Глава двенадцатая. Смута 1825–1826

In Moscow, 1825 was marked by the opening of the Bolshoi Theater. The first such theater, having stood for a quarter of a century, burned down in 1805. Then a new one was built on Arbat Square, but it disappeared in the fire of 1812. And so Moscow was decorated with the creation of the architect Osip Bove, the building that was destined to become one of the main symbols of Belokamennaya. But this is a temple of the muses, more pagan than Christian, and it is crowned with an alabaster sculpture of the pagan deity Apollo. There is no place for Philaret's sermons here. They have a place in the churches of the one God. Again the year begins with his sermons before the tomb of St. Alexei in the Chudov Monastery. Filaret never misses the days of memory of his two holy friends, Metropolitan Alexei and St. Sergius of Radonezh, without special reverence, considering them his spiritual patrons and role models. This time he spoke about cases of indulgence among the laity and clergy, with which Alexei and Sergius fought in their time. The storm of the Twelfth Year had long passed, when they remembered the strictness of Christian institutions and again began to observe them. Now, especially under the influence of foreign teachers of Protestantism, an opinion has emerged that the commandment of fasting is not particularly important: that it can either not be observed at all, or shortened, or the number of forbidden foods reduced. – And here is the place for the advice of the apostle, if you want to accept it: do not have many teachers, my brethren; do not neglect the ancient, general, sanctified decrees, do not study and teach each other instead new customs, varied from worldly and carnal wisdom, follow the maternal leadership of the Church with childish obedience and simplicity, Philaret cried in his sermon on February 12, 1825. That year Easter was early, on March 29. The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem was celebrated before the Feast of the Annunciation, which rarely happens. – The Lord’s entry into Jerusalem is not a simple manifestation of the present, but more than a prophecy and foreshadowing of His future reign. His kingdom is not this Jerusalem, which will soon be destroyed, or the land of Judea, which will soon be enslaved and devastated, but the Church, which even the gates of hell will not prevail against (Matthew 16:18), said the saint on the week of Vai on March 22. And three days later, on the day of the Annunciation, he read a powerful sermon, blessing both those who observe celibacy and those living in marriage; and hermits, and those who love to live among many people: – Come, you virgins, and from the Virgin Mary accept the affirmation of your feat, contemplating in Her the unquestioningly high dignity - virginity, since it carries God within itself. Come, you who live in marriage, and betrothed, but not married, accept the blessing of your marriages: since all human marriages would give birth only to children of wrath and heirs of hell, if the Virgin Mother did not give birth to the Son, who regenerates them into sons and heirs of God. Come, you who love solitude, and understand from the meditative Mary that the seed of solitude is humble contemplation of God; and without this, solitude is often empty stubbornness or cruel hatred of man, a nest of evil thoughts and the vitality of the spirit of madness. Come, those who are partial to the community, and take note that it is not in the bustle of worldly affairs, not in the entertainment of crowds, not in the noise of idle conversations that heavenly powers visit the soul and the word of God is sown in the heart... Christianity is not foolishness or ignorance, but the hidden wisdom of God in the mysteries... On the Easter holiday in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Moscow Chrysostom again found the brightest, most understandable and clear words about faith and unbelief, comparing them with light and darkness: – When the sun rises, it opens up a whole world of diverse beauties... A mind hardened in unbelief, like a night bird, sees only in the darkness of unbelief, loves only its dreams and runs away from the light of truth, which burns its eyes... But a completely different meaning of the word “light” was considered the main thing in the so-called “light”. The first chapter of Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” has just been published: Here is my Onegin free; Haircut in the latest fashion, How dandy London is dressed After all, it is not the light of Christ’s truth that the genius of Russian poetry has in mind here; it is not the truths of the Gospel that the helipad Onegin, shorn in the latest fashion, rushed towards! As is known, according to the plan of his creator, he was supposed to graduate with the Decembrists. People like him flocked there, to these secret societies. The sovereign moved in the opposite direction, especially after the terrible flood that claimed the lives of several thousand of his subjects. In the summer he received evidence of an impending conspiracy. Now this was pushing him to leave. The long-standing dream of becoming one of many many and spending the rest of my life this way has finally matured. He wanted to atone for all the sins of his youth - indifference to the Church, indirect involvement in the murder of his father, amorous adventures and much more. Two paths to redemption were open to him. First: wait for the revolution and, perhaps, be beheaded together with his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna in the same way as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Was it a coincidence that they got married in the same year when the royal heads fell off in Paris?.. They say that the conspirators intend to brutally exterminate the entire reigning house. To die at their hands with the name of Christ on your lips - what could be more redemptive? So Filaret of Moscow, in a sermon on May 15, called not to be afraid of the hatred of Christ-haters, but to joyfully face suffering and torment for Christ: “Truly learn, Christian, not to be afraid of the hatred of the world that rises up against you because you follow Christ, because you try to think piously and act virtuously... What is there to be afraid of? Comforting, Jesus Christ speaks to you. Your condition is not extraordinary; your danger is not unexpected. Look at the life of your Teacher and Lord, and know that everything that happens or can still happen to you happened to Him. The second way: to depict one’s own death and go into the world under a different name, in a different guise... By saving oneself, saving the world. A kind of hermitage. Do not wait for a new terrible disaster, which may turn out to be much more terrible than the Napoleonic invasion. That disaster shook Russia, made it wake up and remember its Christianity. But again faith fades away. In Moscow, Filaret, consecrating the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in Cossack Sloboda, said directly: – Ask each other: what did the previous year of temptation and punishment produce in the spiritual dispositions and moral lives of most of us? After such a formidable visit from God, are we more afraid of sins and iniquities than before? Has the former humiliation taught us more humility than before? Have former deprivations and needs curbed luxury, stopped the tendency to excess, or turned us to simplicity and moderation?.. Well, if it must be truly admitted that after general punishment and wondrous mercy from God, we are again the same as we were when we deserved punishment. In this case, what consolation is there in the past? What is the joy in the present? What hope is there for the future?.. Terrible words! Oh, he knows, this Moscow Chrysostom, what he says! Alexander chose to leave. Referring to the fact that doctors advised sending her to the south to improve the empress’s health, the king decided to go with her. For some reason, the very provincial Taganrog was chosen. However, Crimea had not yet been developed to create magnificent resorts there; the great Vorontsov was just beginning his business of creating a luxurious southern health resort. Taganrog, the coast of Azov, nearby Rostov-on-Don, Cossack places, many ripe and fresh fruits of the earth... Sunday 30 August. The celebration of the transfer of the relics of the blessed prince Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg, carried out by Peter the Great one hundred and one years ago. In the Northern capital, the tsar was preparing to leave. In the Mother See, Saint Philaret in the Assumption Cathedral pronounced the “Sermon on the name day of His Imperial Majesty the Right-Believing Sovereign Emperor Alexander Pavlovich”: – We spend this day in joy: because on it is written the beloved name of Alexander, the supreme culprit for us on earth, the creator of victorious and peaceful public joys, the guardian and distributor of immaculate family and personal joys, sacrificing our own joy and peace, so that under his power we may live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity (1 Tim. 2:2). On September 1, Alexander I celebrated the liturgy in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, received the blessing of Metropolitan Seraphim and left St. Petersburg. He rode almost incognito. Along the way there were no parades, no celebrations, no shows, nothing. He toured Moscow. Nothing strange - he did not want any ceremonies, without which it would be impossible to do without when visiting the Mother See. On September 13 I arrived in Taganrog. Ten days later, the wife arrived there, and she soon began to recover rapidly. In general, HE and she were quite healthy for their age: he was forty-seven, she was thirty-six. Sometimes Alexander was bothered by rapid heartbeats. The autopsy results released showed no specific cause of death. The weather in Taganrog was warm; in mid-November it was 15 degrees Celsius. And suddenly the king catches a cold and dies... What really happened on that day, November 19? Did Emperor Alexander really die or did only his name die, and he himself henceforth became Fyodor Kuzmich? Was his vow made in 1812, when Moscow was in the hands of Napoleon, fulfilled? Is it time to grow a beard and go into the depths of Siberia?.. The fact that he really died is proven in many books. Only a few authors prove that he did not die, but left. But THIS is what is remarkable: those who dispute the legend of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich write in a boring, depressing manner. “There is no basis for the very formulation of this question” (Nikolai Nikolaevich Knoring). And most importantly, they try to convince, but it’s unconvincing. But only one book by Leonid Evgenievich Bezhin, “The Silence of the Elder, or How Alexander I Left the Throne,” written brilliantly, is capable of powerfully captivating the reader, convincing him of the delightful transformation of the emperor into the elder. If this transformation is just a legend, well... “The darkness of small truths is dearer to me than the deception that elevates us,” - Pushkin said brilliantly and for centuries! Regarding Philaret’s participation in Alexander’s departure, Bezhin writes the following: “... for Alexander I it was quite natural to become Theodore: this name is not alien to him and the choice was not accidental. Researchers point to an additional motivation for the choice, justified if the spiritual mentor who blessed Alexander for eldership was Metropolitan Philaret: “... in the glorious year 1812, Archimandrite Philaret, simultaneously with his confirmation as rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, was appointed rector of the first-class Novgorod Yuryevsky Monastery. The same one that Archimandrite Photius would later receive under control. It was in the St. Sophia Cathedral of Novgorod that the relics of Saint Prince Theodore, the elder brother of Saint Alexander Nevsky, rested. This autumn Filaret preached a lot. At the tomb of St. Sergius, he spoke “about the repose of the toiling and burdened.” At the consecration of the Church of St. Alexei in Cherkizovo, he spoke “about the solid and indestructible creation of the Church of Christ.” During the renovation of the Church of the Great Martyr Nikita in Basmannaya Sloboda, he reminded parishioners about the evangelical expulsion of traders from the Temple of Jerusalem. On the day of Archangel Michael, in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, he interpreted the Gospel parable about the tares. And then November 19 came. Death or departure... On November 25, the hermit and recluse Seraphim of Sarov had an apparition of the Most Holy Theotokos, who commanded the elder to leave the seclusion and create the Diveyevo monastery. The news of Alexander's death came to St. Petersburg only eight days later - on November 27, just when a prayer service was being held for his health. New major historical events have befallen Russia. По всем законам право на престол переходило к следующему по старшинству брату Александра – Константину. Спустя полчаса после получения известия третий по старшинству августейший брат Николай Павлович присягнул Константину, а за ним – гвардия. By three o'clock in the afternoon, all of St. Petersburg swore allegiance to Constantine. At the same time, Alexander’s will was opened in the State Council. Константин Павлович давно уже не помышлял о престолонаследии, заключив морганатический брак и проживая в Польше. Николай Павлович отправил ему в Варшаву письмо, в котором сообщал о кончине Александра и просил не мешкая прислать официальное отречение от престола. И не случилось бы никакого междуцарствия: Константин прислал бы отречение, в Москве и Петербурге огласили бы завещание Александра о передаче власти Николаю, и Николай – на троне. Но, получив письмо брата, Константин медлил с официальным ответом, а то, что он писал брату, публикации никак не подлежало... В общем, проявился его взбалмошный И вздорный характер. He knew that the army loved him for his participation in both Suvorov’s campaigns and the War of 1812. But young Nikolai did not have time to earn the love of soldiers and officers. In addition, the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Count Mikhail Andreevich Miloradovich, one of the main heroes of the Patriotic War, remained a supporter of Constantine, with whom he had been friends since the Alpine campaign. Moscow received news of what happened in Taganrog and what was happening with the succession to the throne on November 28. The Moscow governor-general at that time was another Suvorov hero and participant in the military actions of 1812–1814 - His Serene Highness Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn. On November 29, Filaret revealed to him the secret of the will kept in the Assumption Cathedral, and they both refused to swear allegiance to Constantine. However, to Golitsyn’s request to go to the Kremlin and open the will, Bishop Philaret replied: – There cannot be two sovereigns, one in St. Petersburg, the other in Moscow. He himself later explained it this way: “The archbishop did not agree to this, imagining that rumors could arise from this that could not be foreseen, and even slander, as if something had now been added to state acts or something that was supposed to have been replaced.” “The days that elapsed between November 30 and December 15, 1825, of course, were not as difficult for anyone in Moscow as for the archbishop, who had the strange lot of being the keeper of the hidden lamp.” Most likely, Filaret knew about the existence of secret organizations and feared that the conspirators would take advantage of dual power to ignite the fire of rebellion. «Молитесь, отец наместник, да не внидите в напасть. Now it is especially necessary to pray,” Filaret wrote to Archimandrite Afanasy (Fedorov) at the Sergius Lavra. 30 ноября Константину присягнула и вся Москва. On December 3, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich returned from Warsaw to St. Petersburg, but he never brought Konstantin’s official refusal. However, Nikolai, knowing about the plans of the conspirators, decided to act. He instructed Karamzin to write a manifesto about his accession to the throne, and soon involved Speransky in working on the document. On December 12, Nikolai brought together the draft manifesto drawn up by Karamzin and Speransky, and a new oath was scheduled for December 14. На тот же самый день назначило свое выступление и тайное общество... Наступило 14 декабря, роковой день русской истории. At seven o'clock in the morning the Senate and Synod swore allegiance. At the same time, in the Winter Palace, Nikolai Pavlovich read Alexander’s will to the commanders of the guards units. Then everyone swore allegiance to the new sovereign and went to swear in the troops entrusted to them. The Tsar admonished the guards commanders with the following words: “After that, you answer with your head for the tranquility of the capital, and as for me, if I am emperor for even one hour, I will show that I was worthy of it.” The Moscow Life Guards Regiment was the first to rebel, which was reported to Nikolai by the Chief of Staff of the Guards Corps, General Neidgart. The new tsar ordered General Apraksin, whom he met, to withdraw the cavalry guards, and he himself led the 1st battalion of the Preobrazhensky soldiers, stationed near the Winter Palace. Before leaving, he opened at random the Gospel of John, which Philaret was translating, and read aloud to those nearby: – “I am the good shepherd; The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. But a hireling, not a shepherd, to whom the sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and runs, and the wolf steals the sheep and scatters them. But the hireling flees because he is a hireling, and neglects the sheep” (John 10:11-13). At noon, the history of Russia concentrated in St. Petersburg on Senate Square. Governor General Miloradovich personally went to the rebels and convinced the soldiers that they had been deceived: Constantine voluntarily abandoned the throne, no one overthrew him. And then the unheard of happened - the “Russian Brutus” retired lieutenant Pyotr Kakhovsky killed the great hero of the war with Napoleon with a vile shot! This disgusting step greatly harmed the Decembrists themselves. The people adored Miloradovich. A Serb by nationality, Mikhail Andreevich was the type of warrior that we call a hussar. In some ways he was even Nozdryov. Although Gogol's Nozdryov has a funny, recognizable fanfare, absurd, absurd. But he is a dummy. Miloradovich, for all the Nozdrev qualities of his character, is an outstanding commander. Miloradovich’s participation in Suvorov’s campaigns, Suvorov’s special love for him, participation in the wars with Napoleon after the death of Alexander Vasilyevich, love affairs, feasts, unbridled furies and battles again... Fronderism, fanfare, but also inimitable courage, military genius, love for the Russian soldier. During the War of 1812, Miloradovich mainly led the rearguard, and it was thanks to the rearguard battles that the Russians managed to wear down the “Great Army” and save their own for future battles. And then Miloradovich, together with Wittgenstein and Barclay, drove the French all the way to Paris. Yes, the people loved him selflessly, for Mikhail Andreevich himself selflessly loved the Russian people. That is why, when the Decembrists were executed, four of them hugged each other goodbye, and Pestel, Muravyov-Apostol, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Ryleev did not even shake hands with the fifth - Kakhovsky. There is such a version... By the way, it is possible that if it had not been for this murder of the famous commander, they would not have been hanged. Throughout his entire life, always being in the thick of battles, Miloradovich was never wounded, although once a French bullet even knocked off his epaulette. And then - a mortal wound was inflicted by a compatriot! When the doctor removed the bullet, Miloradovich asked to show it to him and, dying, said with relief: - Thank God - not a soldier's! It was unbearable for him to realize that he was dying at the hands of a Russian soldier. But the culprit of his death was not a Russian soldier... At half past eleven, the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment arrived at Senate Square and lined up at the Admiralty. And soon, rushing to help the rebels, a company of life grenadiers of Lieutenant Alexander Sutgof found themselves near the Winter Palace. -Are you joining the rebels? - Emperor Nicholas asked them. “Yes,” answered the lieutenant boldly. “Then you should go there,” said Nikolai, pointing towards Senate. By two o'clock in the afternoon the rebels were completely surrounded. Soon Metropolitan Seraphim came to them. Stretching the cross forward, he called out: - Warriors, calm down! You have rebelled against God and the Church! The conspiratorial officers shouted in response: – What kind of metropolitan are you?! You are a traitor! Konstantin is chained. We don't believe you! Don't believe him, soldiers! Seeing that it would not be possible to calm the rebellion peacefully, at five o’clock in the evening Nikolai Pavlovich ordered volleys of grapeshot to be fired... Soon the uprising was over. That same evening, a prayer service was held in the large church of the Winter Palace, proclaiming many years to the new Russian emperor. Why were the fundamental political documents written by the Decembrists and which were their plan of action not widely published in Soviet times? Pestel’s “Russian Truth” was published in the publication of the Main Archival Directorate of the USSR “The Decembrist Revolt. Documents" in 1958. For many years, ideologists created a beautiful image of the Decembrists. And only now, when books are published one after another, revealing to us the real facts, you understand with horror what would have happened in Russia if the gentlemen Decembrists had carried out their plans and if their uprising had not been suppressed. First of all, a bloody interethnic and interreligious war would break out in Russia. If the five Decembrists had not been hanged, but had won, the first thing they would have done would have been to slaughter every single person of the royal family, all the royal relatives, including the most distant ones. The strengthening of the Russian nation was envisaged. But how! The Decembrists were not even the forerunners of the Bolsheviks, they were the forerunners of the Nazis. All peoples of Russia would henceforth be prohibited from having their own national identity. And whoever does not obey – get out of the country! This was stated about two million Jews: if they do not want to become Russian, then they are threatened with wholesale eviction to Asia Minor. This probably meant Palestine, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. This would mean that at least half of these unfortunate Jews would have been exterminated both along the way and then in Turkey. The anti-Semitism of the Decembrists resulted later in the history of the uprising of the Chernigov regiment under the leadership of Muravyov-Apostol, after the riot on Senate Square, when the rebels, having drunk too much, staged a terrible Jewish pogrom. Drunken rioters danced with the corpses of those they killed! And the sad smile of history, which has preserved some of the names of the Jews who died then - Brodsky, Trotsky, Beilis... The same fate awaited the Tatars, who would first be prohibited from traditional polygamy, and later from practicing other Muslim traditions. Finns were required to learn Russian and only speak their native language at home. In a word, the dictatorship was envisaged not only political, but also national Of course, it may be objected that the main exponent of these monstrous ideas was only Pestel; the rest of the Decembrists were inclined to softer reforms. But it was not for nothing that Pavel Ivanovich Pestel was considered the Russian Napoleon, and it is quite possible that if the uprising had been successful, he would have crushed everyone else under him. . Декабристы якобы страдали за крестьян, за народ. But one of the researchers, Oksana Kiyanskaya, rightly notes: “If the main goal of the Decembrists really was peasant liberation, then for this it was not at all necessary for them to organize a political conspiracy, risking their lives. They only had to use the decree of Alexander I of February 20, 1803 - the decree on free cultivators. И отпустить на волю собственных крепостных». They didn’t do that either! Thank God, attitudes towards the Decembrists are changing. Secondary, mediocre people who did not find application in public service, most often due to a lack of talent and aspirations for it, went to Masonic lodges, and through the lodges further into the revolution, the first stage of which was the December uprising of 1825. What they really were is eloquently evidenced by their life in Siberia, where the most terrible thing was the lack of entertainment. They fought fiercely to be allowed to have their own theater, but that was the extent of their spiritual life. Probably all kinds of amusements were considered spiritual life in their midst. No special hard labor, decent conditions, work at will, you could get significant sums of money from Russia, excellent food, wine, and for those whose wives came to Siberia, after two days on the third they could spend a day with their spouses. Then special cells were created for married people, very luxurious for the rank of convict. Grand piano, bed, carpets, bookcases, chairs, armchairs, dining table... The Decembrists devoted their entire lives to constant, even greater softening of the conditions of their already good existence. While their peers served the Fatherland, fought, built, developed the state, these losers annoyed the local administration with endless complaints and squabbles. The poet Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky expressed himself sternly and precisely about the Decembrists: “Not one of them has even a shadow of repentance or consciousness that they started a crazy thing, not to mention criminal. They were immortalized and ossified on December 14th. For them, even after 30 years, December 15 has not yet come, on which they could sober up and come to their senses.” When Tsar Alexander the Liberator freed the Decembrists from having to live in Siberia, they rushed to foreign countries, where there was no shortage of people willing to hear about their inhuman suffering. The investigation into the Decembrist case began on December 17, 1825 with the establishment of a Special Committee to investigate secret societies. An amazing irony of fate: soon the plans of the rebels revealed lists of the supposed revolutionary directory, and on those lists, next to the semi-disgraced Speransky, the name of the Moscow Archbishop appeared! The conspirators considered Filaret a versatile person and capable of accepting their “truth.” They also took into account the fact that he was offended by the government, that he was to some extent in disgrace, that his works were prohibited. They hoped that he would willingly agree to take revenge for the insults inflicted on him! Thank God, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich did not doubt at all that Filaret himself was not involved in the plans of the rebels. The Emperor immediately ordered that no investigations be conducted against Filaret. On December 17, Moscow received a manifesto on Nicholas’s accession to the throne. After the liturgy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Archbishop Filaret emerged from the open Royal Doors in full hierarchal vestments. Over his head he carried a silver casket. He stopped in front of the table standing near the altar pulpit: – Listen, Russians! The third year, as in this holy and king-sanctifying church, in this ark that you see, the great will of the blessed Alexander, destined to be his last will, is kept. He was pleased to cover it with a veil of secrecy; and the guardians did not dare to touch this cover ahead of time. Alexander's last minute passed; the time has come to seek his last will; but for a long time we did not know that this time had come. Suddenly we learn that Nikolai, with the meekness and humility inherited from Alexander, is elevating his eldest brother; and at the same time orders a new veil of secrecy to be placed on Alexander's charter. What were we supposed to do? It was possible to predict what kind of secret the charter, annexed to the previous charters on the succession to the throne, contained. But it was impossible not to notice that to reveal this secret at that time would have meant tearing the heart of every Russian in two. What were we supposed to do? You see, blessed soul, that we were not unfaithful to you; but our loyalty had no choice but to guard the treasure, which was not the time to bring into the light, how to protect with silence THAT which was allowed to be proclaimed. It was necessary to leave the royal secret buried in this ark, as if in a tomb, and leave the moment of resurrection to heaven. The king of kings has sent this minute. Now nothing prevents us from crushing this seal, revealing this hiding state life, tsyub. The great will of Alexander will be resurrected. Russians! For twenty-five years we have found our happiness in fulfilling the sovereign will of Alexander the Blessed. Once again you will hear it, perform it and find your happiness in it. Having made this speech, Filaret took a sealed package from the casket, opened it and showed Alexander’s will to Governor General Golitsyn. Dmitry Vladimirovich announced that he confirmed the authenticity of the seal and the handwriting of the late sovereign. Then the bishop loudly read Alexander’s will and the manifesto on Nicholas’s accession to the throne. Moscow began to swear allegiance to the new sovereign. On the same day, Filaret sent a letter to St. Petersburg assuring Nicholas of his complete devotion. A week later, Nicholas responded with the Christmas “Highest letter addressed to Philaret of Moscow”: “Eminent Archbishop Philaret of Moscow! I was pleased to receive your letter dated the 18th of this month and to see in it an expression of your feelings of devotion and zeal on the occasion of my accession to the ancestral throne, and archpastoral prayers to the Almighty King of those reigning for blessings on my beginning reign. Please accept my gratitude for this, as well as for the description delivered to me of the discovery of the act of the late emperor, my dear brother, kept in the Assumption Cathedral. Your virtues were known to me; but on this occasion you showed new reasons for your jealousy and commitment to the Fatherland and to me. In retribution for these, I most mercifully bestow upon you the diamond cross, which was sent here, to be worn on your hood. I am always greeting you, my friendly Nikolai. Saint Petersburg. December 25, 1825." A hood is the headdress of a monk, bishop, archbishop or metropolitan. It consists of a kamilavka, which is a cylinder without edges, and a silk coverlet called an omophorion. Monks and bishops wear black hoods without a cross, archbishops wear a metal cross. For special merits, the archbishop can receive a diamond cross from the sovereign. This is what happened on Christmas Day, December 25, 1825. On this day, the Moscow archbishop changed his rule and after the liturgy at the Chudov Monastery he did not read his own sermon, but quoted the Christmas speech of St. Gregory the Theologian, framing this word as follows: “We,” says Saint Gregory, “for whom the object of worship is the Word, if we must give some kind of feast, we will make a feast from the word, from the law of God, from stories, partly from some others, partly related to the present celebration.” I will add to this: if we must give some kind of feast of words, which we cannot promise you due to our poverty, then come with us to the Theologian’s meal, which was ready a long time ago and has not yet been exhausted. Listen and eat in spirit! I will only be the server of the meal, and your host will be Saint Gregory: my mouth, his word. The next day, there, in Chudovoe, Filaret swore in the newly elected judges: – He who fears the Lord will not harm judgment out of love for a friend or out of hatred for an enemy; since he loves no one more than God and, out of love for Him, preserves judgment... He who fears the Lord in judgment will not be deceived by gifts; because he is afraid of losing the grace of God and the Kingdom of Heaven; where can one find such a treasure for which he could decide on such a loss?.. With the fear of God, proceed to the oath; with the fear of God aggravated by an oath, go to your services! At this time, more and more information came to Moscow every day about the details of the rebellion on Senate Square and the beginning of the investigation into the Decembrist case. Philaret wrote to Archimandrite Athanasius on Trinity Sunday: “It is becoming more and more clear what horrors and abominations God delivered us from, strengthening the sovereign on the 14th day of December. Pray that this evil will be completely destroyed through truth and wisdom. But there are people who, after the former visitation of God, which they previously spoke about, now still talk about the wrath of God lurking against us.” The new year of 1826 began with news of a new uprising, this time in the south of Russia, where the Chernigov regiment rebelled, raised to revolt by members of the Southern Society of Decembrists. – Now expect similar news from everywhere! - people said, looking into the future with fear. But that was where the excitement dried up. No more similar news came from anywhere. Of course, the Moscow ruler was very concerned about how the new tsar would deal with the rebels. Will Nikolai find within himself those spiritual Christian strengths not to take revenge, just as Alexander did not take revenge on Paris? But Nikolai Pavlovich was a true Christian and did not thirst for revenge. Personally monitoring the progress of the investigation, he tried to look for justifications for the rioters. He would not have hanged five, if not for the murder of Miloradovich, committed by Kakhovsky, if not for the monstrous plans of Pestel, set out in his "Russian Truth", if not for the atrocities of the Chernigov regiment, organized by Muravyov-Apostol and Bestuzhev-Ryumin, if not for the uprising itself in St. Petersburg, which was led by Ryleev, and if not for his satanic hatred of Christianity. Colonel Prince Trubetskoy, who was elected dictator of the uprising, would certainly be counted among these five. But Sergei Petrovich wisely did not appear on Senate Square and thereby saved his life. The tsar replaced his death penalty with lifelong hard labor. ...The troubled time of Emperor Nicholas I's accession to the throne was becoming a thing of the past.