Exegesis and spiritual life: Saint Theophan as an interpreter of the Psalms

Everything written about Me in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord (Eph. 5:18–19). Prophets teach differently, everyday writers teach differently; in one the law instructs, and in the other - what is proposed in the form of an admonition; The book of psalms contains in itself what is useful from all books. She prophesies about the future, brings events to memory, gives laws for life, offers rules for activity. In short, it is a general treasury of good teachings, and carefully seeks out what is beneficial to everyone... There is perfect theology, the prediction of the coming of Christ in the flesh, the threat of judgment, the hope of the resurrection, the fear of punishment, the promises of glory, the revelation of the sacraments. Everything, as if in a great and common treasury, is collected in the book of Psalms... Saint Basil the Great 1 No one can be saved unless he reads or listens to the holy soul-saving writings. Just as a bird without wings cannot fly to a height, so a mind without holy books cannot figure out how to be saved. Saint Basil the Great 2 The meaning of the Psalter in the Russian church tradition According to the testimony of the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, the Psalter, as a book necessary for worship, was translated into the Slavic language in the 9th century by Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal-to-the-Apostles, from the Greek church text of the Seventy Interpreters. The Psalter immediately became the favorite reading of the Russian people and the main educational book in Ancient Rus'. The Psalter was sounded at every morning and evening service, read in full during the week, and even twice during Lent; The verses of the psalms formed the basis of morning and evening prayers, occupying an exceptional place in the life of every Russian person. Children were taught to read from the Psalter, and candidates for priestly positions were tested against it before ordination. A person who studied the Psalter was considered “bookish” - literate, able to read other books and understand the church service, which was the spiritual basis of the entire structure of life. The Psalter was read at home and taken on trips, read over the sick and for the dead. In the monasteries they read the “indefatigable Psalter.” In conjunction with the Book of Hours and selected troparia and kontakia, the Psalter took the form of the Book of Psalms, designated for worship in the church. The Psalter with the addition of patristic interpretations, called the Explanation, was intended for private reading as a guide to the correct understanding and comprehension of obscure and prophetic passages of the sacred text. In the Russian tradition, the patristic interpretation of the Psalter and comprehension of its meaning in the Church and in the life of every Christian were continued. One of the interpreters of this book, who made a significant contribution to its understanding, was St. Theophan (Govorov), or the Recluse. Saint Theophan: theological activity and spiritual life Saint Theophan (Govorov; 1815–1894) was a representative of learned monasticism - that special type of Russian monasticism of the 19th century, whose ministry was more connected with teaching in theological schools than with the monastery. After graduating from the Oryol Theological Seminary and the Kyiv Theological Academy, Saint Theophan was destined for the usual path of a learned monk - teaching, inspection and rector at theological schools: at the Kiev-Sophia School (1844-1847), Novgorod Seminary (1854), St. Petersburg Theological Academy (1857-1859). Like many representatives of learned monasticism, he served abroad: in the Russian Spiritual Mission in Jerusalem (1847–1854), in the embassy church in Constantinople (1856–1857), then became bishop of Tambov (1859–1863) and Vladimir (1863–1866). However, the life path of Saint Theophan, despite these characteristic features, also characteristic of the destinies of his fellow ministers, had its own peculiarities. So, being a completely successful bishop, in 1866 he submitted a request for retirement to the Vyshenskaya hermitage of the Tambov diocese, and in 1872 he retired into complete seclusion. These actions, not very clear to contemporaries, marked the spiritual quest of the saint. It was in this - the search for the most direct and reliable path of salvation - that Saint Theophan saw the meaning of his spiritual education, theological knowledge, church service, and scientific research activities. And it was precisely this—an intense spiritual life, a selfless and fearless surrender of oneself into the hands of God, the rejection of all successes in life, a church career, even friendly communication—that gave St. Theophan the basis to be a spiritual mentor to many seeking a true Christian life and salvation. The written heritage of St. Theophan is enormous, and “moral exegesis,” that is, interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, occupies one of the most important places in it. Saint Theophan, trusting, of course, in the meaning of the New Testament, did not neglect the Old. But from the books of the Old Testament, the saint began to comment only on the Psalms, and even then on selected psalms. Saint Theophan on reading the psalms Saint Theophan often advised his spiritual children not only to read the Psalter, but to memorize individual psalms, believing that their prayerful attitude and appeal to God “warms the heart,” “develops the spirit of prayer,” and helps to tune in to sincere prayer. In addition, the psalms help to form a “prayer language” and provide words for one’s prayers to God. “It’s good to memorize psalms. Choose which ones are closest to you and memorize them. Then, while walking, read them with meditation” 3. “You have memorized the Six Psalms, and are adding to them; you especially like the last two. This gives me the idea to suggest to you: as soon as you come across a psalm you like, memorize it. Then use them, either while standing in prayer to God in the morning and in the evening and in the form of warming up the prayerful spirit - or between tasks, when you walk, or fall asleep, or wake up, fill any idle time with this reading. Look - the second psalm of the third hour - and the third of the sixth. They are similar to: I lifted up my eyes to the mountains.” 4. “...Reading a psalm is a real remedy against wandering thoughts” 5 . However, Saint Theophan believed that in the psalms not only the prayerful rhythm and the general feeling of repentance are important, but also the meaning: “If you want the psalms not to entertain, read their interpretation and understand their meaning” 6 . The very solid knowledge of a psalm can sometimes interfere with drawing from it all possible spiritual benefit, if the memory alone works when memorizing, without preliminary or joint deepening into the content of the verses. “A thought forgotten at the beginning, during memorization, no longer comes into motion when repeating what has been memorized, and it is repeated almost always, completely without a trace for the soul” 7 ​​. Therefore, the flock often asked the saint to explain the meaning of this or that psalm or individual verses. These requests prompted the saint to undertake more extensive work on the interpretation of the Psalter. Thus, in response to the request of his long-term correspondent, Colonel S.A. Pervukhin, “to inform him of the meaning of the words: law, commandments, testimony, justification and words” found in Psalm 119, 8, the saint a few years later created his famous “Interpretation of Psalm 118.” Saint Theophan first turned to the interpretation of the Psalter in 1869, while already in the Vyshensky Monastery, publishing “Expository Notes on the 33rd Psalm” (in subsequent editions “The Thirty-third Psalm”) for his former Vladimir flock. Two years later, in 1871, in the “Tambov Diocesan Gazette” (No. 9–10) an article by Bishop Theophan “The Six Psalms” was published, in which only the first two psalms were interpreted: the third and the thirty-seventh. In 1874, the above-mentioned “Interpretation of Psalm 118” by Bishop Theophan, which was published in 1877 as a separate book, began to be published in the magazine “Home Conversation”. After the death of Saint Theophan, among his papers, preparatory materials for the interpretation of the 1st, 2nd, and 51st psalms were found. Finally, in personal letters to those being cared for at their requests, the saint explained individual verses of some psalms. And in other works of the saint - primarily spiritual and moral - there are often references to verses of the psalms with edifying commentary. Interpretations of Saint Theophan on the Psalms The first psalm explained by Saint Theophan - the 33rd - was chosen, as the interpreter himself explained, due to the important place it occupies in church services. This psalm is read at the all-night vigil at the end of Vespers, as well as at the end of the Liturgy as parting instructions to Christians leaving the church into their circle of life, as a program of behavior for the whole day and for the whole life. Saint Theophan immediately noted the purpose of the published commentary: this interpretation is not scientific, but spiritually edifying: “The proposed notes are caused by the desire not so much to give a scientific interpretation of the psalm, but to present experience on how to convert David’s songs, which are so common in the church, drawing lessons from them for ordering your thoughts and a good mood in your heart and throughout your life.” 9 The saint also pursued this goal when composing commentaries on other psalms. However, this did not mean that the saint neglected historical or philological research. He collected and compared all versions connecting the psalm with specific Old Testament events (Saul’s persecution of David), turned to philological analysis of each word and entire phrases, and dealt with the structural features. But all this information was valuable for Saint Theophan insofar as it could help in understanding the internal content of the psalm and - what was most important - its use and application to spiritual and moral life. Saint Theophan points out a feature of the 33rd Psalm, noticeable only in the Hebrew original: the psalm is arranged according to the acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. The saint sees the meaning in this: the basics of spiritual life, “without the knowledge and implementation of which no one can live piously and calmly” 10, must be established no less firmly than the verbal alphabet. Based on the interpretation of this psalm, Saint Theophan builds a teaching on prayer, which he passed on to his spiritual children from one perspective or another. The mercy that those who seek God always receive encourages them to constantly remain in thanksgiving to Him. From this thanksgiving the thought moves on to the contemplation of all the perfections of God and His infinite greatness and revives praise and glorification (vv. 2–4) 11 . In all difficult and sorrowful situations, the Lord does not abandon those who trust in Him with all their hearts, who come to Him, and cry out in prayer (vv. 5–11) 12 . To “reliably resort to God,” one must maintain and warm in one’s heart the conviction of His goodness and unconditional trust. But they cannot be held in the heart if the saving fear of God is not the basis. The saint pays special attention to the “practice of the fear of God” - a system of moral precepts that everyone must master: keep your tongue from evil, your lips from flattery; keep away from evil; do good; establish and preserve peace (vv. 14–15) 13 . The most significant, undoubtedly, is St. Theophan’s interpretation of Psalm 118, which occupies a special place in the entire Psalter - not only in its volume (176 verses, an entire kathisma during church reading), but also in its coverage of the main points and problems of spiritual life. This versatility of Psalm 119 also determined its use in liturgical practice: it is read in the Orthodox tradition at every daily midnight office, at Saturday matins, including Holy Saturday, and is part of funeral and requiem services. Prefacing the interpretation itself with a brief introduction, Saint Theophan draws attention to a well-known feature of this psalm: like the 33rd psalm, it is built according to an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. In this psalm, Saint Theophan sees greater significance for the “alphabetical” construction. Each letter is given eight verses that begin with this letter, that is, in the first eight-line all verses begin with the letter aleph, in the second - with bet, etc. Since there are 22 letters in total in the Hebrew alphabet, the psalm consists of 176 verses. Saint Theophan draws attention to the opinion of scientists who suggested that the holy prophet David composed this psalm for teaching his son Solomon, wanting to convey to him all his spiritual experience. David experienced all his life circumstances and spiritual and moral states in direct relation to God and His law. Jewish tradition introduced this psalm - the “great alphabet” - into school custom, so that children would learn, along with the alphabet - the basics of knowledge - to excel in active virtue, receiving for a lifetime not only guidance, but also an object for constant reflection and delving into the mysteries of God's law 14 . Saint Theophan, relying on this educational meaning of the psalm, builds an alphabet of spiritual life on its basis. In his interpretation of the 118th Psalm, Saint Theophan maintains the division into eight verses, although this is not found in either the Slavic or Greek text, believing that such a structure is not only an external relief in reading. The saint is confident that the unity of the eight-line lines is not accidental; he sees in each eight-line line a single thought on which the verses are “strung together.” Moreover, he derives this idea from the Hebrew letter itself, or rather, the word that this letter means: aleph - “science” or “leader”; bet – “house”; gimel - “camel”; Dalet – “door”; ge – “here”; vav – “hook”; zain – “olive”; het – “sin”; tet – “shaving” iod – “hand”; kaf - “palm”; lamed – “to teach”; meme – “stain”; nun – “tribe”; samekh – “support”; ain – “eye”; pe – “mouth”; tsade – “side”, “side”; kuf - “monkey”; resh – “head”; shin - “tooth”; tav – “sign”. Together these thoughts constitute the foundations of a holy life. The meaning of the letters does not always clearly lead to the spiritual meaning of the eight lines, and the interpretation of St. Theophan sometimes seems unexpected. So, if the concepts “house”, “door”, “olive”, “sin” are easily associated with spiritual issues, then in the words “camel”, “palm”, “spot”, “monkey” it is much more difficult to grasp the spiritual meaning. Nevertheless, the saint succeeds. Thus, the image of a camel (gimel) - the hardiest beast of burden - means workers on the path of the commandments who have not yet entered into the taste of this life, bearing the labors of life according to God, but not yet tasting its fruits. The corresponding eight-verse (vv. 17–24) is entitled by Saint Theophan: ““about the difficulties” encountered on the good path, internal and external, or about the difficult conditions experienced at the same time” 15. The palm (kaf) is a weapon of resentment and insult (slap), and an instrument of the warmest love (touching the cheek of a loved one). And the eight-line, beginning with the verse “My soul disappears for Thy salvation, in Thy words I trust” (v. 8188), represents someone who is offended, unjustly oppressed or struggling with passions and lusts and turning to God in prayer for help and intercession 16 . A stain (meme) is a defect or flaw in a thing, some kind of moral shortcoming and, finally, sin. In the corresponding eight-verse (vv. 97–104), the prophet shows how the most important spiritual vices are corrected by teaching in the law of God and faithfully following it: blindness of mind, wrongness of will and hardening of the heart, insensibility. “If I have loved Your law, O Lord, I am my instruction all day long” (v. 97) 17 . The monkey (kuf) is associated with imitation, but it can be either not intelligent and not in a good spirit, or diligent and kind (vv. 145–152). Saint Theophan draws attention to the fact that imitation and likening are necessary in all matters, but in moral and religious matters it is elevated to the norm of life indicated in Scripture. The Savior gives us the Heavenly Father Himself as a role model: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36); “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). The Holy Apostle Paul builds a chain: “Be imitators of me, even as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). To imitate God means to form your character according to those Godly properties that He showed before us. The Lord gave commandments, according to which we build our lives, we imitate the Lord Himself through this, and at the same time we constantly look to God both as a model and as a Giver of strength to imitate Him: “I cried with all my heart, hear me, O Lord, I will seek Your justification,” “I knew from the beginning from Your testimonies, as I founded in the age” (v. 145, 152) 18. Turning to the 1st psalm, which sets the beginning, the preface to the entire Psalter, Saint Theophan draws attention to the fact that the main thing is indicated in the psalm: the last goal to which all people strive is bliss, and the means to achieve it in fidelity to the law of the Lord 19. The practical application of this main idea is a complete picture depicting two paths: good and evil people, righteous and sinners. In the expressions of the psalm, the saint sees “characteristic features of sinful ages”: infancy, when the sinner only “goes” to the advice of the wicked; youthful, when he “stops” on the path of sinners; masculine, when he “sits” on the seat of the destroyers, that is, he becomes completely comfortable in the area of ​​sin 20. The righteous man lives an integral life: “his will is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will learn day and night.” This is precisely the main advice that Saint Theophan gave to his spiritual disciples: “not just once or on occasion, but constantly, day and night,” to zealously engage in the word of God, both internally, reflecting, researching, imprinting in memory and heart, setting yourself up for fulfillment, and externally, proclaiming and communicating it to others 21 . In the surviving materials of St. Theophan there are highlighted “subjects for reflection” - several questions for each psalm verse 22. From these questions it is clear how intensely and constantly the saint himself worked to comprehend the Holy Scriptures. Very important for Saint Theophan was the 2nd messianic psalm, quoted in the Acts of the Holy Apostles (see: Acts 4:25; 13:33). The prophet is amazed at the audacity and foolishness of earthly authorities and peoples rebelling against God and His Christ - the Messiah, predicting their shame and the wrath of God 23 . And the saint, following the text and relying on his philological knowledge, carefully interprets every word, reinforcing the impression of the “fury of the enemies of God” and the fall and ruin awaiting them 24. Saint Theophan brings the reader to the end of earthly history, when the “eternal decree of God” is fulfilled in time, by virtue of which the Messiah is given into hereditary possession “all languages, and the whole earth, and He can menacingly punish and exterminate the disobedient” 25. But here, too, in conclusion, a moral projection is made, addressed to everyone and especially dear to Saint Theophan: a threat to those who resist God with His righteous wrath and a promise of bliss to all who trust in the King-Messiah 26 . In a brief interpretation on the 51st psalm, commenting on the words of the prophet, Saint Theophan partly explains his departure from the world into seclusion: having established his mind in his heart before the face of God, the saints no longer retreat with all their thoughts and “memory” from the name of God and always delight in it - sweeter than honey and honeycomb 27 . Before such bliss, everything else fades and even loses its meaning, but this bliss requires complete concentration. It was very important for Saint Theophan to realize for himself and show his spiritual children the single history of salvation, which is determined by the plan of God and the Holy Spirit, speaking through the prophets, sent by the Lord from the Father to the disciples who are in the Church and with every believer. And the psalms, according to the saint, very convincingly testify to this. Thus, explaining, at the request of one of his addressees, fragments of the 68th and 108th psalms (Ps. 68:9-12; Ps. 109:6-13), the saint writes: “In both psalms of St. the prophet depicts his misfortunes during the persecution of Saul,” however, “both psalms precisely contain verses that are then applied to the Lord,” and can be applied “to every suffering righteous person, and to the entire holy Church” 28 . “The Holy Spirit stirs up the wrath of David, and equips his tongue to express the punishments of God, so that the unrighteous of all times will see what they are worth, and how they would be dealt with if not for the mercy of God” 29 . Explaining Psalm 101 to his spiritual daughter, the saint points out that the prayer of the poor and mournful can be applied both “to the people of Judah,” suffering in Babylonian captivity and awaiting deliverance, and “to the creation of the Church of Christ,” and to every “sinful soul turning to God” 30 . Also, interpreting the 3rd psalm included in the Six Psalms, Saint Theophan recalls that historically the psalm refers to David, and “as applied, it can apply to anyone struggling with passions and demons and oppression by external sorrows and troubles” 31 . The saint draws the attention of his flock to the fact that the psalm teaches every sinner, like David, not to despair, not to lose heart, not to lose hope, and thus opens “the path to the Lord for the repentant sinner” - that’s why it comes first in the Six Psalms 32 . And again the saint highlights the main stages of the spiritual path, which are so clearly indicated in the Psalter: its beginning is in faith; faith gives birth to hope; hope with faith gives birth to prayer, “bringing consolation to the heart and blessing to life.” Prayer introduces the understanding that “in God is the source of salvation and blessing” 33 . Saint Theophan on the importance of studying the Holy Scriptures in spiritual life Saint Theophan repeatedly expressed his attitude to the study and interpretation of the word of God: “You can experience the testimonies of God, the law, or the word of God in general, either only with your mind, or not only with your mind, but also with deeds - the first precedes entering the path of the will of God, set out in the word, and the other will follow it” 34. To enter the path of spiritual life, the word of God is necessary, but those who begin to follow it “are not suddenly introduced into spiritual experiences.” At first they are incapable of this: there is too much noise and confusion in their souls and hearts. But over time, when the excitement subsides, spiritual experience begins, and then the instructions given in the word of God are understood better and more deeply. It is possible to study the word of God without following it, and not only by stubborn resistance to God’s call, but by “postponing the matter,” with the hope of living according to it in the future. This was not uncommon among the educated contemporaries of St. Theophan. But Saint Theophan insists that “such bare knowledge of the word of God cannot be complete and satisfactory,” since most of the truths of spiritual life indicated in the word of God are understood only by those who have the experience of following it. And attempts to make do with only intellectual understanding inevitably lead to errors, as in the “external sciences” the construction of speculative systems without experience. Those who remain only with this knowledge, of course, cannot be called blessed, it even serves to condemn them, according to the words of Scripture: “The servant who has seen the will of his master, and is not prepared, and has not done according to his will, will be beaten by me” (Luke 12:47) 35. However, Saint Theophan also pointed out the importance of studying Scripture (“testing”) and understanding it. This may have results in the long term: when the student of God’s word turns his mind to its instructions and sets “the intention to follow it unswervingly,” all the information previously collected from the word of God “will serve him as ready-made material for the formation of the inner man” 36 . But experience without knowledge is also one-sided: if a person lives a spiritual life, he needs the right guidelines, and they can only be obtained by studying and understanding the word of God. For cultivating the spirit of faith and piety, the Psalter is of particular importance, in which each psalm is “a spiritual treasure, if you develop its content.” But in order to see this depth, “dig up this treasure,” one must learn to think about spiritual texts: “dig out this treasure” from memory, “lay it out before the eye of the mind and let the soul enjoy contemplating it” 37 . However, there is an active test of the “testimonies of God”, there is also a higher state: contemplative life, in which there is also a contemplative test. “Continuous fulfillment of the commandments leads to purification of the heart; a pure heart opens a window to the spiritual world to the mind,” and “the mind, having reached this degree, contemplates the mysteries of God” 38. And although Saint Theophan notes that this state and objects of contemplation “are known by those who are worthy of this,” the departure of the saint himself from active life, the seclusion and labors of recent years give reason to think that he was not alien to this blissful state. The place of interpretations of St. Theophan in tradition Thus, Saint Theophan continues the centuries-old church tradition of spiritual and moral interpretations of the Psalter. Saint Theophan prefaces the interpretation of each psalm with the remark that in his interpretation “there is rarely a thought of its own,” “everything is borrowed from the holy fathers and teachers of the Church who labored in interpretation” 39 . Indeed, he often refers to the ancient interpretations of Saints Athanasius the Great and Basil the Great, Ambrose, Blessed Augustine and Blessed Theodoret, Saint Hilary of Pectavius, Euthymius Zigabenus 40. In this persistent reference to the Fathers of the Church there is not only the author’s modesty of Saint Theophan or the desire to reinforce himself with the authority of the great. Saint Theophan understands the meaning of Holy Scripture in the Church in exactly this way: the word of God is given to the Church, and the experience of the Church in understanding and living it is both diverse and united. Each person trying to live according to the word of God brings his own understanding and experience into the church treasury, but in this diversity there is unity, for “The Spirit is one and the same <…> The Lord is one and the same <…> God is one and the same” (1 Cor. 12:4-6). The saint’s personal spiritual experience, verified by the word of God and his church understanding, gave him the basis to guide his spiritual life. Interpreting the verses of the psalms, Saint Theophan also expounded his understanding of spiritual life. If we turn to the figurative division of people, including Christians, into “wise men” and “simple men,” Saint Theophan should be classified among the “wise men.” But there is a serious problem associated with these images in the history of the Russian Church. The Russian theological school, of which the saint was a pupil, was often accused of self-sufficiency, isolation from church experience, liturgical life, and prayer. School “learning” was reproached for its inability to become useful for the Church, to solve its current problems and the main problem - guidance to salvation. “Winged” became an apt expression attributed by Archpriest Georgy Florovsky to Russian theological schools of the 18th century: “theology on stilts” 41, that is, separated from the nourishing church soil, not rooted in it. School wisdom did not seem saving, and sometimes even obscured the path of salvation. Bridging this gap has become a feat of more than one generation of Russian theologians. Assessing the spiritual and educational transformation carried out in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, Saint Philaret (Drozdov) highlighted the main achievement, from his point of view: “...the teaching of active theology was introduced; thus, theological teaching became closer to application in life” 42. Saint Theophan was a graduate of this converted school. “Active” or “practical” theology (Practica) seemed to Saint Theophan the focus of all theology, the center that connects all areas of theological science with the practice of Christian life. This direction is the core of the exegetical works of St. Theophan. The main thing that the reader should take away from the Holy Scriptures, including the Psalter, is active virtue, the path of salvation. But the unity of scientific and practical, prayerful theology could not be determined by recipes and school rules. This required a personal feat. Saint Theophan himself built his life exactly this way: scientific theological knowledge for him was not an alternative to prayerful, contemplative theology, but a help in achieving it, an opportunity to understand more deeply and subtly the commandments of God, the experience of the Church in their fulfillment, and one’s spiritual state. The pinnacle of theological knowledge for Saint Theophan was his seclusion. It is important to note that in 1890 the St. Petersburg Theological Academy elevated St. Theophan to the academic degree of Doctor of Theology. At the same time, it was pointed out that the exegetical works of the saint are exemplary, since they provide not only interpretation, but also methods of possible application in life 43 . This event became significant in the history of the academy: not only the former rector of the academy (1857–1859) received a doctorate, but also a true monk, an ascetic recluse, a theologian not in the narrowly special sense of the word, that is, the author of special scientific theological works intended for a limited educated circle of learned adherents of theological science. Saint Theophan is a theologian in the best and broadest sense of the word, a theologian who, “without being confined to the narrow sphere of special scholarship, spoke and wrote in a language accessible to a wide range of people thirsting for spiritual enlightenment” 44. In 1988, Bishop Theophan was glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a saint and, already belonging to the triumphant Church in heaven, he offers his prayers for all those to whom he gave spiritual advice both directly during his life and in his creations. Basil the Great, St. Conversation on the first part of the first psalm // Works like the saints of our father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappadacia. Part 1. M., 1845. P. 177, 180. Theophan (Govorov), St. Reading or listening to soul-saving books is necessary for salvation. An excerpt from the preface of the begun translation of an unknown Greek book // Soul-saving interlocutor. 1899. Issue. 1. P. 20. Theophan (Govorov), St. Collection of letters. Vol. II. M., 1899. P. 180. Right there. Vol. VI. M., 1899. P. 48 Right there. Vol. IV. M., 1899. P. 69. Right there. Vol. V. M., 1898. P. 184. Theophan (Govorov), St. Thirty-third Psalm. M., 1997. P. 4. Letter from S. A. Pervukhin to St. Theophan dated December 30, 1871 (see: Theophan (Govorov), St. Collection of letters. From the unpublished. M., 2001. P. 531). Theophan (Govorov), St. Thirty-third psalm... P. 3. See: Theophan (Gorov), St. Psalm one hundred and eighteen, interpreted by Bishop Theophan. M., 1891. S. 4–5. See: Theophan (Gorov), St. Psalms one, two and fifty-one, interpreted by Bishop Theophan. M., 1897. P. 7. Theophan (Govorov), St. Collection of letters. Vol. III. M., 1899. P. 35. Theophan (Govorov), St. Collection of letters. From unpublished. P. 344. Theophan (Govorov), St. Interpretation of the third and thirty-seventh psalms of the Six Psalms. M., 2001. P. 11. Theophan (Govorov), St. Psalm one hundred and eighteenth... P. 15. Theophan (Govorov), St. Thirty-third Psalm. S. 4. Theophan (Govorov), St. Psalm one hundred and eighteenth... pp. 18–19. Theophan (Govorov), St. Thirty-third Psalm. S. 5; It's him. Psalm one hundred and eighteenth... P. 7. Ibid; It's him. Interpretation of the psalms of the third and thirty-seventh Six Psalms... P. 5. Florovsky G., prot. Paths of Russian theology. Paris, 1937. Reprint: Vilnius, 1991. P. 114. A collection of opinions and reviews of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, on educational and church-state issues, published under the editorship of the Right Reverend Savva, Archbishop of Tver and Kashinsky. In 5 vols. T. II. St. Petersburg, 1885. P. 208 “Any serious interpreter of Holy Scripture, who understands the high importance of his work, has, among other things, the obligation to be able not only to convey the meaning of what is revealed in the word of God, but also to make it possible for the reader to understand and feel the divine spiritual power and life hidden for him in this word. And in this regard, the interpretations of the Right Reverend Theophan can rightly be called exemplary. His interpretations are read with deep edification.” (Journal of meetings of the Council of St. Petersburg for the 1889/90 academic year, St. Petersburg, 1894. P. 129). Eminence Theophan as a writer-theologian // Church Bulletin. 1894, No. 4. P. 51.