Opinions, reviews and letters of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna on various issues for 1821-1867. Collection of church historical works (Volumes 1-4)

On the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, while commemorating the opening of the Moscow Theological Academy, professor of church history Alexander Vasilyevich Gorsky, later archpriest and rector of the Academy. Pronounced in the academic church in 1872 at the end of the academic year. The imam sows no more joy, so that my children may hear those who walk in the truth (3 John 1:4) This is what the elder, the beloved disciple of Christ, John, wrote to his beloved Gaius, who consoled his fatherly heart by the fact that he himself walked in the truth. The imam sows no more joy, so that my children who walk in the truth may hear. “Walk in the truth” means not only to know the truth, but also to do the truth (John 3:21), or to act as the truth, Christ himself, requires (John 14:6). He walks in the truth who is devoted to the truth with all the activity of his spirit: he seeks it with his mind; loves with his heart; serves her willingly. Remembering now the establishment of a new school for the truth of Christ, it would be fitting for the disciples of truth to remember the desire of the Apostle. The high title of Theologian, which the Apostle acquired for himself through the depth of his teaching about God the Word, is the subject of their intense desires. The more they conform to his demands, the closer they will be to being called his children. Let them remember the words of the Apostle: sowing no more joy, let my children hear who walks in the truth. The teaching of Christ is all directed towards life and activity, and therefore true, deep knowledge of it can only be achieved through life and activity. The teaching of Christ is not at all intended to nourish speculation alone. As Christ is the restorer of the whole human nature, having become for us not only wisdom from God, but also truth and sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30); and just as the life of the spirit does not consist in the exercise of the mind alone, but in the complete and correct activity of all its powers: so the word of Christ is the necessary medicine for all the powers of our spirit. It illuminates the path to truth for more than one mind, but also opens to the heart new, truly worthy objects of love, and shows the will the laws of pure and holy activity that it has forgotten. And just as the weakness of a person, even when enlightened by Divine teaching, does not cease to be revealed in the fact that he desires to know more than he is disposed to love the truth with his heart and fulfill its demands; then in the teaching of Christ nothing is revealed so much as what concerns our heart and our duties. It contains many secrets for the mind: but for the heart it was impossible to say more than what was told to it about the God of love; the will is destined for a pattern of God-like life. It contains all the questions that are curious to the mind, high in their subject, but not leading directly, not necessary to the correct organization of a person’s spiritual life. On the contrary, everything that is revealed to the mind about the Being of God, about man, his purpose, present and future life, is revealed only to the extent that it is necessary for us to live chastely, righteously and piously (Titus 2:12). So, to look for food only for the mind in the teachings of Christ means to look at it from such a point from which, with all our desire, we cannot understand it as we should, and yet we can easily come to various false conclusions. What does the history of the Church testify? How many attempts have there been by false knowledge, from the times of the Apostles until now, to interpret in their own way the entire teaching of Christ? How willfully it attempted to change or transform everything that seemed to it incompatible with its false foundations. And what appears in the best constructions of this kind if not only shadows of life-giving Divine teaching, deceiving idle minds with their outward resemblance to the truth of Christ, but in fact alien to its power and life. The key to a true, deep and living understanding of the teaching of Christ, when the mind is occupied with it, is life and activity corresponding to the teaching. And every science related to activity requires that its highest principles be communicated along with gradual application to experience. It is also an ancient truth: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). First cleanse your soul of passions; then your mind will see the truth more clearly; with a renewed heart and mind you will begin to be truly wise. Jesus Christ Himself said about his teaching: if anyone wants to do the will of Him (the Heavenly Father), he understands the teaching that is from God, or I say from myself (John 7:17). In Christianity there are no sacred secrets for a certain class of people; but not to everyone, not at first glance, the deep understanding of Christ’s teaching is revealed to everyone, but only to those who strive for it with all the strength of their spirit, strive constantly. And of the Apostles at the beginning, not all the others knew that Peter, James and John. In the same way, the Apostles did not offer everything to infants in the faith, who still have many carnal things, a carnal mind, carnal feelings, that are perfect and spiritual. And we can know a lot, but understand little, understand the full meaning and Divine power of the truth of Christ, if we are not brought into understanding it by the experience of our inner life. From this, on the other hand, it is clear that to those who love the truth and transfer their whole soul to it, sometimes, and without the usual means of our teaching, the Lord imparts deep knowledge and understanding of heavenly teaching. In order to present the necessity of the experience of Christian life to understand the truth of Christ even more clearly, let us take as an example one of the most important truths of Christianity. Jesus Christ tells you that you are poor, powerless, and that He himself, the Son of God, is your Savior. That you are poor and powerless, you knew that before. But that you are so poor and powerless that you require such Divine help, such enhanced measures - you did not know this, and now it is still difficult for you to agree with it. To make sure that Jesus Christ did not use such means to restore you in vain, a path of practical testing is laid before you. There is no other way. Strength must be verified by experience. Reason is an unreliable judge here. Try to sort out everything that is good and bad in your soul, try to defeat the evil that lives in you with the power of the