use what was learned and seen. The merciful Lord did not leave us alone with this, but was pleased to arrange for us to send down the Most Holy Spirit, so that He, acting in us, would work with us our salvation. The Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles, and then through them it was given to all believers. Through the apostolic word, He aroused faith in those who wanted to believe, and to those who, by faith, rose to the point of determination and to live holy in the spirit of faith, He gave the power to carry out this decision. What was done by the Apostles was done later, and is still being done by their successors, according to the divinely established order. And the grace of the Holy Spirit dwells in the congregation of believers or in the Holy Church, enlightening, strengthening, and sanctifying everyone. And if anyone is saved or is being saved, then it is only by grace. “Salvation comes by grace through faith,” says St. Paul (Eph. 2:8). He speaks about the indwelling of the grace of the Holy Spirit in believers with such confidence that he does not allow any doubt about it: “Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). And he confessed about himself: “By the grace of God I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). And Saint Peter testifies both for himself and for everyone that “all His Divine powers have been given to us, even for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Why did all the Apostles, writing epistles to believers, both at the beginning and at the end of them, as the only good, wish for them to remain in them and increase grace: “May grace be multiplied to you; God's grace be with you." However, there is almost no debate about the fact that the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the power for salvation, is necessary for us and that it alone is powerful to bring about our salvation in us. But there are disputes about how grace is obtained and received. I purposely bring you to this subject out of fear that your new teacher of faith may not also be one of those who incorrectly understand this matter, for there are such sages who claim that as soon as you believe, the grace of God will immediately enter and dwell in you. So, know and firmly hold the conviction and the faith that the grace of the Holy Spirit can only be given and received through the Sacraments, established by the Lord Himself in the Church by the hands of the holy Apostles. To make you more confident in this, I will give you several examples of receiving grace as directed by the word of God. The Lord and Savior Himself, talking with Nicodemus, said: “It is fitting for you to be born again,” meaning a grace-filled birth to a new life. What method did He indicate for this? – Did he say: believe, open your mouth, and the grace of the Spirit, entering, will revive you? - No, I didn’t say that. What did he say? – “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5). Birth by water and the Spirit is holy baptism - the first Christian Sacrament. But rebirth makes only our nature capable of receiving, containing and storing the gift of the Holy Spirit; The very giving of this gift was accomplished by a special Sacrament, namely, the laying on of apostolic hands. This is clearly demonstrated by one incident that happened in Ephesus during the apostolic activity of St. Paul there. Arriving in Ephesus, the Apostle met twelve believers there and asked them: Have you received the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered: we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. How were you baptized, asked St. Paul? John's baptism, they answered. Then Saint Paul explained to them that John's baptism was only a preparation for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; then, having informed them more fully of the Gospel teaching, he baptized them with Christian baptism - after baptism he laid his hands on them - and they received the Holy Spirit. You see, there is a special baptism, and a special laying on of hands, and the gift of the Holy Spirit only after the laying on of hands! The Apostles later replaced the laying on of hands with Chrismation, which they handed down to their successors as a Sacrament, bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit on believers. It now operates in the Holy Church. These two examples are enough for you to see that the grace of the Holy Spirit is not given in a mental way through faith alone, but in a visible way through the Holy Sacraments. This is how the Lord Himself established it. I will only list other Sacraments. The remission of sins into which someone falls upon baptism occurs not for the sake of contrition alone and their mental confession to God, but with contrition and the decision not to sin again, upon confession to their spiritual father, through permission from him. The most living communion with the Lord is accomplished through the communion of His Body and Blood, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Grace-filled power to continue the apostolic work of building the Church is given through the ordination of bishops and priests. Two persons getting married are united together by the Sacrament of Marriage. Illnesses are healed by the Sacrament of Anointing. Here are all seven streams of Divine grace operating in the Holy Orthodox Church. And there is no other way to receive grace. Whoever begins to show you the path to this, turn away from him, as from a superstitious person. 9) The three points stated: faith, life according to the commandments in the spirit of faith and grace through the Sacraments, require a fourth: divinely established shepherdhood. We must believe; but how can they believe without a preacher? And “how will they preach if there are no messages?” (Rom.10:15). It is necessary to receive grace through the Sacraments; but how would this have happened without the builders and performers of the Mysteries of God? (1 Cor. 4:1). It is necessary to live according to the commandments in the spirit of faith; but how can this be in good order without a leader who would point out, warn, correct mistakes, raise those who fall and direct them back onto the path of those who deviate from the real road? Thus, for the organization of salvation, persons are needed, acting on behalf of God, who would teach the faith, sanctify with grace through the Sacraments and lead in life - shepherds who are gifted by God and appointed by God are needed. The Lord was pleased to establish them. Here's your apostolic certificate for this! “And He (the Lord) gave unto him the apostles, and the prophets... and the shepherds and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of service, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11–12). And the case itself showed this. The Lord sent the Apostles to teach the faith, to baptize those who were taught, to instruct those who were baptized and taught to keep all that was commanded (Matthew 28:19–20). The apostles did just that. But since they are not eternal, their apostolic work must endure forever, then, knowing this, they everywhere, by God’s command, left shepherds and teachers in their place as successors, so that they would continue their work - the celebration of the saints, the service (performing the Sacraments) and the building of the body of Christ. Read in Acts. Here Saints Paul and Barnabas enlightened Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia with faith. The time has come for them to return to the same place they came from - to Syrian Antioch. So, did they abandon those who believed to their own devices with faith alone? - No; They again went through all the cities, established everything, how they should be and live according to the church, and for supervision and proper execution of all things they set elders over them, “ordaining them” (Acts 14:23). He did the same for Ephesus with other Asian cities, everywhere there he instructed shepherds and teachers through the ordination. Then, when, passing by Ephesus by sea, he did not have time to visit there personally, he called all these shepherds to Miletus, where he said goodbye to them, giving them final instructions for tending their flocks: “Take heed to yourselves and... to the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has set you bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which you have acquired with your blood” (Acts 20:28). And here’s what happened: returning from Rome, after being freed from his first bonds, the Apostle stopped by the island of Crete and spread the faith of Christ there. But since he himself did not have time to install shepherds everywhere, he left Saint Titus there on purpose for this purpose, so that he would establish “presbyters throughout the city” (Titus 1:5). Saint Paul, of course, acted this way in all other places; and as he acted, so did all the other Apostles; for they acted not at their own discretion, but at the command of the Lord. And not a single Christian society was left without ordained shepherds. So this continues in the Church of God to this day. – And this is the law for believers: “Obey your leaders (shepherds) and repent: for they are watching over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). And what the Lord said to the Apostles, we should also apply to the shepherds: “Listen to you, he listens to Me, and brush aside you, he is swept away from Me; Discard Me, He who sent Me will be rejected” (Luke 10:16). 10) These are the four points that we must contain and according to which we must conduct the work of our salvation if we wish to be truly saved. But there is one more thing, namely: to be livingly united in the body of the Church with the entire host of believers. The Lord called His Church a vine tree, in which He is the vine, or the trunk of the tree, and all believers are branches on the vine. The Church, or the entire body of believers, is therefore a single indivisible whole, livingly united with the Lord and within itself in all parts. Just as a branch, breaking off from a tree, dries up and ceases to live, so does anyone who in any way separates himself from the Church of God, and through this from the Lord, cease to live (John 15:1–7). St. Paul made this clearer when he called the Church the body of the Lord. We are all believers - the body of Christ; Christ the Lord is the Head of this body. Just as in the body each member lives not by its own life, but by the life common to the whole body, and if it is separated from the body, it dies and decays, so no believer lives alone, but lives in the common life of the whole host of believers, or the whole Church, and if he is separated from them or becomes isolated, he dies spiritually and perishes (1 Cor. 12; Eph.4; Col.) This is how it was and is still being done among true believers, that they consider it the law of their life, the life leading to salvation, to be in the Church. The Church, we confess, is our mother. And the word is true that to whom the Church is not a mother, God is not a Father. And if God is not his Father, then who is it?! – The Lord, having established the Holy Church through the holy Apostles, put everything that saves into it for storage and distribution on earth. In it are all the secrets of faith and all the understanding of truth; in it is all grace and all the Sacraments that bestow it; in it is true shepherding, truly leading to salvation; the favor of God rests on her, watching over her and listening to her prayerful voice; Angels and men, and all rational creation, united, serve the all-good God. This - to be in the body of the Church and to work out one’s salvation in it - this is what every believer is obligated to do: 1) to believe, as the whole Church believes, from its beginning until now, to verify with its voice every thought of one’s own or someone else’s and to resolve every perplexity that arises, and under no circumstances allow oneself to allow anything that even slightly disagrees with the teachings of the Church. For it is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Listen, whoever does not observe this is a “pagan and a tax collector,” according to the word of the Lord (Matthew 18:17); 2) not to be different from everyone else in the order of church life: to fast when everyone is supposed to fast, to fast and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, as established in the Church, and all others to observe the prayerful and sanctifying rituals of the Church, obeying the word of the Apostle, who forbids leaving the meetings (Heb. 10:25); 3) to maintain the conviction that both the heavenly and the earthly are in uninterrupted communication with each other, living and immediate. Why are our prayers to them and about them and their prayers for us both heard and effective. We are our own, related to the Angels and to everyone who has pleased God since the ages; for when we become churched, we come “to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the multitude of angels... and the church of the firstborn in heaven, which are written” (Heb. 12:22–23). Let us now again bring together everything that has been said about the path of salvation and repeat: do you want to be saved? Believe all the revealed teachings of God, and, receiving the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live steadily according to the commandments of God under the guidance of God-established shepherds and in obedience to them - but all this in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws, and being in living union with it - and you will be saved. To this image of the saved path we can boldly add the following admonition of Saint John the Theologian: “Everyone has transgressed, and if you do not abide in (this) teaching of Christ, you do not imite God: but abide in (this) teaching of Christ, you imate both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home, and do not say to rejoice in him: for if you say to rejoice in him, it is revealed by his evil deeds” (2 John 1:9-11). 11) After everything I said before this, you can already decide for yourself how much truth there is in the words of your new teacher you quote. “Once,” you write, “he talked to you a lot about the fact that it is absolutely necessary to confess Jesus Christ with your lips, and that as soon as someone confesses Him with your lips, he immediately becomes accepted by Him, and He fulfills it and preserves it with His grace. He pestered one thing very much: confess, confess; but he did not agree. He said: somehow ashamed.” And it was a good thing that he did not agree. His spirit is right, because such a confession, for no apparent reason, is contrary to the will of God. The sensitive conscience of this good Christian did not allow him to do this. It would be fanfare and buffoonery. The confession of Jesus Christ is a great feat, and the Lord promised to confess for it the one who confessed Him before the Heavenly Father (Matthew 10:32). But in what circumstances is confession so valuable in the eyes of the Lord? - In such cases, when you have to either confess your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then immediately undergo terrible torment and be tortured to death, or deny Christ and offer sacrifice to idols. He who confesses Christ in such circumstances already rises in spirit to martyrdom. That is why his confession is so valuable. In the Church of God, confessors stand alongside martyrs. Martyrs are those who, having confessed Christ, were tortured and martyred to death; and confessors are those who, having confessed Christ, were tortured, but for some reason were not tortured to death. This is the kind of confession the Lord is talking about! Why does it stand with Him along with its opposite rejection of Him? “Whoever,” he says, “will deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33). Do you have such circumstances there that you either confess Christ and suffer, or reject Him and live happily?! No. Consequently, there is no possibility of showing such a confession, which is so valuable in the eyes of God. There is always an opportunity to make a show of it, to make a fool of yourself. Run out into the street and shout: I believe in Christ and confess. But such a confession will be a waste, just like the one your teacher demanded. Your new teacher connects the following promise with confession: as soon as you confess through the mouth of Christ, you will become one who has received Christ into yourself. Where did he get this from?! Look how the Lord and the holy Apostles taught about how someone accepts Christ into themselves. Saint Paul says: “As many as you have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal.3:27). He who put on Christ, of course, received Him into himself. Consequently, whoever is baptized becomes one who has received Christ into himself. Before baptism, the person being baptized confesses Christ the Lord by reading the Creed; but through this Christ does not dwell in him, but he becomes only capable of receiving Him into himself through holy baptism; Inhabitation itself is accomplished through baptism. This is how the Apostle teaches; but your teacher interprets it differently. This is from his own mind, and not from God’s notification and promise. Look again. The Lord says: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). If the Lord abides in the communicant, it is, of course, because he received Him in holy communion. Consequently, one who partakes of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ is made through this very thing to have received Him. Before communion, we confess the Lord, saying: “Lord, I believe and confess...” But it is not this confession that infuses Christ, but the very communion of the Body and Blood. Confession only opens the entrance for the Lord to receive Him in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. Thus, you see that by virtue of baptism and holy communion we are made those who have accepted Christ, and not by virtue of His confession alone, although we give this confession before those Sacraments. But your teacher invented a different path to accepting the Lord. He does this according to his superstitious intelligence. In another place, in the same Saint John the Theologian, the Lord shows another way to receive Him, namely, the fulfillment of His commandments. “If you have My commandments,” He says, and keep them, this is you who love Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him and appear to him myself. And again: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:21–23). Do not think that this fulfillment of the commandments paves the way for the indwelling of the Lord in us, separately or separately from baptism and holy communion. The grace of baptism and holy communion gives strength to faithfully fulfill the commandments. He who fulfills all the commandments adorns his soul with all sorts of virtues and makes his heart a church worthy of being the abode of the Lord. He moves into him then. He is in it from the moment of holy baptism and communicates with him even more sincerely in holy communion. But, helping him in the life of a saint, he still does not completely calm down in him, because until all the virtues are established in the soul through the fulfillment of the commandments, traces of passions still remain in it, the smell of sin, unpleasant to the Lord. She does not rest in him, as if not trusting him, and is still only making a resting abode for herself in him. When the soul is sanctified by virtues, then He safely enters it, as into a house, and dwells calmly, undisturbed by the movements of sin and passions that are unpleasant to Him. Thus, faith attracts the Lord, the Sacraments vouchsafe His presence and assistance; when the believer, helped by the Lord, cleanses himself of all passions by fulfilling the commandments and introducing virtues into the heart, then finally the Lord finally dwells in him and rests in him. This is the whole path to accepting the Lord. It has its own degrees - it has its beginning, continuation and end, or completion. In the above passage the Lord speaks of this completion. But the root of this whole matter is the acceptance of the Lord in the Sacraments. Without the Sacraments, neither faith nor virtues will attract the Lord. They can only do that the Lord will lead the one who has them for their sake to receive the Sacraments, and through the Sacraments will dwell, as was the case with Cornelius the centurion. And confession of the Lord takes place here, but as a kind of preparatory part, and not as something that combines all the power to receive the Lord. Confessing the Lord is not the only thing that matters, so as to say with your lips that I believe in the Lord. It means being a Christian in general. When they ask us: what religion are you? and we will answer: Christian; then this answer of ours will also mean that: I am a Christian or we are Christians. Let us now take this word in its strict sense. What does it mean to be a Christian? This means to believe rightly, and to live holy, and to be sanctified by the Sacraments, and to obey the leadership of pastors, and to belong to the Orthodox Church of God, and to strictly fulfill everything commanded by it, that is, to do everything that, as we have previously shown, constitutes the path to salvation. Consequently, the one who truly confesses the Lord is the one who, believing in the Lord and being sanctified by the Sacraments and receiving grace-filled strength through them, lives holy according to the commandments of God under the guidance of shepherds - and all in the spirit and according to the laws of the Holy Orthodox Church. This is a real confessor! And not the one who only confesses the Lord with his lips. Saint John the Theologian, in his first epistle, speaking about confession, means precisely this kind of active confession. Your teacher also considers the fulfillment of grace by the person confessing the Lord to be the fruit of the verbal confession of the Lord. If confession filled the Lord, it would also be filled with grace: for grace is the presence of the Lord and His communication with us. But as it was explained before that the Lord indwells not through confession, but through the Sacraments, it is obvious that by grace he fulfills not confession, but, by confession or at confession, the Sacraments. And I explained to you above that grace is given in no other way than through the Sacraments. And there was no occasion in the Church of God for her to fulfill anyone in any other way. Therefore, one cannot think that one can receive grace through oral confession alone. It’s very similar to this: open your mouth and grace will flow. Based on this application, it is very true to call your teacher and those who agree with his teaching and expect to receive grace through one oral confession - swindlers. 12) You write that your new teacher “prays with his own prayers, but that during prayer he neither makes the sign of the cross nor makes bows.” Do you see what a fashionista he is? The whole Christian world makes the sign of the cross, even those who wrongly profess the faith of Christ; and he is ashamed. Whoever makes the sign of the cross, without a word, confesses the Lord Jesus Christ, who endured crucifixion and death for us, and thereby redeemed us. Your teacher shouts: confess Christ with your lips; and you would approach him and force him: confess Christ with the sign of the cross. It’s all the same: confession there and here; only there - in word, and here - in deed. Deeds are stronger than words. He said to the one who refused to confess through the mouth of the Lord: aha! You are ashamed before people! You also tell him: you are ashamed to make the sign of the cross; but since it is also a confession, it turns out that you yourself are ashamed to confess the Lord before men. Saint Basil the Great testifies that the sign of the cross was established by the Apostles and that the sign of the cross, placed with faith, repels invisible enemies, destroys all their machinations and protects from their attacks. The Lord destroyed all the power of the enemy with the cross. The enemies know this and flee from the sign of the cross. And whoever does not make the sign of the cross and does not protect himself with it, his enemies have free access to him. A Christian without the sign of the cross is like a warrior without weapons. The enemy pushes him around as he pleases. All Divine Sacraments are consecrated with the sign of the cross; They also carry out the sanctification of every thing necessary for life. This is how the Holy Church received it from the Apostles, and this is how all Christians act. This naturally gives rise to the question: is anyone who shuns the sign of the cross a Christian? By bowing our heads we usually indicate both respect and submission. Just as someone who urgently approaches God with prayer has complete reverence and perfect submission in his heart before Him, it is just as inevitable to testify to Him, the invisible, these feelings through worship. Christians all worship the Lord physically, as evidence of their inner fear of Him and complete devotion to His will. He who does not bow doubts whether such feelings exist in him. But if they are not there, what is his prayer? We have a saying: his neck doesn’t bend - as an indication that he is such a person - he has an indomitable spirit, he doesn’t want to know anyone. Isn’t that the spirit of the one who does not bow in prayer? This is all a bad custom. He doesn’t break his hat, I’ll say it colloquially, and that’s before God. 13) You write: “Faithful people told me that our new teacher, and everyone who adheres to him, do not go to church, do not call on saints in prayers - neither the Mother of God, nor Angels, nor Apostles and Prophets, nor great saints, martyrs and saints, do not fast, do not fast, do not confess and do not partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and do not know holidays.” Do you see how great they are? True Molokans, at least they learned such wisdom from an Englishman. Our Molokans and Doukhobors consider themselves spiritual Christians, people of God, saints, for whom no external church orders, no feats and no sanctifying Sacraments and sacred rites are needed. And your rotozeys are of the same cut as them. “And I don’t know how to understand why you are chasing this new teacher or letting him buzz in your ears with his idle talk?!” After all, after what you said, it is already palpably clear that he fell away from the Holy Orthodox Church, and if he is mooring with his teaching, it is in order to drive you away from the Church and form some special sect, alien to the Church and rejected by God. And yet you cling to him, like foolish flies to poisoned moisture. I will not write to you that your teacher and his entire crowd are in great error, not accepting together with the Church the points you have prescribed. But I advise you to get the book “The Stone of Faith” by Stefan Yavorsky. There all those points are protected, those who do not accept them are exposed. Read carefully and understand what is written. Then with this stone you will easily block the lips of those who speak lies and crush the teeth of those who have sinned against the truth, but who boldly speak out with their words, full of lies and deceit. That book was written against Protestants. But Protestants are also like Molokans, only German, just like these new people of yours - Molokans of English cut. 14) You write: “There is bewilderment among us why our shepherds are silent. That teacher travels everywhere, worries, teaches, speaks with enthusiasm. And ours are silent. And in church, rarely do any of them give teachings: only services correct. We need a living word, but there isn’t one.” I’ll also ask you: did you turn to your shepherds with the question that some teacher is walking around, gathering us and teaching us - would you look to see if he teaches well? - None. That's how many times you wrote to me, far away, and never once did you remember to contact your shepherd, who is at your side and whom you see every Sunday and holiday. After this, how will the shepherds know what is going on there in secret? Your shepherd comes to church, sees his parishioners gathered and fervently praying, and is at peace, being therefore confident that those he flocks are in their proper rank. You know the dogmas, you also remember the commandments, you are submissive to the Church of God in everything. What else can I tell you? Maybe just sometimes explain to you some dogma, some commandment, or some Sacrament. But this is done, as you write, sometimes. And even without that, our entire divine service is structured in such a way that it brings to mind both dogmas and rules of life to those who are attentive, and teaches us to cleave to God through our very actions. And one visit to church renews the entire religious spirit, as everyone experiences. I agree with you that pastors should conduct more frequent conversations with their flock in church or start conversations outside of church. But I cannot agree that since this does not and does not happen, the flock is completely deprived of any spiritual food. And for the fact that this does not happen, I am ready, if I must accuse, to blame you, the flock, no less than your shepherds. Express your desire, ask, and what shepherd will refuse to satisfy such a good desire of yours? – You yourself are alien to shepherds, and when you happen to meet one of them, do not start talking about the needs of faith. Looking at you, he doesn’t start talking like that. And then he doesn’t give lectures in church, for fear of annoying you and driving you away from the church. I do not justify silent shepherds: it is their duty to stop themselves from wanting to speak, and to listen to their flock. But I just remind you that this is your fault too. You say: “Our people are silent, but he is busy.” - He is busy because he needs to recruit students and followers; and when he has typed, he will also be silent, because the students who cling to him will know everything that he usually teaches. And even then you need to know that fussing, running around, shouting does not mean a healthy state of affairs. Look at the body. When it is healthy, then all functions in it are carried out calmly: the pulse is not frequent, breathing is even, the head is fresh, the tension of the nerves and muscles is measured. But as soon as any of this goes beyond its measure, the peace of functions is disturbed and the body becomes unhealthy. It's the same in the matter of faith and salvation. You, your entire parish, constitute a small church body. All saving functions proceed calmly for you: you maintain faith, try to live like a Christian, are sanctified by the Sacraments, observe all church orders and obey your shepherds. The work of saving each and every one of you is proceeding peacefully, although nothing outstanding is visible among you. Just as a healthy body grows and lives unnoticed, so you live and grow spiritually, although it is unnoticed. Thus, the fact that he is mooing and fussing, and everything is going calmly for you, does not mean that you are in a worse position, compared to him; but on the contrary, this calm flow of affairs in your affairs regarding salvation means that you are in a healthy state. You “flow good”; the same screamer is not in a normal position; and the fact that he moans gives the idea that he is one of the crazy ones. If someone, during the calm course of your religious affairs, indulges in negligence and carelessness about salvation, then this is bad. But if everyone, to the best of his ability, diligently does everything that his Christian conscience obliges him to do, although no one stands out from others in any way, then the work of your salvation is in order, and there is no need for you to worry about this and rush after someone, just because he represents something outstanding. Remember what I said at the beginning about the choir of singers - that the outstanding does bad things. This also serves to explain what I am saying now. Now I have told you everything that your letter suggested. All that remains to be added, as you can see for yourself, is this: abandon this new teacher, the misguided Molokan, and hold on, as you always have, to the Holy Orthodox Church and its shepherds. Advise the same to all your friends. They chased after this loudmouth, looked at him, scratched their ears with his sweetened speeches, and that was enough. It will not lead to good. - In order to strengthen your spirit against the charms of his sweet speech, take out, as I mentioned to you, the “Stone of Faith” and read. Better yet, gather together, all of you who have defiled your ears with heretical speeches alien to the Church, and read and chastise yourself from this enemy’s obsession. Letter 24. Second letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. About the grace of the Holy Spirit. Reception of the Holy Spirit is the highest in Christianity. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not true Christian actions. About the mystery of sin living in us and liberation from it by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Faith in the Lord leads to the receipt of grace, grace builds the believer into the habitation of God. All sinful, passionate, even rotten words coming from the mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit. About the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism. How the work of salvation is accomplished. How the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored You have sent the points of your new teacher’s teaching that you and others have heard. Thank you. This is a welcome delivery! Although, unfortunately, I must say that they are not all precisely defined and not entirely complete; but still there are enough of them to at least somewhat understand what kind of teacher you have and what kind of teaching he has. I already told you the main thing in the first letter, and you yourself could already recognize from those instructions which of what you heard is true and which is false. I will add, however, something else that the points you sent force me to say. First of all, I will note that if there are points that are not entirely defined, then the blame, I think, falls not on those who heard, but, presumably, on the teacher. He himself does not see the matter clearly; That's why he gets confused in words. Besides you, I heard from others that this is so. But we will look at these points as they are, and point out from what side they are wrong and what wrongs they can lead to. Having reviewed all the points, I came to such a general conclusion about your teacher that, at the suggestion of a famous Englishman, he built for himself a false but seductive idea of ​​Christianity, and now with all his might and means he is trying to fill it into the heads of others, believing that he is advocating for the cause of God and the salvation of his brethren. But for all the importance with which he sets out to do this, he looks like a child chasing a soap bubble. As I already wrote to you, like that Englishman, this teacher of yours is entangled in delusion and carried away by the ghost of truth, thinking that he has real it. He pursues a ghostly, bubble-like ideal of Christianity. Just as a soap bubble attracts children, so your teacher, and after him others who are inexperienced in Christian knowledge, are carried away by the ghostly image of Christianity drawn by him. And there is nothing to be surprised if others cling to him, especially women, who are always prone to all kinds of charms. You wrote to me before that your teacher says: let them convict me from the Gospel that I am lying. I answered you that because he says: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15), no one will accuse him, because it is written so in the Gospel. But he can also be convicted if he does not teach everything that the Gospel teaches. At that time I didn’t know for sure what he was missing. But now from your points I conclude that there is quite a bit missing in his teaching - which, however, is very important and essential in the matter of faith and salvation. The first is that he does not say anything about the grace of the Holy Spirit. You have ten or three points, but at least a word about the grace of the Holy Spirit, this is what you write: “Salvation is accomplished, and all who believe in Christ are saved. A person is saved through faith in Christ. He who has believed in Christ and, therefore, has taken redemption into his own possession is not subject to eternal destruction. Everyone who believes in Christ immediately receives remission of sins and is delivered from eternal punishment. To be saved, you must accept Christ into yourself. We accept by faith Christ, who, no matter what, never leaves us and abides in us. Anyone who has accepted Christ into himself and then sinned only needs to repent, and he immediately receives direct forgiveness. Baptism does not benefit those who have not consciously accepted Christ into themselves. Anyone who has accepted Christ into themselves can understand all of Holy Scripture. The church is on its own, but first of all we need to seek Christ.” And everything goes like this. At almost every point there is a word about Christ the Lord, but not a single one about the Holy Spirit. I don’t think it was yours and others who heard the omission. This subject must have no place in the system of teaching of your teacher, otherwise he would still somehow mention it. That salvation has been arranged for us by the Lord Jesus Christ and that we are saved precisely in Him - this is truly so; but with all this, one must know that this did not happen and does not happen without the grace of the Holy Spirit. Since this is a very important point, I considered it necessary to collect more passages of Scripture about it, so that you and those around you can be convinced that the grace of the Holy Spirit in the accomplishment of our salvation is the most essential part. - Listen! Saint John the Baptist appeared to prepare the people to accept the promised Savior through repentance and baptism, and what does he say? Here comes, he says, the Promised One, and He “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 3:11), which makes it clear that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the main work of the promised Christ the Lord in His arrangement for our salvation: so whoever is not baptized with this Spirit will not enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5). The Lord has already ended His visible stay on earth, is already saying goodbye to His disciples at the last supper - and look how He consoles them? “I’m going,” he says, “but don’t be embarrassed that I’m going.” It's better for you. For if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; and if I go, I will send Him to you (John 16:7). I will ask the Father, and He will give you this Comforter, may he be with you forever. You know Him because He abides in you and will be in you (John 14:16–17). - Thus, Christ the Lord promises to send the Holy Spirit from heaven as His vicegerent. – Doesn’t this mean that the whole matter of saving our race, after the Ascension of the Lord, will be arranged by the Holy Spirit? Yes! That's how it was. The moment of the Ascension of the Lord has come. The Lord commands the disciples to sit in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. “You,” he says, “have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit for many days now” (Acts 1:5). Having said this, He ascended. Ten days later, the Holy Spirit descended on the holy Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, with a noise as if from the breath of a storm, and they all began to speak in different languages. – The manifestation of heavenly power attracted the attention of those at the festival in Jerusalem from all countries, and they, hearing that the Galileans spoke the language of each of them, came to unspeakable amazement (Acts 2:2-12). Then Saint Peter explained to them that this wondrous phenomenon had long been predicted and was the fulfillment of the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit “on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). The main promise to the fathers was about the coming of Christ the Savior; but the crown of blessings from Him was predicted to be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost... Note, this is the real foundation of Christ’s Church, the treasury and indestructible repository of the sources of grace of the Holy Spirit! But on this fiftieth day only the Apostles received the Holy Spirit; according to the promise, He was to be poured out “on all flesh” (Acts 2:17). - From that very day it began to pour out on everyone through the holy Apostles. - When Saint Peter, with his speech to the assembled Jews, brought them into contrition, - and they cried out: “What shall we do?” - then Saint Peter said to them: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37–38). Three thousand souls repented, were baptized and received the Holy Spirit that day. From that time on, everything in the Church and among the Apostles began to be accomplished through the action of the Holy Spirit. Whether the Apostles should have spoken, they spoke, being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:8,31); whether to go where, they walked according to the attraction of the Spirit (Philip, St. Paul); whether to establish anything, they established it according to the inspiration of the Spirit; whether anyone should be elected for a special task - they were chosen depending on how obvious the manifestations of the Spirit (deacons) were in whom. The actions of the Holy Spirit were so obvious and extraordinary to everyone that the Apostles did not hesitate before the church authorities to confirm the truth of the Gospel by saying that God gives the Holy Spirit to those who humbly obey His word, which they proclaimed (Acts 5:32). The Samaritans believe according to the preaching of St. Philip; but those in Jerusalem do not consider this belief sufficient, and send Saints Peter and John to them to fill in what is missing. What exactly did they lack? The grace of the Holy Spirit. The apostles, having arrived there, saw that the Holy Spirit had not yet descended on any of them, and they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Why, having prayed, they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Samaritans became true Christians and received everything they needed for salvation only when they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15–17). The angel commanded Philip to take the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. But when, being on this way, he saw a chariot with someone sitting on it, the Holy Spirit said to him: approach the chariot. He began and, taking the occasion from what was read to those sitting in the chariot, enlightened him with faith and baptized him in the water that had fallen on the moon. When they came out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on the newly baptized person, completing the sacramental process of making him a Christian—the one being saved (Acts 8:29–39). Do you see how the Holy Spirit works in everything?! The Lord Jesus Christ Himself converted Saint Paul to faith, but to complete the work of faith in him he sent him to Ananias. What does Ananias say? - “The Lord... has sent me” to you, so that “you may see and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). It was the reception of the Spirit that made Saint Paul both a believer and an Apostle. Who opened the door to the acceptance of pagan believers into the fold of the Church? By the Holy Spirit. He, by the tangible appearance of His descent upon Cornelius and his whole house, confirmed Saint Peter and those with him (and then all the Jewish Christians) that after this no one could forbid the baptism of Gentile believers (Acts 10:44-48). The Church of Antioch has already matured and been established through the labors of Saints Barnabas and Saul, who acted through the Holy Spirit, filling them (Acts 11:24). It was already possible to send these figures to other places. And they are sent. But who did this? The Holy Spirit, who said to the assembly of the faithful: “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work for which they were called” (Acts 13:2). They sail to Cyprus and pass it from end to end. The word of the sermon will prosper; but in Paphos Elyma the sorcerer began to oppose him. Who stopped this opponent from speaking? The Holy Spirit through the mouth of Saint Paul, filled with Him (Acts 13:9). They sailed to Asia Minor. In the first city here, Antioch of Pisidia, the word was received among the Jews, and even more so among the pagans. But the unbelieving Jews began to persecute the Apostles, and they were forced to go further. - What about those who believe? – Those who believed “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). They are left under the guidance of the grace of the Holy Spirit given to them. As it was here, so, of course, it was in all the places touched by the sermon on this apostolic journey. The disciples were everywhere mysteriously filled with the Holy Spirit, and they were watched and guided by Him until the time when, on the way back, ordinary pastoral guidance was given to them (Acts 14:23). When later, upon returning to Antioch, Saints Barnabas and Paul with certain others were sent to the elder Apostles in Jerusalem to ask about the method of accepting the pagans into the bosom of the Church, here this question was resolved primarily by the fact that God had already shown His favor towards them, “giving them the Holy Spirit as” the Jews, without any obligation to anything Jewish, and the decision that had taken place was then confirmed in this way: “This is the will of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:8–28). Returning to Antioch and staying here for some time, Saint Paul undertakes a new apostolic journey, visits the previously founded Churches, passes through Phrygia and the Galatian country. All this goes freely. But he wants to go to Asia, and the Holy Spirit forbids him; wants to go to Bithynia, - and again the Spirit does not allow him. The path was finally indicated by a vision at night, which was, of course, through the action of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6-9). Having preached through Macedonia and Achaia and planted churches everywhere, Saint Paul returned through Jerusalem to Antioch and, having rested a little, began his third apostolic journey, heading to Ephesus. When he came here, his first thing here was to complete the faith of twelve people, by completely declaring them, baptizing them and bringing down the Holy Spirit on them; which showed that no believer is a complete Christian until he receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6). I wrote to you about this circumstance in my first letter. Having stayed in Ephesus for about three years and planted Christianity throughout the entire coastal country of that country, both north and south, Saint Paul again visited Macedonia and Achaia. On his way back from there he passed Ephesus; but, stopping in Miletus, he called to him the bishops of Ephesus and neighboring places and in a farewell conversation he uttered the following wonderful word to them: “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in whom the Holy Spirit has appointed bishops, to shepherd the Church of the Lord and God, which we have acquired with His blood” (Acts 20:28). The Church is the Church of the Lord, but it gathers it, combines it into one and the shepherds into it, and supplies it with the Holy Spirit—supplies it and, of course, leads it. At the same time, Saint Paul said about himself that he, bound by the Spirit, was going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me, he says, I don’t know, but the Holy Spirit testifies in all cities that bonds await me (Acts 20:22–23). Further on the way to Jerusalem, in Caesarea, the prophet Agabus, taking the belt of St. Paul and tying his hands and feet with it, said: “Thus says the Holy Spirit: The man who is this belt will be bound in Jerusalem... and delivered into the hands of the tongues” (Acts 21:11). Thus you see that both in the deeds of the Apostles, who preached the holy faith and planted the Church, and in the work of salvation for believers, everything depended on the Holy Spirit. Through his action, the Apostles succeeded in planting faith, and believers were perfected in living according to the spirit of faith. This is what the book of Acts tells us. Let us now turn to the Epistles of the Holy Apostles. Having converted the Thessalonians to the faith and founded the Holy Church from them, Saint Paul was soon forced to leave them and move to Achaia. Concerned about them, he writes a letter to them from Corinth, in which, remembering how the gospel of the Gospel spread among them, he says that it “was not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:5), that is, in the manifestation of signs and in the communication of special power of persuasiveness to his word, captivating into obedience to faith. – Then he adds that God gave them “His Holy Spirit” too, and gives a commandment - not to quench this Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:8; 5:18). The Galatians accepted the holy faith with all their fervor. But the wrongdoers - the Judaizers - broke in on them and led them astray from the straight path of faith. Having learned about this while he was in Ephesus, Saint Paul admonishes them with a message, urging them to return to the original purity of the faith they accepted. The first thing he strikes them with is an indication of how they received the Holy Spirit. “This is one thing,” he says, “I want to take away from you, whether you come from the works of the law of the Spirit, or from the hearing of faith?” (Gal.3:2). Reception of the Spirit is the highest good according to the common consciousness and feeling of all those who receive it; only believers were granted it through the Sacraments. The Apostle says: if through faith in Christ you have been deemed worthy to receive the Holy Spirit - this highest good, apart from the law, then what is the point of binding you to this law, which never delivers and cannot deliver anything like that? Then he brings to their memory the power of the Lord’s death on the cross, assimilated by faith. What is this power? The fact is that through it believers receive the Holy Spirit. “Christ,” he says, “has redeemed us from the legal oath, having become an oath against us.” For what? “Let us receive the promise of the Spirit by faith” (Gal.3:13–14). Such a great means—the death of God on the cross is incarnate—doesn’t it indicate that the good it delivers—the acceptance of the Holy Spirit by believers—is the highest good? Just as nothing higher than this means can be thought of, so no other good can be thought of higher than this. The reception of the Spirit in the Christian faith is the crown of blessings for humanity from the incarnate economy. The Apostle further says: Those who are under the law are slaves; Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, receive sonship and are sons of God. As a result of this, God sends into their hearts, like sons, “the Spirit of the Son... crying: Abba, Father” (Gal.4:1-7)! – Again, the highest thing in the faith of Christ is the reception of the Holy Spirit. Having thus found out that the highest thing in Christianity is the acceptance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle already takes moral lessons from here: “Walk in the Spirit and do not commit the lusts of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). Having then counted the deeds of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit, he concludes: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19; 5:23–25). Towards the end of his stay in Ephesus, Saint Paul, having learned about some troubles in the Church of Corinth, wrote a letter there. Since this came from their own wisdom, Saint Paul from the very beginning denounces the vanity of human wisdom, saying that it is only fit for worldly things, but is not called to be a leader in the affairs of God. Here everything is revealed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. “And I,” he says, “came to you not with words of human wisdom, but with the manifestation of the Spirit and power.” The grace of the Holy Spirit, manifested in my activity among you, confirmed you in the truth of my word. You believed not because of your personal comprehension of the truth, but because of the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:1-5). To this the Apostle added: the mystery of the faith that I preach is the wisdom of God, hidden in the mystery of the Divine. No one can truly know it except the Spirit, who tests the very depths of God. We have received this Spirit, and He has revealed to us the whole economy of salvation. From Him we truly know everything that has been given to us by God, and we proclaim this to you without further ado, but in simplicity. Know also that you yourself can understand the truth of salvation only through enlightenment from the same Spirit who revealed and continues to reveal its secrets to us. He who does not have the Spirit is spiritual; “a spiritual man does not accept” (does not understand) “even the Spirit of God, there is foolishness in him, and cannot understand.” So, be zealous to acquire and keep the grace of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:6-16). One of the Corinthian believers committed fornication, something that is not even mentioned among the pagans. Having exposed and excommunicated this sinner from the Church, the Apostle lists many other sins that constitute entry into the Kingdom of God, adding to this: such you also once were, but “you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Not in the “name” only of “our Lord Jesus Christ,” but also in the “Spirit of our God,” and this Spirit, having completed the work of your sanctification, did not depart, but remains in you; so that you therefore “are the church of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). Looking from this point of view at fornication in general, the Apostle says: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you, which you have from God. If anyone corrupts the church of God, God will corrupt him” (1 Cor. 6:19; 3:17). The Corinthian Church was rich in spiritual gifts, which partly led to the division that appeared among them. Leading them to unity, the Apostle takes the motivation for this from the same distribution of gifts - different by one and the same Holy Spirit, saying: “The divisions of gifts are, and the same is the Spirit... The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the benefit. To one the word of wisdom is given by the Spirit, and to another the