Речь на Новый год, сказанная в Харьковском кафедральном соборе 1-го января 1868 года.

“The heavens are new and the earth is new, according to the promise of God; in them righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). When this promise of God and our hope will be fulfilled, when a new heaven and a new earth will come for us, is not revealed to us. But it is revealed to us that “truth” will dwell on the new earth, as well as the new heaven. Happy land! There they will not experience all this untruth, in its countless forms and manifestations, which we experience on our old, sinful earth, and which poisons our already sorrowful existence. Brothers! If it has already become a custom for us on the occasion of each new year to wish each other new happiness, then this time let us wish ourselves and each other “truth” - this most important and most necessary condition for true happiness. Just recently, just before the new year, by the will of our Most Merciful Sovereign and Father, we were granted a new judgment, with the goal of establishing truth between us. We met this trial with the greatest sympathy, with ardent hopes and good wishes - and very naturally. But who doesn’t know that one court, no matter how perfect it is, will not do everything for us if we, for our part, do not provide it with full and unanimous assistance? Let's say more precisely: the court, the best, can only curb untruth and give triumph to truth; and we ourselves, or mainly we, can eradicate untruth, establish truth in our social life, with our good and firm desire, with our friendly, decisive, unwavering striving for the goal. May truth reign in each of us and between us, and may it reign in our souls, in our words, in our deeds. There will be truth in our souls when we learn to be faithful to the truth and not change it in thoughts, desires and feelings; let us learn to understand and value ourselves and others in accordance with the truth, without exaggerating our own merits and without belittling the merits of others, appropriating to each and every one exactly what and as much as each one really belongs to; when we learn to equally respect life, honor, property, both our own and our neighbors. There will be truth in words when we acquire the skill of telling everyone and always the same truth and never lying about anything; speak the truth about ourselves, avoiding all self-praise, self-abasement and pretense; speak the truth about our neighbors, not allowing ourselves any slander and slander, no servility and flattery; when we learn to maintain, in all circumstances of life, fidelity to the word we have given. There will be truth in affairs when we, in mutual relations with each other, begin to “give due to everyone” (Rom. 13:7), to give honor to each according to his dignity and not to do anything by which we could violate the rights of our neighbors, insult their person, damage their lives and their property. Let us decide, my brothers, from the new year to be renewed by truth, to love it with all our being and to invariably serve it in our souls, to manifest it in our words and deeds. And the Lord God, who now gives us a new summer of his goodness and wishes us every good, will not hesitate to bless our holy determination and give us strength to implement it. And then how everything will be renewed and transformed not only in us, but also around us! How many sorrows and disasters will cease, which we now suffer from each other due to our untruths! How harmonious and correct our mutual relations will become! How peacefully and quietly our lives at home and in public will flow! And how many pure joys we will then find both in ourselves and in our neighbors! Amen. You might be interested in: