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Even as the cherubim secretly form, and the life-giving Trinity sings the thrice-holy hymn, let us now put aside all worldly cares. As if we will raise up the King of all, the angels invisibly dorinoshi chinmi. We, who mysteriously depict the Cherubim and sing the trisagion of the life-creating Trinity, will now leave all worldly thoughts in order to raise the King of all, invisibly carried by the spears of the ranks of Angels. What mysterious words are sung during the liturgy! 907 Who can listen to them without trembling? Think about it: we “mysteriously depict Cherubim”! Is not like represented like? And we depict Cherubim. This means that in each of us there is something similar to the Cherub, similar to the Cherub - to the Angel of God, many-eyed, like a conscience. But this similarity is not external, not superficial. It is not obvious, not physical; not the same as the similarity between a person and his portrait. The similarity with Cherub is internal, mysterious and hidden in the depths of the soul. This is a spiritual similarity. There is a great cherubic core of our soul, an angelic core of the soul. But it is hidden in secret and invisible to carnal eyes. God has invested in man his best gift - the image of God. But in the innermost storehouses of the soul lies this gift, this precious pearl: in a muddy, ugly shell it is buried in the middle of the mud, at the bottom of the spiritual sea. If God had not hidden His gift, then evil forces could have desecrated the gift of God: now it is given into the hands of only those who see it; but only those who have worked see it. We are all in sin. But we are like clay vessels full of sparkling gold. On top they are blackened and smeared, and on the inside they are dazzlingly radiant. These are all of you, brothers 908. Take off a person’s clothes and you will see a body subject to temptation, illness and death. If you were to further remove the body, you would see a thick layer of sins that have eaten away our soul like rust. But if, even further, you were to remove this corruptible, stinking part from the soul, then there, in the very middle, you would see the Guardian Angel 909. With his many eyes he sees every slightest desire of ours, notices every thought of a person. Here is the holy interior of the human soul, the true Self of man. This is a mysterious, sacred church, sparkling with heavenly beauty. The Holy Spirit dwells in him. Day and night, unceasingly and silently, He intercedes for us before God with unspeakable groanings. We don't even know what to pray for as we should (Rom.8:26). And the Comforter prays for us, strengthening us in our weaknesses, and, although we do not suspect it, cries out to God for us: “Abba!”, that is, “Father, Father!” (Rom.8:15; Gal.4:6). We are the church of God, and the Spirit lives in us. Don't you know? (1 Cor. 3:16). We walk on earth, but our true being is in heaven: after all, heaven is where the Spirit is. Did not the Lord say: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Is it possible after this to think that anyone would corrupt the church of God? “If anyone destroys the church of God, God will punish him, for the church of God is holy; and this church is you,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 3:17). Man is exalted! He is made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor (Ps. 8:6)! He received the power to use even the understanding of angels, because the measure of a man is the same as the measure of an Angel (Rev. 21:17). Man is holy in the recesses of his soul; sanctified because the Lord sanctifies it, unconquered by external filth. Templars, have you heard how they find the most precious of precious stones - a diamond? Covered with rough bark - a black, excessively hard coating. In appearance, such a diamond is no different from a simple pebble. Only a master of the craft will guess that it is a diamond. But over the course of many months and even years, the lapidary removes the outer crust from the stone, polishes it, and then the inner, dewdrop-like, transparent core emerges, lights up and plays in the sun with all the rays of the rainbow. So here is the man. Outside - dirty, but inside so beautiful that God, having created man, rested from his works; and when man fell, then, in great love for His creation, God did not spare His Only Begotten Son, He even gave Him to torment and death in order to save creation. Oh, brothers, if you would only think how beautiful you all are! Is it not the Holy Spirit who lives in you that the priest burns incense when he addresses you with the censer? Is not the throne of the inner church shrouded in incense? And man is not the same icon of God? After all, just as in an icon behind the paints and board the gracious power of God lurks, so behind the body of a person and his sinful soul lives in the inner church, in the conscience, the many-eyed Holy Spirit. There is nothing, therefore, more precious than the human soul. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what ransom will a man give for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Was it not God, who lives in the soul, who created all the treasures of the world? What do they mean if their Creator and Owner are with us? What are they when God reigns in the soul? The Lord truly said: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44). Everyone's treasure is buried in the field of his soul. And if someone has found his treasure, then, holding his breath, he gives up everything he is doing, just to dig up his treasure. This, after all, is the highest happiness, the supreme good of man. This is his joy forever. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Divine part of the human soul 910. To find it in yourself and in others - to be convinced with your own eyes in the holiness of God's creation, in the kindness and love of people - here is eternal bliss and eternal life. Whoever has once tasted it is ready to exchange all private goods for it: “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for good pearls, who, having found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matthew 13:45, 46). The pearl that the merchant was looking for is not far away; a person carries it with him everywhere, but he doesn’t know it. And with a feeling in your chest, each of you walks, yearning, around the world and so often does not believe that such a pearl is even somewhere far away. Blessed is he who sees his treasure! But who exactly sees it? Who sees their pearl? He who has a purely bodily eye sees earthly things; The heavenly thing will be seen only by those who have a pure heavenly eye—the heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8) - they will see in their hearts and in the hearts of other people, they will see not only in the next century, but also in this, now they will see. If only they cleansed their hearts! And so, Christ-bearers, as soon as the heart brightens a little, inside, illuminated by the Divine lamp, the image of God shines and sparkles like gold. And then you see in yourself and in others the Guardian Angels standing before the face of God. Then you listen to the inexpressible groans of the Comforter, interceding for us and crying to God: “Father!” In this single word is the sweetness of all prayers and all joys. Blessed are the pure in heart, because they always see God, always walk before His face among fellow Angels: they see Angels in people. They treat each other with care: after all, they see the shrine in him - they see what he himself does not know about himself. They admire and cannot get enough of every shrine; they mourn and cry over the layer of dust that has settled on this jewel in their human brother. This innermost and mysterious shrine of the soul is invisible in everyday life. But sometimes the stinking cover that encloses it suddenly breaks through, and the brilliance obscures the eyes. And in moments of supreme ascent, the face will become the face of an Angel. “And everyone... looking at him [Stephen], saw his face like the face of an angel,” says Acts (6:15). In every way God leads man to such enlightenment, to the knowledge of His sacred things. Sometimes this happens through great misfortune. We think that the man is completely lost, we will give up on him, he is so covered in dirt and filth. His fall seems to be the final fall from which there is no return. But in great suffering the dirty cover wears out. Suddenly, in the very dirt, something unexpected will sparkle. It is the Guardian Angel who pushed the person and with his powerful right hand leads him onto a new, holy path. And in heaven there will be more joy over this one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7). This is the way through great misfortune. And sometimes even great, undeserved happiness, a sharp joy that pierces the entire being and binds the soul, pulls off its despised veil. When it was said to the great sinner: “Go to your house and do not sin,” did she really return to sin? No! “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from Him, but everything is naked and open before His eyes: to Him we will give an account” (Heb. 4:12, 13). You can be sure that after the dazzling joy of forgiveness, the soul of the poor sinner then shone with its heavenly beauty. And, probably, there was joy among the Angels of God (Luke 15:10), because another Angel joined them. This is what “like the Cherubim secretly form” 911 means. Like the Cherubim and mystically representing them, we received from God the angelic right - the life-giving Trinity, the Trinity creating and distributing eternal, divine life, to sing along with the Angels the song of the Angels: once, under the Archbishop of Constantinople Proclus, a certain young man was delighted with the mountain and heard in revelation how the ranks of Angels sing before God the Trisagion hymn: “Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! And since then this chant has been included in church services. Do you not, like the Cherubim, tremble before each other? But tremble. Tremble more. Do you know who's here? - King Christ... The angelic ranks serve Him, invisibly carrying Him, raising Him on a shield with the help of spears, as soldiers once raised the Greek king before the people. The Church is full of Angels, you all stand interspersed with Angels 912. The Lord is here, here. Don't you know? He is with us, as promised. Shall we not now “put aside the cares of this life”? Shall we not forget about the rough bark that hides the Guardian Angel of each of you? Let this veil fall before your eyes, let the wall that separates heart from heart collapse. Oh, happiness for everyone to see the Cherub in everyone! Oh, joy forever! “Let us now put aside every care of this life.” All sorts of things. Let's forget about domestic squabbles, let's put aside internecine feuds and scores, let's leave thoughts about everyday successes and misfortunes. Let's stop worrying about everyday things, let's forget everything unclean: the Lord is with us, He sanctifies and cleanses everyone. He washes away all dirt with the flow of His love. He lights every soul with joy forever. Angels invisibly raise the King of all. But there are still visible Angels standing before me. Angels in the flesh, as if they had shaded their radiant shine with their flesh. I can no longer look directly at them. Confusion covers me: I am unclean. “Let us now put aside all worldly cares, so that we may raise up the King of all, invisibly carried by the angels.” Do you hear? Let us join the Angels and lift up Christ. Now let us put aside worldly cares, now let us cleanse ourselves: let us prepare ourselves. After all, together with the Angels we will raise the King of all. King of all! No one is excluded from Christ's people. No one is forgotten. Will anyone leave the celebration? Let's get up! After all, you are one with Christ, you, all together, are His Body, and separately you are members; He is the Head of the body. Just as the body bears the head, so we bear Christ God. Impurity will fall from spiritual eyes; then mutual hostility, mutual alienation disappears. This has always happened when people had strong faith in the Lord Jesus. “The multitude of those who believed,” says the Apostle, “had one heart and one soul.” The power of mutual love was so great that “no one called anything of his property his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). Listen, this is how, for example, the soul is cleansed! Here is an example of great happiness and the effectiveness of heavenly joy. Jesus, as the holy evangelist Luke tells us about (19:1–10), once passed through the city of Jericho. A certain Zacchaeus, despised by everyone as a publican (that is, a tax collector), rejected by everyone, tried to see the One about whom he had heard so much. Perhaps rumors also reached him that this Teacher is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29), that He is not capable of offending even someone despised by everyone, and that an ancient prophecy was fulfilled on Him: “He will not shout and will not lift up His voice, nor will He allow Him to be heard in the streets; He will not break a bruised reed or quench a lamp that goes out” (Isa. 42:2, 3). Or was Zacchaeus drawn by simple curiosity to look at the famous Wonderworker: Who knows? One way or another, no matter how Zacchaeus stretched on tiptoe, his annoyingly small stature did not allow him to rise above the dense wall of people surrounding Jesus. However, in the present case, this obstacle turned out to be for Zacchaeus the beginning of his highest happiness and joy forever. Desperate to see something behind the crowded crowd, perhaps even deliberately, out of contempt and hatred, which did not let him forward, he used his ingenuity and, running ahead, climbed a fig tree: Zacchaeus calculated that Jesus would not pass him. For the poor publican it would be great happiness to even just look at the One Who drew his heart with an incomprehensible force. Zacchaeus, indeed, looked at Jesus from the fig tree and, overwhelmed with joy, saw that He had also noticed him. But joy filled the tax collector’s entire being when He who was passing by said: “Zacchaeus! come down quickly; for today I need to be in your house.” - "How! Jesus comes to visit me! Do not crowds of people gather before Him? Isn’t it His hem that the rich people seek to touch? Don’t even pious and revered people, not like me, dare to receive Him? And He still asks for me, a sinner despised by everyone (and deservedly so), a tax collector hated by everyone! He asks to come to me, bypassing others!” Zacchaeus probably thought approximately this way, and it is understandable with what haste he climbed down from the fig tree in order to receive the Lord, overjoyed. Envy began to speak in the hearts of those around him. "How! The guest, Whom everyone longed to see in their home, about Whom a whole crowd was arguing, does honor to some Zacchaeus, a famous sinner! But the ray from the bright face of Christ had already burned through Zacchaeus’s chest to the heart, melted the bark on the Guardian Angel, and Zacchaeus did not become angry in response to the murmur and criticism that surrounded him. “I myself realize that I am unworthy of Your visit, Lord. But You brought me the highest happiness - You revived me. You see, Lord, that I am filled with joy and happiness from Your kindness. There is nothing I can do to thank you, naked before you. But I cannot help but show my fullness.” Such thoughts besieged Zacchaeus, who lowered his head. He was ashamed and hurt by the criticisms against him all around, which indirectly fell on the Teacher - ashamed, but at the same time even more joyful. And standing before the Lord, overwhelmed with delight, as Peter was once during the Transfiguration, and hardly fully aware of what he was saying, Zacchaeus exclaimed: “Lord! I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay him fourfold.” So Zacchaeus exclaimed, without remembering himself. Why exactly “half the estate”, why “four times”? Of course, he himself would not have answered these questions. Perhaps he was ready to give everything for the sake of Jesus, who revived him. But the first words that came across were exclaimed - if only to somehow show the joy with which his soul trembled. And indeed, the God-man testified that at that moment the supreme happiness of Zacchaeus revived his “lost” soul. “Now salvation has come to this house,” Jesus said, “for he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” Truly, brothers, there is no higher happiness than seeing the power of Good, how to sacrifice oneself to Living Love. Rejoice, “and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22): there is no boundary between heavenly and earthly; Angels of God ascend and descend into human souls. May joy be with you forever. Amen. Psychological explanation of Psalm 125 (Jewish counting 126) 913 In view of the peculiar manner in which this “Sermon” is written, it is necessary to preface it with a little remark. The purpose of the “Sermon” is not to teach or interpret the psalm, if we take these words in their strict sense. Briefly, this goal can be described as “psychological explanation,” i.e., as some help, as some kind of stimulator of experiences when reading the psalm. The author wants to achieve his goal by describing the oscillating and kaleidoscopically changing images that arise in his mind when reading Psalm 125 and which for him are a projection of religious experiences (essentially inexpressible) onto empirical reality. Here it is very natural (although not necessary) to make the assumption that this connection is reversible, that is, to assume that if the reader’s consciousness is forced to go through the same chain of images, then similar religious experiences can be aroused in him. At the same time, however, the reader must constantly remember that all these images are not allegories, that they must be perceived as children listen to a fairy tale, and not interpreted with logical schemes. And it would be absurd to write allegorically what then needs to be de-allegorized. The main thing is to surrender to the flow of images, throwing away preconceived theories and schemes. Regarding the “Conversations on Psalm 125” by John Chrysostom 1. “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were as if we were seeing in a dream.” The consciousness of humanity was shrouded in a heavy cloud, and demons tormented it. The heavenly spaces expanded like a black cover of death - a hopeless dead shroud, pockmarked with flickering punctures. Deep hopelessness gripped the pagan world; eternal fear, cold and musty dampness wafted from the holes of the soul, because the soul was cracked. The soul was split to the very roots, and responsibilities doubled and flashed. The thick night - impenetrable darkness, clinging to the eyes, tore a cry from an empty chest - and the call, spreading in the echoing abysses of the perverted world, was multiplied by a thousandfold echo. And the howl, endlessly desperate, and the burning caress of fiery sin, and the reciprocal curses of demons, and the dull pain of loneliness, and the roar of an empty heart were woven into the dark symphony of the fallen world. Crazy dreams of fantasy and nightmarish heaviness crushed us, skeletons flashed like a quickly spinning whirlwind, and their skeletons tapped like castanets of despair - Death clinked his teeth. It was captive humanity that feasted during the plague. Further and further the round dance of death rushed irresistibly, devastating the vast universe with a destructive hurricane and carrying everyone with it. The years slipped silently; hours and minutes rolled into the devouring abyss of Time, and Death clicked its teeth carnivorously. Hours and minutes, and many years, the bottomless maw of Time swallowed, and the Universe fluttered like an unsteady, trembling decoration - in fear. Powerless tears of despair flowed involuntarily, and in frantic horror we wrung our hands. The Death Monster devoured our brothers and gnashed its carnivorous teeth. We stretched our cold, weak hands in vain. And when we were left alone for a moment, without visions, we looked around: Death took us away from God, and we were in outer darkness, alone. A muffled cry widened our whitened lips, and with deep anguish we rushed about in the deserted spaces. External darkness - darkness outside of God - permeated the entire being with grave cold, and consciousness hung over the abyss - over the breathtaking abyss of non-existence and annihilation - the second death. From this darkness, from the utter depths, we cried out to the Father: “Hear us!..” But the demons flew in like a whirlwind, and souls again rushed in its gusts, like dried autumn leaves. The melancholy of loneliness and the unbearable pain of abandonment were replaced by the delirium of a ghostly appearance - the antics of crowded masks. And behind the masks the same Chaos looked with empty eyes. The steel claws of Death dug more and more voluptuously into the tremulous heart of the World, and with an ominous scream she tore pieces of the living body, and stung the bloodied heart with her sting - sin - because “the sting of Death is sin,” - the black wings of the Merciless One triumphed in victory with an iron groan. The world was in captivity - in captivity of the Clawed One - powerlessly tossing about in anguish. And tears of endless pity fell... They dripped one after another from the eyes of the Heavenly Father, because He loved the world as only God can love. But there was no remedy. And in the anguish of infinite love, God “did not spare His Only Begotten Son” and gave Him as a sacrifice, so that He, “the only sinless one,” would be seized by the inexorable Monster, so that He would be weakened by the holy flesh. Then the only event in all history happened. For the first time, the Death-Monster felt a heel above him - the childish heel of little Jesus, and was afraid, but not of thunder or military trumpets, not of curses and spells, but of the first cry of the newborn God-Infant. The Universe froze in attention as His holy body was woven in the most pure womb. But we were in a dream. With quiet silver tinkling, thin star rays collided in the spaces, intertwining into golden lace. The heavenly diamond stars trembled like large drops of dew. The eyes of the sky widened in fear and moved their golden eyelashes. The whole creature became wary, but we slept. The heavens told the glory of God, and the star of Bethlehem rolled down their face like a pearly tear of joy, but we were as if in a dream. The Angels sang an enthusiastic chorale of joy in unspeakable delight. “Glory in the highest Botu...” expanded and floated in the blue ether, but we were all asleep. The Angels splashed with swan-white, snow-white wings, and She who is purer than all the Ethereal Forces, with a clear smile, like the dawn, foreshadowing victory over the Darkness, bent over the manger, but we slept through that too. When the God-Child, holding the whole World in His little hands, extended them compassionately to the Mother, the earth and sky froze in awe. When the one who came to warm with love all creation, numb with the grave cold of death, was warmed by the breath of an ox and a donkey tied to a stall, even the trees were awake. When the World, who feeds His flesh, reached out with a plaintive child’s cry to the breast of the Mammal, when the One Who came to save the World, “the Lamb who took away the sin of the world,” felt all the oppressive torment of sin and the unspeakable weight of death, then the Universe froze in trembling anticipation, great miracles were created on earth and in heaven. Idol churches collapsed and idols were crushed from their bases. The rocks flowed with silver springs, and the vines, in winter hibernation, blossomed in the deserts. The Lord brought us back from captivity, but we were like in a dream. He came to return us from a foreign land; He became our brother in order to suffer with the brothers, for the brothers and through the brothers, but the sleep of unforgivable inattention closed our eyes. The God-man, all alone, prayed until he sweated blood, but we slept and saw dreams, slept through betrayal and torment... The great mystery of redemption was being accomplished. She who gave birth to God stood at the Cross and cried out because “a sword pierced Her heart.” Her most pure womb was torn by the torments of the Son, and Her insides were inflamed with thirst. “Seeing You, covered with sores, dishonored, naked on the tree, My Child, I feel a fire scorching my insides,” the Mother and Virgin cried, sobbing. “Won’t you say a word to Your Servant, one word. Are you the Word of God? “Would you not, O Lord, show mercy to the one who gave birth to You,” cried the Pure One, crying, sobbing and kissing the body of Her Lord 915. And at that time a great secret was happening. But we slept soundly. Once upon a time, from our carnal father, “all-begotten Adam,” a carnal mother, Eve, was born from a rib; and when Adam arose from his deep sleep, he found a bride next to him. Also now, from the spiritual Father, Christ, from a pierced rib, our spiritual Mother, the Church, was born; and when Christ rose from death, he found a Bride near Him. The Mother of God attended to the Newborn 916, but we were as if in a dream. 2. “Then our mouth was full of joy, and our tongue was full of singing; Then they said among the nations: The Lord has done great things for them! 3. The Lord did great things for us: we rejoiced.” Christ has risen from the dead, and Death is mortally wounded. "Death! where is your sting? Hell! where is your victory? 917 Your cold paws felt that the World was slipping away from your steel embrace. An island was formed in the chaotically turbulent sea - a sure refuge from horrors, and Chaos was no longer able to overwhelm everything with its waves. These liquid rocks moved towards the island in transparent masses. With fury, overtaking one another, gaping gaping jaws, the waves 918 piled up one on top of the other. But with a far-audible roar they powerlessly crashed against the Cornerstone 919. Then again, biting the bit, the chrysoprase-green horses strained and snorted in streams of foam. Their gray bangs flew up in high sprays, and their white manes flew up in a mist of tiny sprays. With snoring and neighing, they hit the stones with their hooves and crunched them, throwing them in all directions. Inflamed with an evil rage, the foam-maned Bucephali roared menacingly, rearing up against the Stone. Soaring from the last tensions, whole rocks rolled up to the Island, jumped on one another, and hit the Stone with their hooves. And exhausted, they lamented about its adamantine hardness, and the Stone stood indestructible. And the restless sea roared with a powerless rock. And it moaned, and it rumbled, and it knocked - everything was covered in soap. But the Stone stood indestructible, and the wounded Monster only piled rocks around it. Endowed with strength and Spirit, we stood on a safe Island, and realized that the Lord had saved us from destruction. Although the sea was raging, and octopuses and rakhavis were emerging from the abyss of the sea, although reptiles with evil eyes were crawling out, we knew that we had shelter. Salty spray splashed us from head to toe, and we shivered in gusts of freezing wind. But “our mouth was full of joy, and our tongue was full of singing,” because we had salvation under our feet. The Stone stood unshakably. Christ gave healing from fear of demons 921 - gave strength against the unclean hordes. We could go out against them with signs, endowed with the power of Christ. And there was no fear of death, because they knew victory over it, they were waiting for the Bright Day of Resurrection. Death was wounded, and there were no more corpses, because they were replaced by relics; Instead of the dead, the deceased became the dead, and the restless ghouls who came from the graves calmed down and became dead. Farewell to loved ones forever turned into their funeral; loved ones were buried, that is, they were protected and preserved until the Day of the Uprising. The gloomy, joyless cemeteries were replaced by joyful catacombs, and such coolness, such calmness and silence wafted from their walls with cheerful garlands from the vaults that they said: “Our dear brother is sleeping, and not dead”; “My daughter may rest in peace,” “Rest in peace!” Christ descended into these underground passages, and in them there were hints of places where there is no illness, sadness and sighing, but endless life. My heart was filled with calm confidence. The violent orgy of despair pacified and was replaced by slight sadness about the future - expectation. The fire of sin has subsided, its burning intensity has faded. The purple and blood-red clothes became whiter than snow 922 and the edges rinsed in the cool breezes. Miraculous phenomena were an external sign of a revolution in consciousness that had taken place. And then they said among the peoples: “The Lord has done great things for us,” and they rejoiced. And the hem of his white clothes fluttered with cool breezes. And again the Easter Irmoses groaned in delight - we rejoiced. The silver bells of Orion 923 rang and a jubilant choir rushed from somewhere: “Resurrection day, let’s enlighten ourselves, people. Easter, Lord's Easter. For from death to life and from earth to Heaven, Christ God has translated us, singing in victory” 924. The diamond Pleiades trembled. The Lord did great things for us: we rejoiced. The Pleiades sang: “Let the heavens rejoice with dignity, let the earth rejoice, and let the world, visible and invisible, celebrate. Christ is risen, eternal joy" 925. The Lord did great things for us: we rejoiced. The victorious Red Sun pierced the evil clouds, and the reptiles fled from the light. Sunny delight bubbled in my chest, and the “eternal faiths” 926 were torn. The deep chasms trembled with radiance, and Chaos shrank. Then “everything was filled with light: heaven, earth and hell.” And having become again like children, we exclaimed with brotherly kisses: “Come, let’s drink new beer, it is not from the barren stone that the miracle works, but from the incorruptible source, from the tomb who watered Christ, we are established in Nemzhe” 927. Lightness grew in the Universe, and the snowy peaks bashfully smiled a soft pink smile. Through her sleep, the morning Azure smiled towards the Easter Sun - she rejoiced with quietness, shyly. And again everything began to sing and moan in breathless joy: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death...” And from the pale grass of the forest, from the damp earth came the voice of many years of suffering: “...and giving life to those in the tombs” 928. He sounded joyful for his children. And again the spring breeze whispered, caressing and blowing shyly into my ears. “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death...” The Lord has done great things over us: we rejoiced. Fragrant prayer, the highest soaring of the earth to heaven, swirled with incense, and the sacraments, the most tangible manifestation of grace sent from heaven to earth, flowed down in large drops. The Lord did great things for us: we rejoiced. 4. “Bring back, O Lord, our captives like streams at noonday.” The last tremors of the Easter bell fade away, melting into the spring air; spread out into delicate flakes. Easter passes, the red Easter of the Lord, and the festive mood fades. The ecstatic joy of the bright Resurrection fades away, the lightness and enlightenment of the recent communion flies away; the impetuous consciousness of victory weakens. Everyday life comes into its own, and the rumble of dray trucks with the annoying clatter of carriages displaces from the head the jubilant: “Christ is risen...” So it was with the Day of Resurrection, Bright for the most part, and the Holy Week of world history, like the days of jubilant frenzy, when the joy of Christ’s victory first sparkled in the consciousness, became dim and dusty. Then we looked around and saw that we had the Cornerstone, there was a superstructure on It, but the Church itself turned out to be far from ready: the ropes were torn, but the captives had not yet been returned to their heavenly homeland. Death is exhausted, but has not yet exhaled its last breath; it continues to reign in the Universe. Sin, its sting, is dulled by the grace-filled power of the sacraments, but the poisonous tip still pierces the growing Body of Christ. And the iron-winged Predator fights in rage, although her days are numbered. Its bastions and strongholds are being undermined day by day. But for now, they are prisoners. “Return, Lord, our captives!..” “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now” (Rom. 8:22). “He waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19), awaits “liberation from the bondage of corruption” and suffers in captivity not of his own free will – “she submitted herself to vanity, not voluntarily, but according to the will of him who subjected her” (Rom. 8:20). And the power of vanity over creation has not yet ended, the dominion of Corruption has not yet been broken. “I have a desire to be resolved and to be with Christ, because this is incomparably better; but it is more necessary for you to remain in the flesh” (Phil. 1:23, 24). This is what the Apostle of Nations wrote. And the warm Sun with a deep sigh would say, if she could: “I have a desire to resolve myself and be with Christ, because this is incomparably better. But God has appointed me to serve you people, and thus I will receive deliverance from vanity. For the sake of serving you, I remain with you - I am waiting for revelation from you.” And the Sun would add, sighing again: “The world is so beautiful that the Creator found everything very good in it” (Gen. 6:31); so worthy of love that God loved him and did not spare His only begotten Son, He gave Him for the salvation of the world. But through your fault the beautiful world is in slavery to corruption and death, and through your fault it is in sin and corruption. Because of you, he will become a tormented breast!..” And the Sun would sigh heavily, humbly continuing to shine for the good and the evil! And the Sky would secretly shed a few radiant tears with fiery meteors. They would silently roll down his cheeks and disappear into the velvet folds of the night cover. The creature groans and suffers, but we hesitate. We forget the work of the Lord, and through our fault we are prisoners of Death. “Return, O Lord, our captives like streams to the south!” You see, you see our inertia, our powerlessness, Lord. You know that we cannot even take advantage of the victory of Your Son - His bitter death. O destroyer of death! Come to our aid. We ourselves cannot do anything; we are dead, we have no strength, and out of great shame we do not dare raise our eyes to You. Cool our weak breath, so that our soul may hunger and thirst for You. Turn us, for we ourselves are not able to turn to You. Help You, O All-Powerful One, to our lack of will, return our captives. Let love love You, Lord; wound our hearts with Your love. Your Kingdom cannot approach without our desire; but we want to desire it and cannot, Lord. Give us the power to desire what we want. Arouse repentance in us, Lord, for our inertia, capture us and do not let us go from You; take us away from us, Lord, and do not allow us to do, want, or think anything without You. Break our inertia and self-affirmation, break our selfhood, Master. We will not let go of the hem of Your robe until You bless. For we are close to despair, Lord. Vulnerate our hearts with Your love. Bring back our captives, Lord. Tri-shiny sun! With Your fiery fingers pierce the evil clouds that shield You from us, embrace the ice and snow of our coldness with shining hands. Let them run, melted by the rays of Your love, let the mountain streams gurgle along the steep slopes - captives, bound by the cruel Cold. Let the fountain-white waterfalls rush headlong, returning to their homeland, the dark land. Let the prisoners of Frost, imprisoned in barren rocks, break out of their prison. We know that we ourselves hinder Your work, Lord. We know that the entire firmament of heaven is indignant at our slowness and that even the meek Vega 929 looks reproachfully. Millions of ancestors passed on their work to us. The work of thousands of generations falls as a heavy responsibility upon us. The hosts of the righteous are waiting impatiently for us to continue their work. All creation stretches out its hands to us pleadingly, because we are the connection of times, the bond of the past with the future, a link in the history of the Church. But we are inactive. “Let not the sun go down on your anger” (Eph.4:26), said the Apostle. “And not only in anger,” Anthony the Great picks up after him, “but also in every other sin of yours, because the sun can condemn you for your daily transgression, for a bad thought” 930. Give us strength, Lord, so as not to be condemned by the creature. Return, Lord, our captives. 5. “Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. 6. He who bears the seeds will weep and return with joy, bearing his sheaves.” We would have remained frozen in our powerlessness if the Lord had not given us help. He pushes us, the ignorant, towards goodness and draws us towards Himself, despite our stubbornness. We, who are hesitant to work in His field, and who are slow to do what we need, are encouraged and directed by Him. And one of the means is suffering. We are swimming in the fat of inactivity, having complete contentment, and the Kingdom of God becomes far, far away for us, going somewhere into cold countries. Having received everything, having gotten rid of displeasure, we become alienated from God and are ready to say about Christ: “We don’t know this man” 931. It seems as if he is unnecessary to us. However, without noticing it, we perish. The work of the Lord becomes unimportant to us, and we fall asleep in a well-fed sleep, although our eyes are open. Who doesn’t know for himself how he lost compassion for the hungry after eating his fill of flesh? And hasn’t it happened to each of us, in the warmth, to forget about the cold? Who does not remember how too many pleasures increased his selfishness and heartlessness? How did he forget about God from praise and glory and begin to be proud? And who, on the other hand, does not know for himself that suffering and sorrow are often beneficial. We cannot desire God on our own, but the desire for this desire, the condition for receiving the desire itself, is also from God. Through suffering and sorrow, through tears, for the most part, He arouses in us the desire to desire Him, love for love for Him. Through suffering the mind is awakened and enriched, the will is strengthened through suffering; from them, with an unexpected flash, love for God and man kindles in a purified heart. The one who has suffered is ennobled and purified. And without labor and sorrow, without tears and fasting, even a high-spirited person risks sinking - turning into a piece of meat. Only a person who has gone through suffering is fully human. “Through darkness we come to the light, a thorny path leads to the edge, the desert leads to the promised land, through suffering and rebirth to true life” (Lavater) 932. Watered with tears, the image and likeness of God rises and reveals itself; and constant satiety drowns them out. Pleasure is also blessed - and it is from the Guide of the path of life - but if it is only this, then we suffocate. Blessed is the warmth, but in the heat we relax. The fish extracts some air from the water to breathe; but in the clean air she suffocates and falls asleep. And salt, which is necessary for the body, poisons it in large quantities. Complete success in life is self-will, the heart of a person is puffed up. But the power of God is made perfect in weakness 933. This is why the psalmist says: “Those who sow in tears will reap with joy. Weeping those who bear seeds will return with joy, bearing their sheaves.” Due to our weakness, we would like to get rid of suffering. But we do not know whether they are to our advantage. And we don’t even know whether we need to ask God to remove our suffering. Let us entrust ourselves to the Lord and say to Him: “Into Your hands we commend our spirit. Because Your power, and glory, and Kingdom are Your Truth, and wisdom, and goodness, Lord, and not ours. Let your will be done. Amen". “Get up, my friend, my beauty, come here; because winter has already passed; the rain has passed, passed. Flowers appeared on the ground; the time for singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is already heard in our land, The fig tree's berries are ripe, and the vines give off fragrance as they blossom. Get up, my friend, my beauty, come here; My little dove, sitting in the gorge of the rock, under the roof of the cliff! Show me your face too, let me hear your voice, for your voice is pleasant and your face is lovely” (Song. 2:10–14) 935. This is how the Heavenly Bridegroom calls to Himself His girlfriend - the Church; but she does not go to meet Him, cannot break out of the tower, where evil corruption holds her captive 936. And she does not come out of her shackles, although outside is the fragrant spring of the warm Galilee. And now the Groom is calling His Bride, but our modest spring is even more tender. Lo, the snow melted and talkative streams began to run. Behold, the branches have become tight; the buds are ready to burst from excess vital juices. A rook clucks from a satiny-white birch tree. Golden dandelions jump out of the lush earth. Behold, the whole creation is waking up; the black earth stretches in half sleep, and the azure smiles a shy smile towards the washed sun. Sparkling clouds stretch in lines of white swans across the blue lake. Although for a short time - just a few hours, perhaps, but people became cleaner, the coming May began to sing in everyone’s soul. Look how kind the faces are; as if there were no misunderstandings between people. But what does nature rejoice about, what do we rejoice at? Will not the face of the sky become clouded again, and will not its turquoise be covered with a hopelessly dull cover of clouds? Will not the nourishing bowels of the mother earth dry up again? Will not the autumn wind howl again and will it not tear away from the trees their dull brocade, their crimson robes? And won’t the gold of dying leaves snake along the paths again? The earth rejoices, but the merciless frost freezes it to the heart. A lifeless white shroud will cover her withered chest. And one can’t help but feel as if death and decay are lurking under the cover of nature, as if cool greenery is growing in the swamp. We enjoy spring and life. But are the tears of a mother weeping for her murdered son wiped away? Has the bride forgotten the groom, has she been comforted by each other? No, the bride is still melting away like a pale wax candle, - the hopeless melancholy is still gnawing at the friend’s heart. The mother, who had turned gray with grief, did not stop struggling in powerlessness against the cross over the grave. The whole long-suffering Creature yearns in the chains of corruption; the Bride has not freed itself from the tower of Christ... The beauty of nature did not defeat Death, it only made it more terrible, clothing it in beautiful outfits. The greatness of the spirit did not defeat Death, although the immortal spirit evaded the Inexorable One, retreating into areas inaccessible to it. And when it seemed that all struggle was in vain, Love itself came to the kingdom of Death; and her sting of the Predator broke on the shield. Her claws fell from the Body of the Most Pure One, and she could not keep the Righteous One in captivity. And Christ destroyed Hell, and gave His Bride a guarantee of incorruption, having Himself risen from the dead. The Good Shepherd came and drove away the merciless Death, Himself laying down His soul for His sheep. The Lord revealed Himself and brought the temporal into eternity, Himself descending into our darkened physicality. Matter became deified and shone with unchanging beauty in the Body of Christ. The Universe trembled with an inexplicable thrill. The creature rejoices not in the passing brilliance, but rejoices in the coming radiance. Heaven and earth are filled with unspeakable delight, awaiting endless spring. Look, all nature is adorned with its green emerald: now a seed of enlightenment lurks in it. Having received all her treasures from Christ, she brings them out to meet him. Nowadays beauty is not in vain, for the creation is delivered from corruption; love is not in vain now, for the beloved will not perish without a trace. Our faith and labors of spirit are not in vain, for Christ has risen. In the stream of turbulent events, a focus was found, a fulcrum was discovered: Christ has risen. There is only one certainty: Christ has risen. There is only one thing that suffices for everyone: Christ has risen. If the God-man had not been resurrected, then the whole world would have become complete nonsense; Pilate would have been right with his dismissive: “What is truth?” 937 If the God-man had not been resurrected, then the most priceless would have decayed irrevocably, beauty would have perished irrevocably. If the God-man had not been resurrected, the bridge between earth and heaven would have collapsed forever. And we would be left without both, because we would not know the sky and could not defend the earth from destruction. But He, before whom we are endlessly guilty, rose again, and Pilate and Caiaphas were put to shame. All-consuming Death is consumed by immortality. Truth has triumphed over untruth. The fire of sin is cooled by humility. In vain now is the melancholy of those who love, in vain is the mother wringing her pale hands. For Christ has risen. And the last attacks of Death are in vain. The Creature is trembling in ecstatic joy, rejoicing with bright delight, because Christ has risen and is calling His Bride to Himself: “Get up, my friend, my beauty, come here!” The Bride is still bound, but the rust of her chains eats her up; the great secret of liberation is being accomplished. Behind the cover of the decaying husk the grain of life grows, the depths of creation are secretly renewed, the heart of the earth is purified. The Bride and the Spirit say to the Lamb, “Come,” 938 . Behold, the Bridegroom is already near; behold, he looks through the bars; here he is knocking on the door. The Bride cannot yet lift the bolts, but they are broken and susceptible to the Bridegroom’s blows. The image of the Bride of the Lambs, the Heavenly Jerusalem, has already been inscribed on the hands of God. It sparkles and shines, clear as gold, pure as crystal. And ready to come down to earth, decorated. The locks of the tower where the Bride languishes will break, and the wounded Death the gatekeeper will fall lifeless. Then the Upper Jerusalem will descend into the bowels of the earth. The One sitting on the throne will say: “Behold, I am making all things new” 939. Then the husk will peel off the creature, the image of its corruption will melt away from the Face of Christ, just as the foggy haze dissipates before the gaze of the rising sun 940. Everything inanimate will leave, everything false will float away - it will be carried away in the streams of living water, and the creature will finally be freed from the slavery of corruption. “The earth will give up those who sleep in it, and the ashes of those who silently dwell in it” 941. Like an eggshell from a chick, like the shell of a chrysalis from a butterfly, the rough crust of the earth will fall away, and “then the Bride will appear and, appearing, will appear, now hidden by the earth.” The Bride, glorified and shining with her pristine beauty, will meet the Lamb. “Then God will wipe away every tear from the eyes, and there will be no more death, no more crying, no crying, no more pain; for the former things have passed away.” Our newly formed body is transformed, illuminating with grace. Loved ones and loved ones will meet with spirituality; They will embrace after many years of separation, straightening out after lying in cramped graves. And they won’t be able to look into each other’s eyes enough, shaking hands with a childish smile, silently. They will be in communion with Christ the Lord, Whom, “having not seen, they love” 942 - with whose bright joy we rejoice in anticipation. And there will no longer be anything unclean on that great holiday of the Rebellion of the Darlings, on the Great Easter of the world, but God will be in everyone and in everything 943. Word for the Day of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary Theotokos 944 Should we rejoice today or should we grieve in soul, brethren? Should I speed up my heartbeat joyfully or, conversely, go into the darkness of sadness? Should we celebrate the triumph of the deceased, or should we be torn by our own grief? Our meek Intercessor fell asleep, the quiet Comforter of Sorrows left. The Snow-White Cloud floated off into the blue distance. Who will calm the heat of life? – Let us shed tears together with the Disciples of the Lord. Let's pay for our grief. The Pure Virgin is now with God, the Queen of Heaven is glorified by Christ. The “Highest Angels and Archangels” is raptured into the heavenly world, into the bright azure. “With trembling hearts, let us repeat after the Apostles the ecstatically jubilant “Alleluia!” When a worker leaves home, he takes with him his useful power; When a righteous man dies, his grace-filled power flies away with him. A fragrant flower withers and the meadow loses part of its beauty; a pure virgin departs to the villages above the clouds - and her purity is no longer in the world. But, behold, God took to Himself the Most Righteous and Purest One, and carefully transferred to Paradise the Most Fragrant Flower of the earth, whose very name is fragrance. And the clear Evening Star radiates its sparkle far from us. The angels tremble reverently before Her and flap their wings in joy. The Archangels humbly serve Her. The many-eyed Cherubim and the six-winged Seraphim are amazed, in vain Her glory. And we lost Her. Where is the True Refuge now? The Mother of God fell asleep in quiet peace. Like an Evening Cloud, turning pink in the rays of the Sun-Christ, Her soul floated away into the bottomless blue of the sky. How the Virgin longed for this day of peace, how Her soul burned, longing for the Lord! Resinous brushwood is not devoured by the flames that lick it, as She, the fireproof Bush, is devoured by love for the Eternal... Many times the Mother of God visited the places of suffering and glorification of Her Son. Her meek eyes shed many priceless tears before the Lord’s tomb. Many warm prayers also ascended from the Mount of Olives. But the fervent prayers of the Holy Virgin were not immediately fulfilled. She did not immediately receive the joy of meeting her Son - She, the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven. The world needed her life; through her labors the Church of Christ was built, in which the Ever-Virgin was the living center and truly the heart. For our sake, the Savior hesitated to give what we desired to Her, whose prayers are not hotter, whose sighs are not more holy, and whose sorrow, like a piercing sword, is not and cannot be more fierce. And the Savior loved His Mother so much that in the agony of the cross he thought about Her fate and cared about Her. God loved the world so much that He did not spare His Only Begotten Son and gave him up like a lamb to the slaughter, to suffer on the cross. And the Son, dying under the weight of the sin of the world, did not spare, for the sake of the world, His most beloved Mother, and allowed the sword of sorrow to pierce Her - for all - grieving heart. Woe to us who reject this endless love! What will we replace it with, what lures of the world will we be able to drown out the cries of repentance - alas! – too late? It is sweet for us when our love is returned to us with love, when courtesy meets its own kind. But we are cold and indifferent, evil and vicious, although God, without waiting for our reciprocal love, gives the best that He has - His Beloved Son - when the Son of God gives His Mother. Where should we lower our gaze when we appear before the Supreme Judge? What color will our face be filled with? Who do we turn to:... The time of languor and expectation stretched out in a long line. They walked at an even pace for many years. The Mother of God grew more and more exhausted by the flame of love, and yearned more and more for the sweetest meeting with her Son. One day, fifteen days before the day of the Assumption, the prayers of the Mother of God, who was shedding tears on the rocks of Olivet, were interrupted by the radiant Messenger. This is Gabriel the Archangel, who guarded the Most Pure One all his life and served Her, appeared as on the day of the Annunciation, and again on the day of the Bright Resurrection. He appeared now, crying out to the Blessed One for the third time: “Rejoice!” - and bringing Her the long-awaited news of the Assumption. With joy, the Mother of God began to prepare for her repose. Three days before the desired peace, Gabriel again came down to Her as a messenger and presented her with a palm branch, which had long served as a sign of victory, now an extraordinary victory, over Death. For this branch, shining with an unearthly light, meant that corruption would not touch Mary’s most pure body and that it would rise soon, as if after a quiet sleep. “Rejoice, O Gracious One,” the heavenly Guest said to Her in reverence. “Your Son is waiting for You, Your desire will be fulfilled, and the Lord Himself will accept Your soul.” The Unbrided Bride bowed to the ground, thanking the Lord. “I was not worthy to accept You, My Lord, into My womb, if You Yourself had not had mercy on Me, Your servant.” And, having said this, the Mother of God began to ask the Almighty for help in her hour of death - the Most Pure One prayed to save Her. And when She prayed, the surrounding trees bowed their tops. Returning home, illuminated by heavenly light, She notified Her adopted Son, the seer John, about Her imminent death, showed him the palm branch brought by the heavenly Messenger, commanding him to carry it before the tomb, cleaned up Her upper room and bed, and gathered her loved ones. The only thing missing was the Apostles. They were friends of Her Son; It was hard for the Mother of God to leave the earth without saying goodbye to them, She, who united the Church in Herself with the Trumpets of the Holy Spirit - (Apostles) 945. And She fervently prayed for a meeting with them, as well as for a peaceful death. The purest prayer did not go in vain. When the Ever-Virgin, shining with joy and heavenly splendor, blessed friends and relatives, consoled those present, and promised not to leave them and to pray for them, - at that time She had the opportunity to meet with the Apostles. Suddenly a thunderous noise was heard, just like at Pentecost, when the Comforter poured out on the Church, and, caught up by angelic armies, the holy Annunciators were transported on light clouds from different places in the universe to the house of the Mother of God. They hugged joyfully; but a sad shadow came upon their date. The hearts of the Lord's Disciples were embarrassed when they realized that they had to part with the Mother of their Lord, their Friend, their Mentor. “We looked at You as our Lord and Teacher Himself,” they said to Her: “how can we now bear the sorrow of our hearts when we lose You?” And, saying this, they shed tears. And the Mother of God motherly consoled them and blessed them. The day of the Assumption has arrived. And so, when She, illuminated by the grace of God, lay on her bed and waited in prayer for Her longed-for death, a light suddenly shone in the upper room, so that the candles dimmed and the space was filled with brilliance. The King of Glory Christ Himself, with the Heavenly Powers, came down to receive the soul of His Mother. Then the Virgin Mary sang, filled with jubilation: “My soul magnifies the Lord, And My spirit rejoiced in God, My Savior, “Look at the humility of His Servant,” she sang a song of praise, carried throughout her life in her heart and tirelessly sung with her lips, “and she bowed to the Lord, begging him to accept Her spirit and protect her from dark forces. Christ consoled and encouraged Her with the most tender words. “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready,” the Humble One joyfully repeated and, adding: “Be with me today according to Your word,” she reclined on the bed. Her quiet soul passed through illness and suffering and flew into the hands of the Lord, whom She once accepted into Herself with the same words: “Be to Me according to Your word.” The shining body of the Most Pure One, fragrant and fragrant with the spring sun, remained without incorruption or decay, just as it once gave birth to the Lord incorruptibly. And Christ ascended with his soul. The send-off of the body was accompanied by signs and wonders. The high priests and stiff-necked Jews were angry in vain; they tried in vain to prevent the burial. Invisible forces protected the Most Pure Body from evil hands. For three days the Apostles did not leave the tomb, listening to the singing of the angels glorifying God and pleasing the Virgin Mary. Only Thomas was not with them. But then he appeared, shedding tears and sad that he did not say goodbye to the Mother of Christ. The other Apostles wanted to ease his grief and decided to roll away the stone from the tomb of the Mother of God so that Thomas would give the last kiss. But, having rolled away the stone, to their horror, they found the coffin empty: only the shrouds of the Buried One lay in it. The apostles were at a loss. But the bewilderment was destined to dissipate on the same day. In the evening, when the evangelists of Christ gathered for the meal of love and, according to their custom, offered up part of the bread in memory of the Lord, glorifying the “great Name of the Most Holy Trinity,” angelic singing was heard. Their first natural movement was to raise their eyes in the direction of the sounds. And then, amazed, they saw the Most Holy Virgin in the air, surrounded by radiance and heavenly powers. “Rejoice! - said the Blagodatnaya. “I am with you all the days.” In great joy they cried out: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us!” This is how the Church learned about the resurrection of Mary. It would not be typical for the one who remained a Virgin by birth to remain dead after death. She is alive and glorified, walking above the clouds, among the lilies of paradise, united forever with the Son. But while we rejoice at Her joy, shouldn’t we be saddened by our own sadness? After all, today the heavens are stretching out their bowels to receive into themselves She who accepted Heaven itself into Her bowels. And our celebration seems to turn into a day of separation, Her triumphant speeches into lamentations and bitter thoughts about our own fate. Return to us, Virgin of the Pacified, sail as a Snow-White Cloud, shade the cool, sultry life, pacify the burning passions. We have no other help and no other hope except You, Mother of God. Have you really left the restless world? Cover us with Your pacifying Veil. Remember, Faithful Refuge, Your promise - to be with us all the days, not to forget us, to pray for us to Christ our God, with whom You have now met. Cleanse us, Dove Purity, fragrance us, Fragrant Flower. Illuminate with a clear ray of Unexpected Joy, help, Helper of sinners! Comfort, Consolation to All Who Sorrow! Remember, remember, Warm Intercessor, Your promise to “visit and protect the world”! But an answering voice sounds in the heart: “If you are waiting for the Mother of God, do not insult Her. If you want Her help, do not offend Her. Will she, the Purest One, be with the unclean? Will she, the Meekest, come to the angry? Will she, the Quiet One, help the vain? But My Mother will forgive you all this too. You yourself let Her help, don’t drive Her away. For any sin, help is possible. But how can I help you when you yourself don’t want it, when you don’t feel the need for help? The stars are drowned out by daylight, and only from a deep well can you see them during the day. Only from the depths of humility will you see the light of Divine help. Look at the example of the One you call upon.” And, looking around, I see a Virgin from the royal and bishop’s family, descended from King David on her father’s side, and from the high priest on her mother’s side. I see Twice Foretold by the Angel, as the chosen vessel of God, Honored since childhood by elderly righteous parents. I see someone who spent most of her youth at the church, in a terrible and mysterious place, who lived in the presence of the Glory of God. I see One Who was served by the Heavenly Powers, who brought Her good news from God, I see One who fed on heavenly food. Here is the Bride of the Holy Spirit, here is the One who gave birth to God. Wise kings come with gifts to worship Her Son. The branches of the trees bow before Her. Idols fall on their faces at Her approach. Honor and respect surround Her as the Beloved Mother of the True God, who works wonders and signs, as the center of the Church, as the universal Intercessor. Surrounded by miraculous phenomena during life, glorified after death, resurrected and ascended - here She is, the Queen of the Universe. Here She is, the Queen of Heaven, exalted above all creation, above Angels and Archangels, above Cherubim and Seraphim. If we are proud of our wealth and our honor in society, then what could the Mother of God think of herself? If we become arrogant with our successes, then how could the Virgin Mary become proud? If our knowledge tickles our pride, then where is the measure of exaltation of the One Who carried the secrets of Heaven in Herself? But the more reasons She had to be proud, the more humble Her soul was, the more opportunities to hold Herself arrogantly and luxuriously, the poorer and more modest Her life. Couldn’t the Mother of the One, according to whose word the gold was in the fish’s mouth, ask for luxury and contentment for herself? Couldn’t the Virgin, before whom the Angels revere, have begged the Son to give Her a whole host of servants? Wouldn't the Queen of Heaven have received vast lands and royal splendor from the Creator of the universe? However, all her life the Virgin Mary studied and worked, from the age of three she was accustomed to reading the Word of God, to skilled embroidery, to weaving, spinning and other handicrafts; She dressed herself and her son, and gifted others with her work. “There was no pride in Her, but simplicity without the slightest pretense. There was no effeminacy, but complete humility in everything,” writes Saint Epiphanius of Cyprus about Her. Dressed in glory and light, She dressed in simple and even undyed clothes. Bride of God - She became engaged to poor old Joseph, a simple carpenter. Having spent Her youth at the temple, in the most sacred place in the world, She then settled among the pagans and infidels despised by the arrogant Jews, in the last of the regions - in poor Galilee, and, moreover, in the wretched and despised town of Nazareth. And under what neglect Galilee and, in particular, Nazareth were, this can be seen from the sayings of the vain Jerusalemites: “A prophet does not come from Galilee” 946 and “Can anything good come from Nazareth” 947. The Most Pure Virgin worked with Her hands, like any poor woman. It is known that She spun and weaved, and walked on water with a jug. You have to think, She had to cook and wash. The poverty of the Holy Family is witnessed by many. Now, it has no place to stay when it comes to Bethlehem. The saint gives birth to God in a cave that served as a stable for cattle, and the Child, who has the whole earth as Her footstool, She has nowhere to lay except in a manger to which an ox and a donkey are tied. Behold, wise kings with mysterious gifts come from afar to bow to the Newborn, but there is nowhere to receive the guests. However, their faith was not shaken by the stable. They probably expected to see the King of Glory in the royal palaces, among his retinue, guarded by soldiers; they probably believed that they would be amazed by the precious clothes, the pomp of wealth and bliss. But they appeared to the Infant of God in a dirty and pitiful den, and with faith, beholding His heavenly royalty, they did not turn away, but humbly fell to the ground before Him, perhaps soiling their robes. Forty days after giving birth, every Jewish woman had to cleanse herself by making a sacrifice and praying to the priest. And according to the law, they sacrificed a lamb, and only the poor were allowed to sacrifice two turtle doves. And so, the Most Pure Virgin, out of her inexplicable humility, goes to cleanse herself, as if She, who conceived without sin and gave birth without illness, needed cleansing. She does not want to flaunt Her purity and carries with Her the sacrifice of the poor, sanctifying blessed poverty with Her sacrifice. She who gives us the law of life meekly submits to the yoke of the law, and the Purest One takes the place of unclean women. The surroundings of Her life were poor and shabby. But even greater was the humility of the Mother of God in her relationship with God and people. This is how Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer portrays the Mother of the Lord: “In persecution and troubles She is always cheerful; in need and poverty he is not upset; He not only does not get angry with those who insult Her, but even does good to them; in prosperity meek; she is merciful to the poor and helps them as much as she can; stands firmly for the faith against its enemies... loves the humble most of all, because She is filled with humility... Her patience is inexhaustible when the Jewish teachers and Pharisees mock Her.” And here is how Saint Ambrose of Milan speaks of the Most Pure One: “She was a virgin not only in the flesh, but also in the spirit. Her heart was full of humility; She was wise in words, not quick in conversations; always busy reading; she is cheerful in her work, chaste in conversation, as if she were always talking with God and not with people. She did not offend anyone, on the contrary, she wished the best for everyone, did not despise anyone, not even the most wretched person; I didn’t laugh at anyone, but I saw only goodness in everything.” And here is another testimony - Saints Epiphanius and Nicephorus: “In every matter She was filled with meek importance and constant. She spoke very little, only about what was necessary and good, and Her words were sweet; willingly listened to others and gave everyone due respect. In her conversations she offered everyone only what was necessary and decent; I never laughed or became indignant. Her manner was meek and without anger...” Even in her youth, She desired to be the last slave of That Virgin, Who, according to prophecy, was destined to give birth to Christ. Since childhood, illuminated by holiness, Mary asked God to just see this Virgin. But Her trust in Bot was so great that in response to the Archangel’s gospel she said without a doubt: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be with me according to your word." These words of obedience are most characteristic of the Holy Virgin. “Behold the servant of the Lord. Be with me according to your word." The Lord is holy and sinless. So holy that all our holiness is nothing before Him, and our light fades in His rays, and all our calculations are lies compared to His infinite Reason. I know that everything that deviates from the will of God is bad compared to the good things He has prepared, and emptiness before His Truth, no matter how good and right it may seem to us. I humble myself before Him, surrendering myself into His most pure hands. Let His will be done, be done to Me according to His word. It will be better that way. This is what the Virgin Mary thought all her life, and with such thoughts She fell asleep in the three-day sleep of the grave. “My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; wake Me today according to Your word,” She said to the Lord Jesus, breathing out her last breath. The Holy Virgin Mary invariably remembered God, tirelessly humbled herself before His Holy will; She attributed her greatness, incomprehensible to any creature, not to Herself, but to God’s All-Good Omnipotence. When Her elderly relative Elizabeth greeted Her, calling Her the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary did not become proud, but she did not, out of proud self-abasement, refuse praise. “Yes, God blessed Me,” She seemed to say, “but this is His Holy will. I praise Him and thank Him for the fact that He looked upon the humility of His servant. He scattered the arrogant, cast down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble. He gave good things to those who were hungry, but to those who thought themselves rich He sent them away empty-handed.” The Mother of God recognized only humility as Her personal dignity. Everything else is from the Lord. And not just this time She thought so. Throughout her life she showed that she was not arrogant or proud of Her high lot. And how can you be proud of someone else’s, God’s? Isn’t such self-exaltation theft from God? Behold, the marriage in Cana of Galilee. Mary with Her Son - at a feast, visiting a poor family - poor, because even on the solemn day of marriage he did not have enough wine for those invited. And Mary, seeing the embarrassment of the hosts, takes care of them and carefully points out to Her Son the lack of wine, believing that He will save the hosts from the embarrassment. Church tradition tells, among many others, about another full of instructive example of how attentively the Holy Virgin treated people. Her Son's friend, favored by Him, Lazarus of four days, became a bishop on the island of Cyprus after the Ascension of the Lord. Lazarus wants to see the Mother of His Friend and Benefactor, but he is afraid of persecution by the Jews, who were angry at this living evidence of the Lord’s power over death itself; and because of his fear, Lazarus does not dare to go to Jerusalem, to the Virgin Mary. Having heard about his desire, the Mother of God, depressed by many worries and sorrows, being more than fifty years old, boards a ship and undertakes a dangerous sea voyage, just to bring the joy of meeting Lazarus and bring him the omophorion and entrustment of Her work as a gift. Humble, the Most Pure Virgin did not refuse the difficult feats of evangelism and, being the Mother of the Lord, along with His disciples, took her lot when the Apostles distributed the countries of the world among themselves, with the intention of preaching the Light of Truth in them. But let us not multiply the examples of humility shown by Humility Himself. Let’s just say in response to our question: “Should we rejoice or be sad at the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary?” If we want the help of the Gracious One, then let us strive to be like Her. And then, having humbled ourselves, we will rejoice in the exaltation of the Humble One, for She promised to remain with us all the days. But let us weep bitterly, brethren, if we have not tasted the fragrant humility: the meek Virgin has left us to our own will! “O all-sung Mother of the Immortal King of heaven and earth, Christ our God, who lives even after death... in this life and in our mortal dormition, deliver us from all adversity, troubles and torment, and grant us, the Queen, the Heavenly Kingdom, crying out for You: Alleluia” 948. The village of Tolpygino, Kostroma province. [Note materials] No. 114 949 Community-Church and Church-Church 1. In Russian - “church”, in Greek ἐκκλησία, in French “l’Eglise”, in German “die Kirche”, in English (Omission in the text). This coincidence of names for the church, as a meeting of believers, and for the building that serves as a gathering place, is quite remarkable. It points to the idea that, gathering in church, the church community is primarily the Church, because unity in prayer is the main and most valuable unity of all unities - the goal for which all others serve as means; a color that grows out of other relationships set in their truth. This is understandable. After all, the original (genetically, historically) unity is religious - family, clan, tribe. Social functions are initially not revealed and not separated aspects of religious creativity; but, having emerged from their indifferent unity, in synthesis they must again join religious creativity, but as independently serving forces. 2. The church is the almost exclusive place for the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. All other sacraments can be performed in other places. But the Eucharist, or at least the preparation for it, is closely connected with the church. We can say that he is a tabernacle of gigantic size. If the liturgy is celebrated in another place on the antimension, then, willy-nilly, it will be necessary to hastily build there what has already been done in the church - the throne, altars, etc., but only in an insufficiently differentiated, and therefore insufficiently convenient, form. It will be the same church, but only in a different place. 3. Church 950 in the village is a place of communication - the only place. There is no secular hut, nowhere is there sufficient and unoccupied space. Even in the summer, back and forth: you can gather on the rubble. But if it were not for the Church, then in winter there would be complete disunity. They meet near the church, and after the service they meet in the Church. But community in the Church acquires a special meaning, double, as a religious community, in the “tabernacle”, where the members of the church primarily become members of the Body of Christ. 4. The church is the only place where there can now be neither poor nor rich, neither smart nor stupid, neither masters nor servants, where now everyone can actually be brothers - at least for a few hours. The Lord's Table is the only table at which all can be together. 4,951. The church provides an opportunity to concentrate for prayer. The home environment is disturbing. And in addition, its familiarity leads to familiar thoughts. The atmosphere creates a mood by association. This is the furnishings of the church, the icons, for example. 5,952. They say there is no need for icons. But icons are a portrait of God, His Most Pure Mother, St. pleasers. They probably try to get their own portrait when they can, but they don’t need a portrait of God. Good love. Father Daniel 953 in the Vvedensky Skete told me the same thing about Tolstoy: “He places his photographs in magazines and newspapers, but there is no need for a portrait of God... He calls God a deceiver... And he says that he loves God...” Father Daniel, as a portrait artist, is especially indignant at the heresy of iconoclasm. 6. They say the church is boring. Boring because they don't understand the services. Dropped out of school. He's boring because they don't care about him. So he seems not one of us, but a stranger. If they took care of it, at least brought flowers as greenery for decoration, if they made the church their own, took more part in the efforts to improve it, then it would not be boring. After all, your own hut is not boring. It is poorer, less beautiful, and less sacred than the church. But it’s not boring, because they consider the hut to be theirs, and the church is not theirs, not the community’s, but someone else’s, either a priest or a police officer. You leave the House of God, and God leaves your Houses. You don’t want to come to visit God, to eat at His table; you don’t want to communicate with Him. Well then. God loves freedom - “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” says the Apostle. He will not forcefully pull you towards Him, will not impose itself, and will not come to visit you. Christ called the Jews to Himself, did not reject anyone, promising to reassure them with Himself: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” But when they did not come to Him, He did not forcefully 954. The Jews abandoned Him, and He abandoned them: “Behold, I leave your house empty. You will not see the Son of Man until you exclaim: “Blessed is he who comes...”.” Homily on the Sunday of the Worship of the Cross 955 “We worship Your Cross, Master!..” But why does the painter deceive us? Is this the Cross on which Your body was dishonored in front of thousands of onlookers? That gallows, shameful to the point of temptation, to the point of madness in the eyes of the whole world? Did You hang there so calmly and gracefully, bloodied? Was it out of reverence for Your execution, out of pity for us, that the painter covered the tormented Face with quiet reconciliation? And our crafty conscience is ready to accept false reassurance?! The cry of despair is ready to dissolve into the lulling “cherubim”?! It won't happen! With rough hands, evil people grabbed You, scourged You, slapped You, beat You with a stick, satiating their brutality. The drunken police of Jerusalem mocked You, the impudent servants of the spiritual and secular leaders laughed at Your words, thousands of malicious eyes drank into Your torment with indifferent curiosity. They spat on You, they scratched You, they reviled You, whoever had the ingenuity to do so - everyone cursed, starting from the Bishop, Caesar's protege, and ending with the last slave; even he, with a slap in the face of the Sufferer, hastens to curry favor with his boorish zeal before his master. At the end of all, with hands that know murder and depraved embraces, the police soldiers, the executioner soldiers tore off the clothes that were stuck with blood from Your sinless members. It was scary to look at your tormented body with muscles and veins revealed. With abrasions, bruises and bruises, with dried blood, it was naked in front of thousands of brutal people, who just yesterday roared throughout the whole city: “Crucify, crucify Him!” The screams and whoops of the bloodthirsty crowd, excited by the patriotic bishops and patriotic priests, were still in my ears. And now, when rough nails were driven into Your hands and feet, when with the hammer blows of the ominous clouds, as if in horror, they covered the sky, the zealots of the fatherland became more and more insane in their outrage. In an inexpressible thirst, with a tearing cry, You gave up your spirit, abandoned by sinful people and abandoned for their sin by the righteous God. Like a black curtain, sudden darkness hid from human eyes the last picture of the heaviest and most purifying of tragedies. The godless deed, the murder of the Son of God as a rebel corrupting the people, was accomplished. And this lesson, it would seem, should fill the soul of every king, every ruler, every priest, every patriot, every indulger in murder with horror of violent death. By His execution Christ put an end to every execution. By His condemnation, Christ condemned every ruler of other people’s lives. The tormented Face of the Savior should have risen as an eternal reproach of conscience at the mere thought of the possibility of murder and violence. Now let us fast forward through the 19th centuries to the most Christian center of what considers itself the most Christian of states. The Holy Name is repeated every day by millions of lips. Millions of eyes read on the pages of the Gospel the story of human shame, an eternal reminder of conscience about our guilt before God. In thousands of churches, an atoning sacrifice is offered for us, which is “the judgment of this world” (John 12:31), in which there is both justification and condemnation. To work tirelessly for the cause of Christ, to give everything, to endure everything, and yet, alternately with the joy of reconciliation, to blush and turn pale from the consciousness of an irreparable terrible deed, from the memory of one’s shame, to fight day and night until illness, until death, until the blood of martyrs - this, and no other, should be the fate of a people who imagines being Christ-bearing. But “I look at the earth, and there is destruction and emptiness on it; into the heavens, and there is no light from them” (Jer. 4:23). Waves of blood flood the homeland. Her sons are dying in the thousands - they are hanged, shot, and the prisons are filled with thousands. The times of the godless King John have returned. Under the guise of “pacification”, peaceful peasants and workers are beaten. People who do not have a piece of bread are shot by those who live off their labors. Women and children are not even spared - they are raped and insulted at every step. They mock in insane brutality. They executed Christ, and people were silent and did not defend Him. They torment His body - and we are again, again immersed in shameless, selfish indulgence of murderers and rapists. It’s scary to even think about those who, perhaps, secretly sympathize with them in this holy place. Or have you forgotten that it is our brothers who are beaten, that he who does not love his brother lies when he speaks of his love for God. Look, even atheists are better than Orthodox Christians: they at least love their brothers, but Christians love neither God nor their brothers. Don’t you understand that again and again Christ is shot and hanged and beaten and desecrated? Don't you understand that every shot is aimed at the body of Christ? Don’t you know that each of our brothers and sisters is a member of the body of Christ? Or have you forgotten that a Christian eats St. communion? Which of you would be so vile as to allow a Cossack to shoot at the Crucified Lord? Who would not obscure Christ with his breast? But is it really possible to shoot at Him just because Christ is not visible? So to speak, aim point-blank, right at the chest, close your eyes and pull the trigger? This is all happening before our eyes, before the eyes of Christians! And we remain silent, we keep silent, we all wash our hands... not with water, like Pilate, but with blood, for now there is no water that is not mixed with blood, there is no water that would wash away the blood from Rus', except for Living Water alone. The blood of the murdered cries out to God, and the holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist is poured out with it. The groans of the tortured and killed, those killed without repentance, the cries of the prisoners and the insulted rush to the altar of the Almighty and drown out all our prayers there. The tears and sobs of thousands of mothers and sisters interfere with our chants. God cannot be with us: the blood shed has risen up to our necks; Soon we will drown in the ocean of our own crimes. People are being killed, Christians are being tortured. It’s a pity, unbearable... But the other thing, brothers and sisters, the other thing is more terrible. Christians kill, Christians torture, Orthodox Christians shed blood everywhere, and even among the golden domes of White Stone. Some do not believe God and the Savior that killing is a great sin, while others do not listen to His Apostle, who commands us to reprove and instruct one another, and forget that without this they are responsible for the sins of others. Don’t you see that by your indulgence you are increasing sin? Or do you think that he who obeys the atheist, who listens to the hypocritical Christian in his bloodthirsty plans, is clean from murder? Is this how the martyrs suffered? Do you think that he who does not kill with his own hand is clean from blood? The Lord asks you, where are your brothers? Do you think you can get away with Cain’s answer: “Are we our brothers’ keepers?” No, “the soul of those who are killed cries out” ( Job 24:2 ) against you. It is no longer I who say, but the Lord God: “Your hands are defiled with blood and your fingers with iniquity: your mouth speaks lies, your tongue utters lies. No one will raise his voice against unrighteousness, and no one will be judged by the truth” (Is. 56). And now, walking through puddles of blood, we hypocritically fast and falsely repent! We bring silver pieces with blood stains to the church mug! “Hear the word of the Lord, O rulers of Sodom! When you come to appear before me, who demands of you that you trample my courts? Bring no more hypocritical gifts... When you stretch out your hands, I withdraw my gaze from you; even when you pray a lot, I don’t hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash yourself, cleanse yourself; learn to do good” (Isa. 1). “Do not rely on the deceptive words of those who say: here is the church of the Lord, the church of the Lord, the church of the Lord... If you do not offend the stranger, the orphan and the widow, you will not shed innocent blood in this place... Then I will leave you to live in this place... So you trust in deceptive words, which are of no use to you.” You commit thousands of crimes. “Then come and stand before My face in this house, which is called by My name, and say: We are saved from committing all these abominations again. Has this house become a den of thieves in your eyes, which is called by My Name: Behold, I Myself see it, says the Lord” (Jer. 7, 4, 6:8-11). Thus says the Lord God: “Every day they seek me and desire to know my ways, as a people who do what is right and do not forsake the law of their God; they ask Me about the judgments of righteousness and want to get closer to God: “Why, they say, do we fast, but You don’t see, we torment ourselves, but You don’t know?” Here you are, fasting in order to argue and quarrel and in order to beat others with an ungodly hand; but do not fast as you do now, so that your voice may be heard. Isn’t this the fast that pleases Me, so that you dissolve the covenant of unrighteousness, loose the shackles of slavery, give freedom to the oppressed and break every yoke” (Is. 58:1-7) Oh, Holy Rus', suffering the beatings of its sons! Oh, Orthodox people, even in Lent, who do not stop executions, who mock the torment of the Savior before Holy Week! Look, Holy Rus', you wouldn’t end up with Judas and Cain! Look, Orthodox people, don’t be a disgrace to history! “Even though you wash yourself with lye and use a lot of soap on yourself, your wickedness will remain a stain before Me,” says the Lord God (Jer. 2:35). “The blood of the poor, the innocent is visible on your clothes (2-34); You say: I am innocent, may His wrath pass from me. But behold, I will sue you for what you say: I have not sinned” (Jer. 2:35). It would be blasphemy to St. The Eucharist, how long, through our negligence, will it flow into St. I cup human blood. We will accept St. into court, into condemnation, into terrible condemnation. The mysteries of the Lord, until the atrocities in the church cease, until its members, from the king and his assistants to the last beggar, will, with our connivance, remain unconvicted. Your prayers are hypocritical, until we churchly repent of the atrocities that are happening, until we beg forgiveness for ourselves through many funeral services from those beaten by our connivance. Our archpastors are silent, as if it is not their business to expose the guilty children of the church, since only they are strong. Let us not condemn the archpastors for their silence: we ourselves are to blame for our silence: we have forgotten about the body of Christ; Christ punished us as shepherds. But let us all, certainly all of us, pray unfailingly for them and for them, so that their hearts will light up with courage. Or they don’t know that “the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” Or do they think that we have completely renounced Christ’s covenants, abandoned them, and will not follow them into God’s work, perhaps into suffering? Yes, they forgot if they tolerate communication with the church from murderous bosses who do not want to know either God or justice, if they do not impose penance on murderous subordinates who curry favor with them. Yes, the shepherds have forgotten their job if they do not call everyone to repentance, if they do not force those who carry out massacres to repent, if they allow the bloody lips of rapists to touch the saint. Participles. They will say: “But some of those who kill do not believe in God.” “Maybe they punished themselves, left the church themselves.” Then let them not use the church’s sanctification of their power, let them declare themselves Antichrists. But others believe? The job of pastors is to instruct and forbid their children, who declare their Orthodoxy at every hour. Some have excommunicated themselves from the Church, but others consider themselves its children. Why do shepherds allow blood to be shed? Others don't believe. - What do you care about that? You believe, you follow Christ. You do not kill, you do not allow the murderer to hide behind the Church, to sanctify his sin in the Name of the Holy. Now, when I was thinking about all this, again, on the Sunday of the Cross, slowly, deliberate, cold-blooded murders, nurtured for weeks, took place. People interfered with God's decisions and took lives. Those imprisoned can be released, those bound can be untied, those deprived of rights can be rewarded with rights. But no amount of repentance, no amount of effort can bring back the life of the executed person. An irreversible and irrevocable deed has been accomplished - the human anticipation of God's judgment is a godless deed. The possibility of repentance was cut short, and a new sin fell on our heads. God Himself placed a sign on the forehead of Cain, the fratricide, so that someone would not kill him, so that the murderer would not receive eightfold revenge. And so, when from all over Russia there was talk about the abolition of execution, when scientists and unscientists, men and women, girls and teenagers, cooks and ladies, men and writers, all layers of society, not excluding the military, gave their echoes to the terrible thing that was being prepared, the Orthodox Church again did not stop the bloodshed, again - and this on the Week of the Cross! – she remained silent. The Church is the most precious thing on earth for us, a bridge to heaven; and it turned out to be impassable. But the voice of the brother’s blood cries to the Lord. During the liturgy they bring out St. The cup, but a heavy drop of blood fell into it. Be careful not to take on your soul the new sins of those killed. The Church did not reject them during their lifetime. How can she reject them now, how can she not pray for the murdered? We must pray more than once or twice for the souls of those killed, for the souls of those executed. Be careful that the words of the Lord Jesus do not come true over us: “May all the righteous blood shed on earth come to you, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachi, whom you killed between the church and the altar.” Let this pass from us, Lord Jesus! Do not let the new Pharisees mock Your death again when Your sufferings are remembered. With a pure heart, give us “to bow down to Thy Cross.” Amen. Word for the consecration of the church 956 Don't you know that you are the church of God and the spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys the church of God, God will punish him, for the church of God is holy; and this church is you. Do you, Orthodox Christians, delve into the power of these words of the Apostle Paul? Are you aware of the honor and greatness recognized for you? If a nobleman or a king said: “I am the church of God, the Spirit of God lives in me” - and demanded appropriate honor for himself, then we would consider him crazy. And now every poor person can boldly turn to the king and nobles, remembering the words of the Apostle: “I am the church of God; The Spirit of God lives in me,” and demand appropriate care for yourself. All of you, created in the image of God, are appointed to be the living church of the living God. And this stone church is only a likeness of that living church - a person. You, attentive listeners, are raised to an inordinate height, exalted with inexpressible honor. But the higher the honor, the higher the requirements. Noble birth is not compatible with low actions. Just as it is not proper for a king to walk around in dirty clothes, so it is not proper for you, who are placed above any king, to soil yourself, the living church of God. What would you say if they started bringing sewage into this stone church? Wouldn't you grumble at the desecration of a holy place? But each of you is more than this stone church, for the church is for man, and not man for the church. And how much more vile is the desecration of this greater, miraculous temple of the Holy Spirit. But do not tolerate the abomination of desolation in the holy place. Do not expel the Spirit that dwells in it, do not desecrate your church, do not bring into it spiritual uncleanness - a thousand times more fetid than bodily uncleanness. Do not let sin turn your church into a dark den of invisible thieves, stealing the treasures of God from the church, the rulers of the darkness of this world, the spirits of wickedness in heaven. Respect, honor, keep the church of God within yourself, do not offend the Spirit of God living in you by resisting His will. Disciples of Jesus! You are friends of the Lord, because the Lord called His disciples friends. Are you really so exalted, will you still remain inattentive to each other - to the friend of the Lord Himself? Think about whose friends you are - and you will begin to respect the church of God in each other, and be afraid of ruining it with seductive examples, evil suggestions and slander. If it is a great sin to steal an icon, that is, the image of God, written on wood, from this stone church, then how much greater a sin is to steal the image of God from a living church, from the human heart. If it is a sin to desecrate this stone church, then how much greater is it to desecrate a living church. And remember: the crime will not go unpunished. If you stand up for your friends when they are robbed, will the Lord leave His friends without help when the greatest of treasures is taken from them and desecrated! God will strike and destroy the defiler; God will take revenge on the thief for His holy church. Remember, brothers, that you are the sacred church of God. Raise this thought in your mind constantly like a magnificent banner, and it will root out your vices: “In this way you will conquer.” Now the stone body of the Tolblginsky church is being consecrated. We rejoice and celebrate. It seems as if a great work is being done before the Lord. But remember where this church was built? - Not under the sky? “And “heaven is my throne,” says the Lord. Isn't it on earth? “And “the earth is the footstool of My feet,” says the Almighty! What is our church for the Lord? Doesn’t the beauty of the azure skies and the splendor of golden fields exceed the beauty and richness of the decorations we have made? Doesn’t the fragrance of flowers successfully compete with our incense, and the light of the stars, moon and sun with our lamps and candles? And by comparing the work of God with the work of man, we involuntarily pacify our pride. But think about another church, about God-created man. Surrounded by deep darkness and silent mystery, the body of a child is woven in the mother’s womb. Thousands of threads and fibers are woven together as if into a marvelous lace. The individual members are coordinated with each other in their actions and are so adjusted to each other, they so unmistakably reach the goal of their purpose, as no other machine has. And the whole body, with all its wheels, springs and cogs, is subordinate to the main charioteer, the mind, which steers the body in one direction or the other and consults with the driver’s conscience - the voice of the Lord Himself. This is what a church of the Spirit is not made by hands! In Holy Baptism he was consecrated. By partaking of the Holy Gifts, you serve the Liturgy in it, inextricably uniting your body with the body of the Lord, making yourself a cell of the Universe of the Church. These are the living churches this stone church is full of. But we are proud of the latter, we rejoice in it. And we rightly rejoice - not because the Almighty would need this church, but because we need it for prayer meetings and for the sacraments. But, rejoicing and proud of human work, we must place God’s work all the more highly. While cleaning and washing one church, we must also cleanse the other church; When praying in a stone house, we must not forget that the other is even more a house of prayer. And by assigning guards to one, they are even more careful to protect the other from theft. Speech before the start of the prayer service for the presentation of the icon of the Sweetener by the Tolpyginsky parish [to benefactor Pelagia Nikolaevna] 957 Pelageya Nikolaevna! You have probably noticed how important a place women occupy in the gospel narrative. Women's hands laid the Newborn Lord in a manger; the same hands worked over the body of the Crucified One during His burial. And according to legend, the same hands - the hands of the Virgin Mary - ruled the Church after the Ascension of the Lord. “But this is the Mother of God,” you say. Then I’ll remind you of other women. From different places in St. books you can see their help to the Lord Jesus, their care for Him. And the simplicity with which the narrator mentions them involuntarily inclines the idea that these are not exceptional sparks, but examples of the constant flame of female love. Behold, the housewife sisters, Mary and Martha, receive the Lord in their home (John 12:2). Behold, the mother-in-law of the Apostle Peter treats the Lord when He and his disciples come to Peter’s house (Matthew 8:15; Mark 1:31). Behold, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward? and Susanna and many others serve Him with their wealth and share His pilgrimage with Him (Luke 8:3). Here, more women who followed Christ from Galilee, who served Him during His preaching, look at His death on the cross (Matthew 27:55–56). Here, more women - they were the first to believe in His resurrection, they were the first to be honored by the Lord to see Himself, and they were the first to preach the gospel of “mortification of death,” while the apostles themselves did not believe (John 20:1, etc.). The Lord has ascended, and women are transferring their concern to His work, to the Church. How many times does the holy Apostle Paul, next to his co-workers and assistants, remember with warm gratitude his co-workers and assistants, some of them occupy church positions. We meet the presbyter or elder. We meet some special elected “widows”. These “widows” were chosen from among sixty-year-old women who had been married only once. A candidate for “widowhood” had to be “known for good deeds, having raised children, receiving strangers, washing the feet of the Christian community, helping the poor and diligent in every good word” (1 Tim. 5:10). In other places they are called gerontissas - “old women”, deaconesses - “servants”. Look at the touching example of the Christian couple Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2). The Apostle Paul lived for some time in the city of Corinth in their house. Both husband and wife become co-workers of the apostle and set up a church in their home. Apparently, the Apostle of Christ became deeply attached to both, because he remembers them on long journeys, full of work and dangers. Either he conveys greetings on behalf of Aquila and Priscilla to out-of-town churches (1 Cor. 16:19), then to prisoners, greeting them from a place of distant imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:19), or he also calls them co-workers in Jesus Christ (Rom. 16:3). The importance of women is evident from their establishment of “house churches.” We find mention of such “domestic Churches” quite often in the apostolic letters and epistles; heartfelt greetings to women clearly prove how much these latter have worked to spread and maintain the faith. What exactly? Your home, in which believers gathered, your property, your concerns about the community, about the poor, about church teachers, your faith. So, the beloved disciple of the Lord John writes a deliberate letter to some “chosen lady” and her children, whom he, in his words, “truly loved.” And, having given instructions, he conveys greetings to her from her sister’s children, calling her sister also “chosen,” that is, “Christian” (2 John 1:5, 13). Here, the Apostle Paul introduces a certain Thebe to the Roman Church, calling her “sister”, “deaconess”, and asks to accept her and help her with what is needed, “for she was a helper to many and to myself,” he writes (Rom. 16:1, 2). In other places he mentions Miriam, who “worked hard” for him (Rom. 16:6). We see Junia, who, together with Andronicus and the apostle, was a prisoner and became famous among the apostles (Rom. 18:7), Persia “beloved,” says the apostle, “who labored much for the Lord,” Trythenus Tryphos, who labored much for the Lord (Rom. 16:12). Sometimes there is even mention of a Church founded by a woman alone outside her home. Such is the church in the house of the Nymph (Col. 4:15). In other cases, Paul greets with a “holy kiss” an entire family - Rufus and his mother (Rom. 16:3), Philologus and Julia, Nepheas and his sister (Rom. 19:3) and others, remembers entire houses - the house of Stephen (1 Cor. 1:16), the house of Onisaiphor (2 Tim. 1:16), etc. And in other ancient writings, the importance of women in church building becomes even more obvious. But who are these founders and trustees of churches, these deaconesses and presbyterides? Maybe they are in some special position? Far from it. These were all simple women who wanted to live purely according to God. Some were richer, they served God with their property, money, and their care for the Church. Others, poorer ones, through their personal labor, their worries and troubles. There was work for everyone, each was needed in its place, and those who worked especially hard received the church positions of deaconesses, presbyters, etc. We saw how much attention the apostles paid to them, how much importance they attached to them. “But that was,” you, Orthodox, will say. – It was the primal Church. These are not the times now." That's not true. That was and is. Only the appearance of this service to God has changed. True, the positions of deaconesses, presbyters, etc., have disappeared, and people are so inclined to focus on big titles and magnificent titles that they often respect not for the work, but only for them. That is why, along with the names, the honor and influence of these female co-workers of the apostles disappeared. But their goodness, their holy work remained without the pomp of an external position. And before God their feat became higher, because it does not give self-interest, does not flatter vanity. And that deaconesses and presbyters still actually exist - the closest proof of this is you yourself, Pelageya Nikolaevna, and there is no need for us to go far for examples. Here, you, the presbytery of our parish, have been thinking, worrying, traveling, spending money on our school, on our church for many years. There are no more important matters than the work of school and church, and, realizing their importance, you firmly moved towards your goal. Sometimes we did not see its holiness, we resisted and grumbled at you, causing you grief. But thanks be to God! It was as if you didn’t notice the stones and potholes that got in your way. And only now, when the job is done, do we begin to feel the importance of it. What then? Thank you for your troubles and expenses, for your attention to the Tolpygin community? Will we, who were raised ourselves or raise our children in your school, pray in your church, i.e., who received from you everything that is most dear to us and important in Tolpygip, begin to pay you? How? However, the main thing is not your expenses and worries, but your love and attentiveness to us. After all, we understand that you are not obliged, that no one forced you to give us what you gave us 958. And in addition, you are a parishioner of another parish, and so it was natural to do good to your parish, at home, so to speak, where you would be greeted with honor. Your work was not done for people, but for God. Even if we could thank you with something, then with this human gratitude we would only offend you, as if not recognizing the selflessness of your concerns. You served Christ in your name. We can only ask Him to visit you, as He once visited during His life on earth, other women who also served Him with their property. Let this icon of Christ the Savior be a reminder to you that we are praying for you and conveying words of gratitude to you not directly, but through Him whom you serve. Speech at the meal after the opening of the Tolpygin school 959 Your Eminence and so on... It would be sad to see in our peaceful celebration a simple dinner on the occasion of finished work. No, it must be, it is something more significant, something deeper. Consecration today spiritualized the stone body, which had been created for many years through the efforts of a generous builder 960. And I can’t help but want to emphasize that her business is not one of the things that teem with our lives, but the business par excellence. Our earthly life has been compared many times to a dangerous journey. But if the goal is to pass through the flinty path of life leading to the heavenly homeland without damage, then we will look around especially carefully and choose our path. From the wide entrance gate, be especially careful when making your way through the narrow exit gate. Two torches are placed in these views here and there. The first of them primarily illuminates the entrance to life. This is a school. The second, the Church, is especially needed when leaving life. Illuminated by these two lights, the path of our life runs. If we are grateful to those who better arrange the political and economic forms of this life, to those who, so to speak, feed us, put on shoes and clothes, then how much more grateful should we be to those who help us get out and in safely and illuminate our entire path at its beginning and end. After all, if, having been hungry along the way and stumbling every minute, we can still come to the Father’s House, then how will we come to it without knowing the road itself, without knowing either its beginning or its end? School and Church - these two words indicate the necessary conditions for spiritual life, but, grateful for both separately, we must many times appreciate the work of Pelagia Nikolaevna, who arranged both together, united them into one whole, or, better said, did not tear apart the indivisible whole - the School and the Church. It seems that words of gratitude are unnecessary here. Let, in fact, in the prayers of those souls who reach the heavenly abode with the help of the Tolbogin school and church, their creator and guardian will find her true reward. Seeing Christ on the cross, among the thieves crucified by her own will, the Most Pure Mother, striking herself in the chest, exclaimed: “My sinless Son! Without guilt You, like a villain, were nailed to the cross in order to revive the human race through Your goodness!” “How can I endure seeing You, born without illness, conceived without a husband! What pain now strikes my heart! Simeonov’s verb has been fulfilled: A sword will pass into your soul!” “The world rejoices, receiving deliverance from You; and my womb burns at the sight of how You are crucified, how You endure, alone for all, O my Son! But rise again, my Savior, and save all those who sing Your praises." (From the verses of the Holy Cross) I would like to preface the text of Lamentation of Our Lady 961 with a few thoughts about church poetry. There are “just words.” The mind puts them together and compiles them, and the press is filled with them. Because of these gray creations, the head is clogged and the spiritual eye no longer sees much. The soul is tired and dusty from these lifeless products of literary factories. Mechanically, they are transferred from head to head, as if from box to box; and at the same time it seems at times that the Prince of this world, holding in his hand all the kingdoms 962, is not the Grand Secretary of the world Chancellery, sorting out his boring “Affairs” over heads, as if into folders. These words sometimes have the pretension to be magnificent. But their splendor is the splendor of paper and rag flowers, dusty, faded and soiled by flies: such words are just falsification. But there are also other words - words in the true and highest sense - λογα 963, born from the soul and at their birth tearing off a particle of the soul with them - words that bring out and reveal its innermost. Like golden fruits, they grow in the soul, and are filled with the juices of the soul when the time comes for them. The hidden powers of the soul hide behind these words, the fullness of the soul beats over the edge in them. They are often unsightly to look at, but they are centers from which psychic energy is excited; This is how a thundercloud carries a supply of electricity. And, when meeting another soul, these words-of-power sparkle with lightning; Thunder roars in them, and the oncoming soul is completely permeated with new feelings, thoughts, desires, as if charged with new moods, as if naked, touching another naked soul. And how could it be otherwise? Such words are written not in ink, but in blood, oozing in slow drops from the chest, and this blood (in which there is life) never cools, never thickens. With new and new strength, life, carried by mysterious blood, gives birth to life: the word is thrown into the ocean of the inner life of humanity, and in widening circles the power of the soul eternally flows from the place of fall. Prophetic words burn inextinguishably with fiery writing: just as a lamp is kindled by the flame of another lamp, so the soul flares up from touching the glowing verb of another soul 964. But the internal burden of words that infect people depends on the nature of the word-creating personality, on the quality of its internal treasure. “A good man brings forth good things from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man brings forth evil things from the evil treasure of his heart; For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). The creative word is the exact revelation of this treasure. There are spell words that evoke dark forces. But we don’t want to talk about them now. There are invocation words in which the “mysterious singing of infinity” sounds - words that attract grace-filled support to those who pronounce them. Presbyter Rufinus says in his “Life of the Desert Fathers”: “There lived in those places a holy man, full of the grace of God, named John. He possessed such a wonderful gift of consolation that, no matter how much sorrow, no matter how much grief the soul was suppressed, from the few words he spoke, instead of melancholy, it was filled with cheerfulness and joy...” 965. Probably, the words of this Abba John were just such grace-filled words. Each personality has its own organizing force, its own form of revelation, its own internal, and therefore its own external word. Hence the value of the word. As the Instructions attributed to Anthony the Great say: “People have nothing more valuable than words. It is so strong that we serve God with words and thanksgiving, and that with useless and dishonorable words we expose our soul to judgment” 966. And just as sometimes we meet personalities of the highest breed, individuals who are spiritualized and imbued with inner light, so words are sometimes permeated by the Spirit. The mystery of the transubstantiation of the word occurs. “Under the guise of” ordinary words, from the depths of a spirit-bearing personality, words with a different essence are born - words on which the grace of God has truly descended. And from these words there emanates eternal coolness, silence and peace for a sick, tired soul. They flow into the heart like a healing balm, healing painful wounds. They are often unattractive in appearance, not harmonious and, perhaps, almost awkward. But in the form of a slave Christ and His Mother walk, showering the soul with fragrant flowers. And the soul glows with unfading joy. Anyone who has accepted this idea of ​​​​the transubstantiation of words can be convinced by experience that such a penetration of ordinary human words by divine forces is possible, such a saturation of the well-known grace-filled energies of a spirit-bearing personality: is not the cloudy smoke of the horizon penetrated by the golden fire of sunset? And vice versa, in certain cases words can be saturated with devilish energy. But I will talk about the first ones. Most of all such transubstantial words (I leave out of consideration the words of the Divine Scriptures) are among the hymns of our church service, which are sometimes clumsy and awkward. By clumsiness I do not mean artlessness here. No, church chants are often arranged in fanciful forms of Byzantine decadence, with “edge borders” 967 and other artificial over-refinements of rhetoric. But in these forms, strange to us, common to all people of that era, is hidden a mysterious power inherent only in the spirit-bearing creators of chants. They could not help but write in the manner of their time, in forms different from those of their contemporaries. But these words and these forms were transformed in their godly lips, spiritualized, imbued with some kind of fragrant breath. This aroma is inaccessible to the literary critic, but it is perceived by the believing heart, just as St. relics (this is the popular opinion, at least) are not so fragrant if a person who is an unbeliever or has sin in his soul applies to them. And the form of chants is inseparable from the spiritual power contained in it. Give up the form, and you will lose what is infinitely dear to the believer, what torments his heart with inexpressibly sweet pain, pacifying sadness for the House and the Father. This ray of the setting sun slid across the gilded clumps of the birch grove. Now they talk so much about the reform of worship 968 and express many interesting thoughts. Of course, the spiritual life of the Church can eternally embody itself in unremitting liturgical creativity. But this creativity is only capable of spiritually-bearing husbands and wives who have truly acquired the Spirit. “The Spirit blows where it will” 969, but the Spirit is not subject to the jurisdiction of commissions or scientific colleges; it is not confined to specialists, ranks, positions, or congresses, whether there will be laypeople with a “decisive” or only an “advisory” vote. But when trying to mechanically master the Spirit, liturgical creativity will inevitably turn into falsification. All this is too simple to be worth talking about in detail. But, unfortunately, this is forgotten in modern invitations to liturgical creativity. If there is Spirit, there will be new creativity, and, moreover, without any invitations; there will be no Spirit, and creativity will not appear, despite any calls to it. These calls only in vain force us to neglect what is already undoubtedly alive, and in return, of course, they are unable to give anything. And is it necessary to give in return? Perhaps much of what exists has not yet been assimilated and experienced in all its depth? Isn’t it more correct to follow a straight positive path, saturating with the Spirit and transubstantiating more and more new words, so that “nothing is unclean”? Among the many hymns of the Church, marvelous in their inner strength, the hymns of St. Pentecost and St. Pentecost are mysteriously shrouded in deliberate spiritual beauty. It is as if the infinite depth of the ongoing passion of the Lord and resurrection itself shines with a mysterious light in this circle of church services. And among other hymns, not the least place belongs to the little-known “work of Simeon Logothet” 970, known as: “Canon on the Crucifixion of the Lord and on the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos.” It somehow did not attract attention, one must assume, due to the fact that, according to church rules, it is sung in cells, at Compline on Good Friday. When I first had a chance to read it, it somehow powerfully invaded my heart, and it seems that only then did the words of the prayer penetrate into my consciousness: “Burne our hearts with Thy love.” On several pages, a majestic tragedy passes before us: the crucifixion of the Righteous One, the burial of God, the inexpressible sorrow of the Mother, the despair of the disciples. But the limit of human sorrow and human horror is softened by the humility of the Divine and the foreshadowed joy of the resurrection and salvation of all creation. Is there a breast that would not be wounded by the Lamentation of the Mother of God? I cannot imagine a soul so callous. But a man’s heart, which knows neither the torment nor the joys of motherhood, which does not see a part of its body in its child, will not experience a thousandth part of that sorrow for Christ together with the Most Pure Virgin, with which the hearts of mothers will shrink when reading the Lamentation. You, long-suffering ones, should have dedicated this creation of Simeon Logothet, because you alone will truly experience it, suffer through it in your breasts and find in it a source of new joy. And someday you will go out into a decaying society to remind it of the torment and resurrection of our Lord. Funeral address for Georgy Kharalampievich Pop-Kharalampiev 971 Suffer with the gospel of Christ by the power of God who saved us It is difficult, difficult, impossible to be a Christian - to be one not in words, in contentment and peace, but in life, in torment and suffering; not in contemplation, but in action. It is difficult, difficult, impossible not to be a Christian - not to be one not in words, in contentment and peace, but in life, in torment and suffering; not in contemplation, but in action. There is no strength to live like a Christian; But how can we live in a non-Christian way? It's easy to say, "Be a Christian." It's easy to say, "Be a non-Christian." But it is not easy for a person to do both. Contradiction, contradiction, contradiction. - The fragmentation of reality. And the deeper life goes, the more acute are these contradictions directed at each other. Yes, we try to hide them from our eyes. Yes, we bury our heads in the sand. Yes, we distract our attention with pleasures, amusements, scientific research, social activities, and household chores. And for the time being, we seem to achieve success, as if we forget this contradiction. But the hour comes - and it bursts into the head, burns the brain, torments and torments; So no bodily suffering, no illness, no torment torments. But... and to this we mentally respond with the usual excuses; and we brush this off with annoyance: “Well, we’ll see. Maybe yes, maybe no." And then we get angry: “These are all theories, these are fictions, these are illusions of a sick imagination.” And the meaning of everything is simple and clear: “Let go, you’re not letting me calm down.” We also say: “They want to drag us somewhere away from life. We are lured by “metaphysics”. We are deceived by cleverly woven words. We are intimidated by childhood fears, from which humanity has long grown out of.” Well, let all this be correct. But now, here, before our eyes, it is no longer “metaphysics”, not illusions, not imaginaries, not intricately woven syllogisms, not theory and not a frustrated imagination. Look with a straight, completely honest look; look fearlessly; look dispassionately at who or what is in front of you. And a few days ago, in terrible bodily pain, struggling and exhausted, he was a thousand, innumerable times more tormented and struggled and exhausted from these questions, from what turns out to be more vital than life itself, more painful than illness, what is more tangible than the body and more indestructible than matter. And, having seen these spiritual torments that are incomprehensible and unimaginable for a person in ordinary conditions, having experienced the oppressive, painful, unbearable feeling of powerlessness to decide for another what he alone can decide - for which he himself is probably not ready - I realize that my duty is my last duty to my dear comrade - our last, common, public deal with him - not to neglect his experience of life, to use it here, in the face of this witness, remind yourself and all of us... not even remind, but simply point to this coffin. And I am convinced that if he, our brother George, now purified by the feat of patience and faith, wants something from us, then it is precisely this, precisely to encourage us to remember what did not allow him to die, what made his situation unbearably difficult, precisely what, on the other hand, gave him the strength to endure his pains, his pangs of spiritual birth and wait for their resolution. God is what tormented Georgy Haralampievich, since he did not satisfy his soul in everything. God is what helped, despite all the passionate thirst for life, despite all the suffering, despite all the closeness to despair, to remain firm to the end. The whole history of his illness speaks to this. And it reveals two incomprehensibility. Firstly, the incomprehensibility of the accumulation of misfortunes and failures; secondly, the incomprehensibility of great patience. The words of the Apostle apply to him: “Suffer with the gospel of Christ, by the power of God who saved us.” In the power of God there was for him a vital solution to the contradiction between the need to be a Christian and the impossibility of being one on his own. You remember his ebullient energy, his vitality, his passion for every task he took on. And just when the preparation ended, when the work that he so dreamed of, the life that he so longed for, began - just then, suddenly, for some incomprehensible reason, his illness began. Some force turned all the efforts of the doctors into nothing, and the repeated operation, which cost so much spiritual and physical strength, ended in nothing. Call this misfortune an accident. But the fact is clear: the doctors could not help. Add to this the thirst to live and work, physical suffering, facial disfigurement, the remoteness of one’s homeland and relatives, and you will only approximately understand how much patience was needed not to grumble and become bitter. It is here, in this constant hanging on the brink of spiritual death and in enduring everything to the end, that I see something special - the help of a special power, the power of God, with which Brother George held on. And here, in this recognition of special help, in addition to peaceful spiritual power, is the resolution of the question that tormented the deceased, with which each of us must suffer. “It’s hard to be a Christian - you have to be a Christian,” he repeated before his death. He was not ready to die, and the more strikingly the power of God that supported him revealed itself. He himself was aware of his lack of strength, he himself was afraid to break down, but he didn’t break down, he endured everything, he endured what was scary to even think about. Brethren, to this disfigured body, to this now distorted image of the incorruptible glory of God, I cannot help but apply the word of the Apostle: “Christ will be magnified in the body...whether by life or death” (Phil. 1:20). In this body Christ was magnified both by life and death. The image of this coffin must be etched in our memory forever. Our dear brother George provides us with the last comradely assistance to them; may Christ, exalted in his body, have mercy on his soul. Amen. [Word before the memorial service about the deceased soldiers] 972 Brothers! The piety of our ancestors called the holy bell ringing - good news. The same piety demanded that, at the first sounds of the gospel, every Orthodox Christian should say to himself: “The Archangel’s voice cries out to Thee, O Pure Virgin: the Lord is with Thee,” and then sign himself with the sign of the cross in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (†). This means that the sound of the holy bell was equated by our ancestors with the gospel of the Archangel to the Holy Virgin Mary. What did the Archangel preach to the Virgin Mary? And what, therefore, does the holy bell preach to us? About the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, about the fact that He is our Savior - the Savior from sin, from suffering and especially from death. Now let us remember that in Greek the gospel will be “gospel”... that is, it is called the same as the holy Book, which tells about the birth, death on the cross and resurrection of our Savior. And vice versa, if we wanted to translate the name of this holy Book into Slavic or Russian, we would have to say: “blagovest”, “blagovestvonie”. And the holy book, and the holy Archangel, and the holy bell preach the good news to us - they proclaim the good news that death, always triumphant, and now especially celebrating its victories, that it, in essence, has already been defeated, and that the time will come when it will be completely broken. At the sound of the Archangel's trumpet, the dead will awaken and rise from their graves. Hearing the church bell, we must remember the hour of the coming resurrection. But we must also remember something else, lest in this mysterious and terrible moment of the universal Judgment our departed forefathers, fathers and brothers turn to us with a reproach: “We worked for you and for you; Have you tried to ease our lot with your prayers?” And especially the warriors killed in wars and being killed now can ask us with bitterness: “We laid down our bellies on the battlefield for you and for you. Did you remember us, did you remember us, did you pray for us?” Yes, brothers, during their lives and, perhaps, when they died, they relied on us, they hoped in our memory of them. It would be shameful not to justify their hopes, to forget about them as if they had not happened, and not to offer prayers for them to Him who laid down His soul for all of us. Each of us has relatives, relatives, friends and acquaintances among those killed in the war. It is natural to pray for such things. “But,” perhaps someone will admit the thought, “do all the others have closeness to us?” Do we need to remind us that all of us, adopted by the Lord Jesus Christ, having God Himself as our Father - brothers, friends, and relatives? But those who laid down their lives for our common mother Motherland, who are especially dear to her, and therefore to us, are they not connected with us by the closest ties - love, intimacy, and kinship? We should pray for these our brothers even more so, because they died for the sake of our Motherland, for the sake of us. We say that wars, disasters, and suffering occur due to sins, but whose sins?! After all, it cannot be said that those who were killed are more sinful than we who remained alive or who were about to be killed later. But sins have accumulated, we have polluted all the vestments of our Motherland - and we needed to wash them, cleanse it and ourselves. And the cleansing of sinful defilements is accomplished by and through blood. And so blood was shed, whitening sins. Let us pray that it will not be shed in vain, that our other Mother Earth, into which we will all sooner or later descend, will not be saturated with it in vain, that this blood will serve as a guarantee of our renewal and the strengthening of our fraternal ties forever. Amen. Entering the church, we sign ourselves with the sign of the cross, and we do the same when leaving the church. The sign of the cross precedes our visit to a Christian home, and it is not without this prayerful action that we leave from there. The beginning of any work is preceded by the sign of the cross, and it ends in the same way. Joy is celebrated by him, just as grief is sanctified by him. We protect ourselves from temptation with the cross, and with the cross we triumph in victory: not only Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine heard: “By this you will win”; but the same voice sounds to every Christian. The sign of the cross at the threshold of life meets the baby “coming into the world”, preserves his childhood, protects adolescence, protects youth, makes courage, supports old age and, overshadowing him on the threshold of a new life, escorts him to other abodes. We bless the newly deceased, having once blessed the newborn baby, and we close the circle of earthly achievement with a mysterious seal. There is no time or state when the life of a Christian is not held together by the movement of the cross. This seemingly small action binds everything, affirms everything, gives everything the “let it be” bond. And even when preparing to commit a sin, even harboring a criminal plan, even encroaching on his own life, a person, out of habit and out of faith in the reality of the sign of the cross, makes the sign of the cross over himself. So, throughout life it goes with a person. But especially the church service is permeated by it in countless directions. “We worship Your Cross, Master,” the Church sings and thereby testifies not only to the belonging of the Cross to the Lord, who was crucified on it, who suffered and gave up his spirit, but also to the non-union of the Cross with the Lord. The Church worships the crucified Lord. But she honors with worship, especially from the Lord, although not separately from Him, the Cross of Christ, calling it “Honest and Life-Giving.” Next to the Lord and especially from Him, although not separately from Him, the Most Pure Mother of God is revered. She is worshiped, incense is offered, chants of praise are sung, and fervent prayers are offered. In the same way, next to the Lord, and especially from Him, although not separately from Him, the Church honors the Most Holy Cross of the Lord - and it also pays veneration, offers incense, sings songs of praise and makes fervent prayers. He, as a special essence, is commemorated among special beings - the Lord and His Mother, the Heavenly Powers, the Baptist John, the Apostles, the Godfather Joachim and Anna and holy men and women - in the litia petitions, in the petition after the Gospel at Matins, at vacation services - is commemorated as if the Cross were a living being, similar to the Mother of God and the holy and intervening powers heavenly ones, praying for us - with their own power also interceding before the Lord for mercy and our salvation. And the place where the Cross of the Lord is mentioned before the Heavenly Powers, the Forerunner, the Apostles and all the saints testifies that the Honest and Life-Giving Cross is above all creatures. Only the Most Pure and Most Blessed Mother of God, “the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim,” is placed before the Cross, which testifies that She, in the order of the sacred relationship of the creature, is at least not lower than the saint. Cross. Consequently, the mysterious essence, called the Honest Cross, has not only an individuality, not merged with anything else, but a certain rank, a certain place in existence, peculiar to it, lower than the Lord and His Mother, but higher than the Cherubim and Seraphim and other Heavenly Powers and the Forerunner of the Lord and the saints, and therefore can no longer be merged with other creatures of the spiritual ladder. Giving the release: “Christ our True God through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, by the Power of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross...” the priest indicates the place of the Holy Cross in this ladder of spiritual perfections, as a special step that exists not only in the abstract, but also authentically among other celestial beings, and which should not be identified with any of them. The cross is a spiritual essence. But it would be a deep mistake to think that it is not spiritual in itself, but is sanctified only by our thoughts - sanctified only by our thoughts about the Savior’s suffering on it, while itself is powerless and lifeless. The cross, although it is a tree, is nevertheless mysteriously involved in life and has miraculous power, not at all because we believe in it, on the contrary, because we are called to believe in it, because it already has the transcendental: “Thy Cross, Christ, even though a tree is apparently a being, but is divinely clothed with power and sensually reveals the world, our cleverness works miracles of salvation, and by bowing to it we glorify Thee, Savior, have mercy on us" 974. “The tree is apparently a being, but it is a divine garment with power,” “we manifest the world sensually, our minds work miracles of salvation.” Visible to the outside eye, the Cross is a tree; but this tree is covered with divine power. He is sensually revealed to the world - that is, we perceive sensually; but at the same time, he “smartly,” that is, spiritually, intelligibly named, miraculously works our salvation. He, like an Angel, is alive and gives us life. Is it surprising that we turn to him, turn to him as we generally turn to conscious and personal beings? Is it surprising that for us he is not an impersonal “it” or “he”, not a thing among other things, but a personal “you”, a being among other beings, capable of listening to us, heeding us and capable of fulfilling what is asked of him, for how stupid would it be to turn to a piece of wood, even if connected in our thoughts with a sacred memory? First published in the magazine “Christian” in 1907 (Vol. 1. No. 2. P. 248–257) and in the same year published as a separate edition in Sergiev Posad, in the printing house of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, this sermon is dated by Florensky himself as “The Word Spoken at the Liturgy on January 7, 1905 in the Church of the Village Tolpygin" (Florensky P. Joy forever. Prayer of Simeon the New Theologian. S. Posad, 1907. P. 13). In the village of Tolpygino, Nerekhta district, Kostroma province, there was the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, in which the father of Sergei Semenovich Troitsky (1881–1910), a friend of Florensky, who studied with him (but a year older) at the Moscow Theological Academy, served as a priest. By the Christmas holidays of 1904/1905, Florensky had only completed the first half of the year at the Academy and went to his friend’s native village for his first holidays. Thus, there is reason to believe that this is the very first experience of his student sermons. A separate publication in 1907 was accompanied by censorship permission: “Printing is permitted - censor, rector of Bethany Theological Seminary, Rev. A. Belyaev. Bethany, February 3, 1907." Despite the absence in Christianity of a dogmatically defined understanding of the essence of the Image of God in man and the presence of a significant scattering in patristic opinions on this matter (the Image of God is the immortal human soul, mind, free will, the “dominant” position of man over all creatures and other qualities of man), Florensky from the very beginning quite unambiguously interprets this reality as a certain “object” or structure inherent in the ontological depth of the human being. Also, of all the various concepts that have appeared in Christian theology - complete preservation, “damage” or complete destruction of the Image of God in the Fall of man, Florensky clearly chooses one and claims that the Image of God is not and cannot be affected by any processes in human nature. It can only be hidden by human sins, just as a precious pearl is covered with a layer of mud or a “bark” of dirt. For example, in “The Pillar and Statement of Truth” this reality is designated as “The Holy Essence of Man” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). The Pillar and Statement of Truth. P. 233), primordial (Ibid. P. 352), unconditional, eternal root, which is given to man (and all creation) “through participation in the depths of Trinity love” (Ibid. P. 318) and with which “the spiritual personality goes to heaven” (Ibid. P. 271). This is a “glimpse of the eternal dignity of the individual,” which is spoken about by almost all “mystical teachings” (Ibid. p. 329). Both from the further text of this sermon and from Florensky’s subsequent works, one can see that all people have this eternal reality, and not just Christians who have received Holy Baptism and who listen to the sermon. This reality is already initially deified and, unlike the rest of human nature, does not need transformation: it itself is an eternal light, capable of transformative action (Paul Florensky, priest. Selected works on art. P. 90, 92:94). For more details, see: N. N. Pavlyuchenkov. Religious and anthropological heritage of priest Pavel Florensky. Anthropological aspect. pp. 162–164). From the further text of this sermon and from other works of Florensky it is clear that this identification of the highest luminous basis of the human being (the Image of God) and his Guardian Angel must be understood in the most literal sense. See, for example, the identification of the reality of the Guardian Angel with the “personal idea”, the “ideal appearance” of a person in Florensky’s term papers for 1906–1907 (Pavel Florensky, priest. Sacred renaming. M., 2006. P. 179), the convergence of the concepts of the Guardian Angel and the “purified center” of a person in the publication of 1907 (Florensky P.A. Questions of religious self-knowledge (reprints from the magazine “Christian” for 1907). S. Posad, 1907. P. 10–11). Also, congratulating V.A. Kozhevnikov on his “Angel Day” in a letter of 1912, Fr. Pavel congratulates him on the day of celebrating the “best part” of his personality. “For I,” writes Fr. Paul, - according to his provincial superstition, is inclined to see in the “Angel” of this day not the Guardian Angel, the guardian of your soul, and not your patron saint, but your hypostatic, Platonic Name, your logos spermatikos, the mystical center of your personality” (Correspondence of P.A. Florensky and V.A. Kozhevnikova // Questions of Philosophy. 1991. No. 6. P. 102; for more details, see: Pavlyuchenkov N. N. Religious and anthropological heritage of the priest Pavel Florensky. Anthropological aspect. pp. 174–176). It is interesting to note that in Florensky’s work “On Types of Growth” dated June 1905 (where Florensky’s ideas about man as a living unity of an unconditional (eternal) basis and a conditional empirical personality are revealed) there is a description of a dream in which Florensky saw his friend S.S. Troitsky as a Guardian Angel. Hegumen Andronik dates this incident to the time of the trip of Florensky and S.S. Trinity for the Christmas holidays in December 1904 - January 1905 (See: Andronik (Trubachev), abbot. The path to God. The personality, life and work of priest Pavel Florensky. Book 2. S. Posad, 2015. pp. 288–289). According to the meaning of Florensky’s subsequently revealed teaching, it would be more correct to say here not “divine”, but “deified.” That “glimpse of the eternal dignity of the individual,” which, according to Florensky, is spoken of by all “mystical teachings” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). Pillar and affirmation of Truth. P. 329), Florensky considered to be created (that is, not a “part” of God), but deified initially, according to the fact of creation. (For more details, see: Pavlyuchenkov N. N. Religious and anthropological heritage of the priest Pavel Florensky. Anthropological aspect. P. 98–101). Wed. in the entry on December 22, 1914: “My long-standing observation. As they sing “Like the Cherubim,” a mysterious whirlwind rises, blowing from bottom to top, and it takes me, the employee, out of the empiricity. From this moment on, I cease to be like everyone else with everyone else, and become different, and remain in a different place. This is complete isolation. The feeling is that throughout the service you are climbing and climbing uphill, the air becomes thinner, the wind is stronger. And when you reach the cherubim, you find yourself at the top, and then the wind of grace tears you from the top and carries you away, and you soar in another world. But how you get back to earth is unclear to me” (Pavel Florensky, priest. Philosophy of Cult AS 451). If Florensky always speaks out unambiguously regarding Guardian Angels (the Guardian Angel, in his opinion, is the “higher self,” the deified basis of man, see above), then his angelology as a whole still needs special research. Not only from this sermon, but also from other, later works of Fr. Paul can be seen that he still recognized the existence of other Angels (i.e., not Guardian Angels) as a special kind of beings that do not form ontological integrity with man. But, in any case, these “Angels” cannot be presented in his system of “symbolic” worldview as absolutely spiritual beings; not forming a single whole with man, they form an ontological unity with other material realities, for example, with natural elements. See, for example, in the lecture “Consecration of Reality” (recorded on June 2, 1918): “Christian angelology speaks of the angels of the elements, including the water angel, of angels even of individual sources as spiritual forces assigned to the corresponding elements and natural phenomena... They are assigned to guard natural phenomena. But the symbolic worldview does not allow simply external presence in a phenomenon without some correspondence of this phenomenon to the spiritual force that guides it. Here a certain connection must certainly be thought of, an internal connection of both, so that... spiritual power can be truly revealed by its manifestation... And if the Angel of Water watches over the water element, this means that he himself is not alien to some wateriness, in the spiritual sense” (Pavel Florensky, priest. Philosophy of Cult AS 222–224). It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that here, in addition to the incompleteness of the idea of ​​Christian angelology, there is also a clear conviction not only in the admissibility, but also in the need to “clarify” Christian teaching from the position of a “symbolic worldview.” According to the instructions of Florensky himself, the text of the sermon was written in February 1905 in the village of Tolpygino. The return visit of Florensky and S.S. Troitsky to Tolpygino in February 1905 (after staying there during the Christmas holidays) was associated with the temporary cessation of classes at the Moscow Theological Academy due to revolutionary events. Apparently, the day before leaving (until February 19), Florensky rejected the offer of A. Bely, V. Sventsitsky and V. Ern to participate in the activities of the “Christian Brotherhood of Struggle” formally organized at that time. In Sergiev Posad, Florensky and Troitsky returned to Forgiveness Sunday on February 27 (See: Bibliographic reference book, pp. 124–125). During Florensky’s lifetime, this sermon was not published (first publication: The Homiletic Heritage of Priest Pavel Florensky // Now and Ever. 2006. No. 3/4. P. 161–165) and it remains unknown whether it was delivered. Russian translation of the 4th troparion of the 4th song “Canon of the Crucifixion of the Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos” by Simeon Logothet (Lenten Triodion). Russian translation of Troparion 3, 6 of the song “Canon of the Crucifixion of the Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos” by Simeon Logothet (Lenten Triodion). An indication of any direct participation of the Most Holy Theotokos in the mystical event of the “birth” of the Church, which is discussed here, is from St. John Chrysostom is missing. Obviously, this place in the sermon is connected with the theme of Sophia, which Florensky was already developing at that time. Wed. in the chapter on Sophia in “The Pillar and Establishment of the Truth”: “The Church... is Sophia par excellence... the Mother of God... - again, there is Sophia par excellence” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). The Pillar and Establishment of the Truth. P. 350–351); The Mother of God is “the exclusive focus of Church life. She is the heart of Jesus. She is the Church” (Ibid. p. 359). Words from the book of the prophet Hosea (Hos. 13:14), quoted by the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 15:55) and used by St. John Chrysostom in his “Word for Holy Pascha.” Florensky describes in these images his idea of ​​​​the presence in the world and in man of faceless elemental forces, the designation of which as the forces of World Chaos, obviously, in this case, is taken from the works of Vladimir Solovyov (see, for example: Solovyov Vl. Russia and the Universal Church. M., 1990. P. 331). Following the instructions of Fr. Paul, made in his “Memoirs”, with great grounds it can be assumed that the influence of the forces of World Chaos explained the cases of mystical fear experienced in childhood (see: Pavel Florensky, priest. To my children. Memoirs of past days. pp. 151–152). According to “Memoirs,” religion initially revealed itself to him as “a whole area of ​​life, significant, mysterious,” where “there are special actions that protect against fears” (Ibid. p. 145). And the subsequent experience of salvation in Christ (see, for example: Correspondence of V.V. Rozanov and P.A. Florensky // Rozanov V.V. Literary exiles. Book two. M.; St. Petersburg, 2010. P. 22, 25, 37, etc.), as well as the grace-filled experience of church services (see, for example: Correspondence P.A. Florensky and V.F. Ern // Publication, commentary by N.N. Pavlyuchenkova // Russian theology: research and materials. M., 2014. pp. 207–208) were interpreted by him as the harmonization of the elemental and rational principles in man achieved with the help of Christ and in Christ. Only the concept outlined in this place was subsequently developed by Fr. Paul in the notes of late 1914 – early 1915 and presented in lectures on the “Philosophy of Cult”, prepared and delivered in 1918–1919. In these notes, the faceless and elemental forces of Chaos were designated as a “titanic” principle (“ousia”), opposing the beginning of meaning and reason (“hypostasis”). See, for example: “The titanic is resolved or, more precisely, pacified in the sacraments. More broadly, it is pacified in the descent of God and, even more specifically, in the incarnation of God. In Christ (i.e., by Christ, through Christ, about Christ) the titanic is brought into its place, straightened into its articulation (Pavel Florensky, priest, Philosophy of Cult A.S. 455). “Only the Eucharist can bring into balance the opposing hypostasis and ousia in man” (Ibid. p. 456). Wed. the conclusion of the parable of the evil vinedressers (Matt. 21:42), where Christ refers to Himself as the “Cornerstone” from ancient prophecies (Ps. 118:22–23; Is. 28:16). Wed. in “Memoirs”: the sea water at the pier is “rich green”, all glowing, filled with light “poisonous and full of threat”, but at the same time “full of creative forces” (Pavel Florensky, priest. To my Children. Memories of Past Days. P. 53). Wed. also in the entries of the end of 1914 - beginning of 1915: “The titanic beginning is not a sin, but it leads to sin,” however, not always. “For goodness is realized on the basis of elemental force - on a titanic beginning. This beginning is the potency of all activity” (Pavel Florensky, priest. Philosophy of cult A.S. 456). About the “demon fear” of pre-Christian humanity, see the chapter “Creation” in “The Pillar and Statement of the Truth” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). The Pillar and Statement of the Truth. P. 276–277). Compare: “Then come and let us reason together,” says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they will be as white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). “Orion” and the “Pleiades” mentioned below are the names of the most impressive constellations in the northern hemisphere of the starry sky associated with ancient mythology (in modern astronomy, the Pleiades is a star cluster in the constellation Taurus). In Scripture, Orion and the Pleiades are designated respectively as "Him" ("the belt of Him") and "Kesil" ("the bonds of Kesil") in the book of Job: "Can you tie the knot of Him and loose the bonds of Kesil?" ( Job 38:31 ). 1st troparion of the 1st song of the Canon for the Holy Week of Easter (Easter Canon of St. John of Damascus, Triodion of Colors). 2nd troparion of the 1st canon of the Canon for the Holy Week of Easter (Easter Canon of St. John of Damascus, Triodion of Colors). From irmos 6 songs of the Canon for the Holy Week of Easter (Easter Canon of St. John of Damascus, Triodion of Colors). Irmos 3 songs of the Canon for the Holy Week of Easter (Easter Canon of St. John of Damascus, Triodion Colored). Troparion of the Service for the Holy Week of Easter (Triodion Tsvetnaya). The name of the brightest star in the northern hemisphere of the starry sky. See the same quotation in the chapter “Creation” in “The Pillar and Statement of the Truth” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). The Pillar and the Statement of the Truth. P. 301), where it is also given without reference to the source, but with a note suggesting that these words of the Rev. be compared. Anthony the Great with the “Hymn to the Sun” of Francis of Assisi (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T.1 (2). Pillar and statement of Truth. M., 1990. P. 749). Words of denial of the Apostle Peter (Mark 14:71). The reference is probably to Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801), a Swiss Protestant pastor, preacher and theologian. Words of the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:9). The sermon was first published under the title “Word for Holy Easter” in the newspaper “People” published in Kyiv on April 2, 1906. Then Florensky published it in the magazine “Christian” (1907. No. 4) and in a separate publication with a subtitle indicating that this “Word” was said in the MDA church “in 1905, during the Liturgy of the second day Bright Week" (Florensky P. Chief of Life. S. Posad, 1907. P. 1). Since Easter in 1905 fell on April 17 (old style), the sermon should be dated April 18, 1905 (the second day of Bright Week - Bright Monday). The publication was accompanied by censorship permission: “Printing is permitted - censor, rector of Bethany Theological Seminary, Rev. A. Belyaev. Bethany, March 22, 1907." (Ibid.). The quotation is not given from the Synodal translation. It seems that in this passage one can see not so much an admitted inaccuracy in expressions (at the time of delivering the sermon, Florensky had not yet completed the first year of the Academy), but evidence of an already emerging ecclesiology, corresponding to the “symbolic worldview” of the preacher. According to this ecclesiology, the reality of the Church, although at different levels of existence in different ways, embraces the entire universe. This concept is implicitly, but quite definitely presented by Florensky in “The Pillar and Statement of Truth”, in the place where the hierarchy of levels of “Sophia par excellence” is given (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). Pillar and statement of Truth. P. 350–351). But it is set out with all clarity in a number of places in the lectures on “Philosophy of Cult” and in preparatory notes for the lectures. See, for example, especially in the entry of January 2, 1916 “On the dispersion of the Holy Gifts”: “The boundaries of the church are not walls, for the church action is carried outside the walls of the church. There is no definite boundary of the church, for all nature is a continuous continuation of the church. And, therefore, there are no definite boundaries of the Church, for all creation participates to varying degrees in its life and in its grace-filled, God-material actions” (Paul Florensky, priest. Philosophy of cult A.S. 311). In this case, the indication that the Church is still in captivity of corruption (and consequently, sin and death) is obviously based on an idea that denies the very existence of a qualitative boundary between the Church and the rest of Creation. Rev.22:17. “Symbolic” ecclesiology, the beginnings of which are visible in this student sermon, leads to the idea that not only the whole world, but also the Church of Christ itself in the present “age” is still bound by corruption and, therefore, in the Second Coming of the Savior, the Church, along with the whole world, will also receive its renewal. The qualitatively new, deified reality of the Church, present in the world as “leaven” (Matthew 13:33), turns out, according to the words of the preacher, to be in fact itself still imperfect, since it is involved in the corruption still reigning in the world. But, according to the idea of ​​the sermon, together with the Church that embraces all creation, “the depths of all creation are secretly renewed.” As is known, subsequently, the Christian teaching about the reality of eternal torment (i.e., about the reality of a creature that refuses to participate in renewal and liberation from slavery to decay) and taken out by the young Florensky from the legacy of V. Solovyov’s idea of ​​all-unity (which requires the union of all creation with God) will constitute an antinomy for him, the problem of which he will pose and try to resolve in the letter “Gehenna” “The Pillar and Statement of Truth” (see: Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 1 (1). The Pillar and Statement of Truth. P. 208–209). This understanding of the final transformation of the world (a new creation, according to the previous reference to Rev. 21:5) will remain characteristic of all subsequent works of Florensky. This is precisely cleansing, removing the “husk”, “bark of dirt”, etc. from the initially deified base of the creature. Deification is not introduced into the creature, but is revealed from its noumenal “bowels” into its empirical content. (For more details, see: Pavlyuchenkov N.N. Religious and philosophical heritage of the priest Pavel Florensky. Anthropological aspect. P. 190–193). Quote source not found. But if we take a passage “parallel” to this quote from the Revelation of John the Theologian quoted above and below by Florensky, then the picture of universal “liberation” drawn in the sermon, unfortunately, collapses. “Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them; and each one was judged according to his deeds. Both death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whoever was not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:13–15). Probably an inaccuracy in expression. Perhaps it should be: “Whom, having not seen, they loved” or “Whom, “having not seen, they believed””, according to John 20:29 (“...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”). “When he puts all things in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). The text of this sermon was written by Florensky on August 12–14, 1905 in the village of Tolpygino and read in the local Church of the Resurrection of the Word on the holiday of August 15. Before this, Florensky visited his parents in Tiflis during the summer holidays, where he wrote the work “On Types of Growth” (dated July 5, 1905). Returning to Sergiev Posad at the end of July, he left for Tolpygino at the beginning of August. On August 22, 1905, from Tolpygino, Florensky went to Optina Pustyn to work with the handwritten archive of Archimandrite Serapion (Mashkin), who died on February 19/20, 1905 (Bibliographic reference book. Personality, life and work of priest Pavel Florensky // Compiled by Hegumen Andronik (Trubachev). S. Posad, 2015. pp. 129–130). The first publication of this sermon took place only in 1917 in the magazine “Renaissance” (1917. No. 10. pp. 3–8). Wed. in “The Pillar and Establishment of the Truth”: “The bearer of purity, the Manifestation of the Holy Spirit, the beginning of the spiritual creation, the source of the Church... ceases to be one of many in the Church; even in the Church of Saints it is not prima inter pares. She is special, She is the exclusive Focus of Church life. She is the heart of Jesus. She is the Church” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T.1 (1). Pillar and statement of Truth. P. 359). Kontakion 13 Akathist to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary A note with this title in the “Notebook” of P.A. Florensky for 1904–1905 is dated August 18, 1905. The text is a detailed summary of a sermon written for the priest of the Tolpyginsky Church of the Resurrection, Fr. Simeon Troitsky. Apparently, the sermon was to be delivered by Fr. Simeon on the day of the consecration of the church, upon completion of all work on its major repairs and restoration. Florensky, together with his friend S.S. Troitsky, participated in these works in August 1905. This text was first published in 2004 (Pavel Florensky and the Symbolists. pp. 408–410). In the margin of Florensky’s manuscript there is a date: “8 18? August 1905, Optina Pustyn. Credited: “Place this at the beginning of the sermon.” In the margin there is a date: “August 31, 1905, Optina Pustyn.” In the margin there is a date: “September 7, 1905, Optina Pustyn.” Hieromonk Daniel (Bolotov), ​​in the world - Dmitry Mikhailovich Bolotov (1837–1907), icon painter and painter, inhabitant of the Optina Hermitage. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1865), in Optina Desert - from December 1886, a student of Rev. Ambrose of Optina. Wed. entry on April 22, 1904, made in Tiflis: “Christ did not do violence to anyone, he even showed good deeds... asking permission... This is complete respect for the individual... He always seemed to say: “You are completely free. You can remain on your own and I will not stop loving you at all... Just remember: if you feel an acute attack of dissatisfaction, then... try to come to Me; remember that you always have a shoulder to lean on” (Pavel Florensky and the Symbolists, p. 356). The sermon was delivered in the Church of the Intercession of the Moscow Theological Academy on March 12, 1906 and was published illegally in the same year: Pavel Florensky. Word for the Week of the Worship of the Cross. Said in the church of the Moscow Theological Academy during the liturgy on March 12, 1873 after the death of I. Chr. M.: Publishing house. Myakshina and Kharitonov, 1906. An ambiguous reaction to it was reflected in two anonymous publications: in the Moskovsky Gazette (1906. No. 86. March 31) the article “Hooligan teaching in the church or Judaic morality” was published, and in the Kyiv newspaper “People” (1906. No. 2. 5 (18) April) the sermon was assessed as “one of the first clashes between the True Church and the state Church, which had fallen away from Christ.” On March 26, 1906, V. F. Ern wrote in a letter to E. D. Vekilova: “All this happened terribly unexpectedly, because Pavlusha F. was very hostile to any kind of social activity and always said that you can only influence individual individuals, and on this point he very much disagreed with us, but otherwise we were always very close in views” (see: Homiletical heritage of the priest Pavel Florensky // Nowadays and ever. 2006. No. 3–4. P. 176). On March 23, Florensky was arrested and placed in the Taganskaya prison in Moscow, but a week later, on Holy Thursday, March 30, at the request of the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Bishop Evdokim (Meshchersky), he was released. In 1927, in his Autobiography, Florensky wrote about this sermon: “Never in my life have I been a member of any political party. The only time I allowed myself to speak with a political tint was a sermon against the death penalty on the occasion of the alleged execution of Lieutenant Schmidt. At one time, this speech of mine was interpreted incorrectly, because in fact it was motivated by purely moral motives and conviction of Schmidt’s inner dignity” (Ibid.). The “Word” was pronounced by Florensky, probably in 1906, in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word in the village of Tolpygino after the completion of its major renovation. First published under the title “Temple of the Holy Spirit” in the “Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate” in 1986 (No. 5, pp. 32–33). The speech was probably delivered in 1906 in a church in the village of Tolpygino. As can be seen from the text, the benefactor Pelageya Nikolaevna lived in one of the neighboring villages. First published: The homiletical heritage of the priest Pavel Florensky // Now and forever. 2006. No. 3–4. pp. 179–180). Further in the text, the phrase is crossed out: “And you came to someone else’s parish, gave your blessing and left without receiving anything as a reward, not even honor, because how often will we see you?” Apparently, in 1905–1906, Florensky took an active part not only in the overhaul of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word in the village of Tolpygino, Kostroma province, but also in the organization and opening of a parochial school at the church. Therefore, the delivery of this sermon should also be attributed to 1906, the year the renovation and consecration of the Tolpyginsky Church was completed. The sermon was first published in 2006 in the magazine “Now and Ever” (No. 3–4, pp. 180–181). Philanthropist Pelageya Nikolaevna, a merchant from a nearby, possibly neighboring village. The text was first published under the title “The Lamentation of the Mother of God” as an introductory article to the Russian translation of “The Canon on the Crucifixion of the Lord and the Lamentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Creation of Simeon Logothet" in 1907 (Christian. 1907. Vol. 2. No. 3. P. 601–606). The stichera "Theotokos of the Cross" given at the beginning are supposed to be sung at the Matins service on Wednesdays and Fridays. Compare: “And the devil said to Him: I will give you power over all these kingdoms and their glory, for it has been given to me, and I give it to whomever I want” (Luke 4:6). In the “Tale on Death” by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov refers to Rev. Macarius the Great, who speaks of the devil’s “rapture” of dominion over the visible world after he has subjugated man (Homily 4, ch. 3). “What is the power of Satan... over the world... - adds St. Ignatius, - is not his property, but acquired from those who arbitrarily handed it over to him, he himself testified before the Savior when he showed Him all the kingdoms of the universe...” (Ignatius Brianchaninov, bishop. The Word on Death. M., 1991. P. 334). These thoughts expressed here will be further developed by Florensky in the concepts of “magic” and “mysticism” of the word. See, for example, in the work “The Magic of the Word” (1920): “By the word life is transformed, and by the word life is assimilated to the spirit. Or, to put it another way, the word is magical and the word is mystical. To consider what makes a word magical means to understand exactly how and why we can influence the world with a word. To consider exactly how and why the word is mystical means to understand what is the meaning of the teaching according to which the word is the reality it signifies” (Florensky P.A. [Works]. T. 2. At the watersheds of thought. P. 252–253). The life of desert fathers. The creation of presbyter Rufinus / Trans. from lat. with notes priest M.I. Khitrova. Ed. St.-Tr. Sergius Lavra, 1898. P. 113. See: Philokalia: in 5 volumes. T. 1. Ed. St.-Tr. Sergius Lavra, 1992. P. 75. Church Slavonic designation for an acrostic poem. Acrostic (from the Greek ἄκρος - edge and στίχος - row, line, poetic line, literally edge), a graphic technique due to which the initial letters of lines of text (less often syllables or words) are formed into a word or a meaningful form; also - a poem in which some (usually the first) letters of each line form a meaningful text. In 1905, a special Commission created under the Holy Synod of the Russian Church sent out a questionnaire to the dioceses regarding possible changes in various aspects of church life. At that time, issues of reform of divine services were actively discussed in the church press. Simeon Logothet, also known as Simeon Metaphrast, Byzantine writer of the 10th century. He occupied the position of “logotheta drome” at the imperial court (which roughly corresponds to the modern Minister of Foreign Affairs). He collected and retold the lives of the saints, as a result of which he received the name “Metaphrast” (from Μεταφράξειν - to retell, to translate). Canonized by the Greek Church (November 9/22). According to Florensky’s instructions, the “Sermon” was composed on the night of November 5-6, 1908 “at the tomb of the deceased” and “read instead of the communion verse during the funeral liturgy for G. Kh. in the Academic Church 1908. XI. 6". It was first published only in 1990 (P.A. Florensky: religious and moral views. M.: Znanie, 1990. P. 57–59). G. Kh. Pop-Kharalampiev, a Bulgarian, was a master's student at the Moscow Theological Academy (62 course, 1903–1907). In 1907, he translated Florensky’s text “Dogmatism and Dogmatics” into Bulgarian and published it in the Sofia-based journal “Christianska Mis’l” (Christianska Mis’l. 1907. Part 1. Book 3. Noembrius. pp. 160–168; Book 4. Dekembry. S. 252–257). Died in Sergiev Posad on November 4, 1908. Text without title, dated Fr. Pavel Florensky in the note: “1916. XI. 25. Sergiev Posad. Wednesday. I decided to say this Word before the memorial service about the deceased soldiers, I thought of it unexpectedly for myself, while they called Dm by phone. Alex. Kuligin, who serves as a psalm-reader in our Red Cross. I wrote it after returning from the funeral service, but, of course, only approximately.” First publication: P.A. Florensky: religious and moral views. M.: Znanie, 1990. pp. 60–61. “Red Cross” - “Mariinsky Shelter of Sisters of Charity of the Red Cross” - founded by Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna in Sergiev Posad, a shelter for sisters of mercy who have lost their ability to work. In the home church of the Shelter, consecrated in honor of St. Equal to the Apostles Mary Magdalene, priest Pavel Florensky served from the autumn of 1912 until its close in Great Lent in 1922 (see: Andronik (Trubachev), abbot. The sacrament of the priesthood in the life of Father Pavel Florensky // Now and Ever. 2006. No. 3-4. P. 100-113). The manuscript is dated Fr. Pavel Florensky in the note: “1918. IX. 4. Serg. Pos. A Word about the Cross of the Lord." An extract is attached to the manuscript: “The cross “is consecrated (oil in this way: it is brought in some clean vessel to the bishop or priest, if there is no bishop; he blows on it and marks it three times with the image of the cross, with his hand; with a breath, expressing the grace of the Spirit, which the bishop received from Christ through His divine breath on the Apostles; and The cross depicts Himself crucified for us, who accomplished our salvation through the cross; why the cross itself has sacred power, and without the Cross nothing divine is accomplished "(St. Simeon of Thessalonica. Conversation on the Holy Sacraments, 29, works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church related to the interpretation of Orthodox worship. Vol. 2. P. 65)." Octoechos, tone 5, Tuesday evening. Stichovna, stichera 2. You might be interested in: