The teaching of our Holy Father John Chrysostom against the fear of death and lavish funerals

Contents Preface by the compiler of our Holy Father John Chrysostom, teaching against the fear of death and magnificent funerals Death!.. How much terrible and terrible sound is heard in this for the heart of a person - a sinner! Whose sinful soul does not tremble at the thought of death? No one can deny that most of us Christians look at death as a certain kind of misfortune, as an inevitable evil that a person has to reckon with out of necessity. And hence it is not at all surprising that one often observes this kind of phenomenon: excessive fear and strong trembling, revealed by a dying person during his transition to eternity; then, loud, soul-tearing sobbing and inconsolable grief, bordering on despair, with which the deceased is usually escorted to the grave; finally, a magnificent funeral and the creation of magnificent tombstones that cost a lot of money. These are, in most cases, the circumstances that accompany our transition to the afterlife. And all this does not testify to anything so clearly as the weakness of our faith in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead and the Providence of God, if not to say outright unbelief. St. John Chrysostom, as a protective archpastor, zealous for the moral good of his flock, in his conversations repeatedly touched upon these abnormalities of Christian life and, with all the power of his oratorical talent, with deep thoroughness and remarkable persuasiveness, developed his view on the causes of the fear of death and condemned the sinful funeral customs that had taken root in the lives of Christians of his time. It seems to us that modern Christian society cannot be called alien to the fear of death, far from the desire for the pomp of burial and the construction of expensive tombs, free from those vices that served as the subject of censure in the mouth of St. Chrysostom. Therefore, we decided, by publishing this book, to draw the attention of the Orthodox community to the beautiful and completely correct thoughts of St. from a Christian point of view. father, who resolve pressing issues of Christian life: How should a Christian look at death? What can be called a bad death in the eyes of a Christian? How should Christians be buried and how can we help our dead brethren? Our Holy Father John Chrysostom's teachings against the fear of death and lavish funerals “Of all human evils, one sin is a real evil, and not poverty, not illness, not insult, not slander, not dishonor and not even death - this, apparently, is the most extreme of all evils. Really, what’s terrible about death, tell me? Is it that it rather leads you to a quiet haven and to that serene life? Even if a person does not kill you, will not the very law of nature, at a certain time, separate your body from your soul? Even if what we fear does not happen now, it will happen a little later. I say this not because I expected anything terrible or sad, but because I am ashamed of those who are afraid of death. Do you expect such blessings, which you have not seen with your eye, and have not heard with your ear, and have not sighed into a person’s heart (1 Cor. 2:9), and you are not in a hurry to enjoy them? Are you negligent and procrastinating, and not only are you procrastinating, but you are also afraid and trembling? And aren’t you ashamed to grieve over death when St. Paul groaned because of the present life and in his letter to the Romans he said that the whole creation groans, and we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan (Rom. 8:22) 1? And he said this not in condemnation of the present, but out of a strong desire for the future. I have tasted, he says, grace and do not tolerate delay; I have the firstfruits of the spirit and strive for complete possession; I ascended to the third heaven, saw that indescribable glory, saw the royal splendor, learned what I was missing by staying here, and therefore I sigh! Is our teaching a fable? If you are a Christian, then believe in Christ; If you believe in Christ, then show me faith in deeds? How will you show faith in actions? – If you despise death, this is what distinguishes us from the infidels. They are rightly afraid of death, because they have no hope of resurrection, but you, following the better path and having the opportunity to philosophize about hope for the future, what justification will you find when, believing in the resurrection, you are afraid of death, like those who do not believe in the resurrection? But I’m afraid, you say, not of death; I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m afraid of dying badly, of being beheaded. So John 2 died poorly because he was beheaded? And Stephen 3 also died poorly because he was stoned? And according to you, the martyrs all died a pitiful death, because some were deprived of life by fire, and others by iron; some were thrown into the sea, others from rapids, and others into the jaws of beasts, and thus died? To die badly, man, does not mean to die a violent death, but to die in sins. Listen to how the Prophet talks about this: The death of sinners is cruel (Ps. 33:22), he says. He did not say violent death is cruel, but: the death of sinners is cruel and just, because after their departure from here - unbearable punishment, endless torment, a poisonous worm, unquenchable fire, pitch darkness, insoluble bonds, gnashing of teeth, sorrow, oppression and eternal condemnation. When such calamities await sinners, what good will it do them if they end their lives at home and on their bed? Likewise, there will be no harm to the righteous if they end their present life by the sword, or by iron and fire, when they have to move on to eternal blessings. Truly the death of sinners is cruel. Such was the death of that rich man who showed contempt for Lazarus 4 and, although he ended his life at home, on his bed in the presence of his friends, but after his departure he burned in fire and could not find any consolation there in the prosperity of this life. But it’s not like that with Lazarus, no; although he suffered a violent death in the land of the rich man among the dogs who licked his wounds (for what could be more painful than hunger?), but after his departure he began to enjoy eternal blessings there, having fun in the bosom of Abraham. What harm was there to him from the fact that he died violently, and what benefit to the rich man from the fact that he did not die violently? But we, you say, are afraid to die not violently, but unjustly: we are afraid, having not done anything that we are suspected of, to be punished on an equal basis with those caught in a crime. What are you saying? - Tell me. Are you afraid of dying unrighteously? Do you want to die for business? And who would be so pitiful and unhappy that, when faced with an undeserved death, he would rather die for his deeds? If we should be afraid of death, then we should be afraid of the one that befalls us through our deeds, because the deceased undeservedly through this very thing enters into communion with all the Saints. Most of those who pleased God and became famous died an undeserved death, and Abel was the first. He was killed not because he sinned against his brother, or because he insulted Cain, but because he worshiped God. Did God allow this, whether by loving him or by hating him? Obviously, loving and wanting to give him a most brilliant crown for such an unrighteous death. You see that one should be afraid not of violent and undeserved death, but of death in sins. Abel died undeservedly, Cain lived groaning and shaking (Gen. 4:12): who, tell me, was more blessed - the one who died in righteousness, or the one living in sins - the one who died undeservedly, or the one punished according to his deeds? Do you want me to tell your love why we are afraid of death? We were not wounded by the love of the kingdom, nor inflamed by the desire for future blessings; otherwise, like Blessed Paul, we would despise everything present; Moreover, we are not afraid of Gehenna, therefore we are afraid of death; We do not know the unbearable severity of the punishment there, therefore we are afraid of death instead of sin. Let me now say to you at the right time: brothers, do not be children in your minds, but be childish in malice (1 Cor. 14:20) 5. We certainly harbor childlike fear when we fear death rather than fear sin. Small children are frightened of faces, and not afraid of fire, but if you happen to bring them to a lit candle, they, without fear of anything, stretch out their hand to the candle and the fire; an insignificant mask scares them, but they are not afraid of what is really scary - fire. So we are afraid of death, which is an insignificant mask, and we are not afraid of sin, which is truly terrible and, like fire, devours the conscience, and this, as a rule, does not come from the essence of the matter itself, but from our unreason, so that if we consider what death is, we will never be afraid of it. What is death? It is the same as taking off clothes: the body, like clothes, covers the soul, and through death we lay it off for a short time in order to again receive it in its most holy form. What is death? A temporary journey is a dream that is longer than usual. Therefore, if you are afraid of death, be afraid of sleep; If you grieve for the dead, then grieve for those who eat and drink: just as this is a natural thing, so is this. Do not be sad about what happens according to the law of nature, grieve more about what happens from evil will; Do not weep for the dead, but weep for the one living in sins. Do you want me to tell you another reason why we are afraid of death? We do not live as we should, we do not have a clear conscience. If it were this, nothing would frighten us, neither death, nor hunger, nor loss of property, nor anything else like that. For someone who lives virtuously, nothing like this can harm or deprive him of inner pleasure; because whoever feeds on good hopes, nothing can plunge him into despondency. Indeed, what can people do that would make a valiant man grieve? Will they take his money? But he has riches in heaven. Will they be expelled from the fatherland? But through this they will send him to the city on high. Will they put shackles on him? But he has a free conscience and does not feel external chains. Will they kill the body? But it will rise again, and just as one who fights with a shadow and strikes the air cannot hit anyone, so one who is at enmity with a righteous man fights only with a shadow, wastes his strength, but cannot inflict a single blow on him. So, give me only firm faith in the kingdom of heaven, and - if you want, kill me today. I will thank you for death, because through it you will soon move me to those blessings. They especially talk about this, and we grieve that, delayed by many sins, we will not reach the kingdom there. So stop crying about death and cry about your sins to atone for them. This is why sadness is so that we use it to destroy our sins, and not to grieve over the loss of property, death, or anything else like that. So, let’s not be afraid of death, but let’s only fear sin and grieve over it, and I’m not saying this because we expect anything terrible, no; but because I want you to constantly have this fear within you and to fulfill the law of Christ in your very deeds. Whoever does not accept his cross, says the Lord, and comes after Me, is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:38). He said this not so that we would carry the tree on our shoulders, but so that we would always have death before our eyes, just like the apostle. Paul died every day (1 Cor. 15:31), laughed at death and despised real life. You are a warrior and constantly stand in the ranks, and a warrior who is afraid of death will never do anything valiant. So a Christian man who is afraid of dangers will not do anything great and glorious; on the contrary, he himself can be easily defeated, but the brave and magnanimous is invincible and invincible 6 . I told you that we are afraid of death not because it is a country, but because we were not inflamed by the love of the kingdom, and the fear of Gehenna did not overwhelm us, and moreover, because we do not have a good conscience. Would you like me to tell you the fourth reason for this inappropriate fear - a reason no less important and even more true than the previous one. We do not lead a strict life, which is appropriate for Christians, but we have fallen in love with this pampered, luxurious and carefree life; which is why, of course, they are tied to the present. But if we spent our lives in fasting, in all-night vigils and in abstinence, cutting off our disorderly desires, rejecting pleasures, remaining in the deeds of virtue, according to the word of St. Paul: mortifying the body and enslaving (1 Cor. 9:27) 7, not extending care for the flesh to lusts (Rom. 13:14), walking the narrow and sorrowful path; Then we would immediately desire future blessings and rush to free ourselves from present labors. So, do not grieve over death: it is by nature; sorrow because of sin; he is a lawless work of will. If you grieve for the dead, then grieve for those who are born, because just as this is a natural thing, so too 8. Let us not be afraid of death, although the time of death has not come, for we will be resurrected to a much better life. But, you say, will the body decay? – That is why we should especially rejoice that death decays, and the mortal perishes, and not the essence of the body. When you see an image being poured out, you do not say that its substance is lost, but that it receives a better image. Think the same way about your body and don’t cry. Then it would be necessary to cry when it would forever remain in torment. But you will say: this could have happened without the body decaying, so that they would remain intact. – What benefit would this bring to either the living or the dead? What good would it do, or better yet, what harm would it do? If the bodies had not decayed, then, firstly, pride, the greatest evil of all evils, would have taken possession of many. If even now, when the body is subject to corruption and filled with worms, many wanted to be revered as gods, then what would not happen when the body remained incorruptible? Secondly, they would not believe that the body was taken from the earth. If even now, despite the fact that the very end clearly testifies, some doubt this, then why would they not think if they did not see this? Thirdly, then they would love bodies excessively, and most people would become even more carnal and rude. If even now, when the bodies have completely decayed, some embrace coffins and shrines, then what would they not do then, when they could preserve the very image of them intact? Fourthly, they would not be very committed to the future. Fifthly, those who claim that the world is eternal would be even more confirmed in this thought and would not recognize God as the Creator of the world. Sixthly, we would not be confident in the dignity of the soul, nor in how closely the soul is connected with the body. Seventhly, many who have lost their relatives, leaving the cities, would begin to live in tombs and, like madmen, would constantly begin to talk with their dead. If even now people (since they are not able to hold the body itself, and it is impossible, because it smolders and disappears against their will), when taking portraits, stick to the boards, then what absurdities would not they invent then? It seems to me that then many would erect churches in honor of their beloved bodies, and those involved in sorcery would try to convince them that through them the demons give answers; whereas even now those who have the audacity to engage in calling the dead (necromancy) do a lot of things that are even more absurd than this, and, moreover, they do this when this body turns to dust and ashes. What countless forms of idolatry would not have originated from here? So, God, taking away everything that could serve as a reason for such absurdities and teaching us to renounce everything earthly, strikes the body with corruption before our eyes 9 . What serious thing, tell me, does death contain? Isn't it liberation from work, deliverance from worries? Don’t you hear Job, who in praise of her says death to her husband, peace, whose hidden way is (Job 3:23 10) Doesn’t she stop vices? If a vicious person dies, then death puts an end to his sins: the dead one is freed from sin (Rom. 6:7-11), that is, he no longer adds sins to sins; if a virtuous person dies, then all his good deeds remain safe and in a reliable treasury. But tell me, doesn’t death make the living more prudent and meek? Don’t you see how often the rich, arrogant and raising their eyebrows high, being present at the removal of the dead man and seeing his body lifeless and motionless, orphaned children, a widowed wife, sad friends, servants in black clothes and the whole house in a sad state, are touched, humbled, and contrite? Having previously heard many instructions and received no benefit, at such a sight they suddenly become wise, recognize the insignificance and corruption of human nature, the weakness and inconstancy of their power, and thus, from the misfortunes of others, conclude about their own changeability. If even in death there is so much robbery, so great is covetousness, and the strongest people, like fish, devour the weakest, then to what extent would covetousness not reach if there were no death? If now, when people know that they will not always use the loot and will have to provide it to others, willy-nilly, they reach such madness and frenzy; then how could their evil passion ever subside if they possessed it safely? Also: are not the crowns of martyrdom woven together by death? Was it not through her that Paul erected countless trophies? All the days, he says, I am dying, such is your praise (1 Cor 15:31-12). Death is not evil, but bad death is evil. Therefore, the Prophet says: the death of His saints is honorable before the Lord (Ps. 115:6-13). And in another place: the death of sinners is cruel (Ps. 33:22); He calls it cruel when someone leaves with a bad conscience, burdened and tormented by the consciousness of many sins. And whoever has a clear conscience rushes to the rewards, moves on to the crown 14. Just as a farmer, seeing decaying grain, does not lose heart or despair, but on the contrary, then he especially rejoices and admires, knowing that this decay is the beginning of a new life and the reason for the most abundant fruit production; so the righteous man, adorned with good deeds and daily awaiting the kingdom, seeing death before his eyes, does not lose heart, like many others, is not embarrassed and is not crushed; he knows that for those who live righteously, death is a change for the better, a transition to a most blissful state, a path to crowns 15. Many, I hear, often talk about the birth of death and some of them, which are not really shameful, are ashamed, while others, worthy of the greatest condemnation, are not disgusted; Therefore, I want to explore this subject too, I have heard many people say: so-and-so died worse than a dog in a foreign country, none of his relatives were with him and did not bury him, but almost many of the neighbors called each other, some mercenary dressed him, and thus he was buried. Therefore, so that this does not upset us, it is necessary to correct such judgments. This, man, does not mean dying worse than a dog, but dying worse than a dog means dying in sins, and not ending your life in a foreign country. Do not tell me about the one who is carried on a gilded bed, accompanied by the entire city, whom the people praise, on whom silk and gold clothes are thrown in great abundance; this means nothing more than to provide a plentiful meal for the worms. Do not point him out to me, but show me this very man, accompanied with such honor, on the day when Christ sits on the high throne, when he is brought in, called upon, demanded of him to account for what he said, what he did, what he thought. Then none of this multitude of people will protect him and deliver him from punishment and torment, and these exclamations and praises will not help him, but with a bowed head, with fear, with shame from accusations for his deeds, he will be led away and carried away by evil forces into endless torment with the cruelest gnashing of teeth, and then he will sob uselessly and be tormented by unbearable suffering. This is what will befall him there, but what will happen here is also unbearable. For after the praises pronounced in front of everyone for money, or out of some kind of fear, everyone will reproach him in the streets, and in the marketplace, and at home, and in hotels, and in workshops, and on the way, and in villages, and everywhere, each of those passing by with great fear will tell his neighbor and say what torments he will receive, what punishments he will meet, what suffering he is now experiencing. What benefit did real life have to him? What acquisition did he make from covetousness? He departed, leaving wealth to others, and he himself was buried, taking his sins with him. He who dies in this way really dies worse than a dog, but this does not happen to the righteous, but even if he ends his life in the desert, even if no one clothed him, even if no one was present at the same time, he departs, receiving a sufficient burial in boldness before God, receives a wondrous removal from the angels who are present and accompany his soul, as I previously showed this in the example of Lazarus, and leaves countless praisers of his life; and even if he left the children, all the inhabitants of the city will be their patrons and trustees, rewarding them according to their favor to their father. And the one who died in sins and greed, if he leaves children at his death, then makes them heirs of his wickedness and leaves them among the enemies; If he ends his life childless, then he leaves immortal condemnation for himself in the buildings and other possessions that he acquired through theft and covetousness. On the contrary, the righteous person acquires the greatest benefits even after death, benefiting everyone through the living memory of his virtue and making them better, while the vicious one is punished in this way. For those who everywhere leave evidence of their covetousness harm many not only during life, but also after death. So, knowing this, let us consider unhappy not those who die in a foreign country, but those who die in sins, and we will please not those who die at home and in bed, but those who die with virtue 16. Death is peace, liberation from everyday labors and worries. When you see that one of your relatives has left here, do not grumble, but pity your heart, go into yourself, examine your conscience, think that a little later the same end awaits you. Come to your senses and be afraid, seeing the death of your neighbor, reject all carelessness, consider your affairs, correct your sins, change your life for the better. We differ from non-believers in that we judge things differently. The unbeliever sees the sky and worships it, for he recognizes it as God; sees the earth and honors it, and cleaves to sensible things. We don't; but we see the sky and marvel at Him who created it; for we believe that it is not God, but the work of God; I see all creation and through it I ascend to the Creator. He (the unbeliever) sees wealth and is amazed and in awe; I see wealth and chuckle. He sees poverty and grieves; I see poverty and rejoice. I look at things differently, and he does differently. We do the same in the discussion of death: he sees a dead person and considers him dead; I look at the deceased and instead of death I see a dream, and like we all look at letters, both those who know and those who do not know how to read and write, with the same eyes, but not with the same thought; those who do not know see only letters, but those who know skillfully comprehend the meaning contained in the letters: so in life we ​​look at events with the same eyes, but not with the same thought and understanding. So, differing from the pagans in everything else, will we really agree with them in judgments about death 17? Let us imagine that a lifeless body lies, a man without a man lies on a table, limbs without a spirit; they tell him, but he doesn’t answer; his name is called, but he does not hear; lies with a pale face, in an altered form in which death itself is expressed; at the same time, one imagines his continuous silence, one imagines the pleasure and benefit that came or could have come from him, one remembers his relationship with others, one thinks of his pleasant words, one remembers the long-term treatment of him. This, without a doubt, is what draws tears, causes weeping and plunges the whole soul into deep sadness! Against this, such a strong and strong weapon of grief, we must first of all put forward the idea that everything that is born in this world must necessarily die. This is the law of God and the unchangeable sentence that was pronounced to the forefather of the human race after his fall in the words of God: you are earth and you will come to earth (Gen. 3:19). What is new if a person born for this fulfills the law and the Divine sentence? What is new if one born of mortals conforms to his nature in that which he could not avoid? There is nothing unusual in what has happened since ancient times; there is nothing extraordinary in what happens every day; there is nothing special about what is universal. If we know that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers passed this same path of death, if we heard that the Patriarchs and Prophets from the first-created Adam himself migrated from this world not without death, then we will raise our souls from the depths of sadness; here a man repays the debt he owed. What kind of sadness can there be when a debt is repaid? Truly, this is a debt that cannot be paid with any money, a debt that neither courage, nor wisdom, nor power can relieve, and which even the kings themselves cannot ward off. I, of course, would advise you to increase your sorrow if this matter were due to negligence or stinginess, then how could you pay off it with your own means or delay it; but if this is God’s determination, firm and unchangeable, then we grieve in vain and ask ourselves: why did such and such die, when it is written: the Lord’s, the Lord’s departure from death (Ps. 67: 21-18). Thus, if we take into account this general condition of our life, then the burdened eye of the heart will begin to feel relief, as if from the first lotion applied to it. I know, you will say, that this is a common fate; I know that the one who died paid the debt; but I imagine the pleasure that came from him, I remember his relationship with others, I remember his treatment. If you therefore indulge in grief, then you are acting erroneously and not being guided by reason. You must know that the Lord, Who gave you this pleasure, can give you another, better one; and He who brought you such an acquaintance has sufficient power to reward you in another way. As for the benefit, then, as you look at your own benefit, you should also think about the benefit of the deceased; Perhaps this is more useful for him, as it is written: he was caught up, lest malice change his mind: for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, for this reason it endeavored to lead him out of the midst of wickedness (Wis. 4:11, 14-19). And what can I say about community with him, when the very time brings him into such oblivion, as if he had never existed? Therefore, what time and the change of days produce, reason and healthy judgment should produce much more. It is especially necessary to think about what Divine wisdom spoke through the Apostle: the sorrow of this world brings death to death (2 Cor. 7:10-20). So, if pleasure, and real benefit, and acquaintance constitute the objects of this world and fleeting joys, then, look, for the sake of them, to lose heart and be contrite in heart is not truly a mortal disease? Again I repeat the same words: the sorrow of this world makes death. Why does it produce death? Because excessive sadness usually leads either to doubt or to destructive blasphemy. But, someone will say, how do you forbid mourning the dead, when the forefathers cried, and Moses, the servant of God, and many Prophets, and even the most righteous Job tore his clothes on the occasion of the death of his sons? It is not I who forbid mourning the dead, but the enlightener of the nations - the Apostle, who says: I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant of the dead, so that you do not mourn, as others have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-21). Those who lived before the law, or enjoyed themselves under the shadow of the law, mourned their dead, but the light of the Gospel cannot be so darkened. They rightfully cried because Christ had not yet come from heaven, who dried up this source of tears with His resurrection. They rightly cried because the humble sentence was still in force. They rightly shed tears because the resurrection had not yet been preached. Although at that time the saints were expecting the coming of the Lord, at the same time they mourned the dead, because they had not yet seen the One they were waiting for. Finally, Simeon, one of the Old Testament saints, who was also previously worried about his death, after receiving the Lord Jesus in his arms as a baby in the flesh, joyfully welcomes his death and says: now you are letting your servant go in peace, for you have seen your salvation with my eyes (Luke 2:29). Oh, blessed Simeon! Having seen what he was waiting for, he began to look at his death as peace and tranquility. But, you will say, it is read in the Gospel that both the daughters of the ruler of the synagogue and Lazarus’ sisters mourned Lazarus. But they still reasoned according to the Old Testament law, because they had not yet seen the resurrection of Christ from the dead. True, the Lord Himself wept over Lazarus, who was already buried, but not in order to set an example of mourning the dead, but in order to show with his tears that He had taken on a true body; or more likely, out of human love, He mourned the Jews, who, despite such a miracle, were not able to believe in Him. For the death of Lazarus, about whom Jesus Himself said that he had fallen asleep, and promised to awaken him, as he did, could not be the cause of the tears. So, the ancients had their own morals and their own weaknesses, like those who lived before the coming of Christ. But when the Word became flesh and dwelt in us (John 1:14), when the sentence spoken to the first Adam was resolved by the second Adam, when the Lord destroyed our death by His death and rose from the dead on the third day, then death was no longer terrible for believers; The West is not afraid when the East has come from above. The Lord Himself, who cannot speak a lie, cries out like this: I am the resurrection and the life, believe in Me, even if you die, you will live; and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11:25–26 22). It is clear, beloved brethren, says the Divine saying that he who believes in Christ and keeps His commandments, although he dies, will live. Having accepted this saying and supporting it with all the strength of faith, the blessed Apostle Paul offered the following admonition: I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve (1 Thessalonians 4:13). O wondrous saying of the Apostle! Even before he expounded his teaching, he already preaches the resurrection in one word. He calls the dead dead in order to make their resurrection certain by speaking of them as sleeping. Do not grieve, he says, for the departed, as you do for others. Let those who have no hope mourn, but we, children of hope, should rejoice. And what our hope is, he himself reminds us of this in the following words: if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God brings with him those who died in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14-23). Jesus is salvation for us while we live here, and life when we move from here. For me, says the Apostle, it is gain for me to live and to die (Phil. 1:21-24). Truly, it is a gain, for death with benefit ends the disasters and suffering that are associated with long-term life 25 . When you see a deceased person, do not look at the fact that he has closed his eyes and lies silent, but at how he will be resurrected and receive inexplicable, amazing and wondrous glory, and from the present vision raise your thoughts to the hope of the future. But you follow the custom and that’s why you grieve and cry? – But isn’t it strange? When you give your daughter away in marriage, you do not consider it a misfortune if the husband goes with her to a distant place and lives there happily, because the grief of separation is eased by hearing about their well-being; but here, when not a person, not some fellow servant, but the Lord Himself takes your relative to Himself, you grieve and lament! - How can you say that it is possible for a person not to grieve 26? Yes, I don’t forbid this; I only forbid you to be tormented by grief, to cry immoderately. I am not a beast and I am not inhuman. I know that nature is revealed in this, and that it seeks community and daily communication. It is impossible for a person not to be sad. Christ Himself showed this because He shed tears over Lazarus. Do the same: Cry, but quietly, but decently, but with the fear of God. If you cry like this, it will be a sign not that you do not believe in the resurrection, but that separation is difficult for you 27 . I do not forbid grief, but excessive grief, for to mourn is natural to nature, but to mourn beyond measure is characteristic of a reckless, frenzied and pampered soul. Grieve, cry, but don’t complain, don’t be faint-hearted, don’t be annoyed. Give thanks to the One who took it, and decorate the departed one, and clothe him in light funeral clothes. If you begin to grumble, you will offend the deceased, anger the One who took it, and harm yourself; but if you give thanks, you will decorate it too and glorify the One who took it and benefit yourself. Weep as your Lord wept for Lazarus, 28 giving us measures, rules and limits of grief that we must not transgress. So, Paul said: I do not want you, brother, to be ignorant of the dead, so that you do not grieve, like others who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Sorrow, he says, but not like a pagan who does not expect Sunday, who does not hope for the future life. I am ashamed, believe me, and blush when I see crowds of women rioting in the marketplace, tearing out their hair, breaking their arms, tearing their cheeks, and this is in the eyes of the pagans! What won’t they say, what won’t they say about us? Are these the wise about the resurrection? - How could it be wrong! For their deeds do not agree with the teaching; in words they talk about the resurrection, but in reality they act as if they did not expect it. If they were firmly convinced that there is a resurrection, they would not do this; If you were sure that the deceased had moved on to a better life, you wouldn’t cry. This and even more than this the infidels say when they hear such crying 29 . After all, we also cry for those who set out on the road and are separated from us, but not as much as those who despair. So you, too, cry for the deceased, as if seeing off someone departing in a strange direction. I say this not to make it a law for you, but out of condescension for your weakness. In fact, if the deceased was a sinner and offended God a lot, in this case he should cry, or better, not only cry, because there is no benefit for him from this, but also do something that can bring him some relief, (make, for example) alms and offerings. And, by the way, even in this case one must rejoice, because the opportunity to sin has been taken away from him. If the deceased is a righteous person, then he should rejoice even more, because he is safe and has already gotten rid of the uncertainty of the future. If this is a young man, we should rejoice that he is soon freed from the evils that surround us. If he is an old man, one should rejoice that he has departed, having thoroughly enjoyed what is considered desirable here. But you, forgetting to think about this, make the maids weep, as if you were doing honor to the departed. But this is extremely dishonorable! Honor for the deceased consists not of crying and sobbing, but of sacred songs and psalmody, and a good life. Such a person, having departed from here, will depart with the Angels, even if no one was with his remains. But a depraved person, even if the whole city saw him off, will not receive any fruit from it. Do you want to honor the deceased? Almost him in a different way - through alms, charity, liturgies. What is the use of crying a lot? And I also heard about another grave evil: they say that many, through crying, attract even lovers to themselves, by the excessiveness of their cries, creating for themselves the glory of wives who love their husbands. What a diabolical invention! What a satanic invention! How long will we be earth and ashes? How long - blood and flesh? Let's look at the heavens and think about the spiritual! What opportunity will we have to reproach the pagans, what opportunity to console them, when we ourselves act in this way? How will we talk to them about the resurrection? How to reason about any other philosophy? How can we live without fear? Don’t you know that death comes from sadness? Darkening the vision of the soul, sadness not only prevents it from seeing anything it should, but also causes great harm. Truly, when we indulge in excessive grief for the deceased, then we offend God and do not benefit either ourselves or the deceased; and when we do the opposite, we please God and gain a good opinion from people. If we ourselves do not lose heart, then God will soon destroy the remnant of sorrow in us, and if we become very upset, He leaves us in the power of sorrow. If we give thanks, we will not grieve. But how is it possible to tell someone who has lost a son, or a daughter, or a wife not to grieve? I don’t say: “You don’t have to grieve,” but: “You don’t have to grieve beyond measure.” In fact, if we think that God took them, that our husband and son were mortals, we will soon receive consolation. To mourn here means to demand something supernatural. If you were born human and mortal, then why do you grieve over what happened in accordance with nature? You don’t grieve that you support your life with food, do you? You don't want to live without food, do you? Do the same in relation to death and do not seek until the time of immortality, when you were born mortal. It is determined once and for all. Do not grieve and do not be distressed, but endure complacently what is generally prescribed for everyone 30. After this, brothers, is there any room for doubt? Could there still be a fear of death? If we are the sons of martyrs, if we desire to be their companions, then we will not grieve over death, we will not mourn those dear to us who go before us to the Lord. For if we begin to grieve for them, the blessed martyrs will reproach us and say: you who believe and desire the kingdom of God, you who bitterly cry and weep for your dear ones dying calmly on couches and soft beds - what would you do if you saw them tortured and killed by the pagans for the name of Christ? Don't you have any ancient examples? Forefather Abraham, sacrificing his only son, killed him with the sword of obedience (to God), and did not spare the one whom he loved with such love in order to prove his obedience to the Lord. You will say that he did this according to God’s command; but you also have a commandment not to grieve for the dead. And whoever does not observe the lesser things, how will he observe the greater things? Or don’t you know that a spirit that is crushed in such circumstances turns out to be incapable of doing the most difficult things? Will anyone who is afraid of a stream ever go to the sea? So will the one who impatiently mourns a loss ever be able to undertake the feat of martyrdom? On the contrary, the one who remains firm and magnanimous in such circumstances, by this very fact creates for himself a step towards the most important exploits. This, brothers, would be enough to learn to despise death and be confirmed in hope for the future. But it remains for me to give one example from antiquity, which can provide any consolation and which let everyone listen with the ear of the heart, even if it is a suffering one. The great King David grieved greatly when his beloved son, whom he loved as his own soul, was stricken with illness; since human means did not bring any benefit, he turned to the Lord, putting aside the royal pomp, sat on the ground, lay in a hair shirt, did not eat or drink, praying to God for seven whole days in the hope that his son would not be returned to him 31. The elders of his house came to him with consolations and asked him to eat bread, fearing that he, wanting his son to live, would not reach the point of exhaustion before him; but they could neither convince him nor force him, because impatient love usually does not look at the very dangers. The king lay in a gloomy hair shirt, and his son was ill; neither words brought him consolation, nor the need for food acted; his soul fed on sorrow, his chest breathed with sadness, and instead of drinking, tears flowed from his eyes. Meanwhile, what was predetermined by God happened; the baby died; the wife was in tears, the whole house was filled with groans, the servants waited in fear for what would happen; for no one dared to inform the lord about the death of his son, fearing that the king, who so bitterly mourned his still living son, would take his own life upon hearing about his death. When the servants consulted among themselves, when in despondency they either advised or forbade each other to speak, David understood and warned the messengers, asking if his son had died. Unable to hide it, they announced what had happened with tears. At the same time, there was extraordinary apprehension, strong expectation and fear, lest the gentle father expose himself to danger. But King David calmly leaves the hair shirt, gets up cheerfully, as if having received news of his son’s safety, goes to the washbasin and washes his body, comes to the church, prays to God, eats food with those close to him, suppressing sighs, putting aside all lamentation, and with a cheerful face. His family is surprised, those close to him are amazed at this extraordinary and sudden change and, finally, they dare to ask him what it means that during his son’s life he grieved so much, but after his death he no longer grieves? Then this man, extraordinary in his generosity, answered them: while the son was alive, it was necessary to humble himself, fast and cry before the face of the Lord, because there was hope for his return to life; but, when the will of the Lord has been accomplished, it is reckless and wicked to torment the soul with useless crying; now, he says, I am the imam to go to him, the same will not return to me (2 Samuel 12:23) 32. Here is an example of generosity and courage! If David, who was still under the law, had, I won’t say: permission, but the need to cry, if he thus restrained his soul from reckless crying and thus pacified his and his loved ones’ sadness; then we, who live under grace, who have the sure hope of resurrection, who have received the prohibition of all lamentation, why do we so persistently mourn our dead, following the example of the pagans, raise reckless cries, as if intoxicated, tear our clothes, expose our breasts, sing empty words and lamentations near the body and tomb of the deceased? Why do we paint our dress black, if not to show ourselves as unbelievers and pitiful not only with our tears, but also with our clothes themselves? All this, brothers, should be alien to us, not permissible; and even if it were permissible, it would be indecent. However, some of the brothers and sisters, whom their own faith and the commandment of the Lord could make firm, are weakened and crushed by the opinion of relatives and neighbors, lest they be considered stony and hard-hearted if they do not change their clothes, if they do not give themselves up to frantic, insane crying. But how empty, how obscene, it is to think about the opinions of erring people, and not be afraid of causing damage to the faith that you have accepted! Why shouldn't such a person learn better patience? Why shouldn't he who doubts learn faith from me? Even if there really was such sadness in his chest, in this case it would be necessary to temper the grief in silence with prudence, and not divulge about it with mental frivolity. I would like to offer one more example to correct those who think of mourning the dead. This example is from pagan history. There was one pagan leader who had an only and rather beloved son. When, according to pagan delusion, he made a sacrifice to his idols in the Capitol, the news reaches him that his only son was gone. He did not leave the sacrifice that was in his hands, did not cry or even sigh, but listen to what he answered: “Let them bury him,” he says; I remember that I gave birth to a son to a mortal.” Look at this answer, look at the courage of the pagan: he did not even order to wait for himself so that his son could be buried in his presence. What will happen to us, brothers, if on the day of judgment the devil brings him against us before Christ and says: this admirer of mine, whom I deceived with my wiles so that he would serve blind and deaf idols, to whom I did not promise either the resurrection from the dead, nor paradise, nor the kingdom of heaven, this valiant man, having learned about the death of his only son, was not saddened, and did not sigh and did not leave my church at such news, but Your Christians, your believers, for whom You were crucified and died, so that they would not be afraid of death, and would be assured of the resurrection, not only mourn the dead with both voice and appearance, but then even find it difficult to go to Church, and some of your clergy and pastors interrupt their service, indulging in weeping, as if against your will. Why? Because You deigned to call them to You from the darkness of the age. What will we, brothers, answer to this? Will we not be overcome with shame when we find ourselves inferior to the pagans in this respect? A pagan who does not know God must cry, because as soon as he dies, he goes straight to execution. The Jew, who, by not believing in Christ, doomed his soul to destruction, must also lament. Our catechumens 33 are also worthy of regret if, either through their own unbelief or through the negligence of their neighbors, they die without saving baptism. But whoever is sanctified by grace, sealed with faith, honest in behavior and unchangeable in innocence, when he departs from this world, we must please, and not mourn, we must envy, and not cry for him, however, envy in moderation, since we know that in due time we will follow them. So, believer, wipe away your tears, hold back your sighs, stop sobbing, and instead of this sadness, take upon yourself that saving sadness, which the blessed Apostle called sadness according to God, which usually brings certain salvation, i.e., repentance for wrongdoings (2 Cor. 7:10). Examine your heart, ask your conscience, and if you find something that requires repentance, and you find it as a man, then sigh when confessing your sins, shed tears in prayer, lament over true death, over the punishment of the soul, lament over your sins, as David says: for I know my iniquity, and my sin before me will be taken away (Ps. 50:5); and do not be afraid of the destruction of this body, which in due time, by the command of God, will be renewed for the better. Look how the decree of God prescribes both: the hour is coming, it says, when those in the tombs will live (John 5:25, 28). Here is peace, here is an incentive to despise death! What next? And those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil will come out in the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29-34). This is the difference between the resurrected! Every human body must be resurrected; but the good will rise to life, and the evil will rise to execution, as it is written: for this reason wickedness will not rise in judgment, lower than the sinner in the council of the righteous (Ps. 1:5-35). Therefore, in order for us to be resurrected not for condemnation, let us stop grieving over death, but accept the sadness of repentance, take care of good deeds and a better life, let us think about the dust and the dead, in order to remember that we too are mortal and so that with such a memory we do not neglect our salvation while there is time, while it is still possible, or bear better fruits and correct ourselves if we have sinned out of ignorance, so that we, if the day death will overtake us by accident, we did not have to look for time for repentance and not find it, ask for mercy and the opportunity to atone for sins and not get what we wanted. So, brethren, we have shown the universality of death, explained the impermissibility of tears, shown the weakness of the ancients and its unusual nature for Christians, explained the mystery of the Lord, cited the testimony of the Apostles, mentioned the deeds of the Apostles and the suffering of the martyrs, pointed to the example of David, and in addition, to the act of the pagan, finally, we presented both harmful and useful sorrow, the one that harms, and the one that saves through repentance. When all this is shown in this way, what else should we do, brethren, but cry out with gratitude to God the Father: Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth (Matthew 6:10)? Thou hast given life, Thou hast established death; You bring into the world, You bring out of the world, and having brought out You preserve, none of Yours perish; for You said that not even a hair of their head would perish (Luke 21:18). Take away their spirit and they will disappear and return to their dust; but follow Your Spirit, and they will be created, and you will renew the face of the earth (Ps. 103:29–30 36). Here, brethren, are words worthy of believers, here is saving medicine; whose eye is wiped with the sponge of this consolation; moistened with prudence by this lotion, he will not only not feel the blindness of despair, but will not experience even the slightest suppuration of sadness, and, looking at everything brightly with the eyes of his heart, he will say like the most patient Job: The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away; as the Lord willed, so it was; Blessed be the name of the Lord forever (Job 1:21) 37. No one should cry anymore, no one should grieve and condemn the correction of Christ. For he conquered death. So, why are you crying in vain? Death is no longer anything but a dream. Why do you mourn and weep? Why do you shame the dead? Why do you make others tremble at death? Why do you force many to accuse God, as if He had prepared great disasters for us? Or, even more, why do you, after the death of one of your relatives, call the poor and ask the priests to pray for him? - In order for you to say that the deceased will receive peace, so that the Judge will be merciful to him. So, is this what you cry and weep about? But you contradict yourself. From which he 38 retired to the harbour, you expose him to the storm. But what to do, you say? This is our nature! No, don’t blame nature and don’t consider your tears necessary. We ourselves transform everything, we ourselves indulge in weaknesses, we humiliate ourselves and make the infidels worse 39 . But, you say, I’m not mourning him, but myself? And it is not typical for a lover to want him to still lament about you and be subject to the uncertainty of (your) future, when he should be crowned and go to the haven, or to be overwhelmed by the waves, when he can be in the harbor. But I don’t know, can you tell me where he went? How do you not know, tell me? He lived either righteously or not: therefore it is known where he will go. That’s why, you say, I lament that he died a sinner. This is just an excuse and a pretext; If you therefore mourned the deceased, then you should have corrected and improved him during his lifetime, but you only care about yourself, and not about him. However, if he died a sinner, then even in this case one must rejoice that his sins have ceased and that he has not yet added evil to evil, and help him as much as possible, not with tears, but with prayers, supplications, alms and offerings. For all this was not established in vain; It is not in vain that during the Divine Sacraments we commemorate the dead and intercede for them, begging the present Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world, but so that they may have some consolation from it; It is not in vain that he who stands before the altar, during the performance of terrible sacraments, cries out: “For all those who have fallen asleep in Christ and those who create memory of them.” If commemorations were not made about them, then these words would not be spoken. Our actions are not spectacular performances; - Let it not be, - they are accomplished according to the dispensation of the Spirit. We will help the dead and commemorate them. For if Job’s children were cleansed by their father’s sacrifice (Job 1:5), then why do you doubt that when we make a sacrifice for the dead, there is some consolation for them? God often gives grace to one for another. This was explained by the ap. Paul, when he said: Yes, from many persons the gift that is in us is given thanks by many for you (2 Cor. 1:11) 40. Let us not be lazy in helping the dead and offering prayers for them; for a general cleansing of the universe lies ahead, therefore we then pray with boldness for the entire universe and name them together with martyrs, confessors and priests. For we are all one body, although some members are more excellent than others. Thus, it is possible to gain forgiveness for them from everywhere, both from prayers, and from gifts offered for them, and from those invoked with them 41 . Listen, wives who love to cry and indulge in immeasurable sorrow: You are acting like a pagan. If it is common for pagans to grieve for the dead, then tell me, to whom is it fitting to grieve and lacerate the cheeks? Why do you cry if you believe that the dead will be resurrected, that he has not perished, that death is sleep and peace? “Then, you say that in him I lost my husband, protector, trustee and assistant in all matters and needs. When you lost your son in infancy (who was still there), who could not do anything for you, then why do you cry, what do you regret? He, you say, showed good hopes, and I expected that over time he would take care of me. That’s why I regret my husband, that’s why I regret my son, that’s why I’m tormented and sobbing; - not because I didn’t believe in the resurrection, but because I became helpless and lost a patron, a companion, an accomplice in everything, a comforter. That's why I'm crying! I know that he will resurrect, but I cannot (indifferently) endure temporary separation. A lot of trouble threatens me: anyone who wants to can offend me; the slaves who formerly feared me now despise and insult me; whoever was benefited by the deceased has forgotten his benefits; whoever was offended by him, out of malice towards him, pours out anger on me. That’s why I can’t bear widowhood with indifference and not cry bitterly; That’s why I’m tormented, that’s why I’m crying. So, how can we console them? What shall we say? How shall we satisfy their sorrow? I will try to prove to them in advance that their crying does not come from these reasons, but from reckless passion. For if you grieve for these reasons, then you should grieve for the dead incessantly. But if, after one year, you forget him so much that you live as if nothing had happened to you, then, obviously, you are not mourning the deceased and not his protection, but you are mourning because you cannot bear (with indifference) widowhood and the end of the marriage. What will those who entered into a second marriage say (against this)? Of course, they no longer regret their former husbands. However, we will not speak to them, but to those who have sincere affection for the dead. Why are you crying about your son, why about your husband? You speak about the first because he did not bring me the expected joy, and about the other because I hoped to continue sharing joy with him. Meanwhile, don’t you reveal extreme unbelief, believing that your husband or son is your protector, and not God? How can it not occur to you that you are insulting God by this? He often takes them away so that you are not attached to them to such an extent that you place your only hopes on them. For God is jealous and wants us to love Him most of all, and this happens because He loves us very much: for you know that this is the property of those who love ardently; they are extremely jealous and would rather lose their lives than see their rivals triumph. That's why God took him away - precisely for these reasons. Do not love your husband more than God, and you will never experience widowhood; and even though it befalls you, you will not feel its weight. Why? Because you have the Immortal as your patron, who loves you more. If you love God more, then do not cry; for the more Beloved is immortal and you will not allow yourself to grieve over the loss of the one you love less. Let me explain this to you with an example. If you had a husband who acted in everything according to your wishes, a respectable one, for whose sake you would be respected and honored everywhere - respected by everyone, intelligent, sensible, loving you, if you were happy with him and had a child with him, who would then die before reaching adulthood; then tell me, would you really begin to grieve with grief? No! for his loss would have been made up for by your beloved husband. So in the present case, if you love God more than your husband, then He, of course, will not take him soon, and if he did, you would not grieve bitterly. That is why blessed Job did not give in to grief at all when he heard about the sudden death of his children, because he loved God more than them. Consequently, this loss could not sadden him because the One Whom he loved was alive. What are you saying, wife? Would a husband or son be your protection? Doesn't God care about you? And who gave it to you, isn’t it He? And who created you, wasn’t He? Is it possible that the One who brought you from non-existence into existence, breathed a soul into you, invested a mind, deigned to give you knowledge of himself, and who did not spare His Only Begotten Son for you, does not pity you, but will pity you just like you, servant? What great anger do these words excite! What did you get from your husband like that? You can't say anything. For if he did you any favor, he did it, having been favored by you in advance. But no one can say anything similar about God: for God does not do good to us in order to repay our previously shown benefits to Him, but, having no need for anything, out of His goodness alone He does good to the human race. He promised you a kingdom, gave you eternal life, glory, brotherhood, adoption, made you a joint heir of the Only Begotten, and after so many benefits you still remember your husband! What did he give you? God commanded His sun to rise, sends rain, and feeds the fruits that grow every year. Woe to us so ungrateful! That is why God takes away your husband, so that you are not (exclusively) attached to him, and even after his death you would like to have him and leave God, being obliged to thank Him and turn completely to Him. What did you receive from your husband? Illnesses of childbirth, labor, insults, frequent reproaches, reprimands and grief - isn’t this what wives endure from their husbands? But on the other hand, you say, there are benefits. What are these? Did he dress you up in expensive clothes? Put gold jewelry on your face? Made everyone respect you? But if you want, then God will decorate you with a decoration much better than (those that were given to you) by the deceased. For honesty adorns a woman more than gold jewelry. But do you care who will feed the remaining children? Father of orphans. For who gave them, tell me? Do you not hear what Christ says in the Gospel: Is not the soul more than food and the body clothing (Matthew 6:25)? Do you see that the reason for crying is not widowhood, but unbelief 42? Or have you lost your son? Not lost; don't say that. This is a dream, not death, migration, not loss, a transition from worse to better. Do not irritate God, but appease Him; if you endure it generously, then from here there will be some consolation for both the deceased and you; if not, then you will anger God even more. Do not do this, but thank God, so that the cloud of your sorrow may thus be dispelled; say like blessed Job: The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away (Job 1:21); Imagine how many who pleased God more than you did not even have children at all and were not called fathers. And I, you say, would not like to have them; because it is better not to experience pleasure than, having experienced it, to lose it. No, I exhort you, do not say this, do not provoke the Lord; but give thanks for what you have received, and bless for what you did not keep until the end. Job did not say: “It would be better not to have,” as you say, ungrateful one, but he also gave thanks: The Lord gave, and for this he blessed: The Lord took away; Blessed be the name of the Lord forever. And to his wife, stopping her lips and admonishing her, he said such wonderful words: if we receive good things from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure evil (Job 2:10) 43? And later, when he was subjected to the most severe temptation, he also did not waver, but endured just as generously and praised God. Do the same and think within yourself that it was not man who took your son, but God, who created him, who cares more about him than you and knows what is good for him, and not some enemy or unkind person. Remember how many children, having survived, made life difficult for their parents. But, you say, don’t you see the virtuous? I see them too; but your son's condition is safer than theirs; they now deserve praise, but their end is unknown; and you no longer need to fear and tremble for him, lest something happen to him, lest some change occur to him. Think the same way about your kind and homely wife and thank God for everything. If you were to lose your wife, thank Him; maybe God wants to lead you to abstinence, calls you to great deeds, wants to free you from bonds 44. Death is an indifferent thing; since death is not evil, but it is evil to suffer after death. Likewise, death is not good, but good is to be with Christ after death. What happens after death is good or evil. So, we should not grieve for all those who die and not rejoice over all who live. How? We must weep for sinners not only who die, but also who live; and rejoice over the righteous, not only the living, but also those who have died. For they died while they were alive, but these live even after death. Those in this life are pitiful for everyone, because they insult God; and these, having moved there, are blessed, since they have gone to Christ. Sinners, wherever they are, are far from the King, therefore worthy of tears, but the righteous are here or there together with the King, and there they are still much closer to Him, not by contemplation, not by faith, but, as they say, face to face. So, let us mourn not all those who have died, but those who have died in sins. These are worthy of crying, sobbing and tears. For what, tell me, is there any hope of going away in sins to a place where it is no longer possible to put aside your sins? While they were here, one could very well expect that they would change, that they would be better; and when they go to hell, there is no benefit from repentance. In hell, it is said, who will confess to you (Ps. 6:6)? How are they not worthy of tears? Let us cry for those who die like this, I do not prevent; We will cry, but without violating decency, such as: we will not tear (our) hair, bare our hands, torment our faces, put on black clothes, but we will only quietly shed bitter tears in our souls. For even without this ritual one can cry bitterly, and not just joke; so, no matter how little different from jokes what some do. These public torments are not out of compassion, but for show out of ambition and vanity. Many women do this as a trade 45 . Weep bitterly and groan long where no one sees; this is a matter of compassion, it will benefit you too. For whoever cries like this for another will try all the more to avoid being subjected to the same thing. After this, sin will be terrible for you. Weep for the infidels, weep for those who are not at all different from them, who die without baptism and confirmation; truly, these are worthy of tears and lamentation. They are outside the royal palace with the accused and condemned. Amen I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5) 46. Weep for those who died in wealth and did not think of doing anything from their wealth to console their souls, who had the opportunity to cleanse their sins and did not want to. We will all cry for them, separately and together, only with decency, without losing our sedateness so as not to expose ourselves to ridicule. We will cry for them not one, not two days, but throughout our entire lives. These tears are not the result of reckless passion, but of tender love; and those (tears) come from insane passion and therefore are soon dried up. For whatever comes from the fear of God is permanent. So, we will mourn them, we will help them as much as we can, we will come up with some kind of benefit for them, although small, but still able to help. How and in what way? Praying themselves and convincing others to pray for them, always giving to the poor for them. This will provide some relief. For listen to what God says: I will defend this city for My sake and for David’s sake (2 Kings 20:5). If only the memory of the righteous was so strong, then how could the deeds done for the deceased not be strong? It was not in vain that the Apostles established that when performing terrible Mysteries they would remember the dead. They knew that this would give them a lot of benefits, a lot of benefit. For when all the people and the sacred face stand with hands raised and when a terrible sacrifice is presented, how can we not beseech God, asking for them? But we are talking about those who died in faith. But the catechumens are not rewarded with this consolation, but are deprived of any such benefit, except for one certain one. Which one exactly? For them you can give to the poor; this gives them some comfort. For God wants us to help each other. Otherwise, why would he command to pray for the peace and well-being of the world, why for all people? Although here among everyone there are robbers, grave diggers, thieves, and those full of countless vices, we nevertheless pray for everyone; Maybe this will contribute somewhat to their conversion. Therefore, just as we pray for the living, who are in no way different from the dead, so we can pray for the dead. Job made sacrifices for the children and cleansed them from sins: negli, he says, when he thought it in his thoughts (Job 1:5) 48. When you hear that Christ rose naked 49, stop spending so much money on burial. What, in fact, do these unnecessary and useless costs mean? They cause great loss to the burying party, and do not bring any benefit to the deceased and, to tell the truth, are even harmful. Magnificent funerals have repeatedly been the cause of grave robberies and have resulted in the fact that the person who was once buried with all the sophistication then lay naked and without burial. But, oh vanity! How great power it reveals in the midst of crying itself! What madness it leads to! Many, in disgust of robbery, tear the thin burial shrouds and fill them with many aromas, so as to render them doubly useless to the kidnappers, and thus consign them to the earth. Isn't this crazy? Is it not madness of the mind to exhibit splendor and at the same time destroy it? No, you will say, we are inventing all this so that the clothes lie safely on the dead man. So what? If thieves don’t take them, won’t moths and worms eat them? And if moths and worms do not eat, will not time destroy decay? But let us assume that neither thieves, nor moths, nor worms, nor time, nor anything else will destroy the things placed in the grave; Suppose that the body remains intact until the resurrection and all those things remain new, strong and thin, what is the benefit of this for those who have departed, when the body rises naked, and all these things will remain here (on earth) and will not bring us any benefit during future tortures? But why, you say, was it like this at the burial of Christ? You should not at all compare the burial of Christ with the burials of men. It was also there that the harlot poured out myrrh on His holy feet. However, if something needs to be said about this, then, firstly, it was done by people who did not know the doctrine of the resurrection. That is why the Evangelist says: just as it is the custom for Jews to bury (John 19:40). After all, those who honored Jesus with burial were not from among the twelve (disciples); but these were (disciples) who did not value Him very highly. The Twelve (Apostles) did not honor Him in this way, but by their death, by giving themselves up to the slaughter, and by enduring various misfortunes for Him. True, that was an honor, but much lower than the one I just talked about. On the other hand, with us, as I already said, we are now talking about people; and then all this was done for the Lord. And so that you know that Christ did not desire this at all, listen to what He said: “You saw Me hungry and fed me; to the thirsty and gave them something to drink; naked and clothed” (Matthew 25:35–39); but nowhere did he say: “they died and were buried.” I am not saying this in order to destroy the custom of burial; no, but in order to stop luxury and inappropriate splendor. This, you say, is caused by grief, and sadness, and compassion for the deceased. No, this does not come from compassion for the deceased, but from vanity. If you want to show condolences to the deceased, I will show you another method of burial and teach you to clothe him in such clothes that will rise with him and present him in a brilliant form. These clothes are neither destroyed by moths, nor destroyed by time, nor stolen by thieves. What kind of clothes are these? This is the robe of almsgiving. This clothing rises with the deceased, because the seal of alms remains with him forever. With these clothes will shine those who will then hear: “You fed Me when I was hungry.” These clothes make the dead glorious, famous and safe, but the clothes of today are nothing more than the food of moths and the meal of worms. And I say this not because I forbid taking care of the dead, but so that you do it with moderation, cover only the body and do not bury it naked. If the living should not have anything more than the covering of the body, then even more so the dead, because a dead body does not need clothes as much as a living and breathing one. While we live, we need clothing both because of the cold and for decency; and since we have died, we do not have these needs, and only so that the body does not lie naked, we need burial shrouds. Our best burial shrouds are the earth, the most beautiful and most fitting covering for our earthly body. So, if now, when we have so many needs, there is no need to look for anything superfluous, then pomp is all the more inappropriate when there are no such needs. But people, you say, who see this will start laughing. Even if someone began to laugh, obviously one should not pay much attention to him, as if he were a completely stupid person. Many, on the contrary, would rather be surprised at us and praise our wisdom. It is not what we teach that is worthy of laughter, but what we now do when we cry, weep and, as it were, bury ourselves with the dead. This is what is worthy of both laughter and punishment; and wisdom in all this, as well as observing moderation in clothing, brings us crowns and praise. In this case, everyone will praise us, marvel at the power of Christ and say: “Oh, how great is the power of the Crucified One! He convinced mortals and perishables that death is not death, and so they act (when burying the dead) as if they were not dying, but were moving to a better country. He convinced them that this corruptible and earthly body would be clothed in clothing much more brilliant than silk and gold-woven garments - it would be clothed with incorruptibility; and therefore they do not care much about funerals, but consider a virtuous life to be the best funeral decoration.” This is how everyone will talk about us when they see us being philosophical. If they see that we are tormented by grief, faint-hearted and surrounded by a choir of weeping women, then they will mock and laugh at us and condemn us a thousand times, reproaching us for reckless spending and wasted work, and we hear that everyone really condemns us for this, and very rightly so. Indeed, what excuse will we have when we adorn our body, destroyed by corruption and worms, but despise Christ, the thirsty, naked and stranger? Let us leave behind this vain concern. We will bury the dead in such a way that it will benefit both us and them, to the glory of God. We will give abundant alms for them and send them off with this most beautiful parting word. So, when someone dies, let the relatives of the dying person prepare a funeral robe for him and let him convince him before his death to leave something for the poor. Let him go (to eternity) with these clothes, let him leave Christ as his heir. If those who appoint kings as their heirs leave their relatives in the greatest safety, then imagine what kind of favor he will gain both for himself and for all his people who, together with his children, leaves Christ as his heir! This is a beautiful robe for the dead! It is useful both for those who remain alive and for those who depart (to eternity). If, in this form, we are buried, we will appear resplendent during the resurrection. And if, while caring for the body, we neglect the soul, then we will suffer many troubles and be subjected to great ridicule. It is no small disgrace to leave here without virtue; It is not so much a shame for the body to be cast down without burial as it is for the soul to appear then without good deeds 50 . Their graves are their dwellings forever (Ps. 48:12). What could be worse than such madness - to consider tombs as eternal dwellings and to be exalted in them? Thus, many often build tombs more magnificent than houses. They work and worry either for enemies, or for worms and dust, squandering property without any benefit. This is the way of thinking of those who hope for nothing in the future. But at the same time I need to mourn many others who, while hoping for the future, imitate those who have no hope for the future, building tombs, erecting magnificent monuments, burying gold in the ground, wasting their property on others, and thus turning out to be worse than those people. He who does not expect anything after this life cares about the blessings here, although unreasonably, but at least because he does not expect anything better; and you, a person who knows about the future life, about the unspeakable blessings there, that, according to the saying of the Gospel, then the righteous will shine like the sun (Matthew 13:43), what forgiveness can you receive, what justification can you have? What just punishment will you not suffer when you waste everything here in dust, in ashes, in monuments? Truly, tell me, what could be crazier than people who work on tombs and monuments and are amazed at the inscriptions of other people's names? Nothing leaves a memory of us except one virtue. The righteous will be in eternal memory (Ps. 112:6). Where are those who build precious tombs and erect magnificent buildings? Let them listen to what makes memory eternal - not stone buildings, not fences and towers, but doing good deeds 51 . So, let's begin to clothe the soul, let's begin to clean it throughout our entire life. If during our lifetime we did not take care of it, we will come to our senses, at least in death, and we command our relatives to help us after death with alms. With such mutual assistance to each other, we will receive great boldness through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages 52. Amen. In Russian Transl.: We know that the whole creation groans together, and not only it, but we ourselves, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we groan within ourselves. St. Chrysostom, of course St. John the Baptist. St. Chrysostom means St. the first martyr Stephen, one of the seven deacons of the primal Christian church (Acts 6:57, 60). The Holy Father reminds listeners of Christ’s parable about the rich man and poor Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). In Russian translation: Brothers! Do not be children in your mind: but be evil babies. Conversations to Antioch. to the people, vol. 1, S.-P. B. 1859, pp. 285–296. In Russian transl.: I pacify and enslave my body. Conversations to Antiochus. to the people, vol. I, S.-P. B. 1859, pp. 318–321. Conversations on Gospel. Matthew, part 11. Ed. 5th. m. 1864, pp. 109–111. Job’s words have the following meaning: The death of a man (husband) stops all his emotional unrest, puts an end to all his labors and suffering, so that it is peace for him. And the path of man, says Job, is hidden, that is, the goal of man’s life itself with its disasters, suffering and hardships, which to the sufferer often seem undeserved, is, as it were, hidden from man, unknown to him. To justify this, Job refers to his suffering, the cause and purpose of which was not clearly understood by him, but which, in his opinion, should undoubtedly have a high moral and educational significance for his life, since they are sent to him by the wise and Good God. Death, in this way, in Job’s view, is peace, tranquility of a person, and the very goal of one or another person’s life path is hidden from the latter. Note compound. In Russian trans.: The deceased was freed from (doing) sin. In Russian translation: Every day I die, your praise bears witness to this. According to Russian translation The road in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Conversations on the Psalms. T. 11. S.-P.-B. 1860, pp. 5–7. Conversations on the Psalms. T. 1st. C-II.-B. 1860, p. 416. Conversations for different occasions. T. 1st. S.-P.-B. 1864, pp. 89–92. Conversations to Antioch. to the people. Vol. 1, pp. 134–135. According to Russian translation: The gates of death are in the power of the Lord Almighty. According to Russian translation. He is caught up so that malice does not change his mind;... for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, and therefore he hastened from the midst of wickedness. In Russian translation: Worldly sorrow produces death. According to Russian translation: I do not want to leave you, brothers, in ignorance about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. In Russian translation: I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. In Russian translation: If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. In Russian translation: For me, life is Christ, and death is gain. Conversations at various places St. Scriptures. T. III, S.-P.-B. 1863, pp. 488–494. Conversations to Antioch. to the people T. 1st, pp. 131–132. Conversations on the Gospel of John the Theologian. Part 1, S.-P.-B. 1862 p. 214. As for why the Lord shed tears, intending to call Lazarus from the tomb (John 11:35), then St. I. Chrysostom allows for a twofold explanation here. Jesus Christ, then, in his opinion, either wept for Lazarus, whom He loved (John 11:3 and 11), and who was now already four days in the tomb (John 11:17 and 39), which the saint expresses in his Antioch conversations (see Conversations to the Antioch. People, vol. 1, 1859, p. 132 and Conversations on St. John, part. II, 1862, p. 214), or mourned the Jews, who, as He foresaw, would not believe in Him as the Messiah, even despite such a miracle as the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead (see Chrysostom’s first conversation about consolation in death). The last, second assumption seems to be St. Chrysostom deserves great credibility (see Conversations on various places of the Holy Scriptures, vol. III, p. 492). Note compound . Conversations to Antiochus. to the people. T. 1st, pp. 132–133. Conversations on Gospel. John. Part II, pp. 214–217. On this see 2 Samuel. 12:15–23 . According to Russian translation: I will go to it, but it will not return to me. In the ancient Christian Church, those who had not yet received the Holy Order were called catechumens. baptism, but only prepared for it through an oral “Announcement”, i.e. instruction in the original truths of the faith. Note comp. In Russian translation: and those who did good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who did evil into the resurrection of condemnation. According to Russian translation: Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgment, and sinners will not stand in the assembly of the righteous. In Russian translation: You take away their spirit, they die and return to their dust; you send Your spirit, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth. Conversations on various topics sacred places Scriptures, vol. III, pp. 503–511. Those. dead. Note compound. Conversations on Gospel. Matveya. Part II, pp. 42–44. According to Russian translation: So that for what has been given to us, through the intercession of many, many may give thanks for us. Conversations on the first last. to Corinth. Part II. Ed. 2nd Sib. 1859, pp. 397–398. Conversations on the first last. to the Thessalonians. St. Petersburg 1859, pp. 98–104. According to Russian translation: Will we really accept good from God, but not evil? Conversations on the first last. to Corinth. Part II, pp. 399–400. In the time of St. Chrysostom, not only in the pagan, but also in the Christian society of Byzantium, there were the so-called “Mourners,” that is, women who were hired for a certain fee to mourn the deceased. They usually accompanied the deceased to the cemetery with loud crying. Mourning the deceased thus became a kind of craft for some Christian women. Note, composition. According to Russian translation: Truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That is, the deceased. Note composition. Interpretation on the last to Philip. Ed. 2e, pp. 61–65. Holy Gospel. John narrates that when, after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, the Apostles Peter and John ran to the tomb of Jesus, then, bending down, they saw the burial shrouds and the cloth that was on the head of Christ lying in the tomb; and the latter lay retinue in a special place, separate from the former (John 20:3–7; cf. Luke 24:12). Note, composition. Conversations on Gospel. John. Part 11, pp. 508–514. Discourses on the Psalms, vol. 1, pp. 418–421 and vol. II, pp. 40–41. Conversations on Gospel. John. Part 1, page 514.