Речь к Петру Великому

Before I was vouchsafed - if I am vouchsafed, unworthy - in the next century to see Christ the Lord, the King of Heaven, and to rejoice at the sight of His bright face, here in the present century I was vouchsafed to see the face of Christ the Lord, the anointed of God, the King of the earth, the Christian Orthodox monarch, Your Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, and I am filled with joy about it. I am filled with joy in the likeness of the sons of Zion, about whom David said: “Let the sons of Zion rejoice over their king” (Ps. 149:2). Truly, this God-saved reigning city should be called the second Zion, for the grace of God, transferred from the Old Testament Zion, shone on it with Christian Orthodoxy, and here the sons of Zion’s Christian-Russian children rejoice “in their Tsar.” They rejoice, for the royal face brings joy, just as the angelic face brings joy. It was not for nothing that the wise Theokoite woman once called her king David an Angel in the Divine Scripture: “Like the Angel of God, so my lord the king, listened to the good, but rejected the evil ones. Therefore may the Lord your God be with you." And again: “My lord the king is wise and good, as the angel of God is wise, to understand everything that is on earth” (2 Samuel 14:17, 20). Twice the Feokoite woman called the king an Angel, calling him both for his wisdom and for his goodness, for the wisdom of the king rules the kingdom, but goodness establishes the royal throne. For these two reasons, the sons of Zion rejoiced over their king, as over the Angel of God. But in addition, and therefore it is fitting to rejoice about the king, that the face and rank of the Christian King are on earth a living image and likeness of Christ the King living in heaven. Just as man in his soul is the image and likeness of God, so Christ of the Lord, the anointed of God, in his royal dignity is the image and likeness of Christ the Lord. Christ the Lord takes precedence in heaven in the triumphant Church, while Christ the Lord, by the grace and mercy of the Heavenly Christ, presides on earth in the militant Church. The one above prepares the crowns, the one below multiplies the feats worthy of the crowns. This one crowns the victorious, the same one arranges good warriors for victory. This one prepares eternal rewards, this one encourages brave knights to fight bravely, so that they do not live in vain, and receive reward not without merit. Just as He laid down His soul for His Church, which he acquired at the price of His Blood, so this one does not spare his soul for His, Christ’s, Holy Church, laying down his soul, wasting his health, putting his chest against the enemies and carrying out all the military labors in the regiments at inopportune hours. How can the sons of the mental Christian Zion not rejoice over such a King? How will not His true servant rejoice when he sees Christ his Lord who is in heaven? How can his true servant not be filled with joy when he sees Christ of the Lord on earth? Just as the rank of a Christian king is the earthly image and likeness of Christ, the Heavenly King, so the power of Christ the Lord has some mysterious similarity in the power of Christ the Lord. The power of Him rests in heaven and is carried on four animals, which have the face of an eagle, the face of a lion, the face of a man and the face of a calf. This power, the power of Christ the Lord, stands on earth and has, in the likeness of those heavenly faces, its bearers, on whom it rests. Noble princes and boyars are, as it were, the face of high-flying and high-born eagles, who elevate the honor and glory of their Tsar above themselves, knowing and confessing that he is more worthy and noble than everyone else. The bishops and the entire spiritual rank show a human face, adorned with angelic desires, for they bear the angelic title. They, ascending to God with high minds of God-thinking, like wings, always pray to God for your royal health, long-term prosperity and salvation. The face of a lion is a brave army, which swiftly flows into battle and sacrifices its health for its Sovereign. Finally, the entire society, the population, the entire multitude of people, subordinate to the Christian Monarch, Your Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, is the face of a calf, hardworking and carefully wearing the yoke of obedience. On such faces rests and wears your royal power, for everyone, servilely bowing their heads before Your Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, renders worthy honor and worship: “To whom honor is honor” (Rom. 13:7). In addition, the power of Christ the Lord also has its famous companions, like the companions of heavenly power, about whom David says: “The praises of God are in their mouths, and two-edged swords in their hands” (Ps. 149:6). They, hoping in God that with His help they will take vengeance on the nations (Ps. 149:7), will subdue every enemy and adversary under your royal feet. That is why the face of Christ the Lord, the Christian King, and his power with all his companions, mysteriously endowed with the likeness of the face of Christ and the likeness of the glory of the power of Christ, is joyful for the sons of Zion and gives rise to joy in them about their King. I, unworthy, bearing in my mind this royal face during monastic and priestly prayers in my monastery and contemplating with my spiritual eyes your most luminous royal senate, spoke to him in my thoughts, as if to a greeter: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!” (Luke 10:23). Now I myself, called here by the merciful decree of Your Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, having been worthy to see with my unworthy eyes your royal most illustrious face, I feel happy, rejoicing in my King, to whose royal and illustrious power I slavishly fall, I express all the joy and excitement of my heart in the sayings of David: “May the Lord give according to your heart and fulfill all your intentions: The Lord will fulfill all your requests” (Ps. 19:5). “Let your hand find all your enemies, let your right hand find all those who hate you” (Ps. 20:9). May we, the pilgrims of Your Royal Most Illustrious Majesty, rejoice in your salvation (see Ps. 20:2), in your invincible courage, in your long and prosperous sceptre and kingdom rule. May the glory of your blessed power and - with God's help - strength spread to all ends of the earth and may it be glorified from generation to generation until the last centuries. For this I pray and bow to God. Amen.