Word on the day of celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Moscow Theological Academy

Delivered in the Church of the Intercession at the Moscow Theological Academy on October 1, 1909 “There was a voice and lightning and a dark cloud on Mount Sinai, and the trumpet sounded loudly. Mount Sinai was all smoking” (Ex. 19:16,18). “And the Lord said: I am the Lord your God, let no god be yours except Me” (Ex. 20:1-3). But both thunder and lightning were powerless; They could not keep the stiff-necked people from idolatry, and the Lord God, the jealous God, laments through the mouth of His prophet: “My people have committed two evils: they have abandoned the fountain of living water, Me, and dug up broken treasures for themselves that cannot contain water” (Jer. 2:13). But don’t we, the new Israel, the Christian race, know that our meek Savior is telling us the same thing? He speaks without thunder and lightning, but is it really possible not to hear His loving voice? “No one,” Christ said, can serve two masters: for either he will love one and hate the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). “Don’t you know,” writes St. Apostle James, brother of the Lord, that friendship with the world is enmity against God? He who wants to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain: “Love the spirit that dwells in you jealously” (James 4:4-5). And all of us, even before Holy Baptism, renounced the evil one and were united to the one Christ. But how many are convinced by all this of the immutable truth that at one time only one God can be worshiped? All renounced the evil one, all were united to the one Christ. But walk through the centuries of the Christian world and see whether people worship the same God. Should not everyone who loves God now, like the great Apostle Paul, be troubled in spirit, seeing that the life of modern Christians is full of idols, like the pagan Athens of the time of the holy Apostle (Acts 17:16)? Life is full of idols; At every step we now meet idols and idolaters. True, you will not see stone, gold or silver idols. It would be strange to look for crude idolatry in our enlightened age. But subtle idolatry, often unconscious, hiding behind the name of serving the true God - such, even more dangerous, idolatry again spread like a dirty wave across the face of the earth. The manifestations of this idolatry are very different, but they are all equally sad and woeful for the Christian world. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans speaks of ancient idolatry. The pagans, having come to know God, “did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:21). The pagans had knowledge about God, but this knowledge did not affect their lives; in their lives they did not glorify and thank the God known with their minds. Life was not guided by the knowledge of God; there was a gap between faith and life. Shouldn't the same literally be said about our time? How rare it is these days to find people who live only for God and by God! How many people today can sincerely repeat these great words of the great apostle: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20)? Now it is precisely God who is not glorified by the lives of Christians. Ask our contemporary, what does he live for, what does he live for? What is the most important thing in his life? They will tell you your family, position, social activities, trade; few – science, and some will name pleasures, personal well-being. But will anyone say that for him the most important thing in life is God, the Church, the salvation of the soul, eternal life? No, almost no one will remember all this, the only thing needed. Christ is completely removed from human life, although many do not dare to persecute Him openly. People seem to feel sorry for abandoning Christ completely, but they do not love Him enough to abandon all other gods for His sake. And so, every effort is made to preserve all the idols of the world, in order to worship Christ and Belial together. People divided their lives between many gods. The largest part of life is given to the heartfelt service of all kinds of idols, and only the most insignificant part of it is devoted to the hasty and hasty worship of the true God. Imagine a big house of a busy person. This house has huge offices and offices. The owner spends almost whole days in them. But somewhere in the corner of the house there is a small room with icons. Rarely, rarely, the owner hastily looks in there, but immediately runs out of there and hurries to his “business”. This is how the whole life of a modern Christian is structured. He became completely fussy. He is busy all day, day after day his time is consumed without a trace. Very rarely, once a week, a month, even a year, he will look into God’s church. Nothing occupies him there, and he hurries to his “business”. What is life in Christ today? And who talks about such a life now? Now one can only hear talk about “satisfying religious needs” or about “carrying out religious duties,” and both needs and duties of these turn out to be surprisingly few, compared with all other needs and duties. “Satisfying religious needs”... “Performing religious duties”... Tell me, how else can these words be called, if not blasphemy? Isn’t it clear, isn’t it clear what a terrible deviation from God is hidden underneath them? The Christian faith cannot occupy only an insignificant corner in human life; no, it can only be life itself. Bring to your memory all the holy saints of God. Are such words possible, are they conceivable in their holy lips? Wasn’t their whole life just one walk with God (Gen.5:24; Gen.6:9)? They say that the faith of Christ does not affect people’s lives at all. Yes, she cannot influence, because she is not given a place in life. After all, the faith of Christ filled with inexpressible joy, bliss and peace the hearts of the holy saints of God who lived for God alone. To all who serve the one God, the spirit living in them gives great grace (James 4:6), before which all the illusory gifts of the world are pitiful and insignificant. He who has given himself entirely to God acquires an eternal treasure, which neither moth nor rust destroys, which thieves do not steal (Matthew 6:20), which remains beyond the grave. And our contemporary, who zealously serves earthly idols, philosophizes about earthly things from morning to night, forgetting about heavenly things - what does he gain? What do his idols give him? What does he have? True, his external life can amaze a frivolous connoisseur with its wealth, comfort, and external splendor. But what inner misery of the soul is hidden under all this external, temporary and fleeting splendor! How gloomy and troubled is the soul of our contemporary! And I am not saying this, wanting to condemn the idolatrous life of the world. No, writers, to God and St. Churches are hostile, and those - read! - in what terribly gloomy colors they depict “the days of our lives.” And the best writers, don’t they say about the world that Our contemporary often says with pride: “I am rich and have become rich, and have need of nothing”; but he does not know that “he is miserable and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). And all this because the faith of Christ has ceased to be life, that people do not worship one God, but have made for themselves countless idols, soulless idols that cannot spiritualize life and make it meaningful. Idols are increasingly crowding out Christ from human life. Everything related to faith is becoming more and more a “private matter” these days, even one that constantly needs to be hidden in the innermost “cage”, for which there is and should not be any place in life. Nowadays Christianity manifests itself only as personal, hidden piety, but Christian life has become completely impoverished. Christian life is possible only in the Church; only the Church lives the life of Christ. The Church is that holy society in which the earth rises to the sky, where people are so united in love and like-mindedness that they have “one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). The whole body of the Church, “through every mutually consolidating bond, as each member acts to its own measure, receives growth to build itself up in love” (Eph.4:16), “until we all come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph.4:13), and Christ will be in everything (Col.3:11; 1Cor.15:28). This is the true life of Christ! But the communion of the church life of Christ is available only to a loving heart, which is capable of rejecting sinful selfishness, to which the only God of love is dear and the cold, soulless idols of the world are disgusting. Serving idols is always connected with selfishness and therefore, for the love-poor hearts of our contemporaries, all the deep meaningfulness, joy and beauty of church life is incomprehensible and inaccessible. Our society is therefore ready to leave the entire church life to monks and priests alone; For himself, he considers life according to the Church statutes not at all obligatory. The covenants of Christ, the Christian life, in the opinion of our society, are obligatory and necessary for monks alone, and perhaps sometimes for priests, but for the laity, everything is possible, everything is good and commendable. Monks should attend divine services, and laymen can replace it with night and all-night vigils in entertainment establishments. Brotherly love is also not for the laity; politeness is enough for them. Society prefers to go to the marketplace of a boring world, rushes there in the dark, from one will-o'-the-wisp to another, perishes from spiritual hunger, feeds on mugs suitable only for pigs, and does not want to have an abundance of bread in the house of the heavenly Father, who is the holy Orthodox Church. And if some talk about participation in the life of the church, then by this life they do not mean the building up of the body of Christ in common brotherly love and spiritual exploits; no, by the life of the Church of Christ they mean running a household, managing the tables of traders (Matthew 21:12), and fighting for some rights. And in the holy place they want to place their soulless, worldly idol! Modern idolatry is most evident in relations to the Church. Many became hardened, slandering the only way of Christ (Acts 19:9), the church way. “New paths” are being created with the name of Christ, but without the Church, “near the church walls.” These “new ways” turn out to be very convenient precisely for preserving the name of Christ and bowing to our beloved idols. That’s why all these “new ways” are attractive. They are light and indulge in passions. From the real faith of Christ contained in St. Church, on these paths only sometimes pious, and more often ugly dreams that have nothing to do with life remain. The Church teaches people the complete teaching of Christ. This teaching turns out to be little lenient for passions, for human selfishness. And on the “new paths” you can choose from the teachings of Christ only what you like, what will not interfere with worshiping idols. The same sad event, so vividly described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, is repeated forever. The nobleman Felix listens to St. Apostle Paul while he is preaching about faith in Christ Jesus, but when the apostle begins to talk about abstinence and future judgment, the nobleman is horrified and says: “Now go, and when I find time, I will call you” (Acts 24:25). Isn't this common but unfortunate event literally being repeated today? Now, too, many are ready to accept the non-binding “pure”, “evangelical”, “free” Christianity, but they bitterly reject St. The Church, because it speaks of abstinence, self-denial, and the casting out of idols. In order to dream about Christ in your leisure time, there is no special need for the Church; you can do without it. Without the Church, only Christian life is impossible, and there are very few zealots of this life; most people prefer a semi-pagan life. Modern idolatry is manifested in the denial of St. Churches. In this subtle form, idolatry, like poison, penetrated into church society. How else can one explain the amazing indifference in matters of faith and the Church that prevails in our so-called higher, educated society? How many people these days feel the living need of their hearts to belong to the Holy Orthodox Church? How many people know about themselves whether they belong to the Church or have been cut off from the living and blossoming tree of the Church by the invisible judgment of God, like dry branches that have not borne any spiritual fruit for a long time? Yes, many even ask in bewilderment what it means to belong to the Church? They think that to belong to the Church it is enough to be registered in the book at baptism, to go to church three times a year, and to partake of the Holy Mysteries once every three or four years. And if you talk about the duties of everyone who belongs to St. Churches, they will answer you with indignation: “Are we really monks? In your opinion, Christianity is only in monasticism? Do you just need to pray to God? Should you give up life and its joys? Your concept of Christianity is too narrow. Christianity is the religion of freedom”... and other crazy verbs. To achieve earthly goals, there are many different societies and everyone understands perfectly what it means to belong to such societies. A person belonging to one of these societies takes the closest part in the life of this society, lives its life. What is useful for society, he considers useful for himself. A friend of society is a friend of society. The enemy of society is its enemy. I’ll give you an example that may not be quite decent in a church pulpit, but for many a more understandable example. In recent years, many political parties have formed in Rus'. And look how jealously a party member protects the interests of his particular party, how firmly he knows how his party differs from others. Let some socialist begin to spread monarchist thoughts, he will immediately be excommunicated from the party, all relations with him will be severed. But the Church? Her life does not concern us; she is not at all dear to us; we are used to doing without it. Questions of faith, questions of salvation of the soul are of little concern to anyone. Orthodoxy and heresy, truth and error began to differ little from each other. Many avoid talking about Orthodoxy and heretical Western confessions - Catholicism and Lutheranism - and talk only about some kind of general Christianity. To sympathize with a heretic, to become and stand on the side of the enemy of Christ's Church - is this now considered a shameful and destructive crime, tearing apart the unsewn tunic of Christ? Is all this even considered reprehensible? On the contrary, frivolous denial of church teaching, church statutes, mockery of them, opposition to church authority - has not all this become a sign of good form? And complete devotion to St. the faith of the Orthodox and Holy Church of Christ, life according to its holy. statutes, unquestioning obedience to church authority not out of anger, but out of conscience - aren’t all these clear signs of the backwardness that our contemporaries are so superstitiously afraid of? Alas! Unfortunately and to our sorrow, this is all true. Heretics, taking advantage of society's hopeless ignorance in matters of faith and piety, hiding behind loud but completely empty words, preach the most impossible, most senseless and disgusting teachings, and the sons of the Church, without even thinking about it, place heretical lies above Orthodox truth. One who is excommunicated from the Church for blasphemous heresies is openly called a great teacher, celebrations are held in his honor, people go to pay homage to him. Moreover, they even dare to insult the guards of Christ’s flock because they drive away the wolves from the sheep entrusted to them by God. The enemies of the Church shower the property of God with countless blasphemies, from which the soul that loves God and St. Church. A merciless war has been declared against the entire cause of Christ; to achieve ungodly goals they do not abandon the most shameful and base means. What about the sons of the Church? Do they repel the enemies of Christ? Do they turn away with indignation and sorrow from foolish deeds and speeches? They begin to love even more the reviled Christ and His saints. Church? Oh no! They are even ready to applaud the enemies of Christ and cry out of desperation: crucify Him! Even more can be said. One notices some kind of bitterness against one’s Church. Everyone seems happy that the enemies are so shamelessly blaspheming the Holy Orthodox Church. Everyone seems to be secretly waiting impatiently to see if the Orthodox Church will perish, and then they will remain free from God, from the church bell, with only their dear idols. Again you can hear, though more often covered with loud words, a cry: get out of the way, turn away from the paths, remove the Holy One of Israel from our sight, as the disobedient people, the lying sons, once shouted, who did not want to hear the law of God (Is. 30:9-11). How else can we explain that the sons of the Church are so hasty with their sympathy for everything anti-Church. It happens to unkind people that when they hear something bad about their enemies, they rush to believe it all, fearing that this bad thing turns out to be untrue. Don’t we see the same thing in relations with the Church? The sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2) invent all kinds of untruths against the Church of God, against the holy monastic monasteries, against the priests and bishops of God, and fill their newspapers and books with this untruth. The untruth is clear and transparent as day, and the sons of the Church, turning a blind eye to everything, rush to believe a deliberate lie. Such opposition to the Church, even to those apparently belonging to it, is based on the same idolatry. The reason for the opposition to the Church is that people do not want to serve the one God. If they served one God, then there would be no mention of any opposition to the Church, even indifference in matters of faith. But in our idolatrous age, opposition to the Church has reached enormous proportions and constitutes the greatest misfortune of our time. From this, says St. Hieromartyr Cyprian, and all heresies and schisms, that everything that is not churchly, even hostile to the Church, finds support and approval in the bowels of the Church itself (Letter to Pompey). Oh, brothers! Let none of us fall into the same parable of disobedience (Heb. 4:11). The wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience (Col.3:6; Eph.5:6). Terrible is the “rage of fire that destroys the one who resists” (Heb. 10:27). These are not my words, not my reproaches, but St. Apostle Paul. And the prophet says: “The Lord is a jealous God and will not spare His opponents” (Nahum.1:2). But when you see the sad confusion of church society for the sake of serving other gods, you want to exclaim from the depths of your sorrowful heart: lightning flashes, thunder roars, the Lord’s voice resounds again throughout the whole earth: “I am the Lord your God, let there be no gods other than Me! Remove foreign gods from among you” (1 Kings 7:3; 2 Kings 17:35,37–38) and “do not remember their name” (Joshua 23:7)! But on this day of our holiday, may the voice of the Lord, first of all and loudest of all, ring out for us, my brothers, the natural sons of one spiritual mother-nurse of the Moscow Theological Academy. Don’t we hear how special the first word of the Sinai Decalogue sounds to us? Is it difficult to recognize the thoughts to which it leads us? First of all, it forces us to think about our present. Thank the Lord God, we are in spiritual school. Our science itself does not turn our gaze downward and only downward; no, she preaches about things above, calling for grief. Indeed, in our time there are a lot of sciences that fill people with a lot of knowledge, but about all this knowledge one can always ask: are they needed for the salvation of the soul and for eternal life? And if they are not needed, then what is the use of them? True, this knowledge provides many everyday conveniences; We cannot live without them now. We need railways, steamships, telegraphs and telephones, electric light and much more. All this is true. To speak against all this is to be ridiculous. But judgment from the point of view of worldly benefit is not the highest for a person, especially for a Christian, for he hears the word of Christ: what good does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul (Luke 9:25)? We all walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), not by science. Science in itself is not yet life; in matters of life and death, science serves and can only serve Christ or the Antichrist. The whole trouble of our time is that proud semi-science - real science is always humble - takes on something other than its own business, wants to teach people how to live. After all, absolutely nothing can be obtained from the truths of natural science, mathematics and technology to resolve issues of salvation and destruction. Whether there is a God or not, whether there will be eternal life or not - you will not find the answer to these questions if you study the stars, trees and grasses, stones and metals. You will not find them if you study the destinies of peoples, their wars, trade, and social life. When science begins to discuss such questions, then, looking only downwards, it easily and quickly begins to serve the Antichrist. She, like an ancient murderer, insidiously inspires people: “your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). And it’s not in vain that St. ap. James calls such wisdom earthly, spiritual, demonic (James 3:15). This demonic wisdom, often in our days, declares the entire work of our salvation to be foolishness. Such wisdom does not lead to salvation, and eternal life is completely unfamiliar to it; she knows only the grave, murmuring dully, displeasedly and gloomily in front of the coffin. But who can say about our science that it is essentially not needed for the salvation of the soul and eternal life? Study the Holy Scriptures, the spiritual creations of St. father, to learn the life and exploits of God's saints, to explore the wondrous destinies of Christ's Church - is it really possible to compare all this with the construction of factory chimneys, with the study of the scriptures of sin, with the entire construction of the modern Tower of Babel? Of course not! And in our time, when earthly wisdom is increasing so much, the need for heavenly, divine wisdom is especially great. The truth that comes from above (James 3:17) is needed by people; They cannot live without it, no matter how much they bury themselves in earthly vanity. “The whole earth calls for the truth, and heaven blesses it, and all works shake and tremble through it” (2 Ezra 4:36). From all sides, even today, there are countless requests for the very wisdom to which our Academy is dedicated. There is an abundance of workers in the field of earthly wisdom, but there are few of them, very few of them in the fertile field of theological science. Therefore, serving theological science and enriching ourselves with its eternal and imperishable treasures is our calling in the present! This is what we must serve alone, what we must worship, without at the same time kneeling before Baal, knowledge that is alien and of little salvation! But St. the apostle warns us against deception. “If anyone in you is wise and understanding,” he says, “prove this by actually good behavior with wise meekness. But if you have bitter envy and contentiousness in your heart, do not boast or lie about the truth” (James 3:13-14). Have you noticed that in the word of God and in the writings of the patrists, truth is always assessed by whether it is good or not, whether it is useful for salvation or harmful? Truth is assessed not by theoretical or logical considerations, but by moral considerations. So it is here, St. the apostle gives us the opportunity to think and say that even the practice of theology is not yet service to the one God; You can be a theologian and still worship other gods, serve soulless idols. The lack of devotion to the one God, together with the desire to combine the worship of God and idols, has created in our time, mainly among Western heretics, a view of theology as purely external knowledge. What is theology? For many it is only knowledge of theological truths, but not knowledge of God. Knowledge of God is an experimental science. Only those who are pure in heart will see God, and therefore true theology must be piety and only then will it bear fruit according to its kind. Theology without piety is one of the stunted and pale creations of our idolatrous age, which does not want to worship the one God. Spirit-bearing theologians did not know and do not know such theology. St. Isaac the Syrian likens such theology to the speeches of a harlot about chastity and considers it as of little use as if someone decided to set fire to damp wood. And those few people who sincerely seek God, whose souls yearn for Him, who ask theologians for heavenly truth, they turn away from such theology and say: “We are perishing through spiritual hunger, why are you giving us stone instead of bread?” And how short-lived are all the works of this soulless theology! They go stale like barley bread (Judges 5:8) and no one wants to know them. The writings of spirit-bearing theologians live for thousands of years; good people read them with love and through them they save their souls. Our calling must be a living and active theology, penetrating “to the division of soul and spirit” (Heb. 4:12), a saving theology. Such theology cannot be boring, lifeless, empty, because it is the highest manifestation of life, the inner growth of the Christian soul until Christ is depicted in it (Gal. 4:19). Fortunately for us, we have here all the best manuals for practicing just such theology. Here we have a Russian Orthodox shrine, where, like the pure flame of a candle, believing souls have been burning for centuries with the fire of sacred inspiration and are warmed by the warmth of heartfelt tenderness. Look from outside and at our dear Academy! A lot of instructive things can be found here for a soul devoted to philosophy. Have you noticed that in the middle of all the buildings there is God's church? And don’t all these buildings resemble those buildings near the Jerusalem Temple, where the heavenly Patroness of our church was raised, extending her honest omophorion to the entire Academy? But doesn’t all this preach the immutable truth that genuine Christian Orthodox theology must stand in the closest and inextricable connection with church life? May the Queen of Heaven, who herself was raised in the church, help us to be raised in the Lord (see the stichera on the Introduction) at the church dedicated to Her name! It’s time to introduce the word into the haven of silence, but how can one not cast an eye toward the future? “I am the Lord your God, let there be no gods other than Me!” Is it really possible after this to go to a distant side, to worship other gods, to serve other gods, to give one’s life to other gods? Leave God and the Holy Orthodox Church at a time when there is such a great need for workers in the field of Christ! “Waterless clouds, carried by the wind, which reserved the darkness of darkness forever” (Jude 1:12–13), came upon our Russian plain from all sides. “Their lips utter inflated words. These are murmurers, dissatisfied with nothing, walking according to their own lusts” (Jude 1:16). Our crafty adversary in the form of dashing people, “like a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). The gates of hell gathered all their forces and rushed towards St. Church of Christ. Should we point out these enemies of the Church? But who doesn't know them? Only the blind cannot see them. We believe, we believe unshakably, no winds, no storms can sink the ship of Jesus! The hellish gates of the Church of Christ cannot be overcome! The truth is great and powerful, “it abides and endures forever” (2Ezra 4:35,38). It is easier to extinguish the sun than to destroy the Church, as St. Chrysostom We are not afraid for the Holy Church! But look how God's property is being plundered! How many good people followed the path of the Cains and rushed into the flattery of Balaam’s bribes, and perished in stubbornness, like Korah (Jude 1:11, cf. Gen. 4:7; Num. 22:22; Num. 16:31). Is it really possible to deal with the “purchases of this life” (2 Tim. 2:4) with a clear conscience when one’s own mother, the Holy Church, is tormented and her own children are kidnapped? In the person of the Church, Christ again ascends to the cross, again they madly curse and revile Him. And who is capable of passing by, nodding his head? What kind of conscience do you need to have in order not to lighten the heavy cross of Christ, like Simon of Cyrene? Anyone who has received a church education, to whom God has given strength and knowledge, who loves God, whom Christ has chosen for His service, how can he not come to the defense of his Savior? How can he not protect God's property from ravenous wolves? This is a great and good thing. “If any of you, writes the apostle, strays from the truth and someone converts him, let him know that he who converts a sinner from his false path will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19–20). And how sad it becomes when you hear that “we have begun to deny everything together” (Luke 14:18). All around, brothers in faith are dying, and those who are called say: “It’s not my business: let whoever wants to serve them, but I... “I bought a village and gave a wife, and have me denied” (Luke 14:18–20). But the blood of your brother, the blood of all, due to your negligence, away from the Church from the mental wolf of those caught in beasts, cries out from the earth to God (Gen. 4:10). You have been given strength, given knowledge, but you did not want to give it to the service of God and the Holy Church? “Thou shalt have semidal and honey and butter,” but shamefully betrayed God? (Ezek.16:13, read to the end of the chapter). Are you talking about weakness, about unworthiness? Yes, we know that Moses denied (Exodus 3:11; Exodus 4:13), Jonah fled to Tarshish, Gregory and Chrysostom were afraid, due to the humility of St. Sergius denied. But you, who so jealously guard your petty pride at other times, are you sincerely talking about your unworthiness? Do you not want, under the pretext of humility, to indulge in carelessness, as St. Chrysostom and your words of humility are not just an empty excuse with which you think to calm both yourself and others? With words of humility, are you not only preparing a peaceful bed on which your slumbering spirit can rest in a serene sleep? Doesn't hypocritical cowardice hide a petrified insensitivity to the cause of Christ? Is it not just because they avoid church service because they loved human glory more than God’s glory (John 12:43)? Be sincere with yourself, even for a moment, and answer all these questions, my brother, without fear, boldly and truthfully. You just shouldn’t rely on yourself, but give all your strength, abilities, knowledge with which the Lord has blessed you into the hand of God, like a widow’s two mites, and say with the apostle: “I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13)! “It is good for a man who takes Christ as a yoke in his youth” (Pl. 3:27). Here on earth, in the militant Church, he will suffer misfortune, like a good warrior of Christ (2 Tim. 2:3), but the Lord God crowns him with a victorious crown in the Church, triumphant in heaven, where the crown of righteousness is prepared for all those who have loved Christ (2 Tim. 4:8). To impute all the empty and soulless idols of the vain world, to consider everything as rubbish and to serve only one God and His Holy Church - there is nothing higher than this and nothing can be! And whoever, for the sake of earthly idols, renounces the lot of Christ, know that the boring, meaningless and ugly songs of the earth could never replace the sweetest sounds of heaven for a God-loving soul, and at the crossroads of the world, on the crooked and corrupt paths of idolatry (Judges 5:6) you will not find joy for your soul. I am the Lord your God, let there be no other gods for you but Me! Hear, O God-loving soul, the voice of God! If you do not listen to him, a sword will girdle you, “for this is the mouth of the Lord speaking” (Is. 1:20). To love the only Lord your God, to listen to His voice, to cleave to Him with all your heart - this is your life and the length of your days! Life and death are offered to you, God-loving soul, blessing and curse. Choose life rather than death (Deut. 30:19–20)! IV year student Vladimir Troitsky