Literary and poetic works. Notes on creativity

Contents Memories of the Borodino Monastery A prosperous day Preface to the story “Joseph” Addition to the sketch “The Garden in Winter” Prayer of the sick Prayer for the deceased About preserving the heart To the earthly wanderer They killed the heart Complaint Advice to my soul The recluse’s Duma Prayer for seeing one’s sins Literature lessons taught by His Eminence Bishop Ignatius Lesson I. The concept of literature Lesson II. On turning sentences into periods Lesson III. About the periods Christian shepherd and Christian artist Letter on “Selected passages from correspondence with friends” by N.V. Gogol A remarkable dream of a resident of St. Petersburg N., recorded by Archimandrite Ignatius Memories of the Borodino Monastery 1 On the Borodino field, the faithful sons of Russia fulfilled their duty: they firmly and courageously resisted the numerous enemy, led by a brilliant commander, and littered the field with the corpses of foreigners and their own corpses. The vast battlefield became a vast cemetery. Now, on the Borodino field, the faithful daughters of Russia are fulfilling their duty: over the ashes of the victims of love for the Fatherland, they sacrificed themselves to God, dying alive for the world - they offer a constant sacrifice of prayers for themselves and for the sons of Russia who fell in battle. Poet! You are right; your eye comprehended the character of this field: you called it “field-sea.” Having read the new name, I did not understand it, but when I had to look at the Borodino field from above, I immediately saw that this field was the sea. It is as vast as the sea; it is all in iridescent, sloping hills, like waves. There were other waves on it: countless regiments of warriors. These waves flowed away; Dozens of years have passed since the famous battle; The humble abode of nuns stands alone in a field, like a pier on the sea. Tears flowed here for those who fell under the edge of the sword; Tears flowed here for those struck down by premature physical death. Tears flowed in solitude; solitude and tears cleared the eye of the mind. Suddenly before him is an unexpected, hitherto unfamiliar sight: a soul killed by sin! Then earthly sadness united with spiritual sadness. Margarita, first of all, came to the cemetery of the Russian army to cry over the grave of her brave husband; - she brought there the ashes of her son, who died not on the Borodino field, to cry over two graves together. She made herself a vow of lifelong sadness and put on black clothes so that she would never take them off. “I will cry over the coffins,” she thought, “until death wipes away my tears, until the coffin accepts my body.” God is close to those who mourn; His light is near to them, His consolation is near. Margarita was illuminated by heavenly enlightenment: she pronounces a vow of monasticism, puts on a mysterious image, takes a new name - and already Mary cries at the tomb of the Savior. The stone of earthly sorrow has been rolled away from the heart: joyful Angels have appeared before the eyes of the soul, bringing meek consolation of faith. By right, Maria, you hold in your hands the baton of superiority on the Borodino field. You acquired this field with your sword - with your tears. Take the sky with them. Gradually, the daughters of the Russian land flocked to the vast cemetery, to the monastic banner of Mary; gradually the monastery of grave guardians turned into a monastery of prayer books and servants of God. At the very redoubt of the left flank, where the battle was in full swing most horribly, where on the hot day of the battle mud formed from the mixing of blood with the earth, where mountains of corpses grew, now the Holy Church. In it, the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered daily for the repose of those who shed their blood. The virgins who died for the world sing a funeral hymn over the knights who died for Russia. And often, exhausted by vigil and fasting, the old women see in a subtle dream on their hard beds: regiments of warriors, following regiments, appear from nowhere, march orderly to a secluded monastery, enter the church, go to the holy altar, then hide in an unknown place. The timid nuns decided to approach those who appeared and ask who they were. “We are the ones,” the warriors answered, “for whom you pray; We come to share our prayers with you.” The Borodino field, the field-sea, the field of a magnanimous feat, a terrible murder, is a quiet, silent cemetery, resounding only with the ringing of the monastery bell, which calls nuns to prayer every day at certain hours, and with the voice of the villagers cultivating the land, satiated with blood! Like a pier here - a monastery; like shelves - grain crops; instead of shakos there are ears of corn! Pious daughters of Russia! May God help you accomplish the invisible feat of selflessness! He helped your brothers to stand up courageously, to stand with their Russian breasts against the proud adversary; May He help you too: He is the omnipotent God. (On June 15, 1848, there was a prayer service in Novo-Sergievsky, the country palace of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna on the occasion of Her Highness receiving part of the relics of St. Sergius) The blessed Russian land has produced many Saints. They shine with various grace-filled gifts from the heavens of the Russian Church. From this blessed host, St. Sergius shines with the gift of helping his native country in its dangers and storms, to patronize and promote its Royal House. He fought the hero Donskoy against the countless hordes of Mamai; He fought for the descendants of Donskoy against the predatory, rebellious Kazan people. During the most severe domestic disaster, during the unrest caused by impostors and Sarmatians, St. Sergius performed a wondrous sign, a historical sign; such a sign is not recorded on the pages of the history of other nations. Just as waves are crushed, crumble, hitting a granite rock, so all the efforts of the enemies were crushed under the walls of the monastery of St. Sergius, before his prayers, before the power of God, called upon and attracted by his prayers. In the vast expanse of devastated, restless Russia, the Lavra of Sergius stood as a cornerstone. This stone repelled the all-consuming waves! This stone became the stone of renewal and greatness of Russia. Both the Kings and the people, seeing the help of Heaven sent through the intercession of St. Sergius, loved him and his monastery. There they flow to the incorruptible relics of the Pleasant of God - to living witnesses on earth - just as fiery love for God, combined with love for the Tsar and the Fatherland, is pleasing to Heaven. Saint Sergius is a Russian folk Saint. In the vicinity of the ancient capital, Sergius rests in the sleep of resurrection, revealing and beginning his resurrection with incorruption and the presence of the grace of God with his body. A wonderful body!.. The souls of many are not capable of the presence of God's grace with them - this body is capable of such a presence! Usually human bodies, having been separated from their souls, instantly become infected with decay and begin to emit a stench; and this body resists decay for many centuries, shedding fragrance from itself! This body is long deceased, but life breathes from it. And the eternal spiritual life of this body appears in various healings, in various signs that are performed on those who call for the help of St. Sergius, on those who kiss with faith and love his body, sanctified by the Holy Spirit - on those who kneel before the Holy Spirit, who mysteriously and essentially lives in this sacred body! Now the happiest event has happened; this day should be called a “prosperous day.” Called by the pious Branch of the Royal House of Russia, St. Sergius came with a particle of his body, with all the fulfillment of the abundant Divine grace co-present in his body, St. Sergius came to the monastery of the pious and God-loving Mary. A disposition towards the Pleasant of God, the intercessor of the Kings and the Fatherland, had long been sown in her soul. Establishing her summer monastery on the banks of the Belt, on a picturesque hill, among a thicket of spreading ancient trees, Mary named the monastery after St. Sergius. Her hand, guided by inspiration from above, led by love for the Pleasant of God, drew an image of the church. According to her own drawing, her built church stands at the end of two alleys: both of them lead from the Royal Palace to the Palace of God. The Monk Sergius erected a church to the Most Holy Trinity in his monastery; Following Sergius in this, Mary dedicated the church to the Most Holy Trinity. Is it surprising if St. Sergius himself came to Mary’s monastery! Until June 15, the weather in St. Petersburg was inclement and stormy; On the 15th, Mary scheduled a prayer service in her Church of the Most Holy Trinity before the relics of St. Sergius. In the morning, a light wind dispersed the clouds; the fragrance of summer filled the air; The sun was shining in all its brilliance in the clear, blue sky. The sky seemed somehow joyful: it seemed pleasant to look at the work of the pious Daughter of the Russian Tsar, and promoted her good work. All the inhabitants of Mary’s Royal Palace flocked to pray, sharing with their Lady their zeal for the Holy One, comforted by her holy zeal. Immersed in deep reverent attention, she and her eldest daughter stood before the healing and incorruptible relics of the Righteous One. On the shore of the Belt, with the sound of its waves, with the sound of the sea wind, prayerful chants of the clergy were heard, chants of praise to the Monk Sergius, chants of praise to his soul, rejoicing with the Angels at the eternal feast of Heaven, chants of praise to his holy relics brought to the monastery of the blessed, pious Mary. After completing the prayer, after saying the petition for prosperous years and many years to the great Tsar and Russia, God's chosen and divinely crowned entire family, Mary kissed the holy relics of the holy resident who had again come to live in her monastery. When she left, her household approached the shrine with that simple and virgin faith that is still preserved in the hearts of Russians and constitutes their spiritual, essential strength. – June 15th is a day that is rightly called prosperous! on this day, how many impressions, sensations, thoughts were born in the Royal Monastery of Novo-Sergius - saints, pleasing to Heaven. May the blessing of Heaven descend on you, the Creator of this prosperous day! May this blessing descend on your husband, on your children, on your whole house, on your deeds, on all the days and hours of your life, both earthly and heavenly. And let the new resident of your monastery be your guardian, your guardian, just as the fiery Cherub was the guardian of paradise. May he mysteriously speak to your mind and heart, may he tell them the will of God, the holy statutes of eternity, the rapid changeability of everything temporary, may he teach you the high virtues of the Gospel, which purify and enlighten the soul, which alone will enter with honor into a blessed and glorious eternity. You here cordially, with love, accepted Sergius into your monastery; - May he assist you in creating an imperishable monastery in the holy and eternal villages of heavenly Jerusalem! May the Venerable Sergius beg God to write your name in Heaven in the book of life, and on earth to inscribe it on the tablets of history in the bright rays of glory. These rays are emitted from pure, holy virtue. Preface to the story “Joseph” 3 In Pushkin's Onegin and Lermontov's Pechorin, an egoist is depicted, contemporary to each of the two poets. Did those who looked into this mirror and recognized themselves in it feel remorse? Has the thought of reform been planted in their soul, like a blessed seed? doubtful. It was fun for the author of Pechorin, as he himself says, to draw a modern person: why isn’t it fun for a modern person to see himself drawn? Why shouldn’t a modern person complete in himself, according to the artist’s drawing, what was missing? Self-love admires itself, rejoices in its successes. When it takes possession of a person, it begins to quickly strive for perfection, and strives for it until it develops a demon out of the person. Of course: many young people read Onegin, especially Pechorin, before entering the world, or having just entered it, read it with all the fervor, with all the susceptibility of youth: did this reading produce in them a disgust from selfishness? doubtful, doubtful! This is not the fate of human nature, and not yet spoiled by the experiences of life. Most of the young readers must have been infected with the poison of selfishness! In many, the thought certainly flashed: “This is the sure way to keep up in the world!” – and – forward! in the footsteps of Grigory Alexandrovich. We don’t think long, especially in our youth, when deciding our fate: the deceitful promise of the seducer “you will be like a god” 4 retains to this day all its power over people. The above thought of the young men is far from solid: but it must certainly be born in an inexperienced soul when reading “A Hero of Our Time”: after all, he gets away with everything, every enterprise succeeds! what more do you need? And the writer’s masterful hand left on the example she depicted of an immoral person, alien to religion and rules, some kind of gloomy beauty, the alluring beauty of an outcast angel. Grigory Alexandrovich seduces, not only when reading his exploits, he seduces with a strong impression that remains and lives for a long time after reading the novel. The author of Pechorin did not decide for himself whether his book was useful or harmful. Pechorin dies during a stupid trip to Persia. During his lifetime, he was dead to society, and in particular to his neighbors: - not only that! infected anyone who came into contact with him with a mortal disease. And that's not enough! Despite his moral loneliness, his alienation from people, Pechorin left behind a numerous descendant of followers, whom he leads to the same place he himself reached. According to the examples of vice, a person becomes corrupted, but according to the examples of virtue, a person is corrected. For this purpose, a story is proposed here, in all its beginnings the opposite of the two above-mentioned stories, opposite both in impression and consequences. It is not fiction - a statement of a true event while maintaining all historical accuracy. The impression from it should be positive, significant, true, strong, not dreamy, it should act with truth, and not with passion and seduction. Unbelief is the source of selfishness; faith in God is the source of correct love for oneself and one’s neighbor. Actions flowing from a right belief in God are radically opposed to actions flowing from faith in oneself or in some vague fatalism. Everyone, of necessity, must be convinced that in a person good is mixed with evil; Does satisfying one's vicious desires mean loving oneself? rather it means to hate. And this is how egoists love themselves. That is why they are enemies to themselves and everyone. Correct self-love lies in suppressing evil in oneself, in the possible development of good. A sound mind, of necessity, must recognize this love as true. This is how it is recognized by God: God’s commandment points to it as the measure of love for one’s neighbor. Its very consequences justify it: a person is brought into agreement with himself, with society, with circumstances, whatever they may be; all his actions bear the stamp of high virtue; the consequences of these actions are constantly and always positive. He who believes in God with living faith and is guided in his actions by the Law of God endures with firmness and courage the disasters of his earthly journey; does not abuse the weaknesses of others; does not take revenge on enemies, but does good to them; controls the feelings of the heart for a well-intentioned purpose, not for the purpose of criminally fulfilling his deep, vicious plans; arranges state and family welfare; knows how to be wisely and beneficently strict to correct people who have strayed from the path of truth; his moral strength, the strength of virtue, has a happy and lasting influence on his posterity; the virtue innate in his heart gives him a gentle and at the same time strong pleasure: it is heard in his soul, like the fragrance of cider from a sealed vessel. The historical, true proof of all this is Joseph. We wish that his descendants would be numerous, that many of Pechorin’s followers would turn into followers of Joseph: we wish this for the common good, for the private good, for the true and eternal good. Addition to the sketch “Garden in Winter” 5 Just a few more words about the resurrection of the dead! I will tell you what was told to me by the undeceitful lips of a certain ascetic, I will tell you for my friends who work in the grapes of the heart. There is a book that opens for a person in his heart, there, there he is destined by God to hear the highest teaching, just as the Lord said in the Gospel: believe in Me, from his belly (that is, the womb of the soul-heart) springs of living water will flow; This verb is explained by Saint John the Theologian, speaking about the Spirit, which those who believe in Him want to receive. So, the Spirit is the book of the heart into which He dwells. This ascetic practiced the Jesus Prayer for a long time in the secret of his spiritual cage and felt various actions within himself. One day, standing in church and deepening in prayer, he felt a particularly rich effect of it: his whole body and blood rejoiced in the living God and plunged into indescribable pleasure 6 . Then he received experimental knowledge about the resurrection of the dead and the future bliss of the human body, which he previously knew about and believed in, enlightened by the teachings of the Church. If in this life our body can not only get rid of the action of passions, but also become a partaker of the spiritual pleasures of grace, then, having within itself the seed of eternal life, it cannot but come to life and ascend with the soul into the Heavenly Kingdom! I will praise You, Lord my God, for all Your good deeds, which You continually poured out on me throughout my entire life, for which I paid You with my hobbies alone, my sins alone. In Thy right hand, which is now punishing me, I recognize a beneficent right hand. You send me temporary illnesses as harbingers of death and the eternal illnesses of hell, which sinners like me must undergo; With temporary suffering You take me away from eternal torment. You have generously rewarded me with earthly goods; but, satiated with them, I forgot about You, my God; I forgot about the ineffable blessings You have prepared for me in eternity; completely surrendered to the service of the vain world. My sinful lusts became my idol: to this idol I began to sacrifice all the strength of my soul and body, zealously working towards my destruction. You, my merciful Lord, have deigned to remember those who forgot about You! You opened the eyes of the one born blind with clay and spitting: so now you have opened the eyes of my heart, which is temporary and transitory, and they have seen the vanity and insignificance of everything temporary, they have seen the full importance of serving You. Forgive my countless sins; although from now on grant me to become Your servant. Let me stop doing the will of the world, the will of the sin-loving heart and body! let me begin to do Your will! Teach me to do Your all-holy will! Heal me, heal me with divine medicines - Your most holy Word and Your healing ulcers; call and bring me with them into the knowledge of You, into love for You! You beat everyone you accept and punish everyone you love 8 . I surrender myself entirely to Your will: do with Your creation what is pleasing to You. I thank, I glorify You, my God, I thank, I glorify You, my almighty Physician! Pour out Your mercy on me and grant healing to my ailing soul, with thanksgiving and praise to You, with obedience and devotion to Your will, bearing the saving burden of temporary suffering: You place this burden on those Your servants for whom You have destined salvation and eternal bliss as their inheritance. In my fierce sorrow I submit my heart and my thoughts to You, my Lord God. You gave me a gift, and You took it away. May Thy will be blessed from now to eternity: Thy will is holy, all Thy actions are holy and wise. You are great in Your good deeds to man, You are also great in the executions with which You punish him: for no one living is justified before You, and You always win, as the All-Perfect One, at the court in which You judge the conscience of man. I reverently bow my head before You, I, Your unworthy and weak creation: I give Yours to You. Accept the deceased into Your eternal bliss! having deprived him of temporal goods through death, reward him a hundredfold with eternal benefits. Grant me to spend the rest of my earthly life pleasingly to You, for the eternal benefit of my soul and the soul of the deceased, and reward the bitter temporary separation with an eternal union for eternal bliss. And you, soul, precious to my heart, shaking off the burden of the flesh, fly to the high and holy Eden. On your way to heaven, no one will dare to stop you! may the doors of heaven open to you! May the celestials welcome you warmly! join their holy host and enjoy the sight of God forever. But when you come to paradise and gain confidence from the Lord, remember your earthly friend, who inconsolably mourns separation from you: beg the merciful God to grant me, having lived piously, to come to you in your bright village, there, in a blissful, holy union with you, to forget my terrible grief and be consoled by consolation, for which there is no longer betrayal. 1. Can anyone say about himself: I am holy, because I fast, I live in the desert and I have given away my possessions? – Is he truly holy who has not purified his inner man? Purification is not simple abstinence from passions, but the eradication of them from the heart; This is what perfect purification consists of! Through the fog of thoughts that constantly arise in you, enter (O man!) to your soul, captive to sin and its slave, examine your thoughts to the bottom and explore the depth of your thoughts; then you will see a serpent crawling and nesting in the depths of your soul, which, having poisoned its members, killed you. (The heart is an immeasurable abyss.) If you kill this serpent, then boast before God of your purity; if not, humble yourself as a weak and sinful person, and beg God for your secrets. 2. True death is hidden in the interior of the heart; By this death the inner man can be dead even while the outer man is alive. So, whoever has passed from death to life in the interior of the heart will truly live forever and never die again. Although his body will be separated from his soul for some time, it will nevertheless be sanctified and will rise with glory. That is why we call the death of saints a sleep. 3. All the efforts of our enemy are to distract our thoughts from the memory and love of God and from true blessings to imaginary and non-existent ones, using worldly delights for this. The evil one tries to corrupt and defile every good deed of a person, to mix in the heart with the commandment of God his seed of vanity and self-confidence, so that the good deed done is not done solely for God, and not from a single good disposition. 4. What should we do, having never begun the examination of conscience? Where should we begin to enter the interior of our heart? - Standing outside, let us knock with fasting and prayer, according to the commandment of the Lord: Press and it will be opened to you 11. If we constantly remain in the teaching of the Word of God, in poverty, humility, in all the virtues according to His commandments, knocking day and night on the spiritual door of the Lord, then, without a doubt, we will be able to find what we are looking for. Anyone who wants to avoid darkness can avoid it through this door: for, having entered this door, he enters into the freedom of the soul, accepts thoughts worthy of it, accepts the Heavenly King Christ into himself. O earthly traveler! wake up from sleep: You are immersed, as if in a deep sleep, in carelessness. Stop wasting life in vain - a priceless gift to waste! Otherwise death will suddenly come to you - like a thief... And at the gates of eternity - a terrible awakening! Here everything is hostile to me, all death is pernicious A piercing wind, heavy waters, steam from the swamp, Changes in weather and an eternally gloomy and threatening sky. How pale is the ray of sunshine, Belta twisted It doesn’t warm, it burns!.. I don’t like it, I don’t like it I am struck down by illness, bound as if by a chain, chained to my bed, They are locked in their cell. An involuntary recluse And my heart?.. Ah, they killed it!.. It lived until now, He lived through suffering, but he lived. Now there is silence in it I opened it with love and faith, open They plunged daggers into my heart; and daggers were a reward For friendship, for the direct word, for the life brought I will leave, killed, I will leave people in the obscurity of the desert!.. I see what people like and need: they need flattery, Vanity, alien to true glory. They forgot that fame is From a clear conscience. But they don’t need God, and their conscience is They do not need confidantes of truth from the public as servants. They need slaves - instruments of their depraved will... I will leave people and in the deep desert I will indulge in sobs: There, only moans will be my food, and tears will be my drink. I will pay for myself, my heart is killed, Mip, immersed in evil, And I will go down to my grave sad, in the hope of joy in heaven. My past days of happiness; And the odal stood up in days of sorrow. Search among self-forgetfulness: And there is no joy in entertainment! There is no barrier to his melancholy: And sadness, like night, fogs the mind. I have been tested by fate, by enemies, Wounded by many arrows: I was tormented by betrayal. And for a long, long time I languished... But finally, through the thickness of the clouds, Through the darkness of the world's judgments, a ray, A ray of joyful light broke through. I received my sight and came to life. Lively, Enlightened by holy faith, When Christ is from the Light Light - Patience advises sorrows, To reach the village in the mountains! Carnal sweetness, earthly honor And flattery of perishable wealth, Will they abide with him forever? Power, strength, genius and beauty. The forgotten poor man - here he lies And the worm, in the darkness of the grave swarm, There is no salvation outside His paths! Decorate yourself with fasting, tears, Prayer, many sorrows! To the holy Divine palace, You will enter, rejoicing, playing! God is waiting for you there with a reward! What is the significance of a silent person who is shut up in his cell and remains in it forever? This is a criminal who confessed to his crimes and was sentenced to death. Hourly waiting for the sentence to be carried out, because of this expectation, because of the consciousness of his sinfulness, he is immersed in uninterrupted sadness. But his Lord is infinitely merciful, and he, based on the infinite mercy of his Lord, cries out to the Lord for mercy. He certainly cries out, cries out with tears, cries out from the depths of his heart, he cries out with only his mind, with the silence of his lips, with a mind that has fallen into the depths of his heart, secluded in this desert, in which all relations with the world have been severed, sympathy for everything temporary and transitory has been lost. I shut myself up in my cell, says the silent man, as if in prison, in order to forcibly distract myself from entertainment, in order to force myself to cleanse my sinfulness, to recognize it, to confess it; Perhaps a feeling of repentance and tenderness will awaken in my soul. Perhaps I will ask my God to have mercy on me, and He will deliver me from the prison of sin during my earthly life; and when I take off my body and go into the ground, he will deliver me from imprisonment in the prison of hell, which torments its prisoners and keeps them in its terrible and stuffy darkness forever. Hour after hour, day after day flows by, giving way to a harmonious sequence of weeks - months - years. The present is constantly becoming past; and what stood before him and was seen in the distant future is present; I am constantly approaching my departure from here. Sometimes I look from the windows of my cell at the modest picture of nature that is visible from them, and I feel that my eyes are the eyes of a guest. Everything here is already alien to me, another country, unknown to me, awaits me. I looked at it only by faith, but I was already at its gates. Suddenly and instantly these gates can open, they will certainly open, they will open unknown when. The earthly life of every person is a journey, traveling from the cradle to the tomb; passes through different ages, through different ways of thinking, through different sensations, through different circumstances. Naked we enter the field of earthly life and lie down in the coffin, leaving behind everything material acquired during earthly life, only covered with the necessary clothing, which is not needed by our nakedness, which is needed by the eyes of those contemplating our burial. What will we wear into eternity? Obviously, an acquired way of thinking, internalized sensations. I see myself captured and held by robbers. They tied me with strong ropes, shackled me with heavy chains, instilled incurable illnesses into me; which is strange: I myself helped them commit a terrible crime against me. From the pain I came to relaxation. Lost the ability to function. I feel like life is barely alive in me. I am bound with chains within me, in my soul; the shackles took away my ability to move; The robbers placed a vigilant and implacable guard over me. My diverse illness is sinfulness; ulcers are my passions, iron chains are sinful habits that forcefully attract me to commit sins that I hate; robbers are spirits of evil. I myself have no strength, and they do not allow me to return to Jerusalem. They do not allow thoughts to concentrate in the heart, scattered and wandering around the universe without need or purpose; They do not allow me there, in the church of the true God, to worship in spirit and in truth. There is no evidence in me of life that would be entirely contained within myself; I am undergoing a complete disappearance of the vital force in my body. I'm dying. Not only is my mortal body subject to death, but my very soul does not have within itself the conditions of indestructible life; The Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church teaches me this. The soul, like the Angels, is granted immortality by God; it is not their property, not their natural belonging; the body, in order to maintain its life, needs to be nourished by air and the products of the Earth. The soul, in order to support and preserve its immortality, needs the mysterious action of the Divine Right Hand on itself. Who am I? Appearance, but I feel my existence. For many years someone pondered about a satisfactory answer to the proposed question, pondered and, delving into self-contemplation in the light of the lamp of the spirit of God, through many years of reflection he was led to the following relative definition of man. Man is a reflection of a being, the character of a being. God, the One, is reflected in human life. This is how the sun depicts itself in a pure raindrop. In a raindrop we see the Sun. But what we see in it is not the sun; the sun is there, at an unattainable height. What is my soul? What is my body? What is my mind? What are the feelings of the heart? What is the feeling of the body? What are the powers of soul and body? What's life? Unresolved issues. For thousands of years, the human race began to discuss these issues, tried to resolve them, and retreated from them, becoming convinced of their intractability. What could be more familiar than our body? Having a feeling, it is exposed to all these feelings; knowledge of the body should be the most satisfactory, as acquired by both reason and feeling. It is exactly the same in relation to knowledge about the soul, about its properties and powers. About objects not subject to the senses of the body. Prayer for seeing your sins God! Let us see our sins, and let our minds, drawn to attention by our own sins, cease to see the sins of our neighbors, and so let all our neighbors be good will see. Grant to our hearts the destructive concern for the infirmities of our neighbor, to leave all care in one care for the acquisition of purity and holiness, which You have commanded and prepared for us, aggregate. Grant to us, who have defiled the garments of our souls, to make them white again: having already been washed with the waters of Baptism, now, having been defiled, we demand to be washed with the tearful waters. Grant us to see, in the light of Thy grace, the various ailments that live within us, the spiritual movements in the heart that consume, the movements of the blood and the flesh, hostile to the kingdom of God, in it is introducing. Give us the great gift of repentance, the great gift of seeing our sins before and after us. Protect us with these great gifts on our path to You and allow us to reach You, those who recognize themselves as sinners who call and imagine themselves righteous to be those who reject, so that we may praise Him eternally in bliss Eternal to You, the One True God, the captive Redeemer, the lost Savior. Literature lessons taught by His Eminence Bishop Ignatius 17 Lesson I. Concept of literature Literature is a rational ability of the human soul. This ability is expressed in a variety of ways, for example, in various arts, crafts and works; predominantly it is expressed in words. From the predominant, or main, expression of its rational ability received its name. Other abilities of the human soul include imagination and memory. Animals are also gifted with these two abilities. Through the imagination, objects of the visible world are impressed on the soul; through memory, impressions are stored in the soul. The mind can, from impressions delivered by the imagination, compose different pictures at will; the mind can even invent non-existent objects and compose corresponding pictures from them, giving them, through the imagination, a kind of existence. The composition of these pictures and the pictures themselves are called dreaming and fantasy. Animals do not have dreams, as they are deprived of the mind, the originator of dreams. The mind acts in a similar way through memory. Memory, depending on the mind, accumulates impressions not only from the material world, but also from the spiritual world, from the mental realm. The sum of impressions accumulated by memory constitutes a person’s knowledge. Mind is the ability to think. The mind, clothed in the thoughts or knowledge it has acquired, is called reason. Thoughts assimilated by the mind are capable of changing, and therefore the mind comes in various modifications. It can be childish, mature, true, false, carnal, spiritual. The mind, as a natural ability, can be bright, sharp, extensive, deep, dull, meager. A thought is an expression of the mind about something, or: a thought is an expression of any one knowledge. For example: a candle burns, a child learns, love is the highest among virtues. Although thought will naturally be born from the mind, but since the human mind always has an acquired image of thoughts and produces new thoughts in accordance with this image, otherwise it cannot produce them, then the definition of human thought that we have made is the most accurate. The same must be said about the thoughts of all rational creatures; but in the all-perfect Being, God, thought is an expression of the mind. The sensation of virtues and grace, as well as vice and evil, belongs to human literature and is dependent on the mind, because this sensation cannot exist and does not exist in animals that do not have a mind, having other sensations similar to humans. This sensation, the very ability of this sensation is called the human spirit. The spirit is in harmony with the mind; sensations can be true, false, carnal, spiritual, good, sinful. When, through the bodily senses and the ability to imagine, an impression from the visible world is assimilated to the soul, then this impression is called a concept. Concepts acquired by man have different degrees. They may be: Clear, when we distinguish an object from other objects, although we do not have complete information about it. Such are generally the concepts of people about the sky, about water, about earth, about grass, about trees and other similar objects. Without knowing exactly what these objects mean, people distinguish them from one another. Detailed concepts are similar to clear ones, but not so superficial. They presuppose knowledge of many characteristics of an object that distinguish it from other objects. Having such a concept can describe an object. Complete, or perfect, concepts - when we know so many characteristics of an object that we can point out its complete difference from all other objects, separate it from all other objects, or define it differently. In concepts about objects, we notice connection and gradualness. Some objects make up a whole, others have the meaning of parts. According to objects, concepts about objects have their own gradualism and their own relationships. A whole is something that is made up of parts. A part is something that, together with other similar objects, forms a whole. An object can have the meaning of a whole in relation to its parts, and at the same time be a part in relation to another object. For example: a province, in relation to its districts, is a whole, but in relation to the state it is a part. The state is a whole in relation to its regions; it is a part in relation to the part of the world in which it is located. Another similar relationship has been observed between objects. It is depicted by the names: indivisible, species and genus. Indivisible has a similar meaning to the meaning of part: indivisible is that which has its own, separate existence. For example: Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Tula, Vyatka. Each of these cities has its own separate existence, and in relation to itself constitutes an inseparable existence. When many inseparables have one common property, then this common property is called species. So: Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Vologda, Tula, Vyatka have the common property that they are provincial cities. When many species have one property in common, this common property is called a genus. So: capitals, provincial towns, district towns, provincial towns, villages, suburbs, villages have the general property of a human settlement. This division is necessary when drawing up definitions. A definition is a complete and perfect concept expressed in a word. In order to define an object that has the meaning of inseparable, one looks for its type and the difference by which the object is decisively different from all other objects of the same type. For example: Simferopol is a provincial city of the Tauride province; Vyatka is a provincial city in the Vyatka province. In order to more accurately define the inseparable, we must put together several of the most distinctive features of this inseparable. Thus, a more accurate definition will be: Simferopol is a provincial city of the Tauride province, in the Russian state, at such and such degrees of longitude and latitude. To determine a species, one looks for its genus and the difference by which it differs from all other objects of the same genus. For example: a provincial city is that city in each province of the Russian state in which the main administration of the province is concentrated. Description approaches the definition as calculating many characteristics of an object; but it is not required to provide that decisive difference to the object from all other objects, as is required from the definition. The more a description enumerates the attributes of an object, the more complete it is; The more significant these signs are, the more definite it is. What has been said about concepts delivered by objects of the material world also applies to concepts received from the mental realm and from the spiritual world. The first kind of concepts, as acquired through the bodily senses, are called sensory; concepts of the second kind are abstract. Abstract concepts are impressions made on us by our mind and our sensations. These are the concepts of good, evil, faith, learning, and so on. Abstract concepts can also be clear, detailed and complete. Abstract objects can also be divided into wholes and parts, and can have the character of an inseparable type and kind. For example: virtue is a gender; humility, love, patience are types; humility in relation to humility is part and inseparable; humility in relation to humility is a whole and a species. Humility can be defined this way: humility is humility of mind. A concept expressed by voice or writing is called a word or a speech, and vice versa: every word is an expression of some concept, with the exception of a verb, which is an expression of thought, and which for this reason is called a word (verbum), a verb, before other words. But in the non-final mood it also expresses a concept. Examples of concepts expressed in words: person, pleasant, he, who, love, very, because, where, ah! Expressing one thought in a word or words is called a logical sentence. For example, I like to eat a logical sentence as one that fully expresses one thought; on the contrary: an educated, intelligent, pleasant, dexterous person is only a concept. Expressing thoughts in general in words is called speech. The science of using words correctly is called grammar. The art of reproducing speech correctly and gracefully is called rhetoric. The study of grammar is supposed to be according to Mr. Vostokov’s textbook: why here from the concepts of the human ability, called literature, we move on to the art of correctly and pleasantly reproducing speech - to rhetoric. Lesson II. On turning sentences into periods Speech, in its initial form, is a sentence. Or: A sentence is the expression of one kind of knowledge, one kind of thought related to a clear concept. A sentence consists of two parts: subject and predicate. The subject is what is being said. The predicate is what is said about the subject 18. Due to this property, a sentence should be expressed only by the most necessary words, so that they depict a simple thought in its initial appearance. A sentence reproduced in this way will be reproduced in the most correct way. The presentation, due to its correctness, must also be pleasant, because in all types of speech, significant dignity and grace are given to it by correctness). A sentence cannot always be depicted in just the necessary words for one clear concept: often a thought requires many words for a satisfactory explanation of itself, for the presentation of a detailed and complete concept of both the subject and the predicate. A sentence expressed in many words is called a period. Based on this relationship of a sentence to a period, it is possible to compose a period from any sentence, and from any period to extract a sentence containing the main, main idea. The period is the same sentence, depicted in a large number of words to complete the concept. The purpose with which we resort to a larger number of words is to give a concept that is, if possible, accurate and complete, about a thought about which only a clear concept is given in a sentence. In accordance with this goal, we will point out the ways in which a sentence is transformed into a period. This is accomplished by adding sentences to words. 1) Definitive and additional words 19. Example. Man was created by God: this is a proposal. The first man, Adam, was miraculously created out of nothing by the all-powerful and all-good God. Definitions and additions are emphasized here. 2) Words and expressions that are similar, but not identical. Example. The most excellent of all earthly creatures, man, was miraculously created from nothing by the omnipotent and all-good God, the Creator of all visible and invisible creatures. 3) Subordinate clauses. Example. The most excellent of all earthly creatures, man, was wonderfully created out of nothing by the omnipotent and all-good God, who concluded the whole work of creation with the creation of man, or: The most excellent of all earthly creatures, man, was wonderfully created by the omnipotent and all-good God, who, as if placing a sacred seal on the work of creation, created man after all creatures. In the first example there is one subordinate clause; the second contains two subordinate clauses. 4) Words and expressions that mean the opposite. Example. The most excellent of all earthly creatures, man, in contrast to the gross masses of insensible matter that appeared at the beginning of the Creator’s work, was created after all creatures by the omnipotent and all-good God, who, as if placing a sacred seal on the work of creation, finally created man. 5) When we count, it serves to explain the thought in a sentence regarding the questions: who? What? Where? with what help? For what? How? When? - these questions are depicted in verse in Latin: quis? quid? ubi? quibus avxilus? cur? quomodo? Quando? What? and where? This is the most excellent of all earthly creatures, wonderfully created by God. With what help? solely by the will and goodness of the Creator; For what? to enjoy eternal bliss; How? to print the whole work of creation; When? after all the creatures. When transforming a sentence into a period, in accordance with the purpose of this transformation, one should strive solely to ensure that the thought is expressed as fully and accurately as possible. To do this, one must not only ensure that all expressions and words that provide definiteness to thoughts are found, but also that unnecessary words and expressions are not inserted into the speech, darkening the speech and taking away clarity and definiteness from the speech. Russian speech does not need long periods. A Russian speaks abruptly, one of our best writers noted. And therefore, if there are many concepts and thoughts, which are all very necessary to explain the main idea, and cannot be missed, then the speech should be divided into two periods. Example. The most excellent of all visible creatures, man, was created after all creatures by the almighty and all-good God. God, as if placing a sacred seal on the great work of creation, created man. When transforming sentences into periods, one must look at the means for transformation solely as means, as aids. Indication of them does not in any way impose on the writer the obligation to use all means when compiling each period. But dealing with them is not superfluous: it will prevent you from making important omissions. We repeat: the writer must be extremely careful of excess and idle talk. Excess, for the most part, is more harmful than deficiency itself, especially when the latter is unimportant. All speech consists of sentences and periods: and therefore the correct and elegant composition of sentences and periods serves as the basis for correctness and elegance in any larger speech. Every speech is written in periods and sentences. When a speech contains several sentences in a row, then such a passage of speech is called intermittent speech. Example. The sun was hidden behind thick clouds; at midday it became gloomy; black, menacing clouds covered the sky; a strong wind roared: a terrible storm was preparing; At this time, a lonely traveler was walking along a vast steppe like the sea. Transitions from periods to intermittent speech, as well as the appropriate placement in a series of periods of a brief thought, the most general, gives the speech variety, liveliness and entertainment. Example. Vladimir the Great united in a short time all the individual regions of vast Russia under the beneficial scepter of autocracy. But we do not appreciate, as we should, what comes to us easily. Vladimir, who made up a majestic whole, made up a huge, strong state from separate regions, often hostile to each other, destroying one another, he himself destroyed his work: he destroyed the state he formed, dividing Russia, like dividing a patrimony, into principalities according to the number of his twelve sons. The consequences of this act were long-term disasters: civil strife, the conquest of a strong Russia, weakened by division, a horde of Tatars, the disintegration of Russia into two parts, eastern and western. Autonomy came to save the dying fatherland; but it could not help but act slowly, rebuilding what was destroyed, reuniting what was divided and fragmented. The unconsciously inflicted wound is not yet completely healed! Russia came into possession of some countries that were already subordinate to Vladimir, such as the Western Caucasus, quite recently, and Galicia, subject to Vladimir, Galicia - natural Russia, still suffers under an alien yoke. Brief thoughts inserted between periods are emphasized. Based on the above and for the further development of concepts, we give the period, in addition to the definition given to it, the following definition: a period is speech that expresses complete and perfect meaning, that is, speech that expresses one thought in detail and definitely, in accordance with the requirements of need. It is obvious that this definition is identical with the definition given above: a period is also a sentence, but expressed in many words to provide the thought with satisfactory completeness and certainty. A period in which one main idea is expressed is called simple. After it, like after such a speech that has its own separate meaning, a period (.) is placed. A period is also placed after a sentence that has this property. It often happens that the main thought from which a simple period is composed is in some relation, in some dependence on another thought, which must also be presented separately, giving it full meaning, but together also connected with the main thought; then constitute a difficult period. This means: they make up a simple period for the main thought, and also for a thought associated with the main thought in some way, another simple period; these two simple periods are no longer called periods, but terms, and a colon is placed between them not a dot (.), but a colon). Then the whole speech, that is, both terms together, is called a period, and the period (.) is placed at the end of such a period. Example. One must endure sorrows complacently, placing oneself on God: God educates through sorrows and prepares for a blissful eternity every person who devotes himself to serving God. The member of the complex period in which the main idea is stated is called lowering: because when pronouncing it, the voice usually lowers. An added thought is called a rise: because when it is pronounced, the voice rises. The relationship of an additional or added thought to the main thought varies. Based on this difference, the difficult period has different names. 1) When the surplus thought contains the main reason (in Slavic wine), then the period is called verbal wine. Example. A true Christian endures sorrows complacently, (because) he finds consolation in faith. 2) When a thought containing a cause is stated before the main one, and the main one comes after it, in the form of a consequence flowing from it, then the period is called final. Example. Faith teaches us that everything that happens to us does not happen without the Providence of God: (and therefore) a true Christian endures all the sorrows of earthly life complacently. 3) Sometimes the surplus thought is connected to the main relation of the condition: then the period is called conditional. Example. (If) everything that happens to us happens according to the will of God: (then) we must endure even sorrows and misfortunes complacently, trusting in God and in devotion to His holy will. 4) Sometimes the additional thought is in relation to the opposite of the main one and contains some limitation of it: then the period is called adversative. Example. (Although) sorrows are painful for the human heart: (but) they must be endured generously, as God’s permission. 5) Sometimes the additional thought depicts something similar to the main one: then the period is called comparative. Example. (Just as) a tree that has taken root deep into the earth comfortably endures whirlwinds and storms: so a heart, strengthened by faith, courageously and complacently withstands all the sorrows and misfortunes of earthly life. 6) Sometimes some circumstance preceding the circumstance that is stated in the main thought is attached to the additional thought: then the period is called sequential. Example. When we think that everything that happens to us is done according to the will of the all-good and all-wise God, then our heart, outraged by the storm of sorrows, calms down. 7) When the additional thought in relation to the main one expresses some proportionality and conformity: then the period is called relative. Example. He who constantly submits his heart to the will of God: he generously endures the most painful sorrows. Or: to the extent that our heart is devoted to the will of God: to the extent it is capable of enduring sorrows and adversity. Or: the more we succeed in living faith, learning from the experiences of life that the Providence of God is vigilantly vigilant over us and disposes of our participation: the more conveniently we endure with complacency all the vicissitudes and sorrows of earthly life. In the following periods there is no colon between the decrease and increase. These are the essence of the periods: 8) Connecting. This is the name of the period when the main thought is somewhat dependent on the surplus thought, as if it follows from it, but together it has a separate meaning and separate meaning. In the connecting period, after an additional thought, a thought-separation sign (, –) is placed. Example. Faith in God teaches us that everything that happens to us happens by Providence or God’s permission, and the believer courageously endures every attack, every temptation. 9) Dividing - when the subordinate thought is opposite to the main one, and the reader himself is given the choice and preference of one of the two opposite thoughts. Members of the separation period are separated by employment. Example. Either it is necessary to reject the Providence of God and His management of the participation of every person, or we are obliged to generously endure all the vicissitudes of earthly life. 10) Opposite, when the content of the additional thought is opposite to the main one. In the opposite period, members are separated from one another by conjunctions a, but, on the contrary, by a comma, or a comma with a dash. A dash is placed instead of a conjunction. Example. A believer in God generously endures everything, even the most severe sorrows, while an unbeliever falls into despondency and relaxation from the most insignificant trouble. Or: a believer in God generously endures everything, even the most severe sorrows; an unbeliever falls into despondency and relaxation from the most insignificant trouble. 11) Explanatory, when an additional thought contains some explanation of the main one. Members in this period are separated from each other by a comma. Example. Faith in God and devotion to His holy will so strengthens the weak heart of a person that it becomes capable of generously enduring the greatest disasters. 12) Connective, when the subordinate thought is similar to the main one, and is attached to it to strengthen it. Members are separated by a comma. Example. He who believes in God and places all his trust in Him not only endures the vicissitudes of earthly life with firmness of spirit, but also meets with joy every temptation, every sorrow allowed by the Providence of God for the edification of man. 13) Gradual, when the subordinate thought contains a preceding circumstance to that expressed in the main one. In this period, terms are separated by a semicolon (;). Example. At first, sorrows are borne very difficult by a heart not trained in humility and patience; then the sorrows themselves teach a way to endure them, striking with deadly blows the pride that lives in the heart and prevents the generous patience of sorrows. Complex periods consisting of two terms are called binomial. Usually, for a clearer division of members in a period, decent conjunctions are used 20. In other periods, such as: connecting, dividing, explanatory - conjunctions are necessary; but, according to the nature of the Russian language, it is better to avoid them if possible, content with a punctuation mark. In the above examples, the possibility of avoiding conjunctions is indicated: for this purpose, those conjunctions that can be dispensed with are placed in parentheses. Sometimes there is a need to supplement two thoughts of a complex period with a third, giving it its full meaning, giving it the form of a member: then the period is called three-membered, and the third member is attached to one of the first two, judging by the need, separated from it by a semicolon (;). Example. A true Christian endures sorrows complacently; because he finds consolation in faith; Without faith we fall under the blows of sorrows. Sometimes there is a need to present several additional thoughts of the same property: then each thought is given the form of a member, and these members are separated from one another by a semicolon, and from the main thought by a colon. Example. A tree that has taken root deep into the ground can easily withstand storms; black clouds have no influence on the sun beyond their reach; The strongest winds do not affect the water that rests in the abysses of the sea: so a heart filled with faith is not afraid of earthly sorrows. Thus, complex periods can be two-term, three-term, four-term, five-term. Let us repeat here what was said above: the Russian language does not like long periods. When a gradual period has many members, which it is capable of, and the last member, containing the main idea, has the nature of a consequence arising from the circumstances set forth in the preceding members: then the last member can be separated from the others by a colon. Example. At first, sorrows are borne very difficult by a heart not trained in patience and humility; then, little by little, the sorrows themselves teach a mysterious way to endure them, striking with deadly blows the pride that lives in the heart, preventing the generous patience of sorrows: finally, an incomprehensible consolation pours out of the sorrows into the soul of a true servant of Christ, and the sorrows themselves serve as a source of spiritual joy for him. Christian Shepherd and Christian Artist 21 Artist. I come to you for sincere advice. Since childhood, my soul has been enveloped in love for the elegant. I felt like she was singing some kind of wondrous song to someone great, something lofty, singing something that was indefinite for me. I devoted myself to the study of arts and devoted my whole life to them. As you can see, I have already reached adulthood, but have not achieved my goal. This lofty one, before whom my heart revered, whom it sang, was still far from me. My heart continues to see him, as if behind a transparent cloud or a transparent curtain, continues to sing of him, mysteriously, mysteriously for me: I begin to understand that only then will my heart be satisfied when God becomes its subject. Shepherd. Where you ended your speech, I’ll begin mine. Exactly, God alone is an object that can satisfy the spiritual aspirations of man. This is how we are created, and this is what we are made for. It is given to man to look at his Creator and see Him through all of nature, as if through glass; it is given to man to look at Him and see Him in himself, as if in a mirror. When a person looks at God through nature, he comes to know His immeasurable power and wisdom. The more a person accustoms himself to such vision, the more God appears majestic to him, and nature loses its splendor before him, as a conductor - and only - of wonderful vision. From the sight of God in ourselves, we achieve even greater results. When a person sees God in himself, then the viewer and the visible merge into one. With such vision, a person, who previously seemed to himself an independent being, learns that he is a creature, that he is a completely passive being, that he is a vessel, a church for another True Being. This is our destiny: it is revealed to us by the Christian faith, and then by experience itself with the unanimous testimony of the mind, heart, soul, and body. But before this experience, another experience testifies to the same thing: neither contemplation of nature, nor contemplation of ourselves can satisfy the requirement of our spirit, with which the greatest, constant bliss must be associated. Where there is no perfect bliss, there is still desire in the heart; when desire acts, then there is no satisfaction. For complete satisfaction, and therefore bliss, it is necessary for the mind to be without thought, that is, above all thought, and the heart without desire, that is, above all desire. Neither contemplation of nature in itself, nor of man in itself, can bring a person into this state and assimilate this state to him. Moreover, this is impossible because in both objects good and evil are very mixed, and bliss does not tolerate the slightest admixture of evil: it is the enjoyment of whole goodness. Artist. Why don’t we see this theory applied to practice? Shepherd. Such application is always difficult to find between people, especially at the present time. But it existed at all times of Christianity, and exists now, - is not noticed by the crowd, which, striving almost exclusively for material development, cannot sympathize with the truly elegant, see, understand and appreciate it. People gifted by nature with talent do not understand why they were given the gift, and there is no one to explain it to them. Evil in nature, especially in man, is so disguised that the painful pleasure in it captivates the young artist, and he indulges in lies, covered with the guise of truth, with all the fervor of his heart. When the strength of both soul and body is already exhausted, then disappointment comes, mostly felt unconsciously and indefinitely. Most of the talents sought to depict human passions in luxury. Evil is depicted by singers, depicted by painters, depicted by music in all possible variety. Human talent, in all its strength and unfortunate beauty, developed in the depiction of evil; in depicting goodness, he is generally weak, pale, and tense. Artist. I couldn't agree more! The arts have risen to the highest degree in depicting passions and evil, but, I repeat your words, they are generally pale and strained when they try to depict something good, especially the Divine. Raphael's Madonna, this supreme work of painting, is adorned with a charming character of modesty. When does modesty appear in a girl? Then she begins to feel the purpose of a woman in herself. Shyness is a veil of sin, not the radiance of holiness. Such is the character of Bortniansky’s “Cherubim”, such is the character of Racine’s “Esther” and “Athaliah”, the character of Thomas a à Kempis’ “Imitation” 22, from them a refined voluptuousness breathes. And the crowd in front of them is crying and praying!.. But I want to know what means can give an artist to depict virtue and holiness in their own genuine character? Shepherd. The Gospel perfectly likens the human heart to a treasury, from which one can only take out what is in it. True talent, having learned that the Essentially Graceful is God alone, must cast out all passions from the heart, eliminate all false teaching from the mind, acquire for the mind the Gospel way of thinking, and for the heart the Gospel sensations. The first is given by studying the Gospel commandments, and the second by actually fulfilling them. The fruits of deeds, that is, the sensations that follow deeds, accumulate in a person’s heart treasury and constitute his eternal heritage! When the talent has acquired the evangelical character - and this is at first associated with labor and internal struggle - then the artist is illuminated with inspiration from above, then only he can speak holy, sing holy, paint holy. We can only have a correct understanding of our body itself when it is cleansed of sin and imbued with grace. Changes in the body are not limited and do not end with earthly life alone. Here we see that from its conception to its separation by death it constantly changes; many of its changes remain unknown to many; it must still be finally changed by the resurrection and, through it, enter into the unchanging world of either eternal spiritual bliss, if it has become capable of it, or eternal death, if it submitted to sin during earthly life. In order to think, feel and express spiritually, one must bring spirituality to the mind, the heart, and the body itself. It is not enough to imagine goodness or to have the correct concept of goodness: one must infuse it into oneself, be imbued with it. This is all the more necessary because a clear concept of good is completely practical; theory shows only the means of how to acquire the concept of good. A clear concept of good is already good itself, because good in essence is thought, is spirit, is God. Taste and see 23 says the Scripture. So, the spiritual concept comes from spiritual sensation. Artist. What thoughts and corresponding feelings can be considered worthy of God, so that the artist knows what he can depict with art? For greater clarity, let us take a private subject, for example, in a church chant. Shepherd. The first knowledge of man in the spiritual realm is the knowledge of his limitations as a creature, his sinfulness and his fall as a fallen creature. This knowledge is harmonized with the feeling of repentance and crying. Most people are in a state of sinfulness. The most righteous people are very often exposed to subtle sins, and since they very carefully observe themselves, they recognize themselves as sinners much more than all people in general; Moreover, due to the purity of their minds, they see their insignificance in the enormity and history of the world much more clearly than other people. On these grounds, they acquire a feeling of repentance and crying much more than their brothers, who pay little attention to themselves. And therefore the feeling of repentance and crying is common to the entire human race. Many hymns are filled with this feeling, starting with the meaningful prayer so often repeated during Divine services: “Lord, have mercy.” In this prayer, all humanity cries, and from the face of the earth, where it suffers in various ways, both in prisons and on thrones, cries out to God for mercy. However, not all church hymns are imbued with lamentation. The feeling of some of them, as well as the thought, are borrowed, one might say, from Heaven. There is a state of spirit, unusually elevated, completely spiritual, in which the mind, and with it the heart, stops in bewilderment before its immaterial vision. A man in delight is silent with his whole being, and his silence is higher and more reasonable than any word. The soul comes to such a state, having been pre-purified and prepared by a deeply pious life. Suddenly, before the true servant, the Divinity will be revealed in an image incomprehensible to the carnal mind, an image that cannot be explained in a material word and in the land of matter. In this state reside the highest of the Angels - the fiery Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim, standing before the Throne of God. With some wings they soar, with the other they cover their faces and legs and cry incessantly: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts.” The incessant repetition of the same word through the centuries expresses a state of spirit that exceeds any word: it is Verbal and blatant silence. And pure and holy minds soar high, and stand before the Throne of the Divine, and see the Glory, and cover their faces, and cover their whole being: the greatness of the vision brings together actions that are opposite to each other. The great saints of God sometimes came to such a state during their earthly wanderings. It served for them as a foretaste of future bliss, in which they would participate together with the Angels. They conveyed as much of it as possible to all of Christianity, calling this state a state of surprise, horror, and frenzy. This is a state of supreme reverence combined with fear; it is produced by the living manifestation of the greatness of God and stops all movements of the mind. The holy prophet David said about him: Thy mind was amazed at me, strengthened, I will not be able to reach him 24 The Cherubic Song is filled with a feeling borrowed from this state; she talks about him. He also sang the songs preceding the consecration of the Gifts: “Mercy of the world, sacrifice of praise” and so on. The song sung at the very consecration of the Gifts breathes with it especially. The action performed then is so high that, according to the meaning of this song, there are no words for this time... no thoughts! - One singing with the amazing silence of the incomprehensible God, one theology alien to all verbosity and grandeur with a pure mind, one thanksgiving from our entire being, perplexed and in awe of the Mystery being performed. After the consecration of the Gifts, the song of the Mother of God is sung - with her the heart comes out of its tense state, as if Moses from the mountain from the midst of clouds and from the midst of thunder, where he received the Law from the hands of God, emerges, as if onto a wide plain, into a feeling of holy and pure joy, with which the song “Worthy” is filled. She, like all the songs sung to the Mother of God at this time, in which the Mediator of the incarnation of God the Word is sung, is filled with spiritual joy and God, clothed with humanity, is already more accessible to people, and when His incarnation is announced, joy is involuntarily aroused in the heart. Let us dwell on these explanations. Artist. My heart warmed, a fire blazed in it - and from now on I dedicate my chants to God. Shepherd! Bless me on my new path. Shepherd. The Lord incarnate has already blessed everyone to come to Him and offer themselves to Him as a verbal sacrifice. His blessing is sufficient for you; and I am only a witness to this. Stop wandering, as in a wild desert, among animals, in a carnal state, among various passions! Enter the Court of Christ through the gates - through repentance and weeping. This cry will in due time give birth to joy, although on earth, but not earthly. Spiritual joy is a sign of the triumph of the soul over sin. Sing your cry, may the Lord grant you to sing and your joy, and for me to hear your songs, rejoice over them and about you, give thanks for them and about you, glorify God. Amen. Letter regarding “Selected passages from correspondence with friends” by N. V. Gogol 25 With gratitude I return to you the book that you delivered to me 26. Hear my opinion about her. A man is seen turning to God with fervor of heart. But this is not enough for religion. In order for it to be a true light for a person in fact and for it to emit from him genuine light for his neighbors, it is necessary to have certainty in it, and this certainty lies in the exact knowledge of the truth, 27 in separating it from everything false, from everything that merely seems true. The Savior Himself said it: The truth will set you free 28. Elsewhere in Scripture it says; Your word is truth 29. Therefore, those who want to acquire certainty delve deeply into the Gospel and, according to the teachings of the Lord, straighten their thoughts and feelings. Then he will be able to separate within himself the correct and kind thoughts and feelings from the counterfeit and imaginary kind and correct ones. Then a person enters into purity, as the Lord after the Last Supper said to His disciples, as if they had already been educated by the teaching of the truth: you are pure by nature because of the word that was spoken to you 30 . But 31 purity alone is not enough for a person: he needs revival, inspiration. So, in order for the lantern to shine, it is not enough to wash the glass often; you need to have a candle lit inside it. This is what the Lord did with His disciples. Having cleansed them with the truth, He quickened them with the Holy Spirit, and they became light for men. Before receiving the Holy Spirit, they were not able to teach humanity, although they were already pure. This move must take place with every Christian, a Christian in reality, and not just in name: first true cleansing, and then enlightenment by the Spirit. True, a person has an innate inspiration, more or less developed, arising from the movement of the feelings of the heart. The truth rejects this inspiration as mixed, it mortifies it, so that the Spirit, having come, resurrects it by renewing its state. If a person is guided by his true inspiration before purification, then he will emit for himself and for others not pure light, but mixed, deceptive: because in his heart lies not simple good, but good mixed with evil, more or less. Applying these principles to Gogol's book, we can say that it emits both light and darkness from itself. His religious concepts are not defined 33 and move in the direction of heartfelt inspiration, unclear, indistinct, spiritual, and not spiritual. Because he is a writer, and in a writer, out of the abundance of the heart, the lips certainly speak 34; or: the composition is an indispensable confession of the writer, but for the most part not understood by him, and understood only by such a Christian who is elevated by the Gospel to an abstract land of thoughts and feelings, and in it light is separated from darkness; then Gogol’s book 36 cannot be taken in its entirety as pure true verbs. It's mixed here. It is desirable that this person, in whom self-sacrifice is visible, should moor to the haven of truth, where the beginning of all spiritual blessings is. For this reason, I advise all my friends, in relation to religion, to engage solely in reading the Holy Fathers, who acquired purification and enlightenment, like the Apostles, and then wrote their books, from which pure truth shines, and which impart to readers the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Outside of this path, narrow and regrettable at first 37 for the mind and heart, there is darkness everywhere, rapids and abysses everywhere! Amen. Publication and comments by I. A. Vinogradov. A remarkable dream of a resident of St. Petersburg N., recorded by Archimandrite Ignatius 55 N., a resident of St. Petersburg, baptized and raised in the Orthodox Eastern Catholic Church, living a married life, saw the following remarkable dream in 1845 - from the 2nd of January to the 3rd. He imagined that he was in a vast space between the sky and the abyss. In this space there was a sunrise, according to which the souls of the deceased ascended from the abyss to heaven; the sunrise extended to the very sky and descended into the mentioned deep abyss, the end of which could not be seen in the darkness. There were many people in the abyss; some were half visible, others had their heads visible, others were barely noticeable. Throughout the sunrise there were rows of demonic ordeals, where demons stopped souls striving for heaven. The demons looked like people with depraved lives and evil dispositions; their faces were gloomy, disgusting and upset, in some of them N. found similarities with people of disgraceful behavior known to him on earth. At the ordeals there were a countless number of demons who shouted and argued, from which an indistinct terrible roar was heard. N. saw that some souls were barely approaching sunrise when they were thrown into the abyss. At this N. clearly heard laughter and a voice: “Ah! This is a Tatar, bring him down!” Some souls rose quite high in the rising; Then anxiety and fussiness appeared in the demons. When such a soul could not go further and fell down, loud laughter was heard in the demonic regiments, they exclaimed: “Failed! Eck, where did you go!” N., looking at this spectacle, thought to himself: “Scholars on earth talk about space and its infinity, about the heavenly bodies, about their long immeasurable paths, and thus make one involuntarily doubt what is now revealed to the soul.” He looked at the space in which it seemed to him that he was flying, which had light, but was not illuminated by the sun. He also did not see other luminaries. Suddenly there was a cry in the sunrise: “Oh. Archimandrite, O. Archimandrite!” Some shouted: “Give him here!” - N., as having a special affection for the one whose name he heard, approached the ordeal in order to better see what would happen to the soul. And he sees that the soul began to rise at sunrise; a noise arose among the demons; what they were saying, N. could not hear behind the many voices speaking at the same time and merging into one indistinct hum; but the soul rose higher and higher. N. followed the soul, as if from the side, and finally the soul reached the sky itself, which consisted of some kind of cloud. Then a cloud opened and the Monk Sergius came out from there, in an epitrachelion and a black robe, his face shone with a wonderful light, he began to hug the Archimandrite, kiss him, and said to him: “I am so glad that you have reached here, I cared a lot about you.” The demons, when the sky opened and St. Sergius appeared emerging from there, retreated somewhat, as if repelled by some force. The Monk Sergius, taking the Archimandrite by the hand, led him into heaven, after which the sky closed. N., when the sky opened, could see that there was an unspeakable wonderful light, some extraordinary gardens. After the departure of St. Sergius and the Archimandrite, he remained near the sky, which nearby looked like a cloud; he tried to penetrate further, but the cloud did not let him through. Then some of the demons flew up to him and said: “Why are you here? This is not your place; go there,” and they showed him a countless number of people standing in the distance. N. answered the demons: “You are worrying in vain; you see that even if I wanted to penetrate further, the cloud would not let me in; let me stand here.” After this the demons left. N., being near the sky, began to shout: “Oh. Archimandrite, Fr. Archimandrite!" – The sky opened, the Archimandrite came out and asked: “Is that you, N.?” How long have you been here? N., not remembering the time and hastening to announce his earnest request, says: “Is it possible to take me in? You see what my position is here. - The Archimandrite said: “I’ll go and ask.” He left, and after a short time he returned and said: “Now you can’t do it; and soon your wife should pass, and she will have the opportunity to transfer you here.” After this, the sky again received the Archimandrite, and N. remained to wait to see how his wife would pass. “In this anticipation, he wakes up and sees himself drenched in sweat. This dream was extremely strongly imprinted in his memory, and every time he remembered it, what he saw was vividly depicted before him, exciting him to emotion and tears. N. went to the monastery of his beloved Archimandrite, about whom it was revealed to him in his wonderful dream. This one, from the words of one who saw and told, wrote this legend for the glory of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who did not want the death of sinners, but their salvation, who performed and is performing great signs through His chosen vessel, the Venerable Sergius. Amen. OR RNB. F. 550. Q1. 1520. L. 239–242 OR RNB. F. 550. O 1. 1520. L. 222–228 OR RNB. O-1– 1520. L. 274–279 OR RSL. F. 425 (P. P. Yakovlev). K. 2. Unit. hr. 18. L. 1 volume – 2 Wed.. T. 1.S. 283. “Proof of the resurrection of human bodies, borrowed from the action of mental prayer.” OR RNB. F. 550. Q. 1, 1520. L. 284, 285 OR RNB. F. 550. Q. 1, 1520. L. 283 rev. OR RSL. F. 425 (P. P. Yakovlev). K. I. Unit. hr. 13 OR RNB. F. 550 Q. 1, 1520. L. 280 Reprinted by: Sergey Nilus. Complete collection Op. T. 3. Shrine under a bushel. M., “Palomnik”, 2000. pp. 23–24. – Ed. OR RNB. F. 550. O 1, 1520. L. 280–282 OR RNB. F. 550. O 1, 1520. L. 87–88. OR RSL. F. 213 (Opt. Empty). K. 106. Unit. hr. 15. L. 5 about 1 Among the most important subjects that, according to Bishop Ignatius, the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church he is designing should deal with is the transformation of theological educational institutions with their adaptation to the tasks of spiritual education and theological education. In paragraph 8, the Right Reverend Ignatius plans to compile textbooks for spiritual educational institutions, with the removal of everything pagan and immoral from them. “Lessons in Literature,” which we are printing for the first time, we believe, illustrate the thought of Bishop Ignatius about the proper direction of teaching this subject. – Note. L. Sokolova. [Text is printed from: L. Sokolov. Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov. His life, personality and moral and ascetic views. Part II. Application. Kiev, 1915. P. 70–82.] For a detailed teaching about the sentence, about the subject, predicate and connection, see Vostokov’s “Grammar” on word composition Look about them in Vostokov’s “Grammar”, about word composition About conjunctions, see: “Grammar” by Vostokov, about word composition. OR RNB. F. 1000. 1924, 171. L. 147 vol. – 153. In lengthy interviews about the spirit and character of Orthodox Church-Russian singing, Archimandrite Ignatius conveyed to M. I. Glinka his spiritually experienced views on this subject. Glinka, realizing the truth of the Archimandrite’s observations and comments, asked him to put these thoughts on paper, which the Archimandrite did, writing an article entitled: “The Christian Shepherd and the Christian Artist,” in which he outlined everything that he had previously conveyed orally to Glinka. – Note. Hieromonk Mark (Lozinsky). The book “Imitation” is nothing more than a novel that plays along with the tone of the Gospel and is placed along with the Gospel by dark minds that do not distinguish refined voluptuousness from Divine grace [Your] knowledge is marvelous to me—high, I cannot comprehend it! (Ps. 139.6.) An authorized copy of a letter from St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) regarding “Selected passages from correspondence with friends,” sent to Gogol by P. A. Pletnev in Naples on April 4/16, 1847 and now stored in the Gogol manuscript collection of the Russian State Library (F. 74. K. 11. Item 28. L. 1 vol. –2). The copy (without title and date) was personally corrected by Saint Ignatius (at that time archimandrite, rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage near St. Petersburg) (three words were replaced; see footnotes) and handed over to his spiritual daughter, Gogol’s former student, M. P. Wagner (born Balabina), who gave the letter to Pletnev. dates back to February-March 1847. The latest (corrected) edition of the letter was first published (without attribution) by the head of the Optina monastery, Hieroschemamonk Joseph (Litovkin) in the article “N.V. Gogol, I.V. Kireevsky, F.M. Dostoevsky and K. Leontyev before the elders of Optina Hermitage” (M., 1897 / Dep. reprint from the magazine “Soulful Reading”, 1898. 4.1, p. answered Pletnev: “As for Brianchaninov’s letter, we must give justice to our clergy for their firm knowledge of dogmas. This knowledge can be heard in every line of his letter. Everything said is fair and everything is true. But in order to pronounce full judgment on my book, you need to be a deep soul-knower, you need to feel and hear the suffering of that half of modern humanity, with which the monk does not even have the opportunity to get along; you need to know not your life, but the lives of many. Therefore, it is not at all surprising to me that they see in my book a mixture of light and darkness. Light for them is the side that is familiar to them; darkness is the side that is unfamiliar to them...” The meaning of Gogol’s last phrase (“...darkness is the side that is unfamiliar to them...”), whose pain was “the suffering of that half of modern humanity with which a monk has no opportunity to come into contact,” is fully explained from what he sent on the same day, May 9 AD. Art., letters to Father Matthew of Konstantinovsky, where the writer, speaking about “Selected Places...”, that they contain “a spiritual matter, a confession of a person who felt strongly that our upbringing begins only when it seems that it has already ended,” noted that “the process of such a matter is partly set out there, understandable even not for a Christian, despite the inaccuracy of my words and expressions, incomprehensible to someone who has not suffered from the ailments such as It is the unbelieving people of the present time who are suffering.” In a word, Gogol is talking about all those who, being in “darkness,” “do not go to church”: “My book had an effect on those who do not go to church and who would not even want to listen to the words if a priest in a cassock came out to tell them,” and “a monk has no chance of meeting with them.” Gogol also saw the problem of the discrepancy between a layman and a monk in a slightly different light. In the article “What is a governor’s wife,” he wrote, for example, that often a priest, not experienced in modern abuses - in those “types and tricks that a modern person does not talk about at all in confession because he does not see his sins” (article “You need to travel around Russia”) - “does not know how to deal with parishioners and listeners, he expresses himself in platitudes that are not addressed in any way to the actual subject.” “To say: “Don’t steal, don’t be luxurious, don’t take bribes, pray and give alms to the poor” - now nothing will do anything,” Gogol believed. “Life must be shown to a person, life taken from the angle of its current intricacies, and not previous ones...” It seems that Gogol was directly guided by the apostolic words here: “Whoever speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself; and whoever prophesies edifies the church. I wish that you all spoke in tongues; but it is better that you prophesy. Therefore, you who speak in an unknown tongue, pray for the gift of interpretation” (1 Cor. 14:4-5, 13). August 28 AD Art. 1847 Gogol, in particular, wrote to Shevyrev: “Without condescending to others, you cannot raise them to yourself...” The degree of Gogol’s divergence from St. Ignatius should not be exaggerated. They shared a common concern for the Christian education of Russia. While agreeing in their criticism of European civilization and equally recognizing the superiority of the ancient patriarchal way of life over it in religious terms, Gogol and St. Ignatius differed only in their ideas about the very nature of pastoral influence on people’s life (see about this commentary in the ed.: Gogol N.V. Collected works in 9 vols. Vol. 6. pp. 412–413; Vol. 8. It is characteristic, for example, that twelve years later, A. I. Herzen’s polemic with the saint on the issue of serfdom and European civilization in the fate of Russia largely repeated Belinsky’s dispute with Gogol. The text of the letter is printed according to the list authorized by Saint Ignatius and read by Gogol. So it is in the manuscript. Not specified further You are cleansed through the word that I preached to you (John 15:3) Preposition: from – inscribed by Saint Ignatius instead of: for Word: Gogol - inscribed by St. Ignatius instead of the erroneous one: darkness The word: first - inscribed by Saint Ignatius instead of the erroneous one: said OR RSL. F. 425 (P. P. Yakovlev). K. I. Unit. hr. I. L. 1–2 vol., 3 You might be interested in: