Письмо 14

I must bring you special congratulations: on receiving royal and archpastoral mercy, laying on you a visible cross with the image of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on it; Happy approaching day of your angel, Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene. Accept them from my true zeal, with the desire for help from the Lord in all your affairs. The Holy Church sings of the power and glory of the cross: “the cross is the guardian of the entire universe; cross beauty of the Church; cross of kings orb; the cross of the faithful affirmation; the cross of angels is the glory and the plague of demons.” The world was saved by the cross, the Son of God was glorified by the cross. He suffered on the cross and gave him strength, so that by his sign the power of the enemy is overcome. Great is the power and glory of the cross! We, Christians, have been honored in holy baptism to receive the sign of the Cross of the Lord on our chests; and in monasticism, the cross is again placed on us with the following greeting: “our brother (or sister) accepts the sign of the cross of the Lord on his chest in constant remembrance of suffering and humiliation, spitting, reproach, wounds, strangulation, crucifixion and death of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, which he endured for our sake, and to the extent possible, strive to imitate this.” By the grace of God, you, bearing this sign on yourself secretly, I hope that, remembering the suffering of the Lord, you yourself bear the sorrows that happen to you with thanksgiving; for they are necessary for everyone, and even more so for those in authority, and those who care about the salvation of others, as a reward and encouragement for the future, God commanded the archpastor to adorn you with the visible sign of this holy image; through this your light appears before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). And you, surely, will not be carried away by corruptible glory, wearing this sign visibly, but you will understand what the glory of the cross consists of: in suffering! Glory to the Son - the cross, the church teachers philosophize, when He suffered and accepted death on it by His will, for our salvation. Bringing thanks to the most merciful Lord, who deigned you to receive as a reward apparently His holy sign, I pray His goodness will enable you to bear it worthily, enlightening your mind in the truth, and strengthen you in the sorrows and bewilderments that occur in the field of your service, and may He arrange salvation for you and your entrusted flock, the sisters gathered in Christ; and by the power of the cross of the Lord, may he abolish all the machinations of the enemy, raised against you and your sisters; and you, according to your strength, try to present your will and care for good, and you will find God’s help. I ask you not to leave me in your holy prayers, unworthy of your prayer book, the great sinner I.M. July 16, 1846. You might be interested in: