Вместо заключения

Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee! With God's help, with the undoubted strong intercession of St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, I am finishing my work, which took a lot of time - perhaps the last in my earthly life, since the Biblical age is ending... I venerated the Saint before - even before canonization (my attention was drawn to this bright personality by the same bright, ever-memorable His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy I), - and now, having read his letters, I fell in love more deeply. I saw in him not only a wise Archpastor, but also a modest, kind, attentive, always ready to help. This is both a bishop and a father! Let the instructive word of the great holy Hierarch remind us, and the whole world, of what is vitally important and saving; what gives meaning to our earthly existence, indicates the calling of us - the images of God, strengthens, inspires, makes us bright - God-like - gives something that cannot be replaced by any treasures, which is priceless!.. Yes, there is a lot of evil on Earth, but there is also an invincible Power at work here, before Which any sinful darkness disappears, just as darkness before the Sun. “Evil is strong” over those people “who do not want to labor to resist it, but are weak before Grace” (21:43). – Grace is our hope (29:281). Summarizing his instructive words, Saint Philaret draws the reader’s attention to a very important circumstance - to the fact that his word is directed not only to others, to those near and far, but also to himself. And this means that it is the fruit of deep God-enlightened reflections, the fruit of spiritual life itself - it comes from a pure soul to the souls of others and reminds itself. “What I advise you, what I advise you,” declares the Saint. “I tell myself and you: you need to awaken yourself from laziness, adhere to the spiritual breathing of the inner man, pay attention to yourself, so that cases of good do not pass by and so that vanity does not enter the heart. Occupation with earthly things makes the heart cold towards Heavenly things. Let us tear our heart away from the world and, if it has not yet been purified in order to rush straight to Heaven, let us carry it to Golgotha ​​and lay it at the feet of the Lord who suffers for us” (29:152, 366). “May your day not pass without my remembrance,” I finish again with the words of the wise Saint, which I tried to represent accurately, fearing that any paraphrase would be a weakening of them, “and may he come to you and say that I, although with an exhausted voice, ask you from the Father of days, times and centuries, the blessing of your days and years, under which good seeds and fruits pleasant from them would multiply and grow in the field of your life for time and eternity" (4:588). “May the Lord teach you to reason better than I; and you pray, “Let me not preach to others, and I myself will be turned away”” (1 Cor. 9:27) (7:137). Holy Hierarch Father Philaret! You now see the glory of God, so we ask you, pray for the Holy Church, which you selflessly served all your life, for its Most Holy Primate, for your Moscow flock, for all Orthodox Christians. We deeply believe in your effective intercession! “Rejoice to Saint Philaret, praise and affirmation of the Russian Church.” You might be interested in: