НЕДЕЛЯ О РАССЛАБЛЕННОМ

Healing the paralytic at the sheep's font There was a pool in Jerusalem, which was called in Hebrew Bethesda, that is, the House of Mercy. It was remarkable because from time to time the Angel of the Lord descended into it and disturbed the water: and the sick person who entered the pool first after the Angel recovered immediately, no matter what his illness was. Once Jesus Christ was in Jerusalem during the Passover holiday. Passing by the bathhouse, He saw many sick people lying around it. There were lame, blind, and withered; each of them waited for the minute when the Angel stirred up the water so that he could be the first to enter it. Among the other patients, there was one who lay in relaxation for thirty-eight years. The Savior saw him, took pity on him and said to him: Do you want to be healthy? The sick man answered Him: I want, Lord, but I do not have a person who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled: when I come, another is already going down before me. Jesus said to him: Get up, take up your bed and walk (cf. John 5:6–8). The sick man immediately recovered, took up his bed and went. The Jews who were there were indignant and told the healed man that he should not take his bed, for it was a holiday. But he answered them: He who healed me said to me: take up your bed and walk (cf. John 5:11). “Who is That Man?” - they asked. But he didn't know; Jesus hid among the people. After some time, Jesus met this man in the church and said to him: Behold, you are now well; see that you sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you (cf. John 5:12–14). This is what we should all be trying to do when God delivers us from illness. During illness, we often ask God for help, and then, when we recover, we do not think about how to please Him; with the return of our strength, we forget about prayer and return to previous sins, instead of correcting ourselves and starting a new, more pious life. The fourth week after Easter is called the Week of the Paralytic, in memory of the miracle we talked about here. This week the following song is sung: “O Lord, raise up my soul, weakened by all kinds of sins and unrighteous deeds, by Your Divine power, as You once raised up the paralytic, so that I, saved by You, may sing: glory, O Christ, to Thy power.” Repentance and prayer are the best cure for our illnesses The words of the Savior to the paralytic healed at the Sheep's font: Behold, you are now well, see that you do not sin, lest anything worse happen to you (cf. John 5:14) - clearly indicate what a close connection exists between sin and our illnesses. Sinful passions are the first and main cause of our illnesses. If we lived in a Christian manner, with abstinence, in moderate work, if we conquered anger, envy, malice and other vices that diminish the days of human life, then we would achieve a painless old age. Therefore, Orthodox Christian, if illness befalls you, first of all seek healing and help for yourself from the one Physician of souls and bodies. Call Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you, says the Lord Himself through the mouth of the king and prophet David (Ps. 49:15). And how convenient it is for each of us! Without leaving home, without leaving bed, a sick person can call on the Lord for help, tell Him his illnesses, reveal his infirmities to Him. Do not doubt that you will be heard; The Heavenly Physician is always ready with His all-powerful help, just waiting for our call. Behold, I stand at the door and understand: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him (Apoc. 3:20), He says. The Lord is always at the door of our hearts and waits for the moment when we remember Him and open our hearts to Him. He, the Most Merciful, invisibly and at all times heals all those who come to Him with firm faith and sincere repentance for their sins. For this purpose, our Savior Jesus Christ appointed elders, whom He commanded to always receive on His behalf those who come to them for spiritual healing. If anyone is sick in you, the Apostle James teaches, let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him... And the prayer of faith will save the sick one (cf. James 5:14–15). So, if you, a believer in Christ and his mercy, suffer from bodily illnesses, invite a priest to you, tell him all your sins and, having received their remission through him, partake of the life-giving Mysteries of Christ for the healing of soul and body. How many cases are there in life when, after sincere repentance and acceptance of the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ, patients recover, to whom human medicine could not provide healing in their grave suffering! Here is one such case, which was told about by an Orthodox priest. In the city of Bratslav, the wife of a respectable official fell ill with fever. During her suffering, when she came to her senses, she often asked her family: “Did they invite the priest to visit and bless me?” So half a month passed; At this time, the priest prayed for the sick woman at every service. Doctors refused any treatment and sentenced her to death. And so a servant, sent by the sick husband, came to the church to the priest and asked him to hurry to the house to administer the Holy Sacraments of Repentance and Communion to his mistress. Arriving at the house, the priest first asked everyone to leave the room, and then, after listening to the patient’s sincere repentance for her sins, in the presence of everyone, he introduced her to the Holy Mysteries. Soon after this, the patient fell asleep, and when she woke up, she told everyone: “I feel better, I won’t die.” Indeed, she began to recover quickly, so that a month later, accompanied by her entire family, she came to the church and here, falling on her knees in front of the icon of the Savior, shed hot tears of gratitude. True, the Lord does not always work miracles in healing our bodily ailments, but can this keep us from turning to the path of life and light? Even if the illness, by the will of God, does not receive a favorable outcome, then Christian hope still gives strength of spirit, alleviating bodily suffering. So, beloved brother in Christ, beware of sin, as the most destructive poison for our lives. In the illnesses that befall you, seek first of all spiritual healing in repentance and Holy Communion. Recognize your sin, regret that you have offended the All-Good God with your vices, make a promise in your heart and before your confessor to correct yourself, and the Lord will forgive your sin. With the forgiveness of sins, the Lord can also grant you recovery. Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow Jesus will find him in the church and say to him: Behold, you are healthy, and do not sin, let it not be worse (John 5:14) This was said to a certain man in Jerusalem, near the Sheep's Pool, in a state of relaxation for thirty-eight years, who waited in vain for healing with water, which once a year for one sick person was made healing by the touch of angelic power, until finally the Lord of times, elements and Angels appeared and, without demanding either time, or water, or an Angel, healed the paralytic with the word: Arise, take up your bed and walk (Jn. 5:8). The healer did not have time to finish everything, because, escaping glory, he hastened to hide among the people. A few days later, probably on a holiday, the healed man came to the church, perhaps to thank God for his recovery. Then the Healer found him again and, as before in the word he gave him healing medicine, so now in the word he gives him protective medicine: Behold, you are healthy, do not sin, lest it be worse (John 5:14). If we heard a skilled doctor say to a patient he had cured, for example: “Don’t eat this or that food in the future,” what would we think? Of course, we would think: apparently, the healed person had previously consumed this food; she, apparently, was also the cause of the disease; Apparently, the doctor foresees that it will again cause illness if the cured person does not stop using it. Similar to this, what should we think when we hear the word of the Lord to the healed: Behold, you are healthy, let no one sin, lest it be worse (John 5:14)? Apparently, the healed one had previously sinned; Apparently, sins were the cause of his illness; it is clear that the Divine Physician foresees that renewed sins will renew evil in even greater force. Here we may ask: is the fate of only one person represented in the Gospel account of the paralytic, or is the general law of judgment of sin revealed at the same time, partly impressed in nature, partly brought into action by Providence, although not always obvious, not always quickly, not always equally according to the types, degrees and circumstances of sin? Who can measure the depth, explore the ways of God's destinies? Who will decide to recognize every sick person as a condemned person and every illness as a sign of guilt? The righteous Job also suffered from illness, and a very serious one at that. But one cannot help but admit that the severity of the judgment was only directed at one Jerusalem sinner for the sins of his youth, imprisoning him for thirty-eight years in the bonds of illness and threatening him with an even more severe lot for the possible sins of old age. The trace of a similar judgment is visible in the fate of another paralytic, healing whom the Lord said: your sins are forgiven you (Mark 2:5). It is obvious that, like a deeply wise doctor, He healed from illness by acting on the causes of the illness. Isn’t this what the apostolic word speaks of: sin entered into the world, and death by sin (Rom. 5:12)—the pattern of sin is death? For what is illness if not a branch of the tree of death, or a limited, incomplete intake of the potion of death? Consequently, along with death, illness also came along the road paved by sin, and therefore it is very natural if it still comes along the same road. During the time of St. John Chrysostom, the Monk Hierax labored in the deep desert for many years. One day the demons came to him visibly and said: “Elder! you will live another fifty years; Is it possible to endure for so long in this deserted desert? Get out of here! The elder answered them: “It’s a pity that I have so little time left to live in the world; and I had enough patience for another two hundred years.” At these words of Hierax, the demons disappeared... This means that the holy ascetic decided to endure all the sorrows, all the hardships of his desert life to the end. Apparently, he firmly remembered the words of the Savior: in your patience gain your souls (cf. Luke 21:19). He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). This is what presbyter Kronius told Palladius of Elenopolis about one ascetic named Eulogius. “This Eulogius was a very educated man; Having accepted monasticism, he, due to poor health, did not dare to join the hostel, but did not consider himself capable of solitary asceticism. Once he saw in the marketplace a crippled man who had neither arms nor legs; approaching him, he prayed like this: “Lord! in Your name I will take this unfortunate man and rest him until death, so that for his sake I too may be saved. Help me, Lord, to serve him!” After this, Eulogius brought a donkey, put the poor man on it and brought him to his home. For fifteen years Eulogius looked after him as if he were his own father; he washed it himself, rubbed it with oil himself, carried it in his arms, took care of it and rested it as best he could. But, apparently, it was necessary to test the patience of the ascetic even more, and so the enemy of all good taught the crippled man to revile and scold his benefactor in every possible way. In vain did Eulogius calm him down, in vain did he tell him: “Tell me, my friend, how did I upset you? I’ll fix it!” The crippled man did not want to listen to him and demanded that Eulogius again take him to the marketplace, where he took him. “I can’t stand your insidious caress,” said the unfortunate man, “this hungry life disgusts me, I want meat!” Eulogius immediately got him meat, but the crippled man did not calm down: “I’m bored of living with you, I want to see a lot of people.” Eulogius meekly answered him: “I will now bring to you as many brethren as you want.” “Oh, I’m miserable! - the crippled man shouted, - I can’t even look at you, and you want to bring here parasites like you! I don’t want, I don’t want, I want to go to the market!” Then Eulogius turned to neighboring ascetics for advice on what to do with the crippled man. They answered him: “The Great (that’s what they called St. Anthony) is still alive, go to him, and do whatever he tells you: through him God will speak to you.” Eulogius caressed the crippled man, put him in a boat and went with him to Anthony the Great. They arrived there late in the evening; the great elder then received everyone who came. And so he called out: “Evlogius, Eulogius, Eulogius!” But Eulogius thought that the elder was not calling him, but someone else, and therefore did not answer. “I’m telling you, Eulogius, who came here from Alexandria,” the elder told him. Then Eulogius approached the Monk Anthony. “Why did you come here?” - asked the old man. “Whoever revealed my name to you,” answered Eulogius, “He will also reveal my work.” “I know why you came,” says the Great Anthony, “but still tell your story so that the brethren can hear.” Eulogius told everything in order and asked for guidance. Then the great elder said to him in a stern voice: “Eulogius! You want to abandon him, but He who created him will not abandon him; you will throw him, and God will raise up one better than you and raise him up.” The obedient Eulogius listened in deep silence. Meanwhile, the elder turns to the crippled man and says loudly: “You, sinner, are unworthy of either earth or heaven! Will you stop rebelling against God and annoying your brother? Or don’t you know that Christ Himself serves you? How dare you speak against Christ? Doesn’t your brother serve you for Christ’s sake?” Then the elder turned to both of them together: “Stop quarreling, children, go home in peace; do not be separated from each other; God is already sending for you... Satan sees that you are both at the end of your feat, soon both of you will receive crowns from Christ: you for him, and he for you - that’s why he brought this temptation upon you. Go with God; if an Angel comes for you and does not find you both together, you will both lose your crowns.” There is no need to say that they reconciled with all their hearts, returned to their cell, and less than forty days passed before both, one after the other, departed to the Lord... “I myself was a translator in the conversation between Anthony and Eulogius and the crippled,” Presbyter Kronius concludes his story, “for Anthony did not know Greek, and Eulogius and the crippled did not understand the Egyptian language.” How instructive this story is! “Be patient until the end!” - he says to both me and you, my beloved brother about Christ! Perhaps you have been overcome by hopeless poverty, perhaps you have spent your entire life wandering as a homeless orphan in strange corners? Do you endure hunger, cold, and all sorts of illnesses? And then don’t grieve, don’t complain about your bitter lot: do you hear? The Lord Himself calls to Him all those who labor and are burdened, promising them rest. He will satisfy all the hungry and comfort those who cry; believe His true word, bear your cross cheerfully and endure to the end. Until the end - as long as it pleases the Lord to keep you under the cross, whether until the end of the days of your life, or only until the end of those dark, sorrowful days, after which bright days of joy will come for you. God be merciful! To the extent of humility, He will give you patience, to the extent of patience He will give you consolation, to the extent of consolation, love for God will kindle, and to the extent of love, the joy of the Holy Spirit will shine in your heart. And then, of course, all sorrows will end!.. Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, Your consolations have made my soul glad (cf. Ps. 93:19), says the royal sufferer, the prophet David. He speaks generally about heart disease, about sorrows, but the truth of his words is most often experienced by those great patients who, with gratitude to God, endure severe bodily suffering. Let us remember our Kyiv miracle worker Pimen the Much-Sick: for twenty years he lay on his sick bed; He healed others of their illnesses, but not only did he not ask for healing for himself, but constantly thanked God for his illness: apparently, heavenly consolations really delighted his soul so much that he forgot about his illness and saw in it God’s special mercy for himself. "Mother! - one son said to his long-suffering mother, “don’t you grieve, don’t you get bored when you spend the long summer days while we all work in the fields?” “No, son,” she answered, “why grieve? The will of God!.. And it’s a sin to grieve: how many mercies of God I have seen in my lifetime! Now the time has come to cheer for my sins; I lie down and remember my sins, repent of them before the Lord God and thank His mercy that He did not destroy me with my iniquities, but punishes me like a father: isn’t this the mercy of God? Glory to Him the Merciful!” Thus, a humbly believing sufferer finds in the depths of his heart devoted to God great grace-filled consolation and lives with joy at the thought that for his patience he will be pardoned by God in the Future Life. This is what the famous Svyatogorets says in his beautiful letters about one schema-monk, Fr. Pankratiya, who suffered from wounds on his legs for many years. “Pankratia’s father, in the world Paramon, was a serf. As a child, a cruel mistress forced him to walk barefoot in deep autumn, when snow and ice already covered the ground, causing his feet to hurt greatly. The poor boy could not bear it: he secretly ran away from his mistress and at any cost decided to go beyond the Danube, and he actually left and remained for some time in the service of the Russians, who had also fled abroad. He became friends with a Little Russian who for some reason committed suicide. The sensitive Pankratius was greatly touched and amazed by the loss of his dear friend and, seeing how vain worldly life was, he abandoned it and retired to the Holy Mountain. Here, in Rusika, he found the desired peace of mind, despite the fact that his leg was already rotting from wounds that were the result of a severe cold in childhood. However, no matter how terrible the suffering of Father Pancras was, he rejoiced in spirit and often even said to me: “Believe me, I agree to rot with my whole body, I just pray to God to save me from heartache, because it is unbearable.” I told him: “I sometimes look at you and feel sorry for you: sometimes you are not yourself from internal unrest!” “Oh,” he answered, “if your heart hurts, it’s a disaster, it’s hellish torment! And my wounds, even if there were ten times more of them, are a wasteland: I will not rejoice over my illness, because, as I suffer, God consoles me. The heavier my leg, the more excruciating the pain, the more joyful I am, because the hope of heavenly bliss rests me, the hope of reigning in heaven is always with me. But it’s very good in heaven,” Pankraty sometimes exclaimed with a smile. “How do you know this?” – I asked him one day. “Forgive me,” he answered, “I shouldn’t have answered your question frankly, but I feel sorry for you when your soul is suffering, and I want to give you at least a little consolation with my story. You have seen how I suffer over time; oh, it’s not for nothing that I curl like a snake on my bed: it hurts, it hurts seriously, it hurts unbearably! But what happens to me after that, only it knows,” Father Pankraty mysteriously remarked, putting his hand to his heart. – Do you remember how I once, unable to bear the pain, tossed about on my bed, and even something similar to a murmur escaped from my lips. Finally, the pain subsided, I calmed down; you went away from me to your cells, and I laid my foot down and dozed off sweetly. I don’t remember how long I slept or dozed, I just saw things, and God knows what... Even now, as soon as I remember about that vision, I feel an inexplicable, heavenly pleasure in my heart and I would be glad to be sick forever, if only this unforgettable vision for me would happen again, at least once in my life: I felt so good then!” “What did you see?” - I asked Father Pankraty. “I remember,” he answered, “when I dozed off, a youth of amazing, angelic beauty came up to me and asked: “Are you in pain, Father Pankratiy?” “Nothing now,” I answered, “thank God.” “Be patient,” says the boy, “you will soon be free, because the Master bought you, and at a very, very high price”... “How? - I say, “am I bought again?” “Yes, I was bought,” the youth answered with a smile, “they paid dearly for you, and your Master demands you to Himself. Would you like to come with me? I agreed. We walked through some too dangerous places; huge dogs angrily rushed at me, ready to tear me to pieces; but one word from the youth - and they rushed away from us like a whirlwind. Finally, we came out onto a spacious, clean and bright field, which seemed to have no end. “Now you have nothing to fear,” the boy told me, “go to the Master, Who, you see, is sitting in the distance.” I looked and really saw three People sitting next to each other. Amazed by the beauty of the place, I joyfully walked forward; people unknown to me in wonderful attire met and hugged me; many beautiful maidens, in white, regal attire, modestly greeted me and silently pointed into the distance where the three Strangers were sitting. When I approached those sitting, two of Them stood up and stepped aside, and the Third was waiting for me. In quiet joy and some kind of trepidation, I approached Him. “Do you like it here?” – the Stranger asked me. I looked at His face: it was bright; royal grandeur distinguished my new Master from ordinary people. Silently I fell at His feet and kissed them; there were wounds all over the legs. After that, I respectfully folded my hands on my chest and asked permission to press His right hand to my sinful lips. Without saying a word, He handed it to me. There were equally deep wounds on His hands. I kissed the right hand of the Stranger several times and looked at Him in quiet, inexpressible joy. My new Master's features were amazingly good; they breathed meekness and compassion, a smile of love, greetings were on His lips; His gaze expressed the imperturbable calm of His heart. “I bought you from your mistress,” the Stranger began to tell me, “now you are forever Mine. I was sorry to see your suffering; your childish cry reached Me when you complained to Me about your mistress, who tormented you with hunger and cold, and now you are free forever. For your suffering, this is what I am preparing for you!” And the wondrous Stranger pointed me into the distance: it was very light there; beautiful gardens, in full bloom, were pictured there, and a magnificent house glittered under the heavenly shadow. “It’s yours,” continued the Stranger, “but it’s not quite ready yet: be patient. When the time for your rest comes, I will take you to Me; and now stay here, look at the beauty of your place, be patient until the time comes: the one who endures to the end will be saved! (Matthew 10:22).” "God! “I exclaimed, beside myself with joy, “I’m not worth such mercy!” And I threw myself at His feet, kissed them, but when I got up, there was no one and nothing in front of me. I woke up. There was a knock on the board in our monastery: they were striking for matins. I stood up quietly to pray. It was very easy for me, but what I felt, what was in my heart, is my secret. I would give thousands of years of suffering to repeat such a vision. It was so good!” Victim of the Praise of the Martyr of Christ The great Old Testament sufferer, the righteous Job, blessed God in his sorrows, but he, as a man, at times complained about his unbearable suffering, and he cursed the day of his birth (see: Job 3:3) and regretted why he did not die in his mother’s womb (see: Job 3:11–12). Why is light given to those who are in sorrow, he said, and to those who are in sickness life? Those who desire death and do not receive it, seeking like treasures (Job 3:20-21)... But to suffer and in the suffering itself to forget about them, to endure unbearable torment, and among these torments to glorify the Lord, remembering His ineffable mercies revealed to the entire human race, to be cut into pieces, and at the same time think only about the wondrous deeds of God - this is so incomprehensible to the human mind only the martyrs of Christ, in whom the power of Christ manifested itself so gloriously, could show courage. Here is one of many legends about such courage of martyrs. Saint James the Persian is cut into pieces; the large finger on his right hand is cut off. The martyr lifts his eyes to heaven and says: “Lord God, Great in strength, who casts out demons with Your finger (see: Luke 11:20), accept this finger, cut off for You by the instigation of demons, like a branch of a vine: for the branches of the vine are pruned so that it bears more fruit.” The tormentor cuts off the second finger, and Jacob prays: “Take, O Lord, also the second branch from the vine that Your right hand has planted!”... They cut off his third finger, and he says: “Having been freed from the three temptations in the world, from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the hair and the pride of life, I bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and glorify with the three youths You, Lord!” They cut off the fourth finger, and he prays: “Thou who receivest praise from the four living creatures (see: Rev. 14:3), accept the suffering of my fourth finger for Thy holy name!” The fifth finger is cut off, and Jacob says: “My joy is filled like the joy of the five wise virgins!” (see: Matthew 25:2). The tormentors persuade him to feel sorry for himself, but the sufferer answers them: “When shepherds shear sheep, do they leave one side unshorn? I am a sheep of Christ’s flock: cut off all my members like a wave!” – and again began to prayerfully talk with God. And so they cut off the first finger on his left hand, and he says: “I thank You, Lord, that I have been vouchsafed to offer the sixth finger to You, who stretched out Your most pure hands for me on the sixth day and hour on the Cross!” They cut off another finger, and he glorifies God: “As with my lips seven times a day with David I glorified Your destinies, O Lord, so now seven times with the fingers cut off for You, I glorify Your mercy shown to me!” They cut another finger, and he says: “You Yourself, Lord, received circumcision according to the Law on the eighth day, and I endure the cutting off of the eighth finger for You: do not deprive me of the sight of Your bright face!” They cut off the next finger, and the martyr prays: “You, O my Christ, at the ninth hour gave up Your Spirit to God the Father on the Cross, and I, in the pain of cutting off the ninth finger, thank You for making me worthy to lose my members for Your name!” When the tenth finger was cut off, he exclaimed: “In the nine-stringed psalter I glorify You, my God, who has made me worthy to endure the cutting off of all the fingers on both my hands, for the tithe of Your Testament, written on two tablets!” Again his tormentors persuade him, and again he rejects all their admonitions, promises and threats. They begin to cut off his toes, and with the same calm he glorifies the Lord as each finger is cut off. So, when the first one is taken away, he says: “Glory to Thee, Christ God; Not only were your hands pierced, but also your feet; vouchsafe me to become this right foot, though among the last at Your right hand!” When the second finger is taken away, he prays: “Your mercy has doubled on me, O Lord, for You are delivering me from the second death” (see: Rev. 20:14). They cut off and throw the third finger in front of him, and the martyr says with a smile: “Go, in the name of the Trinity, you, third finger, to your squad: like a grain of wheat thrown into the ground, and you will bear much fruit on the day of the general Resurrection!” They cut off the fourth finger, and the saint consoles himself: “Have you ever been sorrowful, my soul, and have you troubled me for centuries? Trust in God, by the power of the four-pointed Cross, who saves me (listen, foolish zealots of the eight-pointed Cross, what the martyr of Christ says!), and I glorify Him, who created me from the four elements!” They cut off the fifth finger, the martyr says: “I praise You, Lord, who endured five plagues on the Cross, that You honor me with a part of the faithful slaves, who multiplied five talents!” They cut off the little toe of his left foot, and he says: “Take courage, little finger number six; God, who created you small with the great on the sixth day, will also resurrect you with these great ones!” The seventh finger is cut off, and the martyr turns to his tormentors with the words: “Destroy this dilapidated church, under which the seven-headed serpent hides. The Creator, who rested from His works on the seventh day, has prepared for me a church not made with hands, eternal in heaven!” The eighth finger is cut off, and Jacob reasons: “He who preserved eight souls in Noah’s ark will save me, although you shed my blood like water.” They cut off the ninth finger, and he prays: “Strengthen me in patience, true God, as You strengthened the nine orders of Angels in Your grace during temptation!” They cut off the last toe on his foot, and he exclaims: “Behold, I have sacrificed to You, Christ Jesus, perfect God and perfect Man, two tithes of my fingers!” Then they cut off the entire foot of his right foot, and he says: “May my foot be right in the Kingdom of Heaven!” Then they cut off the foot of his left foot, and he, looking at the sky, prays: “Hear me, Lord, do a sign for good with me, deliver me from standing on Your side!” They cut off his right hand, and he exclaims: “I will sing of Your mercy, O Lord, forever: You yourself fulfill Your word on me: if your right hand causes you to stumble, take it away from you (Matthew 5:30)!” They cut off his left hand, and he prays: “It is not the dead who will praise you, Lord, not those who go to hell, adhering to the path of the fool, but we, the living, will bless you from now on and forever.” They cut off the right shoulder, He says: “He who laid the lost sheep on His shoulder will also place me at His right hand with His sheep.” They cut off his left shoulder, and he says: “The Lord, His power is on His frame (see: Is. 9:6), will not allow me to stray to the dark power of the land.” They began to cut off his legs to the knees, then the sufferer painfully cried out: “Lord my God, who is not well pleased with the bald men, but who is well pleased with those who fear You (see: Ps. 147:10-11), help me, Your servant, for mortal diseases are crushing me!” The tormentors remarked to him: “We told you that serious illnesses awaited you, but you did not believe us.” The sufferer answered them: “I cried out in my illness for this reason, so that you would know that I am a man covered with flesh, and that, therefore, only God alone strengthens me! But He will also clothe me in new flesh, which none of your tormenting weapons can touch!” And the invincible warrior of Christ began to glorify the Lord with the Seraphim’s song: “Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God Almighty,” he cried, lying on the ground, and called on the mercy of God to strengthen him to the end. Finally, the tormentors cut off his honest head, and he gave up his spirit to God. Like a candle, he burned out before God, like incense, his praises ascended to God, and to this day this wondrous fragrance of his prayers can be felt, and now without heartfelt tenderness one cannot read the story of his suffering, and after reading, one involuntarily exclaims with the royal prophet: “Wonderful, truly wondrous is God in His saints!” The maiden baptized by angels Abba Theona and Abba Theodore, writes Blessed John Moschus, told us: “Under Patriarch Paul in Alexandria, one girl remained an orphan after the death of her parents, very rich people. She was not baptized. One day, going out into the garden left to her by her parents, she saw an unknown man about to hang himself. Quickly running up to him, the girl asked: - What are you doing, good man? - What do you care? Go away! I'm in great sorrow... - Tell me the whole truth. Maybe I can help you. - I owe a lot; my creditors are pressing me hard, and I would rather die than lead such a bitter life. - I beg you... take everything I have and give it... just don’t ruin yourself. He gratefully agreed to this and paid off his debts. Meanwhile, the girl found herself in a cramped position. And no wonder: she was left without parents, there was no one to take care of her. Having fallen into extreme poverty, she began to lead a dissolute life. And those who knew her parents said: “Who knows the judgments of God, how and why a soul is allowed to fall!” The girl could not bear such a life: she fell ill and suddenly came to her senses. In contrition of spirit, she asked her neighbors: “For the sake of the Lord, have mercy on my soul and talk to the bishop so that I can become a Christian.” But everyone turned away from her with contempt. “Who would want to be the successor of such a slutty woman?” - they talked about her. And she was in great sorrow. When she completely lost heart under such circumstances, the Angel of the Lord appeared to her in the form of the man to whom she had once shown mercy. - What's wrong with you? – the Angel asked her. “I want to become a Christian, and, alas, no one wants to talk about me.” – Yes, and I ask you about this too. – Don’t lose heart! I will bring someone, and you will be accepted into the fold of the Church. The angel brings two more angels, and they take her to church. Then, assuming the appearance of famous dignitaries in the presence of the governor, they invite the clergy, whose duty it was to baptize the converts. The clergy ask the dignitaries: – Does your love vouch for her? The clergy did everything that follows the order of those preparing for baptism, and baptized her in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then they clothed her in the clothes of the newly baptized. The angels carried her to the house, where she returned in white robes. And, having laid it down, they became invisible. The neighbors, seeing her in white clothes, asked: “Someone came,” she answered, “they took me to church, told the clergy, and they baptized me.” - Who exactly? What clerics? She couldn't say anything about this. They reported to the bishop; he called the clergy assigned to baptism. -Did you baptize that woman? he asked. They did not deny, they confirmed and said that they had been invited for this purpose by such and such a dignitary under the ruler. The bishop sends for the indicated persons and asks them if they really vouched for the girl? “We don’t know anything,” they answered. “We don’t know who did it either.” Then the bishop realized that this was God’s work. Having invited the newly baptized woman, he asked: - Tell me, my daughter, what good have you done? - I am a harlot and poor... What good could I do? – So you don’t know a single good deed? - No... is this really... one day I saw a man unknown to me who was about to hang himself: he was heavily pressed by creditors. And by giving him all my fortune, I saved him from trouble... And having said this, she rested in the Lord, having received remission of her voluntary and involuntary sins. The bishop glorified the Lord: Thou art righteous, O Lord, and thy judgments are just! (cf. Ps. 119:137). Are there any apparitions of angels today? In our sinful times, we often hear the following wisdom: “Nowadays there are no miracles, Angels do not come from heaven to teach people, as in ancient times.” Is this true? Our Lord Jesus Christ is yesterday and today, the same and forever...(Heb. 13:8). In order to have communication with Angels, you must also have angelic properties, you must have purity of heart and childlike-angelic simplicity of faith. Where there is both, the vision of Angels is also possible. This is what the deceased Moscow saint, Metropolitan Innocent, told in Bose about the time when he preached the faith of Christ in the Aleutian Islands. “In April 1825, during Lent, I went for the first time to Akun Island to visit the Aleuts. Approaching the island, I saw that they were all standing on the shore, dressed up, as if on a solemn holiday, and when I went ashore, they joyfully rushed towards me. I asked them why they were so smart? They answered: “Because we knew that you left and should be with us today. And we joyfully went ashore to meet you.” - “Who told you that I would be with you today, and why did you recognize me as Father John?” “Our shaman, Ivan Smirennikov, told us about this and described your appearance to us the way we see you now.” This circumstance surprised me extremely, but I ignored all this and began to prepare them for fasting. This shaman came to me and expressed a desire to fast, he walked very carefully, and still I did not pay special attention to him and, having introduced him to the Holy Mysteries, let him go... So what? To my surprise, after communion he went to his toen (elder) and expressed his displeasure at me for not asking him in confession why the Aleuts call him a shaman, since he was extremely unpleasant that he was called that and that he was not a shaman at all. Toen, of course, conveyed Smirennikov’s displeasure to me, and I immediately sent for him for an explanation. When the messengers set off, Smirennikov walked towards them with the following words: “I know that the priest, Father John, is calling me, and I am going to him.” I began to question him in detail about his life, and to my question whether he was literate, Ivan replied that although he was illiterate, he knew the Gospel and prayers. Then I asked him to explain why he knew me, so much so that he even described my appearance to his brothers, and how did he know that on a certain day I should appear to them and that I would teach them to pray? The old man replied that two of his comrades told him all this. “And who are these two, your comrades?” – I asked him. “White people,” answered the old man, “they also told me that in the near future you will send your family along the shore, and you yourself will go by water to the great man and talk to him.” “Where are these comrades of yours, white people, and what kind of people are they?” – I asked him. “They live nearby, in the mountains, and come to me every day.” - “When did these white people come to you for the first time?” He answered that soon after his baptism by Hieromonk Macarius, first one, and then two spirits appeared to him, not visible to anyone else, in the form of people, white in face, in white robes and, according to his description, like surplices, covered with pink ribbons, and told him that they were sent from God to instruct, teach and protect him. And for thirty years they appeared to him almost every day during the day or in the evening, but not at night. And when they appeared, firstly, they instructed and taught him all Christian theology and the sacraments of the Christian faith; secondly, they gave him himself and, at his request, others, however, very rarely, help in illness and extreme lack of food. But, in terms of helping others, they always responded to his request by saying that they would ask God, and if He was pleased, they would fulfill it; thirdly, sometimes they told him what was happening in other places and, very rarely, the future; but always with that, if it pleases God to reveal it, and they assured that they do not do all this by their own power, but by the power of Almighty God. And although their teaching is the teaching of the Orthodox Church, I, knowing that demons also believe and tremble, doubted whether this was not a cunning and subtle network of the evil one from time immemorial, and asked him how they teach to pray, to themselves or to God, and how they teach to live with others. He answered that they teach to pray with the spirit and heart, and sometimes they pray with him for a very long time, and they teach to perform, in a word, all the pure Christian virtues (which he told me in detail), and most of all they advise observing fidelity and purity. Both in marriage and outside marriage (and this may be because the local residents are most prone to this). Moreover, they taught him other external virtues and rituals: how to depict a cross on his body, not to start any work without blessing himself, not to eat early in the morning, not to live together with many families, not to eat quickly killed fish and animals that are still warm; and some birds and sea animals should not be eaten at all, and much more. After this, I asked him whether they appeared to him now, after confession and communion, and whether they ordered him to listen to me? He replied that they appeared both after confession and after communion and told him not to tell anyone his confessed sins and not to eat fatty foods soon after communion, and to listen to my teachings, but not to listen to the industrialists, that is, the Russians living here; and even today on the way they appeared to him and told him why I was calling him, and so that he would tell everything and not be afraid of anything, because nothing bad would happen to him. Then I asked him: when do they appear to him and what does he feel - joy or sadness? He said that only when he does something bad, when he sees them, he feels remorse of his conscience, and at other times he does not feel any fear; and since many people revered him as a shaman, he, not wanting to be revered as such, repeatedly told them to leave him and not appear to him; they answered that they were not devils and they were not ordered to leave him, and when he asked why they did not appear to others, they answered him that they were so commanded. In order to make sure whether his mentors really appeared to him, I asked him: “Can I see and talk to them?” He replied that he did not know, but would ask them; and indeed, an hour later he comes and says what they said in response: “And what else does he want to know from us? Does he still consider us devils? Okay, let him see and talk to us if he wants”; and they also said something in my approval; but I, so as not to be considered vanity on my part, will remain silent about this. Then something inexplicable happened in me, some kind of fear attacked me, and complete humility. “What if, in fact,” I thought, “I see them, these Angels, and they confirm what the old man said? and how can I go to them? After all, I am a sinful person, therefore, unworthy to speak with them, and it would be pride and arrogance on my part if I decided to go to them; and, finally, by my meeting with the Angels, perhaps I would have been exalted in my faith or would have dreamed a lot about myself...” And I, as unworthy, decided not to go to them, having previously, on this occasion, given a decent instruction to both Ivan Smirennikov and his fellow Aleuts, so that they would no longer call Smirennikov a shaman.” This is how the saint ends his story. Grace-filled help through prayers to St. Theodosius of Chernigov I, the undersigned, wife of a priest of the Kaluga province, Meshchovsky district, village of Nekhodova, Irina Afanasyeva Smirnova, 53 years old, suffered for about 25 years with severe headaches and other bodily ailments, and especially abdominal pain. My illnesses were always accompanied by hysterical fits and ended in vomiting. From severe suffering, I acquired another new disease - a heart defect, as the doctors determined. From this disease, according to the conclusion of the doctors, especially our zemstvo, Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov, I should have died, so to speak, prematurely and unexpectedly. I was treated a lot by different doctors, I also visited Moscow, but my main concern was to pray to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother for mercy, and to His holy saints to intercede and give help to me, who was seriously suffering. Although I did not speak about my illness as I should, neither to my husband nor to my children, so as not to frighten them or upset them, yet my sometimes frantic screaming and tumbling on the bed spoke more clearly than words about my suffering and plunged not only my own, but also others into sadness and melancholy and involuntarily brought tears from my eyes. Finally, a joyful and unforgettable dawn has risen for me too! Having learned that on September 9, 1896 there would be an opening of the relics of St. Theodosius (Uglitsky) Wonderworker of Chernigov, I, despite any obstacles, guided only by the blessing of my husband, without even telling my relatives, went to a country unknown to me to seek help for myself from the newly-minted wonderworker, St. Theodosius. My first fear is how will I travel, alone, sick? - the saint of God Feodosia, to whom I fervently prayed, was eliminated by the fact that at the very first railway station he sent me the kind and pious nun Selafiila: with her, as with my own sister, the closest and most heartfelt, in terrible cramped conditions and stuffiness from the multitude of people crowded into the carriages, I safely reached Chernigov on the eve of the opening of the relics, even before the all-night vigil, where the saint of God, as I believe, pointed out to me a nice and quiet apartment, not far from the cathedral. Due to the multitude of people and the terrible cramped conditions, due to my weakness, on the fourth day I was only worthy to approach the celibate shrine and kiss the incorruptible body of the saint and wonderworker Theodosius. How I prayed at that hour, how I asked for the salvation of me, a sinner, only the knower of the heart, God and His saint Theodosius, knows. The next day I was also in the cathedral, listened to the Liturgy and prayer service and was honored to venerate the relics of the saint, and on the sixth day, with my companion, I went by boat to Kyiv to venerate the Kyiv shrines. I fell asleep from exhaustion, and - lo and behold! I see how in reality, Saint Theodosius of God, in his bishop’s vestments, approached me, an unworthy sinner, and, saying: “Your heart hurts,” with his holy hand he placed a pinch of salt on my chest on the most sore spot and left. When Saint Theodosius asked me about heart disease, I, at his request, opened my chest. My companion, noticing this and not knowing the reason for my action, but seeing that I was doing this in front of everyone, came up to me, began to cover my chest and accidentally woke me up. From the moment Saint Theodosius put salt on my chest, I do not feel any pain in my heart, no unpleasant sensations, and my heart began to beat as before, as in the old days, when I was completely healthy. Having visited all the holy places in Kyiv, with a severe headache, I said goodbye to the nun Selaphiila and went back home in a 2nd class carriage. Having fallen asleep on the sofa on the way, I was rewarded for the second time with a vision of St. Theodosius in brilliant holy vestments, in a miter and with a staff in his hand - he, the Wonderworker, came up to me, put his holy hand on one side of my head, with the words: “The pain in my head will pass,” - he blessed me and left. At that very moment, I saw, as if in reality, a stream of blood flowed from this part of the head through the nose, first spoiled, and then pure, and flowed for a long time, then water began to flow; I woke up and felt that I felt much better. Having thanked God and His wondrous saint Theodosius, I told those traveling with me about my vision and healing. The other half of the head was healed upon arrival home: the cheek was swollen and a large abscess formed in the mouth, which broke through a few days later, leaving a large wound, but this too, being anointed with oil brought from the relics of St. Theodosius from Chernigov, soon healed. Now I don’t feel any pain in this half of my head and my health has completely returned. Attributing my healing entirely to the miraculous power of Saint Theodosius, I, on the advice and blessing of my merciful archpastor, Bishop Macarius of Kaluga, who, while he was in our village, in June 1897, was informed about my healing, decided to tell the whole world that God is marvelous in His saints, that He gives to His saints out of goodness and His justice has the miraculous power to heal ailments and illnesses with faith and love, flowing to them and asking them for help and intercession. Glory to You, God, who benefits us, who has mercy on us and, in the person of Your saints, gives quick help to those sufferers whose hope for human help, after many trials, turns out to be hopeless! To confirm that I have truly recovered and that I am speaking the absolute truth about my healing by Saint Theodosius of Christ, in accordance with a clear Christian conscience, I am enclosing the certificate of the zemstvo doctor who has been constantly treating me lately - Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov. The priest's wife Irina Smirnova. Hereby, out of duty and oath, I certify that the wife of the priest of the Meshchovo district, the village of Nekhodova, Irina Afanasyeva Smirnova, suffered for several years from an organic heart defect: strong heartbeat, shortness of breath, instead of tone there was noise and interruptions. As a result of the above-mentioned suffering, she often had attacks of angina pectoris: a feeling of fear, tightness in the chest, lack of air and silent strong heartbeat and shortness of breath. For the illness described above, I and other doctors treated the patient and helped her, but science is powerless to completely cure this suffering, at least at the present time, and the patient would soon inevitably die. When on July 20 of this year I was invited again and asked to come as soon as possible, I thought that the same illness had recurred. Upon examination of the patient, it turned out that she was sick with another disease: inflammation of the stomach and intestines. When examining the heart, to my great surprise, it turned out that it was quite normal: its tones were clear, there was no noise, the pulse was regular, there were no interruptions. Frankly speaking, I didn’t believe myself, and the next day, when with another doctor I again visited the patient, who felt much better, I and he again carried out a detailed examination of the heart, and we were both completely convinced that it was completely normal. 1897 June 26th day. Zubovsky medical station, collegiate assessor N.I. Orlov. You might be interested in: