Письма 301–400

I see your grief for your family. What to do? Sorrows are inseparable from us, and like a shadow they follow us, sometimes about ourselves, sometimes about our neighbors. Ask my advice, what should you do? I am truly at a loss to give the right advice and not make a mistake. Both the duty of kinship and nature, and the commandment of God make it an obligation to provide for your neighbors in their needs, and I know what you did for them on the orders of your parent, and about the rest, although I don’t quite know, I am sure that you did a lot for them, but the current situation is tearing your heart apart, especially because you cannot completely calm them down, and especially your sorrowful parent; for, although you live in abundance by the blessing of God, you are all limited in some way in relation to your family; although your labors and care for the production of affairs, however, everything is not an autocratic master. Being oppressed on both sides, one must ask God to give true reason and His help to calm them down, and to give as much as possible from one’s excesses, at least little by little; ask your mother to come over and advise your brother about some kind of trade. Today is a disastrous time in this regard……. Having read your brother’s sad letter, I return it back; it’s regrettable even from the outside to see such a situation. Help me, Lord, to get out of this. However, God’s destinies are incomprehensible to us! Accept the prosphora from our monastery and eat in good health with your entire family, for which, and for you, asking for the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. November 27, 1844 Your venerable society has honored you with election to the position of Ratman, and entrusted you to be a judge and mediator in their discordant actions and disputes. Therefore, this is the will of God, but it is not safe to resist the will of God. This obedience will bring blessings and help to you in your affairs, and your loneliness will not bring you harm……….b confirmed your election, and I, for my part, agree with it, may God’s blessing be upon you. Forgive me for not having time to write about this at length, otherwise I could present to you from the Scriptures what is the will of God in your election, for, living in society, it is a sin to avoid its burdens by placing them on others: but you will already believe the truth of my words, and rest in faith and hope in the goodness of God, and in His help in your affairs; but on our own we cannot create anything. And so, I congratulate you on this new position; For you, of course, it is new and wild due to inexperience, but action will show you how and what to do, and most importantly, may the Lord enlighten you. I also congratulate you on the approaching highly solemn holiday of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may He grant you to meet and celebrate this holiday in good health, with heartfelt joy, with your entire family. I think you already know that during the transfer of bishops, your Right Reverend Isidore’s lot fell to shepherd the Georgian Church, the lot of the Mother of God. May She help him in this difficult climate and preserve his health. I remain a most zealous wisher of health, prosperity and salvation and an unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. December 19, 1844. Remembering the day of your Angel, the 7th of March, I want to congratulate you on it, and wish you and your family every good thing, in the full sense, and which is given to us from the all-generous Lord, according to His mercy. I will not break down what it consists of, I will leave it for your consideration, but I will remember the top of it that a person can acquire in this life: peace of mind, this invaluable gift of the Savior Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, St. To the apostles, and through them, to the whole world. I leave My peace to you! My Mirz I give to you! Not as the world gives, I give (John 14:27). I wish you, having spent this holy fast soul-savingly, meet the bright holiday of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, with your entire family, in good health, with heartfelt joy. With my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. March 6, 1845. I read your brother’s letters, the words of your mother strike your heart, and I sympathize with you about this. Of course, the Lord will accept your good will to console her, and will invisibly help you in your affairs. In relation to one person, it would not cost you anything to saturate her, but I don’t know about a whole family, however, your help should ease their lot, if they don’t appreciate it, then the knower of the heart, God, knows the whole chain. I know that you are in difficult circumstances, between fires, but thereby your faith is tempted, like gold in a crucible; call on God’s help to give you reason and strength on how to act in these matters according to His will. I wish you to celebrate the feast of the Resurrection of Christ in spiritual joy, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 17, 1845. Seeing from the letter…….. that you are in good health, I sincerely rejoice, and from now on I wish that the Lord will preserve you and your family in all prosperity. The publisher of the magazine (“Moskvityanin”) took the trouble to publish in it the life of the blessed elder Paisius, and two of his letters: it has already been passed by the censor; a should be expected in the 4th or 5th issue of this magazine. If anyone receives these from you, then please be curious. He promised me to print several copies of this article as a special article. Last year, the life of Elder Seraphim was published in Mayak, and I have one copy of it in a special article; Thanks to secular writers for publishing such useful articles. A book was also recently published entitled “Memorable Tales of the Ascetic Asceticism of Our Saints and Blessed Fathers”; We have had it for a long time under the name of the Skete Patericon; only schismatic press and with big errors; a translation from Greek by Eusebius, rector of the academy. If they had given it a name: skete patericon, or venerable...., then it would be much more famous, and there would be more buyers, especially from our rank. Sermons by Rev. Philaret of Moscow, and Innocent of Penza, also of Kharkov. There is something to read, just don’t be lazy; Yes, the point is to gain fruit. I testify to us and your family my most zealous respect; I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. May 12, 1845. Time flows quickly, we have not yet celebrated the holiday of Holy Easter, and now we are celebrating the Ascension, especially when we are approaching old age, you don’t see how time flies away and is nearing the end; and there is the entry into eternity. How many generations have changed in our memory? and the deeds of all of us are written in the books of conscience, and will appear in judgment; there everyone will see his residence. You advise me to write the life of the late Father Leo. But I find myself weak and unworthy for this enterprise, I have no sources. Maybe there will be people who will collect his life story for the benefit of others; but I am content to honor his memory, remembering his fatherly love for everyone and for me, the poor one, hoping that he was worthy to receive the mercy of God, and there he prays for us sinners to the Lord. Feeding on this hope, I remain peaceful, and others who know him also lead his life: and when the Lord is pleased, He will give strength and understanding to those who need to write his life. Whatever descriptions are made, we accept, and although we are not able to imitate them, at least we are surprised by them and glorify God about them. Yesterday, during the all-night vigil, one brother passed away to the Lord with a blessed death, with a smile on his lips he gave up his soul in the hands of the Guardian Angel. He only lived in the monastery for a year, was ill for six months, 19 years old, his name is Nikolai, we believe that he will receive the mercy of God. The publication of the Mayak and Moskvityanin magazines is carried out in a religious spirit, and therefore they contain edifying articles. I know the last publisher, G. K., but unfortunately, due to his illness, he leaves him in the care of others; and he had the hope of pursuing a religious and moral direction and combining them, as necessary, with science, whereas in the scientific world science is certainly separated from religion. Having gone through experience, he wanted to prove this with conviction and, of course, would have succeeded in such an enterprise useful for humanity, but he lacked physical strength. He and his wife rejoice that the Lord has chosen him as an instrument for glorifying the blessed elder Paisius. However, there were many disputes about not publishing it, but he insisted on the condition that it be published in his 4th issue. Thank God that your trading business is going on, although quietly, but without loss, while others are saving from their capital, in this time of trouble, and so you thank God for His mercy towards you, and He is strong and able to comfort you. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with the desire for your health and prosperity and with my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinner I.M. May 24, 1845. With the help of God, your loneliness and position do not interfere with the progress of your affairs, so you visited M-y yourself and corrected the affairs. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33), said the Lord. What we undoubtedly believe and see in many of the events of these words, we must follow this. Grief to you through your relatives is all the more close to your heart because your parent has a part in this and is looking for deliverance from you, it is difficult for you, but parental prayers and blessings build the homes of children, since the opposite comes out of the opposite. Our venerable Vasily Petrovich 41 does his business in the capital, a crowded city; Apparently there are many people who need his help, whom he himself finds: and you have not lost his attention. The book about the asceticism of the holy fathers is very useful, but they did not give it a name: Skete Paterik, they would have taken it more by its familiar name, but the current name is not for every piece of news. Likewise the teachings of S. Rodion Putyatin's works are good for their brevity and clarity and for their spiritual edification. The life of Elder Paisius has already been published and with a portrait, in the 4th issue of the Moskvitian, we read it; there are some typos and omissions, but I don’t think they were censorship, I made a register for them and sent them to M-y; that at least in a special sheet about typos, correct these errors. I haven’t received a special book yet, but I hope to have about a hundred copies soon. I thank you for the gift sent, may the Lord reward you with His mercy: asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain the great sinner I.M. June 29, 1845. The answer to your two letters is correct, please forgive me. During this post there were quite a few visitors to the monastery, and I, being busy, did not have free time to write to you, having found, although not entirely free, a somewhat convenient half hour, I am writing to you in response to your letters dated July 31 and August 2, I do not dare take on such insolence that I can fully satisfy your question regarding your brother’s demand with a solution. About this, I sincerely rejoice that the Lord gave you feeling and helped calm your mother, which made you calm down; but in this case I don’t know what advice to give you? If I didn’t know your circumstances, but just thought from the outside, then of course I would say to fulfill the word of God: “Give to him who asks you.” And even more so: help in need, but knowing your situation, I do not dare take upon myself the audacity to persuade you to help those in need. It is a pity for those who suffer, no matter what the occasion, they fell into temptation; but your circumstances are limited. We are cramped everywhere, as Susanna says! Pray to the Lord and surrender your heart to the will of the Lord, as He will warm it to do good or to leave them for God’s providence and for His protection. If God’s will is done, your heart will turn to compassion, and will make the impossible possible, rewarding you with unexpected benefits in terms of trading. This or that, I submit to the will of God! In the last N° of the Mayak from the island. P.... three articles are placed, including one concerning Father Leo; you'll see it, however I haven't read it yet. The life of Elder Paisius and two letters were printed and several copies were published in a special article; just not enough. I will send several copies to O-b for you and our other unanimous benefactors: but I intend to ask the editors to allow me to print more. We only have these for free, but now we need to send the amount so that they will recruit again, and I hope for the material, with God’s help; Those who are zealous for the memory of the elder will help, as much as the Lord announces to whom: but there is already a beginning. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God with the wish for your health and prosperity, and with my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the much-sinful I.M. August 11, 1845. Remembering the day of your Angel on March 7th, I most earnestly congratulate you on it. I wish you to celebrate this and many future ones in health and prosperity and in a spiritual, peaceful dispensation. As you navigate through the bustle of life, you faithfully took care to devote time to acquiring spiritual devotion through reverent activities on these sacred days, dedicated to the Church as a tribute, a tenth of the entire year to God, according to the legend of St. Abba Dorotheus. A special service, special food, abstinence, the cessation of balls and shows, all this excites us to reverence and reflection on our present destiny, on the past time and on eternity. Seeing in ourselves a deviation from the commandments of God, we try to be reconciled by repentance and communion of the most pure and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, which burn away the thorns of our sins. When you have not fulfilled this duty, you will fulfill it faithfully during Lent. The most merciful Lord loved us so much that He gave us His most pure body and life-giving blood for food and drink, as a guarantee of eternal life and an imperishable future meal. Let us bring thanks to Him with our hearts and lips and good deeds! I wish you and your entire family to meet the bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ in good health and testify to you and your wife...... my zealous respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinful I.M. March 5, 1846. Repentance, given to us by the mercy of God, is spiritual healing. You, having been wounded by the arrow of sin, have resorted to this medicine, the mercy of God still protects you, and the words of the Savior can apply to you: “Behold, you are healthy, do not sin!” Thank God that He awakened your conscience, made you feel the severity of the illness and seek a cure. Although you have received forgiveness from your spiritual father, and it would have been enough, you are also looking for a sinner from me; May the most compassionate Lord forgive you, and may He strengthen you in the future to stand strong against the arrows of the enemy and sin; and I, a sinner, forgive you. The reasons for this should be sought not from outside, but from within us. St. John Climacus writes: where there is, or has been, a fall, pride preceded it, about this and before this you and I had a conversation: and so, remembering our weakness, try as much as we can to keep our hearts in humility. But God will not despise contrite and humble hearts and looks upon the humble and gives them His help. If the enemy strikes you with despair, then also with humility resort to trust in the ineffable mercy of God. And for your consolation, I suggest that until the Nativity of Christ: a day, 5 bows to the Savior, and three to the Mother of God, with prayer; “Rejoice, Virgin Mary...”, and maybe you have penance, then when it becomes a burden, you can leave mine. May the Lord reward you with His mercy, to whose omnipotent protection, entrusting you and your family, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 19, 1846. Your adventure proves to you our weakness, and humbles the opinion we bring about ourselves; passions intensify our feelings to such an extent and darken our mind and spiritual eyes that, forgetting the fear of God, we are carried away, like a stormy wave, by the desire of passion; and only then will we know what abyss we are in, when the grace of God touches the eye of our heart and enlightens it to see where we are and from whom we have moved away. The grace of God did not allow you to remain blind until the end or for a long time; it touched your heart, showed the heaviness, and called to repentance. Glorify the Creator, who rises from the abyss of sin, do not despair of His mercy for repentant sinners, He sent His Only Begotten Son to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You regret, repent, are contrite at heart, set a firm intention not to be carried away by passion, with the help of God, and the Lord is able to forgive your sin; there is no doubt about it. Heart disease and the memory of sins are necessary for us, so that we do not crawl in the thaw: but when painlessness and oblivion of the fear of God possess us, then the desire of passion compels them to action, and here pride also contributes to this. For where the fall began, pride preceded it, writes St. John, Climacus. The Lord allows us to fall, so that we can humble our pride, for before Him a humble sinner—a repentant one—is more pleasant than a proud righteous man. You see the power of passion, in such sad circumstances, the illness and death of children, it acts from our negligence and previous pride, condemning our neighbors and so on, try, I repeat, to keep yourself from these wines, and from wines that arouse passion for action by removing all kinds. Resist the first mental attack, crush the Babylonian babies while they are still babies with prayer and humility, and when they grow up, they will already be giants and it is difficult to resist them. Remember that you have three families in your care and God helps you in your affairs, but when you leave to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then I don’t know what to say? and to those who seek them, all things here will be added. I wish that the Lord grants you peace of mind and strength; and for your children to rise from their sickbeds: for which, according to our strength, we pray to the merciful Lord. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. September 14, 1846. I notice from your letter that the illness and ulcers you mention must mean the spiritual dispensation. You find need in me to heal your wounds. But what am I? dust and ashes, and also having many of the actions of the old man. Seek healing from our most merciful Lord Jesus Christ; the wound of His pierced, loving heart is open to all; the blood that flowed from His most pure ribs washed and is always ready to wash away our sinful defilements; Just don’t leave the doctor. Ask, seek, push into the gates of His mercy! He did not come to the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. If you have done something that hurts your conscience, immediately resort to repentance, with the intention, with the help of God, to protect yourself from such cases. I do not reject your zeal for my evil: but if there can be any benefit to you, then this is not my action, but the mercy of God through your faith. But, to my regret, I cannot fulfill your desire at the present time, to be with you, the first thing is fasting, and it is impossible for me to leave in any way. Second in my position (confessor); and there are many more obstacles, besides my infirmities, which often visit me. And so, I already advise you, according to your desire, to immediately begin fasting and the sacraments of repentance and communion, so that you may receive mental health and peace of mind. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. November 26, 1846. I’m heartbroken for you, imagining your ailments! Upon sending my letter to you, most respected……. I also received a letter from you dated November 25, also mournful and sad, as far as I can understand; I imagine your situation, and I accept the most active participation in it. But personally, there is no way for me to be with you: I have already written to you about this; trust the paper, write down your embarrassment, although from another person, allegedly told to you, to convey to me, perhaps the Lord will dispel the dark clouds of your sadness and the light of peace and silence will shine in your heart. Do not give in to despair in the most difficult moments of the struggle of flesh and spirit, cast yourself before the majesty of God’s mercy, ask for His help, offering your weakness, and His power is made perfect in our weaknesses. So, my desire and prayer to the Lord: may He console you in your sorrow and give victory to the enemy, crushing all his evil charms and dreams. God wants our salvation, and the enemy seeks destruction, and confuses us with thoughts, forcing us to sinful actions, but God is strong, just do not stop flowing to Him and asking for His help. Read the 7th word from Saint Isaac the Syrian, and from Peter of Damascus in the first book: “Do not despair, even if many people sin,” two articles. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. December 2, 1846. P.S. Stepan O-ch B-k writes to Fr. Peter that, after his late Lighthouse, he is too lazy to take up the pen, and the ink has dried up in the inkwell, but he hopes that over time the late Lighthouse will be reborn. The healing of repentance and the acceptance of the most pure mysteries of Christ healed your spiritual ulcers, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory and thanksgiving to God’s ineffable mercy towards us sinners! But remember His word: Behold, thou hast been in health, thou shalt not sin (John 5:14). In your last letter you describe the details of your weakness, for which you have already received forgiveness and permission from your spiritual father, who accepts living participation and compassion in you, then the Lord is able to grant you forgiveness. But I see that the opposing enemy does not stop firing flaming arrows at you, even though they hurt your soul; And you, seeing your weakness, resort to Him who is able to save you from this storm: avoid cases that infuriate passions: remember what consequences and torments of conscience happened to you, I do not tell anyone the secrets of your heart. And compare this torment with short-term pleasure, and humble yourself before God and before people; for the guilt of our falls is pride, as St. writes. John Climacus: “Where the fall followed, pride preceded it.” Do not look at this, that the world reproaches you for a pious deed, you, as if you were sick, went to the doctor; and they are healthy; Moreover, there is a commandment of the Church - to freely approach the sacraments four times a year. Do not be afraid that they are seduced by you; deeds of piety tempt you: but can sinful actions really take advantage? You did this not out of hypocrisy, but out of necessity of illness. When the preaching of the cross by the Apostle Paul was a temptation for the Jews and madness for the Greeks, should he really have abandoned it? Asking for you the peace and blessing of God, and wishing you peace and health, mental and physical, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. Read in the Creation of the Holy Fathers of this year in the third book, in the appendices the word V. Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, said on the day of the feast of Demetrius Tsarevich: how the world always persecutes those who want to live piously, although the world is Christian, 275 folios, remarkable on folios 277 and 281: “fearing being rejected by the world, he can come to the point of being rejected by God.” I wrote this to you so that you would not be afraid of worldly negotiations; but meanwhile his reproaches would be accepted as a debtor in another respect. With a small note to......, written on December 28, I had the honor to congratulate you on the holiday of the Nativity of Christ and the upcoming New Year; and now I congratulate you on the upcoming New Year. May the most merciful Lord send His blessing on you, on your whole family, on your home and on all your good deeds and undertakings, and may He strengthen you in the struggle against the principles and powers and spirits of evil in high places. You describe your illness and the passionate darkness surrounding your heart. For this I sympathize and sympathize with you, but I cannot give help without your will and without God’s help; Remember how long you were at peace in this part, the storm that came not without reason, as I described to you: where there is a fall, pride certainly preceded it, writes St. Climacus; when they did not kill the Babylonian babies, then one involuntarily had to fight the giants; but with God’s help, everything is possible, just don’t leave the Doctor: look, ask, push at the door of mercy, remember the bitter fruits, after eating which there is such a shock to the inside of the soul; a even more fear in the future! in the very moments of heaviness, cast yourself before God, ask, saying with the Holy Prophet: have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak! a God is able to send you His help when you ask Him and have a good will; remember eternity, souls! What we ourselves cannot do, God’s grace is strong enough to do. Let us humble ourselves, and let us condemn no one for their weaknesses, and let us accept whatever is sent from God to heal the sorrowful with love and humility. Vasily Petrovich will help you in your trouble. And asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. January 8, 1847. In vain did you accept with sorrow of soul that I expressed my weakness in giving you help without your will and the help of God; I am aware of my weakness and now I do not deny it, both in relation to my neighbors and to myself. What would happen if I reassured you that I could give you help? seems like sheer madness. It’s another matter to pray to God that although I am a sinner, I dare to do this according to the commandment: but my prayer, without your help, cannot completely free me from .... Remember the examples of two kings who sinned and repented: David and Saul, and for whom the holy prophets prayed, for the first Nathan, and for the second Samuel. Why did the first one receive forgiveness, but the second one not? About this St. Dimitri of Rostov explains that the first one prayed, cried, sprinkled ashes on his head, dissolved the drink with tears, and ate the ashes like bread, and got up to pray at midnight; That’s why he soon received forgiveness; but the second, on the contrary, not only did nothing of the kind, but also drank, ate, had fun, and so on, and therefore did not receive forgiveness and I pray to the saint for him. Let us suppose that, by the grace of God, you have received forgiveness of sins through the sacraments: but they again take arms against you and try to overthrow you; This is where will and resistance must be on your part, then the power of God will be perfected in your weaknesses. You say there is will, but there is no force; Again I will say: resist, recognize your weakness, present it to Him who is able to save you from drowning and storms: call to Him: Lord, have mercy on me, for I am weak! When we recognize our weakness, then we humble ourselves, and humility attracts God’s help. St. John Climacus writes: “where there is a fall, pride preceded it,” and St. Isaac the Syrian, in the 79th word, writes of this kind of thought and abuse, which occurs above strength, and is allowed to be for pride. Try to delve into the folds of your heart: has this god-hated passion crept in, and try to destroy it with the memory of your sins and infirmities, and with the fact that, in its possession, the torment of passions overcomes; it is necessary to have both the fear of God and the removal of those cases that infuriate passion. When fighting passion, there is no need to despair and be embarrassed, for even through this the enemy attacks more powerfully, having fun about it; but, as I said above, with the consciousness of one’s weakness, cast oneself before the Lord, asking for His help. With such a dispensation, even our sinful prayer, according to your faith, can help you. I ask for the peace and blessing of God on you and your entire family, and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. January 23, 1847. Seeing from your letter the notification of the illness of the most venerable F. Ya., I sincerely regret it, and I pray to the most merciful Lord that He will give him healing both spiritually and physically. What I conveyed to my father….. when you meet, tell him my respects and my diligent desire to be healthy; and so that, while trusting in the goodness and help of God, he does not abandon medical means - after all, God created the doctor and medicine, then He is able to give the doctor the understanding of what to use, and the power to heal to medicine. For the gift you bring, for the publication of the works of the holy elder Paisius, may the Lord reward you with His mercy, and we bring you our most ardent gratitude; for the proposed publication, if the Lord blesses, a significant amount is needed, but I do not have the courage to offer it to anyone; and if the Lord tells someone what to sacrifice, it is acceptable with thanksgiving; in time there may be a reward based on the sale of books: but help in need is precious; If everything expected is allowed to be printed, then we will have to borrow from someone before the books are sold. Until now, the censorship has given permission to reprint only the life and writings of the elder, already published; and the censor promises to send other articles to our Moscow correspondents soon, with the first mail. May God grant that the words we cited from St. Isaac was not treated to you in relation to staying in......, but be jealous of the repentance of those who fell first and repented and received the mercy of God. His 7th word raises those who fall greatly into despair, calls the one who does not cut off hope even in victory itself a wise sick man, and John of Carpathia, in many chapters raises those who have fallen from despair, in the 57th chapter he says that even sin itself brings to God the one who repents and accepts the feelings of stench and heaviness and fury of it: and whoever does not want to repent does not lead him to God. May the Lord give you true repentance and heartfelt sadness for your sins, which will protect you from new attempts. May the Lord help you complete the addition to your house safely, and even more so, take care of the organization of your spiritual church, which you want to fix. For it, different materials of virtues are needed, which should be bound by humility, instead of clay (lime), as St. Dorofei. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 19, 1847 Having received the news of God’s visit to the city of O–a with flames, we had heartfelt compassion for those who had suffered deprivation of their property, for the crying and distressed inhabitants. But, considering here the all-wise providence of God, and in the very punishment of man, showing His love for him, we should be amazed at His love for mankind and the abundance of goodness, and revere His destinies incomprehensible to us! Having punished people with such sorrow, from many he will receive the fruit of patience, which benefits their souls; He is powerful to give consolation, especially when people resort to Him; for: God is our refuge and strength, a helper in the sorrows that have come upon us greatly (Ps. 45:2). He humbles this one, and exalts this one, kills and gives life, brings poverty and enriches; Who can resist His will? The now celebrated holy righteous Job suffered greatly, the deprivation of all property, children and the defeat of his very flesh by illness, not by blind chance, but by the providence of God, as the Holy Scripture showed us: and in all these things that happened Job did not sin and did not give madness to God (Job 1:22); after a seven-year temptation, God again blessed him with property and more children than the first, so those who are visited now should not lose heart, but hope in the goodness of God, which, after testing their faith, will bless them with everything more than the first. The Lord is marvelous in His deeds and in events incomprehensible to us! Those stricken by this sorrow, some will bear the fruits of patience and thanksgiving, while others may experience cleansing and correction, who will boast of not having sin, when St. Paul, speaking about sinners for whom Christ died, calls himself: of them am I the first? (1 Tim. 1:15). What will we say about ourselves? Those who remain and are spared from this visit will bring the fruit of love, compassion, consolation and, if possible, assistance. Glory to the all-wise and loving God for everything; let us pray to Him that He may give comfort to His offended people. How much the Lord has shown you His mercy! Being in such danger, your property, which could have been a victim of the flame, remained spared. Glory and thanksgiving to His abundant mercy. I see your feeling, in your letter, of gratitude to God, and the consciousness of your unworthiness. This is how each of us should consider ourselves, and honor mercy for the sake of others, perhaps your most worthy neighbors, and prayers for the sake of V.P. and others. I see your readiness to make a sacrifice to God, as a sign of gratitude for His mercy to you, and you place this responsibility on me, to give you a commandment, what to render to the Lord? Who and what am I that I give the commandments? Is there any advice I can offer, according to your faith and zeal, for making a sacrifice? Now is the time favorable, now is her day of salvation! To console those most affected and those in need, give one hundred and fifty silver rubles from your spared property, helping everyone according to their needs, secretly or openly, as God instructs you. There may be a subscription in favor of the victims: but there - as you wish, and this is especially important. Also exchange, or order to paint an image of St. Apostle James, brother of St. John the Theologian, since on the day of his memory the Lord preserved your property, and annually honor his memory with prayer, and on the same day use ten silver rubles - half for the Church of God, and half for distribution to the poor. Especially bring heartfelt thanksgiving to the Lord and the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, perform it with a prayer of thanksgiving, with the acceptance of Her Most Pure Icon into your shop and into your home: and over all of this, try to correct your life, according to the commandments of God. Here is my advice to you, in the fulfillment of which may the Lord send His help to you and may your sacrifice be accepted into the stench of spiritual fragrance. Remember the parable of St. Ephraim the Syrian about slaves sleeping in their master’s field, and not working, as he transported them across the river and laid them in the field; the prudent ones recognized the master’s good deed and began to work, but the careless ones continued to sleep, careless of the master’s condescension. Have understanding and understand about pardon. I thank you for taking on the responsibility of selling our books; but only so that it doesn’t bother you. A believed that there were booksellers in O—that’s why he asked you about this. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with the wish for you peace, health and prosperity, and with my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many sinner I. M. May 6, 1847 Having given thanks to the Lord for saving your property, and having been worthy to do good to your neighbors if possible, having brought glory to God, fulfill the vow you made during your visit, do not get carried away by short-term sweetness, which brings long-term sorrow, and which requires long-term repentance and painful labors. In moments of darkness, cry out to the One who is able to save you from drowning and from the storm: “Have mercy on me, for I am weak!” (Save us, we are perishing!” and He is ready to help all those who call on Him in truth; call upon our Intercessor, the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God. She is strong to help with Her strong intercession to God for us. May the Guardian Angel heal and abolish the slander of the contrary. About the icon of St. Apostle James, I will try to have it written here for you, but I just can’t set a time. For your consciousness of your weaknesses and inclinations, may the most merciful Lord forgive you and continue to help you firmly and unfailingly fulfill His holy commandments. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. June 22, 1847. I sincerely congratulate you on the completion of the extension and reconstruction of your house, may the Lord bless you to receive physical and mental peace in it. You are frightened by the thought of danger from fires, and therefore you place your house under this protection to insure it, and you believe that nothing can happen without the will of God, but you cover this faith with unbelief, doubting that in the event of an accident it will remain on your conscience, why you did not insure it. In bewilderment, ask for my opinion on this enterprise of yours. I am not contradicting the law of the government, but it did not make it mandatory for everyone to insure their homes: they allowed these companies to be for those who wish, and those who do not want to insure are not required or forced to do so. When you believe in God’s providence, and whatever happens to us, everything happens by His will, then an insurance company will be unnecessary; Is it strong enough to prevent the misfortune that God wants to visit a person? It pays money for burned houses, but how much? Can anyone reward that which, God forbid, who will lose? Not just a house, but also property perishes in such cases; and they, both brick and iron, put everything in the price and pay extra; and in the most important cases, as happened in Hamburg, and completely refused payment; how much should you pay to the insurance company? Rubles 300 or more; but you cannot avoid fear; who insured your shop during a fire? Didn't God cover with His mercy? There is an (insurance) society that has the power not only to preserve here, but can lead us into eternal shelters, and through them we can enter into the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Be familiar with this company, give them at least a third of what you would pay to a fire insurance company: things will be much better and you will have peace of mind about your home. Let us assume that the insurance company will compensate, although imperfectly, but to some extent, but couldn’t there be other cases that harm property in terms of trade and other turnover? It may very well be; and even more so for unbelief; but on the contrary, by faith, if God visits someone, in one case with misfortune, in another he rewards him purely with His mercy. And whoever remains without punishment, the holy Apostle says: For you are by nature adulterers, and not sons (Heb. 12:8). Here is my reasoning for your question and bewilderment, it seems that it is better to surrender to the will of God, and try first to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all this (temporary) will be added to you. I wish peace, health and prosperity to you and your entire family, and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 12, 1847 I sincerely rejoice that you have calmed down regarding your home and property; We trusted to leave its preservation to the will of God! Read y St. Isaac the Syrian words: 25, 26, 27 and 28 about faith and reason; how the mind is resistant to faith, and how the one who walks in the paths of faith calms down. To get rid of the future fire, you need to be careful and not fall into despair; and seek healing in repentance and correction of your life, read about this from St. Peter of Damascus two articles: “Oh, it is not appropriate to despair, even if many people sin” and: “Oh, how great is true repentance.” Also read the book of St. John of Carpathia 42 comforting for sinners, and receive from them spiritual healing and correction. Your visit will be very pleasant for us. Image of St. James, the Apostle, ready on a cypress board. With my respect, I remain the wisher for you and your entire family of health, prosperity and salvation and your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 26, 1847 I didn’t have time to write to you last month; due to a lot of troubles, I’m now writing on occasion: but I don’t know whether my letter will find you in O–. Glory to God that after receiving the great gift of the holy mysteries, you feel His mercy towards you and bring thanks to Him; drive away despondency from yourself, hoping for God’s help: in your affairs, both mental and physical, call on it silently, but do not dare to rely on your own strength and reason. Sometimes you are allowed to be despondent and get carried away into excessive joy, which may be that you too have suffered. May the Lord protect you from all the snares and snares of the enemy and may He strengthen you in His fear and humility. Let not our mouth speak of the deeds of men; Moreover, with their condemnation, from this we ourselves are allowed to be tempted by the same or greater infirmities. Peace to you and your entire family; Wishing you success in your affairs and a safe return, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 17, 1847 I have the honor to congratulate you on Angel’s Day……. May peace, health and prosperity be among you: and may God’s blessing be multiplied upon you and upon your children! I hear that the illness that was in your city has passed: and you, as well as all those we know and love in the Lord, have been preserved in health by the grace of God: for which we give thanks to the most merciful Lord, we ask you to continue to extend His mercy to you. Thank you also to the Lord, who preserved us in a time of sorrow, painful by the fulfillment of His holy commandments; for which you will receive reward both in this and in the next century. And again, asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. November 22, 1847 On the upcoming highly solemn holiday of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, I have the honor to congratulate you. May the praise of the angels and the shepherds permeate your heart with heavenly joy: “Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth!” To the best of our will and strength, let us try to be worthy of this world; and God’s help and His power will be perfected even in our weakness. I received your letters dated November 28 and December 14. Grieve that sin bothers you: grieve, grieve, become despondent, and ask me to correct you, according to the word of St. Climacus: a person corrects a voluptuous person. How can I do this? You live 130 miles away, can I follow the actions of your deeds, words and thoughts? The only possibility, on my part, is (even though I myself am a sinner), to pray to the Lord God to deliver you from this illness and to offer means for preserving yourself; which I, according to my understanding, fulfill; and on your part you must force yourself by denying yourself and moving away from things that infuriate passions: you must have the fear of God, remember His omnipresence; the torment of conscience is the reward of sweetness, and the uncertainty of the hour of death, and will we have time to repent? Submit yourself humbly before the Lord even in moments of battle, and first ask for His help, recognizing your weakness and poverty. Show your strength, then my care will be justified. When you place your correction on me, remember my reminder to you, and listen to it; without you I cannot help you; and especially without God’s help. You yourself read, and I repeatedly offered you the word of St. John Climacus: “Where the fall happened, pride preceded it.” If it is in you, then try to root out this evil root before it sends its branches deep into the soil of your heart. I do not dare to convict you of this, but I advise you to consider yourself and descend into the depths of humility, in every deed, word and thought, as much as possible. The cross sent to you from......maybe serves as a punishment for your correction. Accept it and thank God. When there is no possibility of overthrowing him, then where to go but with the consciousness of one’s sinfulness to throw oneself before God, asking for His mercy and liberation, or strengthening. One of the church teachers wrote: “punishing a sinner here is God’s great mercy and love for the sinner.” The love of God does not want the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him. For this reason, He descended to earth and became incarnate, in order to save us sinners. Have this hope and celebrate His Nativity Day; Let us give Him thanks, with a contrite and humble heart, and do not despair of our salvation; we repent of the past, keep ourselves from the present, and ask God’s help for preservation in the future. In all this, may the Lord give you His help and console you on His birthday with trustworthy joy, I wish and humbly pray to the Lord! With my true respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. December 23, 1847 An early opportunity will give me a chance to quickly respond to your letter sent on the 26th; I received it yesterday. Extreme sorrow, mental and physical or worldly, strikes your heart: and, it seems, the reason for the first is the fault of the second. Isn’t this a banner of God’s mercy to you, a message of sorrow, so that we may come to our senses and receive disgust from what is displeasing to God; let us deny ourselves or our passions. The Lord has protected your outer world with His gracious blessing; wants so that the interior is not plundered from evil blasphemers...... maybe the vineyard intercedes for the tree, so that it will not be flogged for infertility; but ask to be sprinkled with pus, so that it will bear fruit in the coming summer. Accept the sorrows that come your way with such reasoning and feeling, thanking our Creator, who punishes here, so that we are not condemned with the world. I see the untruth ..... against your actions, and I will not justify it in any way; but our untruth makes God’s truth in us, and people who insult us are only weapons of God’s wickedness. I know that you believe all this, and therefore I remind you to convince yourself and to free yourself from cowardice by submitting to the will of God! It seems to me that the crampedness of the shop will not prevent customers from visiting when God blesses, but one cannot rely on a spacious one; when it has not happened in such a way as to have a spacious one, then apparently there is no will of God: and be at peace, be calm. I wish peace, health and prosperity to you and your entire family and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, much sinner I. M April 26, 1848 The sad news about the unfortunate O—, who suffered from a formidable, fiery element, during a gust of a strong storm, reached us, by private rumors, on the 29th of May. We have heartfelt compassion for our brothers and sisters who have suffered such misfortune. But this is not a blind chance, but arranged or sent by God’s permission: although punitive, it comes from His love for His people, occurring: for He loves Him, God punishes, He beats every son He accepts (Heb. 12:6). Whether such a calamity was sent for sins, or to test their faith, we do not dare and should not experience, for we ourselves always and repeatedly anger the Lord; and with submission to the will of God cry with the prophet: righteous is her Lord and righteous are Thy judgments, and who can resist Thy will? Feel sorry for the victims and pray to the Lord to strengthen them and comfort those in their sorrow with His mercy. You write to me about this sad event, but superficially, and who can calculate the grief and misfortune of people up to 10 thousand left without shelter and food? Just test the hearts and bellies, This is the message, and you are strong to grant them Your help, to inspire the government and charitable hearts that have the opportunity to help their sorrowful and distressed brethren, sharing their deprivation with their property. Not yet having reliable information about the locations affected by this misfortune, I tested about you and other benefactors I knew, and was convinced by a guess that the Lord had preserved you; which actually came true. Bring silent thanks to the Lord, with your heart and lips and deeds, if possible, correcting your life: and whatever your conscience denounces, bring repentance to the Lord for your sins, prostrating yourself with humility before His Majesty, asking for forgiveness and help, having the good will to correct yourself. You say: “I myself don’t know why the Lord preserved your house and property,” and you attribute it to the prayers of fathers, children and neighbors who deserve pardon. But doesn’t God’s mercy extend to you, like those in the parable of St. Ephraim the Syrian, who did not want to cross the river themselves and make their master’s field, but were asleep, he transported them sleepy across the river and laid each one on their field; some of them, waking up, recognized their master’s kindness and mercy towards them, and began to work; and others thought nothing of it, and even laughed at him that he wanted to force them to work by cunning. Be like the first who were transported across the river and accepted the labor, know much of God’s mercy towards you, preserving your property and awaiting your labors in correcting yourself.... Having made sure of the preservation of all of you, our dear benefactors, I sincerely thanked and thank the Lord; regretting both the others and the...... God help him! You ask for my advice and admonition in this case: your money left after the burnt ones is up to 4 thousand in silver; Can’t you count those asking for alms? This visitation of God extends to all those who are sick and participating, as one body: if one person suffers, then the whole body suffers with it (1 Cor. 12:26). When there is no hope of receiving your debt, even if only for a time, then your property has suffered, and you must leave it to the will of God, thanking Him for visiting you, even if only on the side. And supply those who require alms according to your strength, compassionately, as if it were your own fortune, allocating for this some portion according to your will; But the Lord will send you a special message: “Give to the poor, and give to God in return” (Prov. 19:17), says the Holy Scripture. What is it like to have such a debtor, for whom the debt will never disappear, but also rewards him with eternal benefits! I have instructions from certain people, and I am sending you his silver rubles for this subject; I ask you to take the trouble to distribute them to anyone who needs it, at your discretion, who requires help, without announcing from whom; and from two more girls twenty-five silver rubles. May the Lord bless you and your entire family, I humbly pray for His goodness, and to preserve you all and your property, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the much-sinful Hieromonk Macarius. How did you not understand the parable of the workers? Further, you yourself say that, having recognized the gentleness of your master, you set to work, but I did not. Therefore, you understood the meaning of this parable. Now I don’t have time, but someday I’ll tell you in the prologue what date to find it, read it yourself with the interpretation. The struggle you described, and your victory in it, seems to exceed the severity of the imaginary pleasure. But do not stop crying out to the Lord to save you, who are sinking in the waves of this sea and unable to come to Him; He is strong to stretch out His hand to you and draw you to Him. Pay attention to other actions of your life, is there pride, vanity, conceit, self-love in them? All these passions are the cause of the scourge with which the enemy strikes you. Despise yourself in your thoughts, destroy yourself, and consider yourself worse than everyone else, then the Lord will have mercy and send His help. Do not despair, read the 7th word of St. Isaac the Syrian. The fate that befell O–b also occurs in other cities; and they threaten many people: even in our K-e there is great fear, although there are no fires yet, but everyone is being taken out of fear. It is clear that all this happens by God’s permission: if the Lord does not build the house, those who build it labor in vain, and if the Lord does not preserve the city, it will be built in vain (Ps. 127:1). We must seek help from God, but all human wisdom is absorbed. May the Lord protect you, your family and all your property. Asking for His blessing on you, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. June 18, 1848 To console your spiritual sorrow, and to heal spiritual weakness, I, a sinner, have written to you more than once: if you find it useful, then put it into action, and pray to the Lord and the Most Pure Virgin Mary to protect you from the arrows and snares of the evil one; and for your part show diligence in resisting rebellious passions. I thank you earnestly for using the money you received from me in favor of those close to you who suffered. You, being a member of the auxiliary committee for victims, will faithfully use all your strength to act according to the rule of prudence, equalizing the needs of everyone, and for this the Lord will not leave you. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 2, 1848 I sincerely feel sorry for your late brother, who in his youth shook the scythe of death, leaving a young widow and three young children without any fortune. But this is our human wisdom, which does not comprehend the depths of God’s destinies. He alone knows what is useful for whom and how much time to spend wandering in this deplorable vale, and when to come to our present fatherland, the future world, eternity. So your brother is predestined at the present time to move into eternity, according to the unknown destinies of God, with the guidance of the Christian sacraments; that is why there is hope for him to receive God’s mercy. I feel sorry for the remaining orphans and widows, but the Lord is merciful and strong to provide for them, He is the nourisher of orphans and the protector of widows. And in our city the disease continues, there was a visit to our monastery: two novices moved into eternity, there were also sick ones, may the will of the Lord be done on all of us. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 24, 1848. Reading the preface of Elder Vasily Polyanomerulsky, you were kindled with zeal to pursue artistic endeavors through the mental Jesus Prayer. Do you believe that I am a true worker of prayer and an artist in this matter; ask me to teach you how to do this. I don’t even dare to think that there was an artist of this lofty work, since I can’t be his mentor. But, reading, I believe that there were and are such workers; and the main thing in them was humility, with which this spiritual sword cut off all the enemy’s machinations; and without it (without humility) there is great danger in taking up this artistic weapon. You can simply call on the name of God with your lips, saying a prayer and driving away passionate excuses, falling humbly to the Lord; But it is dangerous to take it for artistic, intelligent, because charm will follow; a beauty is God's punishment. Read y St. Gregory of Sinaite, in the chapters on silence, chapter 7: on delusion, and above in 15 chapters, chapter 8. And in the letter of Elder Paisius to Archimandrite Theodosius (first. ed.) on pages 266 and 267; there you will see true reasoning and a warning: let us come to this work without boldness; say a prayer simply with humility and God will not leave you; and be compelled to do the commandments of God. St. Peter of Damascus writes in the 24th word of the second book: “To him who prays well with bodily prayer (that is, whoever prays simply, to him....) God gives mental prayer; and I remain in this with diligence, formless and unimagined from the pure fear of God,” and so on; but remember that “in pure prayer barely one from a thousand will achieve, and even to this day, barely one from darkness,” as St. Isaac the Syrian. This is how high this work is! And what can we say about him? At least see a trace of it, humble yourself and be amazed at the workers and the greatness of it. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 31, 1848. I received your letter dated May 6, I did not answer, forgive me, there were so many troublesome and rumored clashes that I don’t even remember myself and are still going on - which makes me very difficult, both physically exhausted and weakened in spirit, and I extremely regret that I remain in debt to many for answers to letters. I accept my heartfelt sympathy in your sorrowful situation. But the fact that you recognize yourself as guilty certainly lightens the weight of this cross. It is well written by one godly man: “the tree from which Your cross is made certainly grew from the soil of Your heart.” With this consciousness and self-accusation, of course, humility and submission to the will of God will be born, and humility attracts God’s mercy to us. And the very punishments sent here are signs of God’s love for us: for the Lord loves him and punishes him; he beats every son he accepts; Even if you are without punishment, you are by nature adulterers and not sons (Heb. 12:6, 7, 8.), and again: here we are punished, lest we be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32). Punishment is not sweet, but it bears fruit that flourishes in the eternal belly. Give thanks to God for everything and for His long-suffering and punishment, may all this be for you to heal your soul and body! I can’t tell you anything special about myself, in the monastery, thank God, everything is safe for you and your family, desiring true good, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 21, 1848. I am very glad that the book of St. Nilus of Sora came to your heart, yes, this great man and father, having received salvation for his soul, left an unforgettable memory for himself with his godly teaching; and the Lord has deigned us, with the help of those who are zealous for piety, to publish it for those who wish and seek spiritual benefit. What shall we render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to us? ABOUT! whenever the last words., i.e. Ps. 115:3–4 were represented in us not in words, but in deeds. I hope that very soon, with God’s help, a book will be published entitled: Delighted Clases, from the translations of Elder Paisius (this title was made by a great spiritual figure), it contains the words of St. John Chrysostom on prayer; Gregory Palamas, Meletia, St. Mark of the Ascetic, Ammon and Zosima, it will contain 11 printed sheets in a large octagonal size; upon receipt, I will try to deliver this book to you; I hope you like it too. We accept your promise to participate in the publication with love; I just can’t, and I don’t dare, offer it to anyone, but God loves a willing giver. The expenses are significant, but the reward for us is the spiritual benefit of our fellow men; In time, when there is an expense on books, the dependency will also be rewarded: but now not yet. Let’s also worry about the book of Theodore the Studite, which another censor took up and promised to review by the new year, and St. Barsanufia. On our part, we have done everything possible and necessary to ask for God’s blessing and help for this enterprise. I just received your letter and am opening it, and our monastery sexton says: “Our oil is all wood” - I read the letter and see your promise to supply us with it; Isn't this God's work? “Be calm, don’t worry,” and so on. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother and His saint John the Baptist, on the day of his memory and the feast of the Beheading, who gave us this notice, and we offer you our gratitude for this promise. One lady, whom he often visits, writes to me about Vasily Petrovich, that he was with the Metropolitan, sat with him for quite a long time, and Vladyka called him to come see him any other time; upon returning to them, Vasily Petrovich was very pleased and kept saying: “Here is grace!” and thanked her for the favor that she asked permission for him to be with the Lord. This was around August 15th. I am very glad that you as a family were honored to be partakers of the most pure mysteries of Christ this past Lent, may you enjoy spiritual health. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God; With my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 30, 1849. I was completely prepared to write to you, in response to your letter dated September 8th, to the post office tomorrow and at that very time...... delivered to me your writing, a barrel of butter and a loaf of sugar. Please accept my deepest gratitude for all your benefits; both for these and for the hundred silver rubles sent for the publication of fatherly books. May the Lord reward you with His mercy. Read books, recognize your weaknesses and humble yourself; and God is able to give you strength to fulfill His commandments, with your will and diligence in this regard. Remember that God looks down on the humble, accepts the prayer of the humble and does not despise their prayers; but on the contrary, he resists the proud; Let us strive for that (humility) with all diligence, and let us avoid this (pride) with all our might. All evil comes from pride; all good things are acquired through humility. Great is this virtue - humility! And like a precious stone, it is rarely found, and even more so in these difficult times. You write: “I trade poorly, pay my debts poorly: housework is a burden,” and so on. Humbly place your neck under the hand of God; and see everywhere the finger of God, both merciful and punishing; cry out with David: It is good for me, for he has humbled me (Ps. 119:71). Do not be proud or discouraged, and the God of peace will be with you. God bless you for your good memory of the late Father Leo, and for the poor blind people we should feel heartfelt pain, as if they did not know what they were doing. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, and wishing for health and prosperity, I remain with my respects, your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinner I.M. September 16, 1849. Now I have received your letter, sent on the 20th, and, having this faithful opportunity, although in small lines, I wish to thank you for your visit to our monastery and for your charity, may the Lord remember your love. Thank God, you received the protection of your soul in our wretched monastery, and were not tempted by our laziness and careless life. What you read in the conversation of St. John Chrysostom about those withdrawing from the world, now we do not even see a shadow of it in ourselves, but we all thank Him who called us, the most merciful Lord, from the world into our humble abode, who feeds us and clothes us, truly, not according to our dignity, but more than mine! What will I repay to the Lord for everyone who also repays us? And you thank His goodness, which cares for you, provides for you, feeds and comforts your family. And from the blessings here, let us turn our thoughts to the eternal future, those who have no end; and we will ask the Lord to honor us with them, although in the very last rank, since star differs from star in glory. Let us surrender to His holy will! Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. March 23, 1850. You have already seen about the receipt of your first letter from my note: but I have not thanked you yet for your donation for the Church of St. John the Baptist and wax and candle work and dewy incense. I didn’t understand then, based on the speed of your letter, and asked about the price. Lord save you and reward you with His mercy, through the prayers of the Most Pure Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist; and may he protect you from all the snares and snares of the enemy. I know that you do not want to transgress the will of God, and in the event of any attempt, great sorrow consumes your heart. Watch your heart, so that it does not become exalted in anything, but rather let it be permeated with the consciousness of its poverty; May the Lord look upon your humility. The Church of God instructively sings in the Antiphon: “Let my heart be covered with the fear of Thy humble mind, lest, not having been exalted, it fall away from Thee, O All-Bountiful One.” This is a lesson for us, and St. John Climacus points out: “where the fall occurred, pride preceded it.” You know this quite well, but I considered it not unnecessary to write to you in my poor writing, as a reminder and warning. Tomorrow the Church celebrates the entry into Jerusalem of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we will follow Him, so that we may be honored to reverently remember His most pure suffering for us, with a grateful heart, and then meet His glorious resurrection! And since there are only a week of days left, I bring you my sincere congratulations on this joyful holiday; I wish you and your entire family to meet this holiday and celebrate with heartfelt joy and good health. With my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 15, 1850 You grieve over your trading circumstances, having no help from those people who could ease your cramped circumstances: and you must seek it with shame and difficulty; I worry about you in my heart, knowing your needs and responsibilities, commercial and domestic, and, according to my strength, I pray to the Lord to grant you relief in your difficult situation. But what can my prayer do? Perhaps God's love for you seeks your purification through sorrowful trials. In this case, it is necessary to have a feat in the school of faith and devotion to the all-wise providence of God, which cares not only about your external life, but also about the salvation of your soul. If we recognize ourselves as sinners, then we must recognize ourselves as worthy of punishment, and when they are sent to us, then see in this the righteous hand of God, punishing us here in order to save us from eternal punishment; instead of grumbling, force yourself to humbly bow your neck under the strong hand of God, and with a grateful heart send up prayers to Him: for His love; for: “Whoever the Lord loves, He punishes; he beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6). Read y St. Isaac the Syrian in 51 words, on 91 sheets 43, on the back: “like betrayal...” you will see that through consciousness and humility relief and excess of the sorrowful are learned; and for murmuring and blaming others, aggravating and continuing them. May the Lord give you comfort in your sorrows. I earnestly wish this, and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 24, 1850. I received your letters dated 8 and 15 September. With my first letter I was much upset by my participation in your situation; and also seeing your cowardice in the unprofitable trade turnovers and household family expenses that visit you; that everything worries and upsets you. I wrote to you a lot, as much as the Lord admonished, for your comfort. Now I’ll just say, so that God’s destinies do not deviate from your mind, what happens to us involuntarily - all the providence of God and His destinies, inscrutable to us, are at work. His beneficent and punishing hand is all moved by fatherly love, towards our salvation. Those who remain without punishment are adulterers by nature, not sons. St. Isaac the Syrian writes: “and from this we know that man is, as we provide to eat from God, when God sends him everlasting sorrow.” By accepting the fatherly rod with a grateful heart, you will soon receive an abundance of sorrows and spiritual and physical consolation. For which, even though I am unworthy, I humbly pray to the merciful Lord. May the Lord bless your new shop and trade in it, for the prosperity of your family, and your neighbors, and may the Mother of God cover you with Her holy veil. Move on with God's blessing. Reviews..., although flattering, due to the weakness and poverty of our deeds, we do not dare take upon ourselves; and we attribute the consolation he received here to God’s mercy, which was given to him according to his faith. I ask for God’s peace and blessings for you and your entire family, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. September 18, 1850. You poured out the sorrow of your heart in the writing to my sorrow dated October 30th. I see and feel all this, I know how difficult it is for you to see the present and the imaginary future here, but all this is external and fleeting, the evening may be mourning, and the morning joy (Ps. 29:6). The Lord is strong, having punished you, and have mercy, and again send good progress to your affairs. And with external worries and cares, it is necessary to take care of the future life, to acquire the wealth that will go there with us and to acquire such a robe for our soul in which we can enter the palace of heaven! You say: “I am poor and naked” - there is still time; the bargain did not go away; buy, there are many means to do so. “Judge not and you will not be condemned: let go and it will be forgiven you,” and with the poverty of virtue, spiritual poverty helps, which is blessed by the Lord Himself. We cannot ascend to the heights of virtue, we will descend into the depths of humility; and it is the only thing besides deeds to strongly intercede with the Lord for us. The publican was justified by what? Humility! robber, repentance. May these two beggars and last virtues be with us: then from the last they will make the first; and the Lord grants everything necessary, sufficient and useful. And it often happens that with our abundance, I won’t say spiritual, but also external, thoughts are sown: I said, in my abundance, I remain motionless (Ps. 29:7), the consequences are known, we will not think lofty things about ourselves, we will not condemn others for their shortcomings, we will forgive those who have sinned against us and those who offend us, we repent of our sins and humble our wisdom in everything; then the mercy of God will not be far from us! Congratulations on the upcoming fast, this healing of the soul. And with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. November 21, 1850 I received your Scripture, from it I see your heartfelt movement and sorrow, both about your internal and external dispensation. What can I tell you about this? The only thing is that with the mourner, I also grieve and sincerely regret. But you should expect reinforcement and consolation from above; attract it with humility and self-reproach. I will say with gratitude that I do not like the fact that you grumble at others for not giving you money. We must turn our thoughts to God; He does not tell them. To send us sorrows, if it is the will of God, then all creation will cooperate in this regard. There is one God who knows about this, according to St. Mark of the Ascetic. I know that I cannot give you consolation with these words, but according to the disposition of your heart, God is able to send it. I have no more time to write, with the wish for you and your family peace, health and prosperity, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. December 8, 1850. I have just received a letter from P.V. A–a dated January 15; writes: our respectably dear Vasily Petrovich Brauzin died that day. May the kingdom of heaven and eternal memory be upon him! He came to them on Saturday, he was very weak, they advised him to communicate, but he did not agree, he kept expressing a desire to go to the monks, mentioning our monastery, spent Sunday with them, and on Monday he went to the Lord. His death was very quiet, in a special room, into which when they entered, they found him already dead, on the floor. The most venerable P.V.A. was honored to serve, before his death and after his death, to this great ascetic of piety; apparently he was worthy of it; I think that P.V. notified you about this too. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with the desire for you all the best and good health, and with my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. January 20, 1851. Yesterday I received your writing, sent on March 1st, by which you express your gratitude for receiving you in our monastery; and we, for our part, thank you for your visit, and ask forgiveness for the meager, spiritual and physical consolation, the Lord Himself is able to grant it to you for your faith and zeal for our harm. What can I say to console your grief regarding your trading circumstances? Only faith and submission to the providence of God, which arranges it in this way, and consciousness of your sins, can strengthen you with the grace of God. “Thy judgments, O Lord, are many; who has tried the mind of the Lord, or who has been His adviser?” It is not without the permission of His all-wise providence that you suffer. Yes, His providence is not only all-wise, but also loving; delve into yourself and understand whether He visits you with sorrows out of love for you? A grateful heart and humble mind will soon receive consolation. May the Lord keep you in the sea of ​​the world, not submerged in its waves, but grant you a quiet refuge for His commandments and hope. I ask for God’s blessing for your entire family and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. March 7, 1851. On the approaching all-joyful and highly solemn holiday of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I most earnestly congratulate you, and I wish to meet it peacefully and calmly, with heartfelt joy and gratitude to our Redeemer, thinking about His ineffable mercy towards us, how much He endured us for the sake of suffering and how long-suffering He is to us who sin, awaiting our conversion and repentance. ABOUT! how abundant in this great week are the memories of the completed Saving Mystery of our salvation, which can arouse in us feelings to the consciousness of our guilt, and to gratitude and love for our Creator. From your letter of March 23, I see the lines pouring out from your sorrowful heart, and I realize that the severity of your sorrows is great. Where can one find relief? You realize that Divine love crushes your pride with these scourges. Your consciousness of your sinfulness before God can cause that same love to soften the blows of these scourges and dissolve them with spiritual consolation. “Father, father, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep?” Isaac says to Abraham, who was leading him to be sacrificed. “God will show, child,” was the answer. And so it was: fire and wood are temptations and sorrows, and the sheep is consolation. So often in our sorrows we do not have consolation, but God has it ready; He only gives it when he sees that we, having received it, will not use it to harm ourselves. And so one must surrender to His will. From your letter I understand that you are looking from me not for rules of prayer, but for constant mental prayer. The matter is high and beyond my measure and dignity. I do not dare even think of contradicting the words of Gregory Palamas, that it is possible to seek and achieve this height, although I am far from this, but the holy fathers wrote, according to their dispensation, how someone achieved it, and they teach us this. However, don’t just say the Jesus Prayer and you will receive all the good things, it is written simply about psalmody and prayers: about quantity and time, and nothing more; - however, those who did it with good intentions and humility received the grace of God. And many books have been written about this small five-numbered prayer, how to go through it and what kind of baits there are from the enemy, and how the unskilled are deposed and destroyed by him. Get busy, read everything we know: Simeon the new theologian, Gregory of Sinaite, Philotheus, Hesychius, Callistus, St. Isaac, and in the Delighted Classes of Elder Paisius and others, and choose a decent preparation and measure the strength of your soul: can you bear and acquire this wealth without harm. St. Simeon the new theologian writes in his sermon on the 3rd type of prayer: “one must keep one’s conscience in three things, towards God, the spiritual father, towards people and towards things” and so on. And all the holy fathers in general command to have extreme humility in this prayer; for when we are forced to do the commandments of God, we involuntarily see ourselves as insufficient in them, and we humble ourselves, and humility is the strongest weapon against enemies: and therefore all the fathers command those who wish to undergo prayer to force themselves to the commandments of God. Our enemy has many intrigues against us, and especially against those who undergo mental prayer; and if the mind deviates a little in its opinion of itself, then it will lead into delusion, and into incurable delusion. St. Isaac the Syrian in the 2nd word writes about the special cross: “and whoever wants to ascend it not with the first part - doing sorrows, but with the second - visions, ever-teaching prayers, etc., the wrath of God comes upon him.” Read this word for yourself. Further he writes: “Even if God comes about itself, I don’t feel it, but if the place is clean and not dirty” and further; and St. Gregory of Sinaiti in the last chapters, in the 10th and further, clearly warns against delusion; You will read all this; remember in the article by Gregory Palamas, on page 34 it is said: “the soul enters its cage, when the mind does not walk here and there in the things of this world, but is found in our heart”; and so on from Elder Paisius, in the Scroll of Prayer (first ed.), on page 223; encouraging zeal for constant prayer, it puts diligence, care for the body, and so on as an obstacle to worldly thoughts. I, seeing your desire to achieve high measures, that is, to “wait at the foot of Jesus” and “feed on Christ,” wrote to you as a precaution in order to be wary of this; a seek only mercy from the Lord through this spiritual prayer; and this should be done with humility. Read y St. Isaac in the 55th word in the printed book, on the 103rd page on the back: “I pray thee holy” - to the end of the page. When you observe something touching and pleasant, delusion is immediately ready, even if it was definitely from grace, but consider yourself unworthy of it: for many who received grace, but those who thought of themselves, fell from it incurably. Don’t leave the rule that you follow: sometimes add an akathist on Saturday and during the week. I can no longer burden you, but by force. It’s a pity that your citizens suffered greatly from the water: may the Lord help them! Having wished you peace and health, mental and physical, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 3, 1851. I wrote to you about not seeking high measures in prayer, but not abandoning prayer: for which I had a reason from your words “he will sit at the foot of Jesus, feed on Christ”; and then, and now, and before many times I read St. Gregory Palamas’s article on prayer, and I don’t contradict it at all, but reverence and kiss it; although it is far from being fulfilled. Now you write: you wish to obtain pardon through prayer; this is a completely different matter, I wrote to you about this even then, that this is how you need to call on the name of the Lord. In this article, on page 32, it is written about prayer: “for this reason, it is possible to correct this for anyone who is painfully seeking the salvation of his soul.” We must always remember this when we are sick: that is, with heart disease, regret for the anger of the Lord and in repentance to offer Him this short prayer: Lord Jesus, and so on, with the feeling of the publican and the prodigal son. May the Lord bless you with this work and grant you His help; accept the prayer of the humble and do not despise their prayer. However, I must remind you, of course, what you read, St. Isaac the Syrian in the 89th word that “sadness of thought is an honest gift from God and wearing it as it should be, is like a person wearing a shrine in his own places: a person who has closed his tongue against people about good and evil deeds is not worthy of this grace. “Whoever is sorrowful at heart” and so on... This is what you need to call upon the sweetest name of the Lord and have mercy from Him as you desire. And also the pleasant example of Constantine’s success in calling on the Lord was a reason for embarrassment and reproach from others; then even this, if it could happen, should not be rejected: although he was in progress, and we are in new beginnings; but the path is the same: “repent, the right is scolded by the insane,” writes St. Mark the Ascetic. By the way, I will also mention the word: feed on Christ. St. Isaac writes in the 83rd word: “he who has found the love of Christ eats every day and hour. Blessed is he who eats the bread of love, which is Jesus; And as one who is poisoned by love, he eats Christ, who is God above all,” John testifies, saying: “There is a God of love.” But woe to us, are we not feeding on that “swine” food, about which this same saint wrote in the 20th word? And can we taste the holy food, even if we try to eat it? And again, in the 83rd word, the saint says about achieving love, that without fear no one can move to love; and further, “that by the ship of repentance, possessing the joyful fear, we are crossing the stinking sea; If these merrymakers of fear do not steer this ship of repentance, then we will drown in this stinking sea.” I believe that you have an understanding of repentance, that it does not consist only in confessing your sins to your spiritual father, but you must always remember your sins and be sick in your heart, with hope in God’s mercy. For I know my iniquity, and take away my sin before me (Ps. 50:5) the holy prophet and king David cried out to God, and we pronounce this word every day, but with the same feeling as he? Don't know. I have written a lot to you, but I myself am not a doer of a single good thing, and I am afraid that my writings will not be a judgment and condemnation for me, and if the Lord grants you to gain benefit from these collected words of the fathers, then Negli and my weakness will restore to repentance and humility, following the example of those who, having sunk themselves in the mud, warned others not to walk the way as St. writes. John Climacus. May the Lord fulfill your desires for good and grant His help in your commercial affairs; I remain a wisher for your health, prosperity and salvation and an unworthy pilgrim, many sinners I. M. April 21, 1851. The Lord blessed the house of the Abedars, for the sake of keeping the ancient Icon of the Covenant in it, and you were honored to receive into your house the most pure and life-giving cross of the Lord, on which He willedly crucify us for the sake of salvation: may the Lord send a special blessing to your house and grant you peace, health and salvation. I thank you for sending me the light that glowed at the holy cross, holy oil and holy water; I accept this with the blessing of God. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. May 8, 1851. Thank you for your detailed description of the presence in your city and in your house of the tree of the life-giving cross of the Lord. The Lord is always wondrous in all His deeds, and through the sorrow of your city He also granted great consolation. And we are happy that our Orthodox faith is deeply rooted in our Russian people, which is the root and foundation of all good things. The merciful Lord has vouchsafed our Russian land to be protected by this sign of the cross of the life-giving tree of the Lord and the blessing of Holy Mount Athos. Although we were not worthy to accept it within our borders, we believe that we are protected by it, and the Lord will protect everyone and cover everyone with His mercy. I am confident in the feeling of your gratitude to God for deigning you to receive such a great and priceless Shrine in your home and that you were worthy of this blessing: but that everyone had crosses, one cannot be surprised at this, for the Lord Himself bore the cross, then His followers cannot avoid it, and even more so, with such a great and blessed visit, you could have been exalted by this, that you are worthy of it; but the fire of temptation has burnt down every exaltation and has left you in humility. Glory to Your wise providence, O Lord, for us! You are also happy because you have been honored to see and receive God’s servants, truly working for Him, in your home. But your comparison about my thinness is far removed from them, one might say, like a shadow from the truth. I won’t talk much about this, that’s enough. O! if only the feeling of my poverty would remain with me inseparably. I know about the blessed memory of Elder Paisius that his remains remain incorruptible, and his soul eternally rejoices in the face of the saints. It seems, I told you too, Ecclesiarch Nathanael of the Nyamets Monastery was in Kyiv last summer and told some reverent brethren about this. I honor him as a saint of God. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with the desire for your health, prosperity, and with my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I. M. May 15, 1851 I wrote a letter to you, but today I also received your letter, sent on the 1st of June: I see in it, because of the constraint of circumstances, that your heart will be overcome by pain and sorrow; but there is also awareness of the dignity of such visits, and faith in the word of God: that the untruths of people bring about the righteousness of God in you. Add to this: “Thou art righteous, Lord, and Thy rulers judge,” and the words of the righteous Job: naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will depart mother, as the Lord willed, so be the name of the Lord blessed forever (Job 1:21). You have been honored with the grace to receive in your home the life-giving tree of the cross of the Lord: great is this mercy to you, He also sends you sorrows, so that you too may be a participant in suffering, only He endured for our sins, “do not commit sin, for flattery will be found in His mouth,” and we suffer for our sins to cleanse them. And in this see God’s great mercy and love for you. Would His love for us really be known then when, having sinned, we would remain without punishment? Oh no, it's dangerous! You know this and are confident in this, sorrows have been released, according to the word of St. Isaac the Syrian, 51 words: “until the time it’s convenient, we will have painful flour.” With your obedience and creation, the Lord is able to restrain the hand that punishes you from punishment, and to send His mercy and calm your spirit, but until that time, be patient. Patience is the mother of consolation, and cowardice is the mother of torment (79th word of St. Isaac the Syrian). May the Lord strengthen you and give you an abundance of sorrows and great consolation, which is what I zealously desire for you, the great sinner I.M. June 3, 1851. You write that your consciousness is not true, but on the contrary, I think that it will also benefit you; After all, even if involuntarily, we still resign ourselves. When the king and prophet David, but not himself, humbled himself, but when, by the providence of God, he was humbled, he exclaimed: it is good for me, for Ecu has humbled me, so that I may learn by Your justification (Ps. 119:71). So we will not miss unprofitably the opportunities involuntarily sent by the providence of God, until we cry out in a humble and grateful heart: it is good for me, for Ecu has humbled me. The Lord is able to give you comfort and abundance from those around you; what I fervently wish for you, much-sinful I.M. June 16, 1851 I received your letter dated June 2, but did not answer it, hoping that you would not repay me for this debt: for I often answer two or three letters to many with one, and when there is some special or urgent matter, I try to force myself to take responsibility. You reproach yourself for wishing for the book of St. John of the Climacus, and you think: it would be more useful for you if I myself preceded it and sent it. But I don’t find anything in this that could cause you concern. I was very glad that you wanted to have it because, with all my purest zeal, I sent it, seeing your hunger and thirst for fatherly teachings; and without knowing your desire, I could not offer it to you, because perhaps this manuscript is still incomplete in some way, and we cannot rely on our reason that it will be so. Read in the letter of Elder Paisius to Archimandrite Theodosius of Sofrontiev, when he reproached him for not sending books, how he responded, humbly realizing that he only had his translation for his council of brethren, but was afraid to give it to others. When such a great and skillful old man thought of himself like this, what do we say about ourselves? But when you find this book consoling and useful, then have it; and although you do not see the corrections, I believe, as you think, that these two books of St. Isaac and St. John, like two great mirrors, showing us our impurity and humbly creating our wisdom. So does St. the fathers teach that acquiring spiritual books is useful; for just looking at them makes us lazier to sin. God grant that this hunger for this food and thirst for this living water of spiritual teachings may increase in you, through this you will be satisfied with humility and repentance, and when the glory of the Lord appears, receive peace. Have humility: it does not cut off trust in the ineffable mercies and generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He looks upon the humble; may He help you in seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness: and there is no doubt about the application of temporary blessings; if the first is abandoned, the latter may not be found. You are disposed to come to us during the coming holy fast, we earnestly desire this and, in anticipation of this, asking for God’s blessing on you and on your entire family, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinner I.M. June 28, 1851. I sincerely congratulate you on the upcoming joyful holiday of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ: may He keep you and your entire family in health, peace and harmony, and console you with spiritual joy about our glorious salvation. I received your letters from the 7th and two from the 9th of December, with the latter also the book of St. Barsanuphia. The Lord is able to fulfill your desire to have it, when it comes out of print. Yes, we are very rich in books, but we endure poverty in work, and even more so in humility; and it is light, without which everything we have is vain and dark, according to the word of St. John Climacus: and Saint Dorotheus calls it clay, which binds the stones of virtue, and does not allow the building to fall apart: but what can we say about love - this top and cover of all virtues? But St. spoke about that one too. John Climacus “a sacred duality: love and humility, one elevates, but the other does not give an exalted mouth: and here humility is needed.” Asking for you the peace and blessing of God, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. December 20, 1851 Happy New Year to you; and the past has sunk into eternity, left us with the memory of the past, as in a dream, but if it were so, then all our deeds, good and bad, will not remain without retribution, “and they will all be written in Your book.” When we make an annual report on income and expenses, how much more should we care about the accounting of our affairs: is the income and expenditure correct, or does our debt exceed our good deeds? The most merciful Lord has left us and given us time, so that we may diminish our debts through repentance, contrition of heart and humility.” I don’t know the sins of others, whether they are small or great, but I must take care of my duty: and if you also have anything from the works of the old man, then now is the time favorable and now is the day of salvation. Let us call upon the grace given to us in baptism by repentance. The voice of one crying in the wilderness will follow the baptism of the Lord and calls us to repent, for Christ is coming to deliver the world from aphids.” (Irmos baptismal canon). Having offered this spiritual reasoning, which is more relevant to yourself, I wish you to spend this New Year in a peaceful and calm dispensation and prosperity for many years to come. I express my respect to your entire family, and, with the desire for every good, I remain an unworthy pilgrim, a great sinner I. M. January 5, 1852 May the Lord bless the work you have begun, and arrange the fate of your daughter....., for a prosperous life in marriage with..... I received both your letters on the 14th and 18th of January. You express the difficulty of your situation in terms of the expenses required in this matter, and the tightness in finances, and perhaps in other household chores. I am afraid to give you advice, because perhaps the decency of the world will not allow this to be followed. However, I will say: it is not bad to moderate expenses as much as possible; although it will be painful for the love-loving side, it will be calmer afterwards. I think you are very sure that the engines of luxury are three passions: love of fame, love of voluptuousness and love of money; by which it is composed and enlivened. What fruits bear, and what are the consequences? I will keep silent about this; everyone who looks into his conscience and believes with the commandments of God will understand. Thank you for congratulating me on my angel’s day: and having wished you to complete the work you have begun in peace and tranquility, I remain with my respect your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinful I.M. January 22, 1852. We thank you and your companions for visiting our monastery and benefiting from the abundance God has given you. That you have received consolation, this is what the most merciful Lord, according to your faith, has granted to you: He is able to strengthen you in the field of your work in the world, in the midst of the snares and temptations that lie ahead. By the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil (Prov. 15:27), and you have it, and the will to do God’s holy commandments: you will see God’s help. May Father’s little bench, according to your faith, be a consolation for you. Asking for God's blessing on you and your family, and desiring peace, health and prosperity, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. February 26, 1852 I sincerely feel sorry for the venerable F. Ya-cha, a kind and true Christian, beloved family man, and friend of humanity. Left tears for many; but he himself moved from mortality to the spiritual land, from sorrow to peace. This was the will of God at this time to call him into eternity; before which we are obliged to reverently and humbly obey His destinies. This alone can dissolve the sorrow for him with spiritual consolation, that the Lord vouchsafed him to so unexpectedly prepare for eternity, here (in the monastery) he prepared himself, and, upon his arrival, performed the sacrament of unction on him, and again communicated with Christ and went to Him; Eternal memory to him and the kingdom of heaven! And I wish you good health and, in grief, spiritual consolation. With my respect, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. March 14, 1852. God bless you; You also visited me in M-e with your writing. But you are so captivated by zeal and love for my thinness, despite it, attribute to me so many high virtues that I am even at a loss whether, as the holy fathers teach, it will not be for me: “Woe to that man whose name is higher than his deeds.” And what to do: so be it: the will of the Lord be upon me, a sinner. I’ll tell you, I arrived in M–y with Father I–m on May 13: on the same day we were with the Metropolitan, and were received by him graciously and favorably. And now it’s already the 8th day in M-e and we are all in trouble, correcting various assignments and the duty of visiting our friends and benefactors: but there is still little success, due to the space of M-e and the remoteness of our apartment; however, we owe a lot to our hosts: completely separate rooms and a special entrance, a horse, a carriage, nothing to say about the table. Save them, Lord! Book of St. Barsanuphius the Great is being printed and more than half has already been printed: however, there are still about two months left, with all their diligence and care about speed: they themselves are doing the proofreading, and they remain here for this time solely for this purpose, and even more so, the completion of the book may still be moving into the distance, although this costs them quite a bit. Living in Moscow versus living in the countryside makes a big difference. May the Lord reward their zeal and piety. Regarding the article by I. V. K-go, I cannot agree with you on your remark; in my opinion, he rather showed the false enlightenment of Europe, approved of our Rus', indicated where to look for sources of enlightenment: in the Orthodox Church and in the teachings of the holy fathers, and not in Western philosophers. I don’t even understand what you think, should he have pushed his pen deeper? when here, too, some, in our opinion, necessary and useful truths are crossed out; then what would happen next? Today or tomorrow we are planning to go to the Lavra and the Right Reverend will go there, we don’t know how long we will stay there, but it seems that we need to spend a week traveling, and we can’t see how time flies; and now we have been away from the monastery for two weeks. I wish you and your entire family to be completely healthy and prosperous and, asking for God’s blessing on you, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I. M. May 22, 1852 You consider yourself to be in debt, but I don’t consider this at all, but I even more accept your good deeds to us and your offering to God. Our only duty, as you write: to love each other, and in this we are definitely unpaid debtors. For he who fulfills love fulfills the whole law. I cannot give the true meaning of interpretation to your dream, one thing I know is that I am a sinner. But perhaps it serves as consolation for you in your sorrowful situations, according to your faith, but in relation to me I do not accept it, and I do not exalt myself; keep it in average condition. God knows all the news, and He knows that I am a sinner. And He is able to comfort you with His mercy. Thanks be to the Lord, book of St. Barsanuphius the Great is completely finished in printing; Now they have sent the required number of copies to the censorship and are waiting from there for the release of this ticket. I hope to receive it soon and deliver it to you. Asking for God's blessing on you and your family, wishing you peace, health and prosperity, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 28, 1852 I tell you great joy: the book of St. Barsanuphia is derived from M–a. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord, who has arranged all good things! I am sending you 8 copies: 4 for you, and I ask you to hand over 4 according to the inscriptions. The gratitude that you express in your last letter, I do not attribute to myself, but I attribute this deed to the providence of God and the prayers of St. fathers: Barsanuphius, Joanna and Paisius. At their intercession, the Lord favored the heart of the Metropolitan and sent us the means to publish the invaluable treasure of instructions of the inspired fathers. Let us give thanks to the most merciful Lord, and let us begin to carry out in action what is so sweetly set forth in the book of St. Barsanuphius and John. Moreover, kind people contributed a lot to the publication, without whom we could not have done anything. So, glory is not to us, not to us, but to the Lord, who aroused the collaborators of a good enterprise and, through them, helped to actually fulfill it. I ask for God’s blessing on you and on your entire family, and with my respect I remain the desirer of your health and salvation, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 9, 1852. A thought that confuses you. IN. . . . reject. It is not you who have passed judgment on him, but he who has passed judgment on you: but each one will answer for his own deeds. 4th answer St. I know Niphon quite firmly: but he does not give us the right, contrary to the commandment of God: do not judge - to judge: and so leave it to the judgment of the One who tests our hearts and wombs and the message of the thoughts of the judge: but we will take care each of us about our weaknesses and imperfections: and how much more about how we will appear before the court of God! I am very glad that the spiritual food of the teaching of St. Barsanuphia; and St. Isaac and St. Barsanuphius is great before God. And their teaching comes from the Holy Spirit alone, but everyone uses it according to his own constitution and faith. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord, who cares about our salvation. Regarding your needs, you saw the strong hand of God on you, as He brought you out of extremes, then He will continue to be able to have mercy on you, only seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. I wish you and your entire family peace, health and prosperity, and with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. September 6, 1852 Thanks be to the Lord, who kept you, as you write, intact in the belly of the moral whale. According to your faith, to my detriment, He was pleased to use me as an instrument of vision; but I know that I am a sinner, and that is enough. Give glory and thanksgiving to the most merciful Lord in everything, and try to fulfill His commandments. I don’t have anything special in mind to tell you in our monastery; only a universal phenomenon in nature - an unforgettable early winter, snow began to fall on the 14th, and on the 16th it was already deep, with eight degrees of frost, at this time many people were in poverty on the roads, and quite a few were frozen, on the 27th the frost reached 20 degrees; from P-a they write that cholera appeared there, only it affects the lower class more, due to colds and eating raw food. Be the will of God upon His creation, He creates everything for the better, and His punishment comes from love. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. October 31, 1852 Thank you for your two letters, dated December 22 and January 2, with which you congratulate me on the Nativity of Christ and the coming New Year. I, too, congratulate you on this young son of eternity, who has begun a new course of times in the course of our lives. May God grant you and your entire family the course of your life in peace, health and prosperity, and I ask God’s blessing on you. From the books I sent to you, St. Simeon the new theologian, in one there was a note in uncut sheets, but you obviously didn’t look at it. You write about the wealth of your fatherly books and present our deserts as the culprit of these seizures from the shadow of obscurity. Of course, it’s on the book wrapper: “Edition of Optina Pustyn. But what could we do ourselves if it were not for the help of God? And He sent such people who were the main instrument and action in this matter, and now they continue it. The catechumen of Theodore the Studite is now being printed. So through the works of others we enjoy glory. But Lord, not to us, not to us, but to Your name, give glory (Ps. 113:9)! Glory to God for the great gift He has given us in our times. What shall we render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to us? Let us accept the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord; i.e. we strive to adorn ourselves not with books and names, but to strive to organize our life according to the will of God, to acquire love and humility, as the guardians of all virtues: and all the others about which the holy fathers teach us through these books, and thus receive eternal salvation, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. For this, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. January 5, 1853 Your detailed description of the death of the blessed F. H-ch, whom we respect, brought forth heartfelt tenderness and tears of joy from many of our brethren, about the undoubted hope for us, believers, that he was awarded, by the grace of our God, a blessed eternity, which he longed for and sought, cultivating the garden of his heart, and if he did not see the fruits perceptibly, then this is by sight God, may he not be exalted, and at his death this fruit clearly appeared to us in his generous striving: I am going to the Lord! and in his blessed and peaceful death. Glory to God, marvelous in all His works! F. Ya. left an example for himself with his life, and having been rewarded with a blessed death, one can infallibly say the Apostle’s word about him: “Looking at their death, imitate their faith” (Heb. 13:7). You grieve over the deprivation of your neighbor, and his neighbors also grieve; but you and them should be comforted by his blessed death, and if he was close to you while he was alive, then if he finds grace with the Lord, he will be even closer to those who love him. Of course, a fresh wound is painful for the heart, but let the patch of hope for its salvation heal it. And we should all have it in our prayerful memory; a when making a bloodless sacrifice, remember. The ego benefits both him and us who pray for him by communicating with him. Eternal memory to him and the kingdom of heaven! Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. March 21, 1853. Please accept my most ardent congratulations on the great and all-joyful feast of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the most merciful God vouchsafe both us and you and your family to meet this day in spiritual joy and good health. I have received your letter and the book of the Monk Isaac the Syrian, as well as the manuscript about the Monk Zosima, and I will try to fulfill your desire regarding additions or explanations to the dark places of the Monk Isaac, over time, if the Lord pleases and we are alive, I will deliver your book to you in a more complete composition, and even later, we hope to present a new edition of the book of the Monk Isaac, printed in civil letters. Glory to the Lord for His great mercies! Many will rejoice when they see this spiritual treasure. The catechumens of St. Theodore the Studite have already been printed, and when we receive them from M-y, I will try to immediately send you a copy. Asking for you the peace and blessing of the Lord and, once again wishing you health and salvation, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, much sinner IM. April 18, 1853 With a feeling of heartfelt sorrow, I sympathize with you, accepting participation in your grief. I would like to give you some consolation, but the poverty of reason and words is not able to give you anything to strengthen and consolate. However, as much as I can write with my pen and my hand, I call on the mighty and the God of reason for help, offering these lines, I write not what you do not know, but what you also know quite well. Of course, you are sure that everything that happens to us against our will is God’s permission; a for what? His fate is unknown to us. He humbles and exalts this; He brings ruin and makes rich, he dies and he gives life, and who can resist His will? Accept this sorrow without grumbling, but with thanksgiving. The Lord gave, the Lord also took; As the Lord willed, so it was. And I will say to this, whether the Lord is able to give you the same or more; As long as he sees what will benefit you. From this you can have a lesson for your future life. Thank God there is still hope, capital and trust; do not be discouraged, but it does not hurt to limit yourself to certain expenses, leaving the decency of the world and not looking at them; let them call him stingy and judge him as they please; It is better to suffer reproach than to languish reluctantly. When they, someone else, reproach you, and you reproach yourself even more for imprudence and lack of prudence. I hope that you will forgive my frank writing: for me, the empty customs that occur during marriages are very unfair; how many unnecessary expenses there are, out of vanity alone; and after what?..... Such an expense will not bring you any benefit, but on the contrary, no small futility. Of course they will say: decency and maintenance required it......, but after what? Lesson for your life; in such cases, do not look at the empty sound of human words. It is a counterfeit coin and no benefit is gained from it. Do not take this as a reproach, but good advice. May the Lord bless your wealth; but you, for your part, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Maintaining your mother and poor family in moderation will not be a loss to you, but a blessing. Parental blessing creates houses. You write that you have not achieved this “give thanks in everything”; what in place of this? is it really grumbling and cowardice? In the first case, thanksgiving, the mercy of the Lord is near you; and in the latter, cowardice itself is a punishment. May the Lord deliver you from cowardice and give you a feeling of gratitude. If you look at the course of affairs of the present time, you can see in almost all classes the burden of everyday needs; there is nothing to say about the nobility that many of them have incomes that do not cover their expenses, because they have lived before, they must pay to the council. Among the merchants, trade falls, but the needs are still the same, or they also rise in the spirit of the times and decency; there is nothing to say about other classes, what needs they have: and it seems that in general there is little self-satisfaction in anyone. And it seems that the current enlightened age should have arranged for the better and calmer; but instead, only tinsel, external shine and internal languor are visible. Isn’t this God’s punishment for possessed wisdom? But this punishment serves to convert many to the true path. Glory to our Master, who wants to save us and saves us with sorrowful guidance. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God and wishing you health and prosperity, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I. M. May 16, 1853 Glory to God, who freed you from anxiety and the storm of confusion about everyday disorder; Surrendering oneself and all one’s property to the will of God can bring peace: as the Lord willed, so it was: blessed be the name of the Lord forever (Job 1:21). It seems that I wrote the same thing to you before, and now I don’t think it’s superfluous to repeat it. The reproaches of those who reproach you, in a good mood of spirit, did not harm you, but brought the fruit of consolation, and this is not from us - the gift of God. He allowed temptation to be, and gave reason to bear it with courage and humility. Blessed is God in all His works, and marvelous is His all-wise providence for our salvation. I accept your trading report, or more specifically your trust in my badness, and although I have no precise understanding of trading matters, seeing some success, I heartily rejoice; and I pray to the Lord that He may bless your deeds for the glory of His most holy name and for the benefit of you and your neighbors. Asking for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 3, 1853 You took part and rejoice in our consolation about the well-deserved reward of our father and trustee, about the external and internal structure of the monastery and brotherhood entrusted to him; thank you for this. By elevating us, you immediately become humble and humble yourself, but the Lord looks upon the humble, although they do not see this with their bodily eyes; however, with the calm of conscience and the eyes of faith they see God’s providence for them, which is also visible in His long-suffering and expectation for repentance and correction. According to your disposition to be in our monastery, we will wait with love. May the Lord help you to fulfill this desire of yours. Asking for you and your entire family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 24, 1853 Your letter is languid and gloomy, and filled with sorrow; about your weaknesses and the captivity of Babylon is not entirely clear to me; but I partially understand and sympathize with you; I pray to the Lord that He will free you from this captivity and heal the wounds placed on your heart by your enemies. And you, like a publican, resort yourself to the merciful Master who is able to save us, with the feeling and word of a publican; and remember them always, carrying them in your heart. See if Pharisaic self-praise has crept in there - then it may be the cause of spiritual shipwreck. Remind yourself often of the antiphon of St. John of Damascus: “Let my humble heart be covered with Thy fear; let that which is not exalted fall from You, O All-Bountiful One”; and place a smart guard over him, driving away all exaltation and conceit: and in the hope of God’s mercy towards repentant sinners, strengthen yourself with the fact that the Lord came to save sinners, and for them He shed His most pure blood, saving the tax collector, the prodigal son, the harlot and the robber, and many others. Read y St. Isaac the Syrian's 7th word and others, in alphabetical order, about this teaching; - and this is when the enemy brings confusion and despair: and with bitterness and insensibility, arouse yourself with the justice of God and the unknown of the hour of death. Try not to judge anyone and let those who offend you go. May the Lord give you peace and health to your entire family. I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. November 21, 1853 I would sincerely like to give you a word of consolation, but as soon as I look into the meager guardian of my mind, I cannot find the words, and a canopy of coldness appears, and with contempt of myself I should be silent, but I am not cold and still offer you the active word of the holy fathers; perhaps one word from them will arouse in you a living faith and hope in the all-powerful and all-wise providence of God, and that everything that happens to us due to involuntary sorrows depends on His permission (St. Isaac f. 35.); and He is strong again to carry away the cloud of sorrows, to shine peace and silence, and to set your affairs right. Cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will nourish you (Ps. 55:23), the Psalmist teaches us. Sorrows come from everywhere: but God, the Knower of the Heart, knows everything about them; knows our strength and the need for sorrows, so that the vessel, burned in the crucible of sorrows, would be more capable of the royal meal (St. Macarius's word 7th, section 13 ff). What should I do? How to support and strengthen yourself? At St. Isaac in 51 words, read the section “as if they were betrayed” and further. May these small seeds of the word, taken from the rich granary of your fathers, fall onto the ground of your heart, and may this earth be watered with the dew of God’s grace and bring fruit of reinforcement and consolation to your dejected spirit, for which I dare to humbly pray to His goodness. 1856 We wish that there would be champions in the Orthodox Church, her defenders: surely God has many of them, and will not allow the light of truth to be darkened in her faithful children: the light shines in the darkness and His darkness is not overcome (John 1:5). The destinies of God are inscrutable to us: why He allows tares to be sown in the wheat of God, and why He commands them to grow until the harvest. How much wickedness was there in Israel, the chosen people, and how long was the Lord patient? How many centuries have people, immersed in the darkness of paganism, persecuted and tormented the children of Christ’s Church? Heresies arose; For what? let the temptations appear! (1 Cor. 11:19), and now the flood of wickedness is overflowing; and why this is allowed by God is incomprehensible to us. Who has tested the mind of the Lord, or who has become His adviser (Rom. 11:34)? Let us surrender ourselves to the will of God and pray and expect help from Him. We read the brochure sent to you and see the bitter truth from it; and things are moving forward; everything is in their hands; hard to stop. Who will heed this voice? and who will help, if not the Lord Himself! The future is closed from us by an impenetrable curtain. 1857 In your letter you write about some kind of unaccountable grief that happened to you, taking part in you, I sympathize with you, and I pray to the Lord that He will strengthen your weak and joyless spirit and make the cross that was sent to you easier. I regret that I cannot give you any consolation due to my feeble mind. But you have wise advisers, dearly loved by you, the great fathers Barsanuphius, Isaac, Dorotheus and others, who console us in our sorrows with their honeyed words, and shed consolation to the grieved heart, which I most earnestly wish you to receive; and may the Lord strengthen your faith in the all-wise and omnipotent providence of God and that He, like a loving father, cares about you and the salvation of your soul. The Kiev flock, through their grief over the righteous and good Archpastor who had departed from them, was consoled by the appointment of their good and pious Archpastor, Metropolitan Isidore, to their flock; but it saddens me that it will not soon be worthy of seeing him and taking personal care of them, and unless we can expect his arrival on the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. He, of course, will travel through O—, and you will be worthy to receive a blessing from him: and perhaps by visiting your home he will make you happy, due to his merciful favor towards you; I ask you to ask me for his archpastoral blessing; I mentally fall at his feet and kiss his holy right hand, and ask his holy prayers for my unworthiness. Having wished you and your family peace, health and salvation, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 25, 1858 After reading your letter, I was heartily grieved by your deprivation from the fiery elements: having a beautiful house, with all the amenities for family life, you now see only ruins and your other citizens who suffered from this same participation; great sorrow! And how can we strengthen ourselves in this? Only by submission to the will of God; and hope in His all-wise and all-powerful Providence can strengthen us and pour a joyful balm into distressed hearts. O depth of wealth and wisdom and understanding of God, who understands the mind of the Lord, or who is His counselor (Rom. 11:34)? Your destinies, Lord, are incomprehensible to us, why do you allow this to happen? but Your goodness, Lord, does everything, loving us and seeking our salvation. What wonderful turn did this formidable element take, starting not far from O-a, flowing at noon and surrounding many neighborhoods, coming to your embankment street, and by whose wave did all this happen? Marvelous! Exactly 10 years ago, O suffered a similar visit, and those who were then preserved have now been tested: marvelous are Your works, O Lord! Even in the punishment itself, He consoles us with the Holy Scriptures: my son, do not be overwhelmed by the Lord’s punishment; For the Lord loves him and punishes him; he beats every son he accepts. If you endure punishment, as if God were found to you as a son, who is a son and is not punished by his father? If you are without punishment, you will be partakers of yourselves: for you are adulterous, and not of your sons (Heb. 12:5-8). Any punishment at the present time does not seem to be a joy of being, but sorrow, but afterward the fruit is peaceful to those who are taught, rewarding righteousness (Heb. 12:11); The holy fathers also have many teachings that serve to console people in sorrow. Take the trouble to read St. Isaac, Barsanuphius, Abba Dorotheus and others. Trust in the merciful Lord, He is strong to send you His help and proclaim to those who are able to help you. Now your creditors will surely not torment you: do not be faint-hearted and do not lose heart: but trust in the goodness of God: “He brings poverty and riches, humbles and exalts.” God was pleased to visit you with this punishment, and will surely reward you with both physical, external, and mental, internal reward; Do not only murmur, but thank Him with the word: The Lord gave, and the Lord was taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord forever (Job 1:21). May the Lord comfort you, I humbly pray for His goodness and ask for you and your family the peace and blessing of God, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. September 23, 1858 The bright, joyful holiday of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ is approaching, on which I heartily congratulate you and your entire family. May the most merciful Lord enable you to meet and celebrate these sacred days with spiritual joy in the Lord, our Savior. He allowed you to be in sorrow by being deprived of your own shelter, He is able to comfort you with imperishable joy, as the holy prophet David, experiencing himself, cried out to the Lord: according to the multitude of my illnesses, Thy consolations make my soul glad (Ps. 93:19). Do not despair, all of you, but believe that God is rich in mercy; and if he punishes, then His fatherly rod extends to testing or punishment, or to humility and destruction of our pride, and in our humility the Lord will remember us (Ps. 136:23). I was patient with the Lord and listened to me and heard my prayer (Ps. 39:2). Reproach yourself, not others. Isn't it God at work here? He can transform a heart of stone into soft wax; Appease Him with humility, and not with grumbling. Do not cite the example of the rich man of the Gospel, he was completely alienated from giving alms to his neighbors, and look at Lazarus this way: that God allowed him to suffer in such a way for His greater crown. Couldn't God have sent him consolation from the other side? But this shows both the cruelty of the rich and the generous patience of the poor. The wise one will benefit from both and will not be a strict judge of others, but of himself. Still, don’t leave him, go and offer, if you find it obligatory, to give you help. Let... humbly incline him to compassion. Maybe the Lord will be merciful and tell him to help you. Keep this word: “The Lord will declare,” and where His favor is with us, He will tell the Saracen heart to show mercy to you. On this post I am writing to . . . . , I ask him about your family and grandson in 6 persons, where to bend the heads. December 22, 1858 Glory to the most merciful Lord, who has deigned you as a whole family to be partakers of the immortal table of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ; may this be a consolation in your sorrow. Your current situation is sad and difficult in itself, and even more so, seeing your family suffering and there being no one to help and comfort you. I deeply sympathize with you, but what am I? and how can I help? My word has no anointing so that it can pour out the balm of consolation on your grieving heart, but how much more innumerable, Lord. loves you and pities you, this is an indisputable truth: “even if the wife forgot her child, I will not forget you,” says the Lord (Is. 49:15) through the prophet, and you yourself realize that “the love of God, cleansing past sins with the fire of sorrows, acts in its goodness,” but you say: “It hurts me, I taste hell day and night; I have no strength, I scream, I cry out to the Lord, but the Lord does not listen to me.” This requires faith! The Lord allowed this to happen and is acting; Apparently, your test has not yet been fulfilled; is He really not able to give you help and tell who of those who can supply you with money? But we do not know His all-wise, hidden providence for us. It’s hard for you, I really believe it and I’m sorry: who doesn’t have a hard time when temptations are filled with poison? (St. Isaac's 37th word); but to my sorrow I see that out of much sorrow you are grumbling about your fate and about people who can and do not help your vital needs; but still with words that hurt you. I am also afraid, writing this to you, that I might inflict plague upon plague, but God sees my intention and desire to lead you to accept all this sorrowful thing, with submission to the will of God, and not with grumbling, for grumbling not only does not make it easier, but even worsens the situation of a person. This is not my word, but St. Isaac; in 51 words, on page 256, read and strengthen yourself with it. The transition is very difficult, but what to do? If God so arranges it, then He is able, after your trial, to give you joy. Pray! pray! The widow also begged the unjust judge, since the merciful Father would not despise the prayers of His children crying out to Him. March 21, 1859 First of all, I greet you and your most honorable family on the approaching feast of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is Risen! You will celebrate this holiday in your own house and probably more calmly than in that big and stone house, given your present situation; here it’s more humble, and there it’s more proud: is it time to be proud now? Lord save and have mercy! To whom does the Lord look? Isn't it like the humble one? At the very beginning of your entry into it, you were already comforted by the sight of God: for the multitude of my illnesses, Thy consolations made my soul glad (Ps. 93:19); hasn't this come true for you? God is merciful! Let us give thanks to Him: “the gratitude of the one who receives forgives the one who gives, even if the gift is greater than the first; be ungrateful for the lesser and for the greater; there is a lie and you are unrighteous,” (St. Isaac the Syrian, f. 2.). Instructing 44 the gifts of God to man, the heart is moved to unceasing thanksgiving. Instructing temptation to the soul, thought is murmuring, constantly moving in the heart. “God endures all human weaknesses; But a person who grumbles all the time cannot tolerate it unless he punishes him” (syllable 85). Your defense against murmuring in the words of this saint is a fragile shield and a dull spear, and, as St. writes. Mark: “he who is affirmed by simple reason holds a cane rod in his hand, which in time pierces the hand, according to the scripture.” If we accept the words of St. Isaac are unfounded, then we will find this saint contradicting himself; there (see above, lines 2 and 85.) he sets out the reason why sorrows increase and become aggravated, and medicine is offered: consciousness of oneself before God, and here: in order to endure is not our strength, and in order to feel sins, there is a gift from God (Isa. Sir. f. 51.); Therefore, it is as if God is the cause of your impatience and allowance of sin, but it is not your fault. Well? Do you need to grumble more? Let this not happen! “but also “it is not our strength to endure,” exactly so! But could you endure the sorrows that happen to you, one after another, if the Lord did not strengthen you? You bear them and endure; but the fact is that by grumbling and ignorance you only burden and multiply them: “and to feel our sins from God is a given gift,” then is God really the reason that we do not receive this gift, we do not feel our sins. Again we are right, who is to blame? Don't we feel that we are sinners? This is impossible, but let us at least use this simple feeling and consciousness to restrain ourselves from grumbling, and then God will give us the gift to feel sin. Read the above words 2 and 85, and know the reason for the deprivation of your gift. Is there any, even small, help or consolation from grumbling? Not at all, but the harm is great. Perhaps you will find some objections to this, but remember the words of St. Climacus “on contradiction”. . . You write to tell me directly everything about how to behave; I do so, and I hope that if you listen not to me, but to the Lord and the teachings of the holy fathers and do not blame others for their coldness or hard-heartedness, but consider yourself unworthy of the contempt of others and see in them the hand of God’s Providence acting through them in the matter of your salvation, then in this obedience you will find peace in those people who sympathize with you and help you. Everything here is passing by, and we don’t know when He who calls us will come in this age, but there is endless eternity! Don’t you see the merciful Providence of God about you, that He inspired.... to give you financial assistance without collateral or interest? Thank the Lord and you will see great help, and without haste, you can sell your house, maybe there will be people willing to buy it, or some other case will require it for a state or public institution. Thank God you are now in your little house. The church is close and the shop is not far; You will go to church to serve more often, and God will reward you with peace, tranquility and external gifts. Let us humble ourselves and the Lord will save us! I know the book “letters on Christian life” and am expecting it to be sent soon. I have read it, but not all of it yet. The book is very good, but in some places it is very boldly said about prayer, such as: having a mind in the heart, and that anyone can do this, look for warmth in themselves, and so on. Those who are inexperienced will begin to do this, and will not find anything, they will be confused, but very few people will feel it, will get carried away and fall into delusion. The Holy Fathers say that this requires a lot of time, effort, labor and an indelible mentor, and that in pure prayer one only achieves from a thousand, and through it one only reaches from darkness. These are the words of St. Isaac the Syrian: He writes in the 2nd word, pages 13 and 14: whoever, before learning, in the first part of the act, proceeds to the second, vision, which consists of spiritual teaching and prayer, the wrath of God finds him, you will see why there, and further: “I do not feel the things of God, he says, from themselves. Yes, but if the place is clean and not nasty. If the apple of the eye of your soul is not pure, but do not dare to look at the surroundings of the sun, lest you lose even that small dawn, which is simple faith and humility, and lack of knowledge of the heart, and small deeds, even according to your strength, and you will be rejected” and so on (fol. 2, p. 14.). Mental prayer is the highest of all works, according to the word. Gregory of Sinaite, and whoever “heartlessly and boldly wants to come to God and confess Him purely and acquire Him in oneself, needing, conveniently, we slay the calico from the very demons; if it is allowed further (in the chapters of Gregory of Sinaite on silence, chapter 7 “about delusion”); and the holy fathers write: whoever undergoes prayer and abstinence, demons attack them strongly and furiously, and if we do not have a weapon against them - humility, then they conveniently overthrow them. Nowadays, many books have been published about this work: the Philokalia and other paternal books known to you: but it is necessary to go through it with a mentor, and not on your own. Elder Paisios in a letter to the Sofrontie elder Theodosius writes: that he is obsessed with the publication of his father’s books and with joy and fear, but why? Read for yourself in the life of Elder Paisius the letter to Archimandrite Theodosius, on page 265 of the first edition. We have written an article warning against unauthorized doing of this, but we don’t have time to correct it, but we would like to publish it. Don’t think that I condemn this book. I find in other matters very useful and full of truth; and as you asked for my opinion, I said frankly that I had found it; it needs to be simpler: everyone needs to pray the Jesus Prayer and drive away thoughts, but not seek anything other than mercy; a The Lord, who gives prayer to the one who prays, will also give mental prayer, according to the word of Peter of Damascus; otherwise the enemy has many decoys and ascetics to deceive under the guise of truth with false actions; However, I sincerely wish that this book will be useful in everything. God bless the one who wrote it, and I thank you for sending it to me, and upon receipt, I will send you mine, so that you too will not be deprived of it. April 7, 1859 The waves rise in the sea of ​​life, the ship of your soul crashes into them. The biggest wave is the lack of necessary people, family, etc. You say: The Lord is good, but your soul does not dare to arouse Him, so that He would rebuke the sea and the disturbance would cease and there would be silence. He sees everything and hears the silent groans of your heart. But he hesitates to give help. Why? This alone is known to Him, and since He is good, He will, of course, arrange for good, so that He may save our souls. Let us pray to the Lord that our faith may not fail, not only in prosperity and contentment, but also in His sorrows and deprivations, arranged by His all-wise and all-good providence. Let us cry out to Him with a grateful heart: it is good for me, for He has humbled me, so that I may learn by Your justification (Ps. 119:71); you will find a lot at St. the prophet in the psalms of sorrowful appeals to the Lord, when he was overcome by many sorrows and when his heart was sad, and of course he also received consolation from the Lord: for the multitude of my illnesses, Thy consolations made my soul glad (Ps. 93:19); and you, in the moment of your strong sorrowful feelings, cast yourself before the Lord, and cry out to Him from your sorrowful and sad heart, and humbly surrender to His holy will. I wrote this out of compassion for your heart and wanting to bring you at least a little consolation. July 30, 1859 Having read your letter dated May 6, my heart was struck with grief over your so bitter and disastrous situation. Although the words do not apply to us: you struck him with ecu, and applied them to the disease of my ulcers (Ps. 68:27), but they can be applied in the present case; for the Lord suffers in our suffering, and takes upon Himself what our neighbors do to us. I do not accept the responsibility of strictly judging them, so as not to throw a stone of condemnation, without having the right to do so, since I myself am in spiritual illness, and I am afraid that by doing this, instead of consoling you, I will no longer cause illness to your wounds. On May 6th, in memory of the long-suffering Job, God’s destinies struck you too. You understood this and uttered His voice: The Lord gave, and the Lord took away, as the Lord willed, so it was, blessed be the name of the Lord forever (Job 1:21). When the Lord struck him with blows of sorrow, deprivation and illness, then he did not think that he could ever have the latter more than the first, but was only busy with the fact that he saw sorrow and illness on himself and around him; but his great soul remained in submission to the will of God, like a pillar, unshakable. Although you cannot imitate him so firmly, as much as possible, do not lose heart in submission and trust in the Lord. If at present in His plans of destinies it is destined for the scarcity of what you need, then who knows what awaits you ahead, whether He might not be able to bless your last one more than the first. We talked a lot about this, and wrote, and read that everything that happens to us involuntary and sorrowful is allowed by God, and people are only an instrument of God’s providence; from this it is clear that the Lord did not favor the hearts of those people from whom you should hope to receive help and consolation for you. It is clear that God allowed you to be humble in this way, according to His all-wise and loving fatherly providence, desiring your salvation through this humiliation and deprivation. Here it is short-lived, but there it is eternal. Drive out of your heart grumbling against people who insult you and deprive you of help; but humbly pray for them, God is able to incline their hearts to compassion for you. St. Mark the Ascetic writes in chapter 45, the 1st word: “pray for those who offend the demon; resist the first, he is hurt by the second,” and in the second word, in chapter 197, he says: “resist the sad injunctions; scripture, endures the Lord,” may these words be for your instruction and strengthening, so that the demons may be crushed and we do not fight the commandment of God. Great is the sorrow that a son is separated from his father, but is this also not the providence of God? He knows best what is good for us. Now you need to choose the path how and with what to acquire debts to pay benefactors or creditors and honestly have your daily bread. The P—industry is not in your way of life and wills, but it is better to serve where and with whom, the Lord will indicate, and to behave in an honest manner; If you are in the mood for this, then, asking the Lord, look for such a place for yourself, may the Lord bless you for this, but it seems that there is nothing and it is unprofitable to trade on your own. Pour out your heart before God, crying out: “It is good for me, for you have humbled me.” Humility attracts God's mercy to us. There would be a lot of talk about why...... traded and acquired wisely, but your trade is unhappy. There was God's blessing there; you are smarter than him, why did this happen? Judge for yourself about this, but I cannot expand on it. May 10, 1860 I ask you not to complain about me for not answering your letter sent on July 29, with a letter attached from....., of course you will believe that I have a bunch of letters lying around and more are being added every day; But I don’t have time to answer them at all, and my assistant began to be very exhausted with pain in his chest, and his strength is also exhausted, everyone writes one or the same thing, but there are hundreds, no one knows either my weaknesses or lack of time. The heart is struck with sorrow, seeing in many families the disagreement between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and other members: it turns out that in your family too, it’s a great pity for this, I, for my part, instilled in them - what I found necessary, and the fear of God and the duty of respect to parents, but what does my word mean? When the word of God does not act on our hearts, He left us and gave us His peace, commanded us to have love, and to learn from Him humility and meekness, by which we can find peace for our souls. When we delve into the depths of our hearts, will there even be a spark of our obedience to the fulfillment of this loving commandment of the Lord to us? That’s why we have disorder, quarrels, disputes, fights, and we all only blame others, not ourselves, and for this there is God’s punishment - that very disorder and deprivation of peace. May God grant that we come to a sense of repentance and humility and receive God’s mercy! That I earnestly wish and pray to the Lord for this to all of you. August 11, 1860 Most Honorable of the Lord N N 45 I received your letter dated the 18th. I am very glad that you arrived safely at your place of residence and are currently feeling well in your internal disposition and structure. Continue to give thanks to the merciful Lord, who, through His all-good and inscrutable providence, has deigned to bring you into the fold of the Orthodox Church, which has its beginning in succession from the holy Apostles. Regarding unbelievers and good people, we cannot and should not judge, and in no way give free rein to our minds; for the destinies of God are inscrutable to us; but they must be left to the judgment and providence of God. He alone knows how to build the ship of the world, and every person. Do not go into a detailed analysis of this subject, and generally avoid disputes from which inevitable mental harm occurs; but don't agree with them. Remember the words of Holy Scripture that: faith without works is dead, and works without faith are dead (James 26:24). And when a believer sees the impoverishment of his deeds, he resorts to repentance, having hope in the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ. And with good deeds, we should not have hope in them, but also in the grace of God, which helps us to do them, and in the merits of the Savior, who redeemed us with His most pure blood. I cannot say anything about non-believers. And if someone does virtues, then the Lord is able to call them to faith, like Cornelius the Centurion and many. It would be very good not only not to get into disputes, but also to leave those communities that philosophize freely. Pray to God to save you from the snares of the enemy who seeks human destruction, resort to His mercy with humility of spirit: may he grant you to walk the true path, which is hidden in the commandments of God, in the teachings of the Apostles and in the rules and regulations of the Church, and the teachings of the holy fathers; in all this the Holy Spirit acted and acts, arranging our salvation. Try to act in accordance with all this. You want to destroy pride in yourself and acquire humility: your desire and will are commendable. The first is the culprit of all evils and disasters, and the last is the giver and keeper of all blessings and good deeds; one is opposite to the other. You need to pray to God, ask for help in this matter, for He said: without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5); and in any case, try to catch proud thoughts and enterprises, destroy them with the memory of your thinness and weakness. Every inclination toward mental and active sin is caused by pride, and it should bring us down into the abyss of humility. But to acquire this virtue or the wealth of virtues requires a lot of work and time, and whoever thinks that he has acquired it is still far from it; and whoever thinks of himself that he has nothing, then calms down in his conscience and feels peace. The Lord Himself commanded us: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). May the Lord grant you to learn this virtue; I earnestly desire this, and entrusting you to the protection of God, and the intercession of the Mother of God and the prayers of the saints who have pleased God, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many sinner I. M. August 22, 1853 Of course, you will forgive me for the fact that I did not answer your first letter, sent on August 31, being on the road and in considerable dispersion, communicating with people; and not having a constant quiet stay, I could not write to you to answer your questions that required careful consideration, and besides, I received so many letters on this journey that I could hardly find time to read; He could answer very little, and then very briefly. But, having received your second letter dated September 17, and seeing that you are grieving for not receiving my answer, and really want to receive it, then, leaving everything else and choosing some free time, I am writing to you, although I cannot write about everything completely satisfactorily. You notice in many of your actions that the demon of pride defiles your apparently good aspirations. Pay attention to this, when you have not yet done anything, but have just entered the field of struggle against the enemy, and he, by his cunning and cunning, does not force you to action with some foolish passions, but offered the first and initial pride, just as in paradise he deceived Adam, first with this passion. You, having caught this thought, overthrow it with the opposite one - the thought of humility, which the Lord Himself taught us both by example and teaching; having humbled Himself, descended from the heights of glory to the image of a servant, and in all His life showed us the image of Himself, and commanded us to learn from Him, for He is meek and humble in heart (Matthew 11:29) and lak: when you have done all that is commanded to you, say, for we are unworthy servants, who must obey create, make (Luke 17:10). Remember how the Most Pure Virgin Mary, chosen to be the Mother of the One Son of God from the Trinity, more honorable than the Cherubim and more glorious than the Seraphim, when the Annunciation was announced to Her about the incarnation of the Son of God from Her, how did she humble herself? Behold the servant of the Lord; and she sang the praise of the Lord: my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior: for I have looked upon the humility of His servant (Luke 1:46). With such great promises, what great humility She had! Shouldn’t this reduce us to the depths of humility, sinning many times before God? But all the saints, both in the Old and in the New Testament, had high humility, considering themselves to be earth and ashes and the last and worst of all. And you try to imitate them in humility. Whatever good you do, you do it all not with your own strength, but with the help of God; and when you humble yourself in this way, you will become accustomed to it. At the same time, we must remember if we had any sins before, and they will humble us. The Apostle Paul, despite all his great gifts, still remembered that he was a sinner. “Christ came to save sinners, and from them I am first” (1 Tim. 1:15). Although we receive forgiveness of sins, upon confession of them and permission from the spiritual father and the communication of the holy sacraments of Christ: but we must always remember that I am a sinner saved by Christ’s merits. We must also remember that everything that is high in men is an abomination before God, and that the Lord looks down on the humble, but opposes the proud. Here he offered you a cure for pride, writing this not from my mind, but admonishing me to the Lord, according to your faith. May He help you defeat this fierce enemy - pride and humble yourself. Do not be surprised that when you were with the holy saints in the Lavra, you did not have spiritual consolation, but on the contrary, you felt cold and dry. God has given you spiritual consolation and joy upon entering the Orthodox Church and receiving the sacrament of confirmation, granting you knowledge of the grace-filled gifts and actions that are found in it, but to always enjoy them, this is impossible, because they are acquired with the assistance of God’s grace and our will, by fulfilling the commandments of God, with humility. However, they are secretly hidden in us, but do not appear to us so that we do not become exalted and proud; a by time and number; humility is given both the feeling and the return to the ground. And don’t be embarrassed about this because you don’t have consolation, and in the deprivation of it see the poverty of humility and don’t even look for consolation, ego is also a form of spiritual pride, leave it to the will of God. He knows when to give it to us. You yourself will realize that how inclined your thought is to pride and having nothing; but when this spiritual wealth is given to you, you will have even more reason to exalt. Many, having received gifts, but lacking humility, suffered spiritual sorrow. Thank the Lord that you have found a place for yourself as a home teacher: by passing on to others what you yourself have received from God, multiply the talent given to you and do not waste time in idleness. Just try to call on God for help in your affairs and in teaching young men the doctrine, and in observing their morality and Orthodox faith. And that you find yourself awkward in society and unable to attract the love of children, then this is also a practical science. You have just entered the field of life, then you need to learn by experience to find out what is useful and what is harmful: mistakes that happen should humble you and teach you to act with caution: here we can recognize our weakness, and the knowledge of our weakness humbles us and attracts God’s help to us in our affairs. Read spiritual books, the works of the Greek holy fathers, and our other church teachers. It is impossible to quickly learn any art, much less the art of art, spiritual life and the search for salvation. The weakness of your self-confidence in not observing the fast day clearly appeared to you. For your repentance in this, may the most merciful Lord forgive you, and in the future may he help you to stay away from this and all actions that are displeasing to him, and may he give you humility. If I didn’t write anything about your letters, then I ask you to forgive me for this, I don’t have much time; And besides, on the road I was struck by a fever two days later, and now I have endured 4 paroxysms. I rush to the monastery as soon as possible, but there are still stops on the way. I wish you peace, health and salvation, and I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the many-sinner I.M. September 29, 1853 I am not at all surprised that you had spiritual warfare and struggle that drove you to despair. You must know that the enemy, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He attacked you with such outrageous thoughts: but you are not skilled in them (inexperienced). But thank the Lord that you recognized the flattery of the enemy and turned to repentance. You grieve that you do not have a living and strong faith. How do you want to take a gigantic step to the top of the stairs? You have faith; I boldly assure you of this: if you did not have faith, then you would not be embarrassed, but you are looking for high faith, and this means that you do not have humility. Be content with the faith you have now, for it too is a gift from God. You have been honored to know the truth of the teachings of the Orthodox Church, and on this basis consider your ascension by fulfilling the commandments of Christ, commanded to us in the Gospel. In case of weaknesses in any failure to fulfill, you should not be embarrassed, but, having humbled your thoughts, bring repentance before God, and again adhere to the rule of the commandments; And even if they could do something, they should not attribute this correction to themselves, but to God’s help. If, having accomplished something, you are drawn into an opinion about yourself, and thereby seem to hope for your salvation, then you will again be allowed to fall down, and confusion will take its place; but there is no need to be embarrassed at all, but to be more firmly established in faith, to humble yourself and recognize the battle of the opposite. For your confirmation in this, I advise you to read in the Philokalia, in 3 parts. St. Peter of Damascus “how can anyone acquire the true faith”, this book is y……. per sheet, on 50 sheets. S.... you can talk about what you need: but regarding the monastery it is still too early for you: you have already taken the place y....., then you need to wait for this time, and when during this time your desire to enter the monastery is constant, then you can have decisive advice about this. However, I must tell you that monastic life is a spiritual battle. Man has various passions, and until he overcomes them with the help of God, he cannot find peace and tranquility. He who goes through a humble life calms down more comfortably. To fully interpret the words of I. Ya-cha, I cannot take this upon myself. But this is how I understand some words: “many beautiful flowers” ​​seems to refer to virtues, and “there is not one flower” - there is no humility. And other words. what was further said is consistent with this: “when he finds it, then he will know what he did not have.” (What was said) about the trip here for baptism, I understand the time of your joining the Orthodox Church: however, even now I did not forbid speaking. In my opinion, you should come to us four days before the Nativity of Christ, talk here, and on the next day of the holiday you can go to M–y. If only you agree to it......, and we lovingly agree to your desire to visit us. If this is God’s will, then it will be fulfilled. In my opinion, now you no longer need to be with I. Ya-cha, having received a fairly satisfactory answer from him, and then, due to the incomprehensibility of his words, you can become confused. If confusing and desperate thoughts continue to recur, then you should resort to that flower that I. I told you about. Its incense will disperse the stench of the enemy’s vague thoughts. Asking for you the peace and blessing of God, I remain the desirer of your health and salvation, and an unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I. M. November 11, 1853 Now I can’t answer your letter, received through...... in detail, but upon arrival I will try, with God’s help, to give you an answer to your questions. You complain about the anger with which you overcome when exercising with children. This, of course, is your weakness, that you cannot stand against the power of passion that comes from skill, and do not resist it. When reading the books of the fathers, where it is about anger, try to do what the holy fathers teach us, that is, how and with what to overcome anger. Be equally careful about other passions. As much as I can remember, I will offer you about the passion of anger, where necessary, read: y St. John Climacus has two degrees about freedom from anger and meekness, and about anger, rage, etc.: in St. Cassian the Roman, in part 1 of the Philokalia “about eight passionate thoughts,” and St. Nilus of Sora, also about this. I wish that the Lord will help you to overcome the passion of anger, and in meekness and humility to have the enlightenment of your mind. I remain a wisher for your health and salvation, and an unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. January 20, 1854 I regret your painful condition: I don’t know any physical means to cure it, but only spiritual healing: you must repent before the Lord for your former weaknesses and inclinations. Of course, you have already confessed them to your confessor, but you must remember and feel your sinfulness, acquiring humility and spiritual poverty from this, in hope of the mercy and merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. The very painfulness of the body is already the cleansing of the soul from sinful scabs. May the Lord give you physical and mental healing, - I fervently wish and remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. February 2, 1854 A person who expresses a desire to be related to you in religious and moral actions, I believe, cannot receive any significant benefit, and you cannot hope that there will be any benefit. It’s another thing to be a teacher of children, and another thing to give advice to people at an advanced age. You are still young and inexperienced; vanity will creep into your heart, and behind it there may be other consequences... perhaps an involuntary hobby. Regarding prayer, I repeat to you that just thinking about having the effect of grace from warmth is already delusion: the kingdom of God does not come with observance (Luke 17:20). Prepare your heart by fulfilling the commandments of God, cleansing it of passions and descending into the deepest humility, recognizing and seeing your weakness; and when you have a guarantee of humility in your heart, then it will be safe from the deception of the enemy and the grace of God itself will write its laws in it. The saints, who had grace in themselves, considered that they had not achieved it, and this very humility kept them safe; but whoever thought he had grace was led by pride and was deceived, from which may the Lord deliver you. Asking for God's blessing on you, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 31, 1854 I sincerely regret that you are carried away by irritability to a strong degree. You need to watch your heart strictly, have the fear of God, not lose sight of love and humility, often looking at your weak dispensation, you need to reproach yourself and ask for God's help in defeating this destructive passion, have a good intention to protect yourself from it, but without arrogance. The main source and engine of this passion is pride; and its opposite, humility, destroys it. Read in the 1st part of the Philokalia the letter of Mark the Ascetic to Nicholas the monk, and there you will find the benefit and healing of this passion. I remain a wisher for your health and salvation, and an unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. February 22, 1855 In your letter dated April 15, you again complain about your creeping out of anger. You shouldn’t be too embarrassed about this, but having realized that you have within yourself the guarantee of this fierce passion, take care, with God’s help, about healing it. But it cannot be healed without someone showing it to us; and her children are showing you, by God’s will, so that they may take care of her healing. Confused and speechless, writes David. Yes, you still need to reproach yourself, but when the embarrassment of passion passes, then you can tell them with meekness what is more, and it will work on them and will serve you in favor. ......writes that you contributed a lot on your part for the benefit of the children......and in joining her daughter to our Church, you show zealous zeal; For which I sincerely thank you. May the Lord reward you with His mercy. I remain a wisher for your health and salvation, and an unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. April 23, 1855 Your fear is very useful, so as not to be harmful to others in the family where you are, therefore you must maintain the neutrality of prudence, in which may the Lord help you. Also about your other fear: you need to be careful, stay in the middle and try not to be alone. May the Lord protect and help good will. Don't be exhausted. I ask God’s blessing on you, much-sinned I.M. We must beware of arrogance January 8, 1857 About the thoughts that happened to you. . . . . do not be embarrassed, but with a humble spirit bring repentance before the Lord, and calm down. One should not be embarrassed about seeing the image of the cross of the Lord: even if some kind of sorrow happened, it would not be because he saw the cross, but because God’s providence arranges it this way out of goodness, for our testing, and of course for our benefit. I remain a wisher for your health and salvation and a praying man, many-sinner I.M. September 28, 1857 We heartily rejoiced at the success of your scientific work and the award you received. God grant that this will serve for further useful action in your service, for the defense and support of Orthodoxy. Congratulations on receiving this degree. Congratulations to your brother......on entering into a marriage union with an Orthodox girl, God grant that this union will serve him to unite with the Orthodox Church. I received his letter from his wife, but could not answer her. God bless her. May God grant them happiness, peace and harmony in unity of spirit, according to faith, and not discord. I rejoice in you and in the blessings your brothers received in their rank and position. Thank you; I wish you peace, health and salvation. January 28. First of all, I will tell you the good news: your brother..... is now a son of our Orthodox Church. You have long desired this, and now God has consoled you. On the 8th of February, Saturday, he was added to our Church, and on the 9th he was honored with communion of the holy sacraments of Christ; and all this was in our skete church, and with a great sense of joy he accepted this priestly service over him, comforted by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Surely you have already received his letter about this event. He left us on the same 9th, at one o’clock in the afternoon, to M–y and from there he will go straight to NE. Glory and thanksgiving to the Lord, who enlightened his mind and heart with the knowledge of the truth, and may he be established in the firm confession of our faith. May the Lord shed this light on other members of your family. Wanting to trust the judgments of some people and your own, you ask my opinion on how best to deal with our schismatics: with strict measures or with lenient ones? It seems to me that strict measures will not bring any benefit, but will only harden them, and even very weak and lenient measures cannot convert them into the bosom of the Orthodox Church, but one must stay in the middle and use necessary, prudent and strong measures to convince. In case of resistance and violence, severity should not be extended to everyone, but to their main teachers and mentors. The question is: who will convince them? Parish priests are uncomfortable in their positions, and not everyone may have the gift and ability to persuade. It would seem necessary to elect special people for this task, like a Mission, with an official assigned to them, so that schismatics could not complain about oppression and coercion. On the part of the government, the danger is that sometimes ill-intentioned officials, under the guise of religious tolerance, can provide patronage and protection; it can cause great harm. His Grace Jacob of Saratov acted on the schismatics with condescension and love, but with strong conviction, so successfully that, with God's help, many thousands of them turned from the schism to the Church. I believe that you have been honored to be a partaker of the most pure mysteries of Christ, for which I heartily congratulate you. February 11, 1858 In the Genvar book of this year, I read in the Christian reading about the unity of the Church, the Hieromartyr Cyprian, and I advise you to read it. There's a lot of good stuff there. Also get yourself the books of Basil the Great and the interpretation of the Apostolic Epistles of John Chrysostom, in the Slavic language, at the ends of these books there are alphabets of the objects contained in them, from them you can find what you need, and then you will receive it in the Russian translation. Regarding the advantage of propaganda of the Roman Church over the Orthodox and about its charitable institutions, it should be noted that, since the reason for its falling away from Orthodoxy was the love of power and other human goals and calculations, then to this day all its actions are dissolved by the same illness and the same types, and there are no enterprises in them that are pure in God and in conscience, as in the Orthodox Church. That is why the latter’s actions are modest and not loud. Look into the history of the times of Photius, the Greek patriarch who converted Bulgaria to Christianity, and you will see what the papists did then and why. And it continues to the village too. The papists do not care to convert the Turks to Christianity, but try to seduce the Orthodox Greeks and Bulgarians from the true path. Their actions have always been based and are based, for the most part, on lies and intrigues. And about Gregory Palamas, their information was borrowed from Barlaam the Heretic and offered for a special purpose (see Spiritual conversation in No. 8, letter 2 to the one who turned away from Orthodoxy). If the papists are confused and confused in external church actions, then can they have a correct concept of internal prayer, as Gregory Palamas taught? And that Basil the Great does not mention the artistic 46 image of prayer, one can say to this: since the external decrees of the Orthodox Church were established gradually, and only over the course of 7 centuries they were finally completed, then the conclusion about internal prayer must be that it also received improvement gradually, as can be seen from the short life of Gregory the Sinaite (see in the Philokalia). While in Sinai the image of internal prayer was already well known, on Mount Athos they only practiced the active form of piety, and very few, and only a few, stretched to internal attention. Saint Chrysostom, urging everyone to simple, mental prayer, does not mention its artistic image, because it belongs only to the rare, as St. Isaac the Syrian (in word 16): “barely one out of a thousand (and among those who undergo mental work) is honored to achieve pure prayer. Many people are not even worthy of pure prayer. But this sacrament, having reached the floor through it, is barely found in all generations by the grace of God.” The artistic image of prayer requires many conditions, therefore rare people are able to undergo it, as can be seen from the writings of the Venerables Callistus and Ignatius (in the 2nd part of the Dobrotol.): firstly, it requires a spiritual, experienced mentor to it and sincere obedience to him, and keeping a conscience towards God, towards people and towards things, and the right goal for going through it, with humility and direction towards fulfilling all the commandments of God, to cleanse the heart from passions and sin; but not out of proud zeal and arbitrarily strive for prayer, with the goal of seeking high spiritual gifts. With this direction, not only in pursuing artistic prayer, but also on the ordinary path of piety, many fall into delusion. Because the main reason for delusion, in any case, is pride and self-rule. It should also be noted that the holy fathers of the first centuries, if they speak anywhere about the image of internal prayer, they do not speak clearly, but in a hidden manner; so as not to give rise to harm to the ignorant or daring self-initiators. There are quite a few such places in St. John Climacus. For example: in the 27th degree he says: “memory of Jesus, i.e. e. prayer, may it unite with your breath and then you will know the benefits of silence.” And St. Simeon the new theologian, speaking about Anthony the Great, says: what would he do, staying in a dark pagan tomb, if he did not know the image of inner prayer? I remain a wisher for your health and salvation, much-sinful I.M. March 11, 1858. In your letter dated September 24, you ask how you can reconcile the books: the Orthodox Confession, and the Theology of the Right Reverend Macarius, regarding the origin of souls? Read for yourself in the first, question 28 and the answer, and in the second in the 2nd volume, § 79, and you will see that the famous priest told you something completely different, that souls come from parents according to one natural order. Peter Mohyla says that, according to the perfect image of the members of the body, from the seed of man, the soul is given from God, and in the Theology of the Right Reverend Macarius it is said that according to the image of the members of the body from the seed of man, the soul is created indirectly by God. The only difference is in the expressions. The first is not stated clearly, but the latter is clearer. And in the book “on final causes” it is explained why the ancient fathers spoke about this subject in secret, precisely because at that time the tendency towards materialism prevailed. However, this is a subject or question into which many have been saved without entering into the subtle study. And we (especially monks) should care more about practical knowledge, and avoid controversial subjects, and especially disputes, remembering the word of the Apostle that they lead to the ruin of souls. St. Isaac the Syrian teaches that we, monks, should not become dogmatic. Asking for God's blessing on you, I remain a desirer of your health and salvation and a pilgrim, many sinners I. M. October 18, 1858 I congratulate you on the coming new year, may your heart be renewed from old passions that chill you and insult you. May the Lord protect you and help you against all the snares and snares of the enemy; I am answering your last letter, which I received yesterday and which you sent on the 29th. You were so offended by the enemy’s wounds that you became physically ill. I feel sorry for you from the bottom of my heart, and I advise you not to be cowardly, but to repent and humble yourself before the Lord, realizing your weakness and poverty. You, wanting to be pure, retired to a desert shelter and there you were honored to be a communicant of the holy mysteries of Christ and joyfully celebrate the day of His Nativity. It was true that it was comforting for you, and perhaps you imagined something lofty about yourself; and therefore the enemy has laid before you a snare for stumbling; however, I didn’t fully grasp you in it. Thank God, who saved you, but from this case, recognize your weakness, and do not get carried away into high-minded and vain thoughts; but recognizing yourself that you are “poor and wretched,” the tea of ​​God, who saves you from cowardice and from the storm, remember that He looks upon the humble and helps them, and even more so in the passion with which you are fighting. I’m in a hurry to finish, as much as I could write, but what I didn’t have time to write, I’ll write later. I remain a desirer of your peace, health and salvation, and an unworthy pilgrim, many sinners I.M. January 2, 1859 You write to me on January 5th, before you receive my letter sent on January 3rd; I want to calm you down, after the temptation that happened to you, and again I will repeat: flow like a warrior wounded in battle, and having tied the wounds with a band-aid of repentance, humility and trustworthiness, fight the enemy who is confusing you; calm down! May the New Year you greeted sadly be dissolved in joy in the future about the Lord our Savior, who came into the world to save people. If you have an internal aversion to the treatment that is offered to you through an electrogalvanic machine, it seems that there can be no benefit without faith in it. We sincerely regret you and would wholeheartedly wish you to be healthy, but God’s providence is incomprehensible to us, why it allows you to be sick; of course, either to punishment, or to testing, and maybe a warning from any falls and keeping within the bounds of humility. God bless you! Asking for God's blessing on you, I remain a desirer of your health and salvation and a pilgrim, many sinners I. M. January 10, 1859 P. S. If you bothered to read the work of Avdiy Vostokov “On the relations of the Roman Church to other Churches”, you will clearly see: how much untruth there is in the Roman Church both in dogmas, rituals and government; look in part 2, page 49, at what oath those elected as bishops take to the pope; not at all in harmony with the spirit of Christianity; still on page 60: that he will vigorously persecute and persecute schismatics, heretics and everyone who is not subordinate to the pope; and he calls the Orthodox schismatics. Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov described many of their lies in the book “The Truth of the Universal Church” and in the Roman Epistles; and the district letter of the patriarchs against the appeal of Pius IX; and all this clearly proves that the Roman Church fell away from the truly Eastern Orthodox, and not the Eastern from the Roman-Western; and therefore we must desire that she turn to the Eastern True Orthodox Church. It’s amazing how smart people like Mr.......who were an Orthodox Christian, do not know the truth of their Church! This is because he reads what is against our Church; and what’s in defense, he doesn’t even know. This is how people get carried away by the seductive books of the papal Jesuits and propaganda. When we compare our teaching with their teaching, we will see that the teaching of our conciliar Church is infallible, but the papal one, having deviated from the truth, is sinful; whoever believes rightly and follows the teaching is the true Israel. I thank you earnestly for congratulating me on Angel’s Day and for your well wishes. Those who wish to know completely that the Roman Church has fallen away from the Orthodox Greek Church, let them read: The District Epistle of the Patriarchs against the appeal of Pope Pius IX; 1844, printed book by Avdiy Vostokov, about the relations of the Roman Church to other Churches. The truth of the universal Church and the word of Catholic Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism by Mr. Muravyov. It is well explained in the book of Vostokov (Reverend Anatoly) against the opinion that the Roman faith spread throughout the entire universe, and that therefore it is true; in the 2nd part on page 272, further, how they spread the rumor about this with loud cries of journalists; and to this he makes a correct refutation. Truth is visible as white and pure light, but whoever closes his eyes does not see the light. What a pity that our Russians are carried away into an alien faith, and even rebel against their own Church: these are the fruits of Jesuit education and the preaching of papal agents. But they don’t even want to know about their true native Church; they read their false teachings and believe them. Your desire to leave the world and enter the monastery of monks, of course, is God’s calling; especially since it constantly grows in you; but everything must be done with expectation, consideration and prayer to the Lord, may He help you fulfill your good intention. Read St. Isaac the Syrian word 33, it is appropriate for your position; and remember the word of God: if anyone wants to come to Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me (Matthew 16:24). Rejection of oneself by those entering our rank consists in the rejection of one’s mind and will and in the endurance of the sorrows that follow; you need to prepare for this and conform to your strengths, mental and physical; Wouldn't love or passion for your parents and brothers serve as an obstacle for you, who, of course, everyone except your mother will oppose this; and can you be fired by your superiors? Will the debt that lies upon you not weigh you down? Consider all this and judge sensibly, and count your possessions: can a pillar of rejection of the world be created? I know that it is difficult for you in the world, and you encounter good obstacles in every endeavor; Yes, it’s impossible to do without it; for every good deed is either preceded or followed by temptation; this is how it should be when entering a monastery - with temptation, either preceding or subsequent, it is all the more difficult for you to preserve yourself in purity due to your reluctance to enter into a marriage union, but you still wear shackles on your feet, according to the word of St. John Climacus, without a change in circumstances, it is difficult for you to leave the world, and most importantly, you find your indecision within yourself. This is a matter of arbitrariness or free will; We cannot give you direct advice to go, as we told you before, to tempt yourself in the field of service. Pray to God, as I said above, that He may send His blessing on your good intentions, and resolve all the ties that bind you to the world, and when His will is done, He will do so for you. Handing you over to His omnipotent providence and protection, through the intercession and intercession of the Most Pure and Most Holy Virgin Mary, I remain the desirer of your health and salvation and an unworthy pilgrim, the many sinner I. M. January 24, 1859 I am answering your two letters, dated February 5 and 9, sent by you; from which I see that your circumstances in the service do not change, and you must carry out your feat for now in this field, calling on God’s omnipotent help in everything and not at all relying on your mind or your strength, but on God, who can save you from your cowardice and from the storm of passions. You should know how the fathers teach us that a strong struggle of passions is allowed for our exaltation and for our opinion of ourselves and our minds, as well as for the humiliation of others, the cure for this is humility, constant self-reproach, all this gives us peace and tranquility; for the Lord looks upon the humble and gives them grace. You say that some kind of melancholy oppresses you, It seems to you like a desert and there is no joy in anything. Gloominess and melancholy occur, perhaps, by God’s permission to test your will and love for God; love in God not only appears in us when we are intoxicated with spiritual pleasures, but even more so when, when they are taken away, we are not faint-hearted, seeing darkness and darkness in ourselves. God's love is tempted by the contrary. And that P–b is not pleasant for you, it serves for your better; it would be much more dangerous for you if he seduced you with the vanity and charms of the world, then you would forget about your intention. May the Lord strengthen you and confirm you in your good will and patience until the time of God’s will for your departure from the world. Why do you write that you want to fast in P—e? Saving sacraments are performed in every place of God’s dominion, and you worship there without any doubt, but with faith and love, and it will be for your salvation. Asking for you the peace and blessing of God and wishing you peace, health and salvation, I remain an unworthy pilgrim, a great sinner I. M. February 14, 1859 Most honorable NN in the Lord! 47 It seems that your feelings have been renewed after a pious deed and the acceptance of the most pure mysteries of Christ, as it should be. For you, secular decency and treatment are burdensome, but out of obligation they are necessary; without deviating either on the surface or on the surface, follow the middle path, do not get carried away too much by imitating the world, and do not completely move away; but conduct yourself with reason, keeping in mind the fear of God and His holy commandments. Thank God for giving you the senses to experience the vanity of the world; but beware of thinking highly of yourself. Nothing is ours, but everything is God’s, and without Him we cannot do anything good; Yes, we also have His commandment: if you do all that is commanded, you say, for we are unworthy servants; Whatever you ought to create, you will create (Luke 17:10). The Lord seeks humility from us; with humility the Lord accepts small deeds, but without humility even large corrections are not pleasing to Him, as we see in the Pharisee. We can also humble our thoughts by the memory of our sins: if we experience any sorrows and sorrows, we will more easily bear them with the memory of our sins, reproaching ourselves rather than others. May the Lord enlighten you and strengthen you. Thanks be to the Lord for His blessings. And the thanksgiving of those who receive encourages the Giver and is powerful to send more of them down upon us. Peace of conscience is His great gift. Pray to Him, pray to the Mother of God, She is an intercessor before Him for our salvation. The matter of your son worries you. You can’t be completely careless; we could lose ourselves in the repose of a calm feeling; And having sorrow, we strike at the door of God’s mercy with prayer, and open ourselves with hope in His mercy and help. The sorrowless and extensive path to which people lead is known; a narrow and sorrowful path to the eternal belly, and although there are few who walk along it, the Lord involuntarily puts them on it and thus brings about salvation. If sorrows had not been frightening, then people would not have soon turned away from the path of sin. Strengthen him with your advice, and so that he prays to God and tries to fulfill His commandments. You have read Psalm 29, in which it is said: Evening may be weeping, but joy will come in the morning, and when (St. David) decided in my abundance I will not move forever, but I turned away Your face and was confused (Ps. 29:6. 7. 8.). So in your spiritual structure, after calmness, embarrassment has found itself, and will pass, but it will serve you to humility and teach you patience with the very burden of embarrassment; just have self-reproach. They might ask me about the canon, something that seemed incomprehensible to you; but when they decided to put aside self-esteem, then even that is good; but here, perhaps, it is not just pride, but also a temptation for others. May the Lord give you peace and tranquility after the storm and spiritual battle. When you have already decided to read it in front of the priest and have received admonition from him, then be calm. It is not surprising that you knew yourself little; you yourself are aware of your self-love, and it is this that blinds you, so as not to see your spiritual shortcomings, but to see your virtues, or try to boast of them in front of people; but humility opens our eyes; and we can see even our small errors. Just as through self-love and pride we fall away from God and become darkened in darkness, so through humility we approach God and are enlightened. The Lord Himself, the King of glory, humbled Himself to the image of a servant and left Himself an example for us, so that we would follow His footsteps, and commanded us to learn from Him humility and meekness, where we will find peace. You say that I see myself worse now than I did in my youth: seeing my own badness is better than considering myself virtuous; from the former we humble ourselves and receive God’s mercy, but from the latter we are carried away into pride, which is disgusting to God. And we leave it to God to evaluate our deeds; He alone even knows the secret movements of our hearts, where they tend. The Scriptures say a lot about alms: with alms cleanse your sins and with the generosity of the poor, and: whoever gives to the poor gives back to God (Prov. 19:17); and many more similar things, and I desire mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Compassion for our neighbors attracts God's mercy to us, and at the Last Judgment of Christ we will be rewarded with standing on the right hand and entering the kingdom of heaven. Read the 25th chapter of Matthew in the Gospel, you will see why the Lord brought me into the kingdom and why he sent me to Gehenna: you were hungry, and you gave Me food: you were thirsty and you gave Me to drink, you were strange and knew Me: you were naked and clothed, you were sick and visited Me, you were in prison, and you came to Me; you see, in the beggar the Lord Himself takes upon Himself what we will do to Him: whatever you do alone for these least of my brothers, you do for Me. And so, I wish you to have a good disposition towards the poor. Christ Himself asked you, and precisely in order to have mercy on you; don’t look at their morality, it’s not our place to judge; It is enough for us that He asks in the name of Christ, and He accepts. Read the life of John the Merciful, November 12; I do not turn you away from doing good to your relatives, and of course not for luxury, but out of need, even it is a very good deed to help, but you can give a portion for the poor, and this will help them too, and you can even deprive yourself of something for the poor; for example, in excess clothing, and stuff. This is how I reason, but let it be on your free will; I just ask you to have goodwill towards the poor, as I said above. I am sending you a small book about Peter the Publican, how he became merciful to those who had previously hated the poor. May the Lord give you a sense of mercy and love for your neighbors. The most merciful Lord sent you to receive consolation in our monastery, He called you; and according to His word: Him who comes to Me I will not cast out (John 6:37), I accepted; all this is His mercy and favor towards you; but we are nothing; But we demand, according to the commandment, to pray for each other, and we each command each other about this. We ask you to pray for us too; and we have a duty to pray for you. Give thanks to the Lord in everything and for the consolation given to you; but it happens after grief, and without it, consolation is not valued. I don’t have time to deal with your writings soon, but at least little by little I want to briefly tell you about them. Thank the Lord that you are beginning to see the light of God. And this will be revealed to us even more when we remember our past sins and see our present ones; What we pray for these days with the Church: “O Lord, King, grant me to see my sins,” and so on, we come to humility, and this is what enlightens the eyes of our hearts, but we must also strictly observe ourselves and reject self-praising thoughts that “I have become better and have improved.” These thoughts are also very dangerous; and they are inflicted from the enemy; and very subtly they can flatter self-esteem and arouse it. Self-love is not innate, but comes from sin. Was it not out of pride that the first angel fell, desiring to be equal to God? He himself invented it, but was not created that way, and with the same deceived the primordial ones, inspiring them: you will be like gods. Having accepted this advice, they loved themselves, having looked upon the commandment of God, they ate the forbidden fruit, and as a result they darkened both their mind and will. You see, pride is not innate in a person, but comes from sin. The Holy Fathers teach us: someone who is selfish cannot be brotherly loving; when we are poor in spirit and humble in heart, according to the teachings of Christ, then self-love will be driven far away from us. You see what fruit obedience brings. Your son obeyed you, went to K–y and had good success; but otherwise this would not have happened. Having expressed your benevolence, you yourself felt that this was an act of pride, and repenting of it, be calm; having a lesson ahead that it is not pride that calms us down, but humility. I did not consider you cruel and unmerciful, but sent you a little book to convince you that there is Christ in the beggar, and this is because you spoke contemptuously about them. This science of humility is still new to you. What do you care what people think of you? Can people rightly judge everyone? But we need to see not our virtues, but our sins; What did you pray to God for so often during Lent? “Lord, King, grant me to see my sins!” from this you come into humility, and when it is established in us, then external things, neither praise nor reproach, can disturb us. You were especially worried because I seemed to think badly of you; and moreover, because I expressed my virtues, what do I think? and one root is pride. May God deliver you from this and give you peace. Now your wish has come true, you were with us in the monastery, and not only stayed for one day, but also celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos with us. May the Queen of Heaven console you for your zeal for Her great triumph and joy, announced to the entire universe by I.M. on March 27, 1853. I am very grateful to you, most respected... for taking care of my thinness; I received the powders. Meanwhile, they sent me two boxes from M-y and, after the release of your powders, I had no shortage and no stop in taking the medicine; now it will be for a long time, don’t worry; Maybe these will be enough for a course of treatment. You write that you are still dissatisfied with yourself: you are not improving, there are outbursts; we cannot improve when we want to see that we have improved; it flatters our pride and makes us proud, and this causes us to fall. We need to see our sins, that is, remember what happened before, and the present ones, albeit small ones. The holy prophet, in his prayer to God, cried out: I know my iniquities and I bear my sin before me (Ps 50:5) and Saint Ephraim, and with him the whole Church, prays: Lord, to the King, grant me to see my sins, and great people, the holy fathers, with all their godly lives, considered themselves to have done nothing, but thought of being under all creation, that is, the worst of all. This very humility strengthened them in virtue. Yes, and the Lord commanded: even if you do everything that is commanded, say, for we are unimpeded servants; You see how much humility we need with all our virtues and corrections. How will we acquire it when we do not remember and see our weakness, and always reproach ourselves and not our neighbor? Then we will receive God’s help to fulfill His will. You write that you have outbursts, and warmly accept rudeness from your girlfriend, and tell her not to embarrass you; go to another room so as not to get angry. It seems that this is a very weak protection against the action of passion; you have a guarantee of the violent part, that is, irritability, which in unpleasant cases becomes inflamed and acts. It is necessary to take care of her healing; and how to heal her? You seem to be peaceful, calm, when no one bothers you, and the passion lies inside; when something unpleasant happens, it becomes inflamed and acts. So, the one who touches us only shows it to us, so that we take care of healing through self-reproach, humility, condescension, mercy; but this cannot be done suddenly, but gradually, with God’s help: this must be understood about other passions. There is acting passion, there is resisting passion, and there is eradicating passion. Although we cannot eradicate it yet, when we resist, we will reach its eradication, that is, healing. People who show us passions are instruments of God; So in self-love, pride and in every passion we must monitor ourselves and fight them. May the Lord enlighten you and give you His help. May the Lord give your son peace from the trouble that troubles him. Pray to God and the Mother of God about this. I testify to you, to him and to your sister, my respect and, asking for God’s blessing on you, I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I. M. May 20, 1853 You ask me: should I order you an icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, according to the wanderer, but you have such an icon in your house, then it will be at your will to have another one like it: I, for my part, do not resist your desire to have it. Don't ask for dreams in order to see this or that; This can cause mental harm; faith will do more than vision. You write that your girlfriend has outraged your spirit. You don’t understand this correctly, but I won’t write about it, but I can say it personally. Asking for God's blessing on you and your son, I remain with my respect, your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. July 21, 1853. I answer two of your letters with one answer: don’t charge me. I cannot write in detail about all your matters, but as much as my memory can accommodate and time allows. Write whatever you want, and as much as you like, but what you especially need to have an answer to, please underline with a ruler, then it will be more convenient for me to see without repeating the entire letter by reading, because having read it once, I can’t answer at that time, and after quite a while I forget a lot, and have to read again: and this makes it difficult for me. Thank God that your health is strengthening and the doctor promises to release you for the feast of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos; it is definitely better and more peaceful for you to celebrate this day in our monastery: the solemn service in honor of the Mother of God and peace from the bustle will bring you comfort. Thank God for everything. You were upset that you couldn’t give the soldier shirts, but he surely received it from someone else, and you can also do charity to others, and rest assured. Ask to send you some kind of prayer so that you can read every day, every prayer is pleasing to God when we offer it with faith and a sense of humility, and you can read the shortest prayers: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”; saying it repeatedly or as much as you like and as much as you can; also: “Master, God the Father, Almighty, Lord the Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ and Holy One of soul, One Divinity, One Power, have mercy on me, a sinner, and in Your destinies save me, Thy unworthy servant, for Blessed is He forever and ever, Amen”; You can also read a short prayer to the Mother of God: “My Lady, Most Holy Theotokos, save me, a sinner.” Psalm 24, copied herewith I am sending you. Reading spiritual books feeds and nourishes the soul, and gives us a feeling for the knowledge of our weaknesses and humility, and the Lord looks upon the humble. The use of the word “unbearable creature” when speaking about your girlfriend’s rudeness, of course, embittered her more, but for you it was sinful: for who created her? The same God who created you; and not only created, but also redeemed with the most pure blood of His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. There is one font of baptism, one cup of communion for everyone, and the remission of sins is granted equally to all who repent. May God grant you strength from pronouncing such and similar words. Don't worry about the dream; everything that is inundated with confusion comes from the opposite. Asking for God's blessing on you and wishing you perfect health, mental and physical, with my respect I remain your unworthy pilgrim, the great sinner I.M. August 4, 1853 Do not be discouraged by the illness sent to you, and even more so when you realize that it was sent from God; He, loving you, visits you with it, for bodily illness cleanses our sins; when our outer man decays, then our inner man is renewed; but the Lord is able to grant you physical deliverance from illness. When you visit us, we’ll talk about whatever you need and want, I don’t know what type of illness you have, what frightens you so much, you’re afraid that you’ve prepared so little; Can we ourselves recognize our preparation and give it a price? God alone knows and appreciates this: the example of the tax collector and the Pharisee clearly shows this: the first, in his sinfulness, sought only the mercy of God and received justification; and the latter, with his merits, did not receive an equal justification with him. Remember that God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Humility alone forgives us many sins; seek justification in the merits of our Savior, in His mercy and humility. Do not believe the letter as if written by the Lord Himself; This is not true and there is nothing important in it; the Church did not accept it. We have the word of God: the Holy Gospel and the Apostolic and Holy Fathers' teachings; there you will find the truth and life; fear not the curses of false writing; The best thing is to burn it and be calm. Asking God's blessing for you and your son, with my respect I remain the wisher of your health and prosperity and the prayer of God, the great sinner I.M. A famous holy fool in that country. According to the 1854 edition on 256 pages. Letters from No. 376 to No. 395 are all written to the same person. What do you call it: bodily techniques. Letters from No. 394 to No. 405 were all written to the same person. You might be interested in: