Memory of the spiritual father: how to manage a protege

In an ordinary confession, as has already been written, it is necessary to torture with much understanding about sins and the burdens of sin, and to reason about what is being confessed and to apply appropriate healing for each sin, except for those sins that he, the protege, had previously confessed to his spiritual father. And I must inform you that I have already confessed those sins, and if the wound of conscience from the first spiritual doctor is well healed, then there is no need for it to be healed by another. Serious and difficult to resolve mortal sins must be reported to the bishop. And especially to convey what is an obstacle to the acceptance of consecration, namely: murder, theft, sorcery, perjury, unbroken enmity, violence, obvious sinfulness, incest and unnatural carnal sins, and other evil and cruel things. Ask the protege also what kind of wife he took as his cohabitant—whether she was a prostitute, a virgin, a depraved woman, or a corrupted one, and if she was depraved, then is there an evil rumor about her among the people as a harlot, and if there is an evil rumor about her as a harlot, then her husband cannot be a priest. For if one who takes a widow cannot be consecrated, then even more so one who takes an obvious harlot cannot be consecrated. After confession and permission, the protege should be taught how he should prepare his soul to accept the sacred dignity of equal angels. Let him, with warm faith and undoubted hope, prepare to accept the grace of the priesthood and let him continually think about it, putting aside all worldly sorrow. When the protege is promoted to consecration and bows his knees and head to the Divine Throne, and the bishop, placing his right hand on him, begins to speak the words of consecration, then it is necessary for the protege to focus all his mind on God and undoubtedly believe that the Holy Spirit will invisibly descend on him, as well as on the heads of the apostles, and the grace of deaconal or priestly accomplishment will be poured out on him. After the ordination has been completed, with all his soul and with all his heart, in his thoughts, let him begin to give thanks to God, who has vouchsafed him such a rank, even with the invisibly present Cherubim and Seraphim, to be the representative of the throne of God, and the servant of the Divine Mysteries of Christ, which the Angels look at with fear, and which they worship with reverence and trembling. Необходимо много поучения и наставления в том, каковому быть в принятии и причащении Божественных Тайн ставленнику и всякому причащающемуся, но не хватает времени об этом много писать, потому только вкратце предлагается следующее: After communion, it is necessary to read prayers of thanksgiving with attention, not only speaking with the lips, but also understanding with the mind what is being read, and being touched in the heart, for prayer without attention and tenderness is a censer, clanking without fire and censer. The spiritual father who has been consecrated and departs must teach him to perform his service with fear, great reverence, faith and love, like an Angel of God standing before the throne, being pure in soul and body. Let the preparation for service be completely good and worthy of holy service. Second preparation: in anger and enmity or in any other mortal sin, let him not dare to serve until he destroys the enmity and cleanses the mortal sin by repentance. To do this, let him come to his spiritual father more often and clear his conscience. For the rest of the due honor and divine worship befitting the Divine Mysteries of Christ, see in the great Kiev Trebnik, in part 1, sheet 266 and further, and from there, spiritual father, teach the newly ordained priest. Finally, we should remember the following words of St. John Chrysostom: “Nothing irritates God more than unworthy sacred acts” (Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew).