Message to the residents of the villages of Vasilyevskoye and Palekh

See also: Message to the residents of the village of Vasilyevskoye and Palekhi We bring to your attention the message of St. Paisius Velichkovsky to the residents of the villages of Vasilyevskoye and Palekha. Translation and comments by Andrey Vlasyuk, editor-in-chief of the Heritage of the Orthodox East publishing house. To the true servants of Christ our true God, to the diligent workers of His divine Gospel soul-saving commandments, the great zealots and champions of piety, the Christ-loving residents of the village of Vasilievskoe: the church clerk Alexander Matfeevich, Ioann Petrovich, Matfei Yakovlevich, Andrei Ivanovich, the widow Evdokia, Ioann Sergeevich and other brethren; To the resident of the village of Palekha, Afanasy Nikitich, and to others who fear God and love me, a sinner, and to all your community in Christ, humbly bowing, I wish you health and a prosperous, long-term life, and spiritual salvation. Your second letter, written to me on August 22 of last 1793, on March 20 of this 1794, having received with unspeakable joy through our beloved brother the monk Theophylact, I glorified God for your zeal to immaculately preserve the Orthodox Faith, apostolic traditions and sacred rules, which are contained by the One Holy and Apostolic Church. This zeal of yours is for God and according to reason, and you, prompted by it, have acquired such God’s love for me and faith that, despite my ignorance and lack of education, you asked me in a letter some questions that surpassed my strength and reason, the resolution of which is not appropriate for me, an ignoramus, but for the conciliar reasoning of the Church, since only bishops, for the sake of their bishopric, are given from above by the Holy Spirit the word of wisdom and reason, may they be able to resolve any question with an answer. You asked me, unworthy, your questions, with the assurance that without any doubt, in full confidence, you would accept my answers and decisions. I highly praise you for this diligence and rejoice in it, but judge for yourself - how can I answer your perplexed questions, even if I wanted to, because, as I already said, I am a simple and ignorant person, and we have very few books here necessary for this matter. But even the most learned man would be able to give the correct answer to every question according to the right church reason, without having a sufficient number of books necessary for this? That is why I said that the resolution of such issues is appropriate for the conciliar reasoning of the Church. For in the Conciliar Church there is in great abundance all the books necessary for resolving all questions, and each inquirer can easily receive a reliable and undoubted solution to his perplexities, attested by the Conciliar Church, compiled by certain members of the Church, guided by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit and instructed in the right and infallible understanding of the Divine Scripture, which belongs to the entire Conciliar Holy Church, in the spirit of a common and mutually consistent teaching. our God-bearing Fathers - shepherds and teachers of the church. I, the last one, am perplexed as to which of the two desires overwhelming me to fulfill. Should I leave your questions unanswered, as being beyond my strength, which is what I did in response to your first letter to me, or, in my feeble mind, should I at least somehow answer you? And, after I had been in such bewilderment and reflection for quite some time, your love for me and firm faith, and divine jealousy, and an indescribable ardent desire to hear from me some answers to your questions defeated me. And in various touching words, crying and sighing, you ask and beg me to console you with spiritual consolation and tell me that you are not asking me by temptation, but desiring salvation and holy benefit for your souls. Even more than anything else, what convinced me to answer you was that you beg me about this in the Name of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity. Reasoning about all this, I, as I already said, was overcome by your love and, daring to undertake this task that exceeds my strength, I pray to the almighty Christ our God, without Whom no one can do anything 2, to help me with His grace through the prayers of Her Most Holy Mother of God and all the Saints to begin this work and complete it according to the rightful and infallible reason and wisdom of our Catholic and Holy Church. Starting to answer your questions, I thought of writing the answer to the first of them - about the Sign of the Cross - to you separately, after I answer your other questions, so that it, like some special small essay, would be copied separately from the other answers, as proof to the zealots and confirmation of the true sons of the Holy Church, and as undoubted evidence that the folding of the first three fingers of the right hand for the Sign of the Cross is an unwritten tradition of the Holy Apostles, which has always was unshakably preserved throughout the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and will be preserved by the grace of Christ until the very end of this century 3 . I ask your love to forgive me that, for the reason described above, I do not give you here the answer to your first question. Is it possible for a Christian to keep at home and read books prohibited by the Church, sacrilegiously secretly printed by schismatics and distributed among the people by them, or is it in no way possible? The Church of God commands not to read the books of heretics and not to talk with them. And in the first part of the book “Orthodox Confession” in response to the ninety-first question: “What is the fifth church commandment?” it says the following: “You cannot read the books of heretics, nor listen to their harmful teachings if you are untrained in understanding the Holy Scriptures and other sciences. You cannot talk to them, nor communicate with them according to the prophet of sweetness, who says: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the way of sinners 5 . And in one place the Scripture commands: deny a person a heretic according to the first and second punishment 6 » 7 . Look, lovers of Christ, diligently and heed that the Church of God does not command everyone not to read heretical books and not to converse with them, but only to those untrained in the Holy Scriptures and in the sciences, since such people can very easily, through reading heretical books, because of their deceptive teaching and through careless conversation with them, fall into ungodly and depraved wisdom, since heretical teachings seem to the ignorant. true, while being completely false in their essence. After all, just as Satan, being darkness, is transformed into an angel of light, 8 so heretical teachings, being darkness and not participating in the light of God’s truth, seem to those untrained in the Holy Scriptures and sciences to have some semblance of truth, while they are the darkness of lies and depraved wisdom. And therefore, the Holy Church of God commands those untrained in the Holy Scriptures and in the divine commandments not to read the books of heretics, not to talk and not to live with them, so that, due to their inexperience, they will not be damaged by their God-fighting teaching. And those who have studied the Holy Scriptures and external sciences are free from this church commandment, such as, for example, our God-bearing Fathers, shepherds and teachers of the Holy Church. For they not only studied the Holy Scripture, by the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, perfectly, but also all external sciences and without comparison surpassed in all worldly wisdom not only their immediate teachers, but also all the ancient philosophers. Seeing how the heretics, proud of their wisdom in external teachings, completely subordinating the Divine Scripture to their philosophy and interpreting it in accordance with their false and corrupted reason and philosophical evidence, raised a continuous battle against the Church of Christ with their heretical teaching, our God-bearing Fathers, out of necessity, reading the corrupt heretical teachings and subduing their own philosophy in everything having enslaved the Divine Scripture and its truth, more clearly than on a sunny day, they saw in heretical teachings deviations from the truth of Scripture and with two invincible weapons, that is, theology and philosophical proofs, they tore apart those intricately woven teachings like spider webs, and with the word of truth they defended God’s Church from all heretical attacks. For philosophy, if used according to the right and true reason of Divine Scripture, is so consistent with God’s truth, as the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church teaches, that it can in no way be overcome by any verbal heretical intricacies. And if it is used in a false, unjust and contrary way to the Holy Scripture and the Church of God, according to the wisdom of evil heretics, then it becomes completely contrary to God’s truth and, as holding on to a lie, is very easily defeated by the true evidence of the Holy Fathers. So, in order to read schismatic books, the one who reads them must be not uninvolved in both theological and external teaching, in order to be able, with such a teaching given by God, as with a two-edged sword, to separate in schismatic books the lies from the truth, their corrupt teaching from the right church teaching, and to follow the church [teaching], and to sweep away the corrupted; also to guide your neighbor to the right church teachings, and to turn away from schismatic errors. And for those who do not know these God-given sciences, it is better, in order to avoid harm from reading schismatic books, to obey God and the commandment of the Church, which says: do not read the books of heretics and do not talk with them. If someone has some doubts about the traditions of the Catholic Church, and he does not listen to its commands, for example, he crosses himself with two fingers, does not trust some other church provisions and does not want to submit to them, then does such a person have hope for his salvation (at least for good deeds) or not? And is it possible for a priest to allow such people during confession and to honor them with the communion of the Holy Mysteries, or is this in any case contrary to the truth? Confirm, for God's sake, our now wavering thoughts. In response to this question of yours, it would not be indecent to tell you about one incident that happened with me in 1746, when I came to one, not far from the Seret River, located and inhabited by Russian-speaking monks, the monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called Polyana. And in the desert not far from her there lived four schismatic monks, whom Hieromonk Hosea convinced to leave the schism and all their customs that disagreed with the Church, to come to church communion and to submit to the Church in everything, so that, like her true children, they would have a firm hope of salvation. They promised to accept all the traditions of the Church and submit to all its customs, but only so that the Church would allow them to be baptized with two fingers. And they could in no way agree to the tripartite fold (when they cross themselves by folding the first three fingers). Hieromonk Hosea, seeing their unyielding intention, firmly promised them to ask for them from church officials for this indulgence, permission and blessing, if only they would obey the Holy Church in all other church traditions and customs. Without a doubt, believing his promises, they left their home and, arriving at the monastery, began to build cells for themselves. Leaving the robes of schismatic monks, they dressed like monks, in accordance with church customs, and often asked Hosea to fulfill his promise, but he put it off for the time being. During the Lent of the Holy Apostles 9, at their earnest request, he went with them to the capital Moldavian city of Iasi to the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church. At that time, His Holiness Patriarch Sylvester of Antioch, a holy man and filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and Metropolitan Nicephorus the Greek, also a wise man, were in Iasi. Having placed the monks before them, Hosea told in detail how he exhorted them to church communion and that they, without any doubt, agree with all the traditions and customs of the Church and curse all their errors that are contrary to it, but they ask for only one thing and with tears beg the Holy Church for leniency to allow them to use the double-fingered addition for baptism, and then they will enter into communion with the Church with the deepest spiritual peace. But there is not even the slightest hope that they will abandon their two-fingered constitution, agree to tripartite and, according to the apostolic tradition, begin to be baptized with three fingers, and they in no way want this. Having completely understood everything regarding them, His Holiness the Patriarch and His Eminence the Metropolitan told them: – If you are approaching the Catholic Church with all your soul, then it would behoove you to accept all the apostolic traditions and all church customs, right down to the very last, without any doubt and with sincere faith. And the Holy Church, as her beloved children, would with great joy accept you into communion with her. You do not accept all the apostolic traditions and church customs, but firmly and unshakably stand on your self-invented, God, the Holy Church and the apostolic traditions, the opposite and stubborn folding of two fingers for the sign of the Holy Cross, by no means accepting the apostolic tradition of being baptized by the first three, as from the days of the apostles until now and until the end of the century all Orthodox Christians in the entire Catholic Church they did, do, and will do without any change. You do not want to submit to the Holy Church with a tripartite constitution, but ask and pray that she will accept you into communion with your double-digitated constitution, but this is by no means impossible. For how can it be that in one and the same Catholic Church there exist two customs that disagree with each other and are contrary to each other, and that the same Christians do not impose on themselves the sign of the Holy Cross in the same way? After all, there must be one way of baptism - either with two fingers, or with three, and how in this case will there be agreement between Christians, and isn’t it clear that there will be schism and strife between them? Therefore, the Church of God will by no means accept you into communion with your two-fingered constitution. For if she had accepted you with your two-fingered constitution, she would thereby have caused a schism throughout Greece and in all other Orthodox lands, similar to what the ignoramuses, contrary to God, created in Russia. But may the Holy Church not become the culprit of the schism! So be firmly convinced that the Church of God cannot accept you in any way, coming to it with such a proposal, and we ask you not to bother us any more about this, since fulfilling your request is an impossible thing. Go home and no longer live in the monastery where you are now, for there can be no communication between Orthodox monks and people who disobey the Church. Having heard such an answer from His Holiness the Patriarch and His Grace the Metropolitan, they left and, returning to the monastery, were greatly offended by Hieromonk Hosiya, who had deceived them with his promise. Then, having reproached him with the last words, they returned to the schismatics in their former home. From here, understand, lovers of Christ, that if God’s Church did not accept into communion such schismatic monks who accepted all the apostolic traditions and customs of the Holy Church, simply because they did not abandon the double-fingered constitution, but rejected them as disobedient, then how could it accept into communion those about whom you asked me your question with their rebellion and resistance? After all, they have some doubts about the traditions of the Catholic Church, do not listen to its commands, crossing themselves with two fingers, do not trust certain church provisions and do not want to submit to them! It is absolutely impossible for this to happen! Are you asking about them whether they have hope of salvation, at least for their good deeds, or not? And is it possible for the priest to allow such people to confess and grant them the sacrament of the Holy Mysteries, or is this, in any case, contrary to the truth? And please ask me to clarify this issue for you. To this I will answer you that I distinguish between two types of schismatics. The former themselves are in schism, and the latter, with their God-fighting teaching, tearing them away from the Church, lead to schism. This second schismatic, even if he had done all the good deeds, even if he had shed his blood as a martyr for Christ (which incomparably surpasses all good deeds), [then still] would not be able to atone for this mortal sin - schism, even with his martyrdom, shed blood for Christ. And if he cannot atone for his schism even with the blood of martyrdom, then where will he have hope for salvation, and how will the priest be able to resolve it in confession without a true appeal to the Church and make him worthy of the sacrament of the Holy Mysteries? This is completely impossible, since it will be in every possible way contrary to the truth of God and the Holy Church. Your fourth question (which I do not quote here verbatim, but only its meaning) was this: There is an oath, that is, an anathema, long ago collectively proclaimed by the Eastern Patriarchs against those who oppose the Conciliar Church, against those who cross themselves with two fingers or in some other way resist and do not submit to the Church. Did any Eastern Council resolve this anathema or not? And is it possible for some bishops to take this oath without a council, without the consent and will of the Eastern Patriarchs? And if such an anathema cannot be allowed to any bishop without the Eastern Patriarchs and it is not canceled by them, then will not some Christians die in resistance and unrepentance - alas for us! under this Council anathema? And is it appropriate for the church to commemorate such Christians? Do not deprive us of explanations on these issues. This oath, that is, the anathema against those who oppose the Conciliar Church, against those who cross themselves with two fingers or in some other way resist and do not submit to the Church, conciliarly proclaimed by the Eastern Patriarchs, will remain firm, unshakable and insoluble not only until some time, but until the end of the world. And you also ask: did any Eastern Council resolve this anathema or not? What kind of council could such a council be? Would it not be contrary to God and the Church, as the godless heretical councils were, if it met to refute the truth and affirm lies? But there will never be such an evil council in the Church of Christ! You ask: is it possible for some bishops to take this oath without a council, without the consent and will of the Eastern Patriarchs? It's absolutely impossible. There is no disorder with God, says the apostle, but peace 10. Know firmly that all bishops, during their ordination, accept the same supernatural grace of the All-Holy Spirit and must, like the apple of their eye, preserve both the pure and immaculate Orthodox Faith, as well as all the apostolic traditions, the rules of the Holy Apostles, all Ecumenical and Local Councils and God-bearing Fathers, which are contained by the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. And from the same Most Holy Spirit they received the power to knit and decide according to the order that the Holy Spirit legitimized in His Church through the Holy Apostles and God-bearing Fathers. As the holy Supreme Apostle Peter said to Clement, his disciple and Roman bishop: “You will bind what should be bound and loose what should be allowed” 11. But the bishops did not accept the power to destroy apostolic traditions and church rules from the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is by no means impossible for either the bishops or the Eastern Patriarchs to authorize this anathema on the opponents of the Catholic Church, as correctly laid down in accordance with the Holy Councils. Because it would be against God and the Holy Church if anyone attempted to authorize such a conciliar anathema. Again you ask: If this anathema cannot be resolved by some bishops without the Eastern Patriarchs, then can it be resolved by these Patriarchs? It is impossible not only for any bishops without the Eastern Patriarchs, but also with them, it is impossible to resolve this anathema, as I have already said enough about this. And since such an anathema is eternally insoluble, you ask: will not some Christians die in opposition and unrepentance - alas for us! under this Council anathema? There are three things I don't understand about this question of yours. First: “certain of the Christians.” Second: “Will they not die in resistance and unrepentance under this Council anathema?” Third: “woe for us!” Firstly, I don’t understand what kind of Christians are they who oppose the Catholic Church without any repentance?! After all, such people are not worthy to be called Christians, but according to the righteous court of the church they are called schismatics. For true Christians obey the Divine Church in everything. Secondly, I don’t understand your question: “Will they not die in resistance and unrepentance under this Council anathema?” How are supposed Christians, remaining unrepentant in their constant disobedience to the Conciliar Church, not going to die under this Conciliar anathema? Are they immortal that you don't know if they will die? And as such, they will not die a double death, being mortal, and even under the church anathema - spiritual death (although the soul is immortal) and physical, just as countless darkness of people have already died without repentance under this conciliar anathema and are constantly still dying. Likewise, those imaginary Christians, if with all their hearts and with all their souls do not turn to the Church of Christ with true repentance, then they will certainly die under the above-described conciliar anathema. And thirdly, I am surprised at your words: “woe for us!” Because these words of yours make me think: aren’t you yourself those “certain Christians” who unrepentantly oppose the Church, and that is why you fear and tremble before the anathema conciliarly imposed on such heretics by the Conciliar Church, and therefore you diligently inquire about it, whether some eastern council resolved it or not, and, fearing to die under such an anathema and unable to endure the incessant remorse of conscience, with Do you cry out in pity: “Woe is us!”? If you are true immaculate Orthodox Christians and children of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, in everything, as the mother who gave birth to you with Holy Baptism, obeying her and being baptized according to the tradition of the holy apostles with the first three fingers of the right hand, and on behalf of others, and not on your own, you ask me, then this anathema does not apply to you, and, therefore, is by no means appropriate for you, not on your own those who ask me, utter such a pitiful word about themselves: “woe for us!” These are the considerations that led me to this opinion about you. In order to eradicate it from my soul, I ask you, taking this opportunity, to confirm to me exactly what your confession is. For we cannot have any communication with those who oppose the Holy Church and cross ourselves with two fingers, but only with Orthodox Christians, who in everything, without any doubt, obey the Church of God. And at the end of this question you ask: “Is it appropriate for the church to commemorate such Christians?” You ask whether it is appropriate for the Church to commemorate those who resist the Conciliar Church and do not submit to it, and who in their opposition and unrepentance die under the conciliar anathema. Believe me, the church commemoration of such people is not only inappropriate, but will be completely contrary to God and the Holy Church, and the priest who dares to do this sins mortally. The most important part of the remembrance of the dead is the Selfless Sacrifice, offered on behalf of living and deceased Christians. And the Church of God prohibits those who are clearly sinning and unrepentant from offering the Bloodless Sacrifice until they completely renounce their sin and truly repent. If the Holy Church forbade the Bloodless Sacrifice to be offered on behalf of a clearly sinning unrepentant Orthodox Christian, who is capable of repenting if he wants, then will she allow the Bloodless Sacrifice to be offered on behalf of the deceased without any repentance in his opposition to the Holy Church and under a conciliar oath [imposed] for this, and no longer having hope of repentance? Let this not happen! Saint Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonia, testifies to the fact that it is not appropriate for an obvious sinner to partake of the Divine Mysteries and that the Bloodless Sacrifice cannot be performed on him, saying: “Here 12 there is no place for infidels and other-wise people. What communication is there between light and darkness? 13 For, says the Lord, the angels will take away the wicked from among the righteous 14 . Therefore, the priest should not at all offer particles for a non-Orthodox person or perform a memorial for him. It is also impossible to offer particles for those who clearly sin and live unrepentantly: because the offering serves them to condemnation, just as communion serves as condemnation to those who partake of the terrible Mysteries without repentance, as the divine Paul said 15 "16. “How should we [dispose of] gifts and for whom should we bring particles? [Priests] should not, for the sake of sacrifice, accept offerings from believers who are clearly sinning, but [are obliged] first to seek repentance [from them], since [participants] partake of the offered particle. And it is not appropriate for the unworthy to partake of this Sacrifice” 17. “[About] that it is proper for a priest to pay attention to whom he is offering a particle for. But just as useful is it when there is an offering for those who are worthy, it is just as harmful [when] there is an offering for those who have all sorts of human shortcomings. After all, a particle brought for someone is placed near the Divine Bread. And when there is a sacred rite over Him, then she immediately partakes of the holy thing. And when placed in the chalice, it also connects with the Blood. Therefore, it sends grace to the soul for which [this particle] was brought. And this is how spiritual communion happens. And if those who partake (even those who have sinned but repented) have reverence, then invisibly, as [already] said, the human soul receives communion of the Spirit. And often [the person] receives benefits for the body. If someone commits a sin and does not abstain from it at all, then for him, unfit for communion, the sacrifice [made] for him will be condemned. Therefore, the priest must be careful not to accept an offering from anyone who wants it. And do not bring [gifts] for those who sin unbridledly, lest he himself be condemned along with them” 18. “[As it should be] to offer particles from other prosphoras for the saints and for the faithful who brought them. And [what is appropriate] to try to offer particles for each rank of saints and for everyone together, and for each of the believers who offer, with the exception of those who clearly break the law and sin. Because instead of faces there are particles that bring. And they experience spiritual communion with Christ. Therefore, one should not accept offerings from those who clearly sin and do not abstain..." 19. “Liturgies occur when they stop sinning and sincerely repent, since the particle offered for the sinner will be condemned. So he who receives communion unworthily eats and drinks as a punishment to himself, 20 says Paul. Likewise, he who offers unworthily will be condemned for not abstaining from sin, even if he celebrates a feast for God or His saints” 21 . Up to this point, the words of Saint Simeon, or better yet, the Holy Catholic Church, for in accordance with its conciliar mind, the saint says what he says. And from his words one must conclude that it is by no means appropriate for the Church to commemorate those who died without repentance in opposition to the Holy Church under the Council’s anathema. For they, as obvious and unrepentant opponents of God and the Holy Church, are many times worse than Orthodox Christians who clearly sin and do not repent, on whose behalf the Holy Church forbids to offer the Bloodless Sacrifice. And whoever dares to commemorate those under anathema will be mercilessly punished for this by Christ God on the day of His Last Judgment. Is it possible for someone who died in a schism with the Church to be buried and commemorated in a churchly manner, as befits a Christian, or is it by no means impossible because of his unbelief? In your third and fourth questions, you do not call schismatics, but certain Christians who resist the Holy Church and do not listen to her commands, that is, those who cross themselves with two fingers and die in such resistance and unrepentance, and even under church anathema. In your fifth question, you openly and openly ask about someone who died in schism, as if this [person] is incomparably more wretched than those named above, whom we in no way distinguish from schismatics. Why is this one who died in schism worse than “certain Christians”? Wasn’t it because of them that there were such schisms as Christism, burners and buryers, whom we no longer call schismatics, but completely godless people. But, regardless of what schism the person you are asking me about the possibility of commemorating and burying may be from, I will give you as an answer an excerpt from the letter of His Holiness Patriarch Macarius of Antioch to His Holiness Patriarch Nikon of All Rus'. “From the beginning of faith, we received from the Holy Apostles, Holy Fathers and Holy Seven Councils the tradition of performing the sign of the Holy Cross with the first three fingers of the right hand. And one of the Orthodox Christians who does not be baptized in the way that, according to the tradition of the Eastern Church, we have kept from the first days to this day, is a heretic and an imitator of the Armenians. And therefore we consider such to be separated from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and cursed.” This is the answer of His Holiness the Patriarch, or better yet, of the entire Holy and Catholic Church, for all His Holiness Patriarchs answer only according to general advice and determination. See, therefore, the meaning of this answer: if any of the Orthodox Christians does not perform the sign of the Holy Cross on himself, according to the tradition of the Holy Apostles, with the first three fingers of his right hand, then for this very reason he is a heretic and an imitator of the Armenians, and for this he is excommunicated by the Holy Church from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and is cursed. And I ask you: is not the one who died in the schism that you write about exactly the same as the one who is not baptized with the first three fingers of his right hand, whom the Holy Church calls a heretic and an imitator of the Armenians and considers excommunicated from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and cursed? And if he, who died in schism, is the same as someone who was not baptized with the first three fingers, then judge for yourself: how can such people be buried and commemorated in a church manner, as befits a Christian? I can’t say anything more about this thing, clearer than the sun. Some priests, indulging human self-will, baptize, confess and marry according to the old Trebnik and, contrary to church traditions, please the schism. For this reason, is there any crime of the law or an obstacle to the action and performance of the Church Sacraments? Because now many church (that is, spiritual) and worldly people, being in a certain conceit and self-deception, have been deceived and [dare] to do this, and because of this we are in great sorrow, temptation and doubt. Such priests as schismatics sin mortally before God more than people-pleasers, whose bones God scattered 22. For, indulging in human self-will, against church traditions, pleasing the schism and opposing the commands of the Holy Church, they dare to perform the Church Sacraments according to the old Breviary. So, if they do not repent before God with all their hearts and do not stop doing this thing that is contrary to the Holy Church, then they will be ashamed on the day of God’s Last Judgment, since God Himself will humiliate them. If these priests (in the case, of course, that they are true Christians, ordained by an Orthodox bishop and with faith and love accept the corrected church books) for the reasons described above (that is, indulging in human self-will) and other reasons, perform the Holy Sacraments even according to the old Breviary, then these Sacraments are perfect, and it is not appropriate to doubt this. But they themselves, like the seducers of many souls of ordinary Christians, if they do not repent, then they will be guilty of God’s terrible condemnation. For if anyone, according to the word of the Lord, seduces one of these little ones who believe in Him, he will not eat, and the millstone of the village will fall on his neck, and he will drown in the depths of the sea 23. And those who seduce so many Orthodox Christians, won’t they fall under God’s much more terrible condemnation? After all, the priests, appointed by the Holy Church as shepherds and teachers of the verbal flock of Christ of the Orthodox Christian people, it is fitting, obeying her in everything, as their true mother, to use the corrected Breviary for the performance of the seven Sacraments, and not to serve in opposition to the Church to the great sorrow and temptation of the Christian people according to the old Breviary, abandoned along with other old books due to countless sins. It is also appropriate for them, with all their souls, in word, deed and thought, to withdraw and withdraw from communication with schismatics and to exhort others with tears to this and teach them to avoid, like mortal poison, all communication and conversation with schismatics, as with obvious enemies of God, capable of betraying their souls to eternal death 24. And for this instruction of the Christian people they would be worthy to receive reward from Christ God on the day of His righteousness according to the deeds of retribution. Can any Sacraments, that is, baptism, confession, weddings and other church actions, be performed by priests who have broken away from the Church and from their bishops and live with schismatics, or will they in no way be grace-filled? Deign to inform us about this too, for the sake of catholic truth itself. Priests who have excommunicated themselves from the Church and from their bishops and live with schismatics are one with them and together with them they blaspheme the Holy Orthodox Faith, the entire Church of God, the Most Holy Mysteries of Christ (that is, the Most Holy Body and His Most Holy Blood) and all other Church Sacraments, the entire bishop and priestly rank. These priests, because of their excommunication from the Church and from their bishops, because of their departure into schism and their blasphemies, are unworthy to be called priests, but there are false priests, or rather, non-priests, for such are excommunicated from the Holy Church, alien to it, expelled from the priestly rank by their own bishops and anathematized by the entire Catholic Church. So how can they perform the Holy Church Sacraments or how will they be performed by them? This is by no means impossible. The Holy Spirit does not act in the Church Sacraments through such obvious opponents of God, for they are bound not only by their bishops, but also by the entire Catholic Church. And how strong the bishop’s prohibition can be understood from the following case. The shrine of a certain holy martyr, standing in the holy altar, at the deacon's exclamation: Come forth, the catechumens, 25, with the help of the invisible power of God, came out of the church, remained on the church porch until the dismissal and again entered the church and stood in its usual place. This happened because this martyr was bound by his elder for disobedience. And when the elder came and gave him permission, immediately from that hour the cancer stopped coming from the church, but stood motionless in its place in the altar. Oh, how strong are divine obedience and prohibition for disobedience, that the blood of this martyr, the elder’s disciple, shed for Christ, could not resolve the elder’s prohibition, if the elder who bound him had not resolved it! If the prohibition of this elder, who was not a bishop, but a simple monk, is so strong that even martyrdom’s blood could not resolve it, then how much stronger is the bishop’s prohibition! For only the apostles and their successors - the bishops - are given from Christ God the same grace of the All-Holy Spirit to bind and decide, as was given to the disciples and apostles of the Savior, who said to them: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven 26 . So, those priests, bound by their bishops, are forever bound both on earth and in heaven and, as cast out by their own bishops, they have become alien to the grace of the priesthood and all priestly rites and cannot perform a single Sacrament of the Church, unless they dare to perform any of the church actions to desecrate them, to the eternal destruction of their souls and to the temptation of the people who follow them. Orthodox priests, righteously conciliarly deposed from the priesthood for great sins, are placed in the place of the laity to participate in church prayer and receive communion of the Divine Mysteries. And if such people dare to serve the Divine Liturgy or perform other Church Sacraments, then, like rotten members, they are completely cut off from the fullness of the faithful, as the twenty-eighth Rule of the Holy Apostles says about this, which I translated into Slavic from the Greek Book of Rules. Twenty-eighth Rule of the Holy Apostles: If any bishop or presbyter or deacon were deposed, having been more righteous for obvious sins, he would dare to touch the services that were once entrusted to him, he will by no means be cut off from the Church 27. “He who has been deposed in a legal manner, if he again touches the divine sacraments, must be completely excommunicated. Whoever, after the eruption that followed for sufficient reasons for obvious crimes, again touches the divine service, is, like a rotten member, completely cut off from the church” 28. In the book of Rules printed in Moldavian, I found one question and answer suitable for answering your seventh question. “Question from Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Can a priest ordained by a deposed bishop serve or not? Answer of our venerable father Theodore the Studite. Just as a wild tree cannot bear good fruit, so a bishop without a gift from above cannot become priests, since he does not have a bishop. And without it, he cannot give the priesthood. If he ordains someone, then he should not serve the Liturgy and should not perform any priestly rites, since he remained a layman, as before. For that bishop, not having the gift of the Most Holy Spirit, cannot give it to the one whom he ordains. After all, he is deposed because he has created evil and lawlessness and is a simple monk. A person, having a certain thing, can present it because he has it. And if he doesn’t have it, how will he give it? Think in the same way about the deposed bishop.” From the above rule and from this answer it clearly follows that priests righteously deposed on the basis of the Rules become simple laymen and non-priests. And if, after their eruption, they dare to perform sacred acts, then for their obstinacy and shamelessness they are cut off from the Church itself, like rotten members. For being unable to perform any of the Sacraments of the Church, as alien and unparticipated in the Graces of the priesthood, they dared to laugh at them with their service contrary to God. If priests who are properly deposed and bound by their bishops dare to serve and perform the Church Sacraments after their ejection, and they are performed, then it turns out that they are no longer bound, but are free, and the bishop’s prohibition has no force and is ineffective. In this case, the all-true words of the Self-Truth of Christ the Savior, who said: If you bind anyone on earth, they will be bound in heaven 29. But Christ Himself, our true God, says: Heaven and earth will pass away: but My words will not pass away 30 . Therefore, the bishop’s binding, according to the Lord, is strong and strong, and those bound by the bishops and those expelled by them cannot at all perform any sacred rites, being bound by the inviolable bonds of the bishop’s prohibition. Is it possible to bury and commemorate a Christian who suddenly died from drinking wine in a Christian manner? You write that many of your priests do not bury those who suddenly died from heavy drinking, as Christians should, and do not commemorate them, classifying them among suicides and those who hanged themselves. And ask me to clarify this issue to you, for the sake of love and benefit for Christians, and resolve it according to the Rules of the Church. I strongly wanted to resolve this bewilderment of yours according to the Sacred Rules, but due to my lack of skill I could not find anything in them regarding your question and therefore I am at a loss as to how to answer you. At the services of two memorial Saturdays - the Meat Saturday and the one preceding Pentecost Sunday, at which all Orthodox Christians are remembered, many types of sudden deaths are mentioned that Christians die, commemorated by the Catholic Church, which prays to God for the salvation of their souls. The same image of death - sudden death during a drinking binge - is not remembered. And from this we can conclude that the Holy Church does not pray for such people and, I think, that it is about them that the Holy Spirit speaks through His chosen vessel 31: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God; Do not flatter yourselves; neither harlots, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor defilers, nor harlots, nor sodomites, nor covetous people, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor molesters, nor predators, will inherit the Kingdom of God 32 . For the one who suddenly died from drinking too much without confessing his sins, without repentance and without Communion of the Terrible Mysteries of Christ, is he not himself to blame for his death? After all, if he had drunk wine abstinently and little by little, he would not have died such a terrible and terrible unexpected death without any preparation befitting Christians for his departure from this life. And since he did not want to abstain and, of his own free will, deviated into immeasurable wine drinking, and this resulted in his sudden death without any repentance, then he himself is the culprit of his own death, and such, as one thinks, is not far from a suicide. And that is why your priests do not dare to bury them according to Christian custom and make commemorations of them. And I pray your love not to be embarrassed about this, for this issue is under great doubt and full of perplexity. If someone could find a definition on this issue in the Sacred Rules, then no one would doubt it any more, but in full confidence would follow the definition of the Church. Is it possible for the priest to allow a humbly repentant person, due to his weakness, without imposing penance on him and to admit him to Communion of the Holy Mysteries, or is it impossible? This question of yours seems very unclear to me. It is not clear whether this person humbly repents of great sins or small ones? Does he have mental or physical weakness? But suppose his weakness is physical. If this bodily weakness of his is such that he is already approaching death and does not have time to bear penance for his sins, then, although he has great sins, and he humbly repents of them, the priest must absolve him from all sins without penance and commune the Holy Mysteries 33 . And if he is not in such weakness and can bear penance, then let the priest not allow him without penance, for it is the third part of the Sacrament of Repentance and it is not appropriate to leave it without fear of death. It is appropriate to explain in greater detail what penance is and how it is prescribed by the Catholic Church to all Orthodox Christians, both priests and non-priests. The sacred rules of the Holy Apostles, which Saint John of Damascus, the mouth of the entire Church, considers equal to the books of Divine Scripture, for the sins of all the sanctified 34 are cast out from all priestly degrees 35, and the laity are excommunicated from joint church prayer with the faithful and from the Communion of the Divine Mysteries. Our Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, based on these Sacred Rules of the Holy Apostles, through the Sacred Rules of the Holy Ecumenical and Local Councils and the Sacred Rules of our Great and God-Bearing Fathers, arranges in the following way the salvation and correction of all Orthodox Christians, both priests and non-priests. Those who are sanctified, that is, bishops, priests, deacons and other clergy, who have fallen into minor or major sins, are temporarily prohibited from serving in the priesthood for minor sins, and for major sins they are deposed until their death, and are not excommunicated from the Communion of the Divine Mysteries 36 . Monks and all lay Christians, for small sins for a short time, and great sins for many years, are excommunicated from the Communion of the Divine Mysteries. The Church of God does not at all determine the imposition of another rule or any penance for sins on the unsanctified, but only one prohibition to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And here's why. Ancient Christians throughout the entire Church of Christ for a very long time, starting from apostolic times, out of inexpressible and similar Seraphim-like fiery love for Christ the Savior, very often partook of His Holy and Divine Mysteries. When it happened to them, as humans, to fall into certain small or great sins, then, for a short or long time, depending on the sin, they were excommunicated from Divine Communion and from standing with the faithful in the Church and were in places of repentance designated by the Church. At first they stood in front of the church doors and, falling down with tears, begged all the faithful to pray to God for them, so that He would forgive them their sins. Then they were allowed to stand in the vestibule of the church and listen to church singing and readings, but they did not enter the church itself. Over time, they stood in the church behind the pulpit throughout the entire church rule, and during the Divine Liturgy they went out into the vestibule, after the reading of the Gospel, the deacon exclaimed: “The Catechumens, come forth,” and stood there until the very end of the Liturgy. Then they were honored to stand with the faithful, but did not partake of the Holy Mysteries. And when they were released from their penance, they were honored, as before the sin, to partake of the Divine Mysteries with faith and love. How did they behave during penance? They always sighed from the depths of their hearts, cried and sobbed, avoided and moved away from all evil, forced themselves to do every good deed and diligently fulfill the Gospel commandments. While other Christians received communion of the Most Pure Mysteries, they wholeheartedly considered themselves unworthy of Communion for their sins. The divine fire of the unbearable and unspeakable desire for Communion of the Divine Mysteries inflamed their souls and hearts, and with many tears they prayed to Christ God to grant them, who had passed the time of their repentance purely and immaculately by His Divine will, to partake, more than anything else in the world, of His coveted Most Holy and Most Pure Body, and the most desired and immortal Source of His Most Holy and Most Pure Blood. The Holy Spirit, as God foreseeing such true repentance of Christians excommunicated from communion, legitimized for a certain time in His Holy Church in the Sacred Rules not another rule or penance for sins, but only non-communion of the Holy Mysteries. It is appropriate to know that the Church has given the bishops the power, looking at the worthy fruits of repentance of those who repent, to partially reduce the periods of penance determined by the Sacred Rules. And Saint John the Faster, seeing the state of the Christians who were in his time and the many different feats and good deeds that a person could do of his own free will, is inclined, in order to help the repentant, to further reduce the periods of penance established by the Sacred Rules. And the entire Holy Church in the correction of sinners is now guided by his institutions. I also inform you that having carefully searched the Sacred Rules to see if there is some kind of penance for sins without excommunication from the Holy Mysteries, I found nothing. It’s scary to think what a terrible and terrible punishment the Church imposes on those who dare to immediately give communion to those who sin without prior excommunication from the Holy Mysteries and on those who receive communion without such penance, for she also likens those others to Judas the traitor! When at the Holy Proskomedia parts are taken out for the living or for the dead, do one part taken out for one person and one part taken out for many have equal benefit and power? We ask you to enlighten us on this matter as well. The particles taken at the Holy Proskomedia for the living and for the dead, having united with the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ, with His Body and Blood, immediately partake of the Holiness and Grace of the All-Holy Spirit and impart equal benefit and grace to those for whom they are offered - both one particle taken for one person, and one particle taken for many. And this is clear from the very rank of Proskomedia. After all, the priest, taking the fourth prosphora, offered for the entire priestly rite of the entire Church of Christ, takes away only one particle. Also, from the fifth prosphora he takes out only one particle for all the deceased Orthodox Christians. The Catholic Church believes and confesses that if one particle is offered at the Bloodless Sacrifice for all the living and for all the deceased Orthodox Christians, then this [offering] imparts to them the same benefit by the grace and holiness of the All-Holy Spirit as if one particle were offered for one Orthodox Christian. For the same omnipotent and omnipotent Grace of the All-Holy Spirit is not powerless to impart to one and many people the same benefit through one particle offered during the Bloodless Sacrifice. But someone can say that one piece of gold given for one person has greater power and benefit than one piece of gold given for many people, just as one piece of gold given to one person brings him greater benefit than one piece of gold given to many people, because a piece of gold divided into many parts cannot have equal power and create the same benefit as a whole coin, for many who divided one coin among themselves gold, they receive only a very small part from it. But this is how the golden nature works, and the grace that exceeds nature is not subject to such diminution, but remains superior to any diminution. Therefore, through one particle offered at the Bloodless Sacrifice, [the grace of God] supernaturally imparts the same benefit to one person and to many, and it is not fitting for us to doubt this. Is it permissible, by special desire and zeal, to ask a priest to take out particles at Proskomedia in honor of the memory of saints whose names a person wants to remember out of his love for them? And especially those whose names, according to the Service Book, are not remembered at the rank of Proskomedia? Is it possible to give for them out of zeal, so that these especially mentioned saints, in gratitude for this, will pray for us sinners? Although your question does not seem to you contrary to the Rite of the Holy Liturgy, in essence it is exactly that. After all, every single saint, although not all by name, is remembered by nine particles offered in their honor among all the ranks of Saints. And if a priest, asked by some lovers of Christ, at their request and zeal, would bring in honor of some Saints not mentioned in the Missal a few particles, in addition to the nine brought in honor of all the Saints, then, placing those particles next to three rows of three particles in each, he will create the fourth order of particles, assigned for the Saints, and all the particles will become twelve. And if he wants to put particles for many Saints on the paten, then he will have the fifth rank of particles, and he will have fifteen particles brought in honor of the Saints, since the particles taken out for the Saints should be placed next to other particles of the Saints, and not in some other place far from the nine particles that have been placed for the Saints since ancient times. And if the priest had dared to do this, then by doing so he would have ruined the rite of the Holy Liturgy, which from the beginning of the Faith and even to this day has been inviolably and unshakably observed by the grace of Christ throughout the entire Orthodox Church and would have introduced into the rite of the Holy Liturgy his own new, newly invented and hitherto unheard of rite. And such innovations usually result in various heresies and schisms, from which may Christ, the God of all, preserve the rights of those who believe in Him by His grace. And those who have faith and love for the Saints, let them be satisfied with the nine particles that have been taken from ancient times for all the Saints according to Church Tradition and do not seek that in honor of some Saints other particles besides those nine should be taken, but let them call on the powerful prayers of those Saints for the benefit and salvation of their souls and through their holy prayers they will find mercy and forgiveness of sins from God. Can one priest perform the Sacrament of Anointing or cannot he? Since we have such a custom that one priest performs this Sacrament with a deacon and a clergyman. The book “Orthodox Confession” says that this Sacrament must be performed by priests, and this is in accordance with the Divine Scripture, which commands: Does anyone hurt in you; let him call the Elders of the Church, and let him who anointed him with oil perform a prayer over him, in the name of the Lord 37 . Please note that he will call elders, and not just one priest, which is contrary to Holy Scripture and Church Tradition. And Saint Simeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, in his book, answered the question: “Is it possible for one priest to perform the Blessing of Anointing?” says the following: “It is not proper for a priest to perform the Blessing of Unction. Because the Apostle James says: let them call the elders of the Church 38, and not just one elder” 39. And it is appropriate for this rite to be preserved in this form, and just as a bishop is not ordained by one bishop, so the Blessing of Anointing is not performed by one presbyter. Why do seven elders participate in the Blessing of Anointing? And why is it often only three, due to a lack of priests? The Brother of God does not speak about the number, but it is customary to call seven, I think, in accordance with the seven-fold number of the gifts of the Spirit, counted in Isaiah 40. Or according to the number of the seven priests of the Old Law, who sounded the trumpet seven times around Jericho at God’s command, and thereby overthrew its walls 41, and the elders will destroy this evil city of sin and the cruel walls of its heaps. Or maybe because, imitating the prophet Elisha, who bowed down seven times and prayed seven times over the son of a Somanite woman, 42 the priests, having prayed seven times, must raise up a soul dead from sin. I also remember Elijah, who prayed seven times and opened the sky, which was closed with sins, and brought down the rain from it 43 . These too, having prayed the same number of times and opening Heaven, like Peter, with the key of grace, will bring God’s mercy of remission of sins to a soul parched in sins like rain. This is the meaning, I think, in our case of the number seven. Some, where there are not enough priests, call only three priests, and this does not need to be condemned, because, firstly, this is for the sake of the power of the Trinity, and then - in remembrance and testimony and preaching of the Trinity, which once happened through Elijah, when he raised the dead son of the Sarathite, praying three times and prostrating himself three times over him. Some collect more than seven, as evidence of greater faith and zeal. But it is not appropriate to delve too deeply into the study of number, since nothing is written about it [in Scripture]. However, although it is not written, the ancient Tradition must be observed, and let there be seven [priests], since this is an ancient custom, and in case of need, less than three, but everything must be pronounced that is traditional to be pronounced, because all paternal [traditions] are from the Spirit. Let the presbyter alone not perform the consecration of oil, since it is written about a bishop that he is not ordained by one [bishop], and about the consecration of anointing, that it is not performed by one priest” 44 . Until now, the words of Saint Simeon, which I translated from a Greek book. It is clear from them that it is not appropriate for a priest to perform the Sacrament of Anointing. And if there is a need, then at least three priests must perform this Sacrament. In one Slavic book I found that, if necessary, this Sacrament can be performed by two priests, but in Greek books there is no such thing. And that's enough about that. How can we be saved while living in peace with our wives and children? Who can encompass in a short word everything related to the salvation of the soul?! I give you only one piece of advice: read very diligently the Divine Scripture and the teaching of our Holy and God-bearing Fathers, to whom it is given by the grace of the Most Holy Spirit to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the true meaning of the Divine Scripture. In the teaching of these Fathers, enlightened by the Spirit, there are completely and without any deficiency various teachings necessary for the salvation of the soul, instructing every person who wants to be saved to strive and strive for every good and pleasing to God deed, and to withdraw from and avoid every evil and contrary to God. With faith and love, with the fear of God, with attention and understanding, diligently and diligently reading their teachings, you will always have instruction in every good and necessary deed for salvation. And I, since in your question you and I, the last one, are looking for instructions for the salvation of your souls, I answer that the Most Merciful God will save the souls of Orthodox Christians through the Orthodox Faith, good deeds and His grace. The Orthodox Faith is the one that contains the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Eastern Church, and it is by no means impossible for anyone to be saved without it. And good deeds are the commandments of the Gospel, without which, as without the Orthodox Faith, it is by no means possible for anyone to be saved. The Orthodox Faith without good deeds is dead, 45 and good deeds without the Orthodox Faith are also dead. Anyone who wants to be saved must combine the Orthodox Faith with good deeds and vice versa. And so a person is worthy of salvation through the grace of Christ the Lord, which promotes his good deeds, who said: For without me you cannot do anything 46. It is necessary to know that Christ the Savior, our True God, Who wants all mankind to be saved and to come into the mind of truth, 47 bequeathed good deeds, that is, His soul-saving Gospel commandments, equally to all Orthodox Christians - both monks and laymen living in the middle of the world with their wives and children. And from all Orthodox Christians He asks and demands the fulfillment of His Divine Gospel commandments, and those who transgress them and do not repent of this will not be able to be justified during His Last and Second Coming, since His Holy commandments are carried out not by bodily labor, but only by the good will of the soul. The yoke of His Holy Commandments is good, and the burden of doing them is easy, 48 since their fulfillment does not depend on bodily labor, but on the will of the soul. All Orthodox Christians, male and female, of all ages and ranks, young and old, healthy and lying on their beds with various ailments, infirm and elderly, can very easily fulfill Christ’s commandments by willfulness and humility of the soul and, through this, be saved. And therefore, those who transgressed the Gospel commandments and did not repent during the Last and Second Coming of the Righteous Judge Christ God will be condemned to eternal torment along with demons. Fulfilling the commandments of the Gospel, especially the general ones, is so necessary for salvation that if one of them is not fulfilled, the soul will not be saved. These are love for God and one’s neighbor, meekness and humility, peace with everyone, patience, from the heart to forgive one’s neighbor’s sins, not to judge anyone, not to have hatred for anyone, to love one’s enemies, to the extent possible to give alms to one’s neighbor, both spiritual and physical, and with all zeal to force oneself to do all the other commandments of Christ written in the Holy Gospel. And most of all, love God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your thoughts 49 , and your neighbor as yourself 50 , and, imitating Christ’s meekness, stand until you bleed, struggling against the passion of anger 51 . And how necessary it is for us to have peace with everyone, we learn from how often Christ the Lord said to His Saints, disciples and apostles: Peace be with you 52. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you 53. For where the peace of Christ is, there He also abides. But in the soul, not having the peace of Christ in Himself, He does not live. We definitely need patience for salvation, because in patience, says Christ, win your souls 54. And the acquisition of a soul is nothing other than its salvation. One must endure not only until a certain time, but until death; he who endures to the end will be saved 55. If someone from the heart forgives his neighbor for his sins, God also forgives him all his sins 56 . He who does not condemn his neighbor will not himself be condemned by God 57. And who can count all the Gospel commandments, which everyone who wants to be saved must, like the apple of his eye, keep and observe? Humility, which is the basis of all the Gospel commandments, is as necessary for salvation as breathing in a person’s life, since just as it is impossible to live without breathing, so it is impossible to be saved without humility. All saints were saved in different ways, but without humility no one was saved, and no one will ever be saved. Therefore, everyone who wants to be saved must, from the bottom of his heart, consider himself a sinner before God, dust and ashes, worse and more sinful than all people, consider himself last and lower than any of God’s creations, and always reproach himself before God in the secret of his heart and consider only himself guilty of any sin, and not someone else. Briefly speaking, you need to keep yourself before God day and night, and at all times, and at every hour, and think that you are a sinner. And thus, acting according to all God’s commandments and fulfilling them, humbling himself before God and often praying to Him in contrition of heart for the forgiveness of his sins, a person is granted God’s mercy, forgiveness of sins and the visitation of God’s grace, and thus, by the grace of God, saves his soul in full confidence and without any doubt. Orthodox Christians must also preserve and diligently observe the church commandments written in the “Orthodox Confession,” because their observance is absolutely necessary for salvation. The sacrament of repentance consists in truly repenting before God and retreating from one’s sins and having a firm determination, with God’s help, not to return to them. Next, you need to confess all your sins before your confessor, as if before God himself, and receive permission from him for your sins. Then accept from him for your sins the canon, or, in other words, penance, according to the order of the Church, that is, according to the Sacred Rules. I exhort you that your preparation for the Communion of the Divine Mysteries be carried out according to the rite of the Holy Church, which means with pure confession, with fasting and tenderness, with perfect reconciliation with all people and listening on set days, according to Christian custom, to the entire church rule. And so that those who do not have penance, which prohibits communion, begin to partake of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ with fear and trembling, with faith and love and due worship to God alone for the remission of sins and eternal life. And about arranging household chores, how to behave with your wife and children, and about all other Christian duties, you can find comprehensive instructions by reading with attention and the fear of God the teachings of St. John Chrysostom and other saints, illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit. So, with God’s help, the end of my answers to your questions has come, which I gave at your request, or better yet, at your diligent prayer, and even more accurately, at your compulsion, with which you forced me and who did not want (due to my ignorance and feeble-mindedness) to dare to do this. Without relying on my meager reason, I bow it before the conciliar reasoning of the Holy Church, which I, as true, follow in everything and will follow by Christ’s grace until my last breath, although I am a sinful son of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. You, lovers of Christ, who asked me your questions, forgive me, a sinner, for the fact that I was unable, at your request, due to my lack of skill, to create answers to all your questions and resolve all your perplexities according to the Sacred Rules, since in response to not all your questions I was able to find the Rules appropriate to them. When accepting these answers to your questions, read them carefully, and if you find in them anything consistent with Holy Scripture and right Church reason, then follow it. And if in my answers I, as a person, made a mistake in some way, then you do not follow my sin, but in everything adhere to the right reason and reasoning of the Holy Catholic Church and will never sin. May the God of peace and love be with you, amen. The original Church Slavonic text of the answer to the first question was published in the book: “St. Paisiy Velichkovsky. Polemical works, teachings, letters." Foundation "Heritage of the Orthodox East". M, 2006. pp. 95–164. The original Church Slavonic text of the remaining thirteen answers to St. Paisiya, given below in Russian translation, was published there. pp. 50–90. Titus 3:10.* (Here and below, inaccurate and modified quotations from the Holy Scriptures are marked with *). Confession. pp. 62–63. This refers to the “Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the East” by Peter Mohyla. The link to the pages is from the publication: “Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the East.” Moscow, 1900. But the text of the “Confession” itself is not given from this edition, but in our translation of the Church Slavonic text of St. Paisia. It begins on Monday of the second week after Pentecost and continues until June 29 according to the old calendar (according to the current style - July 12) - the day of remembrance of the glorious and all-validated supreme apostles Peter and Paul. From the Greek book “Katallags”, page 65. (note by St. Paisius in the manuscript of the answers). We are talking about the book “Catallags” by the Patriarch of Jerusalem Dositheus (1669–1707). Katallagi, translated from Greek, means reconciliation. That is, in Divine Communion. (Note by St. Paisius in the manuscript of the answers). See: For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, without considering the Body of the Lord. 1 Cor. 11:29. Works of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica. St. Petersburg, 1856. P. 129. P. 282. (For this and the three subsequent quotations, we indicate the numbering according to the Yassky, 1683, edition of the works of Blessed Simeon of Thessalonica (in the original the book has a very long title), from which the Monk Paisius translated from ancient Greek, and from which we also translate into Russian, since these questions and answers are not in the Russian translations of the works of Blessed Simeon known to us). Wed: God of scattering the bones of people-pleasers. Ps. 52:6. Matt. 18:6 .* Sin.: But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea. Compare: And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear more than that, who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Matt. 10:28. An exclamation at the end of the Liturgy of the Catechumens, calling for the unbaptized and those under penance to leave the church. Compare: Rules of the Holy Apostles and Holy Fathers with interpretations. Pilgrim, 2000. P. 61. Wed. Rule 52 of the Holy Apostles: “If anyone, a bishop or presbyter, does not accept someone who is converted from sin, but rejects him: let him be expelled from the sacred rank. For this saddens Christ when he said: joy comes to heaven from the only sinner who repents (Luke 15:7).” There are three degrees of priesthood - deacon, priest, bishop. Dethronement from all degrees means that there is no “demotion” to the sacred degree of a sinner of a holder of any holy dignity: a priest deprived of his holy dignity does not become a deacon, and a bishop does not become a priest or deacon, but all deposed clergy become laity. Rule 25 of the Holy Apostles: “A bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, convicted of fornication, or perjury, or theft, may be deposed from the sacred rank, but may not be excommunicated from Church communion. For the Scripture says: avenge twice for one (Nahum. 3:9).” This is a paraphrase, not a translation. Translation of St. Paisiy gives below. See: ... and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety. Is. 11:2. Works of Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica. St. Petersburg, 1856. Pp. 363–364. St. Paisius adds the call to “stand until you bleed, struggling against the passion of anger” to the main commandment of love for God and neighbor, since, according to patristic teaching, the passion of anger is the opposite of love. OK. 24:36. In. 20:19; 20:21; 20:26. Wed: Judge not, lest ye be judged. Matt. 7:1.