word of understanding, about the same Spirit; to another faith, by the same Spirit: to another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit; to another the operations of powers, to another prophecy, to another spiritual reasoning, to another the generation of tongues, to another the telling of tongues. But all this operates in one and the same Spirit, dividing power to each as he wills... By one Spirit we are in one body” (to form one body) “we were baptized... and we were filled with one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:4-13). Therefore, if anyone believes, he believes by the Spirit; if anyone understands the mysteries of the wisdom of God, he understands them by the Spirit; if anyone prophesies, he prophesies by the Spirit; if anyone prays, he prays in the Spirit. And no action at all is truly pleasing to God, unless it is accomplished in us and through us by the Holy Spirit. Actions without the Spirit and not from the Spirit are not real Christian actions, which should all be spiritual. Therefore, everyone must confess that if there is anything good in his deeds, then it is such from the grace of the Holy Spirit - confess with the Apostle: “By the grace of God I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). Having left Ephesus and heading to Hellas through Macedonia, Saint Paul wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians from the road. In it, having the need to confirm the falsity of the promise of the inheritance of the eternal Kingdom of God, he says: “Now you and I are known in Christ,” that is, the one who certifies us of the falsity of the promise about Christ is “God” (2 Cor. 1:21). How exactly does God certify this? By sealing us and giving the betrothal of the Spirit into our hearts (2 Cor. 1:22). God gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance, meaning that this is only a deposit; the rest you will receive in the next century. He further writes: Moses, coming down from the mountain, covered his face with a veil, as a sign that there is a veil over the Old Testament, through which those who read it are not able to penetrate on their own. This veil is removed from Christ; when anyone turns to Him, a veil is taken away. How? By the Holy Spirit. For “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17): freedom from obstacles to the knowledge of the truth, because the Spirit of God leads our spirit into the treasures of God and makes us understand His mysteries; freedom from the constriction of the heart by passions that prevent you from walking unhindered along the path of virtue, because the Holy Spirit gives you the strength to overcome them and drive them away. Enlightened, guided and strengthened by this Spirit, we are “transformed from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). Arriving in Corinth, Saint Paul writes the Epistle to the Romans. Here's what we find! The Jews boasted about circumcision. The Apostle writes: circumcision should be a sign of the circumcision of the heart from everything unclean and passionate. Such circumcision occurs only in us who believe in Christ. How? The grace of the Holy Spirit. And only such circumcision of the heart by the Spirit makes one truly circumcised (Rom. 2:29). He said this to encourage the Jew to leave Judaism and turn to faith in Christ the Lord in order to become truly circumcised. There was no light on the outside of the Christians. But, says the Apostle, we not only do not lose heart, but even boast. Let us boast in the hope of the glory of God, and, moreover, in the same way as someone boasts in possessing a valuable thing. Why do we have this firmness of hope, or this confidence that it will not put us to shame? – Because “the love of God was poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). The Holy Spirit, given to us, gives the heart to feel the love of God - and this feeling does not allow the slightest hesitation in hope or doubt, so that the Loving One, and moreover God, does not fulfill what was promised to the beloved. Saint Paul explains the mystery of sin living in us and says that until a person, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, receives renewal by the grace of the Holy Spirit, until then sin tyrannically rules over him; but when, having approached the Lord, he receives the grace of renewal by the Holy Spirit, from then on sin no longer tyranns over him. He can approach him, seduce him, attract him, but not direct him to action. “Sin,” he says, “does not possess you.” Why? Because “you are under grace” (Rom.6:14). As long as we are in the flesh, that is, in sin, until then the passions of sin operate in our lives. But when, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are freed from this sin that holds us in its power, then we begin to work “for God in the renewal of the Spirit” (Rom. 7:5-6). The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees us from the law of sin. The grace of the Holy Spirit, having come, takes away the weakness by which we are weak before the law, and restores our moral strength. Thus, as long as someone is in the flesh, that is, in sin, and without the Spirit, he has no power to please God. But you, the Apostle encourages the Romans, “are in the flesh, but in Dus, because the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone has the Spirit of Christ” (by faith in Christ and given by Christ the Lord) “he is not His, he is not His” (he is not His). Only those who are “guided by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Being present in us, this Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses (Rom. 8:2,14-26). From this it is clear that life in Christ Jesus is fully manifested only by the grace of the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Apostle defines that “The Kingdom of God is truth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” and prays: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that your hope will abound in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17; 15:13). Soon after writing the Epistle to the Romans, the Apostle was met with bonds from which he wrote several epistles. The first was to the Ephesians. The Epistle to the Ephesians is a most enthusiastic hymn of praise to the economy of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the highest fruit and final goal of this economy is the gift of the grace of the Holy Spirit to us. The Apostle ascends in thought to the eternal heights and sees there how we are predestined by God for adoption through Jesus Christ. For what? “To the praise of the glory of His grace, which grace is given to us in the beloved” (Eph. 1:5-6). – Let us remember that in the Gospel of John, those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are given the realm of becoming children of God, since they are born of God (John 1:12). This birth from God, as it is explained below, is a new birth by water and the Spirit (John 3:5). He descends from there down, during the events taking place before his eyes, and sees the fulfillment of that predestination to adoption in the gift of the Holy Spirit; for he says: “Having heard the word... of the gospel... and believed, you were marked with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13-14), - which makes believers sons of God, transforming them from old to new. “For we are a workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared first, that we might walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). He remembers the calling into the Kingdom of God together with Jews and pagans, and explains the peaceful unity of these irreconcilables, saying that in themselves neither one nor the other is fit for the Kingdom of Christ, but they become fit for it, being renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus, by virtue of the reception of this one Spirit, we both have an equal bringing to the Father (Eph. 2:18). From this unification of all believers by one Spirit, the Church of God in the Lord is formed and grows; moreover, both the whole Church and each private Church, and each believer are built “into a habitation of God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22). The calling of the Gentiles along with the Jews was a hidden mystery, which only now, he says, was revealed to the Apostles by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:4-5). Saint Paul concludes his contemplation of the greatness of the incarnate economy with a kneeling prayer “to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... that He may grant” to the Ephesians (and after them to all believers) most powerfully “to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in faith in their hearts” (Eph. 3:14-17). Faith in the Lord leads to receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit; This grace builds the believer into the habitation of God, cleansing him from everything passionate and sinful and adorning him with all Kindness; The Lord finally dwells in this dwelling with the Father, the Holy Spirit preceding Him. In accordance with the said unification of all by one Spirit, the Apostle also gives moral lessons. Strive, he says, to maintain “unity of spirit”: for you are one body and one spirit. Each of you has been given “grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ,” so that by it you may rise “to a perfect man, according to the stature of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:3; 7:13); which you will achieve if, aided by the grace of God, you are renewed “by the spirit of your mind,” gradually putting on “the new man, created according to God in righteousness and the excellence of the truth” (Eph. 4:23–24). From this you can see that all sinful and passionate, even rotten words that come out of your mouth are an insult to the Holy Spirit living in you. “Do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by Him you are marked on the day of deliverance” (Eph. 4:29-30), - on the day when, having been baptized, they received the laying on of apostolic hands (or anointing); but strive even more to “be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, making melody and singing in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). These indications about the grace of the Holy Spirit, as the most necessary force for our salvation, would be sufficient. Our attention is already tired. However, I cannot resist citing one more passage from the letter to Saint Titus, where the Apostle lays out the whole purpose of Christ’s coming in renewing us by the Holy Spirit, so that through this we would become worthy of the inheritance of eternal life. “When,” he writes, “the grace and love of God our Savior appeared, not by the works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of renewal and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which was poured out on us richly, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might be heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). I will also cite what St. Paul says in his Epistle to the Hebrews about the severity of the sin of those who sin after baptism and renewal by the grace of the Holy Spirit. “It is impossible,” he says, “for those who have been enlightened (baptized) by one, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have been partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God... and have fallen away, should again be renewed to repentance, and again crucify the Son of God within themselves” (Heb. 6:4-6). And again: “It is the will of those who sin for us, after accepting the understanding of truth, for those for whom a sacrifice is not found for sins: a certain expectation of judgment is terrible, and the fire of jealousy is to destroy the one who wants to resist. Anyone who rejects the Law of Moses dies without mercy in the presence of two or three witnesses. Consider that the worst one will be worthy of torment, having trampled upon the Son of God, and having taken the blood of the covenant defilement, by it he was sanctified, and rebuked the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:26-29). Evidence from other Apostolic Epistles about the need for the grace of the Holy Spirit in the matter of our salvation need not be cited. But lest anyone think that only Saint Paul teaches this way, we will cite the words of the other Apostles, not all, but the most important. Saint Peter, as I wrote last time, in his first epistle, calls all believers elect “according to the vision of God the Father, in holiness of the Spirit, in obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1-2), meaning that if a believer is sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ, then according to the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit and the foreknowledge of God the Father. He says in the Second Epistle: “All the Divine powers... even for life and piety, were given to us by reason (when we knew) Him who called us (the Lord): in the image of which the honorable and great promises were given to us” (to attract to faith and inspiration for the works of life according to faith), “so that for these sakes you will be partakers of the Divine nature, having fled from the world, lustful aphids" (2 Peter 1:3-4). The Lord calls with great promises. To those who follow the calling, He gives all their strength, “even to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3), - in the grace of the Holy Spirit. Those who receive this grace run away from worldly lustful aphids, are cleansed of everything passionate and unclean, and through this become fit to receive God, Who, dwelling in them, finally and livingly uniting with them, makes them partakers of His Divine nature. The main force acting here is the grace of the Holy Spirit, by which vocation and faith open the entrance, and the participation of the Divine nature is the crown of its action in us and the final goal. Saint John the Theologian in his First Epistle writes: “Even though we have seen and heard, we have made known to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Our last goal is living communication with God. For this reason, the Son of God became incarnate, in order to restore to us this communion with God, lost through the Fall. Through the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, we enter into communion with the Father and thus reach our final goal. The Apostle sets the teaching of this highest good as the goal of his preaching and that of all the Apostles. But he did not stop there, but later pointed out the most tangible sign of such communion with God, saying: “He who keeps His commandments” (God), “abides in Him, and He in him.” And we understand this, that it abides in us from the Spirit, which he gave us to eat” (1 John 3:24). The giving of the Spirit is a sign that God abides in us; but the same sign is also that we abide in God, as he says below: “We understand this, because we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit to eat” (1 John 4:13). In general, from the words of Saint John it is clear that the Holy Spirit is not only a sign of communion with God, but also its producer. He who receives the Spirit of grace receives new birth from God (John 3:5). He who is born of God overcomes sin, the world and the devil. “We know that everyone who is born of God does not sin; but he who is born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. Everyone who is born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:18). - Thus, he who has received the Spirit of grace, having freedom from these parents of sin, freely fulfills every commandment; fulfilling the commandments cleanses the heart; a pure heart is a ready dwelling place for God, who dwells in it. This is the path to living communion with God—the ultimate goal of man. A person passes through it through the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Do you hear with what trumpet voice the grace of the Holy Spirit is proclaimed throughout the entire space of the New Testament Scriptures? “I have collected everything for you on purpose, so that you would not think that although the grace of the Holy Spirit is spoken of somewhere in Scripture, it is only a little and so - in passing. Now, having re-read and, even better, reviewed everything yourself, you can no longer think so, but you will be convinced that the grace of the Holy Spirit, which brings about our salvation, is said as much, if not more, as about salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ - and that, therefore, the former is just as essential in the matter of salvation as the latter. But be careful not to come to the thought: “How is this so? - That one (the teacher, let’s call it even better - Novshak) only talks about Christ the Savior, but here there is so much evidence, and everything is only about the grace of the Holy Spirit. The case has been dragged to the other side. Just as that newcomer says that in the matter of salvation everything is from the Lord Jesus Christ, so here it is that everything is from the Holy Spirit; just as in that case the Holy Spirit is not visible behind the Savior, so here the Savior is not visible behind the Holy Spirit.” – I have collected for you so many testimonies about the grace of the Holy Spirit, not in order to belittle or obscure what the Lord Jesus has done and is doing in our salvation; but in order to expose what is being lowered - and, it seems, not with good intentions - by your newcomer, and to raise near the Lord, as it should be, in your consciousness the Holy Spirit, in equal power and degree with the Lord, who arranges our salvation. Our salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is accomplished in us by the grace of the Holy Spirit. That is why the word of God equally says that our salvation is as much from the Lord Jesus Christ as it is from the grace of the Holy Spirit. For this very reason, he who holds the word of salvation should not omit the announcement of any of these benefactors of ours, but while loudly proclaiming about the Lord Jesus, equally loudly proclaiming about the Holy Spirit, without forgetting, however, the good will of the Father. For neither the Son of God nor the Holy Spirit does anything without the will of the Father. I am exposing this so that you can see how wrong your newcomer is, having only speeches about Christ the Lord. Anyone who wants to fully understand everything related to our salvation must distinguish between two points: the economy of salvation, or the arrangement of everything necessary for salvation, and the accomplishment of the salvation of each person. The first was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ by the good will of the Father, but not without the Holy Spirit, and the second is accomplished by the good will of the Father by the Holy Spirit, but not without Christ the Lord - the Son of God. For our salvation, two things are needed: to remove the oath from us for the Fall and to renew our nature so that it is sinless. The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished both in Himself: He took away the oath, having taken upon us the oath of His death on the cross; and in His face He revealed our nature as sinless, pure and perfect. Thus, everything that is essential for our salvation is combined in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ - in which sense it is said that in the person of the Lord humanity is saved. But in order for the salvation of each person in particular to be accomplished, it is necessary that the needs of salvation, combined in the person of the Lord, pass into everyone and be assimilated by them. This last thing is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. The word of the gospel awakens faith in the power of the Lord’s death on the cross, and in the baptismal font washes the believer from both original sin and all arbitrary sins, renewing at the same time his spiritual life and making it strong to resist sin and succeed in goodness. Both needs of salvation are satisfied at once. He who comes from the font of baptism is both justified and righteous - all guilt of sin is removed from him, and he desires only one good thing pleasing to God and is strong to do it. This is the putting on of Christ, in which what is necessary for salvation from Christ the Lord is transferred to the believer and the baptized and is acquired not nominally, but essentially. As long as he believes only in Christ, these are his needs, but only nominally, as determined to him and ready for him; in the baptismal font they essentially become his property. Here he is likened to a graft grafted onto a tree, and receiving its life-giving juices into himself. The tree is the Lord. The juices of this tree are the oath-breaking and justifying power of death on the cross, and renewed, perfectly revealed human life. He accepts both into himself, absorbs the graft into himself - the new believer - in baptism. It is not water alone that does this, but the Holy Spirit through water, having previously prepared the baptized person to accept both by repentance and faith. For this reason, the Lord Jesus Christ, having suffered death on the cross and resurrected, ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit from the Father to us on earth, so that He would endow everyone with those benefits and needs of salvation that are combined for us in the face of the Lord. For this reason He said: “It is better for you” that I go to the Father; for if I do not go, “the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7). Then it was not yet clear what it was that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would not come, but now it is obvious to us that if He had not come, then no one could be saved, no one could receive and assimilate for themselves that which was arranged or saved for our salvation in the person of Christ the Savior. So thank God that the Lord ascended: for, having ascended, he sent the Holy Spirit, who descended on the Apostles, through them then poured out on all believers and remains in the Church, enlightening, purifying and sanctifying everyone. So, you see how the work of salvation is accomplished. Your newcomer does not know this, but has undertaken to teach and lead you to salvation. Woe to this teacher, woe to those whom he manages to deceive. He keeps talking about the acceptance of Christ into himself, about the indwelling of Christ, and he paints the benefits that come from this in bright colors; but since he shows the wrong way to do this, it turns out that he only beckons and gives nothing. “Christ,” he says, “is infused with faith.” From what was said before, you see that Christ is not infused by faith, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And faith itself is aroused and perfected by the Holy Spirit; but if He had left us with this faith alone, then nothing would have come of us with it. Having awakened and confirmed faith, the Holy Spirit leads us to the font of baptism and here infuses Christ into us. Do not be amazed at this, thinking: “Christ the Lord is God Himself; Why is there also the grace of the Holy Spirit here?” “But you and I are not creating Christian teachings, as your newcomer does, but we accept and maintain it as it is in Scripture and as handed down to us from the beginning.” As the Lord pleased to arrange it, so it is written; and as it is written, so it happens. As the Lord arranged and as it is written, so we accept everything without thinking. Look how the Son of God became incarnate from the Blessed Virgin? The Holy Spirit found and incarnated Him. Isn't God the Son of God? Didn't everything happen to Him? Doesn't He carry everything with the word of His power? - Meanwhile, when He was about to be incarnate, the Holy Spirit wove flesh for Him from the most pure blood of the Most Holy Theotokos. Couldn't He have done this Himself? - Could; but the Trinitarian God thus pleased, and therefore the Son Himself who became incarnate, so that the body for Him would be completed by the Holy Spirit. The Archangel brought this secret from heaven, saying to the Blessed Virgin, who was perplexed as to how this would happen: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). So, just as the Lord initially dwelt in the Most Holy Virgin and She accepted Him by the power of the Holy Spirit, so the Lord dwells in every believer and is received by everyone by the same power of the Holy Spirit. So keep it - and don’t get too clever. In the above prayer of the Apostle from the Epistle to the Ephesians, although it says: God willing, “Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,” but before this it is said: “Be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16–17). This confirmation by the Holy Spirit in the inner man stands as a means, or as an opening of the door for the reception of Christ. And therefore, the indwelling of Christ here too is conditioned by the action of the Holy Spirit. And there is no need to think much about this when we know from the lips of the same Apostle that only those who are baptized put on Christ Jesus, and that they receive Him into themselves. Baptism is performed by the Holy Spirit, who through water gives birth to believers to new life in the image of the Lord who created them. After all that has been said, I think you are ready to ask: “How is this so? Therefore, in the dispensation of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is more effective, and supposedly greater than the Savior Himself?!” - Why do you need to determine who contributes more and who contributes less to your salvation? Aren't the Son of God and the Holy Spirit coequal, co-throne, consubstantial? So believe that your salvation is accomplished in equal power by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, or in the Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, without forgetting to keep in mind: by the good will of the Father, so that it turns out that it is accomplished by the indivisible action of the consubstantial Trinity, the One God. However, you will not sin if you think that in arranging everything that is needed for salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ acted primarily, inseparably, however, from the Holy Spirit, and in bringing about the salvation of everyone, the Holy Spirit primarily acts, also inseparably, however, from the Lord Savior. If so, then those who desire salvation and seek it, as much as necessary, cleave to the Lord Savior with faith, love and hope, and with the same faith, love and hope, it is appropriate to take care and zeal for the acquisition and preservation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, with full readiness to submit to its inspiration and guidance. It would now be necessary to indicate how the grace of the Holy Spirit is acquired, warmed and stored, if it is so necessary in achieving our salvation. But I already spoke about this in part in the first letter; there will be an opportunity to address this subject again. Now it’s time for us to end our conversation. I will, however, tell you everything about this, at least briefly, so that this question does not torment your head. The grace of the Holy Spirit is obtained through faith in the Lord Savior, but not otherwise than through the Holy Sacraments and, moreover, in the one true Church of God. Apart from the Sacraments, grace cannot be obtained and is not given outside the Church. Upon receipt, this grace is preserved and warmed primarily by remaining in church and household prayers, as the Apostle taught: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourself in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, making melody and singing in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18–19). At the same time, you must carefully keep your conscience clean and not covered with even the slightest dust; to remain in the labors of good deeds and feats of self-mortification without self-pity, to delve into the contemplation of the secrets of revealed knowledge of God and the ways of God's providence, revealed in the destinies of the Church of God and the lives of God's chosen ones; and to remain in fraternal and filial communion with sincere zealots of salvation, who are not alien to the manifestations of the grace of God living in them. Those who attentively and cheerfully lead their lives in such orders will constantly maintain within themselves a burning spirit—evidence of the presence and action of God’s grace. Consistency in such doing will ensure that this burning will continue to rise until it turns into a seraphic flame. “I won’t tell you anything more about this now.” I would like to finish, but it occurred to me to tell you my guess why your novshak, when the word of God says so much about the grace of the Holy Spirit and when it is essentially so necessary in the work of salvation, says nothing about this grace. After all, not just one text, which is easy to look through, talks about this, but I’ve seen how many?! And yet, he, who boasts that he follows only the Gospel, and challenges everyone to battle according to the Gospel, does not seem to notice them and remains silent. Why would this be so? And what would that mean? This is what we can put about him: he either does not know grace, or deliberately keeps silent about it, or rejects it. – If he doesn’t know, then why did he undertake to teach, being so ignorant of the knowledge of Scripture that he does not know what is said on almost every page? If, knowing, he deliberately remains silent, then he exposes the wickedness by which he hides the known truth, unfavorable for his system of teaching, or that illusory ideal of Christianity, by which he himself is seduced and seduces others - rightly fearing that in the light of this truth that ghost will dissipate like smoke from the wind. If he rejects the essential need for salvation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, then he is a heretic, an opponent of God, a disturber of the faith of believers and their seducer. Whichever of these assumptions you take, each one is extremely reproachful and accusatory for your newcomer. - But why should you and I spare him? The Apostle ordered such people to be rebuked mercilessly (Titus 1:13). - However, I focus more on the fact that he is disingenuous. Not knowing about this with so many instructions from Scripture is like not knowing when he has eyes and knows how to read? “He probably knows, but he’s being disingenuous and keeping silent, pretending that there’s nothing to talk about about this, as if it’s not relevant.” He is afraid for his lovely ghost. For if he begins to talk about grace, he will have to talk about the Sacraments, without which, according to the word of God, grace is not communicated; start talking about the Sacraments, you will not fail to talk about the Church, the keeper of the Sacraments; start talking about the Church, how to keep silent about all the contents of the Church and about all its orders. And all this will still need to be recognized as necessary in achieving salvation. And this confession will crush his ghost into dust. Why is all this a sharp knife for him; He can't stand any of this. This is what the English heretic taught him. But enough; I'm cumming. I stopped only at the first impression after reading the points you sent. I leave what else needs to be said about them until the next letter. – Try to think more about the essential need for the grace of the Holy Spirit, and, having convinced yourself of this, bring others to the same conviction. Then you will be able to stop your newcomer with one strong word. Letter 25. Third letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there 1. About the path of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation 2. Denouncing the false teaching that salvation is given freely and cannot be earned by anything. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Don't be jealous of the wicked We will continue to review the points of your newcomer’s teaching that you sent.. 1. About the way of salvation. After turning to the Lord, everyone begins to struggle with passions - not for life, but for death. The exultation and benefits preached by false teachers lead to Gehenna. A Christian must acquire purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. What is the essence of the work of salvation I wrote to you about my first impression after reading them - namely, that they do not say a word about the grace of the Holy Spirit, whereas it is the power of God closest to us, the power of our salvation. Now I take on the second, namely, that the path of salvation seems too favorable. You believed, and that’s it: your sins are forgiven, and eternal punishment is cancelled, and don’t be afraid of falling, and all the virtues came by themselves from the heart, and Christ is in you, and no matter what will not leave you, paradise and the Kingdom of Heaven are yours, and the like - all that remains is to rejoice: no work, no fears, no struggles - the road is smooth and joyful. And there is nothing to be surprised that many cling to him. It's very attractive. - But there is no truth here, but only beauty. In the person of Christ the Savior, it is as if everyone has already been saved - the salvation accomplished by Him is sufficient for everyone. But in order for everyone to become individually saved through Him, they must come to Him in a certain way and receive this salvation. Salvation is ready for everyone; but come and take it yourself. Here there is work - and considerable work - and sorrows, and fears, and struggles. Therefore, look how the way of salvation is depicted in the word of God. The Savior says: “Enter through the narrow gate: for a wide gate and a broad way lead into destruction, and many are those who enter through it; that a narrow gate and a strait path lead you into the belly, and those who find it eat few” (Matthew 7:13-14). He repeated the same thing even more forcefully another time, in other circumstances: “Strive to penetrate through the strait gate; For many, I tell you, will seek to enter (besides them), and will not enter” (Luke 13:24). This narrowness of the path of salvation is not only due to external hardships and sorrows, but even more so due to the need to constrain internal spiritual movements that are contrary to the requirements of salvation. Why does the Lord say to those entering this path: “If anyone wants to follow Me (that is, the path of salvation), let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me. Whoever wants to save his soul (that is, whoever will pity himself and indulge the demands of self-indulgence), will destroy it; and whoever destroys his soul (will suppress these urges and impulses) for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). “Whoever does not accept his cross and comes after Me (that is, whoever decides to follow Him without a cross) is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). As a result of this, according to the word of the Lord, “The Kingdom of God is being sought (with self-compulsion and intense labor), and the needy (forcing themselves to work for this without self-pity) delights it” (Matthew 11:12). It is true that “the Kingdom of God is preached” is proclaimed as a rejoicing subject; but those who have heard and understand what is happening do not indulge in rejoicing and benefits, but what do they do? “Everyone is not forced into it,” that is, it is difficult to squeeze into it (Luke 16:16). Why, although He promises to give rest to those who labor and are burdened, He commands them in advance to take the yoke upon themselves, which, no matter how easy it is, is still a yoke, which is called light not because of the absence of difficulties and sensitive sacrifices, but because of the always ready help in lifting and carrying it, and because of the consolation that accompanies it and follows it (Matthew 11:28-30). And that the procession after the Lord is not safe, He reminded us of this more than once, saying: “Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune” (Matthew 26:41); “watch, watch and pray” (Mark 13:33); “Be vigilant at all times when you pray” (Luke 21:36); “Let your waist be girded, and your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35). And all this is said by the Lord Himself, who did everything for the sake of our salvation. Consequently, there is no need to doubt that those who approach Him will not be rewarded with benefits, but with labor; and work without rest, as can be seen from the parable of the worker who worked all day, but, returning home in the evening, did not hear from the master: lie down, rest - but what? “Get me some dinner, and wait and serve me; then you will rest if you don’t have any other work to do (Luke 17:7-8). The Lord promises peace, but in the next century, but here He demands intense labor in fulfilling His commandments with purification of the heart - and how? In the most perfect way: “Unless your righteousness comes out any more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Whoever, having surrounded himself with benefits, runs away from all sorts of labor and self-restraint here, in the next world may find himself in the position of the holy fools, who dreamed that they would get into the palace of the grooms, and were before him, but did not get into it. Something essential was missing in the structure of their lives, although they were not vicious. They probably lived in favor and self-pity, running away from everything that was a little difficult, in the thought that the Lord had already taken away all their illnesses and labors for them. So they remained outside the groom's palace. What especially requires strict attention, self-compulsion and work are the remnants of sin living in us. The Lord graciously accepts the one who approaches Him with repentance and faith, forgives him all previous sins and, sanctifying him with the Sacraments, provides him with the power to overcome the sin living in him, but does not drive out the sin itself, entrusting it to the person himself to drive it out, with the help of the grace given to him for this. And here how much attention and vigilance is required, how many techniques of weapons and warfare?! So much so that anyone who takes up this matter properly cannot find a minute free from the strain of strength and worries about this. It is necessary to bypass the secretive networks, but to entangle the strong ones; it is necessary to reflect and render harmless the arrows that constantly strike, but are invisibly launched and approaching; you need to look at holes covered with flowers, attractive baits that lead to destruction, sweet-tongued calls that lead to enemy ambushes. What kind of caution, vigor and effort does all this require? Where is there any sense of rejoicing, even if it’s spiritual?! Just a few things will be looked at by someone, and lo and behold, they are already confused, already wounded, already in the hands of enemies. See also, how strict are the Savior’s requirements? “Don’t you dare allow even a slight movement of displeasure and anger towards your brother; If you sin in this little or little way, you will be judged and Gehenna (Matthew 5:22). Meanwhile, we have clashes every now and then. And with all the strain of attention, one cannot avoid stumbling, but with rejoicing and benefits, where can one go? – Again, how strict is it regarding women? I started staring at something a little, and then there was fornication, and again Gehenna (Matthew 5:28–29). How is condemnation condemnatory? Whoever condemns, at the very moment he condemns, and for this one action, even if there were no others, is already condemned, and not by some empty judgment, such as his condemnation, but by the judgment of God, immutable and eternal (Matthew 7:1). And for an idle word there is an answer (Matthew 12:36); Is it easy to get along with the language? (James 3:3–12). – Do you see, therefore, what strict attention to oneself is needed, what vigilant work on oneself? But among those who rejoice, because they rejoice, nothing like this is possible. Therefore, sins on all points shown are inevitable. There is no point in rejoicing and taking advantage of sins. If now such small things, which in our country are not even considered sins, meet with such a strict judgment and sentence, then what can we say about great sins and passions? There should be no mention of them among Christians, they are so contrary to the spirit of Christ. But they are in the heart, and whoever wants to be clean from them must expel them from there. What kind of work does this require and what kind of struggle with oneself? Take lustful passion, take pride or vanity, take stinginess, take envy, riotousness, waywardness and disobedience - and whatever passion you take - eradicating it requires bloody sweat and labor. Therefore, look how those who are entangled in some passion and set out to eradicate it are forced to torment themselves. And quite rightly: for otherwise no success can be expected; but if you don’t have time, you’ll go to hell. The fact that one who approaches the Lord with faith for the sake of His death on the cross is forgiven of all sins cannot reassure oneself. Whoever reassures himself with this and neglects to cleanse his heart from passions deceives himself. By baptism and repentance, all former sins are truly erased completely, and will no longer be remembered. But for this, the one who has received this mercy after that must absolutely guard himself to the point of the stomach from all sin and from all passionate things, not only hobbies, but also sympathies and thoughts. For this purpose, at the same time as the forgiveness of previous sins is pronounced, he is given the power to resist the passions from which sins are committed and to overcome them - the power is given to overcome the passions, and they are not eradicated. This eradication must be the fruit of his own labors. That is why, after turning to the Lord, everyone immediately begins a struggle - and a struggle for life and death. And this is what greets those who approach the Lord with faith—and not rejoicing and benefits. With rejoicings and benefits, you can still withstand respectable behavior, but not strict attention to yourself and the fight against passions. Yes, it will not begin for someone who is like that. But if it doesn’t start, passions will be in his heart, and they will make of him a watered-down coffin (painted - Ed.), beautiful on the outside, but inside full of stinking bones. And he will thus please himself: “Christ saved me, Christ took away my sins from me, Christ gave me paradise,” while Christ, looking at him, righteously condemns him and condemns him to hell. This is what rejoicing and grace leads to! Christ is not a saint. Let's now see how the Apostles portray the life of a Christian and what do they require of him? - Read this: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12); “Live your time in fear” (1 Peter 1:17). Why? Because you call Father the One who has the right to judge you without hypocrisy according to your deeds; and He requires that you be holy, just as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). This holiness will be observed by you when your hearts are blameless and steadfast in purity before God and your Father (1 Thess. 1:3). Why should your first task be: “Put to death your evils that are on the earth” (Col. 3:5), or, what is the same: “Cleanse yourselves from the spirit of filthiness of the flesh and spirit, creating holiness in the passion of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). If you want to be real Christians, imitate those “who are Christ’s”; and they “crucified their flesh” with the passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). This is the truth about Christ Jesus: “Put off you... the old man, which is corrupted by the lusts of deceit... and put on the new... created according to God in righteousness and in the excellence of the truth” (Eph. 4:22-24). And only whoever cleanses himself of everything passionate and sinful will be for the house of God “a vessel in honor... of good use to the Master” (2 Tim. 2:21). For this reason, “do not be flattered: God cannot be mocked: for if a man sows, that will he also reap. For whoever sows to his flesh, from the flesh he will reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit, from the Spirit he will reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8). So, you see that no matter how anyone wants, he must become pure, if he does not want to be deprived of the Kingdom and go to hell - and completely pure, not only in words and deeds, but also in thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Is it easy? – Sin lives within us, which never slumbers and does not forget to offer itself in every action (Rom. 7:21-23). Little or little mistake - lust will immediately begin to smoke and light up, but lust, when conceived, will give birth to sin, and the sin of the committed will give birth to death (James 1:15). That's the problem! Why “take heed to stand, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). This lust in itself is cunning in its charms; and here her assistant always stands with her - our enemy, who, as soon as he notices even the slightest movement of this friend of his, immediately runs up and with his tricks hastens to fan her into flames. Just make a mistake and you will be lost. - “Beware how dangerously you walk” (Eph.5:15). “Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Do you see what situation we are in?! How can we rejoice here: “We are saved; heaven for us. How glad I am, how glad I am? - When you hear such speech, say: wait, wait, my friends! You have just heard about the Savior and salvation in Him, and you have already spread your wings to fly straight to heaven. There is still a long distance between heaven and our present situation. It is certain that whoever believed in the Lord the Savior and followed Him in complete submission to His holy will will reach the Kingdom of Heaven - he will certainly achieve it. But you have to get to it, and in order to get there, go cheerfully, tirelessly, not in the least deviating from the path God has laid out for it. And how many possible accidents are there that could prevent you from reaching the end of the path and achieving the Goal? Why should we look not at the end of the path, not at what is at the end of it, but at what is under our feet. The end of the path is already a done deal - you’ll get what’s there, but what’s under your feet, if you look, you might stumble, and in such a bad way that after that you’ll stop moving along that path. In this respect, we are like those competing on a list. The prizes have already been determined and are at the ready. Anyone who enters a competition, of course, has in mind to get a prize and thinks about it. But when he enters into the competition itself, then everything goes out of his head, he is busy with one thing - how to achieve a certain sign as quickly as possible. So it is in the matter of salvation. How can you not have the Kingdom of Heaven in your mind? And what attracts one to faith other than the desire to receive it? But when, having believed, you take the path to it, do not have it alone in your thoughts, do not fix the eyes of your mind and heart on it alone (although this is appropriate), but especially on the sign ahead, which if you achieve, you will certainly receive the Kingdom, and if you do not achieve it, you will not receive it. What is this sign? Purity of heart from everything passionate and sinful. Fix your smart eyes on this, direct your running here, direct all your efforts and efforts towards this. Because if you don’t cleanse yourself, you won’t see the Kingdom of God, even if you dreamed about it for your whole century and never stopped shouting: “My paradise, I’m saved!” St. Paul compares our work of achieving salvation to those competing in games. At the games, he says, many people start running, but the honor is given to the one who reaches the mark first. Therefore, he says, you too flow like this, “that you may comprehend”; and for this, refrain from everything that interferes with the success of your course, as those who enter into competition at the games do. - And I, he says, am flowing. How? By killing my body and enslaving it (1 Cor. 9:24–27). I have not yet achieved, I have not yet been accomplished, “I am pursuing, even if I comprehend... Brothers, I do not think for myself that I have achieved; one thing, forgetting what is behind, but reaching out to what is before, I pursue with zeal for the honor of the high calling” (Phil. 3:12-14). If such an Apostle says that he has not yet achieved, but strives and runs to achieve, then how can we say: “How glad I am, how glad I am! Christ saved me: my paradise?! Heaven will undoubtedly be ours; but if we are mothers-in-law, and mothers-in-law along the straight path, that is, if we work on cleansing our hearts without self-pity. Listen to what St. Paul says: God has appointed us “for salvation” (or, what is the same, “for receiving glory” (2 Thess. 2:14)), “through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us” (1 Thess. 5:9-10). When God ordained it this way, it will undoubtedly be so. What do we need now? Fold your hands and sit?! - No, not that, but this: “Everything is tempting, keep the good one. Get rid of every evil thing,” and take care in every possible way, so that “your spirit, soul and body may be preserved blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:21–23). “I will require patience, that having done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36). Saint Peter depicts the entire path to the Kingdom this way: all, he says, Divine powers have been given to us, including life and piety. Now it is up to us to “bring” to this bestowal of grace “all diligence”, and with its help to plant all sorts of virtues in the heart, displacing, of course, all passions from there. Only these virtues, multiplying in you, will make you not idle and not fruitless in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, they will show that you did not believe in vain. So, “make sure that your calling and election to do this is known... For you will be richly granted entry into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord... Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:10-11). So you see what stands between the Kingdom and the call to faith - what is the essence of the work of salvation, where you need to turn all your attention. The Kingdom of God stands behind everything; the starting point of movement towards it is the calling to faith and the acceptance of grace; the middle is the planting of virtues in the heart with the eradication of passions from it, zeal for which is drawn from faith and the strength for which is given by grace. There is no need to worry about the Kingdom; it won't go away; worry and worry about one thing: to appear worthy of him. And your newcomer takes your eyes away from this matter that is closest to us and directs them to the future. In my last letter, I wrote to you that in depicting the dispensation of our salvation, he distorted the matter, diverting attention from the grace of the Holy Spirit, with which the Lord Himself is pleased to act for our salvation; and now, as you see, in our work of salvation, he also distorted the matter, diverting our attention from the purification of the heart. Thus he decisively closes the path to salvation and inheritance of the Kingdom. This path is the purification of the heart with the help of grace through faith in the Lord; and he diverts attention from both grace and purification of the heart, keeping it only at the initial point - faith, and the last - the inheritance of the Kingdom. Without paying attention to this, those who are carried away by it, of course, do not act in these ways; not acting, they do not go where they imagine themselves going - and imagining themselves to be the owners of the Kingdom, they themselves block the way into it. – This is what I had in mind when I said last time at the beginning of the letter that everything with him is illusory, incorrect and unreliable. He himself is in self-delusion and leads others there too.. 2. Refuting the false teaching that salvation is given freely and nothing can be done to earn it. The achievement of salvation is unthinkable without the activity of our will and freedom. How the work of salvation proceeds in us. How a person becomes a Christian. The main point in turning to the Savior. How the work of salvation is supposed to begin. What awaits a person who emerges from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance. About spirit, soul and body. How is the first action of the Spirit of God on man revealed through the word of the gospel? Do not be jealous of those who are evil. The third lie in your Novshak’s teaching is that salvation is given for free. If your newcomer had read what I wrote above, he would not have been able to resist shouting: “Ah! - So you want to earn salvation and the Kingdom?! There is no way to deserve this; both are given freely.” – This is the favorite phrase of such wise men; and they consider her victorious. Be careful, when you hear this, don’t freak out as if you were caught in the act of a crime; and after being silent for a while, address him with the following speech: “I will answer you to this later; and now I ask you to tell me: do our own efforts and labors take place in the matter of salvation or not?” I believe that with this unexpected question you will amaze him more than he did with his victorious phrase. Because, having filled their heads with this “free” and “cannot be earned,” he and others like him become so confused that they do not even think about their own efforts and labors in the matter of salvation; They don’t even think about them and don’t have any worries. Why can’t they tell you anything right away? That is why among the points you sent there is not even a hint of them. In the Church of God, these “free” and “cannot be earned” are almost not mentioned. We only hear urging from everywhere: work and work; death is about to happen, what will you bring to the next world? Those who are zealous for salvation work, not dreaming of merit, but considering themselves obliged to work like slaves. The ancestors came up with these phrases according to the teachings of your Novshak, because they are very suitable for their wisdom about the all-sufficiency of faith. But with them they distort the entire structure of the image of our salvation. And your newcomer is there too. Why? Because he does not know how to distinguish, in the matter of our salvation, what was accomplished and arranged by the Lord for our salvation, and what we ourselves must do for our salvation. He repeats it more than once: salvation was given to us by chance, and the gifts of God are unrepentant and cannot be taken away. And it turns out that salvation is ours, and ours for free. It fell out of his head - if it was there - that he who approaches the Lord Savior with faith in his salvation enters into a covenant with Him. In a covenant, it happens that God promises one thing, and man undertakes to fulfill another. In our New Testament, the Lord promises to bestow and assimilate to man everything that He accomplished for our salvation, most importantly, justification by virtue of His death on the cross, and the granting of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and then the Kingdom of Heaven; and a person undertakes, having rejected everything sinful and passionate, to serve the Lord by unswervingly faithfully fulfilling His commandments, which is to take up the cross and follow the Lord, or to take on His good yoke. This last point requires all kinds of effort and work on our part. – And it must be said that this is the main thing on which all the attention of one seeking salvation should be primarily directed. What is from the Lord will undoubtedly be fulfilled, and there is no point in tormenting yourself with worry about it. And what lies on us, we cannot help but worry about; because the implementation of this is subject to great danger due to our variability and the many difficulties encountered in this regard. And if it is not fulfilled, the Lord will not fulfill His promise; salvation will not take place, and the Kingdom of Heaven will not work out. Thus, if “freely” means the absence of our own worries, labors and efforts in the matter of salvation (and it cannot have any other meaning); such a teaching is the ruin of salvation and the path to destruction. To the fact that in the matter of salvation from the Lord, this is quite rightly added as a gift; but it does not apply to what is from us: no one will do for you what lies on you; work hard and do it yourself. The fact that the Son of God came, became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and intercede for us - that he sent from the Father the Holy Spirit, who through the Apostles gathered the Holy Church and put into it everything needed for salvation, so that, having to remain indestructible until the end of the ages, it would always serve as a house of salvation for everyone - all this is free, all this is the work of the infinite goodness of God. Nothing was required on our part and nothing could be presented. Those who are saved enter the Church to work out their salvation, and for this they are called to salvation. And this is for nothing, both at the beginning of Christianity and to this day. But this call to salvation ends in vain. From this moment begins the achievement of salvation, which is unthinkable without our own participation, without the activity of our will and freedom. To heed the calling or not to heed, to follow or not to follow and, having followed, to fulfill everything required or not to fulfill - all this is in our will. Why, from now on, nothing comes for free; but desire, seek, work, and you will receive. I have already mentioned these two points in the matter of salvation to you, but I do not repent that I started talking about the same thing again. Their distinction is very important in the subject that concerns us. Why, the better you understand it and solidify it, the safer you will be from being carried away by the new thing. I will draw your attention to this a little more. Look what the Wise One writes about wisdom. “Wisdom,” he says, created “a house for herself” and established “seven pillars”; then she sacrificed “her own sacrificial offering,” dissolved the wine in the cup, and prepared the meal; Finally, she sent her slaves with high preaching to call to her “to the cup” everyone who wanted to be wise. This is the first point. Those who were called, realizing their ignorance, desired wisdom, heeding the calling, came and drank wisdom from Wisdom. This is the second point (Prov.9:1-6). The first is a pre-image of what the Lord has done and is doing for our salvation - freely; and the second depicts what we ourselves must do in order to receive salvation. Read also the Savior’s parable about the wedding feast given by the king for his son (Matthew 22:2–14). Look how things went. First, the king sacrificed the “young and fat ones” and prepared dinner and everything needed; then he sent the slaves to call for a meal. Those who heeded the call cleared up and came, and the table was filled with those reclining. And here the preparation of a meal with everything necessary and the calling for it is an image of what has been and is being accomplished by the Lord in the work of our salvation - freely; and heeding the calling, dressing up, coming and reclining of those called is an image of what we must do for our salvation. The servants in both of these tributary stories do not captivate anyone, they do not drag anyone tied up; but those who heeded the call themselves came and did everything that needed to be done. Over there at the wedding feast, one did not do what he should have done, and for this he was immediately sent to a place more worthy of him. And righteously. He should have done what was right, he could have done it, but he didn’t, and he suffered what he deserved. So it is in our salvation. Everything necessary for him has been arranged and everyone is called to receive it; but no one is forced, but everyone is left free, having heeded the call, to come and receive salvation, under the one condition of fulfilling everything necessary for that. Whoever does it receives salvation. Whoever does not comply is subject to the same thing that he who was not in proper order at the wedding was subjected to. So that you do not get confused in thoughts about what is from us and how from us, I will show you how the work of salvation proceeds in us. Imagine a person hearing a call to salvation for the first time. An Apostle sent from God comes and says: we are all created to serve God in honor and truth; but they did not fulfill this. Our life is full of untruths and iniquities that anger God. Why do we urgently face righteous judgment and condemnation to eternal torment? Now, tomorrow, and maybe even this hour - death, after death - judgment - and our fate will be decided irrevocably, not to our joy. The soul hears this and recognizes the truth of everything said; because these truths are written in the heart, but are not always remembered, or are completely drowned out by vanity and sins; when reminded, however, they appear to consciousness in full force. Having realized the truth of what was said, the soul accepts it into feeling - and thinks about its eternal fate - it is taken over by anxious concern, what to do? God is angry; How will I appease Him? He is good, but also righteous. Yes, even if He had mercy, according to His inscrutable destinies, and forgave me for everything that had happened, what would be the benefit? I am entangled in passions and sinful habits - and I have no hope of resisting them. Again they will drag me towards evil - and again sins and the wrath of God. There is no way out for me; I died! Meanwhile, the Apostle continues his speech and, having finished depicting the extremity in which the sinner finds himself, preaches the gospel of salvation. We should all die; but the man-loving God had mercy on us and sent His only begotten Son to earth, who came to us incarnate, suffered for us and, having satisfied the righteousness of God by death on the cross, sought for us forgiveness. Then, having risen and ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit from the Father, so that He would help those who wished to be saved in Him - the Son - to achieve their salvation, that is, so that those who, having repented and believed in Him, would make a firm intention not to anger God with their sins, would give strength to resist sin and walk unswervingly in the will of God. The soul heeds this, deeply troubled by the extremity of its situation, which has nothing to appease God with, and that if God Himself somehow forgave it, it does not hope to live so as not to anger God again - it heeds and arises to the hope of salvation. Glory to Thee, Lord! Here is the propitiation of God, and the forgiveness of sins, and the giving of strength for good. - He listens, arises in good faith and is impelled by the desire to be worthy of these blessings - and receive forgiveness of sins and be clothed with strength for good. But behold, the gospel word of the Apostle is heard again. This Spirit, sent by the Son of God from the Father, descended on us, the Apostles, and, having enlightened our minds with the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and clothed us with the power of signs, made us content to faithfully fulfill what was commanded to us by the Lord Savior before the Ascension: “Go and teach all languages” (Matthew 28:19). And from that hour we go everywhere in the presence of God and preach the gospel, calling everyone to salvation. “Repent therefore and believe in the Gospel; Let every one of you be baptized... and you may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:15; Acts 2:38). Having heard this, the soul rejoices, is inspired by the hope of receiving salvation and is inspired by the readiness to follow the proposed path. But the question arises: is this preacher telling the truth? “Repent,” he says. I am already repenting, grieving that I have sinned, and I strongly desire to throw off this burden of sins and not burden myself with them anymore. But he says, “believe.” Of course you have to believe; How can you follow it without faith? True, the gospel is very comforting, and I am ready to believe; but you can also be deceived. An extremely great thing is being announced. The Son of God became incarnate, died on the cross, rose again, ascended and sent down from the Father the Holy Spirit, equal to Himself, Who descended and is ready to be given to everyone. All this is indescribably high and beneficial. But it will be all the more bitter if this turns out to be infidelity. The Apostle's speech is sincere, his life is impeccable, conscientiousness shines in his eyes; but he himself can be in error, and lead others into it, without thinking that he is telling a lie. How can you be sure? “If I were sure, I would go right now to do what he says.” These hesitations and perplexities are completely in the order of things, and almost every soul encounters it on the transition to decisive belief and action by faith. And until they are eliminated, no good decisions can be established in the soul. Who can decide to become a mother-in-law without being sure that he will do the right thing? - That is why we see that the apostolic gospel was everywhere accompanied by tangible evidence and confirmation that it came from God, namely, signs. Saint Mark wrote about the Apostles: “They went out, preaching everywhere, making haste for the Lord and confirming the word with signs that followed” (Mark 16:20). And the book of Acts also conveys the experiences of that. There, the lame man from the womb began to walk, according to the word of the Apostles (Acts 3:2–7:14); there the paralytic was raised to his feet (Acts 9:34); there the dead are raised (Acts 9:41, 20:12); there the opponent of the Gospel is punished with blindness (Acts 13:11); there the demon was cast out (Acts 16:18). And everywhere all kinds of ailments were healed even by the shadow of the Apostle passing by or by the head-weights and brusses that were on his body and then placed on the sick (Acts 5:15; 19:12). Since this happened everywhere, and was heard about it everywhere, the question of whether the gospel was true, along with its generation, found a solution. In itself, it did not interfere with the formation of faith, but, on the contrary, contributed to it, encouraging those who hear and are ready to believe to clarify for themselves the foundations of faith, so that it would be the most reasonable and inviolably firm. Since these foundations were visible to everyone, this deed was accomplished quickly. - Now take a soul whose hearing and sight (that is, a sign before the eyes or heard) have completely confirmed the truth of those who inspired it with the trustworthiness of salvation, the promises and the faithfulness of the means offered to receive them. What is she? Then she, with all her thought, with all her feeling and with all her strength, having accepted the gospel, pronounces the decision to devote herself entirely to pleasing God, Whom she had previously angered so much - only may He speak all-forgiveness to her and may He endow her with the strength to overcome sin and walk in His will. Notice the content of this decision. One decides not to believe: faith has already been accepted; but by faith please God. This is the main thing. The inner turning of the soul to the Lord is thus completed. But it is still only mental, still in destiny, has not yet become effective; why is it unreliable? It must be imprinted in the soul, penetrated with Divine power and strengthened. This is accomplished by holy baptism. The soul has repented and believes. Now I must begin baptism. And indeed, the believer comes to the Apostle, expresses his faith, confesses his sins with a vow to live otherwise according to the will of God (Acts 19:18), and thereby opens himself to holy baptism, which the Apostle worthy of him either himself or through his assistants. He emerges from the font not only forgiven and endowed with power, but also in a feeling of forgiveness for everything that has passed, and in a feeling of strength to overcome sin and walk in the will of God - he comes out “dead by sin, but alive by God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). This is how a Christian is made. What's next? since the sun of grace has shone for him, he goes “to his work, and to his work until the evening” (Ps. 103:23) of life, considering himself a bought slave, obliged to do the will of the one who bought him, and at the end of his life, if he remains unchanged in his decision, he will be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven for endless joys. This is how a person becomes a Christian. What happens next will be nothing more than an incessant repetition of what was in effect here. Consider, then, what took place in all this without the participation of man himself? - Nothing. – In every turn of internal changes he acts himself, with his will and the tension of his strength. The preacher came and began to speak. To listen or not to listen is a matter of everyone’s freedom. Others stopped, surrounded him and listened; and you and I went our own way, saying: Why is he starting to talk nonsense here? Having listened to the first part of the sermon about the misery of the sinner’s situation, it is our business to admit that we are really in such a situation: others confess, but you and I only point to others. - Having admitted this, blaming ourselves and recognizing the justice of God’s punishment for that, again it’s our business: others condemn themselves, but you and I say to ourselves: what is this? - Having accused ourselves and recognizing the justice of God’s punishment, to feel how terrible this is, to be pained by it, to desire and seek deliverance, is also our business: others come to such feelings - they are horrified, lamented, they begin to look for some way out - but you and I remain completely indifferent. The preacher indicates a divinely established way to get rid of the extreme in which the sinner saw himself; but the need was born to make sure: is it true? Who will pave the way for us to believe in the truth of so many necessary and comforting promises? No one else - and this is our Business. The apostles, endowed with the power of God, present documents to certify the truth of their words; but we ourselves must look at these documents, understand their meaning and, as a result, be convinced of the truth of the promise. – And we see that another, as soon as the said question arises in him, says to himself: “This word is cruel; who can listen to him? (John 6:60) And immediately turns away. Another peers at the documents; but having examined them, he evaluates them in his own way: “Because of Beelzebub demons are cast out” (Luke 11:15), and he also leaves. But others are not embarrassed by the question, nor do they interpret the documents crookedly, and having found them completely convincing, they believe what was announced, to varying degrees of sincerity, liveliness and inspiration. From faith begins the third turn of internal movements in the matter of conversion: a decision based on faith. The believer says to himself: and so I give up sin, I set the intention to do what is pleasing to God, and in this decision I will approach the Lord the Savior, in the confidence that He will forgive me all the past and give me the strength to prove myself correct in the future. This decision is the main point in the matter of conversion, fundamental, imprecise. In it, the previous movements receive meaning and end, and everything that follows depends on it. If it were not for him, everything would be for nothing: contrition with faith will remain without end (as if a premise without a conclusion), and the subsequent life cannot be completely the way it should be in Christ Jesus. Meanwhile, on whom does this decision depend? From the man himself. He himself must pronounce it on his own and self-willingly. Neither faith necessarily determines him, nor does God force him against his will. – And we see that not everyone who believes immediately pronounces this decision. Others put it off until tomorrow, and of them one returns to him, and the other goes to the country. The decision is the main point in the moral structure of one who turns to the Lord; but as long as it is not yet sealed mysteriously with grace, it is still fragile, unreliable, powerless. Why is holy baptism offered after it? Who forces you to be baptized? Nobody. He who decides to follow the Lord himself goes to him in the confidence that in him he will receive the replenishment of everything, the lack of which his heart feels in his moral and religious system. What is given in baptism is the gift of God, which is given, however, not unconditionally. The condition is the said decision by faith. For the sake of this decision, by faith, the grace of God enters inside through the Sacrament and, combining there with the spirit of man, holding that decision, and tempering this decision, lays down the seed and embryo of a new spiritually grace-filled life. One’s own decision, weak in itself, is here clothed with power from above, and the baptized person therefore comes out of the font with a feeling of strength in the Lord, saying: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Here grace and freedom are combined together, and then act inseparably throughout life, unless some sin comes again to separate them. - A new beginning in life has been made. You see how the entire movement of internal changes up to the position of this beginning and this very position are accomplished not without the participation of the activity of our will and the free tension of our forces. How can we now say that salvation is given freely, without the participation of our labors and efforts, when the very beginning of its achievement is not given for free, but not without the participation of our labors and efforts? Do not think, however, that you yourself, alone, have converted if you have already been converted, or that you will convert if you have not yet been converted. No; I did not say everything that was said so that you would think so - and as a result I began to think a lot about myself and be arrogant, but so that you would firmly hold in your thoughts and hearts that salvation is not achieved without the participation of our will and the exertion of our strength, and as a result of this you would not give up, hearing that saving grace has come and is arranging the salvation of all. I said ahead that none of the movements by which one reaches conversion, or the position of the beginning of salvation, occurs without the participation of our will and the exertion of our forces. Now I will add that none of them happens without the assistance of grace. Together with the word of the gospel, calling for salvation through the hearing of the ear, grace passes into the soul and excites it. But it only excites thoughts and feelings. Since desire and inclination of the will must soon be formed due to the fact that it retreats and waits for what the owner of the house of the soul will choose. When desire and the inclination of the will are formed, it again comes to the aid and helps to establish what the will is inclined to. This is how contrition for sins is formed, the desire to get rid of the extremes to which they lead, faith in the proposed image of deliverance, the decision made as a result, and the approach to the Sacraments. In all these moments, the grace of the Holy Spirit follows will. Without it, the grace of God will not, by its own power, against the will, produce what should depend on the movements of the will. When, finally, grace, which hitherto acted from the outside, overshadowing, enters inside in the Sacrament and is combined with the spirit of man, then a special movement of will is no longer required. It prepared itself for this by all previous things and opened itself to grace by committing itself to the Lord in the final decision. Henceforth, grace abides inseparably from freedom, but still acts in the same way as before, assisting and strengthening desires and strength for the Cause of salvation, but never touching the sanctuary of freedom - its arbitrary choice and inclination. You may ask: where is faith here? - Right there; just not in the place where your novshak and others like him put it. Without faith there is not a single step; but it is not she who acts for salvation, she only awakens active forces and attracts grace to us; then everything proceeds through the interaction of freedom and grace, although under its continuous influence. Look! He who turns to the Lord believes that he is in a dangerous situation from sins, and begins to lament and seek an outcome; and grace deepens this feeling and quest. Believes that the method of deliverance offered by the gospel of salvation will truly and truly deliver, and decides to act on it; and grace secures this decision. He believes that saving powers are given only through the Sacraments, and approaches them in full confidence that he will receive them - and indeed receives them by faith and precisely through the Sacraments. He believes that the next life can successfully lead his mother-in-law to what he intended, also, only through the interaction of freedom and grace - and strains all his strength on the tasks ahead, not by his own, however, with the power of tea to complete them successfully, but by the grace of God, to which he turns prayerfully at every step, believing again that, after straining his strength to the possible limits, this grace will not leave coming to his aid in completing the urgent task, replenishing impoverished in his own powers, which are also God's. Thus, faith is like a spiritual atmosphere in which the tree of salvation develops and grows; but the very planting and growth of this tree is carried out by the action of internal forces, excited and strengthened by the action of the sun of grace. Explaining how the process of salvation begins, I only had in mind how this happens when someone approaches the Lord for the first time and is baptized. But in the same way this happens when someone turns to the Lord again, having lost the grace of baptism with a sinful life. - And this also awakens the soul by bringing to mind the wrath of God and feeling from that fear and fear for one’s eternal fate. Having sensed this, he also seeks how to get rid of the impending disaster, and, already knowing that this cannot be achieved otherwise than by repentance, proceeds to this Sacrament. Having mourned his sins with painful contrition of heart and having made a firm intention not to indulge his sinful lusts any more, but, going against them, to faithfully fulfill every will of God that is good and pleasing, he confesses his sins to his spiritual father, and at the moment of his absolution from these sins, he is again granted saving grace, which, combined with his spirit, again lays in him a firm beginning of a new life about Lord. He emerges from this tearful bath the same as they emerge from the baptismal font - a zealot for good deeds according to faith with the help of God's grace. – What is special here is that the feeling of pardon does not always suddenly come, and the feeling of strength in the Lord does not always suddenly come. This depends on how deeply someone falls after baptism and how long he remains in the fall - and even more on how many times someone falls again after repentance. But after more or less prolonged work on oneself and feats of self-mortification, these feelings finally come to everyone - and the state of grace is completely restored. Penances are aimed at this, which constitute an essential part in obtaining forgiveness of sins and healing of spiritual wounds. You see now that the beginning of a new life in Christ, or the beginning of salvation, is not given for nothing for faith, but is established by free movements of the spirit, by faith, with the help of the grace of God. “Further, you can already conclude that if the beginning went like this, then all the more so should the continuation of the achievement of salvation go this way.” That's how it is. It is sung not by faith, but by the intense activity of one’s powers, aroused by faith, with the help of God’s grace. Everything that happens here is depicted in detail in places of Scripture at the beginning of the letter. Look at the labors of the one who is being saved, and you will forget to think about the “free gift.” Now there is nothing to talk about this, but it occurred to me to explain to you a little why it happens that a new life has been begun and grace has been received, but still the work required is very great, exhausting. Look at a person emerging from the font of baptism or from the tear bath of repentance - how does he emerge? He emerges as a zealot for good deeds to please God in Christ Jesus the Lord with the help of grace. How did he get to this point? His troubled conscience and fear of God led him to this. They, having awakened, forced him to seek salvation and turn to the Lord. He sought according to the order established by the Lord Himself, and he entered on the path of salvation and is ready to walk along it in a feeling of strength in the Lord. What awaits him? Constant struggle with oneself in cleansing the heart from passions and sinful inclinations and habits; because otherwise it is impossible for him to fulfill the decision made from the initial appeal - to be zealous for good deeds to please God. Just think - it's a struggle again; There was already a struggle there, a turning point in life had been made; it seems that would be enough. – This is what I want to explain to you now. But for this I must briefly introduce you to the structure of our human nature. Know that in our inner life there is a certain higher side, or power, the essence of which is to live in God, according to His will, detached from everything. I call it the special, highest part of our nature, the spirit - that spirit that is breathed into the face of the primordial from the mouth of God. The movements or manifestations of this spirit are: first - immediate confidence in the existence of God, with the consciousness of complete dependence on Him, which can be denoted in one word - fear of God; the second is conscience, or showing the will of God with compulsion to fulfill it, and then with approval for fulfillment and condemnation for non-fulfillment; the third is the search for communion with God with dissatisfaction with anything created. Call it whatever you want - whether it’s a special part of our nature or just the highest side of the soul - that’s not the point; just admit that the indicated spiritual movements are in us and constitute our highest asset, the norm of human life - what makes a person human. I will call it spirit. Under this spirit we have a soul and a body, which combine forces and needs adapted to life on earth: in the body, for example, the need to eat, drink, rest, sleep and the like; in the soul - family, social, artistic, business, scientific and similar needs. In these aspects of life we ​​stand on the same line as animals; only with us they are more meaningful, because they are lifted significantly from the ground by the spirit given to us. From this you can conclude that the spirit must set the tone of life in a person; the soul and body must submit to him, be in his service, act in his ways. The spirit draws strength for this from communion with God, which invests it with royal power over soul and body. In the primordial ones before the fall this was the case. They lived in spirit in God, and their spirit, drawing strength from this communion with God, ruled over soul and body. But when they fell through the temptation of the enemy, the order of the movements of their lives changed. The spirit, having fallen away from God, lost its power over the soul and body, and they began to conduct their affairs independently of him, according to their own will. Because of this, everything inside was upset and went apart. Spiritual movements are left aside; The mental-physical life in man began to quality, with weak remnants of manifestations of the spirit - and he ceased to be what he should have been. At the same time, the needs of the soul and body, innocent in themselves, not being controlled by a higher power, led to different methods of their satisfaction and turned into a bunch of inclinations and habits, no longer innocent due to prevalence, excess, deviation from their natural rank and even unnaturalness. Moreover, among them a special class of wrong movements, passions, opponents of all good, products of egoism under the influence of our enemy, the devil, has developed. This is the state of the fallen and of every person who remains in sin. His life moves according to mental and physical inclinations, habits and passions, without attention to the demands of the spirit, declared by the fear of God, conscience and feelings of unsatisfactory such a life. The spirit is alive in them too; but neglected, downtrodden, driven away. The restoration of the fallen, which constitutes the essence of Christianity, occurs precisely through the restoration of the spirit and the return to it of power over the soul and body and the cleansing of them from all inclinations, habits and passions that have come to them illegally. To this end both the economy of salvation in general and the accomplishment of salvation by it for each one who is saved is directed. It was fitting for our spirit to be restored by the grace of the Spirit of God. But access to us by the Spirit of God was blocked by the oath that lay upon us, due to the extreme insult to God by contempt for His will in the fall. This oath had to be lifted in order to open the way to us for the grace of the Holy Spirit. For this, the Son of God became incarnate, suffered and died on the cross, thereby removing the oath from us, having become an oath against us. After this, there was no longer any barrier to the Holy Spirit descending to us. He descended as soon as the Lord the Savior ascended after the resurrection. This is the essence of the economy of our salvation. Then, everyone’s achievement of their own salvation is mediated by the immediate acceptance of the grace of the Holy Spirit. But have you seen how the first action of the Spirit of God on man is revealed through the word of the gospel? Because He disturbs his conscience and strikes him with the fear of God. The fear of God and conscience, as I said before, are the essence of our spirit. Consequently, the grace of the Spirit, beginning to act towards our salvation, acts directly on our spirit, reviving its natural feelings and giving it the strength to raise the voice of its demand above all the voices of the lower forces that have hitherto ruled illegally. Remember now how from this first movement the one who turns to the Lord comes to the decision - to devote himself entirely to the Lord and to please Him in every possible way, turning away from everything that is contrary to Him, and how then, after receiving the Holy Sacrament of baptism or repentance, he leaves with a feeling of strength to resist everything sinful and do every good thing. This strength is the strength inherent in our spirit, lost in the fall and now restored by grace. Consequently, for one who turns to the Lord, as depicted above, nothing less than the restoration of his spirit by the grace of the Holy Spirit is accomplished. – And lo – the beginning of a new life! What happened in your soul and body at this time? There, all the former innocent inclinations, habits and passions remained as they were; only the power has been taken away from them. First, whatever they want, give it to them. And the man, although reluctantly, tried to carry out their orders; but now it’s not the same. They are still presenting their demands; but the grace of God, having restored the spirit, gives it the power to point out to a person the demands that are contrary to them, and imparts the power to repel those and fulfill them. Why, from this moment on, the fighting begins inside. Sin, through previously common mental-physical inclinations and passions, rebels against the spirit, attempting to conquer it again; and the spirit, with the help of God’s grace, reflects it and directs the forces of soul and body to the opposite. Once this struggle has begun, it continues. If the spirit does not succumb in anything, sin becomes weaker and weaker, bad inclinations and passions die out, and he - the spirit - more and more acquires the power to act in his order through the soul and body more unhindered. The end of the battle, when bad inclinations and passions are completely expelled from the body and soul, the blessed spirit will remain completely free, the ruler of all mental and physical movements. And this is the meaning of the promise: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17). So, this is now the matter of the renewed spirit, which has accepted the beginning of a new life! This is the kind of work he sets out to do, upon leaving the watery font of baptism or from the tearful bath of repentance - to cleanse the soul and body from everything sinful, passionate and sensual, making our entire nature pure, to build from it a worthy church to the Trinitarian God - in which is an eternal life, which will remain, after the outcome, henceforth his eternal property. Now you see why, even after receiving grace and the renewal of our spirit, there is still work ahead, and long and sorrowful work. It is necessary, after the restoration of the spirit, to free the soul and body from the captivity of sinful inclinations and passions, and lead them into freedom of the spirit. Don’t overlook these two moments: the restoration of our spirit in its rights and power, and the cleansing of soul and body from everything sinful and passionate. The first is accomplished in the generation in us of the beginning of a new life, as depicted before, and the second must be accomplished throughout our lives upon the perception of that beginning by the grace of the Spirit in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let me explain this to you with an example. Let us assume that a city is being liberated from its captive enemies. The former legal owner of the city with his army approaches it, drives away the enemy troops, invades and takes possession of the fortress inside the city, the Kremlin. The Kremlin has been taken, but the entire city around is still in the hands of enemies. The first concern of someone who has taken possession of the Kremlin is to gain a foothold in it and be safe; and the first concern of the enemies who still own the city is to capture it and take possession of it again. And after the general battle in front of the city, a private and frequent war begins within the city. The enemies make attacks, the Kremlin owners repulse them and, for their part, make forays. Being stronger, the Kremlin, having weakened the enemy with frequent forays, begin to take parts of the city into their hands, one after another; finally they completely drive out the enemies from the city and suburbs and become complete owners of everything. Exactly the same thing happens in us when someone turns to the Lord and is sanctified by the Sacraments. The spirit is restored and clothed with grace; and the soul and body are still in captivity to sin and passions. Their rightful owner, man, should now, strengthened in spirit and armed with all God-given means, displace sin and passions from other parts of his nature, by fighting and defeating them, in order to become the complete owner of everything, as was originally intended. He who turns to the Lord immediately begins to do this. How is this done? Just as the beginning of a new life is supposed to be - through the interaction of freedom and grace. The person himself must work on this in every possible way and strain his strength to achieve this. Looking at these intense efforts, the grace of God will flow in and complete what is sought, because man himself cannot bring anything to the required end. If a person does not work, grace will not do for him what he should do himself. She only comes to the rescue, while a person will already exhaust all his strength, which is also a gift from God. But as he grows stronger and sees some success, let him not dream that he himself, through his own efforts, can reach the end of what he is looking for. And he cannot completely conquer a small passion, not just a large one, and especially not all of them. In general, cleansing the soul and body from passions is a matter of grace. You see now that for those who have accepted a new beginning of life in baptism or repentance, there is not rest, but work and sweat, struggle and personal action against passions and sin. And this is not due to any arbitrariness, but according to the urgent law of the flow of our restoration from the fall. That is why you see in the lives of all the saints who pleased and glorified God, that they spent their entire lives in strict feats of self-mortification, internal and external, and in labors to practice virtues with constant recourse to God. This finally led them to the point where bad inclinations and passions were completely expelled from their soul and body, and good dispositions were installed in their place. When in this way everything sinful and passionate was cast out, the human nature in them appeared in its natural, primordial form - their spirit, soul and body, having been imbued with grace, were illuminated by Divine light - which served as a clear sign that they had finally become the church of the Trinitarian God, as the Savior had promised. This is what must be kept in mind and what is finally achieved! The blessing is indescribably great! But let labor and sweat, both mental and physical, come first. It is said about those who have succeeded: “They who are Christ’s, the flesh was crucified with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). So, salvation is not given for nothing, but is accomplished - and accomplished by the interaction of freedom and grace, awarded to us and embodied, but not given (that is, not without the participation of the inclinations of freedom). In the dispensation (economy) of salvation, everything was done tuna - by grace alone; in the achievement of salvation by everyone, nothing happens through grace alone, but everything is done through the interaction of freedom and grace. Here, neither grace will do anything alone if it does not see the inclinations and efforts of freedom, nor freedom can accomplish anything alone without the help of grace. Salvation is achieved through their inseparable action - when someone, by faith in the Lord the Savior, having decided to please God in every possible way, rejecting everything that is contrary to Him and being strengthened for this by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments, works in this order with all his might and continuously. The Apostle Paul says about himself: I have labored more than all the Apostles; but I am not the reason for success, but grace that is with me. This means that he, for his part, strained all his strength, but it was not they who accomplished the work, but the grace that was present with him. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have done anything. Why did he conclude: “It is by the grace of God that I am” (1 Cor. 15:10). Do not think that this participation of freedom and tension of strength is required little; no - not small, but to the extent that our nature can bear. This is palpably experienced especially in the main moment - in the decision, denying oneself, to follow the Lord. Whether for the first time someone approaches the Lord or, having fallen after baptism, turns to Him again, this decision is a painful and difficult turning point of the entire internal structure, sealed by readiness for all kinds of hardships and even death, if it turns out that otherwise it is impossible to stand in the decision made. Following the Lord is not walking along the flowers, but through thorns and among thorns, not directly entering heaven, but first ascending to the cross, so that from there you can enter heaven. All this is rethought, re-experienced and accepted at the hour of decision. Even death, not retreating is the essence of determination to work for the Lord. What kind of tension of moral forces must be used to reach such a point?! And this is just the beginning. Then, in real life, according to this decision, such tension is required every step of the way, and without it nothing can be done. - So, if you please know this, - and “tune” - throw it out of your head, and begin to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, bringing “all diligence” to grace, as Saint Peter commands you (2 Pet. 1:5). Look now how much truth there is in the words: believe and you are saved? – In fact, it happens that if someone, having believed, follows the path that faith indicates, he will undoubtedly achieve salvation. Therefore, it is not written: “He who has faith” is saved, but “he will be saved,” if, of course, he fulfills everything that is required to be fulfilled on his part (Mark 16:16). It is true that he who believes and is renewed by grace in baptism or repentance has an unshakable confidence that the path on which he has entered undoubtedly leads to salvation, that he will undoubtedly lead him to it, if he does not sin in his journey; even more, he is confident that the Lord, who began the work of salvation in him, will complete this work to the end - and in this hope he completely surrenders himself to His guidance; but this in no way relieves him of his own labors and efforts - and he himself does not think of stopping them, recognizing their obligation, but, on the contrary, in every possible way stimulates himself to, sparing no effort, diligently take on everything that lies on the path of his progress. Now I should make short remarks against each of the points you sent. But we have to postpone this until the next letter; because, as you can see, you and I started talking a little. Save yourself! Meanwhile, think about everything that has been said and try to knock this seductive “for free” out of your head, so that not a trace of it remains there. What lucky people you have there that the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them for free?! Do not be jealous of these evil ones. Letter 26. Fourth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Denunciation of the wrong teaching that all who believe in Christ are saved and that the gifts of God, as eternal ones, cannot be taken away. Sin after baptism interrupts the effects of the gifts of grace. The remission of sins after baptism is performed only in the Sacrament of Repentance. The sin of every person is a great offense to God; The sin of a Christian immeasurably offends God. About saving good deeds. Do not seek the Lord from someone who has separated from the Church. About the difference in the degrees of bliss of the righteous and the torment of sinners. Whoever does not honor the holy holidays acts wickedly and unreasonably I hasten to finish our conversation with you about the points of the teachings of your novshak that you sent. Perhaps something else should be said about them in general; but I undertake to make comments about each point: here the general thing will not go unnoticed if it remains not shown. 1) “Salvation is accomplished, and all who believe in Christ are saved.” Everything that is necessary for our salvation has been completed, the treasury of salvation has been built - its economy. Come and take as much as you can fit. The path to this treasury, the ticket to enter it and to receive everything contained in it, is given by faith. Whoever believes and comes to this treasury will be given everything needed for salvation by God’s established orders. This, as I wrote last time, is forgiveness of sins for the sake of the Lord’s death on the cross and the grace of the Holy Spirit. No matter how great these gifts of God are, given at the very first approach to the Lord by faith, for all that, one who believes and receives these gifts through the Sacraments cannot be called saved. This is only the beginning of salvation. He who believes enters a path that truly and undoubtedly leads to salvation, but he will appear saved when he completes this path without stumbling and unswervingly. Therefore, in Saint Mark the Lord says: “Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16), and not yet saved. He will undoubtedly be saved if he remains faithful to the faith and does not cease to do what is necessary for salvation. Do not doubt that you will receive salvation; just flow slowly along the path to it, imitating St. Paul, who says about himself: I am moving towards the right thing, but have not yet reached it; I press in order to achieve (Phil. 3:12–14). The only thing that can be said about “saved” is that if one of those who believe, having emerged from the font of baptism or repentance with aversion from everything sinful and zeal for everything good, immediately departs from this life, then he will not fall under condemnation, because from the time of baptism he is excluded from the list of those who are perishing and is included in the list of those who are being saved. But if he still remains unclean in soul and body, then this deficiency will be filled by the prayers of the Church, which are heard in it at every service. 2) “Salvation was given to us tuna, and the gifts of God, as immutable and eternal, cannot be taken away.” The salvation of tune is arranged for everyone, but tune is not given to anyone. This was almost all my last letter was about. The incarnation of the Son of God, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the dispensation of the Church of God, in which alone all who desire salvation can be saved - all this was done tuna, freely. And everyone is called to salvation for nothing, too. But then, as soon as someone heeded the calling and began to move towards receiving salvation, according to God’s established order, from that moment nothing is free, but everything requires exertion of one’s strength, diligence and labor - and if this does not happen, you will receive nothing: seek and you will find, and it will be opened to you (Luke 11:9). So it will be more accurate if you get into the habit of saying: salvation is accomplished with the help of grace, instead of: given to tuna. The general idea of ​​this point - “salvation is freely given and cannot be taken away, because the gifts of God are irrevocable” - is completely false, flattering, and destructive: for it undermines all the energy of moral forces and, stopping the one who is going to salvation, deprives him of the opportunity to receive it. The economy of salvation is irrevocable and eternally strong - all-sufficient for the salvation of everyone at all times who have lived, are living and have to live - and its power extends to all eternity. But these qualities - immutability, immutability, eternity - cannot certainly be applied to the salvation of each person while one is here on earth. In this regard, one can only say: whoever believes and, by faith, faithfully fulfills everything necessary for salvation, as the Savior Himself established in His Holy Church, he will undoubtedly be saved; whoever does not fulfill this need cannot hope to be saved, for the sole reason that the salvation arranged by the Lord is immutable, even after he has come to the Lord by faith and received the firstfruits of salvation, forgiveness of sins and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Whoever, having received forgiveness of sins, sins again, loses this gift; Likewise, whoever, having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, offends the Spirit of God with his sins, is deprived of this gift. Such a person again enters the category of the unforgiven and graceless. The perceived beginning of salvation is destroyed; we need to look for him again. The word: “cannot be taken away”, due to our variability, is not applicable to receiving and achieving salvation. Consequently, it is used falsely and deceives the inexperienced. 3) “A person is saved through faith in Christ.” Well said: it is saved. Therefore, he is not yet saved, but is only working out his salvation, going through the course, the course of salvation. And that one is saved through faith in Christ the Lord is also true, if by faith in Christ we mean the Christian faith in all its essential structure. Apart from this faith there is no salvation. But if by faith in Christ we mean only the belief that Christ the Savior has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation, then such faith alone does not bring about our salvation if someone remains alone with it. It only gives the first impetus to the movement towards salvation. Having accepted it, one must repent and make a firm intention to work steadily for the Lord, turning away from everything that is displeasing to Him; Next, you must proceed to the Sacraments in the Holy Church and through them receive the forgiveness and grace of the Holy Spirit; finally, having been clothed with this power, the mother-in-law steadfastly followed the commandments of the Lord in fulfillment of this vow. Whoever has arranged his work of salvation in this way should be said to be saved by the faith of Christ or to faithfully work out his salvation in the Lord the Savior. 4) “He who has believed in Christ and, therefore, has appropriated the redemption as his own is not subject to eternal destruction.” These words require additions in order to properly express the truth they are talking about. The assimilation of the atonement is attributed to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not complete. The Lord redeemed us with His blood or the death of the cross. The redemptive power of the Lord's death on the cross is acquired by us in holy baptism, as St. Paul explains (Rom. 6:3-4). Here a man crucifies himself to Christ the Savior, is doused with His blood and washed. Faith precedes and accompanies this; but one without baptism does not assimilate the redemptive power of the Lord’s death on the cross. And at baptism, it is not alone that serves as a friend of such power, but together with repentance and a firm decision to live otherwise holyly. When this is the case, then the power of redemption is truly accepted—and immediately the one being baptized is taken out of the circle of those subject to eternal destruction and brought into the circle of those being saved. But it is possible to say that one who has acquired redemption in the manner indicated is not subject to eternal destruction, only under the condition: if he does not sin again. Sin after baptism interrupts the effect of all the gifts received in it, and again makes the sinner a son of destruction, and in an even more strict sense than in which he was guilty of it before, as St. Paul writes in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “It is the will of those who sin for us, after we have received the understanding of truth” (Heb. 10:26) (and washing in the waters of baptism - above v. 22), “whoever For sins, a sacrifice is not found, but a certain expectation of judgment is terrible, and the fire of zeal is to destroy those who want to resist” (Heb. 10:26-27). Why is this so? Because, having given himself over to sin, “the blood of the covenant... was sanctified by it” in baptism, “he thought of filthiness... and rebuked the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:26–29), or, as it is said elsewhere: the second (again. – Ed.) crucified Christ (Heb. 6:6). 5) “Everyone who believes in Christ immediately receives remission of sins and is delivered from eternal punishment.” Here is the same idea as in the previous paragraph, with small shades visible in the word: “immediately.” It’s as if this word was deliberately added to inspire, so that nothing more is needed besides faith; but this is not so: repentance is urgently needed. And for the first time those who come to Christ must confess their sins, as the Ephesians did before St. Paul (Acts 19:18). Moreover, this is required of those who sin after baptism. The difference is that there baptism cleanses confessed sins from sins, but here the Sacrament of repentance with priestly permission. Thus, the remission of sins with faith is always mediated by the Sacrament. And this does not and cannot be otherwise. You can convince yourself that even without the Sacraments, sins will be forgiven; but this will be self-delusion. The second half of the paragraph: “And is delivered from eternal punishment” is correct in the sense that the one who has received cleansing and remission of sins is calculated from the list of those sentenced to eternal punishment. But if it is clear here that he will in no way be subject to this punishment, then this is not true. If he sins again, he will fall under it, and in the strictest sense, as I have already noted. Why, having received remission of past sins, stand cheerfully and courageously, so that the sinful desires remaining in the soul and body do not rise again and carry you away to the old ways. 6) “To be saved, you must accept Christ into yourself. To do this, we need to recognize ourselves as sinners, believe in Christ, thank Him for everything that He has done for us, recognize ourselves as saved forever, and be convinced that from this moment all our sins are forgiven, and we become constant participants in eternal life.” Again the same thing, only more expansive, stronger and more persistent, as if your newcomer had decided, at all costs, to instill a spirit of self-delusion into those listening. “Be convinced that our sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours.” You can, as I already said, fill yourself with such a conviction, but not through the truth, but through self-delusion. The feeling of forgiveness comes into the soul like an influx from above. The Lord speaks forgiveness in the heart, and it is heard clearly. We, who for the most part approach the Lord - if we approach - after we have managed to lose the grace of baptism - even after we sincerely confess our sins, we will pay for them and make a firm intention not to sin again; We, I say, are not immediately given the feeling of God’s favor and forgiveness when we resolve our sins or when our spiritual father resolves them. Here this is only accepted by faith; he comes into feeling after being satisfied with his labors, painful and merciless. Whether the confessor imposes penance or does not impose it, this Divine penance - a delay in bestowing the feeling of pardon - always happens, more or less long, judging by the sins. When this feeling finally comes, what happens here is different from what happens with conviction. Conviction occurs in the mental part, and from there it acts on the heart. And then the feeling of mercy enters the heart and takes possession of it, and makes all the powers of soul and body rejoice and rejoice. The repentant feels the embrace of his father. This heavenly state is given to all those who have sufficiently exhausted themselves in contrition and overwork - of course, all under the condition of faith and humbly falling before the Lord. So, if this is exactly what your newcomer understands when speaking about the conviction of the forgiveness of sins, then good. But I very much doubt that he thinks so, because for him the words “labor and feat” are unbearable. Why does he probably believe that forgiveness is given for faith alone, which gives rise to conviction. This is a direct path to self-delusion. When such a feeling enters the heart in the above-mentioned way, then at the same time the spiritual sacrifice of thanksgiving begins to glow there and lives inseparably with that feeling. The aspiration of the inheritance of eternal life immediately brightens, whereas until now it was dull, timid and indecisive. I will repeat the whole way: we, approaching the Lord in repentance, need to mourn our sins, confess them sincerely, expressing a decisive intention not to indulge ourselves any more, and receive the mysterious resolution of sins from the Lord through the lips of our confessor; then begin the work of self-harm to suppress sinful habits and as punishment for previous self-will. When the sinful movements subside and the merciless conscience is satisfied with arbitrary deprivations, then the Lord takes pity on the repentant and allows him to feel the forgiveness that was due to him only by faith. I repeat this on purpose so that anyone, having listened to your newcomer, does not really think that since he believes, then there is nothing more to worry about - it is permissible to harbor the conviction that sins are forgiven and eternal life is ours. The first words of this paragraph, that in order to be saved one must accept Christ into oneself, could be left unqualified. But as it is said here about accepting only Christ the Savior, as in all points, it is impossible not to stipulate: for salvation it is necessary to accept Christ the Lord into oneself, but inseparably from the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to awaken through the word of the gospel or generally through the Divine word the feelings of sinfulness, fear for one’s eternal fate, repentance, the decision to begin to live properly, and the one who believes, in the Sacrament of baptism, clothes him in Christ, and in the Sacrament of repentance he clothes him. All this is by the good pleasure of the Father. When he who has thus received the beginning of a new life in spirit transforms with the help of grace both soul and body and becomes completely pure, then the entire Holy Trinity shines inseparably in the believer, the Trinitarian Divinity itself shines. And behold, a perfect man, having reached the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ. “I’m prescribing this for you and yours on purpose, so that you won’t be confused by the vague phrases of your newbie.” Look again, what means does he indicate to the acceptance of Christ? “You need to recognize yourself as a sinner, believe in Christ, thank Him, recognize yourself saved forever.” This is something too ideal and detached, in a Doukhobor style. You need to have all this; but without the Holy Sacraments of the Church - baptism, repentance, communion - no one can accept Christ with mental movements alone. The hope of this or the confidence in this is an empty dream, seductive and destructive, for, assuring that Christ is accepted apart from the methods established by Him Himself, apart from which He is not accepted, it deviates from the use of these methods, leaves a person without Christ, without Whom there is no salvation. This is how, by constantly talking about Christ, your novshak alienates you from Him. 7) “In this way we accept Christ into ourselves, who, no matter what, never leaves us, but always abides in us.” “In this way we accept Christ,” that is, as he said above, mentally, Doukhobor and Khlyst. No, this is not how Christ the Lord is received, as I have said more than once. The Lord Himself established a different way of receiving Him from this, and apart from this established way by Him, no one else hoped to receive Him. And this: “The accepted Christ, no matter what, never leaves us,” - where did it come from? Will Christ really remain in the one who, through his sins, after accepting Him, trampled His blood and crucified Him Himself? (Heb.6:6;10:26-29). Sins make the soul and body stinking. How does your newcomer dare to keep the Lord in this stench? Did He fall into captivity after being perceived by man? God Himself testifies that our sins separate Him from us. So Christ the Lord leaves the sinner in whom he was before. And the favor of the Father departs from him, and the grace of the Spirit is withdrawn. Other spirits begin to dominate there. “Christ never leaves us again; we are certainly partakers of life” - what kind of speech is this? Does he believe that after accepting Christ a person can no longer sin? But this is too arbitrary. This suggestion is unclear. If he thinks this way about himself and teaches others to think this way about himself, then this is another feature of self-delusion. Christ is in us, we add - and the grace of the Holy Spirit and the favor of the Father - until a person abstains from sins and does not put them away. But They, inherent in being in him, do not bind his freedom. Why can anyone fall, no matter how high a degree of perfection he stands. And if he falls, they will withdraw, and man will remain alone with his sins, and those who plunged him into sin, instead of our merciful God and Savior. 8) “He who has accepted Christ into himself is not subject to mortal sins; for sins in general he is subject to only temporary punishments.” If the first position is understood under this condition: while Christ is in it, then of course this is fair. But if it is believed that this happens due to some kind of necessity, then there is no truth here. The first ethereal fell; the one who was among the Apostles fell; how many examples of the fall of saints, men of high life and miracle workers?! Therefore, it is absurd to dream about the sinlessness of generally ordinary people. True, Saint John the Theologian says that “he who is born of God does not sin.” But he immediately adds: “But... he takes care of himself” (1 John 5:18). And it turns out that he does not sin because he watches himself. He will not keep watch and will sin. Freedom always remains with man. And he can fall, no matter how high he stands and no matter how close to God he is placed. The last statement: “Sins in general,” as the speech goes, “excluding mortals, are subject to temporary punishment,” is correct. These are the kind of sins into which even a righteous person falls seven times a day. All of them, as soon as they become conscious, are purified by internal repentance; those that remain unnoticed are released during a common prayer for sins that remain unknown every evening. But nevertheless, they must also satisfy the truth of God. The mercy of God arranges this by sending temporary cleansing sorrows and deprivations. One should not joke about small and small sins. Who considers an idle word important, or a distracted glance at something, or an uncontrolled laugh, and so on? We see, however, in the words of the Lord their strict condemnation of all people in general; For those who have accepted the Lord, even excusable sins may turn out to be unforgivable. Therefore, we gratefully accepted when sorrow visited. 9) “Faith in Christ, as a gift of God, is never taken away from those who have accepted Christ into themselves; because the gifts of God are immutable and eternal. The grace of redemption also remains with them and is not taken away from them.” God's gifts are irrevocable. - Is it true? If the gifts of God are not given unconditionally, but under the condition of surrendering oneself to God and the Divine order, and this disposition can change according to the freedom of man, then one cannot say decisively that the gifts of God are immutable. Due to violation of this condition, they can be taken back. What kind of judgment was pronounced over the one who received us and did not attach anything to him? “Take us from him” (Luke 19:24). – The same judgment applies to a believer when he turns out to be unfaithful to the faith in some way. Faith is a gift, but not unconditional and not immediate. The gift of faith is preceded by one’s own personal faith with the subjugation of the mind to it, the desire for faith and the seeking of it. It is true that faith, like a gift, is powerful and sublime, but it does not bind freedom of mind. The mind can rebel against it, come up with twists and turns away from it, and then attract the will and the heart and the whole person to set aside. Where then can the gift of faith be kept? He either moves away or lands. And experiences of such falling away have happened at all times and still exist. What can we say about the inalienability of faith? And in general, there is no need to speak affirmatively about the irrevocability of something, as if by some fatal necessity, even in the realm of grace. Because here grace acts together with freedom, and acts under the condition of self-willed submission to freedom. If this condition ceases, grace will cease its action. The second provision of this point, that the grace of redemption remains inalienable, is also incorrect. The grace of redemption remains as long as faith and zeal to live by faith are alive, keeping a person constantly in the feat of self-crucifixion for the Lord, by which a person is grafted into the cross of the Lord. If faith and such zeal freeze—and this is always possible in a free creature—the grace of redemption will depart. Saint Paul considers it possible for one who believes and accepts redemption not only to do this, but also to trample on the atoning blood and the second crucifixion of the Redeemer Himself: how can one remain in such the grace of redemption? Therefore, it is unfair to call it inalienable. It is said about love that it “will never fall away,” and with it faith and hope are inseparable. But such love is the height of Christian perfection, achievable for everyone, but not achieved by everyone. This cannot be said about all love. Our ordinary love is for the most part such that just show us the lentils that are tastier, and we are ready to retreat from our beloved, although not forever, but only for this case. But even such a retreat is still a retreat. Thus, talking about irrevocability and immutability in relation to a person is very inappropriate. 10) “Whoever has accepted Christ into himself and then sinned only needs to repent, and he immediately receives immediate forgiveness, since Christ is an inexhaustible source of mercy and forgiveness.” This is said to suggest that a Christian who has sinned does not need confession and God-established (authorized) permission from the spiritual father, in the Sacrament of repentance; but it is enough to sigh in your heart about sin, and it is forgiven as soon as the sigh leaves your chest. Even a firm intention to abstain from sin is not required. This is too much of a concession. Even in our ordinary everyday routines, misdeeds, for example, servants and children, are not dealt with so easily. The sin of every person is a great insult to God, who wrote His law in our hearts. The sin of a Christian incomparably offends God, since a Christian has received the clearest and most complete knowledge of the commandments, and has received grace that strengthens him to fulfill these commandments, and has heard and knows the richest promise for fulfilling what is required. A Christian, who has accepted Christ the Lord into himself, which is the highest degree of Christian perfection, by sinning, offends God, it must be said, immeasurably. The Apostle thus defines that he tramples the blood of Christ, even crucifies Christ Himself, who was received into himself, and insults the Holy Spirit. “And despite such an indescribable horror of sin, the Christian sinner is told: “Nothing, just breathe, and you are forgiven.” This is said in the name of the inexhaustible mercy of Christ. Truly He is infinitely merciful; but not at all an indulgence. Was it not at His inspiration that the Apostle wrote the above-mentioned judgment against the Christian sinner? Was it not on His behalf that he pronounced such a sentence? Over the Corinthian fornicator, Saint Paul pronounced a terrible sentence: to hand him over to Satan - was it not according to the Lord’s inspiration? That is why in the ancient Church, obvious sinners suffered long and heavy penances. And they received forgiveness after they declared both the sincerity of their repentance and the firmness of their intention to shun other sins, not in word, but in deed. This severity in the Holy Church is still kept in the penitential canons, according to which confessors impose penances. And no one should think of receiving forgiveness without performing penance. The confessors of the indulgents do not good, but evil to the penitents, without imposing penance. And during penance, the feeling of forgiveness from the Lord does not suddenly come, but one must wear oneself out a lot with contrition, deprivation, and tears, so that God’s mercy returns to the heart of a Christian sinner. It happens; Accordingly, the laws of the Church on repentance follow. The Lord Savior will always accept the repentant, but He does not completely return His mercy all of a sudden: work hard and prove that you are deeply and not fleetingly contrite, and again God’s mercy will overshadow you. And this happens only after confession and resolution in the Sacrament of Repentance. Without confession and permission, even though you suffer for the rest of your life, you will receive nothing. For sin after baptism deprives the grace of renewal of the spirit. One must once again be worthy of it, so that with its help one can cleanse the impurities of passions and self-indulgence that have again pressed into the soul and body. She returns in the Sacrament of Repentance, which is the second baptism in the lacrimal font. since it is such, it is preceded by the same thing as baptism, that is, faith, contrition with tears, confession with the decision to walk, etc. in the will of God. For the sake of such dispositions of the heart, together with the permissive word of the spiritual father, grace returns and, combined with freedom, again establishes the beginning of a spiritually grace-filled life, just as this happens when the baptized person is immersed in water with the utterance of baptismal words, which the Lord commanded to be pronounced. Without this, grace will not return; consequently, there will be no spiritual life in its proper meaning. As for direct forgiveness, it occurs only in relation to sins that break through unintentionally - which are most in thoughts and feelings, less in words and even less - or they are barely noticeable - in deeds. A zealot for pleasing God, imbued with the fear of God, as soon as he notices such a slipping sin, immediately turns to the Lord, who is always visible to him, repents contritely, condemning himself, and is forgiven. But even at the same time, as soon as any sin weighs on the conscience at least somewhat, it is better to rush to the confessor and, after confessing, get permission. This order is observed in the Church of God, the true guardian of the benefits of her children. She, using severity, does not burden and torment those who have sinned; she expresses thirst, and care for this shows what is most salutary for those who have sinned. Benefits and indulgences are alien to her, not due to the absence of maternal love, but on the contrary, due to the ardor of this love. She imposes hardships not as executions, but as saving cures. “It’s true that some people don’t like this severity; but this depends on a lack of understanding of one’s essential spiritual benefits. 11) “The first duty of one who has received Christ into himself should be the gospel, confession and preaching.” This is said for no other reason than to justify one’s imposture. If, according to your novshak, every believer has already accepted Christ into himself, then it turns out that every believer has a duty to preach - not only can he preach, but he has a duty; so if he does not do this, he sins. – Can we legislate this way? - No way. To preach, you must have the ability to do so; does it happen to everyone? - If not everyone, then it is impossible to impose such a duty on everyone without restrictions, at least with this addition: if anyone is capable. But even among those who are capable, not everyone can fulfill this duty properly, only because they are capable. We must learn faith and know it thoroughly. Without knowing the dogmas of faith well, despite all the ability to preach, you can make a mistake and bring harm instead of benefit. Here's another limitation. But this is not enough. It is necessary for the speaker to be morally reliable; otherwise he will create with one hand and destroy with the other. This is another limitation. But let it all be there - ability, preparation, and reliability: is it all there? No; he who has taken up this work must lead it diligently, and for this it is necessary that his soul be drawn to this particular type of work. If his soul does not rest, he will not be able to control himself, and the work of preaching will not be successful. - But even if this is there - the soul lies; Another may be in such circumstances that he cannot take up this matter. But even if everything is favorable to the work of preaching, there must be order in the conduct of this matter; otherwise there will be a crush that is extremely harmful to the cause: for if everyone who believes goes to preach, then it is possible that in the same place and to the same persons another will come after one, there a third and a tenth, and one will begin preaching from one point, another from another, a third from a third - and when the norm of preaching is not given, as in the Orthodox Church the Creed, then it is not surprising that each one will preach something different from the other. What fruit can we expect from this? Just chaos! Poor listeners will not know where to turn - they will be talked to and whirled around. That's how many restrictions there are, and they all come directly out of the essence of the preaching work. Because it is said very thoughtlessly that everyone who believes has a duty to preach, and, as I noted at the beginning, only in order to justify his imposture. Your impostor justifies his preaching with the words of the Savior: “Whoever confessed Me before men, let us also confess him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). But these words cannot justify: for here we are talking about confession, and not about preaching and evangelism. These two actions are different. He who confesses the Lord only confesses his faith in Him when circumstances require, without having the thought of converting others to it; and the preacher only means that he will convert others to the faith he preaches. The preacher, of course, is also the confessor. He can deliberately introduce his confession into the sermon when his belief provides special evidence of the heavenly origin of faith, as St. Paul did. And the one who confesses, by the very fact that he confesses, already preaches. He can also add a sermon to the confession, as many martyrs and martyrs did. With all this, confession is and is recognized as a special action, in which preaching is not necessary. A confessor who gives a confession without preaching for the purpose of conversion is a confessor. Therefore, one cannot interpret the passages of Scripture that speak of confession as if they speak of preaching. In the primary Church, where, it seems, it would be very appropriate for more mouths to proclaim faith in the Lord, we do not see that every believer goes out to preach or is obliged to do so. The apostles raised preachers other than themselves. This is how Saint Timothy was brought up under Saint Paul. These students under the Apostles then corrected the work of preaching, or anything related to preaching, according to their instructions and guidance, and after them they remained as initial preachers, and just as they themselves were brought up under the Apostles, they raised their successors, giving them the commandment to teach those who were capable, so that they would then teach others. This is how it began, this is how it continued, and this is how it is now in the Orthodox Church - that the present rulers of the Church raised and are raising their successors, and they are assigned to the work of preaching. That is why unity of belief and all church orders reigned and reigns in the Church of God. Thus it is obvious that preaching was never the work of every believer, but that preachers were chosen and prepared for this work by the oldest teachers of the faith. How was your impostor prepared?! Yesterday I danced, ran around balls, theaters and festivities, and now I picked up the Gospel and, well, preached. – And expect the truth from him! - Where can he get on the trail of the teachings of the Holy Church - since the time of the Apostles, one and unchangeable, when he did not look at a single Orthodox pastor, so as to at least listen to something common Orthodox? Yes, even if he did this, and definitely knew the Orthodox faith, how did he dare to come out to preach without being sent? Don’t you have the oldest archpastor there? So it is obvious that he is an impostor and does not know the truth of God: for if he knew it, he would not become an impostor. What has been said is enough to assure you that evangelism and preaching are not only the first, but even any duty of every believer. The first duty of a believer is to cleanse himself of passions in order to prepare himself for the church of the Trinitarian God. For preaching and evangelism, those who are capable, or have received the gift for this, are appointed, prepared, reliable in character, zealous for this matter and not having any obstacles to this in their external circumstances - they are appointed by the oldest teachers in the Church and act on their instructions and guidance. Anyone who comes out to preach in any other way is an impostor, and obviously does not know or contain the right faith. 12) “Evangelism, preaching and good works are the inevitable consequences of receiving Christ into oneself.” Here the confession has already been released - it is true, out of the consciousness that it cannot stand on the same level as the sermon. And first of all, it was inserted so that only a text could be attached to it, and thereby cover up one’s imposture. What should I do? Duty calls, and I preach. Christ said: “If anyone confesses” and so on. I am afraid that He will not confess me before the Father, and I preach. “But even if he repeats this a thousand times every minute, he cannot drown out the consciousness of his impostor.” This is what worries him. Why does something new come up with a reason: as someone who has accepted Christ, I cannot help but preach; preaching is a necessary consequence of accepting Christ into oneself. Where did you get this from, should I ask him? He who believes through the Divine Sacraments of the Holy Church enters into communion with the Lord Savior, receives the grace of the Holy Spirit and is embraced by the favor of the Heavenly Father. The necessary consequence of this is fiery zeal, in everything down to the slightest accident, to walk in the will of God, with aversion from everything contrary to this. Saint Peter commands us to bring everything to this diligence (2 Pet. 1:5); Saint Paul commands only to think about this and only to tempt this (Phil.4:8; Rom.12:2). Review the following passages: Eph.5:17, 6:6; Col.1:9, 4:12; 1 Sol.4:3, 5:18; Heb.10:35, 15:21; 1 Pet. 4:2; 1 John 2:17 - and you will be convinced that your main business is to do the will of God, and not to meddle with preachers. As for the circle of activity of everyone in this spirit, it is indicated by both natural gifts, which are also from God, and grace-filled ones. The Apostle Paul says that to everyone “is given” the gift of “the Spirit for profit” (1 Cor. 12:7). And St. Peter defines: “Everyone who receives a gift, serve or serve one another” (1 Pet. 4:10). Therefore, if anyone has received the gift of teaching, teach (Rom. 12:7); but not arbitrarily, but obeying the orders of the elder teachers, so that in the Church of God “everything would be in order and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). And that everyone should certainly teach, and even more so, could not resist teaching, is an invention of your impostor - a newcomer who in every possible way manages to paint over his unseemly imposture. 13) “Everyone who has accepted Christ into himself certainly does good deeds, which do not save a person, but are the fruits of faith; from it they flow by themselves.” Here, no matter what the situation, it is a lie or a path to a lie, due to the vagueness of expressions. “He certainly gets things done.” Is there anyone, or has there ever been anyone, who would certainly do good deeds? The inevitable does not happen by will; and a good deed, in order to be good, must come from good will and be done self-willingly: “Your good will not be done according to need,” writes Saint Paul to Philemon, “but according to your will” (Phil. 1:14). And he taught the Romans to show mercy “with good will” (Rom. 12:8). And first of all, he warned the Corinthians: look, let us “as every one plans with his heart... God loves the giver of a good will” (2 Cor. 9:7). Therefore, deeds that will certainly happen will not fall into the circle of good deeds. Neither Christ the Lord, who invests the believer in baptism, nor the grace of the Holy Spirit and His gifts given in Chrismation, nor the favor of the Heavenly Father, which embraces him as a result of both, do not force him to do one good thing, but leave him complete freedom to choose what he wants and do what he wants. If after this he does good, then this is because he comes out of the font as a zealot for good deeds, endowed with the power to do them. But this jealousy was perceived by him arbitrarily, in moments of contrite sorrow for sins and seeking mercy; The grace of God, coming later, strengthened her and made her powerful. But none of this tied human freedom. Every task that he recognizes as obligatory for himself is freely chosen by him, although according to motives derived from the course of the change that has taken place in him; it is freely chosen, it is freely created, although all with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. This presence of free will in doing good is most palpably seen in the fact that no good deed can do without struggle - a person’s personal struggle, with bad urges that always arise in the face of a good deed. After the spirit has been revived by grace, as I explained to you last time, the soul and body still remain in the bonds of their former bad inclinations, habits and passions. So they always climb up to the zealot of good deeds, in every case, offering themselves instead of this deed. The zealot must drive them away and restore the purity of the mood regarding a good deed, especially in terms of the motivation for it. But that’s not all. As soon as the moment comes for doing something and, therefore, straining for it, laziness appears and binds your arms and legs. We must defeat her too. And there, as soon as the first move towards good is made, obstacles are encountered, unforeseen, often erected by the enemy of all good. And they must be overcome. – And after such struggles, labors and efforts, good things finally happen. - How can you add to it that it certainly happens? It certainly happens with the help of God’s grace; but grace comes to the rescue, and helps a person in no other way than by following the tracks of his will. Every deed is the fruit of the interaction of freedom and grace. “Good deeds do not save.” How can they not save us? “Behold, I am coming quickly,” says the Lord, “and My reward is with Me, to reward everyone according to his work” (Rev. 22:12). And it will happen that whoever did good deeds will go to heaven, and whoever did not do them will inherit hell, that is, the first will be saved, and the second will go to destruction. In Saint Matthew, the Lord foreshadowed the judgment that would decide the eternal fate of everyone - and look how the verdict is drawn up: you have done this and that, come and inherit the Kingdom; but you did not do this - go into eternal fire (Matthew 25:34-46). How can we say that deeds do not save us when, at a decisive moment for us, nothing but deeds is taken into account? Why throughout the entire space of Scripture is it constantly repeated to us: do - do. You may ask: what does it say that whoever has faith will be saved, and that without faith it is impossible to please God, and the like? - This is not said to belittle the importance of good deeds, but to show how to succeed in good deeds. Salvation from good deeds; but it is impossible to succeed in good deeds as one should without faith. Faith motivates one to do good deeds, faith indicates them, faith also leads to obtaining strength to do good deeds. Why is faith an accomplice to good deeds? The main thing is business, and she is a benefit. You cited the text: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” What does this mean, do you think? - What, whoever believes has pleased God?! No. It is impossible to please God otherwise than through submission to Him and the exact fulfillment of His holy will, which He declared for us in the commandments. Why is he a saint of God who fulfills His commandments. But just as it is impossible to succeed in fulfilling the commandments without faith, it is said that it is impossible to please God without faith. Last time I explained to you how everything happens. Faith awakens conscience and fear of God. The fear of God and conscience lead to the determination to leave sin and begin to live virtuously. Having decided so, he proceeds to the Sacrament - baptism, if he is converted for the first time, or repentance, if he became a sinner after baptism, as we all are. Having been renewed in the Sacrament, he comes out strong in goodness, a zealot for good Deeds - and begins to do them. Without receiving the powers of grace, there is nothing with which to do good deeds, and without faith you will not receive grace. So all this is needed for salvation: faith, grace, and good Deeds. “Good works are the fruits of faith; from it they flow by themselves.” “How is your impostor and newcomer trying to free himself and those who are carried away by his inventions from all labor and strain of moral strength?!” “Just accept faith, and good deeds will flow from it by themselves.” “As if he wants to put everyone to rest.” Believe - and lie down; He wants to make you lazy. - What else happens? Faith in Christ, he said (item 9), is a gift from God, and good deeds are the fruit of faith and flow naturally from it. Now look! When the Lord comes to judgment and begins to ask: why didn’t you do good deeds? Then, whoever is bolder of your newcomer’s students can object, like the one in the parable, who did not add anything to his own hands: what would they have done to me? “If You had given me stronger faith, she would have already done them herself.” But since You did not give me such faith, there was no one to do them for me. - That’s right! Do you see how preferential it is? In this life, lie on your side - let faith do the work if it wants; but in court you can talk your way out of it. – There’s only one thing your newcomer doesn’t say: what to do if the Judge does not accept such a statement as reasonable? “The servants will grab you and drag you to a worthy place.” Where will you find the strength to resist? And you fall into a cave that is forever blazing with fire. “They flow out by themselves.” Get it out of your head if the thought of this gets there - “by itself.” In the moral and religious order of life, nothing happens by itself. Every action, even the slightest, must be done consciously, and with one’s own effort. And only conscious and free deeds are actually our deeds, for which we expect either reward or punishment. However, all the deeds that occur in us by themselves, apart from consciousness and freedom, have no value. The grace of God, always inherent in believers and the baptized, excites, but does not force; and then, when a person decides to do something, she does not undertake to do it herself, but only stands next to the person acting personally and self-willingly, always ready to help. Since, with all the diligence and exertion of his strength, a person is not strong enough to finish the job, she immediately comes up and helps. You can tangibly see this in the patience of something for the sake of the Lord and His commandments. Every good deed should go like this: recognize its obligation for you, desire to do it, and take inspiration for it from the treasures of faith; then, having prayed and called on the grace of God for help, get down to business and work without sparing yourself, for the glory of the name of God. Every deed will be like something being created anew. 14) “Baptism does not benefit those who have not consciously accepted Christ into themselves.” If this is said because of the hidden thought that one can do without baptism or accept Christ, then this is a lie. If it is said only in relation to the ignorance of Christ within oneself, then this is what we will say about it. The conscious acceptance of Christ into oneself, or the feeling of an acceptable and accepted Christ, is the highest gift in the order of Christian life, when a Christian, like St. Paul, can confess: “I live not for anyone, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). But this gift is not given suddenly. With faith, the baptized person puts on Christ, therefore, accepts Him; but the feeling of this is not always immediately given. It is not always given immediately when someone restores in himself the grace of baptism in the Sacrament of repentance. And when someone, after baptism or repentance, works for the Lord without pitying himself and brings more sacrifices of selflessness to the Lord, and when in this way he has sufficiently cleansed himself of passions and sinful habits; then the Lord will allow him to feel His presence. Until that time, He remains in him imperceptibly, although He helps him in everything. And here the same thing happens as in the ordinary order of Divine Providence. Many of God’s providential works for us are invisible when they happen, but are seen later, and not all of them; others remain forever unseen. So in the grace-filled order of saving life, some things are felt, others are not felt. This also happens in the grace-filled action of the Lord’s indwelling, or perception of Him; it is not always noticeable. Someone (Diadochos in the Philokalia) writes that the grace of God, at the moment of sealing the convert in the Sacrament, makes one feel its sweetness in all its strength; and then he hides his consolations and returns them again after the zealot for salvation has demonstrated his indestructible loyalty through many difficult and regrettable experiences and when he has cleansed his heart of everything that was unclean and passionate in him. Thus, unawareness or lack of awareness of Christ within oneself is not an indicator of His non-presence. Consequently, one who does not have such a consciousness or sensation should in no way be said that his baptism or confession were useless. And the one who does not feel it should not think so, as long as he is convinced in his conscience that he will not indulge himself in anything and that the zeal he received in baptism or repentance is alive and active. Everyone should strive for such a state of feeling the Lord within themselves, or His grace, for this is what everyone is a Christian; but when this feeling or consciousness is not there, then it is not necessary to deduce that, therefore, baptism or repentance is useless, but to aggravate zeal for the feats of prayer and self-sacrifice and for the works of good deeds in order to cleanse oneself of passions. Then the Lord will dwell in such a way that He will make Himself felt. 15) “Everyone who has received Christ into himself can understand all Holy Scripture and interpret it to others. However, everyone can understand the Holy Scriptures to some extent, even those who have not accepted Christ into themselves.” This opens a wide door for arbitrary interpretations of God’s word and all kinds of misconceptions, or for raising one’s personal opinions to immutable truths. You can mistakenly recognize yourself as having consciously accepted Christ, and then consider all the thoughts that arise when reading Scripture to be inspired by Christ, but they can be very far from the truth. Therefore, the Church of God does not trust any mysterious suggestions, but to assess the correctness of comprehension and interpretation of Scripture it has an unchanging norm of Christian knowledge - the Creed, the community of beliefs of Orthodox Christians of all times and places. This norm should be the guide in the understanding and interpretation of Holy Scripture. Nothing inconsistent with it can be accepted as a correct understanding and interpretation of Scripture. Your impostor considers himself to have received Christ; Do you see how many incorrect opinions he has released, although he does not let go of the Gospel? Why? – Because he does not consider himself obliged to adhere to the norms of Christian truth contained in the Church; having freed himself from limiting himself to it, he elevates every thought - his personal one, the one he liked - to the rank of immutable truth, and thus destroys the truth of God. This is how all heresies were generated, are being generated and will be generated. Of those who have separated from the Church, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth, no one properly knows the truth of God. And anyone who separates from the Church for the sole reason that Scripture supposedly taught him to understand the truth of God differently than how the Holy Church understands it, has not comprehended the truth of God, but has elevated his personal opinion to the truth and is in error. Whoever is more sincerely united with Christ the Lord, who is illuminated more abundantly by Divine grace, is given not new truths to discover and comprehend in Scripture, but the same truths that are contained in the Holy Church to comprehend more fully and deeply and to contemplate more clearly. The grace of the Holy Spirit, in Christ Jesus the Lord, by the grace of the Father, elevates the mind of not only one who has just been converted, but after conversion has worked hard on himself and has made himself a pure vessel, fit to contain the most perfect truth - elevates it into the clearest contemplation of one or another truth and in this newly illuminated form, then imprints it in the heart, or merges it with his spiritual life, making it inalienable her property. This is what she does at her own discretion with all truth; and finally introduces them all into a similar new light into the mind and heart. If someone who never ceases to improve himself ascends higher up the ladder of purification of his heart, then the grace of an even clearer person will make him worthy of comprehension, contemplation and assimilation of the truths of God. – But these are not new truths, but all the same, only they are comprehended more perfectly, for there is no measure to their depth and height. - Let everyone know this, so that when someone appears who proclaims some new truths, supposedly new revelations, he does not hesitate to turn his ears away from his broadcasts, without doubting that they are the nonsense of his imagination. Your impostor invented this point to inspire: “Listen, listen; Christ Himself speaks through my mouth!” “Perhaps someone is definitely speaking with them, but not Christ; for Christ the Lord is the truth, but there is no truth in his words. Christ the Lord is the Head of the Church, and do not look for Him from someone who has separated from the Church. This one, for this reason, is not Christ’s. 16) “The Church is in itself, but first of all you need to seek Christ.” “The Church in itself” – what kind of thought? If it is said in such a thought: Let the Church be for itself - we don’t care about it as something extraneous - we can do without it; then this is a complete lie. If it is said in the thought that the external structure of the Church and all its orders - liturgical, sanctifying and governing (disciplinary) are not the main thing, but serve only to express, educate and protect the internal moral and religious structure of Christians, then this is true. Just don’t forget that the Church is not only what is seen as external in it, but it also combines everything internal, spiritual and grace-filled. He who truly lives and acts in the spirit of the Church is internal, spiritual, and grace-filled. Why, strictly speaking, it is impossible to say: “The Church in itself,” in any respect. You need to know the truth and believe in it: where will you get it besides the Church, “which is... the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15)? You need to receive grace: where will you find it, except the Church, the keeper of the Sacraments, without which grace is not given? You need to have the right leadership, both in the matter of knowledge and in the matter of life; where will you meet him, besides the Church, in which alone there is a divinely established and God-supplied shepherd? You need to be united with the Lord Jesus Christ: where will you be worthy of this, if not in the Church, of which Christ the Lord is the Head? – Consider all this, and you can no longer say: “The Church in itself.” The addition: “And first of all we must seek Christ” is placed in such a way that it gives the idea that Christ the Lord can be found without the Church and apart from the Church - which, according to what was said before, is completely unthinkable. In addition to the connection in which this position stands here, it contains the truth - that Christ the Lord, accepting the repentant into communion with Himself, does not immediately allow him to recognize and feel this communion, but only lays the beginnings of it. You repented, believed, decided to work for the Lord, renouncing all ungodliness, all unrighteousness, received the grace-filled strength for this - now work without sparing yourself. But be careful not to stop at the business side alone, but rather build up your inner self through it, so that, having built a well-decorated house within yourself, you can finally receive the Lord into obvious and tangible abodes. Keep this in mind, strive for this, seek this, remaining a faithful executor of all the contents and instilled in you by the Holy Church. 17) “Christ dwells in sinful and unclean people, if only they believe in Him.” Christ does not dwell in sinners and unclean people, but in those who were sinners and unclean people and who have ceased to be so. And this happens not for the sake of faith alone, but also for the sake of the determination to follow the Lord Savior, generated by faith, with sincere repentance for sins and aversion from them - and certainly through the Sacrament of baptism or repentance. Whoever has gone through all this, that is, has changed internally and been sanctified by the Sacraments, has become pure in consciousness, conscience and will, or in spirit. It is with this purified and restored spirit that Christ the Lord enters into fellowship. The grace of the Holy Spirit restores our spirit, purifies it and makes it worthy to receive Christ the Lord. – But, as I said, when our spirit is cleansed and sanctified, our soul and body still remain unclean due to the sinful inclinations and habits that have taken root in them. Why are they not worthy of receiving the Lord into themselves immediately? But the spirit is given the power to cleanse them by eradicating everything unclean and passionate in them, to which it directs the works of good deeds and feats of prayer and self-mortification. When they are finally cleansed, then the Lord dwells in them, and not only makes His dwelling felt by the one who has been purified, but also seen by outsiders capable of such vision. This is how we should understand the work of the Lord’s indwelling in believers. The Lord Himself testifies to this when He says that whoever fulfills His commandments, to him He and the Heavenly Father will come, the Holy Spirit preceding Them, preparing for Them in us a bright dwelling worthy of Them. No one who has not completely cleansed himself of passions can be called fully fulfilling the commandments. 18) “God so loved the world that for our salvation He separated from His Son.” The first time I read this, I thought that the one who wrote down the thoughts of your newcomer must have disobeyed; because this is already a very gross absurdity. But then I began to think and think that it could actually have been expressed by your new educator. I think so because, as he interprets everything about one Lord Savior, then, one must assume, He seems to him to be separated from the Father and the Holy Spirit and existing outside of Them. Presenting Him in this way, there is nothing marvelous if, wanting to exalt the mercy of God towards us, he expresses himself in the manner shown. If he had not been alienated from the Church, he would have been delivered from such an incongruous way of representing the relationship between God the Father and the Son. For in church songs and prayers it is repeated many times that the Son of God, although incarnate, did not leave the bosom of the Father. Note, however, this point - and try someone else, have you heard, to make sure whether he spoke like that. This is very important for us to know: for if he said this more than once, it means that he thinks this way; and if he thinks like that, it means he is very short-sighted in his knowledge of the dogmas of faith. 19) “All eternal rewards and punishments are equal. Abodes many mean precisely many, but not different; for with God there is no partiality.” One could say to this: if God deigns to bring us into our bellies, then we will see how everything will be there. Now we can be content with the assurance that there will be such bliss as we cannot even imagine. Seek only and do diligently what you can do to deserve it. But since we are already talking about this, it is impossible not to say at least something regarding this. The general sense of justice, placed by God in our conscience, is opposed to this. How can you put giving a glass of water to a thirsty person on the same line with martyrdom for the Lord, terrible and prolonged (for example, 28 years), or an idle word with deicide? - The Lord will come to reward everyone according to their deeds. If the deeds are not equal, and this is obvious, then the reward cannot be equal. The portion of bliss will be awarded to everyone and will be given as much as anyone can contain this bliss; This capacity will be determined by how one has opened his nature to receive heavenly blessings, and this revelation depends on the work on oneself. If these works are different, the revelation of nature is different; if the opening is different, the capacity is different; if the capacity is different, the degree of bliss is different. You can judge the difference in torment by its opposite, that is, it will correspond to the degree of immersion in sins and hardening in them. Meanwhile, since each, despite the different capacity, will not have an empty space left unfilled with bliss, and he will be completely full of it, it follows that everyone will be completely blissful and no one will feel less blissful than the other. The reason for the equality of reward is that God has no partiality. - Strange. For this very reason there cannot be equality in reward, because with God there is no respect of persons. According to the parable, the one who acquires five receives power over five cities, and two – over two. Why? Because God has no partiality; He does not look at the face, but at the deeds. Perhaps this is due to your educator because everything he does comes from faith. But faith also has degrees. No, this thought is very far from the truth. 20) “All days are equal, not excluding Sunday.” Yes – equal; everyone has 24 hours. But what happens on this or that day is not the same. If what happens to us and is different for us leaves an impression on us, then the days on which this or that happens cannot be the same for us. On any joyful day we consider it joyful, and when it comes again, we rejoice, remembering the joyful things that happened during it. Regarding sad events, the opposite happens. Does your newbie celebrate his birthday or name day? – If he celebrates, this is his own refutation of his strange position. He deigned to release this, probably against our holy holidays. But if he does not honor holy holidays, then he acts wickedly and unreasonably. Holidays are established to remember God's blessings and to give thanks for them to the all-merciful God. You can remember these blessings and give thanks for them every day, as the Holy Church does in its daily services. But God’s blessings are so great that it is impossible to embrace them all at once with all their might; Without fully recognizing them, one cannot fully experience their beneficial properties; Without experiencing the benefits, it is impossible to receive thanksgiving corresponding to them. Therefore, despite the constant remembrance of these blessings, the Holy Church appoints a special day for the remembrance of each of them - the one on which it was revealed to us, as far as this can be determined. On this day, all the thoughts of the faithful turn to one remembered good deed, in order to understand it more fully, feel it and gratefully glorify it. Here comes the holiday. It follows from this that just as it is obligatory to thank God most perfectly for His benefits to us, it is equally obligatory to have holidays; further, if someone who is ungrateful to God is ungrateful, then he who does not celebrate holidays is also ungrateful. In addition, holidays, like the entire liturgical rite of our Holy Church, have educational significance. They revive and deepen faith, giving rise to clarity and greater understanding of dogmas. As the season progresses, the holidays, advancing one after another, present first one dogma or another to Christian attention and reflection. Church hymns present it beautifully, readings from Scripture in church define it by the word of God, pastoral teachings explain it and apply it to life, based on life experiences. And all this is added up to the soul of the celebrant. Thus, the dogmatic training of the believer goes on all year round. They also foster a spirit of piety and a life of faith. For, tearing attention away from everyday things and turning attention to the spiritual, they kindle heavenly feelings in the soul or allow it to taste and be nourished by heavenly blessings. For someone burdened with everyday things, who nevertheless desires heavenly things, this is the same as leaving a stuffy room for fresh, clean air. This generally happens from the impression that one presence in a church, whose appearance represents heaven, leaves in the soul, especially the excitement of prayerful ascents to God and a reverent mood through the service itself. Whoever properly celebrates the holiday in church in the church way will hardly deviate that day and beyond into doing anything unpleasing. But other holidays sometimes cast their light far ahead. During all this time, the feelings warmed up that day do not go away - and continue to maintain a beneficial mood in his soul. And without holidays, today is everyday, tomorrow is everyday, and the day after tomorrow the same - and so on without end. What can we expect from such an order, other than the grounding of all thoughts and feelings? Idle people, who have everything in abundance without labor, can still read and pray, but workers and laborers do not have this opportunity. And the consequence of lack of holidays must certainly be the impoverishment of the pious spirit. In addition, a working person needs to rest in order to gather strength, and without a holiday it is a shame to allow this. - Thus, holidaylessness suppresses the spirit and exhausts the bodily strength. Now all the items you sent have been inspected. I've skipped a few of them because they don't present anything worth noting. Do you see? Not a single point can be accepted without restrictions, additions and explanations from the total sum of Orthodox truths, so as not to fall on the wrong path and not to deviate towards the false by wisdom. From this you can judge without error that the soul that gave birth to all such positions does not properly see or know the truth of God. Besides, don’t you feel how the spirit of flattery and seduction passes through all points? Spiritual books written by flattering spirits through intermediaries seduced by them make exactly the same impression. I wondered if your newcomer and mediator were spiritualizing those spirits who, having seduced him, the poor one, through him deceive others with the appearance of truth, hiding their destructive lies under it. I don't claim this; but thinking like this, I start to think. Collect as many of his wise sayings as anyone has left. Then it will become clear what he is. And now let’s leave him with the title of Molokan. - Save yourself. Letter 27. Fifth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. Salvation is possible only in a living union with the Church. About the one true Church - the Holy Orthodox Church. On the origin and essence of the Latin Church and Protestant societies. The Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. About work and exploits - physical, mental and spiritual. Living the life of the Church, you will be in living union with the Lord. The one who discourages others from the Church of God is a real murderer and enemy of God I should now write to you contrary to what your new people say, as if “nothing is needed”: believe in the Lord, and that’s all. But no matter how much I told you to find out what they mean by “nothing is needed,” you remain silent. Something can be seen about this from their speeches; but we need to know this more specifically. - Since the break in our conversations with you is already long, I won’t wait any longer; and while you are there exploring this, I undertake to talk to you about what is needed, leaving you, and everyone else, to draw the conclusion that if anyone says that this is not necessary, then they are telling a lie. I will add my speech about this to what we discussed with you in previous letters. In the first letter (24) a general outline of everything necessary for salvation is made. That's how it is. Without all this there is no salvation. It says: “Do you want to be saved? “Believe all the revealed teachings of God, and receiving the powers of grace, even to life and piety, through the Holy Sacraments, live unswervingly according to the commandments of God, under the guidance of God-established shepherds, but all this in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws and being in living union with it, and you will be saved.” It has been said and proven from Divine Scripture that all this is necessary, and why it is necessary. There would be no point in talking about it after that. But I’m afraid that you, or someone else, is missing the last line: “All this is in the spirit of the Holy Church of God, according to its laws and with it being in living union.” Meanwhile, this is so essential in the matter of salvation that, without this, all other points will not have the proper force - and salvation will not take place. That’s why I decided to talk to you about this in particular. You already know that no one is saved alone, that the Lord, of all believers, was pleased to unite one body and Himself became its Head, and that whoever is saved is saved only in the Church, that is, in a living union with it, and through it with the Lord. I won’t go into detail about this. I will only show you how everything in it is adapted to salvation. But first I am compelled to remind you that, speaking about the decisive necessity for salvation to be in a living union with the Church, I mean by the Church not every indiscriminate Church bearing the name of the Christian Church, but the one true Church, the Church founded by the holy Apostles and up to now faithfully preserving everything that was instituted by God in it through them - which Church is our Holy Orthodox Eastern Church - and none except her. Christian churches, as you, of course, know, are called, in addition to our Orthodox Church, the Latin Church and many Protestant Christian societies. But the Latin Church, much less the Protestant communities, should not be recognized as the true Churches of Christ; because they are inconsistent with the apostolic dispensation of the Church of God. The Latin Church is of apostolic origin; but she departed from the apostolic traditions and was damaged. Her main sin is the passion for forging new dogmas, according to her own intelligence and self-will. First, she invented the dogma about the origin of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the son or through the son - this was a long time ago, at the beginning of her falling away from the true Church; but in our memory I came up with two more: about the immaculate conception of the Mother of God and about the infallibility of the pope. Such new inventions seem to her to be an enrichment and elevation of the perfection of the Church; in fact, this is damage to the Church, and the damage is very significant. The doctrine of the origin of the Holy Spirit and from the Son or through the Son damages the dogma of the Holy Trinity; the doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Mother of God damages the dogma about the damage to our nature in the fall and partly about redemption; The teaching about the infallibility of the Pope arbitrarily misappropriates the Divine property to man, and damages the general teaching about God and man. Thus, the most essential parts of the Christian confession are damaged - about the Most Holy Trinity, about atonement and in general about the nature of God and man. All these teachings are alien to the apostolic tradition, and are human inventions, and as such, they resemble additions to a building, not according to the plan and style of the building, and not from the same material; or as if someone had added some liquid to whole grape wine that was contrary to its natural composition. Just as a building is spoiled by that addition, and wine by that admixture, so with those teachings the Latins damaged and spoiled the holy faith, betrayed by the holy Apostles. The last new dogma is especially destructive - about papal infallibility. Afterwards you wonder how to look at this church. As for Protestant communities, although one can call them Christian because they talk about Christianity, they are not the Churches of Christ. The Church of Christ was built by the holy Apostles, according to the outline and plan of the Lord Himself, clarified and approved by the Holy Spirit. And these communities are organized by people on their own and according to a plan they themselves created. They have a lot taken from the apostolic tradition, but everything is given a different structure, a different place and a different meaning. They destroyed the former building of the Church, took from it what seemed suitable in their thoughts, added their own, and from a mixture of both they formed their community. What is Christ here? The main thing in a building is the idea of ​​the building and the plan for it. Since both of them are not Christ’s, but their own, invented by their own minds, it is unfair to call these communities the Churches of Christ. For Christ was not given a part in their dispensation. - True, they say that they borrowed instructions for the structure of their communities from Scripture. But the idea and plan for building the Church were not committed to Scripture; therefore they could not be borrowed from there. You can make some inferences about them from what is written; but inductions give only probabilities, not actual truth. The Apostles put into practice the true idea and plan of the Church of God in the dispensation of the Church. Whoever would like to know them should turn to the Church of God itself, and learn this from it, and not try to extract them from Scripture when they are not placed there. They are partly visible there; but in order to see them, one must first become familiar with them from the actual structure of the Holy Church of God. What do Protestants do? They destroy the Church, and then from its ruins, with the addition of some of their own, they build a new self-invented one. Can we expect them to pick up the trail of God's mark on the true Church?! After this, you yourself can draw a false conclusion about the Protestant churches - that since they are built not according to God, but according to a self-invented plan and the same idea, they are not genuine Churches of Christ, but counterfeit ones. They are like counterfeit coins or, better yet, like manufactured wine. Manufactured wine, both in appearance and taste, and sometimes in aroma, is similar to natural wine - real wine; but in its essence it is not at all, even though it is written in golden letters that it is such and such a wine. Likewise, these churches, according to the inscription, are called Christ’s, but in essence they are not such. It is proper to call them fabricated churches. Luther was the first to begin this fabrication, and then, with his light hand, others took up the same thing, and fabricated many churches. But still not happy. The fabrication of churches became the military vein of Protestantism. That is why it still continues among them, and, it seems, will continue until the end of time. Recently the English fabricated an apostolic community, the Irvingian one, the offspring of which, it seems, was the Englishman who introduced innovations among you. But more on that later. All church manufacturers proceeded and proceed from the idea that the Church of God, as it was organized by the Apostles, does not exist on earth - which I call the ruin of the old. But since it is impossible to be without the Church, it is necessary to build it again, which they begin boldly, considering themselves called to this only because it occurred to them. But how to build, according to what instructions? - Of course, according to Scripture, how could it be otherwise? - They rush into Scripture, and well - rummage. The Scriptures, as I said, do not set out the plan for the building of the Church, but contain only some vague hints about it. Attacking such hints and interpreting them in their own way, they take them as the basis for the plan of the church building and immediately begin to build the church itself. As one of them takes one thing as the basis of his church, another another, a third another, then each comes out with his own church, unlike the others. It turns out that there are as many minds as there are plans for churches, as many plans as there are churches. But not a real one. Their difference, which itself is striking, should be quite strong enough to convey the message that not a single one of their manufacturers was on the trail of the truth. But since all of them are based on something from Scripture, each of them finds it difficult to admit that he is mistaken, but on the contrary, he insists that he is the only one who has fallen on the right trail. So these churches stand one next to the other, all considering themselves real churches, and not being one of them. I’m explaining this to you on purpose so that you know that as soon as someone begins to talk about how there is no true Church of God on earth, then this is probably a church fabricator planning to fabricate a new church - and knowing this, he concluded in advance that, no matter how wisely and eloquently he conducts his affairs, he will undoubtedly not fall for the truth and will fabricate a counterfeit church. – If there is no Apostolic Church on earth, then where with our little minds can we figure out how it was organized by the Apostles? Therefore, there is no point in taking on this work of rebuilding God’s Church. But there’s no reason for that. – There is an Apostolic Church on earth, according to the false promise of the Lord Himself. These church manufacturers are guilty in two ways: both because they take up work for which they are not called and do not have the means, and because they do not work to see the true Church of God, which, according to God’s false promise, should be on earth until the end of the age, or they deliberately distort their eyes so as not to see it when it stands before their eyes. This work of seeking and finding the true Church would be worthy of praise; and this work - fabricating the church - is worthy of laughter. This one is salutary, but this one leads both the fabricator and those who follow him into destruction. Here's your new guy, do you think he's just mooing around your city? No, and he, of course, decided to fabricate his church. Know and explain to everyone that although it is not entirely clear what kind of church he intended to fabricate, it is certain that it will not be true either. There is therefore no point in reaching out to him, especially for us, the sons of God’s true Apostolic Church. certainly, he is no wiser than all the church manufacturers who preceded him. Therefore, there is no doubt that the fruit of his labors will be the same. You conveyed to me the speeches of some that he, too, speaks about the church, even published about it. Have you thought that he is talking about the Orthodox Church, since he was previously a son of this Church? But where are your eyes, or your eyes? You go to his meetings, don’t you? Is there even one small feature of what usually happens in the Orthodox Church? I’m not talking about some kind of icon, they don’t even have the sign of the cross, they don’t even read the Lord’s Prayer, and instead of this Divine Prayer and our other church prayers, they sing some poems, poorly composed, poor in content, and in addition with a humming tree (harmonium). Has he ever been to the Church of God since he lost his way? Have there been those who have been carried away by him since the time they became carried away? - So there is no need for you to stop, but directly decide that both he and they have completely fallen away from the true Church of God and are apostates from it. You can’t even trust him in what he printed. There he portrays himself before the public as a world teacher, and in order not to immediately alienate him, he mentions both the church and something else, not believing anything that is Orthodox, as one must assume, because he has put aside everything that happens in the Orthodox Church. Speaking about the church, he probably means some kind of transcendental one, perhaps the one that he planned to fabricate; but we certainly cannot believe that this is the true Orthodox Church. Yes, there is no doubt about this. At home he talks about this completely differently; He speaks differently before his listeners, whom he considers to be drawn into his false teaching. Sometimes, perhaps unintentionally, he started talking and let it slip. It was from these cases that the news came out that he did not want to know the Church. You wrote about this, a certain reverent priest conveyed it to me through the same person, and someone published in the “Bulletin” that he teaches that nothing is needed - neither the Church, nor other church things. Here are three witnesses. I lost my way in speaking about this newcomer of yours, but I had in mind to talk in general about unreal churches. But I don’t take it back; let it all go in line. – Yes, however, this can be left without reservations. Because such a flow of speech led us to the assurance that your newcomer does not want to know the Church of God, dreaming, however, that through this he in no way deviates from the path of salvation. Since nothing is so powerful for admonishing him and those captivated by him as the indication that for salvation it is essential to be in a living union with the one Church of Christ, then we naturally move on to this instruction, as we stated at the beginning of the letter. We say: whoever wants to be saved must be in a living union with the true Church of Christ. Why? - Because the Lord was pleased to combine in her one thing everything necessary for salvation. Remember what you and I said in the third letter - that in the matter of salvation it is necessary to distinguish between two sides: what the Lord accomplished for our salvation - namely, the goods acquired by the Lord through the incarnate economy for our salvation; and what we must do on our part to receive salvation is our labor in achieving salvation. From both, through their combination in the person being saved, the work of salvation will be accomplished. We can say to everyone: take care to be worthy of receiving the treasures of salvation acquired by the Lord - appropriate them for yourself and use them as you should, and you will be saved. But this twofold thing can and must be done properly only in the Holy Orthodox Church. It contains grace-filled treasures for salvation, and the practice of everything that is required of you for your own salvation, with guidance in both word and example. Hearing: take care to be worthy of receiving the grace-filled treasures of salvation, you may involuntarily come to the question: where can you get them? Where to come into contact with them and how to taste them? They are all in the Lord, and the Lord, having acquired them, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. How to reach Him? And who is strong for that? - To this I’ll tell you: you can’t reach it, and no one is strong enough to do it; but don't be horrified by it. The Lord ascended to heaven, and left the blessings He had acquired for us on earth, entrusting them to His Holy Church. The Holy Orthodox Church is a treasury of the blessings of salvation. Whatever you need for salvation, you will find it all in her - and only in her. Apart from this, the Lord Himself does not give these benefits. This is how He Himself deigned to arrange it. Having become the Head of the Church, He acts for our salvation in no other way than through this body of His. And do not seek any other access to His treasures of salvation. He's gone. The Lord Savior, as Hypostatic Wisdom, brought in Himself to earth, from the mysteries of the Trihypostatic Deity, all saving wisdom. But he did not keep it hidden in himself, but first taught it to the Apostles, commanding them to teach it to all believers from all languages. The apostles handed it over to the entire congregation of believers, commanding their successors to guard it. And the Church became a pillar and affirmation of the truth, which, having established itself in it, abides in it and will abide until the end of the age. Do you want to know this wisdom? Go to the Orthodox Church, the faithful guardian of everything betrayed by the Apostles, and learn from her. In addition to “truth,” the Lord also had “grace” (cf. John 1:17). Having become incarnate for the sake of our salvation, He offered Himself as a sacrifice to redeem us, and thereby opened the way for the descent of the Holy Spirit with His grace-filled powers to us. Hence the two most essential benefits of the incarnate economy for our salvation: justification and sanctification. And the Lord left them on earth and entrusted them to His Church. In the Church of God there stands, continually offered, the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord, according to His commandment, and in the power in which it was pleasing to the Lord to establish this institution. This sacrifice is offered at a certain time; but just as the movement of the sun and this hour moves across the earth from east to west with intervals that are barely or not at all noticeable, it is self-evident that this sacrifice is being offered on the earth at every moment, or rather, it is continuously standing. The Lord intercedes for us in heaven before the face of God and the Father. But there's no blood there. He deigns to shed His blood mysteriously in His Holy Church, as its Head, in the Sacrament of Body and Blood. “Do this,” He commanded, “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). This, that is, the Body broken and the Blood shed for the remission of sins. Thus, the cover of justification and intercession is spread out and stands over the Church, attracting and transmitting to us all the mercies of God. Do you want to be a partaker of these mercies? Visit this sacrifice as often as you can and maintain communion with it, if not by eating it, then by contrition and weeping. The blood sacrifice opened the way for the descent of the Holy Spirit to us, from which all the powers of grace, including life and piety. Without these forces it is impossible for us to achieve salvation. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit descended directly only on the Apostles; after them, the grace of the Holy Spirit is communicated to believers no other way than through special means, or Sacraments, established by the Lord by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. And these Sacraments are entrusted to the Holy Orthodox Church and are one and the same in it. And the Church became a treasury not only of truth, but also of grace. Do you feel the need for grace? Go to the Orthodox Church, begin the Sacraments, and you will receive all the grace you seek. Are you looking for revival? Seek him in the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - will give birth to you by water and Spirit, in the Sacrament of holy baptism. – Are you looking for the gift of the Holy Spirit? Seek him in the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - will teach it to you in the Sacrament of Confirmation. - Did you sin? Do you repent and seek healing of spiritual wounds and resolution of the bonds of conscience? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - in the person of her shepherds, who has received the power to knit and decide, will absolve you from sins and heal the wounds of your soul with healing duties. – Do you have a need and are you looking for the most sincere communication with the Lord? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She - and only she - by allowing you to taste the Body and Blood of the Lord from His sacrifice, which she always offered, will ensure that you will be in the Lord and the Lord in you, according to His false promise. – Are you looking to lay a fertile foundation for your family? Go to the Holy Orthodox Church. She will provide you with this benefit, sealing your marriage union with grace in the Sacrament of Marriage. – Are you sick in your body and are you looking for healing? Contact the Holy Church. She will provide you with this benefit and with the remission of sins, through the Sacrament of Blessing of Oil. So many blessed treasures have been entrusted to the Holy Church! - First the Apostles, and then their successors, who themselves receive special grace for this through the Sacrament of the Priesthood, in the Church of God, were appointed as their guardians and distributors. The sacrament of the priesthood is the pinnacle of the grace-filled sacraments: for without it, all other sacraments would remain ineffective, and the Church would turn into a graceless one. Thus, the Hypostatic Wisdom of God, having created for Herself the house of the Holy Church, established in it “seven pillars” (compartments), and all who come to Her, at Her calling, abundantly nourish and drink with Her varied grace. Seven sources of grace. But two of them flow inseparably throughout the life of the person being saved. These are the Sacraments - repentance and holy communion, giving the grace of justification and the grace of sanctification - graces that are inaccurate in saving life. They develop, root, and elevate in the human spirit everything that is necessary for salvation. And the more often someone uses them, the more successfully his spiritual saving life matures. And without this, it will soon become clogged, wither and stall. Do you see what has been entrusted to the Holy Church?! Do not think, and do not allow anyone else to think that you can arrange your salvation without a living union with the Church, when without this union with her you cannot find and receive the grace-filled forces for salvation anywhere. Yes, living communion with the Church is the acceptance of these powers through her Sacraments. Why is living communion with the Holy Orthodox Church as necessary as it is necessary to receive grace-filled forces for salvation? The second half of the work of salvation is our own labor in completing it. It would seem that it should be completely left to the freedom of everyone. – Granted, true, but not completely. The Holy Church attracts here with its influence and power. By this I mean not only instructions and encouragement, but certain orders and works, the fulfillment of which is the doing of what is required of us to do for the sake of salvation. The Holy Church entrusts certain labors for salvation to believers as a duty, without, however, restricting freedom to self-willed undertakings and deeds of the same kind, but, on the contrary, encouraging them and giving guidance in relation to them by word and examples. The Church itself imposes certain labors for salvation both because it wants everyone to be as one in achieving salvation, and because, considering those labors necessary in the matter of salvation, it does not rely on the free willingness of everyone to do them due to the weaknesses of our self-indulgence; and he gives his guidance in other free affairs and undertakings of this kind, because, due to inability, other work and work can be done in such a way that, instead of benefit, it will result in harm to the cause of salvation. But you yourself will see all this clearly. Remember what we said in the third letter about the duty of the Christian himself to work for his own salvation. There, after explaining how saving life is born in us, it is shown how it must then be led in order to reach its goal - namely, that the one who has decided to work out his own salvation and has received grace for this must, through the action of his blessed spirit, cleanse his soul and body of passions and reconfigure them for all good, in order to make them a church worthy of God, who has promised to dwell in the believers and walk in them. I won't repeat all that. I take this one main point: you need to cleanse your soul and body and reconfigure it with the power of a blessed spirit. - What is needed for this? Feats are needed - for the body, for the body, for the soul, for the spirit: for it also needs to be revived and strengthened, so that it constantly feels like it has the power to act powerfully on the soul and body. Bodily feats are needed because the body serves as a seat of passions. If you do not humble your flesh, you will not have success in overcoming passions. Therefore, it is necessary to overwork the flesh with deprivations of food, sleep, rest and all pleasures of the senses. – But the servant of passions and the passion-lover is a soul. Therefore, even more than the body, it must be taken into hand and worked. Passionate thoughts and desires arise in it and lead to passionate deeds, because the passions themselves live in it. The job of the person being saved is to drive away these passionate movements, and in their place to restore and install good thoughts, feelings and dispositions. This action and everything else that is done for this purpose constitutes the subject of spiritual exploits. – Finally, the exploits of the spirit are prayer and contemplation of God, and everything that is taken for this as an auxiliary means. The Savior pointed out these deeds in the Talk on the Mount, when he gave instructions on how to fast, give alms and pray. All physical deeds are combined here under fasting, mental deeds under almsgiving, and spiritual ones under prayer. For those who work for their salvation, this is indeed how things work - that they spend their lives in prayer, good deeds and fasting abstinence. And it is to these matters that the Holy Church, obliging believers to work in achieving salvation, adapts some of its laws, orders and institutions. As a field for bodily exploits, holy fasts are appointed in it - one-day fasts on Wednesday and Friday of each week, and on some other days of the year, and multi-day fasts - four large fasts. As a field for spiritual deeds, in addition to the same posts, various charitable institutions are identified in it: hospitals, almshouses, orphanages, hospices. As a field for spiritual exploits, there is a continuous following of church prayers, with edifying readings and conversations on them - prayers that embrace the whole life of a person, in its various directions and positions. I will not go into a detailed explanation of everything related to this. I am making a general overview or indication so that only you can see that all the contents of the Holy Church, all its ranks and pious orders are expedient and correctly directed towards achieving salvation for all believers. – Fasting extinguishes lust; doing good drives out anger and irritation; both together block the main sources of passionate movements (that is, lust and anger) and cultivate the opposite good dispositions and moods. Prayers, elevating the spirit of grief and introducing it into communication with the Divine realm, give it a taste of the spiritual elements, so that they can then spiritualize the soul and body and everything around a person. All these institutions of the Holy Church - prayers, fasting, charity, occupy and oblige the entire body of the Church, as one person (in a small form - this is a parish). But this does not restrict the freedom of everyone, in addition to these general works, to choose and maintain their own private ones - their fasts, their prayers, their good deeds. But the Holy Church, as a mother who cares for those who are saved, extends her care to this part of the works of believers, commanding them to begin with the advice and instructions of spiritual fathers and offering examples for imitation in the previously living fathers and brothers, who are remembered every day. Completing all such labors according to the instructions and guidance of the Church constitutes the field of general Christian asceticism. But in the Church of God there are special institutions in which asceticism in prayer, fasting and service to everyone, forgetting oneself, is the exclusive goal. Based on the fundamental needs of the spirit and the most essential Christian aspirations, this world-denying ascetic life, being carried out as it should, soon raises its favorites to the highest degrees of Christian perfection and enriches them, and through them Christianity, with knowledge of spiritual things that are inaccessible under other orders of life. Thus, as you see, the Church of God, even for the second half of the work of salvation, that is, our work in carrying it out, contains ranks, institutions and orders, by fulfilling which, everyone, without much effort, moving along with others, or being in the general body of the Church, works out his salvation peacefully, without standing out and not lagging behind others. And this is what I meant when I said in the first letter that you all work out your salvation calmly and peacefully. For it really is so that everyone who lives according to the statutes of the Holy Church and in its spirit walks the saved path, or works out their own salvation. We especially consider the institutions and orders of the Church, which make us partakers of the grace-filled treasures of salvation and give us a field for our own labors in achieving salvation; but in reality they enter one into the other, and the person living according to them passes from one to another, and often everything passes through them at once, as happens during fasting and in general during preparation for confession and holy communion. This is life in a living union with the Holy Church and in her spirit, in which through the Sacraments the human is nourished with the Divine, and in other rites - and especially in prayers, supported by fasting and good deeds - the human is elevated to the Divine, and spiritual growth will be fully prospered by grace. Let's call it church life. Apply it now to what we have previously established as necessary for salvation, and you will see that, living the church life, according to all the orders and regulations of the Holy Church, you will be a faithful executor of all this, that is, you will observe the holy faith, and be filled with grace through the Sacraments, and faithfully fulfill the commandments and be under the guidance of God-established shepherds - that is, you will faithfully work out your salvation. As all this is in the Holy Church according to the intentions of the Lord Himself for our salvation, then, living the life of the Church, you will be in a living union with the Lord, and with the organizers of the Church, the Apostles, and with the holy hierarchs who continue their work, and with the faithful doers of everything - the holy martyrs and holy venerable fathers - and your salvation is secure if you remain faithful to this union. You will be like in a safe haven, like in a strong fence, like under an indestructible cover. Church life will protect you from the world, and will keep you unharmed from the arrows of invisible enemies, and will constantly infuse you with influxes of spiritual elements, under the influence of which your Christian life will richly develop and mature, rising from strength to strength, invisibly among your visible works and deeds. Those who are alien to church life are usually poor in spirit and spiritual movements, although in everything else they are healthy. Therefore, you can judge how great a villain he is who discourages others from church life. He is a real murderer. This is your newcomer, the enemy of the Church of God and God. I warn you that if anyone of the same spirit as your apostate should read these lines, you will certainly hear: “Oh, this is the incarnation of Christianity,” or: “This is a return to Judaism,” or something similar. Look, don't be horrified. There are visible institutions in the Church, but there is nothing carnal in them, but everything is spiritual; There are statutory provisions, but they are completely alien to any admixture of Judaism. And most importantly, everything in it is either from the Lord directly, or from the Lord through the Apostles and their successors at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. I might decide to explain all this to you in more detail, following this. Now save yourself, and pray to God for me. Letter 28. Sixth letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. What should be done by someone who, living in half with sin or completely sinful, recognizes his fault and desires to improve. The answer to the words of preachers that our church life is materialized. What is a ritual? All church prayer rituals are the most spiritual prayers. Our faith should be clothed in outward splendor. How our salvation was accomplished by the Lord. How we can enjoy the benefits of salvation and achieve our salvation About philosophy. How to develop spiritual life in yourself through visible, bodily action Judging by what has been written so far, especially in the last letter, you yourself can conclude that if anyone living carelessly, that is, half with sin or completely sinful, comes to the consciousness of his fault and desires to correct himself, then this is what he should do: having realized, in the revival of such thoughts, the grace of God calling him to enter the path of salvation, thank the Lord for such great mercy and hasten to take advantage of by her, according to the intention of the Giver; for this purpose, without allowing these first saving thoughts and movements to dissipate or die out, take care, through reflection and prayer, to bring them to such tension that under their influence an urgent determination is formed to immediately begin the task inspired by those feelings, that is, to abandon the faulty life and begin the correct one, then confess and, having received permission for all sins, with acceptance and penance for the healing of one’s spiritual wounds, to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, in reunification with the Lord, whom his sins had previously alienated from him; finally, strengthened by such a grace-filled renewal, begin a new life in deeds of piety - prayers, fasting and abstinence and all kinds of good deeds, as all this is done by reverent Christians, true sons of the Church, according to its instructions and guidance. All those who have repented and begun to live piously do this and, with the help of God’s grace, are protected from sins, while succeeding in good deeds, more and more sinful desires are suppressed in themselves, and good dispositions are rooted, and through this they come to perfect purity of heart, which makes them worthy of the fact that the Lord Himself dwells in them according to His promise - which is the ultimate goal and the supreme good Christian. Who wouldn’t want to achieve this good, beyond which there is nothing and cannot be? But if good is desired, then one must desire to take the path leading to it, namely, the one described above; for there is no other. “There are, however, sages who wish to achieve this blessing and avoid the designated path - not for any solid reasons, but simply according to the whim of the heart. What is most disgusting to them is this confession and the penance associated with it, then everything else - going to church, bowing, fasting, solitude, and the like. - Extremely unpleasant. “They give it up; but how to remove themselves from this, for no apparent reason, ashamed even in front of themselves, then they come up with something to justify themselves; and others are so drawn into their justificatory speculations that they consider them decisively true, and having built their own special image of achieving salvation on them, they come out with a sermon about it as the right path to salvation, with the establishment of the orders maintained by the true sons of the Orthodox Church, according to the inspiration and guidance of this infallible mother. Some of these, as I mentioned to you at the end of the last letter, in order to justify their departure from church life, call the church order the incarnation and embodiment of Christianity, which supposedly should be purely spiritual, for God is the Spirit and those who bow to Him must bow in spirit and truth; and others - a return to Judaism: do not touch, do not taste, do not handle. It is necessary to assume, as there is evidence, that your apostates from the faith and church sometimes make the same speeches and harbor the same superstitions. For you yourself see that they have cast aside all our church orders, in which Orthodox Christians serve and please God, expressing and at the same time nourishing their true Christian piety - they have exposed themselves from everything, they have exposed themselves - superstitiously hoping to be spiritual through this. That they are acting badly and wickedly is self-evident. And there would be nothing to interpret. But, fearing that some of you, often listening to their nonsense, might become entangled in them, I consider it necessary to talk to you and those around you about this in more detail. I begin with the first reproach, as if in our country Christianity has been reified, fleshed out, corporealized. They say this, looking at our church orders, or our church life, visibly and physically manifested and performed. With you, they say, everything is just rituals and rituals, and nothing more. He performed the ritual and is at peace, whether the soul took part in it or not. Let us tell them: Christianity is highly spiritual, for it is grace-filled; but not invisible. And true Christians are highly spiritual, for they are certainly blessed; but not ethereal. Why, with all their spirituality - the highest, they cannot help but act bodily not only in relation to people, but also in relation to God - in the most spiritual movements of their hearts. It follows from this that, looking at what is visible, how Christian life is expressed in the Church and Christians, it is unfair to limit everything in them to this mere appearance. Isn’t it fairer, on the contrary, to discern the invisible and spiritual under this visible, just as in a word we tangibly encounter a hidden thought. Others may be confused by the word “rite” in this matter. Let us explain the meaning of this word. Let’s take the liturgical part, because it is where church life is most expressed, or where it is most visible, covering or completely covering up the other parts - deeds and good deeds (fasting and almsgiving). What is each sacred service? – A series of prayers read, sung and mentally offered to God. This is the essence of priesthood. But since we are enclosed in space and time, any such service requires its own time, its place and order, its own setting, ritual, what is inevitably a series of prayers, although it does not constitute the essence of the service. A priest in a certain place, at a certain time, in a certain order, as it should be in the church, performs his sacred service, and he, the clergy, and the Christians present keep themselves in a certain position. All this is a ritual. But the essence of the matter is not in this external thing, but in a series of prayers performed at this time. This all comes about because we are spatial and temporal, and whatever we do, we do it in our own time, in our own place and in a certain order. And whoever began to believe that this is the essence of the matter would make a big mistake. Let's take a simple matter - writing a letter. Here you need a pen, you need ink, you need paper; You need to adapt your position to writing. But all this is an external environment - such that without it you cannot write a letter; but even when it is there, one cannot say that the letter is being written or will be written. A letter is formed in the mind and heart. When it is then expressed on paper in the usual manner, writing will be completed and a letter will appear. What arose in the soul caused a corresponding action in the body, and the finished deed appeared. Such is the case with all sacred services and prayers. The need and desire to ascend to God with petition or thanksgiving is awakened in the spirit. This causes a certain prayerful action in the body, which, once completed, reveals the work of prayer, or perfect prayer - in which the internal and spiritual are combined with the external and physical. Looking at someone writing a letter, you don’t think that the whole point of writing is in the external position of the writer and in the order of his actions. Don’t think and don’t say the same things about prayer and serving God, apparently performed with the body. Here's an example. The old woman asks the priest to serve a memorial service at the grave of her son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter. The priest puts on the stole and goes to the grave; the cleric carries a censer and a candle. Look from a distance, what's going on there at the grave? The priest reads and censes, the cleric sings, the old woman bows on her knees. Then they read, sang, censed and went back. The work of remembrance is completed. But what is the essence of the matter here? In the spirit of faith that prompted the old woman to invite the priest to perform a church commemoration; in the same or even stronger spirit of faith with which the priest began, continued and finished the series of prescribed prayers. And what else is there? Everything else is a ritual, a situation inevitable under the conditions of our current existence - not accidental, however, but corresponding both to the meaning of this service and to the mood of those performing and participating in it. It combines internal and external, spiritual and physical. And whoever would focus on the external alone, without going to the internal, and would place the entire essence of this service in the external, without thinking about the internal, would reveal gross ignorance of the matter. These are all our church prayer rituals. They all combine the most spiritual prayers, and whoever performs them or participates in their performance should be said to be walking in the spirit, expressing this through a number of external actions. Therefore, as you can see for yourself, it is impossible to say that in our church life Christianity is embodied, embodied, and we are only external Christians. Those who don’t understand the matter can talk like this to expose their ignorance. The Khlysts, for example, call us vain churchmen, and your apostates, it seems, superstitious, because we consider it necessary to demonstrate and express our faith and our service to God in an externally established order. But how do we at the same time place strength not in the external, but in the internal, or believe not in the strength of the external order, but in the strength of the internal appeal to God, and, moreover, in a churchly manner; then such faith and such hope cannot be called vain, for they were given promises by the Lord Himself. Those who, apart from the Church, seek to serve God pleasingly are vain; for the promises are not given to such. In the example given, these real vain superstitions say: “The priest will confess, but they believe that this is saving for the dead.” But I have already explained to you that we place strength not in the external nature of this order, but in the internal spirit with which it is performed; Now I will add: and it is carried out according to the establishment of the Church. The priest with his inherent represents and combines in himself the entire Church - and the prayer that occurs here is as strong as the strength of the entire Church, in its entire composition - the Church, whose Head is Christ the Lord. Looking at the external rite or ritual, others may still come to the question of what is the benefit of it; and keeping in mind the essence of the matter and the meaning of church priesthood, no one will ask such a question. Think the same way about everything churchly. Imagine the Church filled with heavenly powers. Just come into contact with her, and he will partake of her powers. Various church prayers, or prayer orders, are introduced into this contact. They are the same for us in life as in physical experiments wires drawn before contact with a strong electric battery. Whatever wire you grab, even the thinnest one, the strength of the flow of electricity to you is determined not by the wire, but by the battery. So in life, no matter how you touch the Church, you will touch all its power. – Is such faith vain when the Lord is its Head and fills it completely and in everything? It’s outside the Church, so no matter what you do, nothing will come of it. So, when you have to interpret with one of your people who have fallen away from the Church, and he, claiming to be spiritual, calls you a superstitious ritualist, you quickly explain to him what a ritual is and how great the power of church prayer is. With this you will silence him; for then his speech will be like an arrow without a target, to the wind. She won't come to us. It is not we, the ritualists, who are vain and superstitious, but rather they, the non-ritualists. In saying all that has been said, I had in mind the liturgical rites of the church, but other parts of church life (fasting, almsgiving) should also be understood, that is, that the essence in them is the spirit with which they are performed, and not the appearance in which they appear. And fasting has its own, Church-approved external side, which is most visible during fasting. And almsgiving, according to the established procedures in the Church, is also done in a variety of ways: either they build dinners for the poor on certain days, then they go to prisons and almshouses with donations, then they visit the sick, and on church porches they give whatever they can to the poor according to their strength. And this is all - church orders of a ritual nature. But even here, although the external enters deeper into the matter, the essence of the matter is not in external orders, but in the inner spiritual mood. In fasting, and in deeds in general, the essence of the matter is not simply in denying oneself food, sleep, etc., but in the spirit of repentant contrition and humility and in renunciation of all self-indulgence. Likewise, in giving alms or generally in doing good, the essence is not in one external deed, but even more so in the internal disposition - in mercy, kindled by views of the All-merciful Lord, His holy commandment and the glory of His name. Your apostates from the Church, who have stripped themselves of everything churchly (naked), seem to lay great claim to spirituality, shunning everything external, even the sign of the cross. Therefore, let us talk more about our faith, as it should be, whether naked or clothed in external splendor. See how our salvation is accomplished? God, the purest Spirit, deigned, for our salvation, to be incarnate, to live on earth as a Man, to suffer, to die, to be resurrected, to ascend into heaven and sit at the right hand of the Father. All this is visible, externally, bodily. For what? Because it was impossible for our salvation to be arranged otherwise. If it were possible to accomplish this somehow spiritually, then why would the most spiritual God have to calve? But it was necessary, having perceived our spiritual-physical nature, to lead it through action, vitally, along the entire path from the depths of fall to the heights of restoration. This is what the Lord did, opening a new path for us to the renewal of our fallen nature. If, in order to create the image of our salvation, it was necessary for the most spiritual God to supernaturally incarnate and act bodily, then how can we, who are naturally bodily, work out our salvation according to this image, somehow incorporeally, mentally and spiritually? The path of salvation is opened to us by the bodily procession of God along it; Do those who think of walking along it after the Lord, to their salvation, have a mind only spiritually, and not physically? Further, the Lord, having acquired for us blessings for salvation, grace-filled, spiritual ones, did He leave them to us in a spiritual form, and does He command us to use them only in a spiritual way?! No; and He deigned to enclose His grace-filled spiritual blessings in material vessels, the Divine Sacraments, and commanded us to use them visibly, physically. The Holy Spirit descended directly only on the Apostles - and, however, apparently in the form of tongues of fire, then He deigned to be taught to all believers through visible, material means, established by Himself through the Apostles. The grace of rebirth is given through immersion of the body in water, the grace of communion with the Lord - through partaking of His Body and Blood, and so on. And all the treasures of salvation, gracious and most spiritual, being enclosed in material vessels, are received through the body. The body comes into contact with the material, which conceals within itself the spiritually gracious, and transmits this gracious-spiritual spirit to our spirit, in which a host and container for this purpose is created through spiritual moods. What is next before us after receiving grace? – Act, and act visibly and physically: fast, pray, give alms. This is what the Lord commanded, and in fulfillment of this he commanded the Apostles to establish appropriate orders between believers, which are still practiced in the Church. Thus, we cannot use the benefits of salvation in any way only mentally, nor work out our salvation only spiritually. Both are mediated by visible institutions, and on our part by the body and bodily action. This is how the Organizer of our salvation was pleased to arrange it. If besides Him there is nowhere to find salvation, then those who dream of getting salvation for themselves somehow only mentally - spiritually, will dream, but will not receive salvation. Imagine a big, wide and deep river. Bridges were built across it and various other crossings were arranged - boats, steamships. Of those who need to cross to the other side, who go across the bridge, who board a boat or steamer, and are crossed. But then the wise men appeared, who, dreaming that they did not need either bridges or boats to cross, but that some spirit would grab them and carry them, sat down on the shore in the said confidence, and sat motionless, only looking with a grin at others crossing, as usual, and calling them vain. Will they ever get to the other side? Of course not; They will sit like that for the rest of their lives. This is exactly the situation in which those who are alienated from the Holy Church and all its saving institutions, established by the Lord Himself for our salvation, find themselves. They will not see that shore, and will not set foot on the land of the saved. Have you heard about philosophy? This is a science that takes upon itself to bring everything that exists under one overview and explain it so that it, in its entirety, can be clearly seen. At least she will never get to that point; but in this work one can distinguish the more right and straight path from the wrong ones. The direct path is to study the different types of existence of beings, as it manifests itself in practice, from all sides, which we have a natural desire to know; generalize, make inductions and, ascending to more and more comprehensive views, try to achieve a comprehensive view that explains everything that exists. Those who follow this path reach positions that are very valuable and important both in the field of science and in life. And everything that was and is good in philosophy has been achieved this way. But there is a disease of philosophical minds in which philosophers, not considering the facts and particulars as they really are, want to build everything from their mind alone. - And they build. What happens? Philosophies come out that do not answer reality and do not explain it, but on the contrary, obscure it. This disease of philosophers is idealism. So, what is idealization in philosophy, there is in life - let’s call it spirituality in relation to this - a dreamy hope, without much physical effort, to achieve spiritual perfection through some mental paths alone. And here and here nothing lasting and really good comes out. Their origin is soap bubbles. Those who clergy with negligence about externally and visibly performed works and deeds, as established and practiced in the Holy Church, are the same soap bubblers as idealists. Those who are sound in spirit, having received the seed of spiritual life, usually begin to nurture and develop it through visible, bodily action. Look how it happens! – Someone said about himself that “having desired to work out my salvation, I laid, he says, a solid foundation for this matter through repentance, confession and communion. Then he began to work in this way, as everyone usually works. Realizing that with other things I needed to do alms for this purpose, I forced myself to do this, but I kept putting it off and did not get down to business. Finally I began to grieve that I couldn’t control myself. I turned with my grief to one pious man, and he told me: this is because you are going to suddenly give alms in hundreds of rubles. And you should first give out a nickel or hryvnia for alms every time you go to church. I started doing this, saying to myself: is this too much? - and distributed what was due willingly. When some time had passed, the desire came to me to distribute the same amount every day; and I began to distribute. Then I thought that Sunday and holidays should be distinguished, and I began to give out more on these days... Then this increase spread to other days, and Sunday and holidays were distinguished by a new increase. So everything grew and grew. Any restlessness when giving alms has passed and the desire to give and give has been revived - and you no longer run away from the opportunity, but look for it. Now, he concluded, I would be ready to give everything away if it weren’t for my family.” – Do you see how?! Mercy is a purely spiritual disposition, but how was it formed? Things that were apparently done by the body. Likewise, every other spiritual disposition is established in the heart: patience by frequent enduring of insults and needs, freedom from anger by frequent suppression of anger and restoration of meekness, and so on. And note that only in this way can spiritual dispositions acquired be unshakably strong. In the same way, asceticism is formed and established. Do you remember the story about Saint Dositheus? Saint Dorotheos, to whom he was entrusted, wanting to teach him abstinence in food and fasting, first gave him plenty of food; then, at short intervals, he began to gradually reduce the amount of food taken for the first time, and brought it to the point that Saint Dositheos finally began to be content with the very smallest amount of food. In the same way, those who want to sleep are reduced to a little, and become accustomed to vigil, but they completely lose the habit of rest and spend the whole day continuously in work and exertion, moving from one task to another. Little by little, in this way, they reach the skill of being unindulgent in relation to the body and, in general, to all their wishes. Self-indulgence is the basis of asceticism, when it takes root through long experiences and becomes a need of the spirit. Finally, take a prayer. How does she grow, strengthen and ascend to the highest degrees of perfection? Nothing other than frequent and long labors in performing prayers. They begin to go to church, as anyone can, some to everyone, some to some services, at home they stand quite a bit in prayer, every day, every day, sometimes reading prayers, sometimes praying in their own words, with many bows, and besides, during the day they often believe in their hearts to ascend to God - and thus more and more warm up the spirit of prayer in themselves, which finally takes root so deeply in the heart that prayer does not leave it. Non-waste prayer is the height of spiritual perfection in our relationship to God. Thus, you see that in all parts of the labor required of us in accomplishing salvation, complete and lasting perfection is achieved no other way than through labor and deeds, visibly performed by the body - in other words, spirituality is developed through the body. Have you heard the words “action” and “reason” in church songs? - If you have heard, then, of course, you have also heard that action is an ascent to reason. What do you think these expressions mean? – The same thing that I explained to you before, that spirituality should be achieved through labor, apparently performed by the body. Action means the visible, active side of achieving salvation, and reason means the invisible, spiritual, contemplative side. And the holy fathers write that it is necessary to combine both, to begin with action and move on to contemplation and spirituality. since this is how it is and cannot be otherwise, then see from this how in the Holy Church of God everything is expedient and directed towards your salvation. As soon as the desire for salvation is revived in you and is blessed through the Sacraments, which are the seed of spiritual life, the Church immediately invests you with its visible institutions, which, however, conceal spiritual elements within themselves, and you, being under the influence of them and acting on them, without noticing it, grow and become stronger in spirit, while your entire walk seems to be only bodily. Either she draws you to church to pray, then she suggests fasting, then she points out the place and image of charity, then she again invites you to the Sacraments. All this is visible, and yet all this feeds the spirit and grows spiritual life. Your spirit extracts from every type of church life the spiritual element contained in it and thereby nourishes and grows. Just as our body grows and lives, extracting vital juices from different types of food taken, so our spirit feeds and lives, going through many orders of church life and extracting from them the spiritual elements hidden in them. But it’s time for you and me to draw conclusions from everything that has been said. - So, in the matter of our salvation, both what is from God and what is from us, everything must be visible, acceptable and accomplished. The Church of God, our mother, the bride of Christ, recognized the need to introduce all this into the order of her religious life, obliging us, her children, to walk in them, so that, living according to them, we would always be sanctified from above and prosper in ourselves. And know, seeing experiences everywhere, that everyone who obeys these orders and goes through them from the heart, quickly advances in spiritual progress, is firmly established in spiritual life and becomes truly spiritual. Here is the end of the visible - the invisible, the bodily - the spiritual, the earthly - the heavenly. Hearing, however, such speeches from me that in the matter of our salvation, and that from grace, everything is corporeal, and that from us must be given bodily, do not think that I believe in this, visible and bodily, the essence of the matter: I wrote about what should happen and be accomplished in the spirit in previous letters. And I direct this speech against those who are too idealistic or spiritual in the matter of faith and salvation. Having reached the conclusion that Christianity is spiritual, they neglect and reject everything already visible in the Church. I’m telling you that it’s not appropriate to think like that; for this is contrary to the essence of the matter. These clever people directly grasp the spiritual and invisible, bypassing the visible and physical. And this is the same as wanting to achieve a goal, leaving aside the necessary means to achieve it. And you know for sure that such people do not have any spirituality, but only think about it. If they shun the Sacraments, then there is no seed of spiritual life in them. If they accepted this seed in the Holy Church through the Sacraments, and turned away from other church things - church prayers, fasting, then this seed probably died out and dried up, not having the corresponding institutions around it, from which the spirit could extract the elements necessary to nourish it, and thereby nourish and develop it. Thus, the obedient sons of the Church, starting physically, achieve spirituality, but these, starting with imaginary spirituality - with dreams of it, remain completely unspiritual. How many spiritually accomplished men are monuments to the Holy Church?! And they all ascended to this height, living strictly according to church orders. They ascended the ladder of perfection, stepping with patience from step to step. And they rose to the top successfully. And these immediately want to lift their legs up from the ground itself. Nothing works out for them. As if being pulled upward; Meanwhile, everyone is standing in one place, on the ground. I was just about to finish this letter when the idea came to me to tell you something else. Your apostates from the Church and from everything churchly, adults who have already received much from the Holy Church, can still dream that they have something spiritual, although all this has now, presumably, died down. – But ask them, in their children, in the new generation, which usually grows up among the old and is brought up in its atmosphere, how will spiritual life awaken, grow and develop in their children? In the Holy Orthodox Church, children, through the Sacraments of holy baptism and confirmation, receive the seed of a truly spiritual, grace-filled life, which then develops and is nurtured in them by attending church ceremonies, under the hidden influence of this, especially by communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, under their gracious influence. And we see that children who are diligently guided along this path, when they come to rational consciousness, find in themselves quite strong spiritual aspirations, which draw them to places where they can be satisfied. They love to visit churches, participate in all church observances, and often begin the Holy Mysteries. And this is a joy for them, distracting them from many empty and harmful pleasures and pleasures. How can the children of your apostates awaken and be educated in spiritual life? Nothing. She will remain stalled. From the new generation of apostates, only spiritual and physical people without spirit will emerge. So, as a punishment for the vain apostates from the Church, their clergy will lead their race to the general consolidation of all. And their successors will think of themselves as spiritualists, but this will be a name, not a deed, as it is now. So, if you want to succeed in spiritual life, go about it the way it is done in the Holy Church: having seeded this life with visibly performed Sacraments, then develop it, strictly adhering to the visible institutions and orders of the Church. If you do this, you will soon develop the spiritual side in yourself - and it will appear in you as well-educated and firmly standing on unshakable foundations. And leave those who, apart from the Church, want to succeed in the spiritual. Nothing will come of them except dreamers who imagine having something without having anything. I believe that you have already heard, or will hear from one of them: “We would not be averse to external officials, but why do you have so many of them? You have covered yourself with them so that you can see nothing but them, and besides, you have turned everything into a law, which in no way ought to be.” This is their usual saying. But more about that until next time. Letter 29. Seventh letter to St. Petersburg regarding the heresy there. The Church is the house of God. The Church preserves and provides for her children everything necessary for their salvation. The Church is the living body of the Lord; without the Lord nothing - neither great nor small - entered into it; only apostates can say that something else can be replaced or abolished. About freedom. The outer rite of the church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body. I undertake to finish what was left unfinished in the last letter. We have too many rituals, say your apostates; we have covered ourselves with them so that behind them we cannot see any spirituality in us. And others, perhaps, add: and all this without any need or benefit. Many? - Let it be a lot. Well? Should I be annoyed and saddened by this? In which house there is a lot of everything, they groan at it? The Church is the house of God. If there is a lot in it, according to the economy that is carried out in it, that is, according to the arrangement for the salvation of its children, - and glory to God! When you see a house full of everyone, your spirit rejoices; and when in any house the yard is empty and everywhere is like a ball, what a joyless feeling this leaves! And these are your apostates 2. In their entirety, they imagine a desolate house from which everything has been thrown out. That's probably what they want to do to all of you. We have a lot of churchliness because there are many of us, and we have many needs. Our protective mother, the Church, is guided by her Head, and has prepared everything that is useful, preserves it, and generously provides for us, her children, at the appropriate time and in due measure. – Should I list everything? - But here’s the general thing! If you need instructions, go to Church, listen and watch. And through the ear and through the eye all kinds of lessons will flow into you. Listen to the Apostle, the Gospel, the prophets - and learn; listen to the chants - and be admonished; look at the sacred rites, and be lifted up, delving into their meaning and meaning; you see images, remember the glorious deeds of those depicted and strive to imitate them, if they are persons, or glorify God, marvelous in mercy and truth, if they are events. In the Church, even the illiterate become no less than literate holders of the Divine mysteries of salvation if they listen. A sense of duty forces you to make a sacrifice to God, your Creator, Provider and Savior - go to Church. Here a bloodless sacrifice is offered to God every day - the Body and Blood of the Lord, the only sacrifice worthy of God, powerful to propitiate Him. But join in this sacrifice yourself with a contrite and humble heart, and bring a tear to the altar of the Lord, so that, together with the bloodless sacrifice, it rises before the face of God and, reminding Him of you, brings down His favor and blessing upon you. Do you want to learn how to pray and receive guidance in it? ABOUT! This, above all, is what the Holy Church is rich in. She will give you ready-made prayers and teach you to ascend to God in prayer in your own words. Everything in it is prayer, and everyone will find there prayers of every kind and for every occasion. The need for prayer during conversion, like a spark, sinks into the heart, through the action of grace, mysteriously returned and restored. This spark is ignited into a flame by the breath of the air of the church during participation in church prayer sessions. Listen to the prayers read and sung in the Church, strain and compose your own prayers when we invite you to do so (by litanies); and your prayer will soon begin to move, become tense, strengthen and begin to flow from your heart, like a stream from an inexhaustible spring. Do you have a need to humble your flesh, your closest, most incessant and flattering enemy? – Here is a guide and guide for you, post by post. Se – middle; Before you know it, Friday has arrived; Several weeks will pass, and a big fast will begin, followed by another alternation of daytime fasts; and there again - another big post. It's like this all year round. Know how to use this, and you will have a humble flesh, and in it, instead of harm, the most beneficial helper. If you have fallen and have a need to clear your conscience, these same fasts give you both a strong motivation and favorable time to do so. Pray, confess, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and, having thus firmly established your footing again on the proper path, walk it cheerfully. Do you have any personal need? Whatever it may be, you will find beneficial satisfaction in the Church. Whether your thoughts are troubling you, your spirits are chilling, your grief is weighing you down, whether you are getting ready to go on a journey or starting at home - for all this and much more you will find in the Church intercessory prayer, sanctifying sacred acts, and indicative guidance. I am not talking about the sources of grace, the Holy Sacraments; I’m not talking about constant guidance in spiritual life and models for it. You yourself know that the Holy Church is rich in this - and only the Orthodox Church. Do you see now that we cannot help but have many things? We have many needs that are not suppressed, but require their entire life, from the minute of birth to death. The Holy Church embraces with its churchliness the whole person and throughout life; she takes him into her arms immediately after birth, accompanies him throughout the course of his life and sends him to the next world. And how beneficial it is! The world surrounds us with its charms and the spirits of evil with their intrigues. The Holy Church, completely surrounding us with its churchliness and completely covering us with it, repels the spirit of the world from us and reflects the arrows of the spirits of malice. And it turns out that he who walks according to all the rules of churchliness is as if clothed in impenetrable armor, or as if hidden under powerful wings, or as if hidden in an indestructible fortress. That these are not empty words is known to those who spend their days in humble submission to everything churchly, sanctified and enlivened by sincere faith. “Ask who wants them, and you will see how great a blessing this is.” And what are those who are alienated from everything churchly? - Either naked in the cold, or unarmed among enemies, or bloodless, naked and hungry, with no place to lay his head. Glorify the Lord, who has built such a rich, powerful and caring Church for us, and be always whole-heartedly and with faith submissive to her, with her maternal courtship of you as a child. So thank God that there is a lot of everything in the Church. And there is nothing to be burdened by this; and there is no need to be burdened. For, judging by how everyone needs to participate in church rites, we can say that there is very little for everyone. To pray according to the rules of the Church, morning and evening, before the table and after the table, before starting a task and at the end of it - that’s all on another day. On some days, in addition, it is necessary to go to church, either just to pray in public with everyone, or to meet some private needs. Is this too much? In a family, in some years there is no need for which the Church should be invited, in others there is only one. So, everyone loses a little bit of churchliness. The Church contains and watches for a lot just in case, always being ready with its help. It is true that despite this, churchliness not only constantly appears before everyone’s eyes, but also occupies everyone, forcing him to act in his own way. But once it has become part of the routine of life, it is no longer anything special for those who are used to it, and is easy to do, just as easy to breathe. Being burdened by anything churchly exposes the burdened person to alienation from the Church. Let us note at the same time that, at least in a small way, it relates to churchliness; but he enjoys full influence and power of the Church, sanctifying and protective. Only unbelief and decisive alienation from all churchliness makes the poor apostate naked and defenseless. So you see how things are. But the apostates have everything of their own: a lot of unnecessary things, they say, random, arbitrary; It is necessary to change some things, cancel others, replace others with new ones. Let’s say this in general: in the Church of God nothing is introduced without need. Whatever was established by her was established to satisfy spiritual needs, needs not invented, but living, caused by life. Moreover, what was established was established by the good will of the Lord, the Head of the Church, in His spirit, and in accordance with the promises. Without the Lord nothing entered the Church, neither great nor small; for she truly is His living body, living through Him. since this is the case, who dares to speak as the apostates speak? - Only apostates. That is why they say this because they are apostates; and since they say so, it is clear that they are apostates. A true son of the Church will never say that. In some respects, one can only distinguish between the degrees of need and importance of the contents of the Church: necessary, useful, comforting - since there are needs of the same kinds. In our ordinary everyday houses, some things are such that without them a house is not a home - it is essentially necessary, some are present and maintained as useful, others serve only to decorate the house or to the pleasure of the living; otherwise it is instituted and taken care of in case of emergency. And the Church is a house - God's house - and everything like that, in its own way, should be in it. And there is. There is something essential in it, without which the Church is not the Church (priesthood, Sacraments, services, fasts, charitable institutions), there is something that is accepted and held as saving and beneficial to the soul (icons), there is something that consoles and delights her children (singing). What kind of owner would throw things out of the house just because without them the house is still a house? For those who live in the house need pleasant things, and without that which serves only to decorate it, life is boring; and what is useful becomes necessary at the time when its usefulness is required. Likewise, what exists in the Church should not be touched with the arrogant hand of arbitrariness, but everything should be accepted in the quality in which it was established and maintained. Everything in it is edifying and nourishes the spirit of believers who have eyes and can see. Leave, they say, what is most necessary, and leave everything else away. But if we do this, what will remain? What will remain in the house from everything that we see in our houses if we deal with them according to this rule? Four walls, a roof, a hearth, some vessels - and that’s it. What will remain of the clothes if they are rearranged according to what has been said? Nothing. A piece of material, and perhaps it will not hold, because instead of any matter a leaf of grass or the skin of an animal can serve. Can we expect anyone to think of doing this? And if someone did, wouldn’t everyone consider him crazy? This is how we should treat church splendor. How are you? Your apostates have stripped you of everything churchly, and you are glad. - A benefit, it turns out, emancipation. What kind of nonsense do you have there?! But whatever the quality of the contents of the Church, everything is from the Lord, as I have already mentioned, either directly established by the Lord, or favored by Him. If nothing happens in our body without depending on the head (brain, nerves), then all the more we must believe that this is the case in the Church of God, that is, that in it, as the body of the Lord, nothing happens without the Lord, Who is its Head. True faith always feels the right hand of the Lord in all churchliness and accepts it as coming from Him, with humble and warm submission, not allowing itself daring plans for cancellations or changes. So, then, you have the rule of law again, cry the apostates? Where is Christian freedom? – It is right there, at the same time and in this, which is called obligatory churchliness. Freedom from Jewish legality, granted to us in Christ Jesus, does not mean placing us outside all legality, but is a conclusion from Jewish legality in order to place us under Christian legality, not only in the internal spiritual life, but also in the external orders of religious life. since the assembly of believers constitutes a society of a certain spirit and purpose, then it, as a society, must be well-ordered or consolidated and protected by laws, and as a society of a certain spirit and purpose, it must be subject to such and not other laws, and laws that are unchangeable, just as its spirit and purpose must be unchangeable. Here comes the urgent legislation! – But since this society is visible, subject to local and temporary conditions, its legality, while remaining unchanged in essence, in application or manner of execution, may not be the same in all places and unchanged at all times. This is freedom under the rule of law! In the Church of God we see at all times this unchanging legality, and this freedom in the fulfillment of the law, not enclosed in uniformity everywhere and all the time. In the Old Testament, not only the essential was included in the law, but also its various applications down to the details were also defined as an urgent and unchangeable law. It was necessary; because that Testament represented guidance from the external to the internal - a single one - which would have been prevented from being formed by external particulars if they had been left free: for then they, not having an internal basis, which had yet to be formed, would have diversified to the point of opposites, and led to different internal things. Christianity, on the contrary, goes from internal to external. In it is given the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, and in this spirit there is essential legitimacy for Christian society; the application of this legality to particulars is left to freedom; for the purpose for which these particulars were defined in the Old Testament—the formation of a single internal one—already existed. This is how it was in the Church. From the very descent of the Holy Spirit, she began to clothe herself in her externality, renouncing little by little the externality of the Old Testament, as we see in the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, on all sides of the inevitable religious action for Christians. - And she put on her clothes. But just as initially this vestment of oneself in appearance was given into the hands of the Church itself, so after this, after the arrangement of this vestment, it is in the same hands of the Church. Having clothed itself, the Church did not bind itself to this; Her power over her appearance was not stopped; she remained powerful in relation to her for all times. Why, how to initially introduce everything, she had freedom; so then everything - in all parts - is renewed, replenished, changed, she can and has a duty, according to the demands of circumstances, time and place, according to the guidance of the Spirit living in her. The Holy Church has always demonstrated this freedom, and is demonstrating, and will continue to demonstrate until the end of time. So that you do not get confused in your thoughts about what does not change and what can be changed, I will give examples: that there be in the Church the priesthood, the Sacraments, church meetings for prayer, reading the Scriptures and bloodless sacrifice, there is fasting, and charitable institutions - this is an urgent law. The Lord, by the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, established this everywhere, as soon as the Church was formed wherever. But the manner of conducting these affairs and the particular procedures regarding them were left to the freedom of each Church. And here not everything was left without the guidance of the Apostles, especially when believers, due to their inability to satisfy the zeal of their spirit, allowed something discordant. But freedom in this regard has always remained with each Church. An obvious example is the Church of Corinth. The law only required that everything introduced be in good order and in order, and that it be fully consistent with the spirit of faith and life in Christ Jesus. But this freedom granted to the Holy Church is not the property of every son or daughter of the Church. It is our duty to obey the Church, as we confess in the Creed with the words: “I believe in one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.” Everything that exists and is established in the Church is law for each of us as long as it exists and is maintained in the Church. - But we are not chained in this, like in chains. When we act in common with everyone, we are obliged to act according to a common charter; and when we do what we do at home, alone, then here we are left with freedom. Prayers and songs in the Church are read and sung for everyone, and we are then obliged to unite in spirit with everyone. But in home prayer you are completely free. Prayer books have been compiled for this purpose; but the way to use them is provided to you. Fasts were established, and methods of asceticism were indicated - vigil, solitude, work. But the way of fulfilling this is left to freedom, only advice is attached: do everything with advice. There is even more space and freedom in the form of charity. Thus, in our church life, freedom is wonderfully combined with legality, both being directed towards success in the inner life. When you hear: the statutes of the Church are law, do not think that this law is obligatory because it is determined by the general voice of the Church, that is, in the same sense as in everyday life the verdict of society is obligatory for everyone; for society rules over private individuals. This is not the case in the Church of God. The Holy Church is not an ordinary human society, but is a body consisting under the head - Christ the Lord, guided and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, and embraced by the good will of God the Father. Therefore, everything in her - and given to her freedom - is not of one human origin, and necessarily not because everyone decided to be so, but because the Trinitarian God deigned so. Submission to the Church is submission to God, in the strength, I will add again, in which something is established, that is, some as necessary, some as useful, some as comforting, some as beautifying. Why do we believe that by doing everything from the heart, we serve God and please Him, although our action is only visible, bodily, but God is the Spirit: for we act with a spiritual mood. The previous indication gives me reason for the following guidance, which is not useless in relation to the subject of our discussions with you. since in the Church of God everything is according to God’s will, and since, by doing this, we bring service to God; then everything, small and great, must be performed with complete reverence befitting God. Our reverence should be commensurate not with the greatness or smallness of what we do, but with the face of God to Whom it relates. Whether someone censes, or reads and sings, or does anything else, as long as he does it carelessly, he is subject to the judgment of those who do the work of God with negligence. Likewise, of those inherent in the Church, whether someone stands, or bows, or lights a candle, if he does this carelessly, he sins just as much, and is subject to the same judgment. All these and similar actions are not important in themselves, and such actions are not urgently necessary: ​​in their place there can be all sorts of others. But as soon as they are accepted and established, and as long as they relate to God as an agent, then he who neglects them despises and insults God. The same should be said about actions outside the Church (at home). Since they relate to God and are dedicated to Him, they must be performed with complete reverence, not in proportion to their importance or smallness, but as befits to act before Almighty God, in His honor and glory. Don’t consider this remark unnecessary, as if it is irrelevant. No; I'm exposing it on purpose; because it provides very important guidance for our subject. Ahead, at the beginning of the letter, it was noted that the Church, with its statutes, embraces the entire life of a person, from birth to death, and, moreover, in all its manifestations and orders. Consequently, there is no movement or action where an attentive Christian does not encounter something ecclesiastical. Consequently, further, there is no movement and action that would not place him before the face of God, and through this would not oblige him to act in the most reverent way, as one should act before the face of God. It follows from this that he who acts properly in the church manner continuously undergoes the science of reverence before God with the dedication of everything to Him, and hence the skill of uniting with every visible deed all the attention of the mind, all the sympathy of the heart and all the zeal of the will, and all this in a religious spirit. If you walk now in this mood, under the influence of church orders, what will you get? What you will get is that the spirit of reverence will permeate your entire being and inhabit you. What will come of this? – What will happen is that you won’t notice any multiplicity in the church; for the spirit of reverence, constantly abiding in you, will unite everything, and your attention will not be much, but one thing. It will also turn out that you will not notice duration in any church observance; because no church following can be so long as to compare in this respect with the spirit of reverence, or exceed it, when it is persistent and continuously effective. What will also happen is that you will not notice that you are bound by church legality, for then everything will come from within you, from your heart, and you will be a law unto yourself, or you will become a person for whom the law does not apply. - Now remember the reproach to us: you have covered yourself with an ecclesiastical appearance (of course, legality) - and see if there is any harm from this. What is external here is only an inevitable outer shell, and what constitutes the essence of action is all internal, spiritual, everything happens before the face of God, in the depths of the heart. He who walks in these outward things walks inwardly, quickens and strengthens the spirit, and lives by the spirit. After this, you yourself see that if sometimes in those who perform church successions and in those participating in them, churchliness turns into one form, then the fault is not in the church order, but in us. This is our oversight, and not an inevitable part of the church. We are such that by our inattention we turn the most edifying and stimulating orders into ineffective forms. What had such a beneficial effect on us yesterday now has a weaker effect; in a day it will act even weaker, and so on, until this effect reaches zero. And then only one form will remain. This is what happens with churchliness - so it turns into a form, not being in itself only a form. This, however, gives the apostates and some of the wise guys who sympathize with them a reason to cry: formalism! formalism! Stupid scream! Churchliness in itself is not one form, and in its performers, not in everyone, it turns into a form. Why shout? - After all, it’s impossible to abolish it just because others, through their own oversights, turn it into a lifeless form? Because we cannot be without her. It should not be changed or replaced with a new one; for, whatever orders you introduce instead of them, we will convert them into one form. What follows? We should make it a law for ourselves to use churchliness in such a way that it does not turn into a form for us: for in itself it is not one form, and in performers it is not like this in all performers. Instead of thinking about changes and cancellations, let everyone take care to join the ranks of reasonable executors, and that’s the end of the matter. And this doesn't require much. That sincere zeal for pleasing God is required, there is nothing to say about this: for it is the root of all pious life. It is necessary to add only a simple and uncomplicated technique: each time you begin to perform church activities as you did the first time, completely forgetting - or not giving any price - what you have done before, or have done several times - that is, begin with the same attention and reverence with which the soul is usually full when approaching a sacred task for the first time. This rule is given by the holy fathers. And it is justified by experiments everywhere. Ask the reverent people, and they will confirm this to you. Ask those who fell into formalism and rose again from it and rose to the living spirit of reverence, and they will say the same. Don’t you dare think that when the external things in the Church are established and given into law, then we are shackled into an empty formality. I will make one more remark. I said above that the Old Testament is a guide from external to internal. But it turns out that the New Testament is the same. Adults, through churchliness, content, as a law, support and nourish spiritual life in themselves, and the younger generation cultivates it in themselves in this way. It follows from this that a kind of legality also takes place in the New Testament Church. - And don’t be surprised at this. This is inevitable according to our structure. In the natural order, as they say, the highest animal, while its embryo develops to its perfect formation, passes through all the degrees of living beings preceding it. The same is true in spiritual life. Although our race is now in Christian age, each of us passes through those states in which a person was in previous ages, that is, we are now such as those who lived before the law (childhood, adolescence), then such as those under the law were (youths, young men), then finally such as those who are in Christ Jesus are, no longer walking according to the law, but in the Spirit. Because we are under church law not as a reproach, but as a praise - that we follow the proper order of spiritual development, and have everything we need. There will be a reproach if anyone stops at church legality alone. But it’s enough to tell him: tighten up a little and get inspired. One can only ask: why do they not abandon church legality even after spiritual life has already developed? – Let us answer the main thing: because spiritual life always requires revitalization; Our church legality is completely filled with spiritual elements; therefore, the one who walks in it always breathes into himself the spiritual - the life-giving. Just as bodily breathing refreshes and revitalizes the entire body, so walking in church orders refreshes and revitalizes the entire composition of spiritual life. Just as the bleeding woman, touching the hem of the Lord’s robe, attracted healing power from Him, so does everyone who works. anything ecclesiastical or participating in it accepts the influx of spiritual elements into the revitalization of his spirit. The outer rank of the Church is the robe of the Lord, but the Church itself is His body. Another may ask: if the Church has the power to change its external appearance, then why does it not change it? Because it is given to her to change, not only because she has the power to do it, or not just to give exercise to this power; but in this case, if any action determined by its charter has ceased to be necessary, has ceased to edify and nourish the spirit. - And this is not due to the whim of some fashionistas, but after making sure that this is really the case and that the change or abolition is desirable by everyone in the form of spiritual benefits, and not any external conveniences. If everything in the Church is edifying, required and satisfies needs, and is not an excess, then why cancel or change? It neither cancels nor changes. From all that has been said: so, therefore, do not move and do not try anything new, but live as everyone else lived and now lives in a church way, diligently fulfilling all the rules of the Church. By doing this, you will undoubtedly please God and be saved. If you become fashionable, you will anger God and ruin your soul. For the last three letters I have been directing everything towards convincing you that the saying of your apostles that nothing is needed is idle talk. Do you see how much is needed?! Everything that is in the Church is necessary, and nothing should be left behind. I should list all this again, as is usually done in conclusion; but please do it yourself. - And save yourself! Letter 75. The origin of the Pashkov heresy. Sectarians do not make the sign of the cross, as this is contrary to the spirits living within them. Mentioning Hume the spiritualist in passing, you said that when you lived in the world, you were invited to his sessions, and that when you refused, they said about you that grace had not yet touched you. – How are Grace and Hume compatible? Meanwhile, those who told you truly think that there is grace among spiritualists. The thought immediately occurred to me: isn’t Pashkovism also of spiritualist origin? Pashkovshchina is the offspring of Irvingism; and Irvingianism, unless considered the fruit of deliberate deception, cannot be explained otherwise than by the tricks of the same spirits who fool spiritualists. Irvingism in St. Petersburg bears the name of the apostolic community. Pashkov also belonged to it; but he separated from her, or was excommunicated, for the reason that he did not accept the Sacraments, but they did. But although he separated from the Irvingians in particulars, in spirit he remained the same, that is, a person fooled by the spirits operating in the society of spiritualists. They wrote about him that he publicly declared that Christ appeared to him and ordered him to preach. To spiritualists, spirits appear in different and different ways. It is not at all surprising that some spirit appeared to Pashkov, called himself Christ and ordered him to preach. This can be considered probable because Pashkov’s teaching is contrary to the spirit of the Church of Christ, which is ruled by Christ as its Head; and therefore could not be blessed and approved by Christ for preaching. And therefore one can also consider it probable that Pashkovism originated from spiritualist spirits, because Pashkovites do not make the sign of the cross on themselves. Why? Because this is contrary to the spirits living in them, the power of which Christ the Lord destroyed with the cross. Letter 76. On the habit of unceasing prayer. How to better grasp the sacraments of our holy faith. How to perceive the dogmas of faith with your heart. On maintaining prayer zeal. About thoughts from the enemy all Practice the habit of unceasing prayer. Good! But look, don’t limit yourself to just one language by teaching yourself to repeat a short prayer. It will be a mechanical repetition of prayer without prayer. At the same time, learn to hold yourself in fear and reverence, with contrition and humility. So, present yourself as if you were standing in judgment before the Lord, ready to pronounce the final decision about you. You ask how to better assimilate the sacraments of our holy faith. – You need to transfer them from the mind and memory to the heart, and it will be strong: for then they will enter the depths of your spiritual life and dissolve with it, or become one with it. And this is how you can do it. Bring to mind any dogma and how its confession is expressed by the Holy Church in a specific word; and begin to pray to the Lord according to the content of this confession, asking Him at the same time to give the mind to more fully and clearly imagine the entire dogma and imprint it on the heart. Do this today, tomorrow - and further, until at some moment, like a flash of lightning, your inner being is illuminated and the dogma is perceived by the heart as an element of life. This will be evidence that the dogma is imprinted on the heart. Then do the same with the other, the third and all the dogmas. So they will finally all move into the heart. – From this the fruit will be such that no objection to the objects of faith will then shake or confuse you. While our faith is only mental, the objections of the Nevers, entering the mind, shake its foundations, and it, feeling the uneasy ground beneath it, is confused. And when the dogmas are accepted by the heart, then anyone can object as much as you want, these objections, remaining in the head, cannot shake the foundations of faith in the heart, and the mind, feeling itself standing on a solid foundation, remains completely calm. This will give him the opportunity to find or remember a counter-objection and repel the attack; whereas in the first case, due to embarrassment, he does not quite succeed - and he, feeling defeated, causes deep sorrow to his heart. When dogma is in the heart, even though the mind does not repel the attack, the peace of faith is not disturbed. This is a great blessing. We met good soup, and felt the beginnings of crying. - For what? - Isn’t it about yourself - that after the previous contentment, which was remembered at this time, now everything is meager for you. If so, then it looks like grumbling: as if you were complaining to God about your situation. This is not good! If you love repentance, love the atmosphere that is repentant in everything, and rejoice that you have it just like that. You sent a note from the addressee that left an impression upon reading. Good! – But what is this on the piece of paper?! You need to have a notebook or bound book. Otherwise everything will fall apart and go to waste. – Maybe you made this extract on a scrap of paper from a book or notebook? Or is it a rough draft, and then you copy it to a secure storage facility? - Well, this method is not reliable. It is better to write it down directly in a book or notebook. You touched on the works. Since your work is not done out of obedience, but out of your own will, you can manage it in such a way that it does not in the least distract you from your internal activities. Follow Saint Isaac the Syrian in this. He does not favor work and allows it only when necessary, occasionally. Because it distracts the mind. You need to acquire a special skill so that you don’t get distracted. It is impossible not to work. There is a natural need for it; however, one should not get carried away with it. Egyptian monks worked all day; but they did not leave God in their minds. “Will prayer zeal go away?” It will pass if you are only jealous about reading prayers according to the rules. But it will not pass if you kindle your inner prayer, but on the contrary, everything will flare up. When internal prayer comes into force, then it will become the leading prayer, will prevail over external prayer, even absorb it. From this, prayer zeal will flare up: for then there will be paradise in the soul. Remaining with only external prayers, you can cool off on the work of prayer, even if you do it with attention and understanding: the main thing is the feelings of the heart in prayer. “Thoughts,” you say, “have calmed down.” – What thoughts?! The enemy has such a tactic that when someone does not give way to sinful thoughts, he immediately cuts them off; then he moves on from them to instilling empty and idle thoughts in order to distract him from spiritual, life-giving thoughts, and meanwhile he looks out to see if he can manage to lure him into passionate thoughts. So, maybe your bad thoughts have subsided, but empty ones are still seething. In this case, that's half the battle. We must strive to the end, so that even simple thoughts do not swarm in our heads. Letter 188. About your leadership, about your attitude towards the Molokans, grace and the Jesus Prayer 3 God's mercy be with you! I sent you books, but didn’t have time to write a letter. “I’m sitting down to write and I’ll tell you what you need in the course of your letter.” Stop calling me your leader and mentor and shepherd. I don’t undertake to be such a person for anyone; and when someone asks, I say what seems appropriate to me. Your plan to do something on the occasion of sending books is unsuitable. I do not publish or sell my books; and publishers send me a certain number of published books to distribute. I distribute it to whomever I think is necessary. - If you do what you consider suitable for you, - and then bow to the many-sinful writer; that's all you can do. Have you read the path to salvation? - Good. And read it again sometime. Here everything that I have written is being written and will be written. These are my lessons from the Academy for students of St. Petersburg. The abstract has been revised from Fr. Archimandrite Ignatius - after the former bishop Brianchaninov, and approved by him. This was in 46–7 years. “You can’t do it without a leader,” you wrote. “The leader is a pillar on the road, and everyone has to walk the road themselves, and also look at their feet and to the sides.” Elder Paisiy Velichkovsky searched for a leader all his life and did not find one. But he lived in a group of two or three, and they were guided by mutual advice. I ask you to exclude me from this leadership. And see for yourself what to do with prayer and fatherly lessons. The instances of your self exploding are not important in themselves; but what is important is the spirit with which you do what you do. You yourself have already condemned him. And so it should be. Your action with the Molokan is more reproachful than others. – The communication that you are afraid of is not everyday, of course, and not friendly, but religious: not communicating in faith and sacraments, and prayers. Why did he come to you, you should have helped him. In the other two cases, you could have made a serious suggestion - and not to create dust. What excuses a lot is that, no matter how reasonably you interpret it, the Russian will not listen, but will listen to threats and pins. But this goes more to those in power than to private individuals. “I think that you will do well if, when you meet those people, you speak kindly to them, as if nothing had happened.” You can say: “I got a little angry then, I apologize. But this does not mean that I approve of your action: you did something wrong.” Tell the worker: “As soon as I notice that you killed your daughter, I’ll drive you away. Your sin is equal to murder." Is there any work for the girl in your rooms - sweep the room, wipe something, bring water and similar little things around the house. She would be under your wing. - Penance. When, while correcting the Jesus Prayer, the desire comes to pray in your own word, remember this and these exploits and pray with contrition, making three bows. So for several days, about a dozen. But it would be stronger if you confessed to your spiritual father, and he would prescribe something for you. Show some kindness to the Molokans, and stop shunning the Molokans. There is nothing to look for their friendship, and when you happen to be together, you should not frown at them. Otherwise, to act on them is to throw yourself in the mud. A word to the Guardian Angel: rejoice as you are forbidden to communicate, - of course - in the sacraments and beliefs and in prayers. St. Paul did not forbid the faithful to go to dinner with the pagans, and eat everything offered, even sacrificed to idols, commanding them to abstain from this latter only when they say: this is sacrificed to idols. – And the Molokans are far from the pagans in the matter of faith. “Your aversion to them is not good.” “We need to feel sorry for them and pray for them, and, on occasion, throw in a word or phrase into a normal conversation for the sake of understanding.” “I forgot to enclose the books for you to enlighten the Molokans.” I'll send it later. There is no sin in accepting tenants who are celibately cohabiting. But since this gives rise to some kind of temptation in one’s family, then one must somehow free oneself from them. “Some people are very kind and pious.” It’s a pity for such people: look, we have different teachings that are anti-marital and confusing. They play the harlot and do not lead with their ears. “You need a good mother-in-law... without grace this is impossible... grace is the share of the elect.” There's a misconception here. – No one can be filled with grace; it is given to all who come to the Lord; and the Savior says that He came to save sinners, not the righteous. Grace is common to everyone, just take it... and access to it is open to everyone - and everyone can be saved if they want. The fault of non-salvation is not due to grace, but to our reluctance. Doing the Jesus Prayer is simple: become attentive in your heart before the face of the Lord and cry out to Him: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! It’s not a matter of words, but of faith, contrition and surrender to the Lord. With these feelings you can stand before the Lord without words, and this will be prayer. You will find complete instructions about prayer in general, and about the Jesus Prayer, in the book “Invisible Warfare.” Read it there. – The fact that, having received the prayerful spirit under the influence of the Jesus Prayer, you begin to pray in your own word according to the urgent needs of a contrite heart, is very good and very fruitful for the creation of the spiritual. Please bring yourself to this point every time, but don’t strain yourself to compose a prayer, but let it pour out from your heart. This latter is the best way to unceasing prayer. God bless you and your whole family. Save yourself. Your good friend E. Feofan. June 16, 1888 Letter 217. The Saint’s concern for readers of spiritual and moral books. News and reviews: about his sore eye, about the death of the Right Reverend, about Shipka and the new false teacher Redstock 4 Most Reverend Father Archpriest! I congratulate you on this bright holiday and send you my full best wishes. May the Lord grant you peace of mind, contentment in life and a favorable course of your affairs. What you write about those who read books is pleasant to read, because you see that there are still people who love such reading. How many times do I regret that I don’t know how to write in a way that touches everyone. If only I could, I would compile such a book that everyone reading it would certainly decide to begin working out their own salvation. We have a big shortage of books of this kind. We have neither a brief, nor a complete and impressionable presentation of dogmas, nor an image of moral life so that everything can be seen at a glance. I began to go blind in one eye. A cataract is growing on the right eye. It’s bad, of course; but this problem is not great. Have you heard how much news? The Most Reverend Justin died. The Moscow ruler hurried after him. Tverskoy left not much before both of them. Do you see how they are selected? Now it’s Vyshensky’s turn. Somehow Gurko will take this Shipka and cross the Balkans? And Suleymanov’s entire army must be crushed so that not even its spirit can be smelled. Lord, have mercy on us! What have we come to? In St. Petersburg, a sectarian community is clearly and openly being formed - Redstockism. This is something similar to Molokanism, only foreign and noble. Just know this. You see, they don’t even want to see priests, not just hear and follow them. This is something to think about. In St. Petersburg there are fine priests who are ashamed to listen to; but there are also exemplary priests. And it’s like that everywhere. Alas and ah! Be healthy and cheerful. Bow to everyone you know. Your pilgrim Bishop Feofan. April 24, 1879 Letter 220. Sending books to expose Pashkov. Advice to the Kiev brethren to pray for their sick Bishop I don’t know what word to start the letter with. Let it go without beginning. I am sending you a dozen letters to St. Petersburg. Distribute them to old acquaintances, or even around the city - non-spiritual ones, for whom, in your opinion, it is not useful to read them. This is against Pashkov, who is the worst Molokan and whip, who has no Church, no sacraments, no priesthood, no prayers, nothing. Repent, believe in the Lord and live well - that’s all. Everything else is on the side. He travels everywhere with this sermon. And he collects it at home, and has already confused many. The sect is about to be announced. Another, secondary sect to it, is the “apostolic community.” And that one in St. Petersburg is underway. Here you go. All this is your business - understand the current priesthood - to trouble and resist! But I didn’t mind my own business. My job is to sit and sort out my rosary. Look, all the Kyiv saints. fathers, pray to the holy ruler for your health. If you want and are jealous, be sure to beg. If you don’t beg, it will mean that you didn’t want it and weren’t jealous. And then the entire Russian Church will reproach you. This task - to beg for the bishop’s health - is left to you; and you neglected him. Well, answer! What do you wish? Health, prosperity, good sense and everything that you can put good before. Pray to God for my sinfulness. To everyone we know, a sincere bow. Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. August 24, 1881 Letter 222. Good review of Ushinsky’s book against the Stundaists and encouragement to continue the fight against the Stunda Most Honorable Fr. archpriest! I am very grateful to you that, despite my immovable laziness, you write from time to time, informing me of new interesting news there. In your last letter you mention Ushinsky’s book. You are being unfair to this book. Its whole drawback is that it does not fully analyze the points being refuted. But the author does not hide this shortcoming, but directly admits that he is a bad theologian and publishes the book with the aim of irritating those who can write more fully and inducing them to immediately begin this work. It is therefore completely unreasonable to reproach him for insufficient refutation. He will answer you all: quot potui, teci, – faciant meliora potentes. He could be reproached for wrong-headedness; but it's not there. I re-read the manuscript and did not see anything wrong, and did not find any reason why I could say: do not publish. Your friend wrote to you: “I was leafing through it, and something seemed wrong to me.” - What jealousy! Oh, negliger! You yourself prescribe a prophecy about the possible harm from this book, namely, that now the Stundists will have a printed statement of their faith. - I don’t see what harm this can do. If they didn’t have this presentation, it would be a different matter. But they have it and, of course, they correspond with each other. Ushinsky received notebooks from them and copied them for himself. But in notebooks it goes without a refutation, and in a book with a refutation. Whatever the refutation, it will always leave a trace and cause hesitation. There are points that have been strongly refuted. He who hesitates on a few points cannot remain calm on everything else. – There is benefit, not harm. The harm you assume would have been possible if the teachings of the Kosyakovites had all been published separately; but it is intelligently broken up and peppered with refutations. I'm not saying that the book is satisfactory; but I can’t think that it would be useless. It only turns out to be useless in relation to you, sleeping priests. Ushinsky hopes that he will wake you up. And I was wrong. This is my fault. He should have known you better and not deluded himself with dreams that you would pick up his singing in the same tone. You keep answering him: you’re naughty, brother! He attacked the wrong ones, so that we succumb to your awakening, go away! We want to sleep. Well, what can you say against this?! That's exactly how you turn out to be. And if you want to avoid being like that, please sit down and write now. And here's the program! Ushinsky wrote a book to refute the wisdom of the Stundists. But he only made a start. Much more needs to be added to what he said. - This is a preface. Then, proceed to the position of each item separately. The first point of the Stundists reads like this. – Here’s what I can say against him. The point has been made; but not everything has been proven. – I’m telling you... And start writing point by point and fill out the whole book. Now, this will be the case. If some are lazy; take two, three, ten - just fill out the book - and the shtunda will be exposed in all its details. Look, be sure to do it. You are given one month; another month for printing; third - all of Russia is already reading. “Then I will beat my palms, shouting: “Well done!” That's it, priests! Who published this under the editorship of Feofan?” – (This is strongly said: “I am re-reading the manuscript and – only...” But – this is far from the editor). Look, do what I ordered. Then, save yourself! God bless you! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. October 9, 1883 Letter 224. After greetings, a review is made of the works of Leo Tolstoy I express my gratitude that, despite my great malfunction, you do not forget me. Please don't be angry at my laziness. I received all your letters - and the book. Thank you. All is well. What you complement is also good. Help you, Lord! - I don’t know what to suggest to you for additions to the matter. See for yourself. You are not little, after all. About Fr. I'm very sorry to Mitrofan. May the Lord send him strength, a spirit of consolation and patience in the life that God has judged for him. I remember and will remember your mother and sister. I am sending you three copies of the 2nd volume of the Philokalia: one for you, one for Pervukhin and one for Olga Vasilyevna Ushinskaya. You mentioned sending books to the elders; but since I don’t know them, it’s inconvenient for me to do this. Our times are difficult. Work hard. May God help you! Have you heard about the gospel of Leo Tolstoy? Now I hear that he is also secretly distributing two more articles: criticism of the dogmas of the Church and - what is my faith. Here, you see, the treasures of wisdom are vomited out: blasphemy against the Church of God, against St. Fathers and even the Apostles, who all seem to be distorters of the teachings of Christ. He himself does not believe - neither in the Holy Trinity, nor in the Incarnate Economy, nor in the power of the sacraments. For him, the Son of Man is either the all-human mind, or the essence of humanity. Whether there is a God is not visible. But he remembers the beginning of life. So, what sweets! Manuscripts are secretly distributed among university students. It’s true that there is one in Kyiv too. He has no future life, and people continue to live only in posterity; then his whole concern is to draw up a program for happiness on earth. Listen. All points: 1) do not resist evil: let them beat, cut, rob; be silent and be patient; 3) no police, no gendarmes, no troops. These are all rapists of freedom. 4) Do not divorce your wife, even though she is unfaithful. He also has no marriage. 5) War is repugnant to God - and troops are not needed. The points are borrowed from Chapter 5. Matthew, where the Lord says in the Discourse on the Mount: “It was told to you... but I say” Rejoice, people of Russia! Evil is slowly spreading. The ugly plan for happiness will not take root, and all points of disbelief will not remain without followers. His Eminence Vitaly has not arrived yet. And the rector of Tambov, also a Kiev resident, was transferred to Bethany Seminary. Save yourself! God bless you! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. June 1, 1885 N.B. On this letter, in the hand of the recipient, Rev. N.F. marked: “This is the last letter. From 1886 until the death of Bishop, there were no letters from him to me. But he wrote to other people in Kiev. Letter 228. Review of Count Leo Tolstoy. To Morshchansky Archpriest L.Ya. Voskresensky, a friend of the late saint at the Kyiv Theological Academy While our “intellectuals” listen with reverence to every word of the newly-minted false prophet, Count Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Orthodox Russian people with the deepest attention follow the contents of many letters appearing in spiritual journals - letters written by the pen of the great ascetic and luminary of our Russian Church, the deceased Saint Theophan in God. From his quiet retreat on High, this humble shepherd-elder tirelessly poured out the gracious light of the truth of Christ, and how many souls thirsting for this light, this gracious truth were fed with his word, truly gracious! Let us not forget that this saint gave us excellent, irreplaceable interpretations of the entire Apostle Paul, gave us a rich treasury of the saint’s writings in five huge volumes of the Philokalia, gave us the invaluable book The Path to Salvation, compiled a set of Gospel stories, for which he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology, and many many other creations. So the letters to various persons, which now, after his blessed death, poured out in an amazing variety on the pages of spiritual magazines, are the fruit, so to speak, of his leisure, if the relatively easy work of answering letters can be called leisure, after laborious hours devoted to book making. The review of such a holy man, such an expert on the human soul, such a highly enlightened, even in the scientific sense, man (he knew several foreign languages ​​and more than half of his library consists of foreign books) - the review, we say, of such a man about the false teaching of Count Tolstoy should be especially authoritative for the Orthodox: in it they should see a warning and, as it were, a menacing cry from the voice of the church itself. Let this cry be sharp and strong, but this is required by the very state of the matter, this is required by our frivolous frivolity in matters of faith, with which we meet every blasphemer of the Church. Let us listen to what the holy ascetic writes to one of his children who are close in spirit: You mentioned that many convert to another faith after reading Tolstoy’s works. Wonder! This Leo has no faith. He has no God, no soul, no future life, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple man. In his writings there is blasphemy against God, against Christ the Lord, against the Holy Church and its sacraments. He is the destroyer of the kingdom of truth, the enemy of God, the servant of Satan (italics throughout the original), as St. himself wrote. the apostle Paul to the sorcerer Ellim, who opposed his preaching on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:8–10). This son of demons dared to write a new Gospel, which is a distortion of the true Gospel. And for this he is cursed with the apostolic curse. The Apostle Saint Paul wrote: “Whoever preaches a new Gospel, let him be accursed and accursed” (Gal. 1:8). And so that everyone would confirm this as good, he confirmed it another time (Gal. 1:9). In the gospel of this blasphemer, the quotations are similar to ours, for example: John. Ch. 1st, Art. 1st, but the text itself is different. Therefore he is a most dishonest forger, a liar, a deceiver. If any of his nonsense reaches you, reject it with disgust. In our spiritual journals, he is dismantled to the last bones, and is comprehensively convicted of madness and evil. But who reads spiritual magazines? And Tolstoy’s notebooks pass from hand to hand secretly, and secretly spread lies” (Tambov Diocesan Gazette, 1895. No. 32). This word of the great ascetic saint breathes with the zeal of Elijah. The image of another great denouncer of heresies involuntarily rises in the imagination - St. Anthony the Great, who moved from the deep desert and came to the noisy streets of Alexandria to expose heretical evil. For the Orthodox, the word is enough. Have ears to hear - let him hear! Letter 239. Gratitude for the troubles for the monks. A reproach to those who accuse monks of parasitism. Dream about the Right Reverend Ignatius and the Spiritualists The monks finally returned. Thank God, thank God! So the enemy did nothing when God covers. I am very grateful to you and especially to N.N., who worked hard. Save him, Queen of Heaven. The monk will now pray for him to the grave; even though he is a wolf monk. But the monk is a wolf of a special cut and a special price. I received everything you sent. Thank you very much. God bless you! Both the sulik and the towel were already in use during the week of Orthodoxy. If anyone wants to turn something out, I’ll be happy to prepare it. Choice N.N. tricky. How to guess the pen? After all, she adapts to print. I'll do it though. Let him fix it himself. You can sharpen it with a grinder. And fasting! God bless! Soon the tea will melt and you will find it difficult to walk. Sit at home and pray. You can get off with bows. Ours is already bottled. The monks howl. By the way. Tokarev says: parasites. You need to object to him that the word is not poisonous. We need something else. Because for a whole week we’ve had the dining room locked, the fire lit in the kitchen, and all they know is don-don... Where are the poisons? So is the last week. Yes, and you won’t be upset the whole post. Cabbage, radishes and the like. A kind of crazy nihilist fanatic. Give him some sense, Lord. Dream about the Reverend Ignatius - sophisticated. What the Reverend pleased God, there is no doubt about it. But is this dream from God? The evil one can take root here. It is especially doubtful that he advises reading his own works; and there are lies. The spiritualists used a letter from him. And this is not good. Spiritualists have demons at work. It is not for nothing that they recommend these writings. But it does not follow that death will be quick for the one who has seen it, for it is added: a thousand years. Get ready to die: this goes for everyone. Bows and blessings to all of you. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. February 22 Letter 268. Request for the publication of photographs from the Kozelshchansk icon of B. Mother. About the letters of the Saint against Pashkov and about the Society established to expose him I am very grateful to you for your message regarding the newly-minted miraculous icon “Kozelshchinskaya”. Now the time is coming for the Count to arrive in Moscow, and it occurred to me to repeat my most humble request. Persuade him to publish this icon metachromotypically. What a powerful refutation God sent to Pashkov’s wisdom! The Holy Synod published my letters against him in large quantities and distributed them for free. And they sent me a very pretty one for the same purpose. I believe that there will be people around you who would benefit from reading them. I'm sending you ten. Give it to anyone you find suitable and keep it for yourself if you don’t mind. A society of spiritual and secular people was formed in St. Petersburg to counteract this false teacher. I don’t know what they are doing for this; but one cannot help but rejoice that such a society exists. God bless you with every blessing! To your spouse, bows and full of good wishes. Your zealous pilgrim E. Feofan Letter 281. The Saint’s works on familiarizing himself with the false teaching of gr. Tolstoy to expose this Lion roaring against the Church of God I hasten to send you the manuscript back. I was in a hurry to rewrite it. And just now I finished. Your husband didn't write. It’s true that he has no time for that. Yes, now there is nothing left to write. But tell him this: my earnest request that he obtain and send this same criticism, or examination of the dogmas of the church. It is very necessary in order to better understand the manuscript that has just been copied. Here you can only see that he doesn’t believe in anything, worse than a Tatar. But why is not clear. This is known from him in the aforementioned examination or criticism of dogmas. Please beg him to get this thing too. Or maybe S. will get it. Then I will have all the nonsense of T-th. The correspondence was coming to an end when they sent me from Moscow the gospel of this Lion roaring against the Church of God. Here the quotes are taken from the gospel and what is written against them is there. So I’m writing off these nonsense. Then, you need to write something. God bless you with every blessing! Save yourself! Letter 282. Efforts continue to familiarize ourselves with Tolstoy’s works in order to expose his absurd false teachings I received the air and am already using it. Thank you. But I thank you even more for the trouble of getting N.N.’s writings. Togo. Without his criticism of dogmas, much in his article - in which I believe - is unfounded, like repetition. And to denounce this without knowing the reasons why he thinks so is very inconvenient. That is why it is extremely necessary to have his criticism of dogmas at hand. He really doesn’t like these dogmas, because he doesn’t like churches. And why the church is not to his heart is not clear. One thing is clear: she is against his teachings. But this is not a reproach, but a praise. For his teaching is the most fantastic. It seems to me that he is close to madness. Everything about him is so ridiculous. And I marvel at the words of your husband, that many are offended. I’m thinking of writing something against him, but I can’t figure out who he is according to my system. Please take the trouble to get the aforementioned criticism and the last thing: what should we do? Full of good wishes to your spouse. May God bless his journey! I ask him, for his part, to use everything in his power to obtain the said works of T-th. God bless you! Save yourself! Letter 283. The same efforts are made to expose other new false teachers. Instructions on pursuing science without damaging spiritual well-being Thank you for your kind attitude. Do you remember your conversations with G.B. I am collecting information about the thoughts of these newcomers of ours. Therefore, I turn to you with the most humble request to tell me everything that you have retained in your memory from your conversation, especially if you have preserved and remember what they rely on in order to lag behind the church, while what they interpret in the most perfect way is preached and acted in St. our church. I especially need to know this. Then you can quickly place a mine under them and blow up their fortress. And now there is shooting from a distance. Another time, if you meet this talker (he, according to Pashkov, is the first and better than him, more eloquent and smarter), deliberately start a conversation about the same thing, and find out why they are lagging behind the church. Some Nechaev and his sister have appeared in Moscow and are holding their stupid meetings. And start a conversation with him. Please try them out and let me know. I still need to write. But there is even more of a stop because, probably, these particular points are unknown. You write that the prince of peace is giving you some salt in Moscow. He doesn't leave anyone who he doesn't like. No one can complain that he has been forgotten in this regard. Your academic studies, you say, both distract from prayer and cool it. This is par for the course. All spiritual pursuits of this kind and business enterprises of all kinds, and scientific work, and artistic works are all of the same nature. And about those who are even lower, there is nothing to say about them. There is one way to avoid this, this is to do everything on behalf of God, according to the principles of the truths revealed by Him, not allowing yourself any suggestions that are contrary to them, but, on the contrary, turning everything into confirmation of them. Try to come to your “Laboratory” with the thought of God, that you are going through the work of His hands, to examine in more detail, so that, having seen the work, you can glorify His wisdom. Be in this mood during all classes. Maybe in this case, I think, the soul will not cool down so much. May the Lord bless you with every blessing and your spouse and your entire family Letter 284. The Saint’s attempts to write in refutation of Tolstoy’s nonsense, characterization of his false teaching. Economy and memory of God I congratulate you on the holidays and Happy New Year. I am sending you two copies of the Gospel Story. One for you, and take the trouble to send the other to your spouse. I ask you to tell him that, as I promised to write to him against T, I took up this several times and gave up, and now, although I haven’t completely given up, I’m unlikely to take it up soon, because I have something on my hands of a different kind and in a different area, which I really like. I am not strong against Th, because he is too cunning or stupid, there is terrible confusion everywhere in his speeches, now he says one thing, then something completely different about the same thing. Demons teach him deceit. Someone undertook to expose his deceptions, it seems successful. This will be N. T-stand turned on its face, for in its writings there is only its reverse side. These articles against him are published in the magazine “Faith and Reason”, published in Kharkov. Pass it all on. You are immersed in the household. And thank God! There is no time to be bored. You can always find a minute for the work of God. Farming is not a sinful business. They won’t miss much; but, once you get used to it, you can correct everything with a calm spirit and with the memory of the Lord and death, for who knows how it will approach. God bless you! I wish you to be healthy and cheerful. I wish your spouse among S.P.B. live like in the desert. May he be healthy and at peace. Letter 285. What is the criticism of the dogmas of gr. Tolstoy. Refutation of it in our magazines. Blessing for removal from worldly rumors Criticism of N.'s dogmas was finally sent to me. She is a critic of the “Dogmatics of St. Macarius” and examines the dogmas as this bishop portrays them. But still, the intention is to show the inconsistency of the teachings of the Orthodox Church. Of all T's articles, this is the most insignificant. He runs through Dogmatics like carriages on cast iron, and his notes are the most fluent and incorrect due to the speed of his flight. I even suspected that he deliberately blabbed nonsense in order to get rid of the insistence with which the person who brought me this article attacked him. I was going to write against it, but I didn’t. They began to pester him, in the “Orthodox Review” and in the magazine “Faith and Reason”, and in the Kiev Philosophical Three Months. However, in our time, unbelief and licentiousness of his mental and moral character, despite all their inconsistency, can have disastrous consequences, especially for student youth. Whatever you say about your inner self, trust it all to the Lord. He is nearby and wants to save everyone and does not refuse His help to anyone. You find it best to withdraw from the midst of worldly rumors. God bless! There are strong souls who conduct their everyday affairs well and do not lag behind others in what is needed for salvation. But it's not for everyone. May the Lord make you wise in organizing your life. God bless you and your whole family and all your everyday affairs. Letter 289. The saint proposes to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' with a new translation of liturgical books and indicates the urgent need for this and the expected benefit. Feedback on good news about my son There was and is a need to say one word on the occasion of the proposed anniversary (900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus') next year, or not of it itself, but of what is being prepared to commemorate it. Such a big anniversary, and what is being prepared to commemorate it? Life of St. Vladimir and an akathist to him with pictures. Both are good: they just do not correspond to the greatness of the celebration. Here we need to do something that will influence the entire church life. And there is a thing of this very nature, an extremely necessary thing. I mean, a new, simplified, clear translation of church liturgical books. Our liturgical hymns are all edifying, thoughtful and sublime. They contain all theological science and all Christian moral teaching, all consolations and all fears. Anyone who listens to them can do without any other teaching Christian books. Meanwhile, most of these chants are completely incomprehensible. And this deprives our church books of the fruit that they could produce and does not allow them to serve the purposes for which they are intended and available. As a result, a new translation of liturgical books is urgently needed. Now, tomorrow, we must begin to do it if we do not want to bear the reproach for this malfunction and be the cause of the harm that comes from this. One of the reasons that inclined the Orthodox to shtunda is precisely the incomprehensibility of church hymns. Nemchura, the pastor who started the shtunda, chose several hymns and asks the Orthodox, as if out of curiosity, what do these songs say? They responded with misunderstanding. He said: go and ask the priest; but the priest could not indicate the meaning. This greatly shook the Orthodox. And he soon easily confused them. Someone tells something similar from his conversations with the Molokans, who said: “What are we going to do there in your church? The sexton mumbles, you can’t understand anything; Even if you take it apart, you won’t understand anything.” And you see that neither the Molokans nor the Stundists have a single church song, but all are new, often with empty content. From what? From the fact that they are understandable. So it would be a worthy commemoration of the anniversary if by that time they decided to begin a new translation of liturgical books. Let them do it, but now they will have to translate all the books again; and for the anniversary they will prepare one book, for example - Osmiglasnik - Octoechos. Translate not into Russian, but into Slavic. Experiments have already been done. In “Soulful Reading”, several services translated in this way have already been published. Both reverent and understandable. So let them translate the entire book. Please convey these thoughts to N.N. and convince him. No, no need to convince. Please beg us to begin the work immediately, to ask permission from the Holy Synod to arrange the translation and print it. That would be a commemoration on his part of his management of the printing house. And the life of St. Vladimir with an akathist would be as good as dessert and candy, but a festive meal would be a book. I accompany my speech with the desire that you will be able to persuade your friend to do this. Help you in this, Lord. What you wrote about your son is very nice to hear. Perhaps, God willing, our youth will return to the proper path, and the free spirits among them, now prevalent, will become a rare exception. Convey your regards and full of good wishes to your spouse. God bless and prosper all his deeds. I wish you all the best from the Lord! Save yourself! Letter 367. To a Convalescent: Corresponding Instructions about the Works of Tolstoy Congratulations on the great mercy of God. You yourself and your sisters begged. Such is the power of love! May God grant that your illness will completely evaporate. And what you have now received, take it as a beginning, and thank the Lord, and even more, pray that he who began this mercy will complete it. While sitting, pray to the Lord with short prayers. Memorize 24 prayers of St. Chrysostom, that between prayers for sleep are placed, and repeat them 3-5 times each, and get used to the memory of God. From my books I am sending you everything that seemed suitable for your current mood. Start reading from the book: “The Path to Salvation.” Then “What is spiritual life” and “Letters about spiritual life”, regarding the letters of Count Speransky, and then all the others. You mentioned that many convert to another faith after reading Tolstoy’s works. Miracle?! This Leo has no faith. He has no God, no soul, no future life, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple man. In his writings there is blasphemy against God, against Christ the Lord, against St. church and its sacraments. He is the destroyer of the kingdom of truth, the enemy of God, the servant of Satan, as St. himself wrote. The Apostle Paul told the sorcerer Ellim, who opposed his preaching on the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:8–10). This son of demons dared to write a new gospel, which is a distortion of the true gospel. And for this he is cursed with the apostolic curse. The Apostle Saint Paul wrote: whoever preaches the new gospel shall be cursed (anathema: Gal.1:8). And so that everyone can confirm this is good, he confirmed it another time. (Gal.1:9). In the gospel of this blasphemer, the quotations are similar to ours, for example: John. Chapter 1, Article 1, but the text itself is different. Therefore he is a most dishonest forger, a liar and a deceiver. If any of his nonsense reaches you, reject it with disgust. In our spiritual journals, he is dismantled to the last bones, and is comprehensively convicted of madness and evil. But who reads (spiritual) magazines? And Tolstoy’s notebooks pass from hand to hand secretly, and secretly spread lies. Letter 383. Those who have turned from error are given advice to admonish others and books are sent that guide them in denouncing the Stundists and other sectarians 5 Thanks be to the Lord, who freed you from the snares of the devil. Stand now and bravely resist all enemy attacks. God bless you and may He be your everlasting helper! But you also need to bear fruit. Which? - Circumstances have already indicated it to you. Having been enlightened by the grace of God and having seen the light of truth, now work to enlighten others who turn to you. You don't need to go far to get things done. It is given into your hands by itself. We must believe that this is the will of God. Therefore, take up this matter without hesitation. I’ll send you to the management what I have on hand. Letters to S.P.B. – They are directed against the Pashkovites. But the controversial side was not taken into account. The only thought was to explain that we have everything we need for salvation, and therefore there is no need for us to listen to everyone who comes indiscriminately. There is a complete overview of the entire Christian system here. But there is a need to clarify the details. The creed of the Stundists. – Book by Alexander Ushinsky. There is also something here that can be used to enlighten the Molokans. Accusatory Theology Archim. Innocent, volumes 3 and 4. Here the matter goes directly against the Protestants. But it is presented scientifically, I believe that you will be able to turn these naked speeches into edifying lessons. The most complete book of all, but the least understandable and digestible book, is The Stone of Faith. Written when Protestant wisdom began to break through among us. Read this one after all. Letters to S.P.B. and you can keep Ushinsky’s book with you, and try to return the others – the Stone of Faith and Accusatory Theology of the book, 3 and 4. They are sometimes needed. Read them and make notes and extracts, and you will always have the necessary aids at hand. If you come across anything, write, maybe I’ll say something. But I have never dealt with controversial issues, and I don’t know how to argue. May the Lord bless your efforts. I am also sending your book, as indicated by your wife, 1) what spiritual life is, 2) Psalm 118, 3) thoughts for every day of the year according to church readings. She’s going to write them out, will she ever get around to it?! I happened to have extra ones that I only have for distribution. Printing and sales are not in my hands, but in the hands of the Athos people. Please accept my best wishes to you. Ep. Feofan. February 26, 1893 Letter 574. About high pr. Leontiy. Misunderstanding in correspondence. About Stunda and the health of the saint 6 I wrote with our last mail, but I’m still writing: the lack of news about the future forces me. Leontiy. Apparently he has a stroke. The eyes and tongue are not in good condition, but other health is not good. Lord have mercy! Well, it will stay that way. Dear Lord, have mercy on him! What don't they let you know through the newspapers?! This is criminal. You have good friends there in Moscow. Instruct them most strictly to write to you how it all began, and went on, and on, and you please inform the Highest. Threaten them with whatever you know to write quickly and in detail. Well, there's nothing to do. Let us groan and pray to the all-merciful Lord. How did it happen that you consider me guilty of laziness in writing? And I kept thinking that our last letters had met and parted ways. As I wrote a day or two before yours, I thought that I was allowed to wait for an answer from you. Meanwhile, you are waiting on me. Thus, your expectations, as well as your letters, have disappeared. However, I really regret that this happened. Let's hope this doesn't happen in the future. You regret the convict. Once you’ve already been convicted, all that’s left is to feel sorry and pray. May the Lord strengthen him and comfort him internally, despite his harsh appearance It’s like an extract from the interpretation of Romans, but it talks about food sacrificed to idols. Shtunda does not like to fast. But she’s a Lutheran, why the hell did they call her a shtunda? It should be called the German faith, because it was invented by the Germans and recently - the German faith is only hundreds of three years old. She is not the original renegade. The original apostate was the Latin faith - it retreated with both the Germans and the English. But then the Germans and the British retreated from the pope when he started some absurdities in his faith. Who wrote about the Charter in the Church. Ved."? I'm alive and well. Make me believe that I don’t have fainting, and relaxation is attacking me right now. This started a long time ago. I'm starting to wonder if these are hemorrhoidal seizures. Save yourself! Be healthy and cheerful. E. Feofan. January 17, 1893 Letter 582. Heavenly protection. On the fight against false teachers So what kind of feats you have there! […] The Lord is near, protecting us all. The enemy is cunning, but the Angel of God is stronger than him: he will wave his sword, and all the webs of the enemy will scatter like dust swept up by the wind. It is comforting to hear that your acquaintances, the artist and the monk, graciously bear what the Lord has entrusted to them and remain invincible in their spiritual dispositions. May the Lord strengthen them! I don’t hear anything, what orders do you have in St. Petersburg to counteract the Pashkovites, Irvingians, and Tolstoyans?! These ulcers are destroying many in St. Petersburg and everywhere. And it would be necessary to oppose them with spiritual warfare. In St. Petersburg there are many excellent priests among the clergy, both in education and in character. Make them trumpeters, and the walls of Jericho, of course, would fall, to the consolation of the faithful sons of Israel and to the glory of God. […] It is true that every priest must be self-commanding in defending the truth of God and preserving his flock, but in many cases they do not know that wolves are little by little snatching the sheep from the flock. My health is not bad. I thank the merciful Lord. Your good friend E. Feofan. November 22, 1893 Letter 626. About the nonsense of Leo Tolstoy You did well that you refused to read Tolstoy’s nonsense and do not take it into your hands. Look, read what he has written, this roaring Lion has someone to devour. I forgot to write down that Leo only recognizes the Gospel, and then in a distorted form, like his. Epistles of St. He does not recognize the apostles, nor the fathers and teachers of the church. He has his own mind. Don't pick it up. If you have enough strength, it is better to fast. Letter 745. Instructions on prayer, food and prostrations are dangerous for someone who is ill. Magnetism, homeopathy and spiritualism. Mental body and spiritual body May God grant you health; and if it is not needed for this time, let complacent patience give it. That in illness an internal appeal to God is no longer the same - this is a consequence of weakness. He who feels his indecentness before God will not allow wrong feelings even during pain. Be smart. A soul that has not been tested by sorrows is good for nothing. When there is pain, you can relax a little, especially if you drink cocoa. That you don’t all bow down, nothing. You don’t have to write down passes in the penalty book, but cross out what you have written down. Follow the rule with the silent Jesus Prayer. At the same time, if you can bow, bow as much as you can, otherwise you just stand there. If you can't stand, sit; If you can't sit, lie down. Don’t stop being with the Lord only in your mind. You are so sick that you are going to die. It is always necessary to prepare for this, and even more so for the patient. But whether you have to die, or whether you still have the chance to live, this must be surrendered to the will of God. Live and work harder. Just started. You consider magnetism to be a matter of evil spirits. Believing that magnetism is involved in homeopathy, this is also included in the same category. It's not fair. Magnetism is not involved in the preparation of homeopathic medicines. Here everything is done openly and simply, and everyone can see how everything happens. No hidden force should be assumed here. You may or may not be treated with homeopathy; but don’t think of her that way. Magnetism is trickier; but there is no evil spirit in it either, but there is a natural force, naturally excited. Where does the wonder that comes from this come from? Some of these wonders also occur naturally; and others, perhaps, from demons who are instigating here, taking advantage of the patient’s abnormal condition. Only this latter should be considered an accidental appendage to magnetism - that is, demons, taking advantage of the opportunity, stir things up, and magnetism itself is not a demonic matter. Spiritualism is downright demonic, not covered up by anything. The evil spirit is palpable here. Who is acting here can be judged by the phenomena. Yes, they themselves do not hide the fact that they are demons. And what else? They say that they are only advanced. I happened to see the Gospel interpreted by spiritualists (what are interpreters?). Then they let it slip that they were only the advanced ones; but, they say, our greatest will come, then everything will be clearer. It is clear who this big one is - and why he is coming - it is known. You ask what the Apostle means by the mental body and the spiritual body? Read this whole place and you will see what you should understand. This is 1 Corinthians 15:40–45. St. Paul talks there about the resurrection and about the different glories of the resurrected bodies, and not about the soul. It is the spiritual body that is sown, he says, it is not the soul that is sown, i.e. is placed in the ground, and the body; the spiritual body rises, not the soul rises; for she does not die, but the body does. So here we must understand by body our body. On earth it is spiritual, but after the resurrection it will be spiritual. Why it is called this way is interpreted differently. Saint Chrysostom says that it is spiritual on earth, because it is animated only by the soul. And after the resurrection it will be spiritual, because it will be the dwelling place not of one soul, but of a soul filled with the Spirit. And on earth, he says, the soul has the Spirit, but He is not always inherent in it, because he is sometimes driven away by unclean thoughts, feelings and deeds; and there He will fill it all. Then he adds St. Chrysostom: maybe it is called spiritual after the resurrection, because it will be lighter, subtler, more mobile. Blessed Theodoret and Theophylact interpret in agreement with Saint Chrysostom. Letter 789. Denunciation of Molokan errors. The importance of church tradition. Addition to the apology for icon veneration 7 On icon veneration (Against the Molokans). In those places where there are Molokans, Orthodox Christians are often tempted by them. Living together, it is impossible not to enter into relationships, transactions on everyday matters and conversations. All this happens among Orthodox Christians and Molokans. In other places these relations remain without consequences; and in others, the Orthodox are attacked by the Molokans and are confused in their faith, wavering in their beliefs, and even carried away to the side of the Molokan wisdom. This especially happens where there are Molokans who are scribblers. The main subject with which they try to confuse the simple-hearted and actually confuse them is the veneration of icons. No matter how much they explain to the Molokans in what sense the Orthodox Church holds icons and honors them, they do not pay attention to this, but have formed a false concept for themselves about this subject, and with it they go out to self-defense and fight against the truth. For this purpose, they have selected many scriptures from the Old Testament in which the worship of idols is prohibited. After re-reading them, they turn to the Orthodox with reproach: you are going against God. He threateningly forbids having idols, but how many of them do you have?! – Those who understand the meaning of icon veneration will not be tempted by this and will make a proper rebuff to the attacker; and others are very embarrassed by such speeches, especially by the number of scriptures that another reciter will say. How can Orthodox Christians be protected from such temptation? There can be no better way to do this than to give into the hands of the Orthodox the history of iconoclasm, simple but detailed. Here you will see everything about what kind of people they were who rebelled against the icons, and how St. resisted them. The Church, in the person of its shepherds - martyrs and confessors for that reason - will be presented in a variety of ways, in what sense icons exist and are revered, and what are the grounds for this. After reading, remembering all this, the Orthodox can strongly repel the Molokan attacks, and not suffer defeat, but defeat themselves, and remove from history who is related to the Molokans. For this purpose, a real history of iconoclasm and the struggle against it by St. has been compiled and offered to the Orthodox. Churches. When compiling it, one thing was in mind - to present the matter as it was, and especially not to omit anything that could clarify the meaning of icon veneration, attract people to it and teach them how to use it wisely. How important is iconography and icon veneration? Molokans usually say: show me where it is written in the Gospel that we must have icons and venerate them? “Then they say this to show that they believe only in what is written.” Having heard this question from one of them, do not answer it, but ask him first: do you believe in everything and do you have everything that is written, and that is clearly commanded to everyone? - And without waiting for his answer, tell him: is it commanded to receive holy baptism? - It is clearly commanded. The Lord spoke with His most pure lips - that only he who has faith and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). But whoever is not baptized and thus born of water and the Spirit will not be saved and will not enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Therefore, sending St. The apostles to preach, He commanded them to teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Are you baptized? - Not baptized. So why are you, not baptized, asking these questions: show me where it is written? but you do not fulfill what is written and clearly commanded! Then ask him again: Is it commanded to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ? - It is clearly commanded. The Lord said: unless you have eaten the flesh of the Son of Man (i.e., Himself), nor have you drunk His blood, you have not life in you (John 6:53). Then, having established the sacrament of body and blood, he laid down the law: do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19). Have you ever received communion? - No. So why are you shouting: show me where it is written. - Go, do first what is written; then come and we’ll talk about what’s not written. But without waiting, I will ask you: is everything written that the Lord said and taught, that the Apostles did and taught? - Answer me. - Or, so as not to burden you, I will answer for you myself: not everything, much less everything. For the Evangelist John, having written his Gospel, said at the end: But the many things that Jesus did, even if they were written one by one, I cannot contain the whole world that should be written (John 21:25). Do you see?! But it is known that St. John wrote his Gospel after all the Evangelists, and wrote then to complement those Gospels. But having completed them, having written 21 chapters, of which most of the verses are 40:50, 60 and 70, he said that you cannot rewrite everything, because much remains unwritten. You say: it’s not written, and it’s gone. How can he get lost?! And those before whom what was done, and to whom what was said, where did they go with you? - And the holy Apostles, who saw and heard everything and then received the Holy Spirit, by the way, so that He would remind them of everything - where are your holy Apostles? Here or not?! So, it was impossible for him to go to waste. All this, although it was not written on paper, was written in the memory of St. Apostles 12:70 - those 500 brethren (1 Cor. 15:6) whom Ap. remembers. Paul, and many others who believed in the Lord, saw His miracles and heard St. teaching. – And were they silent about all this? They could not remain silent about this, but they conveyed everything to the new believers, who did not know it, and what unwritten commandments there were, they ordered to be fulfilled immediately. When the Apostles preached and the churches established, what did they talk about? Everything about what the Lord taught and commanded. Having founded churches, they did not leave them, but visited them often, and during these visits everyone talked about the Lord. And the believers could not help but torture them about what they knew. - Judge for yourself. If you met the Apostle, would you leave him without asking everything? That's how it was then. And there is no doubt that everything done and commanded by the Lord, although not written down, was handed down to the believers, was kept in the Church and has come down to us. It was lost only for those who are too clever and shout: I don’t want to know anything other than what is written in the Gospel. “That’s what they were.” No one is to blame. But these are vanities, for whom much of what was written was lost, even St. Baptism and St. Communion - so they stopped being Christians. For what kind of Christian is an unbaptized one?! This is how bad it is to be wise and shout: show me where it is written - what is not written, I don’t believe in! – But I showed you only one place about this from the Gospel of John. Listen also to what Ev says. Luke in the book of Acts! - He says that the Lord, after His resurrection from the dead, appeared to the Apostles for forty days, and told them everything that related to the kingdom of God, i.e. before the dispensation of St. Church (Acts 1:3). What the Lord said, St. wrote about it. Luke didn’t write what exactly he said. Where did all this go, what did he say then? In your opinion, everything is gone!? – did the Lord speak in vain? No - not in vain! All this was preserved in the memory of the Apostles, renewed in this memory by the Holy Spirit, and everything was then handed down to the believers, and from them it came down to us from generation to generation. But what is it: speaking about the kingdom of God? – Do you think that this is something unearthly, immeasurably lofty, something that is happening in heaven? - No. All these conversations concerned how to establish a holy church on earth: how to preach, how to baptize believers, how to teach them the Holy Spirit, how to partake of the Holy Mysteries, how to elect and ordain shepherds for them, how they should gather for prayer - morning, evening, noon - what to sing, what to read? And everything else related to pleasing God and saving the soul. - All this is not recorded. But the Apostles, having accepted all this from the Lord, then, when they established churches, put all this into practice. And how they established churches, that’s how it came down to us. Look how the saints acted. Apostles! – Read in Acts, chapters 13 and 14, as St. Paul and Barnabas went to preach at the inspiration of the Spirit of God. They preached throughout the island of Cyprus, and on the solid ground of Pamphylia, Pisidia and Licinia, and founded churches in Perga, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe and other cities and villages. When their preaching here was accepted with faith, what did they do? So they abandoned these believers?! No. They again went through all these places, repeating everywhere how and what one should believe in and save one’s soul, and what is especially important: having ordained elders for the whole church, and having prayed with fasting, commending them to the Lord, they believed in the unworthy (Acts 14:23). This means that in every place they established a special parish with a special priest. This is exactly how we have it now and how it is done. The question now arises: did these priests, ordained by the Apostles, only bear the name of priests, or did they act in a priestly manner? - What is it? – They gathered believers for prayer, repeated the Apostolic teaching with them, and partook of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood; if anyone converted again, or children were born to anyone, they were baptized and chrismated; who got sick? - he was anointed with oil (the blessing of oil was performed on him); who died? - he was buried with prayer, and so on. That all this was done by priests supplied by the Apostles can be seen from many other places in the Apostolic Epistles and Acts. But how all this was accomplished is not written down anywhere. The believers kept the image of their sacred rites, especially the manner of performing the sacraments, in secret, and conveyed them only in words through their very actions, and did not write them down on purpose, so that no one would know it among the unbelievers, and they would not be guilty of the commandments of the Lord: do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). So that's how it went! And this is how much that was commanded by the Lord and brought into action by the Apostles remained unwritten. And it was impossible to write everything down and should not have been. I will stop here, and I will not further explain to you that not everything commanded by the Lord and preached by the Apostles was written down, but that much was directly put into practice without being written down and constituted the structure of the Church. Then each parish, as it was organized, then kept its structure. The emerging children learned from their fathers how to be in the Church, and everything passed from generation to generation. From this you see that shouting: show me where it is written, I don’t want to believe what is not written in the Gospel - there is no point. Whoever shouts like that clearly shows that he does not read what is written, or while reading, he is so blind that he does not see what is written. If I had read and understood properly, I would not have shouted so uselessly. But we started talking about icons. The Molokans are screaming: it’s not written about icons, we don’t want to have them and venerate them. – From what has been said so far, it is clear that even though it has not been written about icons, they could have been established or admitted without writing, without writing they could have been used in homes and churches, and in this form they could have come down to us. If it were directly written that it is forbidden to have icons; Then it would be obvious that the Lord does not want Christians to use them. But from the fact that it is not written about them in the Gospel and the apostolic writings, nothing can be deduced against them. And if we indicate traditions about their use from the time of the Lord Himself and St. Apostolov: then our vain Molokans should be completely silent. And there are such legends: namely about the image not made by hands and about the icons painted by St. Evangelist Luke. In addition to the traditions of deep Christian antiquity, sanctified by the Church, to which Saint Theophan points out, at present, thorough scientific research has clearly, without allowing the slightest doubt, confirmed the truth of icon veneration, and, what is most significant, authoritative voices of representatives of science and art in favor of the apostolic antiquity of icon veneration are heard in Protestant countries. Thus, Orthodox truth triumphs, despite human errors! The author of the essay “The True Face of the Savior,” setting out the contents of a public lecture given in London three years ago by Wyke-Baylis, chairman of the Royal Society of Artists, says: “catacombs, where Christians buried their deceased brethren, appeared in Rome already in the very early years of the spread of Christianity during the first century. Judging by the images preserved in the catacombs, we can really talk about that early time when the first evangelists of the Gospel were still alive. We find in these images mainly events that are narrated only in the Gospel of John, for example, the resurrection of Lazarus, etc. But the Gospel of John, as we know, was written no earlier than the period of time 80-90 years of the first century. Consequently, these images appeared even when Christians knew about the events in the life of the Savior from living oral tradition, before they became acquainted with the Gospel of John. But in this case, we are already in the period of life of the contemporaries of I. Christ and His disciples. Would John, Peter and Paul, with their authority, sanctify the dissemination of such images of the face of Christ, which they would not recognize as authentic? (The true face of the Savior. 25–26). This is the final conclusion of the Wyke-Baylis lecture. Thus, as if in reproach to the “superstitious” who reject the traditions and teachings of the Church - foreign and our home-grown ones, like the Molokans and Stundists, “in the right time” God raised from ancient tombs silent, but eloquent and indisputable witnesses of the truth - we mean sacred monuments of extreme antiquity. In addition to the legends indicated by Saint Theophan about the miraculous image of Christ the Savior and about the icons painted by St. Evangelist Luke, we point out the following evidence. St. Basil the Great (†379): “I confess the appearance of the Son of God in the flesh and St. Mary, Mother of God. I honor their images and kiss them with remembrance, since they are St. They were betrayed by the apostles and were not prohibited, but on the contrary, they were written in all our churches.” St. Gregory of Nyssa (†394): “When someone comes to a place like this (i.e., to the church), he sees, like an artist, the heroic deeds of the martyr, his confrontation, his torment, the wild and inhuman faces of the tormentors, the blessed end of the struggle and the human image of Christ, the Judge of the struggle - all this, as in a book, is painted artistically with colors and the church is gracefully and richly decorated.” Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council: “We keep, not in a new way, all the church traditions established for us with scripture or without scripture, from which one is the icon depiction of the image, as if it were consistent with the narrative of the Gospel sermon and serves us to assure the true, and not the imaginary, incarnation of God the Word.” At the same time, at the 7th Ecumenical Council, chapters 45 and 180 of the “Spiritual Meadow” were read, speaking about the extreme antiquity of icon reading (IV and V Acts of the 7th Ecumenical Council). But, undoubtedly, the most ancient legend about St. icons contained in the life of St. Pancratius, a contemporary of our Lord I. Christ. The Apostle Peter appointed him bishop in Tauromenia, in Sicily. He kept the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God as a great shrine. See Chetii-Minei. July. 9th number. Comp. Acta Sanctorum. Apr. 1, p.237–243. Letter 793. Advice to someone complaining about the reduction in activity and about the Invirgians God's mercy be with you! Praise creates self-praise and well-being; – evil feelings are the leading conductors of vanity and pride. God forbid! ...The funds have been reduced, and the work on your business will be reduced. There's nothing to worry about. God's work. God gave more and assigned more. Now he gives less and will give less orders. No - no trial. We must submit to this. If you feel humiliated, God humbles you: submit. Or God is paving the way for you to finally find the Sabbath after days of work. You mentioned the Irvingians. These are soap bubbles. We started with dreams, we continue with dreams, and dreams will continue. Letter 1058. The fight against spiritualists and materialism 8 God help you! Save yourself! Kindest N-lay V-vich! I was interested in Buchner. Now spiritualism occupies: opposites. But both are evil enemies of God, destroyers of blind humanity! I purposely copy out all the books of spiritualists in order to familiarize myself with them briefly. It's hard to judge from the reviews of others. Meanwhile, we are also fighting against materialism. So in general it doesn’t cost anything to decide, but when you touch on the details, it’s much more difficult. – There’s a lot to review! And there are some intricate points. Geology is on the road - and there is a big stone that will not be moved soon, especially since it is difficult to study it on its own. What can we, provincials, do? You should have started a whole society of apologists there. And write, and write. What can we do? Your pilgrim Feofan, Bishop. Tambovsky. June 16 Letter 1128. About the results of the meeting with the eye doctor. The tares of Redstock. Refusal of proposed service in Japan You are probably in St. Petersburg now, and I am writing, and most importantly about the eye. The eye does not have any pain, but is only weakened and sees worse half towards the left. There is one doctor in Tambov - a local celebrity - who studied with the Germans. I'm going there. The celebrity examined the eye in two steps - both in daylight and under a lamp with some pieces of glass. And I found that a cataract had started in my eye. The result of the trip: sit and wait until the right eye goes blind. Then trim the cataract, and your vision may return, perhaps to its former strength, or perhaps not to its former strength. Then it’s as if the left one will begin to go blind, and the same story should happen to him. At the moment there is nothing left to do but sit by the sea and wait for the weather. For the operation you will need to go to Moscow. The beauty you saw on the road, I think, is Naryshkina - before Chicherina. She wrote how rapidly Redstock's seduction was growing - and all among the highest. Those who listened to him completely fell away from the Church. Bring this to the attention of the Bishop. If you like, I will deliver extracts from her letters. Your Bishop writes to Tambov that Fr. Nikolai the Japanese asks to suggest to Vyshinsky if he would agree to work in Japan. Vyshinsky wrote to Tambovsky that he didn’t want to: his lower back was gnawing. Where should a blind person go? And then he wrote the same to St. Petersburg. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. April 24, 1879 Letter 1129. Efforts to suppress Redstock propaganda. In the case of recognition of the schismatic hierarchy. Religious readings from home They responded forcefully. And I thought that you didn’t even know where you had flown to. Well, now, if you please, fight at home. Extract about redstockists - behold! You will see that she says a lot and something that is extremely necessary for the ruler. I think it’s much better to tell everything to the bishop so that he knows everything; just ask him not to tell anyone decisively, neither who wrote, nor who conveyed what was written. Knowing everything, he will act more carefully. I took the names about which it was written out of the lines and placed them separately. “The question remains, why didn’t I write to Vladyka?” “You say: I’m sure that he knows much more about everything, but he wrote to you in such a friendly way.” “And you are passing it on to the Bishop because you consider the information very important.” Although the ruler knows everything, he will update the knowledge and make sure that it is generally known: - If you decide to say it, then there is no need to rewrite it; and if you change your mind, you need to rewrite the entire statement. The names must be torn off, and the torn ones must be handed over. You see, all the trouble is in the silent priests! – We need to hire guides and drag them all for their axios. Moskovsky cannot be a heretic. But he has his own views on certain things. The point is not to give the schismatics a hierarchy, but to recognize their existing one. This is not recognized by the Synod, but by the government. For the Synod, their hierarchy will still remain lay ranks. The government is asking not whether the Synod will recognize it, which is not possible, but whether this will not be harmful for the Orthodox. This is the crux of the matter. You can answer yes and no without violating Orthodoxy. It's an external matter. There may be harm from this, and there may be benefit. The government will help schismatic bishops to take schismatic laymen into their hands. Because now they don’t have much power. And then he will convert the bishops to Orthodoxy. Then the bishops and laity will become Orthodox. Now the effect on the split is going to pieces. - That's good! And there will be harm. At first, all the semi-schismatics will pester them. Perhaps some of the schismatic sectarians will turn to them. When this is immediately revealed, it can be terrifying. But then the opposite effect may occur. – I’m joking as I write this. My opinion is counter-schismatic hierarchy. That’s why I don’t belong to the Makaryev party. What you say about the decline of the Christian spirit both in the priesthood and in the laity - this is happening with your own eyes. “And we are sleeping so that the anti-Christian spirit will reign as quickly as possible.” It’s clear from Naryshkina’s letters that religious readings should be held at home. - Come on, get started! Bless you, Lord, with every blessing! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. May 28, 1879 Letter 1131. Second note. Details about the St. Petersburg sect of Redstockists “Your letter cannot be greatly curbed. I showed it only to Countess Bludova. Dogmatic sayings that the Orthodox faith is real and that the British have no spirit will not stop anyone. We need a living word, but where can we get it from our clergy? Everyone respects the ruler here, but no one wants to visit him. And these ladies - who have already evaded, although they do not realize it - are they really connected to the ruler, and drag them there with the gendarmes?! - That's what you need! Someone would come to these meetings and sober everyone there with a burning word. “But believe me, our clergy don’t care.” I can’t explain it, but my heart ached all the time there. But I cannot help but admit that this circle has more Christian feelings than our Lenten, pious ladies. And I myself would have joined them, but the Protestant forms and prayers without the cross, it seemed to me that I was definitely changing my church. And spiritual conversations, and readings along with interpretations - all this has great charm; and therefore many joined them. – We don’t have such an Orthodox center anywhere. Their teaching does not say anything new. They read the Gospel and interpret it; also the Apostle. Of course, there is no mention of the saints, and they are also silent about the Mother of God. The psalms are translated from English and sung. All together there is something very good Christian, but not in our Orthodox spirit. “But maybe it doesn’t matter, as long as they know Christ and work for Him.” “One smart priest or bishop, if his heart were on fire, would begin to go to these meetings, where the people had already begun to appear, and quietly, without judging anyone, he would direct this entire crowd to the right path. Pushchiny - which are at the head, Pashkov and Korf, are not even very smart; but the women there are all aces. My Vasily Chicherin, although in some respects he has changed for the better, he joined there with all his soul. I argue with him often. He assures that forms are nothing, and that it doesn’t matter which church you belong to, as long as there is living faith. – I don’t know if our redstock ladies fast and how they do it. They didn’t like me very much because I told them that they had formed a sect and that it was not good to deviate from the customs of the church. Whether they are aware of their deviation, I don’t know; perhaps they are not aware of it; this is done unconsciously. Redstock himself is not in St. Petersburg, but his missionaries are captivating the entire beau monde.” Letter 1132. Proposal for the publication of instructions on prayer and sobriety. The new wolf from Redstock’s party - Pashkov and measures to suppress the false teaching he sows Beloved in the Lord N-lai V-vich! About prayer and sobriety - not for sale. These are reprints from “Tambov Eparchs. Vedomosti" and everyone has already dispersed. I think I’ll add an extract about prayer from St. Chrysostom - and remake the interpretation of the Lord's Prayer into letters. And publish two books. - But when? - When my laziness allows me. Pashkov ate my soul. This is what I learn from the most reliable sources, or lips. 1) Pashkov with his sister and daughter travel everywhere and preach, even getting into the slums. They go home by invitation. In the prince's house Gagarina hosts meetings, and the common people also come. 2) Books with their malice have been printed, which are distributed no worse than St. Isaac's pulpit. In Moscow about. Arseny showed me a little book with the title (I think): “Christ the Savior,” and in it the phrase: “The priest will not forgive you of your sins in confession, he does not have such power” (thought, but forgot the words). In the middle, perhaps, there will be other things that are bad. - The book has been approved by censorship. 3) Pashkov says (or shows) that he has written permission - from the Sovereign and the Metropolitan, with seals attached - to preach the Gospel. This lie strongly favors him. 4) Not far from me (says who writes) lives a poor bookbinder. Pashkov goes to him and teaches, people gather. Fascinating. And I was. Some policeman came to take a look, listened, and fell to his knees and, well, pray, the same thing happened with the bailiff. 5) My washerwoman and cook (written by the same person) go to listen to him almost every day, and are carried away. – To reject them, I started my own readings. They listened and said: that’s good, but it’s better there. My priest found out that I was collecting for reading (for I did it more than once and am doing it), and made me a humble remark that it shouldn’t be like that, it’s dangerous, and something else. 6) Pashkov demands that those who are carried away pronounce the words of faith publicly before him - and this he calls confession. It seems (it is not written very clearly) that he writes down such confessors in his catalogue. I’m making a guess: he will gather some thousand and demand permission to form a special agreement (skop) with his own people and freely believe as they believe. Take the trouble to report this to the ruler. Do not say what I wrote under any circumstances, but just say that this is information about St. Petersburg origins from a reliable eyewitness. I think that the bishop could call the priests and say: 1) Teach in church silently about the dispensation of salvation. Pashkov is a liar because he doesn’t say everything. He talks about repentance and faith, and about grace and the sacraments, about the church, about communion with saints, about Christian duty, and so on. does not say: with him everything is done by faith, and remission of sins without confession, and grace without sacraments. And let the priests tell everything in full. 2) Let the priests start readings - in the evenings and collect them both from themselves and from other listeners, both simple and poor. – For reading, choose everything that relates to the general structure of faith. 3) It would be necessary to compile a book about the path of salvation, simply written, and scatter it around the city for free, or for a penny. But the matter should not be left unattended. There is danger. Please do all this in the name of the Lord. But nothing is said about me. Save yourself! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. January 7, 1880 Letter 1135. Grief over the unreceived letter. The zeal of the saint in opposing the false teacher Pashkov I sit and think: why has N-lai V-vich not written for so long? and I was about to ask about this when I received your letter, which, in congratulations, contains an indication of what was written. I thank you for your congratulations and good wishes, and at the same time I express my deep sorrow that your letter was not received, and this sorrow is all the more sorrowful and deeper because that letter contained information about the new heretic, which I thirsted for, like someone thirsting for water. And now I am sending, following you as you run home, a most humble request - repeat everything written down, and especially if you know what words it is expressed in. And I will write and write. There is nothing to write about Protestant nonsense at all. And this will be beyond the goal. There will be no fruit. And writing, based on the words of a heretic, will be right in the eye. Everything that is written in my letter to him was taken from letters to me about him; but that is very little. There are also two phrases; but I put off writing about them in order to wait for other phrases and write about them all at once. So please sit down and write as you wrote, and even more broadly. I know that it’s boring to write about the same thing a second time; but get over yourself and push yourself. I ordered reprints of that letter to be made, and instructed Alyosha to send you a dozen. If you want, I’ll send you more, at least fifty. There are a hundred of them. If you find it necessary, print more, and then other articles that need to be written, and scatter them around St. Petersburg, especially in infested places. I am sending a letter to you in Sudislavl so that I can receive an answer as soon as possible. Don't put it off until St. Petersburg. Save yourself! God bless you in every possible way! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. March 20, 1880 Letter 1136. Upon receipt of sources clarifying Pashkov’s false teaching. About the distribution of the saint's pamphlets against Pashkov. About the change of Chief Prosecutor My kindest N-lai V-vich! Everyone received the catechism and newspaper articles. Thank you. The matter is being clarified. I will answer the catechism point by point, whatever God sends. You can also pick up some things from newspapers. I am sending you 40 brochures, I think. If anyone wants to print it, let him; if only not for profit, but for distribution. If possible, collect the books published by the Pashkovites, and the Holy Scriptures with handwritings and notes. Of these, it is more likely that you can scratch this soul molester. There is nothing else to say. It was noted in the newspapers that the Chief Prosecutor was being replaced. In place of Tolstoy P. What do you know about this, tell me. And what is the reason for the change? Letter 1137. About the same subjects Let the priests print as much as they want, just not for profit. Printing something else is fine. I would be ready, but now laziness has taken over, and it seems that I have caught a little cold. The sent catechism pleased me at first, but when I began to take a closer look, it turned out that it suffered from great uncertainty. Start to refute, and you will fight with windmills. The priests of God would have instructed someone more skilled to listen and define the points more precisely. However, maybe I’m being so grouchy because the relaxation is temporary and accidental. It seems time is running out. One cannot help but rejoice at the change in prosecutor. May God grant the new one more energy and Orthodox spirit. God bless you with every blessing! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. May 6, 1880 Letter 1138. About the new Chief Prosecutor. To the history of the saint's activities in the field of struggle against Pashkov. Apt nicknames for this sect It is very comforting that God sent such a chief prosecutor. At least to some extent it will heal the wounds inflicted by that bashi-bazouk. If only he would bring the newfangled Bible to the point of burning on St. Isaac's Square. And those who translated and published - make them walk around with pokers and not let a single book bounce off and get rid of the burning. I begin to pore over the points sent. Maybe one letter will be enough, or maybe two will be concocted. Olga St. Burachek, according to Fr. Alexey Kolokolov, also sent several points. And it will be especially against them. Send more points. Any books you send are welcome. Get their prayer book, which is mentioned in the article “Russia” (“They send me Russia”). It occurs to me to choose church songs against them, so that it can be seen more clearly, how crazy it is that, leaving such beautiful and inspiring songs, they chose such rubbish. By the way, they blaspheme church rules, but look what theirs are like? When they gather for prayer, they sit on chairs, and their main leader reads something to them. When he comes to his senses, he shouts: pray. And everyone jumps off their chairs, kneels down, leans their elbows on the seat of the chair, and hides their face in their palms. This means that they are lost in thought and praying. See - absurdity! We stand in prayer, make the sign of the cross - the instrument of our salvation, and bow down. And they s...... leave. In this regard, they should be called w......... You can pass it on to one person or another, and it will go and reach the people. And this will avert most of all reasoning. They should be called mouth-watering, because they want to receive grace without the sacraments, open your mouth and enough; crazy - they moo about preaching and lie about who knows what; couch potatoes - no need to do anything. All these bright names must be put into use. Then come up with a caricature picture and put it on there too. Did you print the brochure?! Good. Give some to the Burachkas, or Olga St. Also o. Alexey Kolokolov. They know many of them and will give them to read. I no longer have brochures. And they ask. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. May 18, 1880 Letter 1140. New Year's greetings. On the Rules of Theodore the Studite. More on the matter of the Pashkovites. Bad news about the academy. Demon Society Worker of God, N-lai V-vich! Thank you for your holiday greetings and well wishes. I send you both in return. Here's to the New Year! I wish you all the best from the Lord this year! Let us wish together for the Church of God that the Sun of truth shines upon it, not obscured by any superstition. I wish you a successful completion of the printing of your book and then success for it, and good fruit from it. I know nothing about the rules of Theodore the Studite except what was printed in the works of the fathers. There are two catechisms; one large one - conversations published in translation by Optina residents; the other is small - 130 short words. These are not in the publication of the Fathers of Min. I brought them from the Savvaitsky Monastery - Elder Joasaph gave them - and donated them to the St. Petersburg library. Academy, on parchment. Both have charter features. I wish success to the student writing about this. Isn't it old news about Pashkov? They assured that he had completely moved to England. This news that he is advocating requires verification. Check it out, tell me. How absurdly our spiritual power acted against him, out of hand. He's been blowing the trumpet for 5 years, but nothing to him. I began to wonder if the Metropolitan had somehow expressed consent to his preaching, having been deceived by Pashkov’s flattering speeches about the meaning of embodied economy. And the Moscow Academy is different. L. - trampled the first four ecumenical councils into the mud, and having carried out in his reasoning the idea that St. The Church did not have the truth, but sought it, and found it through the struggle of schools of scientists or parties. Destructive thoughts. Recently there was a master's debate there. The matter concerned the 5th Council. The magistrate concluded in his reasoning that the 5th Ecumenical Council rightly condemned 3 chapters. But in his speech he deigned to proclaim: do not think that I am deciding this out of respect for the council. No, that’s what science demands. The cathedral comes out - an unimportant authority. The main thing is science, i.e. reason and its considerations. It turns out that non-Orthodox principles are being introduced. Where are the authorities looking? The Word of God was replaced and composed, not according to the principles of Orthodoxy, but also according to science. Science demanded it. So they remain silent when..... this science is put forward instead of the principles of Orthodoxy. Don’t be ashamed to trumpet this where it’s appropriate. The newspapers published that some fellows were asking for permission to exist for a certain idealistic society. Do you know what it is? This is a spiritualist society. And horse breeders are notorious spiritualists. Spiritualism is demonism. Consequently, this society is demonic, or non-worshipping. There is nothing scientific in this society and there cannot be anything. This is a religious gathering, organized according to the instructions of flattering spirits. When spiritualists gather, something religious happens among them. This is how someone depicted me, who was invited to this meeting in order to connect with him. On this occasion I will tell you something else. There is some kind of apostolic community in St. Petersburg. A certain person, being asked about Pashkov and his company, answered: I haven’t been to Pashkov, and I don’t know what he’s talking about; but I was in the chapel of the apostolic community, and this is what I heard. In this chapel the head is an English apostle. He said: Redstock is ours and has the same spirit and teaching with us; and Pashkov retreated from us, precisely because we recognize the sacraments, but he does not recognize them, and something else. However, it is clear that Pashkov became infected from Redstock and only then retreated from him. I heard that Redstock was ordered and supported by Pashkov. Let's move on. Redstock and the apostolic community are one mess. The Apostolic Community is Irvingianism. Irvingism, judging by its education (recent - after the 30s), is a trick of spiritualist spirits. They showed something wonderful there. And those who wanted the miracle were convinced that the church was being restored among them in the apostolic spirit - and with the apostolic gifts. Based on this assurance, a community was formed and operates. So, Irvingianism is of spiritualist origin. Redstock with the St. Petersburg Apostolic Community - of the same cut. Pashkov, who learned heresies from them, also originates from spirits. Although he separated from the community, through this he could not separate from the spirits. The spirits themselves could teach him and separate. For this gives more temptation: which is what they are bothering about. Let's move on. Pashkov says that Christ appeared to him, that Christ speaks in him. And among spiritualists, spirits sometimes speak in the air, sometimes they whisper in the ears, sometimes they take a hand and spit, sometimes they appear in various forms. I am beginning to believe that someone like Christ actually appeared to Pashkov, but not Christ the Lord, but a flattering spirit. And then, he took possession of it, and acts through it. Pashkov medium. And his teaching is spiritualist demonism. Please tell everyone that this is what it is. It would be good if you handed all this over to the chief prosecutor. To the Chief Prosecutor - I'll think about it. Now there is no solution. Thank you for the draft letter. I haven't received any sheets yet. Thank you. Save yourself! God bless you! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. December 30, 1880 Letter 1151. About the religion of the Stundists. The result of a meeting with a Tambov doctor about eyes. About sending letters against sectarians. The darkness of Slavic church books and the need for their clarification I received both of your letters upon my return from Tambov, and although it was not yesterday and not yesterday; but there was no need to rush to answer. Ushinsky sent the confessions of the Stundists - two varieties - of which one is similar to Reformation, and the other is Doukhobor - Quaker. I wrote them off. On the first, I made some notes, as Ushinsky asked (for him), but on the second, you can’t make out anything: the water is dark. And I just got rid of this almost empty work. However, the confession of Reformed Stundists is not an empty matter. No one has it except Ushinsky - and also Senator Polovtsev, who sent Ushinsky to the Stundists - and this one brought him a full report of everything found, heard and seen. The result of my trip to Tambov, on the one hand, is sad, on the other, not much comforting. The sad thing is that the second eye has begun to cloud, the comforting thing is that you can have surgery. In Moscow they said it was impossible: the eye would be lost. But the Tambov doctor said it was possible; but that operations for cataracts such as mine are more often unsuccessful than others. That's why I say it's not much of a consolation. The operation itself, of course, must be done in Moscow or St. Petersburg. But it’s still a year or two away. The right eye was still only half cloudy; but it needs to be completely filled with turbidity, and then it will be a mature cataract. I went to Tambov only for information about the position of the eyes. That the left one was also beginning to become cloudy, I myself suspected due to some accidents. Concerning the distribution of books or letters. Let them send it to me. Only one thousand is enough; and let others send them out. The Tambov Bishop wrote to the Economic Administration asking that they send him a thousand. It hasn’t been sent to me yet, and now I can’t hear it. So let them send it. Crimean Rev. Gury - he himself published one plant, but in that country even 5 times as many - they will find a place. Where the Molokans are, these letters are suitable everywhere. Ushinsky writes that among the motivations for falling away into the shtunda, those who have gone astray cite, among other things, the fact that in our church you cannot understand anything that they read and sing. And this is not due to poor execution, but because what is being read is dark. He writes that he was stumped when some troparion or stichera was read to him and he was asked to say a thought. I couldn’t say anything: it was very dark. Two ladies wrote to me from St. Petersburg - the same thing about this, with Pashkov everything is clear, with us - nothing. Nothing - a lot; and that there is a lot of incomprehensibility is fair. The powers that be should take care of this and clarify the liturgical books, leaving, however, the Slavic language - and readings from the Old Testament at Vespers, translations from 70 interpreters. Start a conversation about it. Liturgical books, according to their purpose, must be changeable. Our hierarchs are not bored by the ambiguity, because they do not hear while sitting in the altar. Make them read the services, even for Epiphany!!! Happy holidays and happy new year. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. January 13, 1882 Letter 1152. More about my letters and about Ushinsky’s note about the Stunda. About the Latin text of the works of Abba Isaiah Rejoice in your silence in the Lord! Why are you silent? Is there nothing to write?! Yes, there you have it - if you write one foot at a time every day, you won’t be able to rewrite everything. Or are you counting the line after me? No. I wrote to you for the last time soon. And even though there’s nothing to write from here, I keep thinking: I’ll write, and then I’ll think: just wait, maybe they’ll bring a letter from the post office. You see what kind of movements there are, but you don’t even move your ears there. They sent me letters - a bunch, 1000. And I attach a little of them - here and there - to the parcels. I confess that I am often burdened by the thought: why are you bothering with your worthless letters, are you tired of everyone?! That's right! But the other day, His Eminence Jacob accidentally brought me consolation by writing that some school director was writing to him about these letters, saying that millions of copies should be printed and sent to all schools. Isn’t this a misconception of my writing?! Nothing is being written. If you start writing, it’s just rubbish, rubbish, but nothing moves, and you quit. I was going to write against the stunda. And I’m not giving up collecting fees yet. But I’ll wait to see what comes out of Ushinsky. Ushinsky sent me his note to Senator Polovtsev about the Stunda. I copied it, it gives complete information. “It came to my mind that it would be nice for Mr. Chief Prosecutor to read it.” “But I think that maybe Polovtsev told him.” And I guess that this is so, due to the fact that the Chief Prosecutor collected information about which priests practice treating the sick. – Are they thinking about restoring medicine in the seminary to the way it was? – When reading that note, I thought that it would be good if they restored it. A German pastor, a Stunda breeder, recruits many of our people by treating them. I am sending you the latest issue of Saint Simeon, - and thoughts for every day, - and 5 chapters, - and letters to St. Petersburg. some. Look, what an opportunity? – When they were collecting 1 volume of the Philokalia and it was necessary to translate Abba Isaiah, they asked the Athos people to look for it in Greek, because I only had it in Latin. at Minya, they didn’t find it then. But now they have found it and copied it for the library of their monastery. The other day they sent it to me. I started checking, and alas! I see that a new translation needs to be made. The Latin either took liberties, or read it differently, quite a dissimilarity, although it is not too large, but the whole style of speech will be new. I’ve told you so many stories, but you remain silent!!! Well - that's it now. It remains to congratulate you on the successful completion of the Pentecostal season - and express good wishes on the occasion of the upcoming holiday of Holy Easter. This is what I do. God bless you with every blessing! The Kazan Academy deigned to honor me with the title of honorary member of the academy. Tell me please, what kind of face is this? – I don’t have a new charter and I don’t know what it is, does it oblige me to anything? Letter 1153. Need for a new translation of liturgical books, Prologue and teachings. The promiscuity of literature. Pashkov's propaganda in Riga. About my works and assumptions. Draft response to the pope's call for unity The liturgical books need to be translated again so that everything is clear. - Pashkovites shout: everything in your church is unclear; Stundists too, and quite a few of ours too. Anyone who begins to read or listen attentively will certainly end with the exclamation: what is this? Bishops and priests do not all hear what is read and sung while sitting in the altar. That’s why they don’t know how dark the books are, and this is for no other reason than because of an outdated translation. And we need to understand the translation. Only readings - Proverbs - are by no means in Russian. bib. understand, but 70 each. Now there is a split. And I'll go first. How do you judge the prologue?! The beauty of the book is for its intended purpose: short (and sometimes complete) lives of the saints of the day, and a few teachings and edifying incidents. And in terms of language, they are worthless - even under the bench. As the fathers put it together, so it is. - And unreadable. - It must be translated and published in Russian, or in Slavic-Russian, in the style of St. Demetrius, as well as liturgical books. There is a book of short teachings, a collection of holy fathers. The Holy Fathers have already been translated into Russian. But the Synod keeps printing them in the old, incomprehensible translation. It is necessary to collect them in Russian, changing here and there and adding to them (or compile a completely new collection according to that model. It’s all dogmatics and all moral teaching). Both of these books are prologues and short teachings that are edifying. And they are read in church (at least here). Often you won't understand anything. This is me – everything is about the beloved, and, of course, you won’t miss the essential things. - The Synod dissolved the academy and seminary, - spiritual literature. There is no control: secular people lie, spiritual people lie, but he has no grief - he doesn’t even blink an eye. – There is no power in the church; whoever wants, acts and teaches as he pleases. - Priests sleep everywhere. There are only one or two sleepless people, and that’s it. Well, of course you see all this and the like, and don’t miss it. The other day at Mosk. Ved." it is written that Pashkov and some other Goedekker (who? Isn’t it the head of the apostolic community?!) came to Riga to preach. Then Pashkov handed out a book, the path to salvation, in which his nonsense is outlined. “It occurred to me: take this very book and put it on an Orthodox footing, and put it to use, printing a warning at the end: look, Orthodox, you will come across a book with the same title, but with a stamp, do not pick it up. It’s not a path, but a crossroads, or something else. - I throw myself into the pile of books you sent, I can’t find the hope of finding Pashkov’s path to salvation. So the question is: what is needed? Not for our church, as your title says, but for Vysha. We must ask N-lay V-vich to forget Pashkov’s path to salvation and, without following it, send him to Vysha! Please! What is Vysha doing? He sleeps soundly. – He moves a little, translating again Isaiah the hermit. A long speech comes out, but the thoughts are different. Their translation is untenable. There are a lot of unfinished things to do, and laziness ties your hands. Here you go! Progress! I plan to take up the pole; and under her title - for her parents and the whole family (Protestants). But I’ll wait to see what Ushinsky writes and what Fr. publishes. prot. Ostromyslensky. What did dad answer? It must be this way: we are very glad to receive you, and we pray earnestly that the Lord will bring you to unity with us. Of course, you know the conditions: delete from your beliefs the infallibility of your Holiness, Filioque, the sinlessness of the Mother of God in birth, the complete renunciation of secular dominion, the return to the ancient rite in the performance of certain sacraments, and something else. Or left unanswered... No, you need to answer - and also in an open letter. Congratulations on your housewarming. May the Lord comfort your sister. The letter and book were received at the end by Fomina. We are busy at this time. God bless you! Save yourself. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. April 18, 1882 Letter 1154. About the book of Ivan Buyan and the path to Emin’s salvation. About St. Petersburg sects. About your eye and so on. Got the books. Thank you. I met Ivan Buyan a long, long time ago. He was thinner then, but now, look how fat he has become. I ran through it quickly. - There is one sectarian page in his text. More explanations. But in general this is unnoticed - and may not be noticeable, without special suggestions from the outside. – Therefore, one cannot expect great trouble from this book. The very content of the book seemed to me inconsistent with the title. The path to heavenly Jerusalem is not entirely correctly depicted. While reading the book, it occurred to me to correct it and publish it under the title: Ivan Buyan, Converted to Orthodoxy. - But when I finished reading, laziness took over - and don’t move! Emina's Path to Salvation seems to contain nothing sectarian and the translation is ancient. I read it a long, long time ago. – I’ll read it again. And I think I’ll read Buyan again, maybe I’ll see his virtues and vices more accurately. Pashkov, - Pashkov?!! Help, Lord, the ruler to shut his mouth! There you also have an apostolic sect. Our neighbor, the landowner, was there recently - his son visited, and sent me two issues of “Voices”, which describe the sessions of these crazy people, and then the history of their sect. The writer himself saw the sessions, but heard the story from some bishop or evangelist. – Nos. “Voices” – 74 and 84. That’s not all. There is no end. – If it’s convenient for you, send the end. Prugavin writes in a feuilleton. – These should be written against. My eye has not yet matured. Another year will pass. I can also distinguish objects and colors, and when the cataract matures, then it distinguishes only light and shadow. “When the time comes, we’ll discuss how to arrange the operation.” I have a lot of money. Thanks for the offer. Regarding the life of Christ the Savior, my opinion is this: leave the work of the compiler, telling only him what it is desirable to see in the book. He is a master of the matter. And he is aware of questions that require clarification. I have not yet received the brochures for Ave. Ambrose. He did good. Let him speak again - to awaken conscience. “We all fell asleep, and we live carelessly.” - The one who writes this is an example of this kind. Your mantis Ep. Feofan. 1882 June Letter 1158. About Ushinsky and viewing his works against the Stundists. Assumptions about your works and advice to the compiler of the book “The Life of the Savior” I congratulate you on yesterday’s Nativity of Christ and on tomorrow’s New Year. May the Lord grant you all good and comforting things. I hasten to show you Ushinsky’s place of residence. But first I exclaim: is it possible not to know this?! Go out into the yard on a full moon and look at the moon. The lightest points are K, followed by I, then E and at the end B. Here is your place of residence. Is it possible not to see this?! “But I thought that I wrote before that he lives there.” I definitely thought of translating only Varlaam’s conversations with Tsarevich Joasaph, as an antidote to Ivan Buyan. But then he returned to the old way: to depict a picture of the course of the life of a true Christian from the beginning to the height of perfection, in pictures that will include designated conversations - and the likeness of Hermas, and the vision of Ezra, Daniel, other prophets, the Apocalypse, and many saints from the fourteenth. Someday you have to sit down for a year or more and sort everything out. – Will it be? I think it would be better to describe the earthly life of the Savior without a certain Louis. All Westerners write a lot of trifles, but they touch on the matter at the top. There is no point in spending money on them and making your eyes dirty with them. - More from St. Fathers will be better. On holidays I read St. Gregory the Theologian - deep and lofty. But the sacrament of the Most Holy Trinity remains a sacrament - unapproachable. Ushinsky writes against the Stundists, having obtained points of confession of their faith. He writes and sends it to me for revision. Although it’s not complete, everything is going well. Without fish and cancer, fish. I thought about replenishing it first. But laziness cried out and convinced me to stroke something. - And be content with that. It’s as if he’s ashamed, but what can you do about laziness? For her, the law is not written. – Maybe I’ll decide to write it myself. A whole book could be written about the icons alone. And not a book, but a little book. Icons are a great aid to the misinterpretations of the Germans; they should be punched in the nose. I will wait for news about transformative movements. I am sending you books that have recently been published, it seems that this is a conclusion - it should be interpreted by the book of Hebrews. – But according to a certain saying, there’s a lot in the head, but it doesn’t get out. God bless you. Save yourself! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. December 29, 1882 Letter 1171. More about Leo Tolstoy. A modest review about myself Beloved N-lai V-vich! I practice doing nothing. The bashi-bazook Leo Tolstoy smashed my head. He blabbed a lot of nonsense, but he had nothing to take on. Everything is almost unproven. And besides, he deigned to state that he was still correcting his thoughts. This is a loophole in which he can calmly say: this is not a decisive thought for me yet. Finally, I received little hope of having a criticism of our dogmas. Leo. One beauty declared herself to be his acquaintance. I asked her to ask Lev for a while - that criticism. He replied: I only have my copy, which I need. If you want, I’ll tell you to write it off, but please pay the money. The money has been sent (he appointed) and the rewritten criticism is awaiting. Something will come of this. Getting into arguments is so disgusting! In addition, anger takes over, and there is a temptation to make a big speech. When I receive this criticism, then I will decide what I can do. Should I write it myself, or hand it over to stronger minds? The Moscow clergy must fight. I wrote to the editor of “Shower. Th.”, so that he would push this one in the side. He fights for himself and for others. And it falls on me. They won't succeed. I'm healthy. Are you healthy? Or, really, asking this means disgracing the village air, which can reasonably arm itself against me, not on its own, but by persuading the Vysha air. Vysha is waiting for her new eminence, just about there. Let's see what he's like. If you're like me, then at least give it up. There has never been a worse bishop than me in the whole world and at all times. His predecessors and my successors were all great guys. The best of all was Palladium. He has something in common with Fr. Lavrentiy, of blessed memory. God bless you! Save yourself! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. September 22, 1885 Letter 1172. Ostroumov’s criticism of the confession of Leo from the herd of Antichrist. About your current affairs. Athos in his house I read Ostroumov’s articles. Nothing excellent is yet to be seen, even though things are being said. Yes, here Ostroumov has nothing to disagree about. He looks through the confession of the roaring Lion. There is almost nothing in this confession that touches the Orthodox truth. Only at the end there won’t be much where he will say why he abandoned Orthodoxy. Lvov’s confession was already published in the analysis of the afterbirth. novel by Lvov (Karenina, I think) Gromeka. Only the tip has been added here. The general conclusion can be divided: he was an atheist, and remained one. A lion from the herd of Antichrist. God bless your book. I wish it to spread quickly and especially that it be read and taken into account. The gospel story should have come out long ago. I don’t know why Alyosha is dawdling there. I’ve been re-reading everything for about a month now, and I noticed typos - 6 and corrected and added a few things. I'm waiting for it to be sent to me in the next few days. And then I’ll send it to you right away and send it out. One more turn of the heels and the “Invisible Warfare” will end. She herself doesn’t know what Vysha will do next. There is one more thing worthy of printing. Maybe I'll take it up. Otherwise, it’s not surprising that I’ll start fighting with Leo. I have Lvov: “Confession”, “Gospel”. “What is my faith” letter to someone in St. Petersburg. Only in the article “What is my faith” there is something dangerous, not in the solidity of the reasoning, but in the cry against the Church, often repeated, that it has distorted the teachings of Christ. Maybe Ostroumov will get to everything, in order. You are getting ready, or sometimes the thought comes - to give up on Athos. Make yourself an Athos from your hut. Who is your decree? You are your own boss, you can walk on your head and hit the floor with your head, making bows. You can hide from the world, but where can you hide from yourself and from the enemy? Only into the bosom of God. And it is available everywhere. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. December 8, 1885 Letter 1175. Who should be interested in the Gospel History. More about the denunciation of Leo Tolstoy. Trashy criticism Thank you for your speeches about the “Gospel History”, both yours and those heard. This book cannot be of interest to those who have not developed a need to see the Gospel stories presented in order. And those who have already had these questions, and especially those who have puzzled over this at least a little, will not be surprised if they say thank you. Currently I am wondering whether to write against Tolstoy. They’re already writing, so it’s become possible not to write. But they write in a very drawn-out manner, and it resembles Krylov’s fable: “The Cat and the Cook.” It occurs to me: to choose Tolstoy’s fabrications - that’s all, and then put the confession of faith of St. against them. Church, and put it into action. This will be a brief overview of the enemy camp and the Orthodox army. As a warning, otherwise evil is slowly spreading, but the cry: beware, cannot be heard. The whole problem is laziness. She has so enchanted me that I don’t even want to lift a finger. God send zealous activists! Letter 1359. Congratulations on communion. A special kind of martyrdom. Proud unbelief and its future. About Leo Tolstoy 9 Congratulations on your fast and communion with St. Christ's Mysteries. May this be your confirmation, consolation and enlightenment! God bless the little one with the good beginnings of faith. And may Blueberry emerge from communion with the Lord in the sacraments with the strongest strength of spirit to steadily move along the path she has begun - into the eternal kingdom of glory! Oh St. Lotte the Apostle said that he was tormented in soul looking at the wickedness of the Sodomites, and he was counted among the host of martyrs. This is your rank. Tormenting your soul at the meeting of rude unbelievers, you partake of the grace of martyrdom. Unbelievers usually raise their noses high, thereby expressing their triumph over the faithful. But faith stands, and the faithful, in their humility, do not lose in any way the faithful promises of God in their aspirations. And now it is clear whose side the truth is on. But there will be a day when this will be solemnly announced before all creation, for the endless consolation of believers - and for the irreparable eternal destruction of unbelievers. Leo Tolstoy somewhere picked up evil thoughts like a child - and spread them furtively, in manuscripts. But these manuscripts contain only his nonsense without any evidence. Since our youth do not know the faith, they are easily carried away by this nonsense on the mere assumption that such a writer has the right reason to say so. And in his head the jackdaws spent the night. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 20 March 86 P.S. Keep the articles that were included. They sent me several prints. This is the Athos edition. Letter 1413. About Tolstoy's ravings Mother Blueberry, save yourself! You did well to refuse to read Tolstoy's nonsense. – And don’t pick them up. Look, read what is written by him, by this roaring Lion, who to devour. I forgot to write down that Leo only recognizes the Gospel, and then in a distorted form, like his. Epistles of St. He does not recognize the apostles, nor the fathers and teachers of the Church. He has his own mind. Don't pick it up. Letter 1444. To Archpriest NN. Characteristics of the Khlysty sect and instructions on interviews with them I am sending you 4 books. against your sectarians. These are not Molokans, but Khlysty, or Skoptsy. A Molokan will never hold icons or sacred images, and will not go to church. And the whips go to church and do everything; as well as eunuchs. The Skoptsy degenerated from the Khlysty. The Khlysts seek to extinguish lust, which repayment is considered among them to be a spiritual resurrection before the general one. But as lust takes over, one of them managed to brush off the restless member with a razor. He found imitators, and things took off. This is not listed in real books, but I read it somewhere, now I don’t remember. They look exhausted and slobbering. They say quietly, insinuatingly, “You can’t learn anything from them, because their first point is not to reveal anything about the sect, even if they tear off the skin.” “That’s why there’s no point in torturing.” At their meetings they do zealous movements, spinning, each individually or all like in round dances, and different ones do movements until they get tired. This warms the blood, irritates the game of life, which responds pleasantly. They call this pleasant state the presence of the Spirit (nakatil). But there’s nothing spiritual here. And the dancers become pleasantly excited. The same for them, and nothing more. That they have a bad sin is not true; at least the articles sent say this. Sin may happen to others later, but not at meetings, and do not remember it. When interpreting with them, and when explaining yours, talk more about how grace is obtained, and how grace is manifested in power. It turns out through St. sacraments, not otherwise, but becomes obvious in those who mortify passions with well-known deeds. (In the Philokalia, see extracts from St. Mark the Ascetic). This clarity consists in a special understanding of faith, in a peaceful disposition of the heart, in deep prayers, in self-sacrifice for the good of others, in imperturbable patience, so that those who watch cannot marvel. A distinctive feature of the influx of the Spirit is deep peace and detachment from everything visible - inward before God. Here all bodily movement is stopped, and the feeling of use ceases, i.e. Everything happens completely opposite to what happens with the Khlysty. The whips, having come into a pleasant excitement from the spinning, others go into ecstasy. Those who are talkative will scream and begin to seethe. Since he has nothing in his mind, but only an excited state and a desire to speak out, he seethes without expressing anything definite. Others consider all this to be revelations of God. Come in from the other side. With them, Christ continues to appear in people. When someone appears to them as good in their opinion, they say: “Christ has manifested himself”; and direct your speech against this. But you will see everything in the articles. Don’t reproach them in any way for the fact that they behave well; they don’t drink, they don’t go to round dances, they don’t party, all this is good. And scold your own people that their wild life makes others move away from the church, believing that it does not know how to raise real Christians and indulges in vices. But she does not indulge, but demands a strict life - and collect more texts of this kind. So you see, conclude, there is no indulgence, but there is condescension for weaknesses. “The Khlysty have these weaknesses, and not small ones at that.” And then slowly remember what was found out about them through investigative procedures. – But this is not suddenly, but much later. And add, we sin, but sin is considered a sin, but among the Khlysty, it’s as if the spirit orders them to sin (they had a guy), of course, the spirit - but not God’s. Please act as God instructs you. Only by the signs you indicated know that these are whips, or eunuchs, and push on them. Not in church, but in a simple conversation, make out their separate songs. Ah - yes, here's how to recognize them. In front of him, begin to read their hymn of honor – Kelsiev has collected skopcheskie and Khlystov’s songs. His eyes will sparkle now, just do it by chance. From the books of the Interlocutor - look at the article about the people of God, - from the Kelsiev collection - about eunuchs. Make the necessary notes and return the books when no longer needed. Congratulations on your archpriestship. God bless! But if you convert even one whip, it will be equal to the bishopric. These are the most persistent sectarians. The enemy keeps them in the charm of their apparent serviceability - and those flattering pleasantries that are obtained during their whirling. May the Lord bless you with every blessing, and all yours. My eye prospers. Cataracts mature and vision decreases. But the left eye serves as it should. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 2 July 79 Collection of letters. Issue I. Collection of letters. Issue II. All letters further refer to Issue II until Issue III is indicated. Collection of letters. Issue III. Collection of letters. Issue IV. All letters further refer to Issue IV until Issue V is indicated. Collection of letters. Issue V. The following letter is also included in this issue. Collection of letters. Issue VII. All letters further refer to Issue VII until Issue VIII is indicated. Collection of letters. Issue VIII. All the following letters are also from this issue.