remaining good. And then you will see both the need for redemption and redemption through the Son of God; because all the people around you are not stronger than you in this case. All creation cannot find enough strength to give you a new spirit and a new heart. Thus, the teaching of Christ is revealed through active engagement with it, and the further the conformity of a Christian’s life with this teaching extends, the more the Christian’s mind penetrates into its depth. Now judge for yourself, what does the one who thinks of exhausting everything with his mind alone lose? Further, turning to your purpose, one cannot help but see a new motivation to connect Christian knowledge with Christian life. The truth of Christ must be expressed with all the power of sanctification, first of all, in the one who is appointed to be its proclaimer. The Lord gave us various means of sanctification in His Church and at the same time appointed from among the church itself to select instruments for the sanctification of other members. But by choosing and appointing everyone in his own rank, He demands from everyone that he give others in himself an example of good deeds (Titus 2:7). It is not enough to pass on only what one has learned: it is necessary that the accepted teaching be transferred into life and expressed in this life so purely and highly that it can be an example, an example exposing the untruths of the world, among which the chosen one must act; an example that excites, encourages, and guides those who are zealous for their salvation. It is not enough that the virtues of a leader are only in his soul; they must be obvious, witnessed before everyone; as an example, they should be before the eyes of everyone, so that everyone in a doubtful case can decide from this example how to act. This is how the teaching of Christ should be revealed in those chosen to serve His Church. Without this, the voice of the teacher of the truth of Christ becomes too weak, to the humiliation of the name of the Divine builder of the Church. When life changes or does not correspond to the lips: then the trust in the teaching itself is taken away, no matter how correct it may be. Is it still necessary to apply this teaching to the needs of everyone’s condition! For someone unfamiliar with the inner actions of the Divine teaching on the human heart, it is an insoluble difficulty to act with one’s word in such a way that it will benefit everyone. Mental consideration alone is not enough; one needs one’s own experience to know the power and effect of living Christian truths in various human situations. When we begin to correct our heart with the assistance of Divine grace, then what does each triumph over ourselves cost us? What kind of strong fight do the most insignificant opponents require? How many times will you have to try both weapons? One thing hurts too much, so that it produces despondency; the other is weak, so that it leaves room for negligence. Sometimes it is necessary to awaken negligence, sometimes to revive courage with consolation; either to strengthen the feats of self-mortification, or to prevent conceit. If we ourselves have not gone through the fire of temptations of spiritual life; if we ourselves do not know from our own experience what is especially useful in what situation for a struggling Christian, what Christian truths when and what effect on his heart: then can we appear to our Lord Jesus Christ, or even before appearing to Him at His Last Judgment, imagine Him in our consciousness, with the confidence that we have done everything possible for us to fulfill the service entrusted to us? No! We did not do the very first, necessary thing if we ourselves did not go through the path of purification first. If, however, it is so necessary to combine Christian knowledge with Christian life in a servant of Christ, then look, you who have been called to this service, how much convenience your present position presents in order, together with the principles of enlightenment, to lay down solid, lasting principles of life according to God. The holy monastery is a fence from the dispersion of worldly things. Everywhere before my eyes there are sacred objects. It is always close to my heart to pour myself out in prayer before the altar of the Lord, to tell God my sorrow, to ask Him for help in the fight against passions. Hosts of reverent worshipers - from near and distant countries - are involuntarily called to the house of God, living in His very courts. And there is always a ready intercessor and prayer book, and on the deathbed accepting the petitions of earthly co-workers in God. The age of your life is the time for the revelation of spiritual strength, when the heart requires food just as much as the mind, and when it voluntarily or involuntarily chooses something as an object of love. If the spark of Divine love is not kindled in it, it will remain a slave to something earthly. The age of your life is the time when in your heart, not yet drowned out by passions and the vanity of everyday worries, nature itself speaks quite strongly about God, His love and love for Him. The age of your life is a transition to a state when your own initiative will be required; worries will multiply, your character will be determined, and it will be difficult, difficult to change anything at the beginning of your life, even if it’s something that needs to be changed. Do not waste time: the power of religion, becoming the life of the heart during the period of youthful development, from an early age will give all the forces of the soul a high disposition, a deep look to the mind, purity and tranquility of the heart, true nobility of character. Your activities are all so geared towards stimulating and nourishing aspirations for the Divine. And the lessons of wisdom teach us to find God in our consciousness, to hear His voice in the depths of our souls, and only there they cease to guide, where they are transferred under the higher guidance of the Divine Word. And the science of the destinies of mankind teaches us to reverence the Divine paths by which the entire human race, as one person, is led to its destiny. And the living word of our God is your daily science. Everything that He deigned to reveal to us about Himself and His relationship to us is the subject of your constant research and reflection. The divine image of Jesus Christ, drawn by His Apostles, is always before your eyes. What lofty subjects the mind is constantly occupied with! What a great start to work! Under such favorable circumstances, all that remains is to complete what has been started; to surrender both heart and will to Christ, to love nothing but Him, to live holyly according to His holy law. Whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.