Поучение второе на освящение церкви

Now performing the conciliar service of the consecration of this holy and all-honorable church, which you, noble gentleman (name of the rivers), zealous for the Lord your God, built from your estates in honor and glory of Christ, our Savior, for the sake of the daily remembrance of His three-day Resurrection, we, the humble, rejoice in you, rejoicing in God, your Savior, we rejoice in you, rejoicing in the accomplishment of this a godly deed and we have hope for your salvation from God for this. To increase your spiritual joy and joy and to confirm the certainty of hope for salvation, we want to tell you how pleasant it is for God, who lives in heaven, to build His churches on earth and decorate them with pious people: so pleasant that if anyone, even in the smallest way, participates in the building and decoration of the house of God, then this will not be forgotten by Him, our Lord God. As evidence of this, let us remember the story from Divine Scripture about the Holy Old Law Jacob. Walking from the well of the oath to Haran, Jacob found a place and rested on it, putting a stone for his head. And in a dream he saw God and Angels walking up the stairs, as is related in the book of Genesis (see Gen. 28:10 et seq.). Rising from sleep, Jacob took the stone that served as his head, set it up as a pillar, poured oil on it and gave the place a name: “The House of God” (Gen. 28:17). Let us hear: he did not create a church, the house of God, he only erected a lying stone as a pillar, and that pillar was not the house of God, but Jacob only gave it such a name, called it the house of God. Perhaps someone will think: it is not a great thing, it is not much pleasant for God, it is not a fair offering to God to put one stone. And others, perhaps, will laugh, looking at what Jacob does: he calls one stone the house of God. There is no entrance to it, no doors or windows, but he calls it the house of God. Perhaps someone, according to human reasoning, would impute such a deed of Jacob as nothing, but for the Lord God this small (in our opinion) deed was so great, so pleasant that it was not forgotten even after. Let's see. Jacob worked between the rivers for Laban for twenty years: seven years for Leah, seven years for Rachel, and six years for the sheep. Already tired of this work, he already wants to return to his fatherland, to his father and mother. And God appeared to him in a dream and said: “I am your God, who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured oil on the pillar and where you made a vow to Me; now arise, get out of this land and return to the land of your homeland, and I will be with you” (Gen. 31:13). Let us hear: such a small gift, one stone, set up as a pillar and called the house of God, God not only did not forget, but after so many years he remembers it as something great, brought to Him as a gift, and promises for it as His own reward: “I,” He says, “will be with you.” That is, as if he says: “You, Jacob, brought Me a simple stone as a gift, but I will “put a crown of precious stones" (Ps. 20:4), kings, bishops and princes will come from you at My command. You have set up a small pillar for me, but I myself will be for you “a strong pillar for defense against the enemy” (Ps. 60:4). You poured a little oil on the pillar, but I will anoint your head with oil of blessing, and you will fill the little place with all good things. Home, I will multiply your house in the heavenly places “like the stars of heaven and like the sand of the sea” (Gen. 22:17). And beyond this I will do that from your tribe I will take flesh from the Most Pure Virgin to save the world. And so I will be with you forever.” O ineffable goodness and love of God! O the wealth of His bounties! For such a small gift from Jacob, for one small and simple stone called the house of God, what a great reward, what great gifts! From here we will see how pleasing to God is the creation of holy churches. For if one stone, erected in His honor by Jacob, was so pleasant for Him, then how much more pleasant and unforgettable to Him was the creation of an entire church, built from many stones! What can we say about decorating the churches of the Lord? Let us remember that Old Testament tabernacle in which the Lord God walked with His people, brought out of Egypt, for forty years in the desert. Wanting to have this tabernacle for Himself, the Lord commanded Moses that to build it, each of the people would bring something within their means: gold, silver, precious stones, scarlet, fine linen. And he commanded those who did not have such precious things, poor people, to bring, according to their poverty, what they had: copper, ram skin, scarlet and blue, and goat hair, each according to his own strength. And there was not a person of either sex in the armies of Israel who would not make a contribution within his power for the construction and decoration of the church of the Lord, the holy tabernacle, the tabernacle of meeting, as the Scripture says: “Not only husbands, but also wives, each according to the disposition of his heart brought rings, earrings, rings and pendants, all kinds of gold things, and everyone who had wool of blue, purple and scarlet colours, fine linen and goats' hair, red skins of rams and blue skins” and so on (Ex. 35:22–23). Why did the Lord God require to decorate His canopy not only precious things, but also non-precious ones, such as sheep skins and goat hair? In order to show that a small offering to the holy church is just as pleasing to Him as a great one, and also so that no one remains alien to its remembrance by God. For, looking from above at His tabernacle, the Lord saw gifts in it: from one gold, from another silver, from another copper, from another other inexpensive things, like sheep skins, from which the covering was made, or goat’s wool, from which the ropes of the tabernacle were made. Seeing them, He remembered everyone in His kingdom and prepared a hundredfold reward for this. We listen: if small things brought for decoration or any other need of the tabernacle of God are just as pleasing to God as the great ones; if one sheep's skin and a handful of wool brought to Him are a great gift before Him, then how much more pleasing to Him is not the wretched, not blind, not meager, but the decoration of the churches of the Lord done with great dedication and the good will of the heart! Your nobility, zealous for the Lord your God and revealing to Him the good will, will and love of your heart, created and richly decorated this most honorable church from the estates given to you by God in honor and glory of His most holy name. Be filled with good hope in His abundant mercy, temporal and eternal. You built Him a house on earth, He will build you a house in heaven, the house about which the apostle speaks: “When our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal” (2 Cor. 5:1). You did not spare your possessions for Him, He will not spare His kingdom for you. You brought Him a temporary gift, He will give you an eternal gift. You have beautifully and excellently decorated His house, and He will adorn your soul like a church. When Solomon created a beautiful church for the Lord God in Jerusalem, the Lord appeared to him and said: “I have heard your prayers, and I have sanctified this church that you have built, and My eyes and My heart will be there always” (1 Kings 9:3). But we, the humble, will boldly say: “there is more here than with Solomon” (Matthew 12:42). For there was only a shadow of human salvation, but here is salvation itself. There is transformation, here is the thing itself; there is the Old Law, here the New Grace. There dumb animals were sacrificed, here a verbal sacrifice is made when “the Lamb of God is devoured.” It said: the lamb or calf of Solomon is sacrificed for him (Solomon) or any prince, or a simple person, for one who brought the lamb or calf, - here it is said: “The Lamb of God is eaten, “Who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), for the worldly belly and salvation.” And if God said about that Old Law Temple of Solomon that “His eyes and heart will be there all the days,” then even more so in the Church of New Grace, in which the Son of God Himself is the Sacrifice. Truly, “there is more here than in Solomon.” You have created, your mercy, the church of the Lord God according to your strength. And therefore the Lord God says: “My eyes and my heart will be there all the days.” And every time the Lord God looks at this holy church, he will look at you, His servant. Every time a bloodless Sacrifice is offered in this church, your sins will be forgiven. Every time they recite the litany about the creators of this church, you will be remembered in heaven. And as much as you have loved the splendor of the house of God, so much will God love you. The citizens of Capernaum, once begging Christ the Lord to heal the son of a certain centurion, told Him: “He is worthy that You should do this for him, for he loves our people and built us a synagogue” (Luke 7:4–5). From this the Capernaumites knew the centurion’s love for them, because he built them a host, or a house for meeting, and considered him worthy of Christ’s mercy: “He is worthy,” they said. You, O pious man, have also shown your love for Christ the Lord by creating a most honorable church for Him, and are worthy of His mercy. And every time you pray to the Lord your God for any of your needs, asking for His mercy and saying: “Lord, have mercy,” the priests here praying for you will intercede for you before Christ, saying: “He is worthy that you should do this for him,” for he loves our rite, especially he loves you, the Lord his God, and he created this church for you. Love “the one who loves the splendor of Your house” (Prayer beyond the pulpit). And God Himself says: “I love those who love Me” (Proverbs 8:17). Be healthy, noble sir (name of the rivers), for many years to come, have fun and rejoice in the Lord God, your Savior, and have good hope for your salvation. For by creating and decorating this holy church you will not only benefit yourself and your family, but also for many for whom prayer will be performed, you will be an intercessor of salvation. For the prayer for everyone, made by the priests in the church of God, will be ascended by Angels from the church to the Throne of God - for everyone, and first of all for our great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, of all Great and Little and White Russia, the Autocrat, and for all his blessed Royal House, and for the royal princes who are at hand and the boyars, and about the entire army and people, and about his entire great-power state, for whom, our Sovereign, and now praying collectively, we proclaim and sing: “Many years!” Amen.