Часть 1-я. Рассказы и размышления на евангельские чтения в дни воскресные

Gospel of John. zach. I, ch. I, art. 1–17. 1. Holy Resurrection of Christ There are many bright and solemn holidays in St. Orthodox Church; but there is nothing brighter and more solemn, nothing more joyful and comforting than the great day of the Resurrection of Christ, when everything is clothed in light, the heavens rejoice, the earth rejoices, and the whole world triumphs in the great victory of our Savior over death and hell. This is what the Gospel tells about this glorious and great event (Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18). Great Saturday passed, on the night of which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried the body of Jesus. The coffin cave in which it was buried was sealed with a huge stone; There was a guard with her, which the high priest and the Pharisees convinced Pilate to assign to guard the tomb until the third day, so that the disciples of Christ, “coming at night, would not steal His body and would not say to the people: He has risen from the dead.” But the stones were also sealed from the Jews, and by the warrior guarding the most pure body of the Lord, on the third day after His suffering and death on the cross, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, in accordance with the writings of the prophets. This happened after midnight on Saturday the day after it (now Sunday). The soldiers on guard saw how, after the resurrection of the Savior, an angel rolled away the stone from the tomb cave, and witnessed the earthquake that occurred at that time. The face of the angel who rolled away the stone, according to the Evangelist Matthew, was like lightning, and his robe was white as snow (Matthew 28:3). This lightning gaze of the angels and their brilliant attire were a living expression of their heavenly joy and bright triumph in heaven, which on this great day, according to the testimony of St. The Church, as it were, was filled with special light (Easter canon, canticle 3, troparion 1). Amazed and frightened by this miracle, the warriors fell on their faces and remained as if dead for some time. Having come to their senses, they went and told the high priests and scribes about everything that had happened, but these, having bribed the soldiers, taught them to tell the people that at night, when they were sleeping, the disciples of Jesus Christ came and stole the body of their Teacher. But this evil and absurd invention of the enemies of Christ was not successful, and the truth of the resurrection of Christ in a short time was witnessed to the whole world and became its property. On the first day after His resurrection, the risen Lord, according to church tradition, appeared first of all to His Most Pure Mother, the Virgin Mary; but the Gospel does not mention anything about this appearance of the risen Lord. According to this legend, St. The church sings in its hymns, turning to the Mother of God: “Having seen Thy Son and God risen, rejoice, O God-gracious, pure Apostle: and rejoice first, for thou hast accepted the guilt of all joys, O Mother of God, all-immaculate.” Then other appearances of the risen Lord followed, and all believers learned about this joyful, great event. Early at dawn on the first day of the week, on which Jesus Christ was resurrected, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome hurried to the tomb with prepared precious incense to anoint the body of the Lord. Entering the garden and knowing that the stone rolled at the entrance to the tomb cave was very large, the myrrh-bearing wives began to say to each other: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” Inspired by deep sorrow and fiery love for the Lord, Mary Magdalene got ahead of the other myrrh-bearing wives, found the stone rolled away, entered the cave and, not finding the body of the Lord, hastened to inform the apostles Peter and John about this. Then the other wives came and were amazed to find the stone rolled away and the tomb cave empty. Mary Magdalene, coming to Peter and John, announced to them with sorrow: “They took the Lord away from the tomb, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” Meanwhile, the myrrh-bearing women who remained at the cave, when they were perplexed about what had happened, saw a young man in white shining clothes sitting on the right side of the tomb cave. They fell into fear and lowered their gaze to the ground, but the angel said to them: “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. What are you looking for between the living and the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He told you, while still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly, tell His disciples and Peter that He has risen from the dead and will meet you in Galilee; You will see Him there." The myrrh-bearers remembered the words of Jesus Christ, and trembling and horror fell upon them. Hastily leaving the cave of the tomb, they ran with fear and great joy to tell the disciples of Jesus the angel's news, but they did not say anything to anyone else, because they were afraid. Meanwhile, upon the notification of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John hurried to the tomb. They both ran together; but John ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. And, bending down, he saw only the burial shrouds lying; but did not enter the cave of the tomb. Peter comes after him and enters the cave and sees only the linens and the cloth that was on the head of Jesus, not lying with the linens, but especially rolled up in another place. Then John also entered, and saw, and believed, for they did not yet know from the Scriptures that Christ had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their place again, marveling at what had happened. Following the apostles, Mary Magdalene also returned to the tomb. Overcome with grief, she stood near the cave and cried. Amid sobs, Mary bent down to look into the tomb cave and saw two angels in white robes sitting: one at the heads, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lay. "Wife! Why are you crying? the angels asked her. Mary answered: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Having said this, she turned back and saw the resurrected Jesus in front of her, but did not recognize Him, perhaps because her gaze was clouded with sadness. Jesus Christ, turning to Magdalene, asked her: “wife! Why are you crying? Who are you looking for? She, thinking that it was the gardener, exclaimed: “Sir! if you have brought Him out, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him.” Then Jesus says to her in His solemn, gentle and sweetest voice: “Mary!” and this voice penetrated to the depths of her soul. Mary recognized the Lord and joyfully exclaimed: “Teacher!” She rushed to Him with the intention of hugging His legs and grabbing the hem of his robe, but the Lord meekly stopped her: “Do not touch Me, for I have not ascended to My Father, but go to My brothers and tell them: “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, My God and your God.” Struck by awe, Mary Magdalene obeyed the command of the risen Lord and went to the disciples of Christ with the solemn message: “I have seen the Lord.” All this was early in the morning before the sun rose. Mary's message did not go unconfirmed. And the other myrrh-bearing wives met Jesus Christ, who said to them: “Rejoice!” Seized with horror and excitement, they fell at His feet. “Do not be afraid,” the Lord said to them, “but go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” On the same day, the risen Savior appeared to Peter, and then to two disciples walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus, talked with them and broke bread at supper. But the other apostles, having heard from Mary Magdalene and the other myrrh-bearing wives about the resurrection of the Lord, still did not believe them until they were finally convinced of this in a visual and obvious way. On the evening of the same day, the resurrected Jesus appeared to all the apostles (only the Apostle Thomas was missing, who was later convinced of the resurrection of the Lord) in the Jerusalem upper room, when the doors of the house were locked for fear of the Jews. Standing among the apostles, the Lord said to them: “Peace be with you!” and showed them His hands and feet pierced with nails. To further assure the apostles that He was the same, although with glorified flesh, the Savior demanded food from them and tasted part of the fish and a little honey. And after this appearance of the risen Lord, when the apostles were most clearly convinced of the reality of the resurrection of Christ, they rejoiced with indescribable joy and glorified the Risen One. Thus began a bright celebration on earth on the very first day of the resurrection of Christ. It was a worldwide celebration: together with the earth, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His victory over death, and heaven with its bright celestial beings, and the underworld, in which the souls of all those who died before the coming of the Lord languished to this day, joyfully celebrated; on this day, in the words of church hymns, “everything was filled with light: heaven, and earth, and the underworld...” Not a single holiday is celebrated in our country as solemnly as the holiday of Easter, or the Holy Resurrection of Christ; The entire Easter service is aimed at arousing joy in the hearts of believers about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who trampled death by death and gave eternal life. The special features of the Easter service include, among other things, the solemn reading of St. Gospels in different languages; This expresses the idea that the word of God, according to the commandment of the risen Lord: going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), should be preached to all nations, so that there would be no people who could not take part in the bright joy of the Resurrection of Christ. The Gospel of St. was chosen for reading on the 1st day of Easter. Apostle John the Theologian, which begins with the words: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was to God, and God was the Word... The teaching about God the Word, that is, Jesus Christ, is so sublime that even the pagans were amazed. One pagan sage said that the first words of this Gospel should be written in golden letters on the most elevated places. Therefore, John is rightly called the Theologian par excellence. Since the Gospel of John, read on the first day of Easter, is very difficult for most Orthodox Christians to understand, we, with God’s help, will try to briefly explain it for the glory of the risen Lord and for our own edification. In the beginning was the Word: at the very beginning, when the world did not yet exist, the Word of God, that is, the Son of God, already existed. Why is the Son of God called the Word? To express His incorporeal birth. Just as an ordinary word, coming from our mind, when not pronounced, is hidden in our nature, but when pronounced, it becomes clear and expresses our thoughts, feelings and desires - so the Son of God, having one essence with God and the Father, expresses and reveals the advice and will of God to thousands of thousands of believers. And a word to God: the Son of God dwells eternally with God the Father, and has always been inseparable from Him. And God is the Word, that is, the Divine Word has always been and is God, equal and consubstantial with the Father. This has been from time immemorial (from time immemorial) to God. Everything that was and without Him was nothing, it was, that is, everything that we see on earth and in heaven and that we do not see (for example, angels) - everything happened through the Word of God, and without His participation nothing happened that exists. These words are explained by the apostle. Paul, when he says: “By him, that is, the Son of God, were all things created, both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible... everything was created by Him and about Him. And He is before all, and in Him all things are found” (Col. 1:16–17). Everything happened through Him, but not independently of the Father, but together with the Father. In Him was the life and life of man: in the Son of God lies all life; He gives life to everything and sustains it; He, being life for everyone, was Light for people, enlightening and sanctifying them. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not embrace Him. Just as ordinary light shines in the darkness, illuminates objects and disperses the darkness, so the Son of God, the true light, enlightened people wandering in the darkness of ignorance and idolatry - and the darkness could not extinguish this heavenly light. But then the time came when this light, which shone dimly in the Old Testament, began to shine in all its splendor when the Son of God appeared into the world. But before the Son of God appeared on earth, His Forerunner came: a man was sent from God, his name was John. This One has come as a testimony, to testify to the Light, so that all may have faith in Him. Such an important event as the appearance into the world of the Son of God, the incarnation of the Word of God, could not take place without some kind of forewarning. And indeed, there were many prophecies about this event, and everyone, especially the Jews, eagerly awaited the promised Messiah. And now this expected time has come; First of all, the great ascetic and preacher of repentance, St. John the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord, son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth, a relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was sent by God in order to prepare the way for the Lord, in order to dispose people to accept the One who comes after him. Although John the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets, according to the Savior Himself: “Of those born of women there is none greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11) - however, he was not light, but only a preacher about the Light: not without light, but let him testify to the light; It is the true light that enlightens every person coming into the world. The true light is Jesus Christ. In the world there was no, and the world was, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and He did not receive His own. This Light - the Son of God - was in the world for a long time, and the world was created by Him, but since the world was immersed in darkness and ignorance, it did not recognize the true light, because darkness is afraid of light. The Jews, who had more knowledge about God than others, should have joyfully accepted the Savior, but in reality it did not work out that way: they did not accept Him as their Messiah; and this people, who willingly listened to His saving teaching and so often received help from His beneficent power, however, treacherously allowed the bound Savior to be led to trial before the elders, without even raising a voice in His favor. The little ones received Him, and gave them the realm to become children of God, believing in His name, who were not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of manly lust, but of God. To those of the Jews who accepted Him and believed in Him, Jesus Christ gave the right to be called children of God not by carnal birth, but by the grace of God, by spiritual birth in the Sacrament of Baptism. All believers can boldly turn to God: “Our Father!..” And the Word became flesh and dwelt in us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the only begotten from the Father, filled with grace and truth. Although the Son of God became incarnate, that is, became a man, the glory of the Divine was inseparable from Him: He was the God-man: and the apostles saw His glory as the Only Begotten Son of God (especially during the transfiguration). John testified of Him, and cried out, saying: He is the one who killed Him: He who came after me was before me, as he was before me. John the Baptist testifies of Jesus Christ, saying: He is the One about whom I said: He who comes after me, who appeared after me, became ahead, higher and stronger than me, since He, as the beginningless Word, existed forever, was before me. And from His fulfillment we all receive grace and receive grace: for the law was given by Moses, and grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:1-17): from the fullness of His Divinity we have all received the fullness of grace-filled gifts, which were not in the Old Testament; at that time there was only the law given by God through Moses, but now, with the coming of Jesus Christ to earth, the time of grace and truth has come. These are the deep thoughts contained in the Easter Gospel: it contains the teaching about God the Word, about the second person of the Most Holy Trinity - the Son of God, eternal and omnipresent, who for our sake came down from heaven and became incarnate. 3. Word of St. John Chrysostom, read at Matins on Easter, arranged by Plato, Metropolitan of Kyiv “If anyone is pious and God-loving,” - who truly honors God and loves Him sincerely, “let him enjoy this good and bright celebration,” the glorious Resurrection of Christ, which we now celebrate and in which the Lord so wondrously showed his goodness to the human race, and his wisdom in redeeming it from eternal destruction, and his power over the enemies of our salvation. “Whoever is a prudent servant”, who does not hide the talents given to him by God - time, strength and abilities - in vain, does not waste time on earthly affairs and pleasures, but wisely uses them to serve the Lord and acquire eternal bliss, “let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord,” may he be a participant in that spiritual joy that the Lord has prepared for His faithful servants, redeemed by the Blood of the Savior ( Matthew 25:21). “Whoever has labored by fasting” - who during the past fast did not remain in idleness, but worked diligently on the work of his salvation, “let him now receive a denarius” - will receive in the gracious fruits of the Resurrection of Christ the reward that God promised to good workers (Matthew 10:10; Matthew 20:1-8). “Whoever has worked from the first hour” - fulfilled the will of God from childhood, or from the time when the Lord called him to His heirloom, that is, the Church of Christ, “let him now receive the payment that is due to him in justice.” “Whoever came after the third hour” did not start the work of God suddenly, but skipped a little time, “let him celebrate thanks” to God for his condescension towards him. Those who managed to come “at the sixth hour” came to the call of God even later, when half of their life had already passed, “let them not worry in the least; for he will not lose anything” from those benefits that the risen Lord gives to everyone who wants to partake of them. “Whoever missed even the ninth hour,” slowed down even more and began to work on the work of God when the day of his life was already approaching evening, “let him approach without any doubt or fear”: for now the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people (Titus 2:11). “If someone managed to come only at the eleventh hour,” even one who entered God’s work very late, began to care about the salvation of his soul already in old age, “let him not be afraid of delay: for the Master of the House, loving honor” and being generous, “accepts the last as the first, he calms down the one who came at the eleventh hour, as if he had worked from the first hour,” giving everyone their due. “And he satisfies the first,” rewarding him with justice, “and he has mercy on the last” with condescension, “and he gives” what he deserves, “and he gives to him” according to His goodness; “and accepts good deeds” with joy, “and kisses good intentions” with love; “and the deed honors” as it should, “and the good disposition praises.” “And so, all of you, enter into the joy of your Lord! Both the first and the last receive bribes” from the merciful Lord! “Rich and poor, rejoice one another,” as children of one Heavenly Father! “Toiling and lazy” in the work of their salvation, “honor the present day” of worldwide triumph! “You who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice now,” when heaven and earth rejoice, all creation celebrates! “The meal is plentiful: take your fill of it, all of you.” The “Taurus” slain for us is “large and well-fed”: no one should go away hungry! “Everyone enjoy the feast of faith, everyone enjoy the riches of God’s goodness!” “Let no one complain of poverty: for the kingdom” of heaven has been opened to everyone, in which a rich inheritance is prepared for those who believe. “Let no one weep for his sins: for from the tomb” of the Savior “forgiveness has shone forth” to all sinners who wish to receive it. “No one should be afraid of death: for Savior’s death freed us from it,” unless we again become enslaved to it by our sins. “She was destroyed by the Life-Giver who embraced her.” The Son of God, who “descended into hell,” “took hell captive and distressed it.” Having foreseen this long ago, the prophet Isaiah exclaimed: hell was upset when it met You in its depths (Is. 14:9). “He was saddened: for he was abolished,” - he was empty; “he was upset: for he was ashamed” by the outcome of his struggle with the Savior; “he was grieved: for he was killed,” - he lost what constituted his life and strength; “he was grieved because he was deposed” from his throne and deprived of power over the human race; “I was upset because I was bound” and can no longer act with the freedom and strength as before. “He took flesh, and received God in it: he took earth, and found heaven in it; took what he saw and was subjected to what he did not expect.” So God caught him with His wisdom! Where is your sting, death? Where is your victory (1 Cor. 15:55)? - Where is the sin with which you, death, hurt people? Where, hell, is the triumph over humanity? - “Christ has risen, and you have fallen” like a powerless enemy! - “Christ has risen, and the demons have fallen” - your servants, through whom you captured people! - “Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice,” looking at the wondrous triumph of the Son of God and the salvation of people! - “Christ is risen, and life is established” everywhere, even where there was previously an area of ​​death and corruption! - “Christ is risen, and there is not one dead in the tomb”; “For Christ, raised from the dead, was the firstfruits of those who died” (1 Cor. 15:20)! - He was the first to rise as the Head, and then all His members will rise - those who believe in Him and have His life-giving Spirit within them (1 Cor. 15:21-23; Rom. 8:11). May “to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever”! Amen. 4. Old Testament Easter and New, Christian Easter For a long time the chosen people of God languished in Egyptian slavery and were already losing hope of being freed from it. No matter how much the great leader of this people, Moses, showed, by the power of God, miracles before Pharaoh, the king remained adamant, did not want to listen to the voice of the God of Israel and let His people go from him. Finally, when, after the nine plagues sent down on the Egyptians, Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, then the Lord announced to Moses that he intended to send one last, terrible plague on Egypt and its king: the destruction of all the firstborn, starting from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the firstborn of his last slave, and even to the firstborn of all livestock, and that this execution would be the persistence of Pharaoh, finally crushed, and he will immediately release the Israelites 1 . At the same time, in order to forever preserve among His people the memory of their deliverance from the yoke of Egypt, God commanded the establishment of a holiday. On the 10th day of the month Abib 2, - each father of the family had to choose from his sheep the best (most perfect) one-year-old, male lamb, and on the 14th day, in the evening, slaughter it and, having dipped a brush of hyssop in the blood of the lamb, anoint it on the threshold and doors of his house, so that the destroyer, when he comes to smite the firstborn of Egypt, seeing the signs of blood, would pass by the houses Jewish and did not bring about extermination among them; then bake the lamb on the fire and, having gathered all the household, eat it, without breaking any of its bones, with unleavened bread (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs, as a sign of the haste of departure and in remembrance of the sorrowful life and hard slavery in Egypt. Those eating had to imagine the appearance of those preparing for the journey: have their loins girded, boots on their feet, staffs in their hands, and eat the lamb standing, with reverence, because this is the Passover of the Lord 3. The Hebrew word "Passover", according to some, means: parting words; according to the interpretation of others - passing; Some people translate it as the salvation of the firstborn. All three of these meanings apply to the event being celebrated. Passover was eaten in the evening, on the eve of the exodus of the people of God from Egypt; That night he who destroyed the firstborn of Egypt passed through the houses of the Israelites sealed with the blood of the lamb, and their firstborn were saved. Just as the rivers were once filled with the firstborn of the Jews, so now the Egyptian tombs are filled with the firstborn of the Egyptians. Crying and sobbing filled all the dwellings, from the royal palace to the wretched hut: everyone wept for his firstborn, the firstfruits of his sons. The frightened Pharaoh not only decided to let the Israelites go, but even forced them to go quickly and take all their property with them. And Israel arose, having been in captivity in Egypt for 430 years, and on the shore of the sea, which miraculously passed and swallowed up Pharaoh with all his army, sang to God, their Savior, a solemn song of praise and thanksgiving 4! In memory of this great event, the Israelis annually on the 14th day of Nissan solemnly celebrated the Passover, that is, they ate the Passover lamb, which according to the law had to be slaughtered only in the sanctuary: first in the tabernacle, and then in the temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish Passover was celebrated legally as long as the law of Moses was in force, but when it was replaced by the law of grace; when the image gave way to the prototype; when, instead of the lamb slain annually in every family, the Lamb of God, who took upon himself the sins of the whole world, was slain on Golgotha, once and for all, - then the Jewish Passover ceased to be legal, giving way to the Christian Passover! What does Christian Easter mean? The Apostle Paul answers this question. “Our Easter is Christ, who sacrificed Himself for us to God!” 5. Our Lord Jesus Christ took upon Himself human flesh for no other reason than to die for us, and if He had not subjected Himself to death, then the glorious victory over death would not have followed, and there would not have been a Bright Resurrection! And so, celebrating the resurrection of the Lord on our Easter, we also celebrate His death. In the ancient Church, the day of the Lord's crucifixion was considered between the great holidays; Some Churches in the East, three days before Easter Sunday, celebrated another Easter, the Cross, in remembrance of the Lord's suffering on the Cross. Now the Church, merging the memory of the resurrection and death of Jesus Christ into one solemn holiday of Easter, invites heaven, earth, the entire visible and invisible world to this joyful celebration, for Christ has risen - eternal joy! And at the same time he sings praises to Christ - the new, cleansing Passover, the living Sacrifice, the Lamb of God, Who willingly offered Himself for all to the slaughter 6! One of our compatriots calls us to such a union—remembering the glory of the Lord’s resurrection with His humiliation before death on the cross and burial: “Triumphing Christ, he said, risen for us, let us at the same time look with a tender heart at Christ, who was crucified, suffered, died and buried for us, so that joy is not forgotten and does not become meaningless. Only he has the complete and inalienable joy of the Resurrection of Christ who, together with Christ, has himself risen internally and has the hope of rising solemnly, and only he who accepts participation in the cross, suffering and death of Christ has this hope... Festive joy, which forgets the cross and death of Christ, calling us to the crucifixion of the flesh with passions and lusts, is in danger - what was begun by the spirit will be completed by the flesh, and those celebrating the resurrection turn Christ into those who crucify Him a second time 7!" And what the celebration of Christian Easter should be like is obvious; Our celebration must be as much holy and more perfect than the Jewish triumph as our Passover is holier and more perfect than the Jewish Passover! The basis of the Jewish Passover was a temporary benefit - the liberation of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery; The foundation of Christian Easter is an eternal good - the liberation of the entire human race from the slavery of sin and death! Establishing the Easter holiday of the Old Testament, God instilled in the Jews the special importance of this holiday and commanded it to be celebrated with all solemnity. “It is lawful,” He says, “celebrate it forever! The soul that violates the holiness of this holiday will be destroyed by the host of the children of Israel 8.” At the same time, during the celebration of Passover, the Jews were commanded, also under fear of death, to beware of all leaven 9, which is why, even a few days before Passover, they stopped eating kvass and for seven days ate unleavened bread - unleavened bread. The legislator of the New Testament did not deign to command His disciples to write down any rules about the celebration of Christian Easter in the sacred books of the Gospel; Easter of Christ is celebrated without any law, command or institution, and will be celebrated forever until the end of the world and constitutes in itself a feast of feasts and a triumph of celebrations! Only the Apostle Paul left us instructions on how to celebrate Easter in a worthy way, so as to please the risen Lord through the celebration. “Let us begin to celebrate,” he says, “meaning the custom of the Jews and the strictness of the Old Testament Church, “let us begin to celebrate not with old leaven, not with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth” 10! The Jew wasware of material kvass, the Christian must beware of spiritual kvass - malice and deceit; the Jew ate unleavened bread, which was only a symbol of purity, but a Christian must eat the thing itself - have spiritual purity. Why should a Christian’s festive joy be spiritual, pure, peaceful, elevating the soul. If a Christian should generally behave in such a way that his thoughts, feelings, words and deeds constantly reflect the lifestyle and spirit of our Savior, then even more so on the days appointed for the celebration of Easter, what better thing for him to do than remember the great events of the Gospel - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - which constitute the very subject of this celebration? (See the brochure “Easter of the Lord, Easter”, St. Petersburg, 1869; booklet “The Bright Feast of Christ Easter”, V. Preobrazhensky, St. Petersburg, ed. 1891, pp. 10–15). 5. About the origin and meaning of Christhood in St. Easter On the first day of St. At Easter Matins we perform the rite of Christhood established by the Church. This rite is very important and comforting, which is why we consider it a sacred duty to explain the meaning of this rite. 1. When we begin to share Christ with someone, we usually say: Christ is risen! and they answer us: He is truly risen! In this case, we imitate the first disciples and disciples of the Lord, when, after His resurrection, they talked among themselves about the Risen One and said: Truly the Lord has risen (Luke 24:14-35). Meanwhile, with these same greetings, although briefly, we clearly express to each other the history of this holiday. On the other hand, this greeting sheds inexplicable joy into our soul. Somehow it’s especially fun when you say, or from someone you hear sweet words: Christ is risen, truly risen. Therefore, we can say that they have now been introduced into constant use because they are joyful for our soul. And they are joyful because they contain a sweet hope for our future resurrection. Christ has risen from the dead, says the Apostle Paul, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor. 15:20). Therefore, if Jesus Christ was resurrected, then we will be resurrected. This is very comforting for all of us, and especially it is comforting for those whose path of real life is strewn with thorns and thistles. In fact, to be poor for your whole life, and then become a victim of death forever is terrible! But to live in poverty here, and then move on to blissful eternity and, finally, enjoy bliss together with the resurrected body... Could anything be more desirable than this? These are the reasons for both the sacred pleasure we feel from the words “Christ is risen, truly risen,” and their universal use in our mutual greetings. 2. Next, having greeted each other, we kiss each other. What does this mean? Kissing in general in everyday life is taken as a sign of heartfelt love for each other. It has the same meaning when receiving Christ. “The Easter holiday, in the words of Chrysostom, is a guarantee of peace, a source of reconciliation, the destruction of death, the destruction of the devil. Today people united with angels”... (word 72, volume VI). Therefore, is it possible for us, Christians, to remain hostile to anyone on such a bright holiday? Is it possible not to have heartfelt love for each other?.. Let us be enlightened by triumph, St. sings to us. Church, and let us embrace each other, saying: brethren, and we will forgive all those who hate us through the resurrection! These are the feelings in which our kissing should take place. Otherwise it will be like the kiss of Judas. 3. Finally, after uttering sweet words - Christ is risen, truly risen - and after mutual kissing, we give each other red eggs. The egg is a sign of our blessed resurrection from the dead, the guarantee of which we have in Jesus Christ. To understand how an egg serves as a sign of our resurrection, imagine what happens to it when it is incubated by a chicken for several days in a row? In this case, a new creature emerges from it, whose life was hidden by its dead shell. In the same way, the Life-Giver rose from the tomb, the dwelling place of death, and the time will come, and our bodies, by the action of Almighty God, at the sound of the archangel’s trumpet, will emerge from the heart of the earth and be clothed in incorruption. This is what the eggs we give each other remind us of. Do you know where this custom came from? It is very ancient, and originated, as legend says, from Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene. Having come to Rome, after the Ascension of the Lord, to preach the Gospel, she appeared before the Emperor Tiberius and, saying: Christ is risen, brought him a red egg - then it was the custom for poor people, as a sign of respect for rich people, friends, benefactors and authorities, to bring them an egg as a gift, on New Year's Day and on their birthdays. Following the example of Mary Magdalene, leading Christians began to give each other eggs on the days of the Holy Resurrection of Christ. And from them this custom passed on to us. But on what occasion did they become accustomed to giving each other red eggs? The incident, as the legend says, was as follows: on the very day of the Resurrection of Christ, when everyone was sure that Jesus Christ could not rise from the tomb, one Jew was carrying fresh eggs in a basket to the market for sale. On the road, another Jew meets him and says to him: “Well, friend, do you know what wonderful news happened in our city of Jerusalem? “After all, Christ, who died three days ago, rose from the grave, and many have seen Him.” But the Jew, who was carrying fresh eggs to sell, answered him: “No, I don’t believe it, that Christ rose from the grave; it is just as impossible as it is impossible for these white eggs to suddenly turn red.” But what? As soon as he said these words, the white eggs in the basket suddenly turned red. And this miracle struck him so much that he did not hesitate to accept the Christian faith. The news of this wonderful event soon spread among Christian believers and, in memory of this, they began to give each other red eggs. That is why, perhaps, Mary Magdalene presented Emperor Tiberius with a red egg. On the other hand, the red color on the eggs has a special meaning. And we will not be mistaken if we say that here it means the life-giving Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ had not redeemed us, we would have been eternal captives of hell and death, and therefore would have had no reason to hope for our future resurrection. But we are redeemed (Eph.1:6), redeemed by no other thing than the priceless Blood of Jesus Christ (2Cor.6:20). Therefore, we will certainly rise again. And since our redemption was accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ, it means that our future resurrection was acquired by us with the same blood. This is what the red color on the eggs reminds us of, and precisely, I will say more clearly: it preaches to us that our future resurrection is the fruit or consequence of the shedding of priceless blood by our Savior. This is the significance of the rite of Christhood. (Compiled from “Christ. Demons.”, supplement to the magazine “Past. Conversations” for 1893, vol. I). 6. It is a sin to spend the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ in despondency and sadness. We should rejoice, remembering that great and glorious day when our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave and by His resurrection delivered us from death. God Himself wants us to spend the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ in joy and joy, and therefore often sends unexpected joy on this day to His faithful sons who are in some difficult circumstances. One book records such an event. An innocent priest was slandered before one bishop, as a result of which, shortly before Easter, this priest was taken and kept in prison. When night falls from Holy Saturday to Bright Resurrection, an angel of God appears to the priest and says: “By the will of God you are freed from this imprisonment; you are given freedom to serve the liturgy in your parish village on the first day of Easter.” Having said this, the angel freed the priest from imprisonment and, leading him out of prison, accompanied him to the village. The prison guard reported the absence of the priest in the dungeon to the bishop, saying that the priest’s exit was miraculous, because he kept the key to the castle. The bishop sent a special person to the village to investigate: was the priest serving the liturgy there? It turned out that he served. The bishop became angry and intended to imprison him again. But the next night the angel of God again appeared to the priest and, with his consent, put him in the same prison. The bishop calls the priest to him and hears from him the following justification: “I was freed from prison and put back into it not by my own will, but that was the will of God Himself, who sent an angel to me twice.” The bishop made inquiries to see if any of the servants at the prison were to blame for the secret excommunication and return of the priest; but it turned out that no one. Then the bishop became convinced that the priest had suffered the dishonor of prison in vain, and that his release on Easter and return imprisonment was the work of an angel of God. He forgave the priest and ordered him to continue his ministry, and severely punished those who slandered him. (Prol. December 8). So God Himself takes care that on such a holiday as the Bright Resurrection of Christ, His holy service is performed in the church. The life of St. Paphnutius of Borovsky tells the following. In the monastery where the monk lived, one day on the first day of St. Easter, to the sadness of all the brethren, there was no fish. St. Paphnutius said to them in consolation: “Do not grieve about this, brothers, the Lord will comfort us.” And indeed, on Holy Saturday, a sexton, who went out to the flooded river to draw water for the divine service, noticed such a dense school of fish in the water that, after extracting it with nets, there was enough fish for the entire Easter week for all the brethren (Ch.-Min. May 1). It is remarkable that there have never been such abundances of fish either before or after that Easter. Who, if not God, miraculously forced this fish to gather in such a dense flock and bring joy to the brethren, so that their joy would not be darkened by the lack of fish? The life of St. Benedict tells the following. One day, the Lord appeared to a certain priest, who, on the occasion of Easter, prepared a rich meal for himself, in a vision and said: “Behold, you have prepared a lot of everything for yourself, and My servant Benedict, loving Me, is exhausted from hunger.” The priest got up and, taking food, went to look for St. Venedictus and found him in a cave. They met with joy and sat down. “Father! said the priest St. Benedict, “let us taste our food with gratitude to God, since today is Easter.” - “Today is Easter for me,” answered St. Benedict, since I have been honored to see you!” The monk, living far from people, did not know that at that time there was Easter. “Today,” said the priest, is truly the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, and you should not fast. I was sent to you by the Lord for this.” Having eaten food with St. an ascetic, the priest returned to his village (Thu-Min. March 14). In 1821, in Nizhny Novgorod, the girl Irina Andreeva was so sick that she could neither hear, nor speak, nor walk. When she needed to go somewhere, she was carried in their arms, she took food from strangers by touch; if she needed to ask for something, she either knocked with her hand or simply hummed. But on the first day of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, the unfortunate sufferer suddenly felt strength in her legs, relief in her head, light in her eyes, freedom in her tongue and the ability to hear. Then she said that a few days before the Holy Resurrection of Christ she had a vision in a dream. In a certain beautiful church, she saw two men: John the Baptist and some other Man in beautiful bishop’s vestments. This Husband commanded her to draw near to Him; With fear, she fell at His feet, and noticed a deep wound on His legs and arms. He blessed her and said: “Your suffering is over; on the day of My Resurrection you will be healthy!” On the day of Easter, Irina Andreeva again saw in a dream the beautiful Virgin, who, turning to her with the usual Easter greeting: “Christ is risen!” immediately disappeared suddenly. Waking up after this last vision, the patient felt completely healthy and on the very next day of Easter she was already in church, where she listened to the divine liturgy and a prayer service of gratitude for her miraculous healing (see “Sunday Reading” for 1884, No. 15). 1823 April 22, the first day of St. Easter, after standing before Matins, the following miracle happened in Kyiv over the deaf-mute novice Maxim. Towards the evening of Great Saturday, after completing his novice work, this Maxim went to the large Lavra church. Sleep began to overwhelm him, and he left the church for the prosphora in order to get some sleep here. But as soon as he dozed off, a woman in a white robe appeared before him and ordered him to go to church again. Having awakened, Maxim went to church, but again not for long: sleep overcame him, and he went to the prosphora room a second time to rest. But as soon as he fell asleep, he was awakened again by the same Woman (probably the Mother of God). This happened a third time. For the last time, having come to church and standing before the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, Maxim heard the singing of the Easter troparion: “Christ is risen” and at the same time he saw the same woman who had appeared to him earlier in a prosphora, a Woman in a light, white robe. She commanded him to say three times: “He is risen indeed!” Finally, in response to his silence, she blew in his face and disappeared, and Maxim at that very moment said: “Truly he is risen!” At the end of the morning singing, Maxim joyfully told everyone about the miracle that had happened to him!.. It is remarkable that this same novice Maxim, a year before this miraculous communication of the gift of speech to him, had his hearing miraculously opened by the power of God, also before the first morning Easter singing. (Ibid.). In 1838, from Monday to Tuesday of Bright Week, the widow Anisiya Stepanova, who was so deaf that she did not even hear the bell ringing, came to the Moscow Neopalimov Church to pray before the icon of the Mother of God, called “Unexpected Joy.” And during the service of a prayer service before the designated icon, she clearly heard the singing of the Easter troparion: “Christ is risen!” and “he is now a diligent priest to the Mother of God,” and from that time on, deafness never returned to her. (Ibid.). So, God Himself desires that on the day of the glorious resurrection of His Only Begotten Son all people should rejoice and that there should be no sorrows and sorrows among them. Now Christ has risen - eternal joy! Christ has risen, and He will resurrect us for an eternally blessed life with Him in heaven. He gave us an eternal life - this is the reason for the joy and triumph of this Bright Holiday! Go around all the cities, towns and villages inhabited by Christians - and you will see everywhere that on the days of this holiday everyone rejoices: noble and ignorant, rich and poor, old and small, relatives and strangers, acquaintances and strangers, friends and enemies - everyone, everyone greets each other enthusiastically with the joy of the resurrection of Christ. Let us also rejoice and be glad with pure and holy joy, sincere, heartfelt joy. Our joy from our faith is even now indescribable; What will be our joy when we see the Lord Himself in the future life? It will be the joy of all joys! 7. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is not terrible for believers and holy people. Christ rose again and with His death trampled death, and it lost its meaning. Believers in Jesus Christ now greet her with joy and joy. “I most of all desire to be freed from the body and to be with the Lord,” St. says about himself. ap. Paul (2 Cor. 5:8). “Death is not scary to me; she will sooner unite me with Christ,” the saints said about themselves. Vasily V. and John Zlat. Why is this? Because, with the resurrection of Christ, souls who truly believe in Jesus Christ do not go to hell, for the risen Christ opened the doors of paradise to the Kingdom of Heaven for everyone. To many St. It was revealed to the saints that the souls of the righteous, upon separation from the body, were immediately carried by angels into the Kingdom of Heaven. So, for example, in the life of St. Anthony V. is told that at one time, when he was walking in the desert, he saw a host of angels and the faces of the apostles, and among them St. Paul of Thebes ascending to heaven. (“Thu-Min.” January 17). St. Gregory Dvoeslov says that at one time St. Benedict got up at night to pray; at midnight he saw a light that shone so much that the night became brighter than the day. Surprised by this, he fixed his gaze and saw the bishop’s soul in a fiery glow. Herman, carried by angels to heaven (“Tale of the Life of the Italian Father,” book 2, chapter 35). Also: when St. Ioannikios reposed, then the monks saw his soul carried by angels into heaven (“Ch.-Min.” November 4). The same is said about Rev. Macarius of Egypt (“Thu-Min.” January 19). That with the resurrection of Christ, death was truly mortified and lost its meaning, is also evident from the miraculous actions that holy people showed over it. In the life of St. We find that the apostles raised the dead: for example, St. ap. Peter resurrected a certain Tabitha, for the sake of the good that she did to the poor (Acts 9:40); ap. Paul raised the young man Eutychus, who fell from a window (Acts 20:9); Rev. Macarius of Egypt once resurrected the husband of a woman to ask him about a hidden pledge; he also asked one murdered man to justify the innocence of the slandered man in murder, and he gave his answer (Ch.-Min. January 19); Rev. Patermufius once asked a deceased monk what was better for him: having died to live with Christ, or to return and live in the body, to which he, having risen, said: “Why did you resurrect me? It is much better for me to live with Christ; I don’t want to live in a body.” - “Sleep and pray to the Lord for me,” said Patermufi to the monk, and he died (C.M.). 8. The Resurrection of Christ is the triumph of faith, virtue and hope Christian Easter has always been celebrated with all solemnity. Even Christians did not have churches, yet, persecuted by pagans, they hid their worship in dens and abysses of the earth, but the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ was already the cause of a triumph so bright and lasting that one of the ancient defenders of Christianity (Tertullian) said out loud to all pagans: “your holidays, taken all together, cannot be compared in their continuation with one Christian Easter.” In fact, the resurrection of our Lord is in itself a triumph of celebrations and holidays. It is the highest triumph of faith, for by it our faith is confirmed, exalted, deified; - is the highest triumph of virtue, for in it the purest virtue triumphed over the greatest temptation; - is the highest triumph of hope, for it serves as the surest guarantee of the most majestic promises. I. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of faith. The Apostle Paul, one of the first preachers of the faith, wrote to his Corinthian disciples: if Christ does not rise, our preaching is in vain, and so is your faith (1 Cor. 15:14). That is, if Christ is not resurrected, then all the truths of our faith lose their power, the Gospel and preaching no longer have dignity, all Christianity is an idle name. The thought is striking, but absolutely true, undeniable! - For on what is all our faith based? - Once upon a time, answers St. Paul, on the basis of an apostle and prophet, is the cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself (Eph. 2:20). The risen Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, He is the Messenger and Holy One of our confession (Heb. 3:1), but why did this stone, neglected by those who built it, become for us the cornerstone and wondrous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:42). Why do we recognize Christ in Him - God's power and God's wisdom? (1 Cor. 1:24). - We have a lot of evidence for this, but all of it would be insufficient without the resurrection of our Lord. In order to see this truth more quickly and clearly, let us imagine that we belong to those people who followed the Lord from the beginning to the end of His earthly ministry, heard all His conversations, saw all the deeds He accomplished. As long as He opened the eyes of the blind and raised the dead, we, of course, would calmly follow Him - we would exclaim along with the apostles: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! (John 6:69) But then comes a terrible hour of suffering: the disciple betrays Him, the crazy synagogue rejects Him as a flatterer, the foolish Pilate condemns Him as a troublemaker; Jesus - our hope - ascends to the cross along with the villains; The Father Himself leaves Him, He dies in agony, is buried; His very tomb is sealed with the seal of Caiaphas. What would have happened to us then, to our faith, if He had not risen? Behold, we hope that He is the One who will deliver Israel, but He remains above them all in the tomb (Luke 24:21): this is what each of us would say. Indeed, it is impossible to think that our faith would then be stronger than the faith of the apostles. But what happened to them after the death of the Lord? Didn't they all waver in their faith in Him? But without this confidence, would they have gone out to preach worldwide and given their lives for its truth? And without their preaching, would the world, immersed in the darkness of paganism, turn to the Christian faith? And what would the apostles begin to preach without the resurrection of their Teacher? How would they say: believe in the Son of God to have eternal life (John 3:36), when the Son of God Himself would remain dead? How would they say: Christ is the same yesterday and today, the same and forever (Heb. 13:8), when everyone knew that He was first alive, and then died and was not resurrected? Thus, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, His tomb would have been at the same time the tomb of the Christian faith: because everyone who had previously believed in Him would have ceased to believe; because no one would take the trouble to preach faith in someone who died and did not rise again; because, finally, this sermon in itself would not be worthy of trust. But now the tomb of Jesus Christ is a sanctuary in which the triumph of the Christian faith took place. It was not in vain that Jesus Christ Himself, when the Jews demanded from Him new miracles to certify that He was the only begotten Son of God, answered that no other sign would be given to them except the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39-40), that is, the resurrection; It was not in vain that when He departed to suffer His sufferings, He said that the time was coming when the Son of Man would be glorified (John 13:31). In His resurrection He was truly glorified; - and became glorified, according to the remark of the Apostle Paul (Rom. 1:4), no longer as a prophet, lower as the Son of Man or the Messiah, but as the Son of God, in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Divinity (Col. 2:9). Who does not recognize the Son of God in the risen Jesus? In what splendor the very Cross of Christ now appears, on which, one might say, faith itself was crucified together with Jesus! Who does not see that this is a sign of damnation for others, for Jesus it was an altar on which the universal sacrifice was offered - that God accepted this sacrifice in the stench of fragrance - that the Lamb who was slain is worthy to receive honor and glory. (Rev.5:12). After this, what can shake our faith, when death and hell itself have not overcome it in the person of the Author and Finisher of faith? - “I know,” the Apostle Paul once exclaimed, “I know in whom I believe (2 Tim. 1:12) - I know that my Savior is God, who is able to keep the guarantee of my salvation until His glorious coming.” II. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of virtue. Virtue, persecuted on earth, never completely left the face of the earth, appearing among God's elect, who shone like lights in the world (Phil. 2:15). But what was their fate? - He was stoned, he was despised, he died by murder with the sword, he died in grief, deprivation, sorrow, embitterment (Heb. 11:37). And how many times was the voice of complaint and sadness heard: “that the way of the wicked is sung (Jer. 12:1), but the righteous are reaped like grains.” Providence sometimes apparently justified His ways; more than once, in the face of the whole world, which regards the lives of the righteous as mockery (Wis. 5:3), virtue triumphed over vice; More than once, thrown into the furnace of temptation, the righteous came out of it like pure gold, not only in the eyes of God, but also in the eyes of their enemies. But the triumph of virtue always remained incomplete; since the virtue of the sons of men is always imperfect, not pure. Meanwhile, in order to disgrace the triumph of the vain world, it was necessary to demonstrate the complete triumph of virtue. This required the purest virtue, the greatest temptation and all-perfect glory. This is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! - What was His whole life if not one continuous service to God and his neighbors? Meanwhile, what righteous person was put to shame, despised, or tortured more than Jesus Christ? But behold the triumph of piety in the face of the Risen One! - He humbled Himself, being obedient to the point of death on the cross: and behold, God highly exalted Him, and gave Him a name above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, those in heaven, on earth and under the earth! (Phil.2:8-10). He was rich, but became poor for us (2 Cor. 8:9), and had no place to lay his head (Matt. 8:20). And now all power in heaven and on earth is committed to Him! (Matthew 27:18). Out of love for his neighbors, He gave his soul: and now the souls of all the sons of men are given over to His power, as the Redeemer and Judge! And these are still only traces of the triumph of the invisible, visible to us. If we, according to the Savior’s promise, saw heaven open (John 1:51), what a triumph of virtues would be revealed in His face before our eyes! There we would see the Son of Man, crowned with glory and honor for accepting death (Heb. 2:9), sitting at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69), we would see twenty-four elders casting their crowns before the slain Lamb (Rev. 4:10); they would see hosts of angels no longer ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:51), but hiding their faces from the unapproachable glory of His face. What heart that loves virtue could not rejoice at such a triumph of the Son of Man? This celebration is truly global, in which even the most pagan can participate. Let him not believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ; It is enough if he believes in God and virtue in order to rejoice that the holiest of the sons of men is now so majestically rewarded by Heaven itself. The just God showed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ how He glorifies those who love Him, showed before the entire human race that He never forgets the labor of love raised in His name (Heb. 6:10), and that all the triumphs of the world are nothing before the triumph of the righteous. III. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the highest triumph of hope. For the mortal human race, oppressed by all kinds of disasters, nothing could be more necessary than the insight through the eye of hope into a country where there is no illness, no sorrow, no sighing. - And indeed, human thoughts and desires at all times and among all peoples rushed beyond the boundaries of this life. But who could dispel the darkness of the tomb? - to overthrow this barrier? - The wise men appeared; but, coming from the earth (John 3:31), they spoke about the earth and boasted that they had brought down philosophy from heaven, but did not bring up a single person to heaven. Prophets came, instructed, denounced, consoled, but then they themselves died, not accepting the promise (Heb. 11:39). Death reigned over the entire human race with such ferocity that during the time of Jesus Christ, not only many of the wise men of the pagans, even a great part of the people of God rejected all hope of immortality, saying there would be no resurrection (Matthew 22:23). It was necessary to restore fallen hope and demonstrate in the face of the whole world that only the body of a person returns to the earth, and the spirit returns to God, who gave him (Eccl. 12:7). And so in the resurrection of the Savior the triumph of hope takes place. The grave and death were the cause of human fear and despair: The Wisdom of God turns the grave into a source of hope, and forces death to be a preacher of immortality. For what else is the tomb of Jesus Christ now used for, who alone will not give up his Dead on the resurrection of the dead, if not as proof that all the tombs will one day be empty and give up their dead? - What did the death of Jesus Christ serve for, if not for the certainty that death is only a guard who guards what is given to him, keeps it as long as the Lord wills life, and that in the power of this guard is only our mortal frame, and not the spirit, which is completely ignorant of the grave and death! The most true celebration. It must be said decisively that all the proofs of immortality used by reason do not have as much force as the resurrection of Jesus Christ alone contains. Believing this resurrection and doubting our resurrection is a complete contradiction. Even if Christ is risen, the Apostle Paul once wrote to the Corinthians, how do the neties say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen (1 Cor. 15:12–13). Indeed, Christ is the Head of believers: when the head has risen, how can the other members remain dead? The celebration is complete. Hope for the immortality of the human spirit, although weak, was previously in the human race. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, confirming this hope, expanded its scope, showing that not only the human spirit does not die, but also the body will once become immortal - that the day will come when this corruptible will be clothed with incorruptibility and this deathly thing will be sacrificed with life (1 Cor. 15:53; 2 Cor. 5:4) - that, according to the assurance of the apostle, the time will come when Christ will transform the body of our humility, so that we may be conformed to the body of His glory (Phil. 3:21). Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His many mercy begat us into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). The Lord, the Lord Himself has created this day, let us rejoice and be glad! Truly, it is a celebration of holidays and a triumph of triumphs: a triumph of faith, virtue and hope. (Extracted from the words of Innocent, Archbishop of Kherson). 9. What did hell, earth and heaven become after the resurrection of Christ? (According to the teachings of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow). The descent into hell and the resurrection of Christ are important in the matter of saving people 11 . “What is hell after Christ has risen after descending into hell? The fortress into which the winner entered under the guise of a prisoner; a prison whose gates are broken and the guards are scattered; this is truly, according to the image of Christ, the monster that swallowed the prophet overthrown from the ship; but, instead of devouring and destroying him, it became for him another, although not so calm, ship to lead him to the shore of life and safety. Now it becomes clear how someone hoped to pass through hell itself safely: even if I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Ps. 23:4), “You, who came down from heaven for us, like us, walked on the earth and, like us, descended into the shadow of death, so that from then on you could pave the way for Your followers into the light of life.”12 . “Now that Christ is risen, what turns out to be the earth? - She is a breeding ground for heaven; the short-term and destruction-ending life of a person in the body is the beginning life of a chick in an egg, to which, upon breaking the shell, the highest and most extensive circle of life opens; it is only necessary that the embryo of the chick be embraced, penetrated and excited by the warmth of the mother’s blood, that is, it is necessary that the embryo of heavenly life in a person be embraced, penetrated and excited by the life-giving power of the Blood of Christ.” “Now that Christ has risen, and when all power in heaven and on earth has been given to Him, as the God-man (Matthew 28:18), not only has heaven become within reach, but has even been united with the earth in such a way that it is difficult to find a limit and difference between them; for both the Divinity appears on earth and humanity appears in heaven; The angels whom Jacob saw ascending and descending on the ladder of Heaven now walk in hosts on the earth, as messengers of the Son of Man, who rules in heaven.” 13 10. What is the resurrection of the dead? (Conversations of Michael, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, 1818, vol. II, p. 74 et al.). As every year at the end of the cruel winter, and at the onset of a pleasant spring, every year when the sun returns and approaches our surface of the globe, there is always a great change; namely, by the power of this great luminary approaching the earth, all lower nature is resurrected, all earthly things, plants, and some animals, as if half-dead, and sometimes even the dead, come to life, and receive new powers for action, and with these new powers a new plant, a new flowering and a new fruitfulness are pronounced: in this exact way, both after the cruel winter of the last tribulations of the Antichrist, and at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the true God-man to this world, upon the return of the great spiritual Luminary, the Sun of truth in full radiance and light, in indescribable splendor and glory - upon the return, I say, of this Luminary to our earthly circle, all the lower parts of rational creatures, all human dead bodies will be revived by His hidden power, resurrected, risen, a new appearance, a new life and new actions will receive. But what the resurrection of the dead is, what its essentiality will be, we cannot give a better reasoning for this, and we cannot have the clearest testimony and most reliable proof, except for the example of the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ Himself. By His resurrection He proved that our resurrection is also possible, and, without a doubt, will be; He has declared by His teaching when it will be; His own example can teach us that it will be like this. So, in order for us to know what our resurrection will consist of, let us consider what the glorious resurrection of Christ consisted of. The Resurrection of Christ consisted in the fact that He, as a perfect man, having been betrayed by Judas, was tortured and crucified by the Jews, having died on the cross, taken down from the tree, and laid in a tomb, - that after His death He was in Divinity with the Father in heaven, a human soul in hell, and a dead body in the tomb, revealed His Divine power, - that He, again having emerged with his soul from hell and having brought with Him those who were in hell and who were waiting for Him with faith, He united His soul with His body, revived it in three days, raised it, resurrected it by the power of His Divinity - He, having resurrected His flesh and united it with the Divinity, again revealed Himself to be the true God-man. He raised his flesh from the grave, no longer the same as it was before, but much nobler and more majestic, restored it in a completely excellent form. His flesh, like other people, was previously subject to earthly sensuality and earthly inclinations, although He did not follow sensuality, but owned it; after death and after the resurrection, this sensuality disappeared, and earthly inclinations ceased to exist in her and were destroyed. His flesh was formerly visible, tangible, rough; in the resurrection she became invisible, the most subtle, earthly and carnal - the Heavenly, spiritual body; briefly, such that it could be both visible and tangible from the students, and invisible, intangible, unpossessed by rough bodies, pervasive everywhere; it had the appearance of flesh and bones when Thomas touched it, and it had the appearance of spirit when the Lord came to the disciples with the door closed (John 20:27; John 20:19). His flesh was formerly corruptible, weak, spiritual, subject to suffering and death: in the resurrection it rose incorruptible, strong, immortal, glorious, spiritual (1 Cor. 15:42-44), glorified, clothed in divine light, in a word, such that it was completely capable of ascending with the Divinity of the Son into heaven, entering into angelic places suitable for disembodied spirits, and sitting at the right hand of the Heavenly Father Himself. This is what the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ consisted of! And when His resurrection consisted of such actions, then a very correct conclusion can be drawn from this that our resurrection will consist of a similar change and similar actions. And exactly: When the Sun of Truth again shines on the horizon of this visible world, when our Lord Jesus Christ comes to earth again to make the final decision in considering the human condition, he will come to either reward or punish everyone according to his deeds - he will come and command the holy angels to call out the dead with a trumpet voice; then, just as at the beginning of the world, after the mouth of God uttered this omnipotent word: let there be, let there be light, and all things, and everything, and - came into being (Gen. 1:3), all things appeared, all came from non-existence into being and received existence - then, I say, after the angelic trumpet voice, by the power of the almighty God, all from the beginning of the world the bodies of dead people, consigned to the earth, rotted, in their elements divided into fire, into water, transformed into air and into earth, bodies drowned in water and burned in fire, all dead bodies, small and great, male and female, will again be composed of those parts that they previously had and into which they were divided; for the parts taken from them will give up to the elements, and fire, and the sea, and death, and hell will give up their dead, all the dry bones will receive sinews, will be clothed with flesh, will be quickened by the spirit, will be united again with their souls, from which they were separated at death, will be united and rise from the graves, the dead will rise from the dead, and will come out and stand before the throne of the impartial Judge, will be resurrected and will receive judgment from written in books according to their deeds (Rev. 20:13). The dead will be resurrected, the bodies of the dead will be raised; but they will not rise again in the form in which they are now from the fall. Now they are rough, hard, heavy, perishable, weak, mortal, visible, earthly; but they will rise in the general resurrection of all in a completely different form, in a form that is different from this. Instead of rough ones, they will be refined, instead of hard ones, transparent and passable everywhere, instead of heavy ones, light, quickly soaring, so that in a single blink of an eye they from all countries of the universe, like eagles, will gather before the throne of God. Instead of the corruptible they will be incorruptible, instead of the weak they will be strong, instead of mortals they will be immortal, instead of those visible to bodily eyes they will be invisible, instead of earthly and carnal they will be heavenly and spiritual. However, with all this change, they will not be some kind of ghosts, and not spirits, but will be true bodies, having the appearance of the same people; but only they will be true spiritual bodies. For the Apostle Paul, testifying to the resurrection of the dead, says: the body is now sown into corruption, it will be raised incorruptibility, it is sown in weakness, it will be raised in power, it is sown without honor, it will be raised in glory, the natural, carnal body is sown, the spiritual body will be raised. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:42–44). This is what our resurrection will consist of! That change will consist in the fact that our bodies will rise from the dead, come to life, rise from the graves, come out of the earth; - that from the rough, earthly, corruptible, mortal, carnal they will become the subtlest, as if completely heavenly, incorruptible, immortal, spiritual. And in this change will participate not only the dead, people who have died from the beginning of the world until that time, but also the very living, those who will remain alive in this last hour, those who will be alive when the terrible day of the Lord comes. For the living, who have to live to wait for the second glorious coming of Christ, will no longer die at that time: for there will be no external death. But since it will be impossible for them to enter the spiritual Kingdom with their coarse flesh; then, instead of external death, the following change will follow in the outer man of the general resurrection: when the living, just like the dead, hear the angelic trumpet voice, hear the thunderous message of the last hour, then, just as the dead will rise from sleep and see themselves in a completely different form, in the form of spiritual beings, so the living, as if having risen from a little sleep, will see themselves in a completely different image, in a different position and in other feelings. All the living, although at that time will no longer die, will nevertheless change; All such will not fall asleep, but all will change (1 Cor. 15:51). This coarse body, like a thick garment, will then fall off, and the flesh will become refined, all sensuality will go away, carnal lusts will be destroyed, passionate inclinations will cease to act; and thus those who are alive without death will see death on themselves, and without dying they will see themselves in their outer part, in their very body, as new people, spiritual creatures. For their bodies, putting aside carnal inclinations, throwing off sensuality and corruption, will put on incorruptibility; leaving deadness, they will perceive immortality and, just like dead bodies, will become spiritual, passable everywhere and capable of eternal residence in the spiritual kingdom. 11. Bright Sunday in Jerusalem Russian abbot Daniel, who traveled in the 12th century to St. earth, this is how he describes the meeting of the bright holiday before the Holy Sepulcher, and Daniel himself was a witness. “On Holy Saturday, at six o’clock in the afternoon, countless people gather at the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. Natives and strangers come from other countries, from Babylon, from Egypt, from Antioch, gather there that day in unspeakable numbers and fill the entire place near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. There is great crowding then in the church and around the church; many are suffocating from the cramped conditions. - And all these fans stand with unlit candles and wait for the church doors to open. - So they open, and everyone enters the church, pushing their way with effort and crowding each other, filling the entire church and vestibules. Everywhere is full of people - both in the church and outside the church, and near Golgotha ​​and the place of execution - right up to the place where the cross of the Lord was found. And all the people pray with only one prayer, everyone cries out incessantly: “Lord, have mercy.” These cries are so loud that the earth groans and shakes throughout this entire space from the cry of the people. People who are true believers cry at that time with tenderness, and even those whose hearts have turned to stone feel shame, remember their sins and say to themselves: “Will the holy light not descend now for my sins?” Thus all the faithful stood with tears and heartfelt contrition. Suddenly, after the ninth hour, a small cloud came from the east and stood over the church (and the church was not covered with a roof), and the rain passed over the Holy Sepulcher and greatly wetted those who stood near the Sepulcher. Then suddenly a light shone in the Holy Sepulcher, and a bright radiance spread from the Holy Sepulcher, which everyone looked at with fear. The bishop and four deacons approached and opened the doors of the Tomb. And, taking the candle, the bishop entered the Tomb, lit it from this holy light and took it out of the Tomb; We all lit our candles from this candle. The holy light is not similar to the earthly one, but somehow shines differently, surprisingly brightly; and its flame is red as cinnabar. So all the people stand with burning candles and incessantly pray: “Lord, have mercy,” looking at the light of God in great joy and admiration. Whoever has never witnessed this joy of a bright day may not believe the story, but he who believes a small one will believe a great miracle; and for an evil person the truth appears unfair. Then everyone left the church in great joy, with burning candles, and everyone watched his candle so that the wind did not put it out. With this holy light, pilgrims light candles in their churches and each finish their evening singing in their own church; and the abbot and the brethren and I returned to our monastery, carrying burning candles, and there, having finished the evening singing, we went to our cells, offering praises to God, who had made us worthy to see such grace. And the next morning, on the day of Bright Resurrection, having served matins in the usual way, after kissing the abbot and the brethren and after vacation - in the first hour of the day - we went to the Holy Sepulcher while singing the kontakion: “Even if you descended immortally into the grave,” and, entering the very Tomb, they kissed it with sincere love and tears.” (From the pilgrimage legend of St. Daniel: see “Resurrection Thursday,” 1869–70, book I, pp. 14–16). 12. Church of St. Coffins in old Jerusalem No church in the world attracts as many pilgrims from all over the world as the Jerusalem Church of St. Holy Sepulcher. Built by the Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and his holy mother, Equal-to-the-Apostles Helen, this church was devastated many times, it especially suffered from a terrible fire in 1808, when its main vaults collapsed and all the decorations perished in the flames, but the foundation and most of the walls have survived from the times of Tsar Constantine to this day. There are double entrance gates leading to the church. Some of them are mortgaged, while others are locked at night by the Turks, who during the day inseparably sit in the church, at the very doors, to maintain order. The first shrine that worshipers see when entering the church, right opposite the doors, a few steps from them, is the stone of anointing, on which Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped shrouds and anointed the most pure Body of the Lord Jesus with aromas, after He was taken down from the Cross. This stone is now covered with a pink marble slab; above it there is a canopy on four pillars, under the canopy of which hang many unquenchable lamps, and in the corners there are large candlesticks. From here, fans are led to the left, to the western part of the church, which represents a majestic rotunda, that is, a circle of 18 pilasters (or quadrangular pillars), connected by arches, on two floors. On these pilasters rests a huge dome, and in the middle of the rotunda stands a small chapel of yellow marble called the cuvuklia. This chapel contains an invaluable treasure - the Holy Sepulcher, or the cave in which our Savior, Jesus Christ, was buried. From the life-giving Tomb they pass by the stone of anointing to Golgotha, on which the Only Begotten Son of God suffered and died as a man for all of us, the sinful sons of Adam - he was slain on the cross as the spotless Lamb who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world... Holy Mount Golgotha ​​occupies the southeastern part of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This sacred rock at the time of the Savior was located outside the city wall, as the apostle also says: outside the gates the Lord deigned to suffer. Near the rock of Golgotha ​​was also located the garden of Joseph of Arimathea: and in the place where they were crucified, there was a hilltop, as it is said in the Gospel of John, and in the hilltown there was a new tomb; therefore, now both the Holy Sepulcher and the Rock of Calvary are in the same Church of the Resurrection. The rock is lined with stone and is ascended by 28 steps. At the top of Golgotha ​​there is a church divided into two halves, like two churches. The first half from the entrance, the northern one, covers the place where the Cross of the Lord was erected; light penetrates here from the west, from inside the church; this part belongs to the Greeks. The other half, the southern one, is the place where our Lord Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross; Latins serve here. Greek throne made of white marble; he stands openly; a recess is made in the front side, so that a person, kneeling, can easily bend under the throne, where the very hole into which the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was installed is located. While singing sacred songs: come, faithful, let us worship the life-giving Tree, on which Christ, the King of Glory, willingly stretched out His hand... Today the prophetic word has been fulfilled, for we worship in the place where Your feet stand, O Lord..., pious worshipers ascend to Calvary, with fear and love they fall to this sacred hole, and with hot tears contrition of the heart kisses the edges of the sacred rock, lined with silver, with a chased image of the passion of the Lord... Behind the throne, on an elevated marble platform, stands the majestic, full-length Crucifixion of the Lord; the life-giving Blood flows, as it were, from the most pure wounds of the Lord onto Golgotha; standing before the cross, struck by deep sorrow, are His Most Pure Mother and his beloved disciple John... Behind the cross, leaning against the wall is an iconostasis with the image of the Passion of the Lord, and on top hangs many unquenchable lamps, lit by the zeal of pious Christians from all countries and peoples of the earth... But to the right and left of the Cross of the Lord, a little behind it, two black circles are visible on the marble: these are the places where they were The crosses of thieves crucified with Christ were erected. According to legend, the crucified Savior was facing west, so that the cross of the prudent thief crucified at His right hand was on the north side, and between it and the Cross of the Lord stood our intercessor and Intercessor for all sinners, the Most Holy Theotokos. On the right side of the throne of Calvary, a deep crack is visible, formed during the earthquake, when the Lord gave up His spirit on the cross. This crack runs through the entire Golgotha ​​rock and is remarkable in that the stone dissipated not along the layers of the rock, but across them, which never happens during an ordinary earthquake. It is clear that the earthquake during the death of the Savior was not an ordinary act of nature, but a special miracle of God to admonish the hard-hearted Jews. There is a small cave church under Golgotha; Here, according to legend, the king of Jerusalem, Melchizedek, the Old Testament priest of the Most High God, was buried. In the depths of this cave there is a throne in the name of the Forerunner of the Lord and our forefather Adam; behind the throne, through the iron grating, in the light of an unquenchable lamp, the same cleft of the rock is visible; here, according to an ancient legend preserved in the writings of many saints. fathers, the head of Adam was buried; which is why the rock itself received the name Golgotha, which means: place of execution. And so, says legend, when a warrior hit the most pure rib of the second Adam - our Lord, with a spear, the holy Blood and water flowing from the rib passed through the crack of the Golgotha ​​rock and washed the head of the primordial Adam. According to this legend, in our Orthodox Church, when depicting the Crucifixion of the Lord, a human skull is always depicted under the cross, lying on two cross-shaped bones. From Golgotha, pilgrims go down to the altar of the main Church of the Resurrection. Here, in a dark semicircular gallery, there are several small chapels and a descent into underground churches. The first aisle from Golgotha ​​belongs to the Greeks; it is called the chapel of reproach and the crown of thorns. In this altar, under the throne, is part of the gray marble pillar on which our Lord sat when the soldiers mocked Him in Pilate’s praetorium. Right there in the wall, behind glass and behind bars, part of the crown of thorns is preserved; two unquenchable lamps illuminate the mysterious darkness of this chapel. Next to this chapel is the door to the underground church of St. Constantine and Helena, where you go down 33 steps. This church was excavated in natural rock at the time when Queen Helen was looking for the Life-giving Cross of the Lord here; The place is vast, 30 paces in length and the same in width; the dome is supported by four thick columns. This church is owned by Armenians. On the right side of the altar there is a stone seat, where, according to legend, St. the queen at the time when they were looking for the Cross; They immediately descend another 13 steps into the cave where St. was buried. The cross continued for 300 years, and here three crosses were found: one of the Lord, and two of the thieves crucified with Christ. The very place where the Cross was found belongs to the Orthodox; it is lined with multi-colored marble; in the middle there is an image of a cross. Upon exiting here again into the gallery surrounding the altar of the Resurrection, worshipers enter the chapel of the Dividing of Robes, which belongs to the Orthodox. Next is the chapel of Longinus the Centurion, which belongs to the Armenians. According to Armenian legend, Longinus was from Armenia; he pierced the most pure ribs of the crucified Savior with a spear, but then believed in Him and came here to mourn his act; he died a martyr in Cappadocia. Even further under the throne, behind bars, the bonds of Christ are visible, or two holes in the stone into which the feet of the Divine Sufferer were driven when He was imprisoned until the morning, before He was taken to Pilate. Not far from the bonds, to the left, there is a place called the Prison of Christ, where, according to legend, the Lord was kept while preparations for His crucifixion were completed, and where then the Mother of God, when they led Her Divine Son to Calvary, sobbing with sorrow, sank to the ground, supported by pious women. This touching event is depicted on the altarpiece. The throne is in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and on the left side is the throne in memory of when our Lord was beaten tied to a pillar, by order of Pilate. Having thus bypassed the main altar, the worshipers walk along the north side of the church to the west; here, opposite the northern side of the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, there is a Latin church, on the place where, according to legend, the Savior appeared after the resurrection of His Most Pure Mother; on the sides of the main altar are two smaller ones: on the right is the chapel of St. The cross, on the left - scourging, where on the throne, behind an iron grille, is part of the pillar to which the Lord was tied during the scourging. Between the Church of the Apparition and the Chapel of St. The two marble circles on the floor of the coffin signify the places where, according to legend, the Savior appeared to Mary Magdalene in the form of Helix. Nearby there is a Latin throne in memory of this phenomenon, and behind the throne the picture depicts the event itself. In the westernmost part of the church, in the gallery, behind the Holy Sepulcher, there is the burial cave of the righteous Joseph of Arimathea, who gave up his new tomb for the Savior; His friend, righteous Nicodemus, was also buried here. From here, bypassing the Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher, fans enter the main Church of the Resurrection of Christ, which belongs to the Greeks; it occupies the entire middle of the church of St. The coffin, and is 40 steps long to the royal doors, and 20 steps wide. The main iconostasis is marble, in 4 tiers. Local icons - good Russian writing. The royal doors are carved, gilded, crowned with a double-headed eagle; behind the iconostasis - in the altar - there are choirs in several rows; above the throne there is a marble canopy. In the middle of the church there are 3 large chandeliers, 50 candles each - all a gift from our Orthodox kings. In addition, there are many lamps everywhere, so that on holidays more than 400 of them and up to 150 candles are lit. Whoever saw this church and the chapel of the Holy Sepulcher on the night of the Holy Resurrection will never forget this wondrous sight. - This is the church of St. Sepulcher in Old Jerusalem. It is comforting to recall that for those who do not have the opportunity to visit Old Jerusalem, we have in Russia, 57 versts from Moscow, an exact likeness of this church in a monastery called New Jerusalem. This church was built by our blessed saint, Patriarch Nikon. Bypassing St. places in this church, you are involuntarily transported in thought and heart to the cherished shrines of Old Jerusalem. (See Nos. 414 and 415 “Trinity leaf.”). 13. Bright Resurrection on Athos Christians have no holiday more solemn and joyful than Easter; everywhere he is greeted with special solemnity. And Athos, removed from the world and its usual joys on holidays, celebrates a particularly solemn celebration on this day. Tired of the labors and exploits of St. The Pentecostal, an Athonite monk, after eating the meager portion of bread and figs with a small glass of grape wine offered on Holy Saturday, at sunset, cheerfully and joyfully hurries to the cathedral church to listen to the reading of the “Acts”, in anticipation of the sacred midnight and the infinitely joyful, victorious exclamation that only a Christian can understand. Meanwhile, until midnight, in the midst of dead silence and half-light, the voice of the reader of the “Acts” sounds peacefully and quietly. On Athos, according to the custom of the Greeks, at this time the holy shroud does not stand among the church (it has been placed on the holy altar since the morning of Great Saturday, after going around the church at matins). Half an hour before midnight, the singing of the canon of Great Saturday begins, after which the clergy, gathered and waiting in the altar, in light vestments, all with candles in their hands (and the rector with the Holy Gospel) and singing: “Thy Resurrection,” etc., go into the church vestibule (there is no walking around the church, as we do, at this time) and here, in front of the closed gates of the church, they perform the usual the beginning of the Easter service. The first words proclaiming the victory of our Savior over death are infinitely joyful for every Christian, but the joy of the monks is even more understandable; at the end of the singing of Easter verses, the rector knocks on the closed gates of the church, which instantly open from inside the church, thereby expressing the power of the Savior, who suddenly destroyed the power of death and with extreme ease - in an instant - opened the gates of heaven. The rest of the service of Easter Matins until the stichera of praise proceeds in the same order as in Rus', with the same singing of the entire canon and censing, and with the same universal illumination in the hands of all those who are to come. When the time of sacred greeting and kissing comes, here (with the beginning of the singing “Praise the Lord”), preceded by the clergy and banners, everyone leaves the church to the square in front of the church, where there is a larger place, and here the greeting begins: “Christ is Risen” and the kissing of the Holy Gospel and crosses. First, the officiating clergy kiss each other's holy crosses and icons in their hands, in order, starting with the rector, who has St. the Gospel, then the hieromonks and then the hierodeacons, and then the other brethren come up to kiss one after another, then standing next to each other. It should be noted that, observing in all severity the ancient monastic order, on Athos even on this holy day they do not kiss on the lips, but only kiss each other on the shoulder. As the mass of those awaiting the kiss of St. thins out on one side. Gospels, crosses and icons, on the other hand, the circle of clerics, already standing in a row and waiting for their other brethren, is increasing. At the end of the sacred kiss, a magnificent spectacle is staged: imagine about a thousand, and sometimes more, people, all with candles in their hands, arranged in order across the vast square of the monastery; they all make up two or three continuous circles, closed by one person in the very center 14. To fully enjoy this spectacle, you need to go up to one of the upper-floor cells at this time; from there you will be presented with a huge twisted fiery ribbon. When the mutual greeting is over, everyone returns to the church again, and, at the end of matins and hours, mass begins. The difference between the Athos mass and ours this time is that the Gospel is read in only one language; in different languages, reading it, probably for the sake of almost three days of labor, is postponed to Vespers (however, this custom of reading the Gospel at Vespers in all languages ​​is common in the East). Mass ends, according to our time, at about 5–6 o’clock. At about three o'clock in the afternoon the solemn Easter Vespers begins, at which the Gospel is read in different languages, with the arrangements accepted in our country; During this reading, here, just like with us, there is a ringing of bells, and in conclusion, the ringing of the bells merges with the sounds of various other bells and wooden and iron boards located in different places of the monastery during services, which continues almost until the end of Vespers. What do you see when you leave the church? Of course, first of all, the same joyful expression on the faces, like all Christians: everywhere you look, everyone is the faces of monks shining with joy. But ask one of them what he is especially happy about, and if one of the Athonite monks enters into a more extensive conversation with you about this subject, then there can be no doubt that he will talk about heavenly joy and how he is worthy to celebrate eternal Easter there, and how sinful he is and how far from the path to this he is. The meeting of St. is doubly, if not joyful, then beneficial for the soul. Easter on Mount Athos for both its residents and visitors. At least, even after a week-long holiday, you will not feel any mental fatigue and any heartfelt emptiness that is usually experienced in the world and which often fades the very memory of the holiday and its culprit. The greatest everyday consolation in these days of joy for an Athonite inhabitant, especially if he is from a distant land, such as a Russian, is a meeting with a fellow countryman and mutual memories of his homeland, but these memories rarely occupy an Athonite dweller for a long time, most often they are replaced by an exchange of thoughts about the real place of their stay, if those who came together live in different places. A walk through the magnificent places that exist in the vicinity of every monastery, monastery and cell is, perhaps, the best pleasure, in the ordinary sense understood; add to this the luxuriously developed spring nature that had already developed by this time: all this is capable of replacing for the Athos resident all the joys he left behind in his native land. Which of the visitors - fans of St. mountains, happened to spend Holy Easter here, he, in his homeland, on the best days of his joy, remembers this with an infinitely sweet and rarely familiar spiritual mood, which is especially capable of reminiscent of the universal and eternal Easter in heaven. (Extracted from “Sunday Readings,” 1869–70, book I, pp. 17–21). 14. Celebration of Easter in ancient Rus' The solemn day of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, always and everywhere great and joyful, was greeted and celebrated by old Moscow with special splendor. The patriarchal service and royal appearances gave it even more solemnity and splendor. On the eve of the Holy Feast, the sovereign listened to the midnight office in his palace, in a special room, which is known as the throne room. In the same room, at the end of the midnight office, the ritual of viewing the king was performed. All the highest courtyard and service ranks were allowed here to strike the king with their foreheads and “see him, sovereign, with bright eyes,” which was accepted as the highest reward for faithful service. Officials of lower ranks were admitted by special permission of the king, by choice, and entered the room by order of one of the closest people, usually the steward, who at that time stood in the room at the hook and let them in according to the list, two people at a time. The lower ranks of service people were not allowed into the room at all, but complained about seeing the sovereign during his journey to the Assumption Cathedral. While the boyars and other dignitaries entered the room, the sovereign sat in armchairs in a standard silk caftan, worn over a zipun. In front of him the sleeping bags held the entire outfit that was assigned for going out to Matins. This outfit included: an opashen, a stanovoy caftan, a zipun, a standing necklace (collar), a gorlatnaya hat and cap, and an Indian staff (ebony). Each of those who entered the room, seeing the sovereign’s bright eyes, struck his forehead, bowing to the ground before him, and, having given his petition, returned to his place. At first, and sometimes in the second hour of the night, from the bell tower of Ivan the Great, the solemn announcement of the Bright Matins was heard. They preached the gospel for quite a long time until the sovereign came to the cathedral. During the good news, the patriarch came to the cathedral with all the authorities, that is, the bishops, archimandrites, abbots and priests who served him. Having gone to the altar, the patriarch and all the clergy vested themselves there “in all their most illustrious dignity.” When everything was ready for the beginning of Matins, the patriarch sent the clerk of the cross to the palace to notify the sovereign. The majestic procession of the sovereign to matins opened, accompanied by a huge retinue in precious shiny clothes. The sovereign was surrounded by boyars and okolnichy in gold and gorlat hats; In front of the sovereign walked stewards, solicitors, nobles, clerks in gold and gorlat hats. The sovereign himself was also in a golden opashen with a pearl stripe with stones and a gorlat hat. All the ranks who stood in the hallway and on the porches, striking the sovereign with their foreheads, walked to the cathedral in front, dividing into three people in a row. At the cathedral they stopped on both sides of the path at the western doors, in bars specially arranged for this purpose. Only those wearing golden caftans followed the sovereign into the cathedral. Having entered the cathedral and having created the beginning, the sovereign venerated the icons, the crayfish of the miracle workers, the robe of the Lord and stood in his usual place at the right pillar, near the patriarchal place. At this time, the patriarch in vestments came out of the altar and blessed the sovereign. After this, a religious procession began, which took place along one side of the cathedral from the northern doors to the western ones. It should be noted that before leaving, the patriarch did not distribute candles to either the clergy, the tsar, the boyars or the people, and likewise, neither the lecterns for the icons nor the patriarchal place in the middle had yet been prepared in the cathedral. When the religious procession began, the keymasters ordered all the bells to be rung, and all the people were sent out of the cathedral and all the church doors were closed. The Tsar and the boyars did not go for the icons, but walked straight through the western doors and there, outside the cathedral, stopped on the right side. Meanwhile, one sacristan and half the guards remained in the cathedral and made all the preparations for performing Matins: in the middle of the cathedral they placed the patriarch's seat, and in front of it two lecterns with gold hangings and shrouds, with rich and multi-colored decorations; the Gospel and the image of the Resurrection were placed on these lecterns after the move. The icon was removed from the lectern by the menain sacristan and carried to the altar. In the middle of the church, two “highlanders with coal and incense” were placed. The Patriarch performed a religious procession with the entire cathedral. In front of him were carried a smaller banner, four ripids, two crosses - a crystal and a written altarpiece of the Mother of God. The icon of the Mother of God was followed by priests with the Gospel and the image of the Resurrection, which they carried in shrouds, and in front of them walked clerks with twisted candles, candlesticks and a lamp. The sovereign's singers walked before the priests and sang: “Thy Resurrection, O Christ the Savior.” The Patriarch brought up the rear of the procession. “And then they call all the time, for a long time.” When the patriarch came to the closed western doors of the cathedral, and the crusaders positioned themselves “with their backbone to the doors,” “and at that time the keymasters ordered the lights to wave and stop ringing.” The keyman with a candle stood at the westernmost doors on the right side, and near him at the cathedral corner or at the Faceted Chamber he placed guards with a board. When the procession was established, and everything was ready for the beginning of Matins, the patriarch distributed lighted candles to the tsar, boyars, authorities and all the people, and then, taking a censer and an honorable cross in his hand, he censed the holy icons, the sovereign, the boyars, the authorities, the whole people and, turning to the east, proclaimed: “Glory to the Holy and Consubstantial and Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity always and now and ever and unto ages of ages.” The clergy who served him answered “Amen.” And then the patriarch himself single-handedly sang the Easter troparion “Christ is Risen” three times, and the third time he sang it only halfway, and the singers of the right choir finished it. Having received the troparion from the patriarch with the words “and those who are in the tombs,” the singers in both choirs sang it eighteen times. At the same time, the Patriarch proclaimed the usual verses “once,” and after him, at the sign of the keymaster, the watchman struck the board, and after the watchman they struck the bell as many times as the verse followed; after all the verses, the patriarch himself again sang “Christ is Risen” and, having told the singers “and those in the tombs,” he himself opened the closed doors with the cross. At this moment, “the sacristan will wave the light many times, and the watchman will strike the bell many times, and suddenly the bells will ring loudly, and then the bells will ring loudly for three hours.” Entering the cathedral, the patriarch stood with a cross in his hand in a prepared place in the middle of the cathedral. In front of him on lecterns they placed the Gospel and the holiday - the image of the Resurrection of Christ. The archdeacon proclaimed the great litany “Let us pray to the Lord in peace,” after which the patriarch himself began the irmos in a high voice: “Resurrection day, let us be enlightened people.” The singers received the words from the patriarch: “The Passover of the Lord, Pascha,” and sang the canon according to the charter. At this time they stopped calling; the patriarch began the censing of the lecterns, the altar, and the entire cathedral, according to the order: the king, the authorities, the boyars and the people. In front of the patriarch, two clerks walked with two twisted candles and a lamp, the archdeacon with the patriarchal “twisted” candle, and the protodeacon and deacon held the patriarch by the arms, the bishops censed behind the patriarch. After the third song of the canon, the archpriest, in robes, read an article in the explanatory gospel. After the sixth song, the deacon in the surplice read the Prologue with the synaxarion. During the entire duration of Matins, the king stood at the right rear pillar, on a three-step locker, its foot was upholstered in red velvet. When the singers sang “Asleep in the Flesh” for the third time, the sacristans took the lecterns with the Gospel and the holiday and placed them opposite the patriarchal place at the right pillar, and from the altar they brought out the menaine image and placed it on the lectern in front of the king. During the stichera for praise, the patriarch and all those who served with him entered the altar and stood behind the throne. The archdeacon or protodeacon presented him with a cross on a platter, the clergy presented the Gospel to the metropolitan, the image of the Resurrection of Christ to another metropolitan or archbishop, and icons were distributed to all authorities and priests. When everyone stood in a row at the altar, the celebration of Christ began. The Patriarch venerated the gospel and icons in the hands of those who served with him, and kissed them on the lips and greeted “Christ is risen,” to which he received the answer: “Truly Christ is risen.” At this consecration of Christ, the patriarch gave each one “a scarlet egg.” After the patriarch, the rest of the clergy did the same and in the same order, singing all this time incessantly “Christ is risen from the dead.” After Christ was celebrated in the altar, the patriarch went out with all the clergy to the middle of the cathedral and stood with the cross facing the west, and the other authorities stood in one row from the patriarch and held the Gospel and icons. Before the others, the tsar came up to christen himself, the patriarch blessed him with the cross, and the tsar kissed him on the mouth: having venerated the gospel and images, the tsar also christened himself with other bishops, and kissed the archimandrites, abbots, archpriests and priests. The sovereign gave each of them “two eggs.” After the tsar, the boyars and people shared Christ with the clergy. Having venerated the images and given gifts to the clergy, the tsar retreated to his place at the southern door of the cathedral and here he favored his boyars and distributed eggs to them. The boyars, okolnichy, Duma nobles and clerks, the clerk, neighbors and clerks, stewards, solicitors, and Moscow nobles approached the Tsar in a decorous and orderly manner. The king gave them goose, chicken and turned wooden eggs, three, two and one each, depending on the nobility of the one being complained about. The eggs were painted with gold and bright colors in a pattern or with colored herbs, “and in the herbs there were birds and animals and people.” At the end of the celebration of Christ, the patriarch returned to the altar and read the Easter word of John Chrysostom at the royal doors. The sovereign approached the royal doors to listen to the teaching, and when the patriarch finished it, the king said: “Many years to come, lord.” At the end of Matins, the sovereign and his retinue walked from the Assumption Cathedral to the Arkhangelsk Cathedral, venerated the holy icons and relics there and “made Christ with their parents,” venerating the tombs of their departed ancestors. From the Archangel Cathedral the sovereign went to the Annunciation, and then sometimes to the Ascension and Chudov monasteries and farmsteads. Everywhere, venerating holy icons and relics, the tsar rewarded the clergy with his hand and eggs. Returning to the palace, the king made Christ with all the court officials who remained in the royal chambers during Matins. Before mass, at about 7 am, the patriarch went to the palace to glorify Christ and call the sovereign to service. The patriarch walked from the Assumption Cathedral with all the spiritual authorities, preceded by the keymaster with a cross and holy water. During the journey, the clerks sang “Christ is Risen,” the 3rd and 9th songs of the Easter canon. The Tsar met the Patriarch in the vestibule and, having received a blessing with the cross and sprinkling with holy water, escorted him to the chamber. Entering the Golden Chamber, the clerks sang: “Shine” and “Flesh asleep.” The Patriarch said: “Shine” and let go. The sovereign, the patriarch, the authorities and the boyars sat down in their places and, after sitting for a while, stood up, and the patriarch spoke to the sovereign: “And the Great Sovereign Tsar and the Great Prince (name of the rivers), the autocrat of all Rus', we celebrate the feast of the bright three-day resurrection of our Lord God Jesus Christ, and we pray to the all-merciful and all-generous and all-glorious God in the Trinity, and the Most Pure Mother of God, and the great wonderworkers and all the saints for the universal dispensation and welfare of God’s holy churches and for the long-term health to you, our great sovereign; God grant that you, our great sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke (name of rivers), autocrat of all Rus', have been healthy for many years, with your sovereign’s noble and Christ-loving and God-crowned queen and grand duchess (name of rivers), and with your sovereign’s noble children (name of rivers), and with your with the sovereign's pilgrims, with the Metropolitans, and with the archbishops, and with the bishops, with the archimandrites, and with the abbots, and with their sovereign's princes and bolyars, and with the Christ-loving army, and with goodwill and with all Orthodox Christians.” Having said “Shine” and dismissed, the patriarch returned to the cathedral in the same order. Coming out of the chamber, the patriarch blessed the cleric to announce the gospel for mass by ringing the big bell “enough.” The sovereign and his entire retinue were again present at mass. Among the brilliant appearances and magnificent rituals, the king did not forget to show his mercy. On the very first day of Easter, and sometimes in the interval between Matins and Mass, he went to prisons and, saying to the criminals: Christ has risen for you too, gave them clothes to break their fast. On the very first day, the sovereign provided a table for the poor brethren. From the very first day, the sovereign began ceremonial receptions of clergy and secular persons and festive visits to Moscow monasteries, hospitals and almshouses, and the holiday took place amid general joy and the most solemn services. (See the book “Festive services and church celebrations in old Moscow”, G. Georgievsky, ed. 1897). Who is not familiar (at least from descriptions and stories) with the Moscow bell for Bright Matins? Long before midnight, countless crowds of “nationwide multitudes” gather in the Kremlin squares. Orthodox Christians reverently strive to enjoy at least the wonderful gospel of those wonderful services that have been performed in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral since ancient times. In the crowd, many foreigners are waiting for the same moment, wanting to experience the amazing, in their opinion, “effect” of Orthodox ritual, which has no equal either in the life or in the artistic creations of Western European people. As soon as the clock struck twelve, the first blow of the Easter bell rang out on Ivan the Great. A few moments of deep reverent attention - and on Ivan the Great the second strike of the large bell follows, and after it all the numerous bell towers of Moscow echo at once: a majestic moment, already sufficiently noted in literature. In Russian church life, this influence of the Kremlin gospel is even more striking. How many churches are there in Rus' from which the gospel would not have sounded that midnight, as if in response to Ivan the Great! Even if the provincial bell-ringer's clock is not very accurate, it is remarkable: on this night they wait exactly for 12 o'clock in order to herald the arrival of the very first moment of the great day. This unanimous response of Russian bell towers to the bell of Ivan the Great represents a significant phenomenon. Some of the rites and rituals associated with the celebration of Easter in the Orthodox Church include the use of artos. Artos, according to the literal translation from Greek, means bread, and according to the church charter - whole prosphora. The symbolic meaning of artos is revealed quite clearly from those prayers that are supposed to be read for the blessing and fragmentation of artos. As in the Old Testament, in remembrance of the liberation of the people of God from the bitter work of Pharaoh, a lamb was slain at the command of the Lord, which at the same time prefigured the Lamb who takes away the sins of the whole world, the beloved Son of God; So in the new testament, in remembrance of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we were delivered from the eternal work of the enemy and received liberation from hellish unsolvable bonds, artos is offered - bread, representing the Bread of the eternal life that came down from heaven, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, having nourished us with spiritual food for the three-day and saving resurrection, became for us the true bread of life. Invoking God's blessing on the consecrated artos, the priest in a prayer appeal asks the Lord to heal every ailment and illness and give health to all who partake of this artos. According to the current charter of the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church, the church use of artos is as follows: “In accordance with the commemoration of Easter, which combines the event of the death and resurrection of the Lord, either a cross crowned with thorns is drawn on the artos, as a sign of Christ’s victory over death, or an image of the resurrection of Christ.” Prepared in this way, on the very first day of Easter it is brought to the altar and here on the altar it is placed in a special vessel called “panagiar”. On the same day, following the prayer behind the pulpit, it is consecrated, with the reading of the established prayer and sprinkling with holy water. Throughout Bright Week, the artos lies either in the altar or in the church on an analogy, purposely built for this purpose, together with the image of the Resurrection of Christ. During the procession of the cross, which takes place every day of Bright Week after Matins, but in parish churches it usually happens after the liturgy, with banners, images of the Resurrection of the Lord, the Mother of God, the artos is carried around the church. In monasteries, every day of Bright Week, in addition, the artos is brought in a solemn procession, with the icon of the Resurrection of Christ, lamps, while all the bells are ringing and while “Christ is risen” is chanted, to the fraternal meal, and here it is based on a specially prepared analogy. After the meal there is the so-called artos offering. When raising the artos, the cellarer says: “Christ is risen,” once; Those present answer him: “He is truly risen.” Then, marking the artos with a cross, he says: “We worship His three-day resurrection,” and places the artos on the panagiar. Then everyone approaches the analogy on which the artos was placed and kisses the last one. After this, the artos, with the same solemnity with which it was brought to the meal, is taken back to the church. On the last day of Bright Week, Saturday, the artos is solemnly broken up after the liturgy. In monasteries, this fragmentation is usually carried out in the following order: after the liturgy, artos is brought to the meal, here “Christ is Risen” is sung three times, the Lord’s Prayer is read, and then the priest says a special prayer, and the fragmented artos is eaten by the brethren before the meal. “But, it is said in the additional breviary, the priest can crush the artos during the liturgy after the prayer behind the pulpit and distribute it to the faithful instead of the antidoron. Artos should not be kept all year for any superstition.” The use of "artos" is a custom of the Greek-Eastern Church. The West does not know this ritual. The “rite of artus” undoubtedly passed into the Russian Church along with Christianity and worship from Greece, where the offering of artos (and panagia) was a custom firmly entrenched in church practice, as the Euchologion of Gohar shows. From a comparison of various handwritten liturgical books belonging to the 14th–17th centuries, it is clear that in the Russian Church this rite has universal significance, and was then strictly observed in monasteries. During the patriarchate, it was our custom for the artos, as well as the prosphora for mass on the first day of Easter, to be delivered to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral from the royal court. On the first day after the liturgy, the Patriarch, with the cathedral, in the procession and with the artos, appeared to the sovereign; here, after the presentation of the artos by the archdeacon, the artos was kissed by the sovereign, the patriarch and others. Artos was then taken back to the church, and here the archdeacon erected it again. As for the historical origin of the ritual with artos in the Orthodox Church, it is necessary to talk about this in connection with the history of the so-called “rite of panagia.” Panagia from Greek means “all-holy” or “most holy,” which name is usually attached to the name of the Mother of God. By “rite of panagia” we mean the rite of offering special bread at the monastery meal, after the table, in honor of the Mother of God. Our following psalter speaks about the origin of this rite. Before His suffering, the Lord Jesus Christ had a meal with his disciples at the Last Supper, when he instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, and after the resurrection he appeared more than once to bless their meal, and even ate food with them. In remembrance of this, the apostles had the custom of leaving a middle place for the idle at meals and placing a portion of bread in front of it, as if for the Lord present among them. After the meal, they raised this bread with prayer and thanksgiving, saying: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Great is the name of the Holy Trinity. Christ is risen." After the day of the Ascension of the Lord, they said: “Great is the name of the Holy Trinity. Lord Jesus Christ, help us." This is how the apostles performed this custom while the Mother of God was on earth. On the third day after the Dormition of the Mother of God, when they, having been miraculously gathered all in one place for Her burial, after the meal began to make the usual offering of bread in honor of the Lord, and had just said: “Great is the name,” the Mother of God suddenly appeared on a cloud with angels and said: “Rejoice, I am with you always.” The disciples were surprised by such a miracle and, instead of: “Lord Jesus Christ,” they cried out: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us.” Then they went to the tomb and, not finding Her most pure Body in it, were convinced of Her being taken with her body to heaven. In remembrance of this, in monasteries, the “rite of panagia” is usually performed during meals; On Easter week, this rite receives its changes and becomes the rite of offering artos. Euchologius Goara depicts the rite of panagia performed in Greek monasteries in the following way. “The most pious of the Greeks,” says Gohar, monks and clerics, have the custom, after making thanksgiving after eating, to lift up a triangular loaf of bread with the first two fingers of both hands - panagia. The very act of offering the offering is entrusted in monasteries to someone specially chosen from the brethren. The chosen one, having asked for blessing and forgiveness from those present, takes a special piece of bread that lay during the meal in front of the image of the Mother of God, and raises it in front of everyone with two fingers of his hands, saying: “Great is the name,” and everyone adds: “Holy Trinity.” Then the ascendant continues: “Most Holy Theotokos, help us.” To this those present respond: “Through your prayers, God, have mercy and save us!” Then, after censing, the brethren accept the “panagia” from the hands of the refector (cellarer), divide it among themselves, and, sending up praise to the Mother of God, everyone eats. In general, the “order of offering the panagia”, set out in our printed following psalter (chapter 16), completely agrees with this Greek order of offering. "Panagia", according to Gohar, has the shape of a triangle, pointed at the top. Gohar in his Euchologia, in explaining the symbolic meaning of this form, cites the words of Simeon of Thessalonica: “This clipping indicates at the same time both unity and “trinity,” with its three sides meaning the threefold, and with its upper part the one... And so we received from the fathers, according to the apostolic tradition, to dedicate every day to the One in the Trinity to our God in honor of the Mother of God, through Whom We have come to know the Trinity." (“Russian Palom., 1894, No. 16”). Anti-Easter Week or about Thomas Gospel of John, ch. 65, ch. 20, art. 19–31. 1. The appearance of the Lord to St. ap. Foma From the day of the Resurrection, throughout the entire Easter week, the risen Lord no longer appeared to His disciples. Eight days after Easter, the disciples gathered together again, and Thomas was with them. The doors, as they had been that evening, were locked again. Suddenly Jesus Christ appeared among them and said to them: “Peace be with you!” and, turning to Thomas, said to him, answering the demands of his doubting heart: “Put your finger here, and see My hands; give me your hand and place it in my side; and do not be an unbeliever, but a believer.” Then the miraculous appearance of the Lord and His miraculous word, showing His omniscience, defeated the disciple’s doubt; he no longer dared to put his fingers into the nail wounds or put his hands into the ribs of the risen Savior. Ashamed of his unbelief, he confesses in prayerful reverence: “My Lord and my God!” Now he believes with all his heart because he has seen the Lord and experienced the power of His resurrection. The Lord, accepting the confession of His disciple, says, however, to him: “You believed because you saw Me: blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” By this He pointed us, who had not seen Him, to the word that His apostles announced about Him. (See the book “The Earthly Life of the Lord I. Christ”, translated from German by the Horde). The custom of continuing the celebrations of great holidays up to seven days was already in the Old Testament church. In this way the Passover (Ex. 12:16) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:36) were celebrated. The last of the holidays in this case was especially solemn, it was called great (John 7:37) and, as it were, replaced the holiday itself. Following this example, and from the abundance of spiritual joy about the risen Savior, in the Christian Church the eighth day after Easter, as the end of the celebration of Bright Week, has been a special celebration since ancient times, as if in replacement of Easter itself; which is why it is called Antipascha, which means: instead of, or against, Easter. Moreover, this day, serving as the conclusion of a bright one, serves at the same time as the beginning of another - a new week after Easter - the queen of holidays; it begins the circle of weeks and weeks of the whole year; on this day, for the first time, the memory of the Resurrection of Christ is renewed, which from the very apostolic times has been customary in the church to remember every seven days, that is, on every first day of the week. This is where the name Antipascha comes from, New Week, i.e. the first - the day of renewal or simply renewal; which, according to the explanation of Saint Gregory the Theologian, resembles that first weekly day of the world, which followed the solemn end of creation. But with the eighth day after Easter, the memory of the appearance of Jesus Christ to His disciples on the eighth day after the Resurrection, and of the touching of the saving wounds of His Body by the Apostle Thomas, is automatically connected; hence the name Antipascha, which is more commonly used among us than others, the week of St. Thomas, or Thomas. This remarkable event - as the most obvious proof of the truth of the resurrection of Christ, and as the experience of the inexpressible love and condescension of the risen Lord to the weakness of the human heart, inert to unconditional faith and in His very disciples - therefore constituted the main subject of church hymns throughout the new week. The Holy Church, reminding us of the appearance of the Lord with the daily reading from the Gospel, invites everyone to sing with thanksgiving to the One who has been well-willed - in our assurance - to let ourselves be touched: Lover of mankind, the great and unapproachable multitude of Thy mercies: for Thou art longsuffering from the Jews we hear, from the Apostle we touch, and those who avenge Thee we test much: how Are you incarnate? How were you crucified, sinless one? But give us reason, like Thomas, and cry out to You: My Lord and my God, glory to You! (Verse to the Lord's Proclamation). In addition, in the ancient Church, from one pious custom, the week of Antipascha had another special name, which remains in use today in the Western Church. Namely: in ancient times, the holiday of Easter was a solemn time for the baptism of Jews and pagans who converted to Christianity, which sacrament was performed on them on the night of the bright holiday. The newly baptized or, as the ancients usually called them, newborns were dressed in white clothes - the image of their infancy in Christ - which they wore throughout Bright Week. On the week of St. Thomas, these clothes were solemnly removed from them in the church and placed in a special vestibule of the church. That is why all the days of Bright Week were often called days in white (i.e., clothes); and the new week is the day of the solemn removal of these clothes - a week in white. 3. The Church’s view of the unbelief of the Apostle Thomas (in liturgical songs) I. What was the apostle's unbelief? a) In disbelief of the testimony of fellow disciples about the appearance of the Lord to them. Verb (to the apostles): I have no faith, unless I see the Lord (verse). Unless I see, I will not believe your words (Sedal). b) In disbelief in the resurrection itself. I do not believe in Your resurrection and in those who saw You crying: unless I put a finger into His side and nails of the wound, I do not believe that He rose to eat (Verse. praise.) 2. What was the reason for his unbelief? a) A strong desire to see the Lord. Lustful Thy joyful vision, Thomas did not believe before (Can., paragraph 8). b) The desire for perfect confidence for yourself and for everyone. Thomas did not doubt Thy rise in vain, and did not give in, but was careful to demonstrate this, O Christ, with all his tongue (par. 7). You do not believe what was said to him, out of disbelief in faith, informing (Article vech.). 3. What brought about a beneficial change in the soul of the apostle? a) The gracious appearance of the Risen One Himself. You showed your hand and your most pure rib to the unbelieving disciple: he believed and cried out to You: My Lord and my God, glory to You! (verse. evening.). Having believed Thomas with the sight of Thy hand and side, the Lord and God confessed Thee (ibid.). b) Especially the life-giving power of the Lord’s plagues. With fear, Thomas placed his hand in Thy life-giving side, placing it in Christ, tremblingly and feeling the action of the Savior, the Sublime One, with two natures united in Thee, inextricably united, and by faith he cried out: You are the Lord... (p. 7). Feeling with my hand Your deep being, I cry out faithfully with fear and with faith: My Lord and my God, glory to You! (verse in lit.). 4. What followed this change in the apostle? a) The appearance, instead of disbelief, of firm faith. Having placed his hand in the fiery side of Jesus Christ God, Thomas was not burned by the touch: for the souls were converted from evil faith to good faith (verse morning). b) High confession and zeal to proclaim the truth to everyone. Rejoicing, Thomas touched Your Divine rib, O Lord and Creator, glorify You. Cry out when you see You, Omnipotent: You are my God and Lord... I bow to Your power and proclaim to the world Your terrible and all-powerful uprising (Monday evening verse). Oh, glorious miracle! John reclines on his chest, but Thomas is vouchsafed to touch the ribs. But from there it is scary to take a deep look at theology: but you have been vouchsafed to teach us in secret: for it is a clear demonstration of His rise (verse). 5. What beneficial effects did the change in the apostle have on the world and the church? a) Greater affirmation of faith in the Risen One. Oh, Fomino’s good disbelief! Bring the faithful hearts into knowledge. Oh, glorious miracle! disbelief in the well-known faith (poetry). Thomas, the twin who blessed us with unfaithful faith, will solve the gloomy ignorance of all ends with faithful unbelief (item 7). We rejoice to experience: in the same way, Lover of mankind, you commanded Thomas to do this, stretching out the ribs of the unbeliever, and assuring the world of Your, O Christ, three-day rising (item 4). b) Discovery of the highest truths of Theology. I drew wealth from the inestimable Divine treasure, the twin world fills the twin world with a copy of the pierced Thy rib, wisdom and reason (item 4). Thy treasure, hidden to us, was revealed by Thomas: having theologized with God-bearing language, sing to the Lord, as you say, and exalt Him to all ages (item 8). (Sunday Thurs., XVI, pp. 11–12). 4. About the firmness and constancy of faith After His glorious resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly appeared to His disciples and followers. So, on the very day of His wondrous resurrection, He deigned to appear to the apostles, who all except the apostle. Thomas, out of fear of the Jews, spent time in a locked upper room in common prayer and deep thoughts. To convince the disciples of the truth of His resurrection, the Divine Teacher showed them His most pure hands, feet and ribs. This phenomenon filled the hearts of the disciples with faith and love for their Teacher, so that they told everyone that the Lord had risen. But when the apostles told Thomas about the appearance of the Savior, he refused to believe them. “Unless,” he said, “I see in His hands the marks of the nails, unless I put my finger into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). And so, while the ten disciples were triumphant in rising from the tomb of their Teacher and Lord, the heart of the Apostle Thomas was languishing with confusion, sadness and heavy thought. The Lord Himself came to his aid, revealing to him the glory of His resurrection. Eight days after the resurrection of the Lord, when all the apostles, not excluding Thomas, had gathered again in one place, Christ suddenly appeared in their midst and said: “Peace be with you.” Although the face and voice of the Savior immediately showed the Apostle Thomas the injustice of his doubt, the merciful Lord was pleased to finally dispel the disciple’s lack of faith. Turning to Thomas, the Savior said to him: “Put your finger here and see My hands; reach out your hand and place it in My side, and do not remain in unbelief, but be a believer” (John 20:27-29). Touching the healing wounds of the Savior completely healed the soul of the apostle; filled with a feeling of joy and faith, he exclaimed: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus Christ said to him: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Subsequently, the Apostle Thomas worked hard to preach the faith of Christ; he also served to confirm the faith of the disciples of Christ, and with them all Christians, in the Divine Ascension to Heaven of the Most Pure Body of the Mother of God after Her Dormition. An ancient tradition of the Orthodox Church tells about this as follows. After the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, all of them, endowed with power from above, dispersed in different directions to preach the Gospel, and the Apostle Thomas went to the most distant lands from Jerusalem. The Lord was pleased to miraculously gather them all to the deathbed of the Most Holy Theotokos in order to honor Her with a solemn burial. According to His holy providence, the Apostle Thomas did not have time to arrive in Jerusalem on the day of the burial of the Mother of God, but appeared here on the third day; he grieved greatly that he could not say goodbye for the last time and kiss the most pure body of the Mother of God. To console the mourner, at a general meeting the apostles decided to open the tomb of the Mother of God. And so, when they opened the coffin, they did not find the body of the Mother of God in it, but only burial shrouds. Then everyone knew that the Mother of God with Her flesh ascended into heaven. Thus, for the first time, the glory of the Most Honest Cherub and the Most Glorious Without Comparison of the Seraphim of the Mother of God was revealed, Whom the entire Christian race began to honor as their closest Intercessor before the throne of the Most High. When remembering the Holy Apostle Thomas, turn your attention, Christian, to the words of the Savior spoken by Him to the Apostle: “You believed because you saw Me: blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” For us Christians, there is no longer any need to be assured of the resurrection of Christ through any special signs and wonders. The risen Lord assured His first disciples not only for their own sake, but also for the sake of all of us who profess the name of Christ. And the apostles, for all of us, were convinced of the truth of the resurrection of the Savior: they saw with their own eyes the risen Lord, touched His wounds, repeatedly talked with Him, and preached all this orally and in writing to the whole world. Each of us must firmly and undoubtedly believe in this sermon of the apostles, as witnesses and servants of Christ. Since the Lord promised blessedness to believers, we must always try to remain in the Orthodox faith, we must be afraid of all delusions of unbelief and false faith, as well as negligence and carelessness about the faith. So, Christian, keep the holy catholic and apostolic faith as your most precious treasure, with which you can acquire a blessed life in heaven. How happy is the person who sacredly preserves the teaching of faith transmitted to him by the Orthodox Church, who does not deviate from this teaching, but tries in everything to please the triune God, according to the commandments of Christ and His Apostles! He, like a quiet stream, peacefully passes through the valley of earthly life, striving for the mountainous fatherland where all the saints live. On the other hand, how pathetic are those who waver in the faith, who, in their own superstition, pervert the Orthodox Christian teaching, who separate from their mother, St. churches and even trying to drag others into their delusions! They are all preparing eternal destruction for themselves. Unfortunately, apostates from orthodoxy also appear in the depths of our domestic church. Blinded by pride, they boldly reject the leadership of the God-established Church and its shepherds. May all the foolish ones fear the righteous wrath of God, retreating from the Orthodox faith and its guardian - St. churches: they are leading themselves into fiery Gehenna. This is what is said about it in church books. One day, one monk Theophan came to St. Kyriako, holding the wrong teaching about Christ Jesus, condemned by the church. Ave. Kyriakos began to beg Theophanes to abandon his delusions and turn to the Catholic and Apostolic Church. “The only way to our salvation,” said the monk, “is to think and believe as the holy fathers thought and believed.” Having learned of Theophan’s readiness to accept admonition, St. Cyriacus said to him: “I hope in God that His goodness will reveal the truth to you.” After this, he retired into solitude and began to pray to the Lord for his brother. Through his prayer, the lost man the next day had the following vision: a formidable man appeared to him and said: go and know the truth; An unknown person led Theophan to a dark and stinking place and showed him here all the sinners emitting screams and groans from hellish fire: “This is the abode of those,” said the formidable man, “who think wickedly. If you like this place, stay with your false teaching; if you do not want to undergo such punishment, turn to St. the cathedral and apostolic church to which Kyriako belongs” (life of Kyriako Ave., September 29). Remembering this, beloved brother, stand firmly in the Orthodox faith, bequeathed to you by your fathers and ancestors. Watch yourselves and do not enter into communication with vain-wise people, who think wrongly about the faith, who, although they want to be teachers of the law, do not understand what they say, or what they affirm about them (1 Tim. 1:7). One treasury of faith is the holy Orthodox Church; Only true teachers of the faith are legitimate church shepherds. (See “Resurrection leaf.” No. 73). 5. Stories from church history about the power of faith I. To the demand to worship the gods, St. Hieromartyr Blasius answered his tormentor: “Torment my body as you wish, it is in your power; God has power over my soul.” - “And if I throw you into the lake, will your Christ save you?” - asked the tormentor. “I believe and hope,” answered the confessor, that Jesus Christ, my God, will provide me with his wondrous help on the waters.” The ruler ordered to abandon St. Blasius into the lake, but he walked on the water as if on dry land. Having reached the middle of the lake, he said to the soldiers standing on the shore: “Now show the power of your gods and come here.” 68 warriors called on their gods and rushed into the lake, but they all drowned. Considering Blasius to be the culprit of their death, the ruler ordered him to be beheaded with a sword (Ch.-Min., Feb. 11). II. For the holy and godly life of St. Akakios, a former bishop of Melitene, was awarded the gift of miracles by the Lord during his lifetime. Once, during a rainless period, the saint went out of the city and in the open air made a bloodless sacrifice for the sending of rain. At the same time, he showed such strong faith that he did not order water to be poured into St. cup, hoping that the Lord will send down rain and dissolve the St. a bowl of water; firm faith did not disgrace the saint. Through his prayers, rain fell on the earth in abundance. Another time St. Akaki celebrated the liturgy in the church. During the service, due to the fragile structure, the vault of the church was ready to collapse. The people fled from the church in horror, but the saint exclaimed: “The Lord is the protector of my life, whom will I fear!” And the vault remained in its place until the saint performed the service and everyone left the church. Then the vault collapsed to the ground with thunder. The saint became famous for many other miracles. His blessed death followed around 435 (Ch.-M. - April 17). III. One virtuous friend of Saint Spyridon, Bishop of Trimifuntsky, slandered before the judge, was innocently imprisoned and condemned to death. Having learned about this, the saint immediately went to save him from innocent death. He had to cross the stream, which at that time, on the occasion of a flood, overflowed its banks and blocked his path, but St. The saint of God, bringing to mind how Joshua with the Ark of the Covenant crossed the dry bottom of the Jordan during its high water, and believing that the Almighty God is always the same, turned to the stream and, as a servant, said to him: “The Lord we have in common commands you: stop so that I can pass and save an innocent man from death.” At these words, the stream suddenly stopped, holding back the rush of its waters, and opened a dry path not only to Saint Spyridon, but also to his companions, who, ahead of the saint, let the judge know about his coming and told the miracle he had performed on the way. The judge immediately freed the innocently convicted man and gave him into the hands of the holy miracle worker. (From Chetya-Minea). IV. St. Tikhon of Amafunt in his youth sold bread and, having a compassionate heart, distributed it to the poor without money. His father could not help but notice this, and therefore at one time he severely punished him for this. St. Tikhon, wanting to reassure his father, said to him: “Father! It’s in vain that you are angry with me, I don’t waste your bread, but I lend it to God, and I have a receipt from Him - His Divine word; in the word of God, precisely, it is said: “whoever gives to the poor lends to God, and receives a hundredfold from Him.” ( Proverbs 19:17 ). Don't you believe me? Come, look and see how true the word of God is.” Having said this, Tikhon took his father by the hand and led him to the granary; They opened the doors of the granary - and the father saw confirmation of the words of Holy Scripture: the granary was filled with the purest and best wheat, although before there was nothing in it. The father fell to the ground and thanked God. From that time on, he no longer forbade his son to give alms to the poor. Another miracle performed by St. Tikhon, it was no less striking. In one garden they cut dry branches from grape trees and, as usual, threw them out. St. Tikhon, having collected these dry branches, planted them in his garden; At the same time, he asked God that these dry branches would take root and grow, that the grapes on them would be full and beautiful, that the berries would be sweet and healthy, and that the grapes in his garden would ripen faster than others. As the saint wanted, so it happened. The next day he went out into the garden to see what had happened to his grapes, and saw God’s blessing on them: all the branches began to grow, and that same summer they bore an extremely large amount of fruit; in other gardens the grapes were still green, but in St. Tikhon is the ripest, sweetest and healthiest. Hearing about the miracles of St. Tikhon, you, of course, noticed the childish simplicity with which he believed the words of Holy Scripture, and the childish courage with which he expected everything from God. Notice also that all St. men, especially miracle workers, are always like this, they are all like children. Children, without any hesitation, believe everything that their elders tell them: and saints, without the least doubt, believe everything that the word of God says. Children boldly expect everything from their parents: and saints boldly expect everything from God. (See propr. prot. R. Putyatin). V. The Lord said: If you have faith like the grain of a mountain, you say to this mountain: “Pass away from here, and it will pass away” (Matthew 17:20). These signs will follow to those who believe: in My name the demons will be destroyed; tongues will speak new things; They will take the serpent, even if they drink of death, it will not harm them: they will lay it on sick hands, and they will be healthy (Mark 16:17-18). We read the life history of the saints and see that all this is justified by the deed itself. You say to this mountain: go away from here, there, and it will pass away: and indeed, the mountains moved according to the prayerful word of St. Mark and St. Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea (Thu-Min. Apr. 5 and Nov. 17). In My Name the demons are cast out - and the demons were not only cast out by the saints, but even served them (Ch.-Min., Aug. 10). Tongues will speak in new languages: Rev. Pachomius did not know Greek, but he prayed and began to understand the Greek monk who came to visit him, and to answer him in Greek (ibid., May 15); and Rev. Or read without learning to read (Thu-Min. Aug. 7). They will take the serpent: St. Martyr Irina was thrown into a ditch filled with snakes, but not only did she not suffer anything from them, on the contrary, they died from her mere presence in the ditch (Thurs.-Min. May 5). Even if they drink mortally, it does not harm them: St. the martyr Michael, on the orders of his tormentor, drank poison and remained unharmed, while the same poison, drunk by one criminal sentenced to death, immediately took his life (Ch.-Min. June. 9). They will lay them on sick hands, and they will be healthy: Paphnutius Borovsky built a church; one icon painter, named Dionysius, who worked for this church, became very ill with his legs and had to leave work, but St. Paphnutius only told him: “Get to work, Dionysius, God will bless you, the Mother of God will give you health,” and the sick Dionysius immediately set to work, and his illness disappeared (Thurs.-Min. May 5). 6. Stories about Russians’ love for the Orthodox faith Russians have long been distinguished by their deep commitment to St. faith of Christ and the Orthodox Church. During the disastrous times of the Tatar yoke, opportunities opened up for them to testify to this commitment and love with their blood. I. In 1246, when the Tatar Khan Batu called the Chernigov prince Mikhail to him and demanded from him, through his magicians, that before entering the khan’s chamber, he, according to the custom of the Mongols, walked through the fire and bowed to the sun and idols, the noble prince answered: “I am a Christian and cannot bow to creatures and idols.” When he was offered a choice of one of two - either bow down or die: the prince did not hesitate to choose the latter, despite all the convictions of those close to him; prepared for a Christian death and tasted cruel death from the barbarians. The example of the valiant prince was then followed by his beloved boyar Theodore. II. In 1270, another Russian prince, Roman Olegovich of Ryazan, was slandered in the Horde, as if he had slandered the khan and his faith. The Khan gave the prince into the hands of the Tatars, who began to force him to their faith. But he not only did not agree to this, but openly confessed that the Christian faith was truly holy, and the Tatar faith was vile. The embittered pagans cut out his tongue, gagged his mouth and slowly cut out all the members of his body at the joints, so that the new martyr really became like the ancient Jacob the Persian, according to the chronicles. III. Defending themselves from attacking enemies, or speaking out against them themselves, the Russians were convinced that they were shedding their blood and dying, first of all, for St. faith and church. “We will die for St. Theotokos (that is, for the cathedral church of the Most Holy Theotokos) and for the right faith,” said the residents of Vladimir when it was besieged by the Tatars. “We will die for St. Sophia (i.e. for the St. Sophia Cathedral),” the Novgorodians usually repeated when gathering on the battlefield. “Let us shed our blood for the house of the Most Holy Trinity and for St. churches,” the Pskovites exclaimed in the days of Dovmont, repelling the attacks of Lithuania. And Dimitri Donskoy, setting off with an army from Moscow against the Tatars, said to other princes and governors: “Let us go against the godless and wicked Mamai for the right Christian faith and for the Holy Spirit. church, and for all infants and elders, and for all Christians." (II. collected years. I, 222; III, 57. 62. 71. 99 and others; IV. 40. 76. 181; V, 6; VI, 105; VII 140). Yes, the Russians loved their fatherland, and in it, first of all, they loved their saint. faith and his St. church. The Russians became even more attached to St. faith and the church, that in them they only found consolation and reinforcement in the midst of disasters and sorrows, especially from their enslavers, and in the name or title of Christians they saw their main difference from the filthy Hagarians and their superiority over them. (“History of the Russian Church”, Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, T. V, pp. 267–269; sn. “Spiritual sowings” by priest Gr. Dyachenko). Those who have not seen blessings have believed (John 20:29). This happened a long, long time ago. I was then young, and ardent, and curious. Since childhood, a living and pure faith in the Lord was not implanted in my heart. And the older I got, the more disbelief crept into my soul. I didn’t know how to believe, I wanted to find out everything with my mind, my feeling. And this is how the merciful Lord enlightened me. It was a fresh, early spring. During Great Lent I had to go on business to a small provincial town. Seven miles from the city, on a hill, stood a beautiful monastery. Many holy relics rested there. I loved singing very much and often came to the monastery to listen to the monks’ singing choir; they sang really beautifully. I had several monks I knew in the monastery, and I often spent the night with them. Whole evenings we used to argue about various religious subjects; I openly laughed at their faith, at their reverence for the holy relics, and I, unfortunate one, boldly declared my unbelief. The monks were horrified and began to admonish me. I liked one of them in particular; it was a tall, stately monk, Father Irenaeus; He was of a noble family, a very educated and intelligent man; his thin and slightly yellowish face was striking in its severity and holiness; large, black eyes looked with extraordinary intelligence and firmness. I especially loved talking with Fr. Irenaeus. In the fourth week of Lent, I chose a warm day and went to the monastery. I looked at the church, listened to the monks singing and went to Fr. Irenea, with the intention of spending the night. We talked with him for a long time in the evening; the dark blue night sky with burning stars looked at us through the window, and we still did not stop talking; From time to time the guard's blows on the cast-iron board were heard. The monastery was sleeping. “No, give it up, and get your disbelief out of your mind,” said Fr. Irenaeus, “unbelief is a grave sin, and will be severely punished by the Lord.” “Well, if I actually proved it to you, oh. Irenaeus, that you are all mistaken, would you believe me? - I asked. “What are you saying, come to your senses! Our fathers and grandfathers were no more stupid than you and me, but they believed this. The entire Orthodox Church has believed for centuries; millions of Orthodox people have believed and believe. Finally, read the lives of the saints... How can one doubt the holiness of the saints of God and the incorruptibility of their relics? What are you saying!.. God be with you!” - explained Fr. Irenaeus. I remained silent, but harbored a daring thought in my heart. “I’ll do that,” I decided, and went to bed without saying anything to Fr. Irenaeus. I could not sleep on the monk's hard bed. He prayed for a long time and finally dozed off on the floor in a corner. Having made sure that he was sleeping, I quietly got up, dressed somehow, and hastily left the cell. In the east there was a white streak of pre-dawn; the stars were extinguished... The breeze refreshed my face. I went straight to the church. It was unlocked. With the faint flickering of large lamps, it was barely possible to distinguish the images and outlines of the church. Two monks were fussing around the right side chapel and did not pay attention to me. Matins was soon to begin. For a minute I felt scared. I came to the left aisle to the shrine of the saints who were resting there. relics, stopped near them and looked around; a lamp was burning near the open shrine. There was no one nearby, the monks must have gone out. Again some inner fear chilled my heart. I tried to smile, walked up to the shrine and boldly lifted its cover... I wanted to touch the relics with my own hands, to closely see the face of the deceased saint - otherwise I did not believe in the sanctity of the relics. Some force lower and lower bent my head... My hand wanted to touch St. relics... Suddenly... was it a terrible clap of thunder, or a flash of lightning... or what else, I don’t know... I only saw a raised hand... Everything around began to spin, it went dark... there was some kind of noise in my head, in my ears... I came to my senses on the floor, in terrible, painful darkness. What happened to me, where I was, I don’t know anything. I tried to rub my eyes, to see where I was, it was all in vain... It was dark all around, like a grave... Then I understood everything... I was blind. He planned a terrible thing, and the Lord punished me severely and deservedly for it. Again, with melancholy and anguish in my soul, I fainted. I came to my senses when there were a lot of people around me, voices were heard, and I heard the voice of Fr. Irenea. Right there in front of everyone, I, a recently healthy man, now an unfortunate blind man, told my unforgiving sin and my punishment... I knew, I felt that the monks were crying over me... and I bitterly regretted that I had not listened to their words. Since then I have remained in the monastery, and every day I pray before St. crayfish. I ask the Lord and St. please forgive me my grave sin... I often cry and pray... Now I'm an old man. The Lord had mercy on me - my eyes now see so much that I could myself describe everything that happened to me. (See “The Helmsman” for 1888, No. 11). Once, when I was returning home from a long absence, on the eve of the New Year, a strong blizzard captured me in the steppe: tired horses, stuck in a snowdrift up to their chests, could barely drag our cart. Flakes of wet snow spinning in the air blinded our eyes, and finally we completely lost our way. So more than one hour of tedious wandering through the snowy plains passed at random, until the distant barking of a dog revealed to us the proximity of human habitation. We headed towards it, and soon the dark outlines of some landowner’s farm appeared in front of us. We were hospitably greeted by its owner, a retired Caucasian officer of old times: he introduced me to his family, consisting of his wife, an elderly lady with an unusually meek and pleasant expression on her face, and two adult sons who came from the capital to stay with him for the holidays. They all turned out to be very kind people, and therefore it is understandable the pleasure with which I, having warmed up from the road, sat in the office of Alexander Nikolaevich, that was the name of the random owner, and talked with him over a glass of tea in front of a hot fireplace, which involuntarily made me forget about the bad weather raging outside. At first our conversation was no different from the conversation of people who had recently become acquainted with each other, but then it took on a more frank and intimate character, and the conversation turned to more or less remarkable cases that have ever coincided in the lives of each of us with the New Year holiday. “As for me,” said Alexander Nikolaevich, “twenty-two years ago the New Year was marked in my past by a circumstance that will forever remain in my memory, not so much because of the very exceptionality of its circumstances, but because it gave me the opportunity to comprehend the immeasurability of God’s mercy towards fallen man, who was already intending to lay a sinful hand on himself. I asked the old man to share his memories with me, and this is what he told me: – First of all, I should tell you that you see before you a person who has doubted the existence of God for many years. At first glance, it would seem very natural that a life full of daily hardships and military dangers, such as mine was during the era of the conquest of the Caucasus, should have developed in me the view that “without God you can’t reach the threshold,” but this was far from being the case, and, since childhood, having heard and read all sorts of human nonsense that rejected the existence of God, the church and everything holy, I was an unbeliever in the full sense of the word. But the Almighty was pleased to send me such a test that made a saving turning point in my moral illness. It happened like this. Upon leaving the regiment, I settled in our district town, where, having married my real wife, I lived calmly and happily; fate sent me the best of women, and the only dark spot on our family horizon was my unbelief, and my wife, a true Christian, was extremely saddened by my spiritual error and often, in moments of my blasphemous antics, she retired from the rooms to the bedroom and in front of the icon of the Mother of God with tears begged Her to bring her errant husband to reason. So several years passed, and we already had two children - these very good fellows you just saw - when the prayer of my meek friend reached heaven. On the third day of Christmas, we were at a party with her, and the latter was already in full swing, when suddenly we heard shouts: “there’s a fire, we’re burning”! We all poured out into the yard, but the alarm was in vain; nevertheless, from fright and cold - my wife was in only a light dress - she felt unwell, and I hurried home with her; At night she became feverish and delirious, but by morning she calmed down a little and fell asleep. The next day I went away on business, and when I returned home, imagine all my grief and horror, my wife was no longer there! Yes! Death mercilessly tore the thread of this precious life for me... There could be no doubt about that; the arriving doctor confirmed the fact, and besides, the mark of death that lay on the wax brow of the deceased clearly testified to my loss. I will not bore you here with a description of everything that followed, but I will only say that from the moment the deceased was laid in the hall, I fell into boundless despair; The consolation of holy prayer was unavailable to me, nothing could change what had happened, and I decided to commit suicide. Retiring to my office, I spent the whole night before the New Year holiday putting my property affairs in order and, in a letter to one of our relatives, entrusted the fate of my children to his care; Following this, I took a revolver out of my table, and only one weak pull on the trigger separated me from eternity, when suddenly the following thought dawned on me: my decision is unchangeable, the whole question is only a matter of time.... Why shouldn’t I wait for one or another day, why not spend some more time with the dear ashes? and there... Here I lay down on the sofa and, tired by the troubles of the day and depressed by the fatal event, fell into a heavy, leaden sleep. And a whole swarm of dreams, sometimes inexpressibly sweet, sometimes terrifying, then filled my sorrowful heart: I dreamed that I was sailing with my late wife in a shuttle, which, like a nutshell, was tossed by the angry waves of the boundless expanse of water, we both trembled for our fate and not in vain: a high shaft capsized the boat, separating us an angry element, and while I was plunging into the abyss, some wondrous force carried the image that was dear to me far away from me. Then I began to pray, and suddenly I heard the words: “Believe and you will be saved!” I believe! I exclaimed and... woke up, awakened by the morning cold. I got up and went out into the hall; it was dark in it, and only the light of a wax candle, glowing in front of the old sexton, who was reading the psalter over the deceased, fought with the glimmer of dawn that was beginning. I let the old man go to rest and went up to the head of the corpse dear to me, full of thoughts, each more painful than the other... But then, in all its splendor, a ray of sunlight burst through the window and bathed everything in its life-giving, caressing light: it seemed to me at that moment that the wife’s face had lost something of its deathly pallor, and as if something similar to life flashed across her haggard features. Was it not a deception of feelings, a play on the imagination upset by grief? No! that was reality! Death gave back its victim, which was proven by the warmth that little by little enveloped this hitherto lifeless body. As soon as I was sure that my wife was alive, the dying wife was carefully transferred to the bedroom, where she came to her senses a few hours later.... My joy knew no bounds. With the speed of lightning, the news of such an unheard of incident spread throughout the city, and the venerable Father Vasily, who arrived at the funeral service, was very surprised when I asked him to serve a prayer of thanks instead... It may very well be that the impulse that forced me to postpone suicide can easily be explained by the thirst for life, which does not leave a person even in the most exceptional conditions; The imaginary death of my wife can easily be explained by a so-called lethargic dream: but here I see only the finger of God! So this is what, my dear guest, the New Year gave me 22 years ago! The providence of God, having sent me a beneficial dream, kept me from the grave sin of suicide; it also returned to me my friend, who seemed to be already in the hands of death, and made me a believer... (“The Helmsman”, 1889 No. 1). Gospel of Mark, ch. 69 and 70; Ch. XV, 43–47; Ch. XVI, art. 1–8. 1. Holy Myrrhbearers at the Holy Sepulcher The evening of Holy Saturday arrived. - All this day, St. apostles and saints the wives were kept in peace, according to the commandment of the law. On Saturday evening, as soon as the possibility of all sorts of things opened up, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James went to look at the tomb of the Lord Jesus. They were drawn there by an uncontrollable desire to inquire whether something special had happened there, near the Holy Sepulcher, where their thoughts and hearts were. And they went there; seeing that everything was in the same position as it was on Friday, they returned to the city; Here they met with Salome, and all three of them bought spices and ointment to anoint the body of the Lord Jesus in the morning. - The third day began, when, according to the Lord’s prediction, His resurrection was to take place. The Jewish authorities, fearing this terrible day for them, hastened to take precautions so that the disciples of the Lord Jesus would not steal His body at night and say that He had risen. While the wives were at the tomb, the authorities went to Pilate, asked his permission to assign a guard to the tomb, brought them and put them in place, and put a seal on the tombstone - all this after the wives had moved away from the tomb. - Meanwhile, St. The wives do not even suspect that the coffin is surrounded by guards and sealed. Although they all acted together, they were not located in the same house, but wherever they had to, each with their relatives or friends. Therefore, they decided to gather together in the morning, not in the city, so as not to disturb anyone, but at the very tomb, waiting there for each other, so that together they could begin to anoint the body of the Lord; and when they left the city, they left each one free to do as she could, as long as it was early. - So they prepared and agreed, and calmly waited for the morning, not knowing at all about the guard. Seeing their love, the Lord did not allow them to be frightened by the formidable guard. Even before their arrival, at a mysterious hour in the dead of night, the resurrection of the Lord took place, invisible and unknown to anyone, accomplished, sealed in stone from the Jews and the warriors guarding the most pure Body... And only then an angel came down from heaven and, rolling away the stone from the door of the tomb, sat on it. The shock from the falling stone and the brilliant appearance of the angel made the guards tremble: she died and then ran away into the city. The stone was rolled away not for the Lord, but for the guards, for the loving visitors to the tomb, so that they could enter, look and be sure that the Lord is no longer in the tomb, that He has risen. Mary Magdalene was the first to rise that morning and, still in the darkness, rushed to the tomb. When she arrived, she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the coffin. The angel present here did not show her his face: Heavenly messengers appear by the will of God and by the same will they can be invisible. Deeply shocked by the open tomb, Mary Magdalene immediately thought: they have taken the Lord! With this thought, she hastily returns to the city, runs to the apostles Peter and John and tells them: “They took the Lord away from the tomb, and we do not know where they laid Him.” Peter and John immediately went to the tomb to see what was there. - And while Mary was going to the city, and the apostles were gathering, the myrrh-bearer Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward, came to the tomb late in the morning, along with some others, bringing the prepared aromas. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb and went straight in. There, to their utter amazement, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus; when they wondered what this meant, suddenly two angels in shining robes appeared to them. The wives, in fear and confusion, lowered their eyes to the ground, but the bright men reassured them, saying: “Why are you looking for the living with the dead? He's not here. He has risen. Remember how He told you back in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” And they remembered these words of Him and, returning from the tomb, decided, of course, to go and tell the apostles and everyone else what they had seen and heard. Meanwhile, Peter and John with Mary Magdalene hurried to the tomb and went to it without meeting their wives, which, according to the location of the streets in Jerusalem, could easily have happened. Both apostles walked hastily, but John was younger, and therefore walked faster and came to the tomb first, however, he did not go inside, but only looked there and saw only the linens lying. Peter came up and went inside. And he also saw the linen cloths lying and also the cloth that was on the head of the Lord, not lying with the linen cloths, but separately, in a different place, rolled up. Then John also entered, and saw, and believed in his heart that the Lord had risen (this is how St. Chrysostom interprets it). Having examined everything in the tomb, the apostles went home. But Magdalene, who returned with them again to the tomb, remained next to him, exhausted by inexpressible grief and hasty walking; not knowing what to do, what to think, she could only cry. Amidst the weeping, she looked inside the tomb and saw two angels in white robes: one sitting at the heads, the other at the feet, where the Body of Jesus lay. They asked her: “wife, why are you crying?” She answered: “They took away my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid Him.” Here, probably, she noticed some reverent movement of the angels, whose gaze was directed outside the cave; She also turned her gaze there and saw the Lord Jesus, but through her tears and in the morning twilight she did not recognize Him. The Lord says to her: “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? She, thinking that the gardener was in front of her, said to Him: “My lord! If you took it out, tell me where you put it, and I will take it.” Then the Lord called her in a voice familiar to her: Mary! She, hearing this voice, exclaimed: Teacher! and she rushed to His feet to embrace them with reverent joy, but the Lord stopped her, saying: “Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and tell them: I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” With unspeakable delight she went to the apostles. Dawn was approaching. Holy wives: Mary of Jacob and Salome and, perhaps, some others with them hurried to the tomb; As they walk, they say to each other: “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But the stone was very large, and they would not have been able to roll it away. When they approached the tomb, the sun was already rising, that is, its light was already shining, but the sun itself was not yet visible in the sky. Approaching the coffin, the wives looked and saw that the stone had already been rolled away. Approaching the place of the tomb, they saw an angel sitting on a rolled away stone and were horrified; The angel encouraged them, saying: “Do not be afraid, you are looking for Jesus crucified: He is not here, He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Obeying the word of the angel, the wives entered the tomb; there they saw a young man in white clothes sitting on the right side, and again they were horrified, it was still an angel of the Lord. Seeing their confusion, the angel reassured them, saying: “Do not be alarmed, are you looking for Jesus of Nazareth, crucified? He has risen; He is not here, this is the place where He was laid. Now go quickly and tell His disciples and Peter that He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him, just as He told you.” - And they, hastily leaving the tomb, ran to the city with fear and great joy. They were seized by awe and horror from the extraordinary nature of what they saw and heard, and on the way they did not say anything to anyone, but on the way, having come to their senses, they decided to tell the apostles about everything. And as they hurried towards them, behold, the Lord Jesus Himself met them and said: Rejoice! And they, falling at His feet, embraced them and worshiped Him, but they were in awe. The Lord encouraged them, saying to them: “Do not be afraid, go, tell My brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see Me.” So, the first to see the risen Lord were St. wives, angels appeared to them, the Lord Himself appeared to them before any of the apostles. Why is this so? Because they loved Him much. It is enough to remember their service to Him from their estates, their courageous presence at the cross of the Lord on Calvary, their participation in His burial and, finally, their morning journey to His tomb with aromas and ointment to anoint His most pure body. Imitate, brethren, the good example of St. Myrrh-bearing wives, you too use the excess of your acquisitions to serve God and the Church, to deeds of love and Christian piety. (Comp. according to "Letters." bishop Feofana, n. No. 768 Troitsk. sheet.). 2. Equal to the Apostles Myrrh-Bearer None of the St. the myrrh-bearers did not love the Lord as much and was not as devoted to Him as Mary Magdalene; That’s why in the Gospel she is always called the first among them. Out of zeal for the faith of Christ, she worked in confession of faith like the apostles, and therefore St. The Church called her Equal to the Apostles. She was originally from Syria, and lived in Galilee, specifically in the city of Magdala. Judging by her origin from Syria and because she once suffered from demonic possession, one might think that she was not the daughter of that Syrophoenician woman who earnestly asked the Lord to heal her demonic daughter and received praise from Him for her great faith (Matthew 15:22–28; Mark 7:25–30). Some think that she was the sinner who, with tears of repentance, kissed the feet of Jesus and anointed them with precious ointment (Luke 7:37). But such an opinion, adopted among the Latins, has no basis; and even if it were fair, it should not humiliate Magdalene: and the Savior says: there will be greater joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not demand repentance (Luke 15:7). Magdalene was possessed by a terrible illness, which in the Gospel is called demon possession, and from which the Savior healed her, casting out seven demons from her. The great benefit shown by the Lord to Mary by casting out demons from her produced in her grateful heart such love and commitment to the Savior that she decided to devote her whole life to Him and, in any case, showed the most sincere zeal for Him. Jesus Christ, who came to earth to seek and save the lost, looked everywhere for the lost sheep of the house of Israel and for this purpose moved from city to city, from city to city, swam across seas and rivers, climbed mountains, went deep into deserts, and Mary accompanied Him everywhere, although the incessant travel, no doubt, was burdensome for her feminine weakness. Jesus Christ, who became poor for our sake, did not have anywhere to lay his head, suffered extreme need in everything - and Mary diligently served Him with her property and the labor of her hands. Jesus Christ, having completed His work on earth, goes to lay down His soul for the salvation of the world - and Mary follows Him to Calvary, weeps inconsolably for Him with the women of Jerusalem, and looks with trepidation at His crucifixion. At first she stood with His acquaintances from afar, but then, forgetting all fear and obeying only the attraction of her heart, she approached the very cross of Christ, sympathized with the Divine Sufferer in the difficult moments of His death and took His last breath into her heart. That’s how she loved the Savior! Her love for Him, according to the word of Scripture, was as strong as death (Song.8:6). No, Mary’s love for Jesus Christ was stronger than death, and it did not weaken even after His death. While everyone, both friends and enemies, left the Crucified One after death: then Mary Magdalene remained with Him with one of her friends. She saw how Joseph and Nicodemus took down the most pure Body of Jesus from the cross; she accompanied Him to the burial place; she looked at where and how they laid Him. If she herself did not take part in His burial, then this, no doubt, was due to excessive grief, which so depleted her strength that, according to the evangelist, she could not stand, but sat opposite the tomb (Matthew 27:61). However, she mentally strove to where the treasure of her heart lay - the sweetest Jesus, and therefore, noticing that Joseph and Nicodemus, hastening to finish His burial before the approaching Sabbath, only wrapped His body in shrouds and sprinkled with incense, and did not anoint it with aromas, as happened during Jewish burials, immediately decided to make up for this omission of funeral customs, and together to render the last duty of zeal to the deceased Teacher. Having spent Saturday in peace, according to a well-known Jewish custom, Mary Magdalene immediately bought various aromas and the next day, early in the morning, while it was still pitch dark, she hurried with them to the tomb of the Savior, accompanied by some of her friends. The darkness of the night, the solitary position of the Holy Sepulcher, the proximity of the terrible Golgotha ​​to it - nothing could deter the pious women. They walk and only think about how to quickly anoint the body of their beloved Teacher. Mary Magdalene got ahead of her friends and, seeing that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb, immediately ran to Jerusalem to the apostles Peter and John and said to them in fear: “I have taken the Lord from the tomb and do not know where I have laid Him.” This news struck the apostles, and they rushed to the tomb, and Mary also ran there. But, having come to the tomb, and seeing in it only the swaddling clothes of the Savior and the handkerchief that was on His head, the apostles returned to themselves, marveling at what had happened. And Maria? She did not go with them, but remained at the tomb, thought about Jesus and wept bitterly for Him. Oh, how touching this act of hers is! How touching are her tears! They clearly expressed such sincere devotion to Jesus, such tender love for Him, which, it seems, His most zealous and beloved disciples did not have. The Lord could not leave such love and devotion without reward and consolation. And so it was. When Mary stood and wept at the tomb, she decided to see if the body of Jesus was somewhere in it. But, having entered the tomb, she saw two angels in it, who said to her: woman, why are you crying? Mary answered them the same as she answered the apostles: I have taken my Lord and do not know where I have laid Him. Having said this, she turned back and saw Jesus Christ, but did not recognize Him, probably because, out of modesty and despondency, she did not look into His face, or His appearance changed a lot after the resurrection, and perhaps his clothes hid it. Then the Savior said to her: woman, why are you crying? who are you looking for? She, being occupied with the thought of Jesus Christ and thinking that the helikeeper was speaking to her, answered Him: Lord, if you took Him, tell me where you laid Him: and I will take Him. Then Jesus called her by name and said: Mary! Hearing the familiar voice that so often delighted her ears and heart, Mary rushed to Jesus Christ and joyfully exclaimed: Rabbi - Teacher! The Lord, of course, was pleased with such delight from his beloved student; but, wanting to calm her down and quickly bring joy through her to other disciples who were greatly grieving for Him, He said to her in a friendly manner: do not touch Me - leave Me, lest I sigh to My Father. - I have not yet ascended to heaven and will often see you; Go therefore to My brethren, and tell them that I will soon ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. Magdalene immediately went and told the disciples of Christ everything that she had seen and heard, but the disciples did not believe her. Meanwhile, she, taking with her another Mary, the mother of Jacob, again, for the third time, went to see the coffin - to look at it. Perhaps in this case she was also guided by a secret hope that she might not see the Risen One again? This is exactly what happened. Arriving at the tomb, the holy friends found an angel there, who, having assured them of the resurrection of Christ, ordered them to quickly announce it to the Lord’s disciples. When they went to fulfill this assignment, Jesus Christ Himself suddenly met them and said to them: Rejoice! And wanting to further assure them of His resurrection, the Lord allowed them to do what He had previously withheld Mary from - He allowed them to embrace His feet and worship Him as the Lord. Thus, Mary Magdalene, for her ardent love for the Savior, was awarded His appearance twice and became the first harbinger of His resurrection. How this special favor of the Lord towards her must have pleased her! What new ardor for Jesus filled her loving heart!.. And truly, Mary Magdalene showed such zeal for the Risen One, which we do not see in any of His other disciples. Like the apostles, leaving everything: home, friends, and fatherland, she devoted her entire life to the gospel of Christ and proclaimed it not only to Judea, but also to many pagan countries. She was also in Rome; here she found access to Caesar Tiberius himself and, presenting him with a red egg, a beautiful image of rebirth to life, said to him in greeting: Christ is risen! She announced in detail to Caesar all the deeds and teachings of the Lord, showed His innocence and clearly exposed His unrighteous judges, and through this aroused strong anger in Caesar against Pilate and Caiaphas, who received righteous reward for their wicked deeds. One might think that the Apostle Paul points to this feat of Magdalene in his letter to the Romans when he says: kiss Mariam, who has labored so much for us (Rom. 16:6). From Rome St. Magdalene went with the gospel to other places and finally arrived in Ephesus to John the Theologian, to whom she was drawn by their identical love for the Savior. Here she peacefully reposed in the Lord. - Brothers and sisters in the Lord! Imitate her in Christian virtues. Imitate you, sisters in the Lord, for she was a wife subservient to you. Imitate her too, brothers: for it is a shame for husbands to yield to their wives in good deeds. Imitate her, everyone: for this is possible for everyone and saves the soul. Mary Magdalene completely devoted herself to serving the Lord: and you, too, be His faithful servants. Mary Magdalene followed Him everywhere and was His most zealous disciple: and you unswervingly follow His footsteps, diligently listen to His word and carefully fulfill His holy orders. commandments. Mary Magdalene helped the Lord with her property and the labors of her hands: and you do the same, if not to Him personally, which is now impossible for you, then to His Church, which He calls His body, and to His lesser brothers - the poor people. Every mite used in their favor, every crumb given to them, will have a great reward from the Lord, for He Himself says: whatever you do for one of these least of my brothers, you do for me (Matthew 25:40). Mary Magdalene accompanied the Lord to Calvary, looked at His suffering on the cross and seemed to be crucified with Him in sorrow: and you, brothers and sisters, are more often transported in thought to Calvary, often imagine yourself at the foot of the cross of Christ and think about what the Son of God endured for our sins, weep for yourself, weep for your sins and fear to crucify the Lord with them again. Mary Magdalene came to the Savior with aromas and, not finding Him in the tomb, searched for Him everywhere and diligently until she was worthy to see Him after the resurrection. And you come to Him with spiritual incense - from St. prayers, and you seek Him mentally everywhere: in the churches of God, where He is graciously present in His sacraments, and in visible nature, where He reveals Himself with His power and goodness, and in your own heart, where He responds in the voice of our conscience. Strive for Him in spirit to heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God. By doing this, you will one day be worthy to see Him face to face in heaven. Mary Magdalene openly confessed herself to everyone as a disciple of the Savior; Do not be ashamed to show yourself always and in everything as true disciples of the Lord, do not be afraid of reproaches and ridicule to which the sons of this age subject those who want to live piously, and try to spread piety among your children, friends and household members. Let us try to imitate St. in all this. Mary Magdalene, and you, Equal-to-the-Apostles, strengthen us in good deeds with the grace bestowed upon you! (See “Conversations” by Plato, Metropolitan of Kiev). 3. An example of living love for God In the city of Edessa, in Mesopotamia, Emperor Valens, infected with the Arian heresy, ordered the Orthodox churches to be locked so that services could not be held in them. Orthodox Christians began to gather outside the city in the fields to listen to the Divine Liturgy. Having learned about this, Valens ordered that all Christians who would henceforth gather there be put to death. The head of the city, Modest, to whom this command was given, out of compassion, secretly notified Orthodox Christians about it in order to divert them from meetings and the threat of death; but the Christians did not cancel their meetings, and the next Sunday they came in even greater numbers for corporate prayer. The chief, passing through the city to fulfill his duty, saw one woman, dressed neatly, although poorly, who hurriedly left her house, did not even bother to lock the door, and was leading a baby with her. He guessed that this Orthodox Christian woman was hurrying to the meeting, and, stopping, asked her: - To the meeting of Orthodox Christians! - answered the wife. “But don’t you know that everyone gathered there will be put to death?” “I know, and that’s why I’m in a hurry so as not to be late in receiving the martyr’s crown.” - But why are you bringing the baby with you? - So that he too can participate in the same bliss. (Chronicle, part 48). 4. Christian love is the law of the human heart In the Gospel, the Lord, to the question of one lawyer: “What, having created the eternal life, will I inherit?” pointed out to him the commandment to love God and neighbor. Love God and your neighbor, as the Lord would say, and you will enter eternal life. Love is the law of morally rational life. This law must unite all beings into boundless harmony. Outside of this law, for creatures who would like to remain disobedient to it, only wandering, suffering and death are possible. Christianity has commanded attachments such as nature has never inspired in man; it blesses them, it evokes them. Let us present examples that confirm this idea. There is a Jew at the gates of Jerusalem. This man suffers cruel torment, his executioners surround him and torment him like wild, bloodthirsty animals; blood streams down his face; he raises his gaze to heaven, full of angelic meekness: he prays for those who stone him. God commanded him to love - and he loves. This is St. First Martyr Stephen. Here is a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. By the law of natural superiority, all prejudices, all pride, all narrow concepts, all the hatred of his tribe and his school should have concentrated in him and reached their highest degree. This man writes the thirteenth chapter of the 1st last. to the Corinthians, that is, the highest hymn of love that the earth has ever heard. God commanded him to love - and he loves. When a Christian woman, brought up among luxury and grace, imprisons herself in a school or hospital and here endures rudeness, dirt, deprivation, constant troubles, then why do you mostly see on her face a wondrously beautiful reflection of the world, which women of the world do not have? God commanded her to love - and she loves. When a missionary goes into voluntary exile in the icy countries of the north, under a sky that is nothing more than a wide shroud, - when he imprisons himself in unhealthy huts, where the atmosphere is constantly overflowing with miasma, - when he condemns himself to disgusting food, when, after many years of heroic labor, he finally manages to make the whole people there believers, who in their uneducated and crude language sing sacred hymns, which we cannot hear without tenderness - where did this animation come from? God commanded him to love - and he loves. And when, next to us, a Christian wife and mother, forced, as we see very often, to endure constant insults, ridicule, rudeness, betrayal, is opposed to all this by meekness, generosity, which nothing crushes - when she knows how to remain dignified without irritation and calm without weakness, - when she hides from everyone her secret sorrows and her grief, - when she teaches her children to respect the name that an unworthy father dishonors with his behavior - when she, having suffered all these insults, finds enough strength in herself to think in her dying illness about her husband, who returns to her when she can only die - do you think that in such a disastrous life, more frequent than you suspect, the mere impulses of nature are enough? No, and you know it well. There is something other than nature here. God commanded this woman to love - and she loves, she forgives, she tolerates, she forgets and loves... This means that it is true that we can learn to love, it means that the heart can overcome nature (that is, the instincts of its nature - instead of revenge on the enemy, pay with kindness, instead of anger and irritation, respond with love and meekness). The infinite is revealed to love, not that infinite in disorder, where it finds only slavery in the subjugation of the flesh, but then the highest infinity, where holy love expands in its eternal fullness and where it can embrace all beings, even those for whom the heart in its natural state would feel only hatred and disgust. Obeying the law of the heart, in which St. is written by the finger of God. love, a Christian man, showing his love, does not want to be served, but wants to serve others himself. He knows neither pride nor humiliation, he serves the weak and powerless, the pitiful and the outcast. Here one of the laws of Christian love is manifested, which is that the strong should help the weak, the lower should be supported by the higher. This is essentially a manifestation of the general law of love. “Whoever wills to be in you, let him be your servant; And if anyone wants to become old in you, let him be a slave to all” (Mark 10:43–44), said our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because it is unnatural for the weak and feeble to serve the strong and powerful, for the higher to be supported by the lower. It’s more natural to do the opposite: for the strong to help the weak, the lower is supported by the higher. 15 5. I want mercy, not sacrifice. Two neighboring peasants were planning to visit Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Sepulcher. They didn’t have any interference around the house: both of them had grown-up children who were in charge of the entire household. Our pilgrims were completely assembled and set a day for both of them to set out on the journey together. The day has finally come - so what? One of them - and the one who first decided to go to Jerusalem - suddenly announces to his comrade that he has changed his mind about going and is staying at home. He did not explain what made him change his decision. The neighbor was surprised and upset and began to persuade him; but the stubborn man insisted on his own and stayed. There was nothing to do, I had to go on a long journey alone. He safely reached Jerusalem and began to visit the holy places in it. Often remembering his neighbor who remained at home, he condemned him in his soul for being unfaithful to his word - and even in such a holy, great matter. But imagine our old man’s surprise when, among the pilgrims in Jerusalem, he saw his neighbor who had remained at home. And wherever he happened to go to worship holy places, everywhere he resolutely met his friend, who was always in front, before his eyes. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get along with him: the crowd constantly rubbed him off. Just a little more, and he will get to him - lo and behold, this one is again far ahead of him... Our wanderer was even more upset at his neighbor, thinking that he had deceived him, came to the holy city alone and was now deliberately running away from him. Having been everywhere he needed to go, he finally went home with other wanderers. But the neighbor disappeared into thin air: our wanderer never saw or met him again. “You know, he went home before me,” the pilgrim returning home thought to himself. So he finally made it home and began asking his family whether his neighbor had returned from Jerusalem, who did not want to go with him. They were surprised by his question and told him that the neighbor did not even think about going to Jerusalem, but stayed at home all the time. He did not believe his family and went to his neighbor, who greeted him joyfully and asked how God helped him to visit Jerusalem. “But it’s not good, neighbor, to do something like that,” the guest said reproachfully to the owner. - What's happened? - he asked in bewilderment. “Why, my brother, you didn’t want to go with me to Jerusalem, you came alone, and there you kept running and hiding from me.” “I don’t understand, dear friend, what you’re saying.” “Please don’t fool me, because I myself, with my own eyes, saw you in Jerusalem - more than once and in more than one place.” “God is my witness that while you were in Jerusalem, I was here and absolutely never left.” And if you don’t believe me, then ask others. The neighbors unanimously confirmed his words. After this, our wanderer did not know what to think. The matter was becoming mysterious. Returning from Jerusalem, the peasant was tormented by doubts and often entered into conversation with his neighbor. After many long questions, the latter finally admitted why he did not go on pilgrimage, but stayed at home. At the same time that both of them, by agreement, had to set off, a peasant he knew died, leaving behind young children in bitter need. He felt sorry for the poor, homeless orphans, so sorry that he did not know peace for himself. And so he decided on the following: no matter how much he wanted to visit Jerusalem and venerate the holy places, he abandoned this holy deed in order to help the unfortunate family with the money he had saved for the trip. Our wanderer’s eyes were now opened, he understood what the words of the Lord mean: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 12:7); I realized that by showing mercy to your neighbor you please God no less, if not more, than by diligence in pilgrimage, and that the Lord accepts the mere intention of worshiping holy places as alms, just like the deed itself. (Penzen. Eparch. Ved. 1894 No. 20). 6. On the importance of a woman as a Christian mother In Christianity, not only men, but also women are called to serve the human race according to their strengths and abilities. In the Church of Christ, both the male and female sexes are equally called to preach the Holy Gospel. Gospels. An example of this is St. the myrrh-bearing wives, who not only served the Lord during His earthly life, but also after His resurrection worked hard to preach the Gospel among the pagans. St. Mary Magdalene, for example, after the Ascension of the Lord, preached the faith of Christ in many countries, and even visited Rome (Rom. 16:6). A legend has been preserved that, while in the city of Rome, St. Mary Magdalene appeared before Tiberius Caesar and told him everything about Christ the Savior; from Rome she arrived in the city of Ephesus to St. John the Theologian and there she also preached about Christ (Thurs.-Min. July 22) Another myrrh-bearer, St. Mariamne, sister of St. Apostle Philip, accompanied her brother and shared with him and with the apostle. Bartholomew's labors and sufferings during the gospel of St. Gospels; in some cities, all three of them, day and night, vigilantly preached the word of God, instructed the unfaithful on the path of salvation and led many to Christ. After the martyrdom of St. his brother, St. Mariamne went alone to Lycaonia to the pagans and preached to St. Gospel and rested in peace (Thurs.-Min. February 17). St. Iunia, relative of St. ap. Paul, together with St. Andronikos, who belonged to the ranks of the seventy apostles, also zealously worked in the gospel of St. Gospel (Rom.16:7). St. Irene the Great Martyr was such a high evangelist of St. The Gospel that she converted her parents and the entire royal house and about eighty thousand inhabitants of the city of Magedon to Christ; in the city of Kallipolis, she led up to one hundred thousand people to Christ, and in Thrace, in the city of Mesemvria, she converted the king and all the people to the faith of Christ (Ch.-Min. May 5). Some of the women, for their zeal for spreading the faith of Christ, received in our Church the name Equal-to-the-Apostles; so called, for example: St. Mary Magdalene, St. First Martyr Thekla, St. Elena the Tsarina, Olga, the Grand Duchess of the Russian land, etc. In general, it must be said that women worked hard to spread the faith of Christ on earth. Christian women! And you must imitate the high example of St. myrrh-bearing wives, employees of St. apostles, and other saints women who worked to spread the faith of Christ. Your preaching about Christ is still very necessary and can be fruitful. To whom will we preach the faith of Christ? - you ask. To your children; your family, this is the place for your sermon. And how much good a Christian mother can do for her children! How easily she can instill in the hearts of young children the fear of God, love of neighbor, obedience and many other Christian virtues and rules of piety! A pious Christian mother will be able, better than anyone else, to teach her children to believe, love, and hope in God, to work, and to take care of their parental property, in a word, to live according to the law and commandments of God. For to whom are children closer, if not to their mother? Let every Christian mother who feeds her children physically, out of a feeling of love for them, also feed them with spiritual food. If a son grows up to be a believer and pious, then he will fear God, and will love, respect, obey his parents, and in their old age will take care of them and nourish them. Thus, a son will not dare to go against the law of God, will not dare to disobey his father or mother and offend them. From the time of pagan persecution of Christians, there are many examples of firmness in faith, love and obedience of children raised by Christian mothers. One mother said this to her son during persecution: “My son! Do not count your years, but from a very young age begin to carry the true God in your heart. Nothing in the world is worthy of such ardent love as God; You will soon see what you leave for Him and what you gain in Him!” And the mother’s suggestions were not in vain. “From whom did you learn that there is one God?” - asked the pagan judge of one Christian youth. The boy answered: “My mother taught me this, and the Holy Spirit taught my mother, and taught me so that she could teach me. When I rocked in the cradle and sucked at her breast, that’s when I learned to believe in Christ!” Read also, for example, the life of the Roman St. Sophia with her three daughters: Vera, Nadezhda and Love - there you will see a great example, worthy of attention and imitation, of the beneficial significance of a Christian woman for a family. St. Sophia tried and did sow in the hearts of her young daughters the seeds of the true faith of Christ: they proved the firmness and immutability of their faith, enduring terrible torment for the name of Christ... In vain did the heartless tormentors try to persuade them to betray the Christian faith: they gave their lives for the faith that their pious mother, St. Sophia, instilled in their hearts (Thu.-Min. September 17). At St. After the death of her husband, Emilia was left with nine children. She raised all of them in deep faith and piety. Three of them later became bishops and great teachers of the Church: Basil the Great of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Peter of Sebaste. Pious Christian Nonna, mother of St. Gregory the Theologian, converted her husband Gregory to Christianity, who was later the bishop of the Cappadocian city of Nazianza. Righteous Nonna prayed to the Lord to give her a son and promised to devote him to serving the Lord. The Lord fulfilled her fervent prayer: a son was born to her and was named Gregory. The pious mother tried to instill in her son Gregory, from his adolescence, faith in God, love for Him and the rules of Christian piety. Having been brought up in faith and piety, Gregory later became the bishop of Constantinograd, was a great teacher and was nicknamed the Theologian. And the pious Anthusa, mother of St. John Chrysostom, having become a widow in the twentieth year of her life, did not want to enter into a second marriage, but devoted herself entirely to the duties of a Christian mother: she began raising her son and especially tried to ensure that he studied the Divine Scripture. And nothing later could erase this Christian-pious upbringing from the soul of her son: neither the bad examples of his comrades, nor the pagan teachers. The example of Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, shows especially clearly what a Christian mother can do for her children. Blessed. Augustine received his first instruction in faith and piety from his mother; but, not having time to strengthen himself in the truths of the holy faith, living in a circle of depraved comrades, he became carried away by their example, began to lead a disorderly life and even fell into heresy; but, thanks to the care and fervent prayers of his mother to God, he was again directed to the true path and returned to God. This is how great, beneficial and soul-saving the influence of a Christian mother is on her children!.. Therefore, Christian women, teach your children the main and fundamental rules of the faith of Christ, the commandments of God, prayers, educate them in the fear of God and thus prepare from them true children of the Christian Church, good and zealous workers for society and faithful servants of our fatherland; This is your main duty, this is your preaching of St. Gospels! By Christian upbringing and teaching children faith and fear of God, and by your own example of a good and pious life, you will ensure the well-being and happiness of your children, for which you will receive mercy and blessing from God in this life, and in the future life you will be rewarded with bliss and glory. Oh, blessed is that Christian mother who gave birth to temporary life and prepared her children for eternal life! Such a mother will fearlessly appear before the face of the Righteous Judge and boldly say: “Here I am and the children whom You gave me, Lord!” (See “Extra-liturgical conversations” by Priest Kudritsky). 7. Women in the first centuries of Christianity In the life of the Savior, meetings with women were not uncommon, and He always treated them with merciful sympathy. The position of women among the Jewish people was relatively satisfactory, but the Divine Teacher was not satisfied with it: He denounced the Pharisees for the oppression of widows and the feeling of contempt that they had for the lost woman; He calls even the most fallen women to repentance, encourages and comforts them. The harlot wife, who fell at the feet of Jesus Christ, anointed them with perfumes and wiped them with her hair, - the wife caught in adultery, and, finally, the widow who put two mites into the treasury of the church - find themselves a protector and patron in Jesus Christ. He enters into all the legitimate needs of women, does not make a difference because of origin - both the Samaritan and the Canaanite woman equally provide His participation and help, arouses in them delight with His preaching - to a simple woman and, moreover, to a Samaritan woman He reveals the highest truths about the spiritual, grace-filled life, about serving God in spirit and truth and about His messianic dignity; throughout His life he shows an example of love and obedience to His Holy Mother and shows his tender care for Her even amid the terrible suffering on the cross. In gratitude for his merciful participation, women, for their part, declare to Him their deep sympathy and devotion: a woman enthusiastically confesses His greatness, a woman preaches about Him as the Messiah, a woman intercedes for Him before Pilate - women cry, seeing Him going to suffer, do not leave Him at the cross and express concern for His decent burial, visit His tomb, the first are honored with the appearance the risen Lord and become the first evangelists of the resurrection. In the apostolic age we see the same thing. Women, like men, are listeners, companions and helpers of the apostles and greatly assist them in spreading the faith and building the Church of Christ. The significance of their labors and cares for the apostles and for the faith of Christ is evident from the fact that many of them are mentioned with gratitude in the book “Acts of St. apostles,” and the Apostle Paul welcomes quite a few of them in his epistles, just as the other apostles mention them. Inspired by the faith of Christ, the women soon declared themselves with honor in the field of martyrdom. Following the first martyr, Archdeacon Stephen, in the same apostolic century the feat of martyrdom of St. Thekla. In the period following the apostolic period of the spread and establishment of Christianity, women also appeared in the splendor of moral greatness and continued to play a very prominent, active role. There is a deeply true expression of one church writer (Tertullian) that our soul is Christian by nature. The justice of this could not be more evident in the example of Christian women. It is not for nothing that a woman is credited with insight, the ability to recognize the truth through some kind of instinct. This is how the woman reacted to Christianity. She soon became convinced in her heart of its truth. It has been noted in the history of the spread of Christianity that in general they were more likely to accept men, before their fathers, husbands and brothers, to profess it with firmness and selflessness, and to persuade others to do the same in various ways. The holy faith, which served as temptation and madness for many, penetrated into the homes of noble Roman citizens through pious housewives. Women of different classes and ages, not excluding the youngest, join, one might say, the ranks of martyrs, and are more courageous than lions, in the words of St. Chrysostom endures the most severe suffering with heroic calm. Women visit Christian prisoners with great danger, and when the pagans, noticing the influence Christian women had on the prisoners, forbade them to enter the prisons, they even decided to take such measures: they cut their hair, dressed in men's clothes, neglected their women's jewelry, just to be able to serve the confessors. Who fearlessly collects the remains of martyrs and buries them in decent places? These are, first of all, Christian women, as noted in almost all legends about Christian martyrs. Do you want to see women in high positions as proclaimers of the Christian faith, contributing to its spread? Here are the glorious names before us: St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who became a Christian before her son, contributed to his conversion and then marked her entire life with her patronage of Christians in general and her zeal in the discovery of monuments of Christian shrines, including the Holy Cross; Olga, grandmother of St. Prince Vladimir; Nina, educator of Georgia, and others. In relation to the fathers and teachers of the Church, women play the same important role as under the apostles. They provide them with all kinds of services, help them with material resources, various kinds of care, this or that knowledge and, in turn, enjoy their full attention, respect and devotion. Many of them are known only by their exploits, but their names have not been preserved by history, but here are the glorious names handed down by history: Theosva - deaconesses, sisters of St. Gregory of Nyssa and his tireless collaborator; Olympias, a rich and noble citizen of Constantinople, who, having been widowed in her early youth, refused to enter into a second marriage with a relative of King Theodosius the Great, suffered a lot of troubles for this, accepted the title of deaconess, led a simple and austere life, devoted her labors and enormous wealth to good deeds and was the benefactor of the great saints - Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom and many others. Some of them are known for their beneficial influence on infidels and heretics, as well as on the Orthodox, such as Melania the Younger. Some are known for their pious travels, the founding of churches and monasteries, hospice houses and care for the sick, and a thorough knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Such was Fabiola, a noble and wealthy Roman woman from the family Fabia, who became a benefactress of humanity in Rome and throughout Italy, at whose funeral, in gratitude for her countless benefits, the whole of Rome crowded. Do you want to see women ascetics? Here are the names: Synklitikia and Theodora of Alexandria, Fevronia, Macrina, Mary of Egypt, Anthusa, Cassia and many others. They will say that these are rare, chosen natures who acted by calling, and whose example is not accessible to everyone. But there was no shortage of famous women who also acted beneficially in the humble home circle. Thanks to these valiant Christian women, husbands rooted in paganism became true Christians; sons, from the earliest times, one might say, with their mother’s milk, like three ecumenical saints, learned for themselves the lessons of Christian faith and morality for the rest of their lives, or after a long wandering and disorderly life, through the tearful prayers of their mother, they finally converted like Blessed Augustine, and fruitfully served Christianity; the brothers were early guided by the good examples of their sisters along the path of virtue; grandchildren competed with the exploits of their grandmothers and passed them on for the edification of future generations. Before such great Christian women, who even raised entire generations - honest, virtuous, saints - the pagans themselves could not help but bow in amazement. “What kind of women are Christians!” exclaimed Livanius, one of the famous learned pagans of the 4th century, mentor of St. John Chrysostom. Without dreaming of external exploits, these valiant women in silence, unnoticed by the world, performed a great service to humanity; without seeking special rights, they made the best use of the rights of Christian mothers, wives, sisters, girls and earned the indisputable right to the eternal gratitude of mankind, without rushing to various positions, to broad public activities, in a small, close circle they accomplished truly great deeds. The pagan Libanius' enthusiastic and laudatory review of Christian women gives us reason to imagine the sharp contrast that existed between Christian women and their contemporaries - pagan women and mostly from the same upper class of society. While a noble Roman pagan woman thinks only about outfits and headdresses, suffers and worries about dyeing her hair a fashionable red color, wears gold, pearls and other jewelry even on her shoes, the adornment of a Christian woman is, according to the commandment of the Apostle, “not the external braiding of hair, not gold headdresses and elegance in clothing, but the innermost person of the heart in imperishable beauty a meek, quiet spirit, which is of great value in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:3-5). While the pagans, in a fit of frenzied joy, noisily rejoice at their holidays in honor of the gods, Christian wives and daughters sit at home, knitting and weaving, delighting and sanctifying their work by singing sacred hymns. While the noble Roman woman is carried on a stretcher, the famous Christian woman Paula, for religious purposes, travels throughout Palestine on a donkey. While the pagan puts five hundred slaves to death for her pleasure, the Christian Melania feeds five thousand Christian believers in Palestine. While a noble Roman woman attends cruel gladiatorial spectacles and distributes signs of approval to the victors, Melania disguises herself as a slave in order to carry food to Christian captives in prison. Meanwhile, in the heart of a pagan satiated with pleasures, severe selfishness reigns 16, - Paul sells everything to give to the poor, and even borrows in order to lend it himself. “Beware,” Blessed Jerome writes to her on this occasion, “it is said: “Whoever has two dresses, let him give one,” but you give three!” “What is this! - she exclaims. - Whether I am reduced to beggary or to a loan, the family will always pay my lender and help me find a piece of bread; but if the poor man, pushed away by me, dies of hunger, who will be responsible for his death if not me?” While in paganism the vices of a woman not only did not arouse repentance in her, but were encouraged and sometimes even elevated to the level of religious service, the Christian Mary of Egypt, after a long vicious life, felt such deep repentance at the sight of Golgotha that she immediately abandoned her previous path, went deep into the desert, and lived alone for thirty years, without clothes, eating herbs, and dragging along under the consuming sun with a tanned body and long white hair enveloping her like a shroud. These are the examples of moral perfection that many Christian wives present to us! (From the brochure of Archpriest A. A. Smirnov “Woman outside of Christianity and in Christianity”). 8. The courage of Christian wives before the persecutor of Christianity The power of God is made perfect in the weaknesses of human nature; and where it dwells and acts, there weak human strength is stronger than ordinary human strength; with it, the weak nature of wives exerts actions worthy of the valiant and undaunted confessors of Christ. In the Antioch church there lived a pious wife named Publiya, who, after the death of her husband, having dedicated herself to the title of deaconess, surrounded herself with chaste virgins who vowed to God to spend their entire lives in holy virginity; with them she performed feats of pious life, daily praising God the Creator and Benefactor in sacred songs. The persecutor of Christianity, the apostate Julian, could not have been pleased with such pious deeds of Christian women and such praise of Christ the Savior from the lips of Christian virgins: his hatred, his prohibitions and threats weighed down on everything that bore the name of Christ. Once, when this persecutor of Christianity passed by the monastery of Christian virgins, at the sight of him, the fearless ascetics of piety, even louder than usual, all together sang songs of praise and glorification to God: adapting to the occasion, these courageous confessors of Christ now deliberately chose those songs in which the greatness of the true God was praised and the insignificance of idols was mocked. Hearing this, the champion of idols was offended and ordered the singers to remain silent while he was still passing by. But a lawless prohibition is not scary to someone who knows that it is unrighteous to obey man more than God; and the pious Publiya, undaunted by Julian’s prohibition, inspired the Christian virgins with even greater zeal, and when the king again passed by their monastery, she ordered them to sing: Let God rise again and let His enemies be scattered. This irritated the enemy of God even more, and he ordered the director of the choir to be brought to him. An old woman appeared before him, venerable in age and gray hair, majestic in the virtues of her courageous soul. The apostate ordered each of his squires to hit the pious old woman on the cheeks, and their murderous hands stained her cheeks with blood. But the threats and wounds of the bitter enemy of Christianity did not frighten the valiant soul of the humble Christian wife: having counted the dishonor suffered for Christ as a high honor for herself, she did not cease with the choir of her virgins to praise the Lord in spiritual songs, despite the prohibitions and threats of the persecutor. (“Sunday reading.” 1853). 9. About the Christian behavior of a girl High is the calling of the Christian woman. Destined for life in heaven, she has a great service to perform here on earth as a wife and mother. Happy is the husband who has a good wife, and equally, if not more, happy are the children who have a kind, loving Christian mother. But in order to be a worthy wife and a real mother, you need to prepare yourself for this even as a girl. All the behavior of a Christian girl should be arranged according to a certain pattern, should bear the stamp of a conscious, intelligent life, imbued with firm faith in God and complete childish devotion to His good Providence. To better paint a picture of the behavior of a Christian girl, let us first present a living example of such behavior from the lives of the saints. This example is given to us by St., celebrated on August 22. martyr-maiden Eulalia. St. Eulalia was the daughter of pious parents who lived in Spain, in a village located near the present city of Barcelona. The parents loved their daughter very much for her meekness, humility and obedience. Having learned to read and write, St. Eulalia often read St. books, and prayer, one might say, was her food: she praised the Lord “day and night,” according to the expression of her life. Under the influence of unceasing prayer and reading religious and moral books, a holy intention to devote herself to the virgin life arose early in her heart. She lived in a special room at her parents’ house and here she indulged in prayerful labors, read the Holy Scriptures to her friends. books, explained to them what she read, why they loved her as “their soul.” When St. Eulalia was 14 years old, the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletian began. By order of the emperor, Hegemon Dacian arrived in the city of Barcelona: he looked for Christians, forced them to make sacrifices to idols, and subjected those who refused to terrible torture and executed them. Having learned about this, St. Eulalia decided to go to the city. Seeing the hegemon sitting in the city square, she boldly approached him and said: “Unjust judge! Here you are sitting on a high throne and are not afraid of God, who is above all. Are you then sitting here to destroy innocent people created in the image and likeness of God? People must serve the one true God, but you force them to serve Satan, and subject the disobedient to the death penalty!” The surprised hegemon asked St. Virgo: who is she and where is she from? - “I am Eulalia, the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords; Trusting in Him, I was not afraid to come here and expose you,” answered St. Eulalia. The enraged hegemon then ordered her to be stripped and brutally beaten with sticks on the ridge. At the same time, he mocked St. sufferer, reviled the Christian God, advised her to repent and ask for forgiveness, and the young virgin said to the tormentor: “Know, cruel tormentor, that I do not feel sick from the wounds you inflict on me, because I am protected by my Master Christ, Who on the terrible day of judgment will condemn you to eternal torment!” The embittered hegemon then ordered to hang St. Eulalia on a tree and planed her body with iron combs. But this was not enough for the cruel tormentor: he ordered the candles to be lit and the body of the saint to be scorched with them. maiden until she dies. And St. the young woman, as if not feeling suffering, prayed: “Lord Jesus Christ! Hear my prayer, show Thy mercy to me and rest me with Thy chosen ones in Thy Kingdom.” Having said these words, she died. The people present saw a dove as white as snow, which flew out of the mouth of St. martyr and soared to the sky. On the third day after the death of St. The sufferer's body was secretly taken from the square and buried with honor. Here is a high example of Christian behavior for girls, which modern girls should imitate to the best of their ability. From the life of St. We saw for Eulalia that prayer was her constant occupation; she praised the Lord “day and night.” Prayer at home and in church, at the beginning and end of every task, should be a distinctive feature of the behavior of every Christian girl. She must deepen in her heart firm faith in God and childlike devotion to His wise leadership; she must always remember that nothing happens in the world without the will of God, and be ready for whatever the Lord sends her in life. In only such a mood can a girl boldly embark on the path of life, which, by the way, is strewn with more thorns than roses - in such a mood only can she cheerfully carry on her shoulders the burden of life imposed on her by the duty of a wife and mother: she will not lose heart, will not give up in despair, no matter how heavy the cross falls to her lot, but with deep humility and submission she will bring it to the raw graves. A Christian girl goes to her parents, following the example of St. Eulalia, must have respect, love, must be submissive, obedient to them in everything. Unfortunately, we often see and hear that some girls not only do not listen to them, but even behave arrogantly, impudently, arrogantly towards them, allow rude antics, often say that they are backward people, outdated, that now is not the time; There are even those who get married without the consent and blessing of their parents. A sad phenomenon, worthy of bitter regret! No, girls should always respect and honor their parents, no matter who they are. They should always put themselves in the shoes of their parents: this will protect them from many mistakes. Let them always keep in mind that they too can have children who will treat them the same way they treat their parents. Disrespectful children are the greatest grief for parents. He who honors his parents will be honored by his children, and vice versa. A Christian girl must lead a working life, avoid idleness and laziness. She should be her mother's closest assistant in running the household. By doing this, she will early learn order and housekeeping and enter into life with full knowledge of her business: she will not have to study when she needs to work, toil, and not study. We know that many girls, entering life, bitterly repent of the fact that in due time they were not accustomed to work and housekeeping. While still in her mother’s house, every girl should be able to sew, knit, and cook even the simplest food. Handicrafts, helping the mother with the housework, alms, hospitality, caring for younger brothers and sisters should be her constant exercise. A Christian girl should avoid luxury in dress, which is a common weakness of almost all girls. We must be content with what the Lord has awarded us, and not give ourselves artificial beauty. The best adornment of a maiden and a woman in general, according to the apostle, is “not the outward braiding of hair, not gold headdresses or finery in clothing, but the hidden person of the heart in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God” (1 Pet. 3:3-4). The meaning of the words of St. The apostle is this: the main subject of concern for a girl should not be appearance, but “the hidden person of the heart,” that is, the soul hidden in the body, the heart of a person. By “meek and silent spirit” we mean self-control, which consists of not being offended by anything, not offending anyone, not giving free rein to the tongue, not idle talk, not judging, and behaving modestly and humbly. Such self-control is the duty of every Christian, especially a Christian woman. Nothing humiliates a woman more than a lack of meekness and modesty, scolding, pickiness, talkativeness, and a tendency to idle talk and gossip. I ask and implore you, Christian girls, to walk worthy of your calling. Imitate St. in your life. virgins, for example St. Eulalia, whose life I briefly outlined to you. By doing this you will please God and save your souls. (Compiled from sheet No. 164, appended to the magazine “Helmsman”). 10. Girls are like mother’s helpers in the family We will dedicate our present reflection to those of you, Christian virgins, who live with widowed mothers who, in addition to you, have young children. You, no doubt, know how difficult it is for your mothers to live without support - a husband, your father, and how difficult it is for them to run a household and raise children without him. Their situation is truly difficult! It is necessary to get a piece of bread, and to clothe and put shoes on everyone, and, most importantly, to give all the children at least some kind of education. But what can one weak and often poor woman do here? Need and grief often take away her last strength and plunge her into hopeless despondency, and often she has neither a deliverer nor a helper. Who in such a situation should help your mothers first and most of all, share their grief with them, wipe away their tears? Of course, first of all, none other than you, virgins, daughters of age. You must, first of all, put yourself in their position and wipe away their tears. You must help them, you must share their grief with them. But what to do? Can you tell me how to help mothers and how to wipe away their tears? We will now show you this in an example, which we ask you to pay attention to. The Venerable Macrina, sister of St. Basil the Great, wished to remain a virgin forever, lived, before entering the monastery, in the house of her parents, and here she devoted herself entirely to the service of her mother. She never left her side, was like a guard with her and served her diligently, with humility, not being ashamed of the work that slaves had to do, and always worked with them together. And when her father died, then, it is said in her life, she became for her widowed mother and a completely persistent servant, a comforter in all her sorrows and sorrows, a good builder of the whole house, and to her brothers and sisters, of whom she was older than all of them, a teacher and mentor and, as it were, a second mother. Thus, Macrina taught her younger brother Peter, who was born on the very day of his father’s death, to read and write and all prudence, good morals and chaste living. And Peter subsequently became a saint and was numbered among the saints of God. When her brother Vasily, who had studied science for a long time on a foreign side, returned home as a young man and began to be proud of his learning, then his holy sister, with her meek and God-inspired words, in a short time led him to such humility that Vasily soon despised everything worldly and took on the monastic image. She also led another brother, named Nektariy, to the love of God and pure living through her soulful conversations. And this one, also despising everything, went into the desert and there served the elderly hermits. With the assistance of Macrina, all her sisters were arranged for marriage. Then, together with her mother, she went to the monastery, where they both spent time in great feats of abstinence and unceasing prayer, and finally, Macrina served her mother during her last illness, and her mother died in her arms (Thurs.-Min. July 19). From this example, you see, Christian virgins, what your help to your mothers should consist of, and how you can greatly alleviate their sorrowful fate and wipe away their tears. Following the example of St. Macrina, you must be constant servants for your widowed mothers, comforters in sorrows and sorrows, and good builders of the whole house; most of all, you must share with them the work of raising their children, that is, your sisters and brothers, and try with all your might to instill in their hearts all that is good, such as, for example, the fear of God, zeal for prayer and for every good deed. Then truly, according to God’s commandment, it will be good for you yourself, and you will live long on earth; and, of course, not only on this, but also on the land of the living, that is, in eternal blissful life. Yes, know that, according to the wise and good Providence of God, the life of children who care for their parents almost always passes in prosperity and continues predominantly before the life of children who do not want to know their father and mother; Even if this does not happen, then children who care about their parents, in any case, still receive in due time the most perfect blessing from the Heavenly Father, that is, immortal and blessed life in the heavenly fatherland. (Comp. according to Thu.-Min.). 11. Against the passion for dressing up Many customs have taken root among people, which at first were not only not reprehensible, but even necessary, but then, due to human whim, became harmful to the soul and body and, in general, to all well-being. Among these customs is the more and more widespread custom of decorating one's body with exquisite and luxurious clothes. Of course, a person cannot neglect decency and decorum in dress; whom the Lord has blessed with contentment of life should not walk around in torn and tattered clothes; by this he would show either his carelessness and laziness, or his despicable stinginess and passion for covetousness. St. ap. Paul advises Christians that everything they do should be in order and in order. This applies to all their external behavior, both in church meetings and in everyday life. Consequently, Christians should not reject the decorum and decency of clothing. But when a person in decorating himself with clothes goes beyond the limits of need or decency, then there is already a danger of damaging his soul by excessive care for clothes, growing cold in zeal for its decoration and thus betraying his essential duty in fulfilling the law of God. That is why the Holy Fathers strictly denounce luxury and sophistication in attire. Thus, the life of St. Pamva, whose memory is celebrated on June 18, contains a clear lesson on how one should look at unnecessary bodily adornment. Ave. Pamva was one of the famous ascetics who fled in the Nitrian desert, in Egypt. Through prayer and solitary contemplation of God, he acquired such experience and wise insight that he was a simple-minded but faithful interpreter of the law of God. People flocked from everywhere to hear his wise advice, and even the great saints wanted to enjoy his wise conversation. So, one day Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria, asked St. Pamva to come to Alexandria for a spiritual conversation. During this visit, walking through the city streets with the brethren accompanying him, Rev. Pamva once met a woman adorned with luxurious and exquisite clothes. Looking at her and seeing spiritual impurity in her under her luxurious clothes, the elder wept bitterly. The brothers asked him: what is he crying about? “For two reasons I cry,” answered the man of God: “I cry for the destruction of the soul of this magnificently dressed woman, and at the same time I cry because I, a sinner, do not have the same care for my soul that she has for her body. This woman dresses up to please people, but I don’t want to decorate my soul with anything to please God.” Truly worthy of great regret and lamentation is the useless and vain care of a person about his bodily adornment without caring about his inner beauty. What does our body mean in comparison with the immortal, god-like being of our soul? The body is a temporary church of the soul, which at a certain time must collapse, and all its decorations will remain unnecessary. On the contrary, the soul has an eternal purpose, and only adorned with the wedding robe, that is, with good deeds, can it gain access to the Heavenly palace and be present at the supper of Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven. Without good deeds, if our soul appears before the face of God, it will appear as if without any clothing, naked and filled with shame, and therefore will be expelled from the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, it is better to take care of your eternal happiness and salvation, rather than about temporary, fleeting pleasure; it is better to try to please God with the beauty of virtue, rather than think about pleasing people with vain external decorations. Let us suppose that it is possible to do both: to decorate both the body and the soul in their own way. It would be good if this were so, but in fact, for the most part it happens otherwise. We usually have update after update, outfit after outfit, and a continuous series of new inventions in jewelry; luxury develops in society even among poor people; and little is heard about new successes in good morality, about the increase in society of love, honesty, abstinence, and charity. And it is not surprising if excessive care for the body does not leave a person time to take care of his soul. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” says the Savior. It is difficult for someone who thinks only about earthly things to rise in spirit to the highest spiritual perfection. How often it happens that because of the passion for clothes, the most necessary spiritual duties are abandoned! Some, for example, do not want to go to church because there is no new dress, and they come to the church itself in new clothes, as if for show; others, instead of praying in church, look at others, who is dressed, and when they come home they judge the outfits they saw, and do not want to remember what the Gospel or apostolic word was, what teaching... They often regret helping the poor with a few kopecks, and throw a lot of money on fashionable clothes, depleting their funds necessary for daily living. What can we say about those cases when they decorate their body for the purpose of seducing them into sinful networks, when for this purpose they invent clothes that do not so much cover as expose and excite sensuality? Truly, one cannot help but shed tears, like St. Pamva, seeing such an obvious violation of the purity of morals. Beware of entering the slippery and dangerous path of indulging your passions and whims, which quietly lead to death. Likewise, an addiction to clothes, although at first apparently not reprehensible, can harm a person’s spiritual salvation. Christian wives! “Let it be your adornment,” let us say in the words of St. ap. Peter, “not the outward braiding of hair, not gold ornaments or finery in clothing, but the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and quiet spirit, which is of great price in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:3-4). 12. About harmony in family life How pleasing to God is a peaceful and harmonious life in a family, this is evidenced by one circumstance from the life of St. Macarius of Egypt. One day, during prayer, this ascetic of Christ heard a voice: “Macarius! you have not yet equaled the perfection and holy life of the two women who live in a city not far from you.” Hearing this, St. the elder went to look for those wives and, having found them, asked: “Tell me, my sisters in the Lord, how do you live and serve God?” The pious wives answered him with humility: “We are sinners and live in the vanities of the world.” But the reverend father did not cease to question them, saying: “For God’s sake, reveal to me your good deeds!” At the urgent request of St. the old man, the women finally said to him: “There are no good deeds in us; We only do not anger God: since we entered into marriage for two brothers, for fifteen years now we have been living so peacefully that not only have we not started quarrels and enmity among ourselves, but we have not yet said an unpleasant word to each other.” This is how pleasing to God is peaceful cohabitation that even the fasting and prayer of a hermit could not compare with it! That's why St. The Church, through the mouths of its ministers, more than once greets us with peace during services and wishes to establish it in our hearts. (Thu-Min.). 13. Our duties to the dead We are all sinful people, we die with sins. There is not one of us who, when dying, does not realize that he is a sinner before God. But although we all die in body, we will live in spirit before the Lord of life. The Word of God says; “For this reason Christ died and rose again and is alive, and possesses both the dead and the living.” The Savior Himself says: “believe in Me, even if you die, you will live.” - Our soul, after separation from the body, appears at the judgment of God (Heb. 9:27). This court is private, before the general court. The general judgment will be the last, at the second terrible coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth, after our general resurrection, when our souls are united with our bodies. It will be performed solemnly, in front of the whole world, and will decide our fate for the whole century; and private judgment occurs immediately after the separation of our soul from our body, before God, our conscience and before the bright angels of God and evil spirits. He determines our position only until the general resurrection and the Last Judgment. Evil spirits will expose and accuse our soul of our evil deeds, and bright angels will protect us with our good deeds against every sin exposed by evil spirits. This private court will determine what our soul is worthy of. A righteous soul according to this judgment is destined for eternal bliss; she, like the soul of the righteous Lazarus, is brought by angels to the Kingdom of Heaven for bliss in it. And the souls of unrepentant sinners are sent to hell, to be tormented there (Matthew 25:46). But until the general resurrection, our souls feel neither perfect bliss nor perfect torment. - The souls of sinners who died with faith and repentance, but did not have time to correct their lives here and bear fruits worthy of repentance, although they are relegated to hell, but not to a place of eternal torment, but to that place from where, through the prayer of the church and by the power of Christ’s bloodless sacrifice, they have the sure hope of being transferred to the bright heavenly abodes. The mercy of God and the power of the redemptive merits of the Savior extends to us until the universal judgment. The justice and mercy of God, while punishing evil, cannot but reward good. Only unrepentant sinners are directly cast into the bottom of hell. These are: infidels, freethinkers, blasphemers. The dead themselves cannot bring anything to the Lord God for their sins. There is no repentance after death (Ps. 6:6). After death, according to St. Augustine, “the time of doing has already flown away from us.” Only we, living on earth, can help the deceased in this. If we earnestly pray for the dead and remember them, then through our prayer the Lord can forgive their sins, deliver them from hell and bring them heavenly bliss with the saints. (Orthodox catich. 11th member Symbolic ver.). We ask the Lord to have mercy on the dead, to forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary. And what is asked in the name of the Lord, then, according to the Savior, will be given to us. “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, that I will do” (John 14:13). “Everything you ask in prayer, receive it believingly” (Matthew 21:22). Church prayer is such a great power that passes through the heavens and ascends to the throne of the Almighty; it descends to the abyss of hell, and brings prisoners from there to freedom; it is offered to God in the name of His beloved Only Begotten Son, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The most important and greatest means of easing the lot of the dead is the offering of a bloodless sacrifice for their repose, which is performed at mass. Here our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in the most pure mysteries of His Body and Blood, is sacrificed for everyone. With His Blood He intercedes with the Heavenly Father for the forgiveness of the sins of the departed. From the prosphora we serve at the proskomedia, particles are taken out for the deceased. These particles are put into the very cup of the Body and Blood of Christ and washed with this Blood of Christ. At the same time, the souls of those for whom these particles are taken are washed with this same pure Blood. “Wash away, Lord, the sins of those who are remembered here by Your Blood!” This is how the priest prays, immersing particles in the most holy Blood of the Son of God for the departed. - How wonderfully we do this when we serve prosphora to the proskomedia in order to remove particles from them for the dead! St. Cyril of Jerusalem says: “great benefit will come to the souls for whom prayer is offered when a holy and terrible sacrifice is offered” (Sk. 5, ch. 9). “The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” into which the particles taken out at the proskomedia for the dead are dropped during the liturgy, “cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). “Prayer for the departed is like a saving rope, which at a favorable time a person throws to a drowning neighbor,” says Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (“Words and Speeches,” ed. 2, part 2, p. 22). Truly: commemoration brings untold benefits to the deceased. If we could see our deceased relatives and friends, then surely they would tenderly ask us for remembrance; True, they would tell us: “You cannot imagine how gratifying your commemoration is to us, and how useful it is to us. Help us to be freed from sins and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.” If by some miracle we saw these millions of people rushing to the abodes of the saints, wouldn’t a stony heart and a cruel soul be amazed at this sight. Just as it is bitter for drowning people when they see their friends on the shore who do not give them a rope to save them, so it is hard for the dead if we do not heed their requests and do not pray for them. How our prayers for them help the dead, let's listen to the following story. St. John of Damascus says that one St. the husband had a student who behaved negligently and died. The elder, fearing for his fate after his careless life, began to pray for him. The Lord showed him the disciple on fire up to his neck. The elder began to pray for him even more fervently, and the Lord showed him a young man standing waist-deep in fire. Finally, when the elder intensified his prayers for the disciple, the Lord showed him the young man completely freed from the fire. (A Word about those who have fallen asleep in the faith). This is how useful our prayers are to the dead. Another incident told by St. Grigory Dvoeslov. One presbyter used to wash in the greenhouse. Then one day he sees a stranger in that place, who took off the presbyter’s boots and took his clothes. Then he handed him a linen to wipe his feet and clothes. This kind of service from a stranger happened several times. The presbyter, to thank the stranger, took two prosphoras with him and went to the greenhouse. The stranger also served him. But when the presbyter wanted to give him those prosphora for his services, the stranger cried bitterly and said: “Father! Why are you giving this to me? This is holy bread. I can't eat it. I was once the master of this place, but I am condemned here for my sins. Instead, take pity on me, pray for my sins and bring this bread to God. And so, when you come to wash and you don’t find me here, it will mean that the Lord has heard your prayer.” At these words the stranger became invisible. The presbyter prayed earnestly for a whole week for mercy, and then, when he returned to the greenhouse, he no longer saw the stranger. (Conversations. Grigor. Doubles. book. 4, chapter 55). - Is it possible after this to forget to pray for our deceased relatives and brothers, so that the Lord may rest their souls in the villages of the righteous! After all, the dead only expect prayerful help and consolation from us. How bitter and difficult it is for them when we forget to remember them! Our other duty towards the dead is to give alms for them. The dead are most in need of God's mercy. The Savior says: “the blessings of mercy: for these will be mercy” (Matthew 5:7). “Alms delivers from death and cleanses all sin” (Tov.12:9). This is what the word of God says. St. John Chrysostom says: “almost died through alms and beneficence; for alms serve to deliverance from eternal torment.” (Conversation 42 on the Gospel of John). “If we want to ease the torment of a sinner,” says the same St. Father, we will give alms, and although he is unworthy, the Lord will take pity on him. It’s not the coffins, it’s not the funeral ceremonies that need to be taken care of. Place widows around the coffin - this is the best funeral celebration. Command everyone to make prayers and supplications for him, and this will appease God” (Moral teaching on the Acts of the Apostle). Almsgiving brings great joy to the dead. The dead themselves cannot give alms; instead we should give alms to the poor for them. Alms given to the poor are accepted by the Savior Himself (Matthew 25:40). And the one who receives alms will, without a doubt, remember in prayer the one in whose memory the alms are given to him. The Lord Himself commanded us to pray for each other (James 5:16). He often showed his mercy to some, at the intercession of others. Thus, he healed the centurion’s servant at the master’s intercession, the daughter of a Canaanite wife, through the prayer of her mother. These are prayers of the living for the living, although absent. The prayer of the living and for the dead is just as powerful. Lecturer Athanasius says: “Let it be known to you that alms done for the soul of the deceased and priestly prayers appease God. If the souls of the departed are sinners, then for the good deeds of the living in their memory they receive remission of sins” (Thu-Min. April 12). Blessed Luke’s brother died and he lived in extreme neglect. This saint asked God to show him the fate of his brother. During prayer, God showed the blessed brother in the hands of demons. The blessed one at the same time sent some of the brethren to inspect the cell of the deceased; the messengers found gold and expensive things there; The blessed one ordered all this to be distributed to the poor. After that, he began to pray again, and saw the judgment seat of God and the angels of God arguing with demons for the soul of his brother. The evil spirits cried out: “You are righteous, so judge: our soul, for it did our deeds.” The holy angels of God said: “She has been delivered through the alms given for her.” The evil spirits resisted and exclaimed: “Did he really give out alms? Isn’t this the old man?” Blessed Luke answered: “Yes, I did alms, but not for myself, but for this soul.” Then the demons disappeared (Synod. p. 26). This is the great power of almsgiving for the dead! It is not only the dead who benefit from our commemoration of them; it brings great benefit to ourselves, who remember the dead. For our prayers for the dead, we are awarded a special blessing from God in this life and a reward in the future life. Although the bodies of the dead have decayed in the earth, their souls are alive in another world; they remember their loved ones living on earth. Not only that: they bake and take care of us. Our deceased relatives, looking at our lives, either rejoice when we live according to God, piously, or mourn when we do not live like a Christian. They pray and intercede for us before God, and their prayers, like incense, ascend to God (Rev. 8:4). Lecturer Athanasius, appearing in a dream vision to the abbess, among other things, told her: “if the souls of the departed are pure and righteous, then those who perform the commemoration bring down the mercy of God upon themselves.” (Thu-Min. April 12). Isn’t that why, when we fervently pray for the departed, we have sweet feelings that alleviate grief? Our conscience becomes light, our souls feel joyful. Namely: this is a sign of God’s blessing for the good that we do to the dead through our remembrance. He who earnestly prays for the dead gives them consolation and joy for himself. Let us pray earnestly for our deceased parents, relatives and neighbors. Let us beg the Lord for their forgiveness and the repose of their souls in the kingdom of heaven. We will give alms for the dead: we will bring great good to the dead. Through our prayer and through alms, the Lord can forgive their sins and place them in the bright abodes of heaven. And the Lord will not deprive us of His heavenly blessing for our love and zeal for the dead. When we pray earnestly for the dead, others will pray for us when we ourselves die. “When you measure accordingly, it will be measured back to you,” says the Lord (Matthew 7:2). (Compiled according to Christ. demon. 1894, vol. II). Evang. from John, count. 14, ch. 5, 1–15 art. 1. Healing of the paralytic at the Sheep Pool There was a pool in Jerusalem, which was called in Hebrew Bethesda, that is, the house of mercy. It was remarkable because from time to time the angel of the Lord descended into it and disturbed the water; and the sick person who entered the pool first after the angel recovered immediately, no matter what his illness was. One day Jesus was in Jerusalem during the Passover holiday. Passing by the bathhouse, He saw many sick people lying around it. There were lame, blind, and withered; each of them waited for the minute when the angel stirred up the water so that he could be the first to enter it. Among the other patients, there was one who lay in relaxation for thirty-eight years. The Savior saw him, took pity on him and said to him: “Do you want to be healthy?” The sick man answered Him: “I want, Lord, but I do not have a person who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled: when I come, another one is already going down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” The sick man immediately recovered, took up his bed and went. The Jews who were there were indignant and told the healed man that he should not take his bed, for it was a holiday. But he answered them; “Whoever healed me said to me: take up your bed and walk.” - “Who is that person?” they asked. But he didn't know; Jesus hid among the people. After some time, Jesus met this same man in the church and said to him: “Now you are healed; look, don’t sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.” This is what we should all be trying to do when God delivers us from illness. During illness, we often ask God for help; and then, when we recover, we don’t think about how to please Him; with the return of our strength, we forget about prayer and return to previous sins, instead of correcting ourselves and starting a new, more pious life. The fourth week after Easter is called the week of the relaxed, in memory of the miracle that we told about here. This week the following song is sung: “O Lord, raise up my soul, weakened by all kinds of sins and unrighteous deeds, by Your divine power, as You once raised up the paralytic, so that I, saved by You, may sing: glory, O Christ, to Thy power.” (See the book: “Stories about the earthly life of I. Christ” by Bakhmeteva.) 2. Repentance and prayer are the best medicine for our illnesses The Savior’s words to the paralytic healed at the Sheep Pool: “Behold, you are now healthy, be careful not to sin, lest something worse happen to you,” clearly indicate what a close connection exists between sin and our illnesses: sinful passions are the first and main cause of our illnesses. If we lived in a Christian manner, abstinently, in moderate work, if we conquered anger, envy, malice and other vices that diminish the days of human life, then we would achieve a painless old age. Therefore, Orthodox Christian, if illness befalls you, first of all seek healing and help for yourself from the only Physician of souls and bodies: “Call upon Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you,” says the Lord Himself through the mouth of the king and prophet David (Ps. 49:25). And how convenient it is for each of us! Without leaving home, without leaving bed, a sick person can call on the Lord for help, tell Him his illnesses, reveal his infirmities to Him. Do not doubt that you will not be heard; no, the heavenly Physician is always ready with His all-powerful help, just waiting for our call. “Behold, I stand at the door and wonder; If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Rev. 3:20), He says. The Lord is always at the door of our hearts and waits for the moment when we remember Him and open our hearts to Him. He, the most merciful, invisibly and at all times heals all those who come to Him with firm faith and sincere repentance for their sins. For this purpose, our Savior Jesus Christ appointed elders, whom He commanded to always receive on His behalf those who come to them for spiritual healing. “If anyone is sick in you,” teaches the Apostle James, “let him call the elders of the church, and let them pray over him... And the prayer of faith will save the sick one” (James 5:14–15). So, if you, a believer in Christ and his mercy, suffer from bodily illnesses, first invite a priest to you, tell him all your sins and, having received their remission through him, partake of the life-giving mysteries of Christ for the healing of soul and body. How many examples are there in life when, after sincere repentance and acceptance of the life-giving body and blood of Christ, patients recover, for whom human medicine could not provide relief in their grave suffering! Here is one such case, which was told about for the edification of believers by an Orthodox priest. In the city of Bratslav several years ago, the wife of an honorary official fell ill with fever. During her suffering, the patient, when she came to her memories, often asked her family: “Did you invite the priest to visit and bless me?” So half a month passed; At this time, the priest prayed for the sick woman at every service. Doctors refused any treatment and sentenced her to death. One day a servant came to the priest in the church and on behalf of his master, the sick husband, asked him to hurry to the house to give instructions to the saint. the sacraments of repentance and communion of his wife. Arriving at that house, the priest first asked the family and servants to leave the room, then, after listening to the patient’s sincere repentance for her sins, in the presence of everyone he communed her with St. secret Soon after this, the patient fell asleep, and when she woke up she told everyone: “I feel better, I won’t die.” Indeed, she began to recover quickly, so that a month later, accompanied by her entire family, she came to the church and here, falling on her knees before the icon of the Savior, shed hot tears of gratitude (“The Wanderer,” 1868, Moscow June). True, the Lord does not always work miracles in healing our bodily ailments, but can this keep us from turning to the path of life and light? Even if the illness, by the will of God, does not receive a favorable outcome, then Christian hope still gives strength of spirit, alleviating bodily suffering. So, beloved brother in Christ, beware of sin, as the most destructive poison for our lives. In the illnesses that befall you, seek first of all spiritual healing in repentance and in St. communion. Recognize your sin, regret that you have offended the all-good God with your vices, make a promise in your heart and before your confessor to correct yourself, and the Lord will forgive your sin. With the forgiveness of sins, the Lord can also grant you recovery. (Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow). Jesus found him in the church and said to him: Behold, you are healthy, let no one sin, lest it be worse (John 5:14). This was said to a certain man in Jerusalem, near the Sheep's Pool, in a state of relaxation for thirty-eight years, who had been waiting in vain for healing with water, which once a year for one sick person was made healing by the touch of angelic power, until finally the Lord of times, elements and angels appeared, and without asking for time, or water, or an angel, he healed the paralytic with the word: Arise, take up your bed and walk. The healer did not finish everything, because, escaping from glory, he hastened to hide among the people. A few days later, probably on a holiday, the healed man came to the church, perhaps to thank God for his health. Then the Healer found him again and, as before, in a word, he gave him healing medicine, so now in a word he gives him preventive medicine: Behold, you are healthy, do not sin to anyone, lest it be worse. If we heard a skilled doctor say to someone who was cured or sick, for example: “Don’t eat this or that food in the future,” what would we think? Of course, we would think: apparently, the healed person had previously consumed this food; she, apparently, was also the cause of the disease; Apparently, the doctor foresees that it will again cause illness if the cured person does not stop using it. Similar to this, what should we think when we hear the word of the Lord to the healed: behold, you are healthy, let no one sin, lest it be worse? - Apparently, the healed one had sinned before; Apparently, sins were the cause of his illness; it is clear that the Divine Physician foresees that renewed sins will renew evil in even greater force. Here we can ask: is the fate of one person represented in the Gospel narrative of the paralytic, or is the general law of judgment of sin revealed at the same time, partly impressed in nature, partly brought into action by Providence, although not always obvious, not always quickly, not always equally, according to the types, degrees and circumstances of sin? Who can measure the depth, explore the ways of God's destinies? Who will decide to recognize every sick person as a condemned person and every illness as a sign of guilt? The righteous Job also suffered from illness and, moreover, a very serious one. But it is also impossible to admit that the severity of the judgment was exclusively directed at one Jerusalem sinner for the sins of his youth, which imprisoned him for thirty-eight years in the bonds of illness, and for the possible sins of old age, threatening him with an even more severe lot. The trace of a similar judgment is also visible in the fate of another paralytic, whom, while healing, the Lord said: “Your sins are forgiven” (Mark 2:5). It is obvious that, like a deeply wise doctor, He healed from illness by acting on the cause of the illness. What we see in these examples is not expressed, as a law, in the apostolic word: sin came into the world, and death through sin: - the patterns of sin are death? For what is illness if not a branch of the tree of death, or a diminutive, incomplete intake of the potion of death? Consequently, along with death, illness also came along the road paved by sin; and therefore it is very natural if she still comes along the same road. (From the Word before the thanksgiving service for the cessation of destructive diseases, vol. III, pp. 207–208). During St. John Chrysostom, the Monk Hierax labored for many years in the deep desert. One day the demons came to him visibly and said: “Elder! you will live another fifty years; Is it possible to endure for so long in this deserted desert? Get out of here! - The elder answered them: “It’s a pity that I have so little time left to live in the world; and I had enough patience for another two hundred years.” At these words of Hierax, the demons disappeared... This means that St. the ascetic decided to endure all the sorrows, all the hardships of desert life to the end. Apparently, he firmly remembered the words of the Savior: through your patience gain your souls (Luke 21:19). He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). This is what presbyter Kronius told Palladius of Elenopolis about one ascetic named Eulogia. “This Eulogius was a very educated man; Having accepted monasticism, due to poor health he did not dare to join a dormitory, but he did not consider himself capable of solitary asceticism. Once he saw in the marketplace one crippled man who had neither arms nor legs; approaching him, he prayed like this: “Lord! in Your name I will take this unfortunate man and rest him until his death, so that for his sake I too may be saved. Help me, Lord, to serve him! - After this, Eulogius brought a donkey, put the poor man on it and brought him to his home. For fifteen years Eulogius looked after him as if he were his own father; he washed it himself, rubbed it with oil himself, carried it in his arms, took care of it and rested it as best he could. But, apparently, it was necessary to test the patience of the ascetic even more, and so the enemy of all good taught the crippled man to revile and scold his benefactor in every possible way. In vain did Eulogius calm him down, in vain did he tell him: “Tell me, my friend, how did I upset you? I will improve." - The crippled man did not want to listen to him and demanded that Eulogius again take him to the marketplace where he took him. “I can’t stand your insidious caress,” said the unfortunate man: this hungry life disgusts me; I want meat! Eulogius immediately got him meat, but the crippled man did not calm down: “I’m bored of living with you, I want to see a lot of people!” - Eulogius meekly answered him: “I will now bring as many brothers as you want to you.” - “Oh, I’m unhappy”! cried the crippled man: “I can’t even look at you, and you want to bring parasites like you here!” “I don’t want, I don’t want, I want to go to the marketplace!” - Then Eulogius turned to neighboring ascetics for advice: “What should he do with the crippled?” They answered him: “The Great One (that’s what they called St. Anthony) is still alive, go to him, and do whatever he tells you: through him God will speak to you.” Eulogius caressed the crippled man, put him in a boat and went with him to the great Anthony. They arrived there late in the evening; the great elder then received everyone who came. And so he called out: “Evlogius, Eulogius, Eulogius”! But Eulogius thought that the elder was not calling him, but someone else, and therefore did not answer. - “I’m telling you, Eulogius, who came here from Alexandria!” the old man told him. Then Eulogius approached Anthony. "Why did you come here"? the elder asked him. - “Whoever revealed my name to you, answered Eulogius, will also reveal my work.” “I know why you came,” the great Anthony tells him: “but still tell your story so that the brethren can hear.” - Eulogius told everything in order and asked for guidance. Then the great elder said to him in a stern voice, “Eulogius! You want to abandon him, but He who created him will not abandon him; you will abandon him, and God will raise up a better one than you and raise him up.”... The obedient Eulogius listened in deep silence. Meanwhile, the elder turns to the crippled man and says loudly: “You, sinner, are unworthy of either earth or heaven! Will you stop rebelling against God and annoying your brother? Or don’t you know that Christ Himself serves you? How dare you speak against Christ? Doesn’t your brother serve you for Christ’s sake?” - Then the elder turned to both of them together: “Stop, children, quarreling; go home in peace; do not be separated from each other; God is already sending for you... Satan sees that you are both at the end of your feat, soon both of you will receive crowns from Christ: you for him, and he for you - that’s why he brought this temptation upon you. Go with God; If an angel comes for you and does not find you both together, you will both lose your crowns. “There is no need to say that both of them reconciled with all their hearts, returned to their cell, and less than forty days passed before both, one after the other, departed to the Lord...” “I myself was a translator in Anthony’s conversation with Eulogius and the crippled man,” Presbyter Kronius concludes his story, for Anthony did not know Greek, and Eulogius and the crippled man did not understand the Egyptian language.” How instructive this story is! “Be patient until the end!” - he says to both me and you, my beloved brother about Christ! Perhaps you have been overcome by hopeless poverty, perhaps you have spent your entire life wandering as a homeless orphan in strange corners? Do you endure hunger, cold, and all sorts of illnesses? And then don’t grieve, don’t complain about your bitter lot: do you hear? The Lord Himself calls to Himself all those who labor and are burdened, promising them peace - He will satisfy all the hungry, comfort those who cry - believe His true word, cheerfully bear your cross and endure to the end. Until the end - as long as it pleases the Lord to keep you under the cross, whether until the end of the days of your life, or only until the end of those dark, sorrowful days, after which bright days of joy will come for you. God be merciful! in proportion to your humility He will give you patience, in proportion to your patience He will give you consolation, in proportion to your consolation your love for God will flare up, and in proportion to your love the joy of the Holy Spirit will shine in your heart. And then, of course, all sorrows will end!.. (Extracted in abbreviation from Trinity sheet No. 200). Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, Your consolations have made my soul glad (Ps. 93:19), says the royal sufferer, the prophet David. He speaks generally about heart disease, about sorrows, but the truth of his words is most often experienced by those great patients who, with gratitude to God, endure severe bodily suffering. Let us remember our Kyiv wonderworker Pimen, who was much ill: for 20 years he lay on his sick bed; He healed others of their illnesses, but not only did he not ask for healing for himself, but constantly thanked God for his illness: apparently, Heavenly consolations really cheered his soul so much that he forgot about his illness and saw in it God’s special mercy for himself. "Mother!" one son said to his long-suffering mother: “don’t you grieve, don’t you get bored when you spend the long summer days alone while we all work in the fields?” “No, son,” she answered: “Why mourn? The will of God!.. And it’s a sin to grieve: how many mercies of God I have seen in my lifetime! Now the time has come to cheer for my sins; I lie down and remember my sins, I repent of them before the Lord God, and I thank His mercy that He did not destroy me with my iniquities, but punishes me like a father: isn’t this the mercy of God? Glory to Him, the merciful!” Thus, a humbly believing sufferer finds in the depths of his heart devoted to God great grace-filled consolation and lives with joy at the thought that for his patience he will be pardoned by God in the future life. - This is what the famous “Svyatogorets” tells in his beautiful letters about one schema-monk, Fr. Pankratiya, who suffered from wounds on his legs for many years. "ABOUT. Pankratiy, in the world of Paramon, was a serf. As a child, his cruel mistress forced him to walk barefoot in deep autumn, when snow and ice already covered the ground, causing his feet to hurt greatly. The poor boy could not bear it: he secretly ran away from his mistress and at any cost decided to go beyond the Danube, and he actually left and remained for some time in the service of the Russians, who had also fled abroad. He became friends with a Little Russian who for some reason committed suicide. The sensitive Pankratius was greatly touched and amazed by the loss of his dear friend, and seeing how vain worldly life was, he abandoned it and retired to the Holy Mountain. Here, in Rusika, he found the desired peace of mind, despite the fact that his leg was already rotting from wounds that were the result of a severe cold in childhood. However, no matter how terrible the suffering of Fr. Pankraty, he rejoiced in spirit and often even told me: “Believe me, I agree to rot with my whole body, I just pray to God to save me from heartache, because it is unbearable.” I told him: “I sometimes look at you and feel sorry for you: at times you are not yourself from internal unrest!” - “Oh,” he answered: if your heart hurts, it’s a disaster, it’s hellish torment! And my wounds, even if there were ten more of them, are a wasteland: I will not rejoice over my illness, because, as I suffer, God consoles me. The heavier my leg, the more excruciating the pain, the more joyful I am, because the hope of heavenly bliss rests me, the hope of reigning in heaven is always with me. But in heaven it’s very good,” Pankratiy sometimes exclaimed with a smile, “How do you know this?” I asked him once. “Forgive me,” he answered: “I shouldn’t answer your question frankly, but I feel sorry for you when you suffer in soul, and I want to give you at least a little consolation with my story. You have seen how I suffer over time; oh, it’s not for nothing that I curl like a snake on my bed: it hurts, it hurts seriously, it hurts unbearably! For what happens to me afterwards, only it knows,” Fr. mysteriously remarked. Pankratiy, putting his hand to his heart. “Do you remember how I once, unable to bear the pain, tossed about on my bed, and even something similar to a murmur escaped from my lips. Finally the pain subsided, I calmed down; you went away from me to your cells, and I, having laid my foot down, fell asleep sweetly. I don’t remember how long I slept or dozed, I just saw things, and God knows what... Even now, as soon as I remember that vision, I feel an inexplicable, heavenly pleasure in my heart, and I would be glad to be sick forever, if only this unforgettable vision for me would happen again, at least once in my life: I felt so good then!” - “What did you see?” I asked about. Pankratia. “I remember,” he answered: when I dozed off, a youth of amazing, angelic beauty came up to me and asked: “Are you in pain, oh. Pankratiy? “Nothing now,” I answered, thank God. - “Be patient, says the boy: you will soon be free, because the Master bought you, and at a very, very high price”... - How? I say: am I bought again? - “Yes, bought,” the youth answered with a smile: he paid dearly for you, and your Master demands you to Himself. Would you like to come with me? - I agreed. We walked through some too dangerous places; huge dogs angrily rushed at me, ready to tear me to pieces; but one word from the youth - and they rushed away from us like a whirlwind. Finally, we came out onto a spacious, clean and bright field, which seemed to have no end. “Now you have nothing to fear,” the boy said to me: go to the Master, Who, “do you see?” - sits away." I looked and really saw three People sitting next to each other. Amazed by the beauty of the place, I joyfully walked forward; people unknown to me in wonderful attire met and hugged me; many beautiful maidens, in white, regal attire, modestly greeted me and silently pointed into the distance where the three Strangers were sitting. When I approached those sitting, two of Them stood up and stepped aside, and the Third was waiting for me. In quiet joy and some kind of touching awe, I approached Him, “Do you like it here?” The Stranger asked me meekly. - I looked at His face: it was bright; royal grandeur distinguished my new Master from ordinary people. Silently I fell at His feet and kissed them; there were wounds all over the legs. After that, I respectfully folded my hands on my chest and asked permission to press His right hand to my sinful lips. Without saying a word, He handed it to me. And His hands had the same deep wounds. I kissed the right hand of the Stranger several times, and looked at Him in quiet, inexpressible joy. The facial features of my new Master were amazingly good: they breathed meekness and compassion, a smile of love and greeting was on His lips; His gaze expressed the imperturbable calm of His heart. - “I bought you from your mistress,” the Stranger began to tell me, now you are forever Mine, I was sorry to see your suffering; your childish cry reached Me when you complained to Me about your mistress, who tormented you with hunger and cold, and now you are free forever. For your suffering, this is what I am preparing for you!..” And the wondrous Stranger pointed me into the distance: it was very light there; beautiful gardens, in full bloom, were pictured there, and a magnificent house glittered under their heavenly shadow. “It’s yours,” continued the Stranger: “but it’s not quite ready yet: be patient. When the time for your rest comes, I will take you to Me; and now stay here, look at the beauty of your place, be patient until the time comes: he who endures to the end will be saved!” - God! I exclaimed beside myself with joy: I am not worth such mercy! And I threw myself at His feet and kissed them, but when I got up, there was no one and nothing in front of me. I woke up. There was a knock on the board in our monastery: they were striking for matins. I stood up quietly to pray. It was very easy for me, but what I felt, what was in my heart, is my secret. I would give thousands of years of suffering to repeat such a vision. It was so good!” (From the “Letters” of Svyatogorets). 6. Victim of praise amidst torment The great Old Testament sufferer, the righteous Job, blessed God in his sorrows, but he, as a man, at times complained about his unbearable suffering, and he cursed the day of his birth (Job.3:2) and regretted why he did not die in his mother’s womb (Job.3:11–12). Why is light given to those who are in sorrow, he said, and to those who are in sickness life? Those who desire death and do not receive it, seeking as if they were treasures (Job 3:20-21)... But to suffer, and in the very suffering to forget about suffering, to endure unbearable torment, and among these torments to glorify the Lord, remembering His ineffable mercies revealed to the entire human race - to be cut into pieces, and at the same time think only about the wondrous deeds of God - such courage incomprehensible to the human mind could only be demonstrated by the martyrs of Christ, in whom the power of Christ so gloriously manifested itself. Here is one of many legends about such courage of martyrs. Saint James the Persian is cut into pieces: the large finger on his right hand is cut off. The martyr lifts his eyes to heaven and says: “Lord God, Great in strength, who casts out demons with Your finger (Luke 11:20), accept this finger, which was pruned for You by the instigation of demons, like a branch of a vine; for even the branches of the vine are pruned, so that it may bear more fruit.” - The tormentor cuts off the second finger, and the martyr prays: “Take, O Lord, also the second branch from the vine that Your right hand has planted!”... They cut off his third finger, and he says: “Having been freed from three temptations in the world, from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the self and the pride of life, I bless the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and glorify with the three youths You, Lord!” - They cut off the fourth finger, and he prays: “You who receive the praise of the four living creatures (Rev. 4:8), accept the suffering of my fourth finger for Your holy name!” - They cut off the fifth finger, and Jacob says: “My joy is filled like the joy of five wise virgins!” (Matthew 25:2). The tormentors persuade him to feel sorry for himself, but the sufferer answers them: “When shepherds shear sheep, do they leave one side unshorn? I am a sheep of Christ’s flock: cut off all my members like the wool!” - and again began to prayerfully talk with God. And so they cut off the first finger on his left hand, and he says: “I thank you, Lord, that you have vouchsafed me to offer the sixth finger to you, who stretched out your most pure hands for me on the sixth day and hour on the cross!” - They cut off another finger, and he glorifies God: “just as with my lips seven times a day with David I glorified Your destinies, Lord, so now with seven fingers cut off for You, I glorify Your mercy shown to me!” - They cut another finger, and he says: “You Yourself, Lord, received circumcision according to the law on the eighth day, and I endure the cutting of the eighth finger for You: do not deprive me of the sight of Your bright face!” - They cut off the next finger, and the martyr prays: “You, O my Christ, at the ninth hour gave up Your Spirit to God the Father on the cross, and I, in the pain of cutting off the ninth finger, thank You for making me worthy to lose my members for Your name!” - When the tenth finger was cut off, he exclaimed: “In the ten-stringed psalter I glorify You, my God, who has made me worthy to endure the cutting off of all the fingers on both my hands, for the tenth of Your covenant written on two tablets!” - Again his tormentors persuade him, and again he rejects all their admonitions, promises and threats. They begin to cut off his toes, and with the same calm he glorifies the Lord as each finger is cut off. So, when the first one is taken away, he says: “Glory to Thee, Christ God; Not only were your hands pierced, but also your feet; make me worthy to become this right foot, though among the last at Your right hand! - When taking away the second finger, he prays: “Your mercy has doubled on me, O Lord, for You are delivering me from the second death” (Rev. 20:14). They cut off and throw the third finger in front of him, and the martyr with a smile says: “Go in the name of the Trinity, you, third finger, to your squad: like a grain of wheat thrown into the ground, and you will bear much fruit on the day of the general resurrection!” They cut off the fourth finger, and the saint consoles himself: “How sorrowful are you, my soul, and how are you troubling me? trust in God, who saves me by the power of the four-pointed cross, (listen, foolish zealots of the eight-pointed cross, what the martyr of Christ says!) and I glorify Him, who created me from the four elements! They cut off the fifth finger, the martyr says: “I praise You, Lord, who endured five plagues on the cross, that You have worthy me to be part of the faithful servants, who have multiplied five talents!” - They cut off the little toe of his left foot, and he says: “Take courage, little finger number six; God, who on the sixth day created you small with the great ones, will also resurrect you with these great ones! - They cut off the seventh finger, and the martyr turns to the tormentors with the words: “Destroy this dilapidated church, under which the seven-headed serpent hides. The Creator, who rested from His work on the seventh day, has prepared for me a church not made with hands, eternal in heaven!” - They cut off the eighth finger, and Jacob reasons: “He who preserved eight souls in Noah’s ark will save me, although you shed my blood like water.” They cut off the ninth finger, and he prays: “Strengthen me in patience, true God, as You strengthened the nine orders of angels in Your grace during temptation!” - They cut off the last toe on his foot, and he exclaims: “Behold, I have sacrificed to You, Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect Man, two ten fingers of mine!” “Then they cut off the entire foot of his right foot, and he says: “May my foot be right in the Kingdom of Heaven!” - Then they cut off the foot of his left foot, and he, looking at the sky, prays: “Hear me, Lord, do a sign for good with me, deliver me from standing on Your left side!” - They cut off his right hand, and he exclaims: “I will sing of Your mercy, O Lord, forever: You yourself fulfill Your word on me: if your right hand causes you to stumble, father it and turn it away from you!” - They cut off his left hand, and he prays: “It is not the dead who will praise You, Lord, not those who go to hell, keeping to this path, but we, the living, will bless You from now on and forever.” - They cut off his right shoulder, and he says: “He who laid the lost sheep on His shoulder will also place me at His right hand with His sheep.” - They cut off his left shoulder, and he says: “The Lord, His power is on His frame (Is. 9:6), will not allow me to stray to the dark power of the land.” - They began to cut off his legs to the knees, then the sufferer cried out painfully: “Lord my God, who is not well pleased with the bald men, but who takes pleasure in those who fear You (Ps. 146:10-11), help me, Your servant, for mortal diseases are crushing me!” The tormentors remarked to him: “Well, we told you that serious illnesses awaited you, but you did not believe us.” The sufferer answered them: “I cried out in my illness for this reason, so that you would know that I am a man covered with flesh, and that, therefore, only God alone strengthens me! But He will also clothe me in new flesh, which none of your tormenting weapons can touch!” - And the invincible warrior of Christ began to glorify the Lord with a seraphic song: “Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God Almighty,” he cried, lying on the ground, and called on the mercy of God to strengthen him to the end. Finally, the tormentors cut off his honest head, and he gave up his spirit to God. - Like a candle, he burned out before God, like incense, his praises rose to God, and to this day this wondrous fragrance of his prayers can be felt, and now without heartfelt tenderness one cannot read the story of his suffering, and after reading, you involuntarily exclaim with the royal prophet: “Wonderful, truly wonderful is God in His saints..!” (Ch.-M. November 27; book Troitsk leaf., No. 198). 7. Maiden baptized by angels 17 Abba Feona and Abba Theodore, writes Blessed. John Moschus, they told us: “under Patriarch Paul in Alexandria, one girl remained an orphan after the death of her parents, very rich people. She was not baptized. One day she went out into the garden left to her by her parents. In the depths of the garden she saw an unknown man about to hang himself. She quickly ran up to him and asked: - What are you doing, good man? - What do you care? Go away! I'm in great sorrow... - Tell me the whole truth. Maybe I can help you. - I owe a lot; my creditors are pressing me hard, and I would rather die than lead such a bitter life. - I beg you... take everything I have and give it... just don’t ruin yourself. He gratefully agreed to this and paid off his debts. Meanwhile, the girl found herself in a cramped position. And no wonder: she was left without parents, there was no one to take care of her. Having fallen into extreme poverty, she began a dissolute life. And those who knew her parents said: “Who knows the judgments of God, how and why the soul is allowed to fall!” The young body could not stand such a life: she fell ill and came to her senses. In contrition of spirit, she asked her neighbors: “for the sake of the Lord, have mercy on my soul and talk to the bishop so that I can become a Christian” 18. But everyone turned away from her with contempt. “Who would want to be the successor of such a slutty woman?” - they talked about her. And she was in great sorrow. When she completely lost heart under such circumstances, an angel of the Lord appeared to her in the form of the man to whom she had once shown mercy. - What's wrong with you? - the angel asked her. “I want to become a Christian, and, alas, no one wants to talk about me.” - Do you really want it? – Yes, and I ask you about this too. – Don’t lose heart! I will bring someone, and you will be accepted into the fold of the church. The angel brings two more angels and they carry her to the church. Then, assuming the appearance of famous dignitaries in the presence of the governor, they invite the clergy, whose duty it was to baptize the converts. The clergy ask the dignitaries: – Does your love vouch for her? The clergy did everything that follows the order of those preparing for baptism, and baptized her in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then they clothed her in the clothes of the newly baptized. The angels carried her to the house, where she returned in white robes. And, having laid it down, they became invisible. The neighbors, seeing her in white clothes, asked: “Someone came,” she answered, “they took me to church, told the clergy, and they baptized me.” - Who exactly? What clerics? - She couldn’t say anything about this. They reported to the bishop; he called the clergy assigned to baptism. -Did you baptize that woman? he asked. They did not deny, they confirmed and said that they had been invited for this purpose by such and such a dignitary under the ruler. The bishop sends for the indicated persons and asks them if they really vouched for the girl? “We don’t know anything,” they answered. - We don’t know who did it either. Then the bishop realized that this was God’s work. And, inviting the newly baptized woman, he asked: - Tell me, my daughter, what good have you done? - I am a harlot and poor... What good could I do? – So you don’t know a single good deed? - No... is this really... once I saw a man unknown to me who was about to hang himself; he was greatly pressed by creditors. And by giving him all my fortune, I saved him from trouble... And having said this, she rested in the Lord, having received remission of her voluntary and involuntary sins. The bishop glorified the Lord: “Thou art righteous, O Lord, and thy judgments are just!” (Ps.119:137). (From “The Spiritual Meadow” by Blessed John Mosch). 8. Do angels appear today? In our sinful times, we often hear such wisdom: “nowadays there are no miracles, angels do not come from heaven to teach people, as in ancient times.” Is this true? Our Lord Jesus Christ yesterday and today, the same forever... In order to have communication with angels, you need to have angelic properties, you need to have purity of heart and childlike-angelic simplicity of faith. Where there is both, the vision of angels is also possible. This is what the deceased Moscow saint, Metropolitan Innocent, told in Bose from the time when he preached the faith of Christ in the Aleutian Islands. ― “In April 1825, during Lent, I went for the first time to Akun Island to visit the Aleuts. Approaching the island, I saw that they were all standing on the shore dressed up, as if on a solemn holiday, and when I went ashore, they all joyfully rushed towards me. I asked them: “why are they so dressed up?” - They answered: “Because we knew that you left and should be with us today, we were happy and went ashore to meet you.” - Who told you that I would be with you today, and why did you recognize me that I was Father John? - “Our shaman, old Ivan Smirennikov, told us about this and described your appearance to us the way we see you now.” This circumstance surprised me extremely, but I ignored all this and began to prepare them for fasting. This old shaman came to me and expressed a desire to fast, he walked very carefully, and I still did not pay special attention to him and, having introduced him to St. Tain, let him go... - So what? to my surprise, after communion, he went to his toen (elder) and expressed his displeasure with me, namely because I did not ask him in confession why the Aleuts call him a shaman, since it is extremely unpleasant for him to bear such a name from his brothers, and that he is not a shaman at all. Toen, of course, conveyed to me the displeasure of old man Smirennikov, and I immediately sent for him for an explanation; and when the messengers set off, Smirennikov came to meet them with the following words: “I know that the priest, Father John, is calling me, and I am going to him.” I began to ask in detail about his life, and when I asked if he was literate, he replied that, although he was illiterate, he knew the Gospel and prayers. Then I asked him to explain why he knew me, that he even described my appearance to his brothers, and how did he know that on a certain day I was supposed to appear to them and that I would teach them to pray? - The old man replied that two of his comrades told him all this. -Who are these two of your comrades? I asked him. “White people,” answered the old man; - “They, moreover, told me that in the near future you will send your family by shore, and you yourself will go by water to a great man and talk to him.” - Where are these comrades of yours, white people, and what kind of people are they? I asked him. “They live close here in the mountains and come to see me every day.” - When did these white people come to you for the first time? He answered that soon after his baptism by Hieromonk Macarius, first one, and then two spirits appeared to him, invisible to no one else, in the form of people, white in face, in white robes and, according to his description, similar to surplices, covered with pink ribbons, and told him that they were sent from God to instruct, teach and protect him. And for almost 30 years, they, almost every day, appeared to him during the day, or in the evening, but not at night, but appearing, 1, instructing and teaching him all Christian Theology and the sacraments of the Christian faith; 2, they gave him himself and, at his request, others, although very rarely, help in illness and extreme lack of food. But, in terms of helping others, they always responded to his request by saying that we will ask God, and if He is pleased, we will fulfill it; 3, sometimes they told him what was happening in other places and, very rarely, the future; but always with that, if it pleases God to reveal it, and they assured that they do not do everything with their own power, but with the power of Almighty God. And although their teaching is the teaching of the Orthodox Church, I, knowing that demons also believe and tremble, doubted whether this was not a cunning and subtle network of the evil one from time immemorial? and asked him: how do they teach to pray, to themselves or to God, and how to live with others? He replied that they teach to pray with the spirit and heart, and sometimes pray with him for a very long time, and teach to perform, in a word, all the pure Christian virtues (which he told me in detail), and most of all they advise observing fidelity and purity, both in marriage and outside of marriage (and this, perhaps, because the local residents are most inclined to this); In addition, they taught him other external virtues and rituals, such as: how to depict a cross on the body, not to start any work without blessing, not to eat early in the morning, not to live together with many families, not to eat quickly killed fish and animals that are still warm; and some birds and sea animals should not be eaten at all, etc. - After this I asked him: did they appear to him now, after confession and communion, and ordered him to listen to me? - He answered that they appeared both after confession and after communion, and told him not to tell anyone his confessed sins, and not to eat fatty foods soon after communion, and not to listen to my teachings, but not to listen to the industrialists, that is, the Russians living here; and even today on the way they appeared to him and told him why I was calling him, and that he should tell everything and not be afraid of anything, because nothing bad would happen to him. Then I asked him: when they appear to him, what does he feel, joy or sadness? - He said that only at the time when he does something bad, then, seeing them, he feels remorse of his conscience, and at other times he does not feel any fear; and since many people revered him as a shaman, he, not wanting to be revered as such, repeatedly told them to leave him and not appear to him; they answered that they were not devils, and they were not ordered to leave him, and to his question: why do they not appear to others? they told him that they were ordered to do so. - In order to make sure whether his mentors really appeared to him, I asked him: can I see them and talk to them? He replied that he did not know, but would ask them; and indeed, an hour later he comes and says what they said in response: “And what else does he want to know from us? Does he still consider us devils? Okay, let him see and talk to us if he wants”; and they also said something in my approval; but I, so as not to be considered vanity on my part, will remain silent about this. “Then something inexplicable happened in me, some kind of fear attacked me and complete humility. What if, in fact, I thought, I see them, these angels, and they confirm what the old man said? and how can I go to them? After all, I am a sinful person, therefore, unworthy to speak with them, and it would be pride and arrogance on my part if I decided to go to them; and, finally, by my meeting with the angels, I might have been exalted in my faith, or I would have dreamed a lot about myself... And I, as unworthy, decided not to go to them, having previously, on this occasion, given a decent instruction to both the old man Smirennikov and his fellow Aleuts, so that they would no longer call Smirennikov a shaman.” This is how the saint ends his story. (This story is taken from the book: Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Compiled by I. Barsukov). 9. Graceful help through prayers to St. Theodosius, Archbishop. Chernigovsky 19 I, the undersigned, wife of a priest, Kaluga province, Meshchovo district, village of Nekhodova, Irina Afanasyeva Smirnova, 53 years old, suffered for many years (about 25) from severe headaches and other bodily ailments, especially abdominal pain. My illnesses were always accompanied by hysterical attacks and ended, before a new illness, with vomiting. From severe suffering I acquired another new disease - a heart defect, as the doctors determined, from which, according to their conclusion, especially our zemstvo Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov, I should have died, so to speak, prematurely and even suddenly. I was treated a lot by different doctors, I also visited Moscow, but my main concern was to pray to the Lord God and His Most Pure Mother for mercy, and St. His saints to intercede and give help to me, who is grievously suffering. Although I did not speak about my illness as I should, neither to my husband nor to my children, so as not to frighten them or upset them, yet my sometimes frantic screaming and tumbling on the bed spoke more clearly than words about my suffering and plunged not only my own, but also others into sadness and melancholy and involuntarily brought tears from my eyes. Finally, a joyful and unforgettable dawn has risen for me too! Having learned that on September 9, 1896 there would be an opening of the relics of St. Theodosius, the Uglitsky wonderworker, I, despite any obstacles, guided only by the blessing of my husband, without even telling my relatives, went to a country unknown to me to seek help for myself from the newly-minted wonderworker, St. Theodosius. My first fear is how will I travel alone and sick? - the saint of God Theodosius, to whom I fervently prayed, eliminated him by sending me the kind and pious nun Salafiya at the very first railway station; with her, as with my own sister, the closest and most cordial, in terrible cramped conditions and stuffiness from the multitude of people crowded into the carriages, I safely reached Chernigov on the eve of the opening of the relics, even before the all-night vigil, where the saint of God, as I believe, showed me a good and peaceful apartment, not far from the cathedral. Due to the multitude of people and the terrible cramped conditions, due to my weakness, on the fourth day I was only deigned to approach the solid tomb and kiss, together with others, the incorruptible body of the saint and wonderworker Theodosius. How I prayed at that hour, how I asked for the salvation of me, a sinner - only God, the knower of the heart, and His saint Theodosius, knows this. The next day I was also in the cathedral, listened to the liturgy and prayer service and was also honored to venerate the relics of the saint, and on the sixth day, with my companion, I went by boat to Kyiv to venerate the Kyiv shrines. From exhaustion I fell fast asleep and - lo and behold! I see how in reality, Saint Theodosius of God came up to me, an unworthy sinner, in his bishop’s vestments and, saying: “Your heart hurts,” with his holy hand he placed a pinch of salt on my chest on the most sore spot and left. When Saint Theodosius asked me about heart disease, I, on his orders, opened my chest, which my companion noticed, not knowing the reason for my action, but seeing that I was doing this in front of everyone, came up to me, began to close my chest and woke me up. From the moment that Saint Theodosius put salt on my chest, I have not felt any pain in my heart, no unpleasant sensations, and my heart began to beat as before, as in the old days, when I was healthy. Having visited all the holy places in Kyiv, with a severe headache, I said goodbye to the nun Salafiila and went back home in a 2nd class carriage. Having fallen asleep on the sofa on the way, I was privileged for the second time to see Saint Theodosius in shiny holy vestments, in a miter and with a staff in his hand - he, the miracle worker, came up to me, put his saintly hand on one side of my head and with the words: “the pain in my head will pass,” he blessed me, and left. - That same minute, I see, as if in reality, blood flowed from this half of my nose in a stream, first spoiled, and then pure, and flowed for a long time, then water began to flow; I woke up and felt that half of my head was completely healthy. Having thanked God and His wondrous saint Theodosius, I told those traveling with me about my vision and healing. The other half of the head was healed upon arrival home: the cheek was swollen, and a large abscess formed in the mouth, which broke through a few days later, and a large wound remained, but this too, having been anointed with oil brought from the relics of the saint from Chernigov, soon healed, and now no pain is felt in this half of the head, and the functioning of the mind was restored as before. Attributing my healing entirely to the miraculous power of Saint Theodosius, I, on the advice and blessing of my merciful archpastor, Bishop Macarius of Kaluga, to whom, while he was in our village, in the month of June 1897, for the purpose of revising the church, my healing was reported, I decided to tell the whole world that God is marvelous in His saints, what He gives to His saints according to His goodness and justice, His miraculous power to heal ailments and illnesses with faith and love, flowing to them and asking them for help and intercession. Glory to Thee, God, who is good to us, who has mercy on us and, in the person of His saints, who gives quick help to those sufferers whose hope for human help, after many trials, turns out to be hopeless! To confirm that I am telling the absolute truth about my healing by Saint Theodosius of Christ, in accordance with a clear Christian conscience, I am enclosing the certificate of the zemstvo doctor who has been constantly treating me lately - Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov. The priest's wife Irina Smirnova. Hereby, out of duty and oath, I certify that the wife of the priest of the Meshchovo district, the village of Nekhodova, Irina Afanasyeva Smirnova, suffered for several years from an organic heart defect (vitium organicum cordis): strong heartbeat, shortness of breath, with the first time, instead of tone, noise and interruptions. As a result of the above-mentioned suffering, she often had attacks of angina pectoris: a feeling of fear, tightness in the chest, lack of air and silent strong heartbeat and shortness of breath. From the above-described illness, I and other doctors took advantage of the patient and helped her, but science is powerless to completely cure this suffering, at least at the present time, and the patient had to inevitably die after a while. When on July 20 of this year I was invited again and asked as soon as possible, I thought that the same illness had recurred. Upon examination of the patient, it turned out that she was sick with another disease: inflammation of the stomach and intestines (gastro-enteritis). When examining the heart, to my great surprise, it turned out that it was quite normal: its tones were clear, there was no noise, the pulse was regular, there were no interruptions. Frankly speaking, I didn’t believe myself, and the next day, when another doctor and I again visited the patient, who was feeling much better, I and he again carried out a detailed examination of the heart, and we were both completely convinced that the latter was normal. 1897 June 26 days. Doctor of the Meshchovo zemstvo, Zubovsky medical clinic. point, collegiate assessor N. Orlov. (Chernig. Ep. V.; sn. Resurrection day 1897 No. 38). Evang. from John, count. 12th, ch. IV, 5–42 art. 1. Jesus Christ and the Samaritan woman Jesus Christ, having learned that the growing number of His disciples aroused strong displeasure towards Him from the Pharisees, left Judea and returned to Galilee. The shortest route went there through Samaria. Jesus took this road and on his way passed through a fertile valley between the mountains of Garazin and Ebal, in which the city of Shechem, or Sychar, is located. Both mountains rise eight hundred feet above the valley, which itself lies 1,750 feet above the sea. Numerous terraces and gorges of Garazin, as well as the entire valley, are adorned with gardens and groves rich in beautiful southern vegetation: orange, pomegranate, mulberry, apricot, fig, almond and other trees produce abundant fruit; the hot sole of Ebal is planted with olive trees. Half an hour's distance from the city to the east, the valley of Shechem bends into another, stretching from north to south; An ordinary road from Galilee to Jerusalem runs along it, without turning into Shechem. Joseph's tomb is located in this place (Joshua 24:32). Directly next to the grave, on the slope of Mount Garazin, is Jacob's well, which is seventy-five feet deep 20. This area is also very remarkable in historical terms. Here Abraham, having left his fatherland at the command of God, first pitched tents and created an altar to the Lord. Here Jacob bought a field from the sons of Hamor; here, in this field, Joseph's bones were buried; here Joshua, in the meeting of the people that was before his death, pronounced a blessing on the doers and a curse on the breakers of the law and renewed the covenant of the people of Israel with their God; here, under Rehoboam, a great division of the land into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah took place. Jesus Christ walked along this lovely valley, not far from the city of Shechem 21. It was six o'clock in the afternoon, i.e. noon. Tired from the journey, He sat down by the well. The midday heat hung over the golden fields of Shechem. The whole earth seemed to doze off from the burning midday rays of the sun, everything seemed to fall asleep, only the Savior’s love was awake. A short time later, a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. She came here, as she had come hundreds of times before, without thinking about anything in particular. She sees a man sitting near the well, and does not notice anything else. Seeing him as a foreigner and, moreover, from the Israeli nation hostile to her compatriots, she does not welcome Him. Having filled her buckets with water, she was about to leave, but Jesus said to her: “Give Me a drink!” The disciples would have gladly served their Lord and Teacher, but they went to the city to buy food. The woman looked Jesus up and down. She sees and hears no more than an ordinary Jew. Therefore, remembering the enmity that prevailed between the Jews and the Samaritans, she says to Him: “How can You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” Jesus now testifies to her that He is, however, greater than she thinks. He answers her: “If you knew the gift of God, and Who says to you: Give Me a drink, then you yourself would ask Him, and He would give you living water” 22. The woman did not understand Jesus; she thought He was talking about well water. But since He did not have a vessel with which He could draw water, and the well was deep, she was completely unable to understand His words. So she answered: “Sir! You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get living water from? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and who drank from it himself, and his children, and the cattle? However, judging by the fact that she called Him “master” in conversation, it can be seen that Jesus made a special impression on her. She does not doubt the truth of His words, but she just cannot understand what He means by water. Jesus points to the well where they stood and says to her: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” From these words, the Samaritan woman should have understood what the one who spoke to her actually wanted. She should have seen that what He meant here was not some earthly, visible water. She understands that this water must be very good and incomparably better than the water from Jacob's well, because it quenches thirst forever; only she doesn’t know what kind of water Jesus is offering her. However, she asks Him: “Sir, give me this water, so that I don’t have thirst and don’t come here to draw.” She asks for living water. This is the first step that Jesus Christ wanted from her. But in order for her to drink this water, she needed to come to the consciousness of herself, her sins, and to know the One who spoke to her. Therefore, Jesus Christ continues to her further: “Go, call your husband, and come here!” The Savior's words reached her heart. Her conscience was awakened. But she still tries to evade the Heartmaker, and in embarrassment says: “I don’t have a husband.” Jesus condescendingly accepted this half-confession as a full confession and, pointing with the finger of holy love to the sore spot of her conscience, he says to her: “You said the truth that you do not have a husband, for you have had five husbands; and the one you have now is not your husband; It’s true what you said.” With these words, He reminds her not only of her present, intemperate life, but also of all her sins during her five previous marriages, which, of course, were broken off not without her fault 23. Her conscience was shocked. Like a poor sinner, she stands before a stranger, whose holy, penetrating gaze saw everything. She replies: “Lord! I see that You are a prophet.” By this she acknowledges the truth of His words. Her answer is the most perfect confession; she feels like a sinner in need of pardon. Therefore, in bashful confusion, she changes the direction of the conversation and proposes to Jesus for resolution the question: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you say that the place where we should worship is in Jerusalem” 24. The question was completely casual. She could and should have talked with the prophet about God and worship of God, and hoped to hear something comforting for her soul in response to this question. The Lord, in order to show her that external worship and reverence alone would not help her sinful soul, said to her: “Believe Me that the time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You do not know what you are bowing to; But we know what we worship: for salvation comes from the Jews.” By this He condemns the worship of the Samaritans and takes the side of the Jews, who alone have true revelation, and from whom salvation should come (the Messiah), but at the same time He opens to the Samaritan woman’s gaze the time when the barrier that separated the nations will fall. God will call the pagans, destroy educational institutions and establish spiritual, heartfelt worship of God throughout the entire earth. He repeats this great truth here and another time: “The time will come, and has already come, that the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such worshipers for Himself. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” This time is already opening with the appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh. True worshipers henceforth serve Him not only with prayer on their lips, but sacrifice the whole person to God in spirit and truth. This was the living water about which the Samaritan woman said: “Lord! give me this water"; now this water flowed in the words of the Lord. The Samaritan woman could only draw and drink. She, of course, did not understand these words in their entirety. Jesus told her something that he had never told any of his disciples before. But the word made a deep impression on her. The Samaritan woman, of course, felt that she was weak and unable to understand these words in all their depth. Therefore she said “I know that the Messiah, that is, Christ, will come; when He comes, He will tell us everything.” This recognition was what Jesus Christ wanted from her. He is ready to fulfill the desire of her heart and therefore says to her: “It is I who speak to you.” At this time His disciples returned from the city. They were surprised that Jesus was talking with a woman 25 and also with a Samaritan woman. But respect for Jesus restrained their desire to ask Him why and what He was talking to her about. The Samaritan woman, leaving her waterpot, hurried into the city with a joyful heart. Here she announced to everyone: “Come and see the Man who told me all that I have done: is not this the Christ? Just as he transformed me, so he will transform you, just go and you will see! Many Shechemites went out of the city to see Jesus. When He saw them, His heart was filled with holy joy. Meanwhile, the disciples asked Him, saying: “Rabbi! Eat." But He answered them: “I have food that you do not know.” The disciples did not understand His words. However, not daring to question Him further, they said to each other: “Who brought Him anything to eat?” But Jesus, having read their surprise on their faces and in their hearts, explains to them His first words: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work.” He does not think about hunger and thirst, not about heat and fatigue, not about half-day rest and lunch in these sacred moments. Now His soul is with God, Who sent Him; now His whole spirit is immersed in the great work that the Father has entrusted to Him. The Samaritans hurried across the field to him. Therefore He continues: don’t you say at the time of sowing: “Four more months and the harvest will come” 26 . But here things go even faster. The seed of the word is barely sown, and the field is already ripe for harvest. Oh, what a huge, wide and glorious harvest field the Lord saw before Him when He spoke this to the disciples at Jacob’s well, near Shechem! His eyes, shining with joy, then saw not only the fields of Samaria, not only the mountains of Judea, He contemplated the entire universe in spirit. But in order to awaken desire and hope in the disciples who will have to work in this spiritual field, He points out to them that they will receive the reapers’ reward, namely, they will have to gather saved sinners into eternal life for His and their common joy - to His joy as the Sower, and their joy as inhabitants; because the saying applies to this case in its full sense: “one sows, and another reaps.” Jesus Himself does the hard work of sowing; they will only reap and gather into granaries. No matter how hard their work may be sometimes, in comparison with His work it is nothing more than a cheerful and easy harvest. Meanwhile the Samaritans approached. They believed the woman's testimony and asked Jesus to stay with them. He stayed with them for two days, and this time was filled with fruits and blessings. If they had previously believed in Him at the word of the woman, now they believed in His word, because they themselves knew and experienced that He is the Messiah, the Savior of the world. (See the book “The Earthly Life of the Lord I. Christ”, Hordes). 2. About worshiping God in spirit and truth The Spirit is God: and whoever bows to Him is worthy to bow in spirit and in truth. John 4:24. Not everyone, of course, understands this commandment. We will try to explain it as simply as possible. When you, beloved brother in Christ, standing in the church of God, or at home before St. with icons, you place the sign of the cross on yourself, bow your head or knees, or throw your whole body to the ground, uttering with your lips the words of a prayer or a psalm, or some other sacred song; when you kiss St. cross, or St. Gospel, or St. an icon when you light it before St. with an icon, a candle or oil, or you bring incense to the church to burn incense to the glory of God and in honor of St. His saints; or when you decorate holy icons with gold and silver for the splendor of the shrine: then you honor, serve and worship God externally, externally. But when you ascend with reverent thought, pious desire and feeling to the invisible God; when, realizing and deeply feeling your insignificance and your guilt before Him, your dependence in everything on Him and His boundless love and mercy for you, you betray your will and your whole life to His all-good and holy will, during visits to the sorrowful with filial humility and complacent patience, with good intentions and undertakings with firm trust in His all-powerful and always ready help; when, remembering that you are always and everywhere in His presence, before His face, out of reverence for Him, you in every possible way guard against all thoughts and deeds unworthy of His holiness, and carefully take care to fulfill what He commanded: then you honor Him inwardly, serve and worship Him in spirit. There is no need to say that honoring God, serving and worshiping Him in spirit is higher than serving and honoring externally and worshiping the body; external service and worship alone, without internal, is only an image of piety without its power. Exhaust your body with fasting and labor, spend your nights in vigil and standing, constantly bowing to the ground before holy icons, wearing a hair shirt and chains on your body to mortify the sinful flesh: all this can be spiritually beneficial and pleasing to God. But all this will remain the fruitless labor of the flesh if at the same time you do not ascend to God in spirit, reverent thoughts, pious desires and holy feelings, if you do not captivate your mind into the obedience of faith, subordinate your will to the will of God, and offer your heart to God as a living, holy sacrifice. We must not, however, forget that although we are spiritual by nature, and especially by rebirth from the Holy Spirit, we are not incorporeal. Incorporeal spirits do not need visible images to express reverent feelings; and our spirit, clothed with flesh, cannot do without them. Due to the close connection of the soul with the body, a strong and deep feeling of the soul, regardless of our will, is revealed in body movements consistent with it. When, for example, the soul is full of joy in the Lord, feelings of praise and thanksgiving to the good God, then these feelings, as if not contained in it, strive to be poured out in exclamations, songs and other signs of joy and thanksgiving: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). When the heart is filled with a feeling of reverence for God and a feeling of need for God’s help, then these feelings are involuntarily expressed by kneeling, throwing oneself to the ground, raising one’s hands or raising one’s eyes to heaven; in a similar way, the feeling of sadness about sins pours out uncontrollably in tears and sighs from a heart contrite by repentance. So, our body is not only the clothing of the spirit, but also its necessary God-given instrument; through it our spirit performs many of its actions and through it it receives stimulation to action. Therefore, the very structure and composition of our nature from invisible and visible nature, from spirit and body, the very truth of our existence requires that the inner rational honoring, service and worship of God in the spirit be expressed in visible signs and accompanied by the participation of the body, so that our whole being performs the service of God, as the Apostle commands: glorify God in your bodies and in your souls, which are God (1 Cor. 6:20). It is in this harmony of spiritual service with bodily service that the Lord commands us to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Spirit is God: and whoever bows to Him is worthy to bow in spirit and in truth. From here you can see how much they sin against the truth who serve and worship God in only external signs and bodily actions, such as: bowing, making the sign of the cross, kneeling, reading prayers without the participation of the heart, lighting candles, etc.; as well as those who limit it only to the internal actions of the spirit, neglecting or rejecting, as unnecessary, all external signs of faith, love and reverence for God; both of them hinder the spirit in its ascent to God: the former enslave it to the body, and the latter deprive it of the benefit of the body, as a necessary instrument for expressing and maintaining its feelings. Both want to serve and worship God with only one part of their being, and not with their whole being; some do this out of unreasonable simplicity or laziness, while others out of reckless arrogance, maddened by the mind of the flesh (Col. 2:18-19). Let us, Orthodox Christians, always combine our physical service and worship of God with the spiritual, heartfelt, internal, as commanded to us by the word of God and the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the apostles and all the saints, and as our mother, the holy, catholic and apostolic church taught us. Worshiping with our bodies and saying with our lips, or listening, the words of prayer, we will always ascend with pious thoughts, desires and feelings to God; lighting a candle before St. icon, let us inflame our hearts with love for God; making sacrifices from their wealth according to their strength to decorate the church of God, or the home of the Holy. icons, let us at the same time strive to decorate our souls with godly deeds; for the soul of a Christian should be a magnificent temple of the Holy Spirit. (Compiled according to the Moscow Episcopal Ved. 1873; book “Resurrection of the demon.” No. 5, 1874). What an instructive example the Samaritan woman sets! She went to draw ordinary water, but at the source of ordinary water she found a source of salvation. Her soul, apparently, was not completely absorbed in the worries of everyday life, which is why the Lord, with two or three words, transferred her thoughts from earthly to heavenly and, regarding drawing water, taught her to look for water from which the drinker will not thirst again. And if anyone drinks of the water, I will give him a fountain of water flowing into his belly (John 4:13–14). Hearing this, the wife desirably cried out: “Lord, give me this water!” Let's delve into this lesson of the Gospel. Let him thirst and come to me and drink, the Lord invites. But you cannot come to the Lord with every thirst, but only with that which is appropriate to ask Him for satisfaction. What is more decent to ask from the Savior other than salvation? So, having thirsted for salvation, let us approach the Lord in the hope of quenching this thirst, simply using the methods that He was pleased to outline for this. But the thirst for salvation is appropriate in whom? In one who feels constrained on all sides, surrounded by dangers, burdened with troubles and deprivations. You can say to everyone: “come to the realization that you are in such a situation, and you will flow to the Lord to seek salvation.” ABOUT! If this is so, then there should not be a lack of compulsions to go to the Lord: and one must marvel at why not everyone is already directed towards Him in order to draw water with joy from this source of salvation. Let's see what's around us and in us? Around us there is unbelief, doubt, indifference to everything holy, which, coming inside us, can shake our soul with perplexities and cover the mind with a fog of opposing thoughts, bringing discord into the area of ​​​​peaceful and pleasing faith. The mind seeks the light of knowledge and is blissful when it enters into it. And on the contrary, it is natural for him to languish when this light is hidden, just as the bodily eye languishes, being deprived of the material light for a long time. Therefore, one who is aware of the deprivation of the light of knowledge and who thirsts for it cannot help but cry out: “Lord, send Thy light and Thy truth, so that it may guide me.” Isn’t this the situation many of us are in today? If so, then go to the Lord and do not depart from Him: for He is light, and he who follows after Him will not remain in darkness. Take a closer look at what is inside us, and you will see there the soul, bound in all its movements, like a prisoner bound hand and foot. You want to begin some feat, somewhat difficult, but self-pity does not allow you to do this and takes away all the strength to do so. You want to do good, but selfishness shortens your hand. You want to forgive, but offended pride excites you to take revenge. You want to rejoice in the happiness of another, but envy extinguishes this joy. So on every good movement there are like chains imposed, preventing the soul from acting freely. And the soul is characterized by freedom. Therefore, finding herself so bound, she cannot help but cry out to the apostle: who will deliver me (Rom. 7:24), or with the prophet: bring my soul out of prison, to confess to Your name (Ps. 142:8). So, feeling ourselves bound and desiring freedom, let us approach the Lord, who says: if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36). What's in our hearts? By his nature there is a desire for rest, peace, consolation, happiness; but in fact, one sorrow gives way to another, one anxiety drives another: now annoyance from the failure to fulfill desires, now grief from the loss of what has been achieved, here fear for oneself or others, there languor from immoderate or deceived hope; Yesterday failure struck like an arrow, now care is like a worm, tomorrow an unfavorable combination of circumstances threatens to break you like paralysis. How long will it be like this for us? Or do we have no one to turn to? Let us come to our senses and hasten to confidently turn to the Lord, Who calls everyone: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). You who thirst for light, come to Him! He is light, outside of Him there is darkness. He will enlighten your mind with knowledge, not only externally, through revelation, but also internally, through the anointing from the Holy One, which teaches everything, as the seer experienced, and imparts such tangible confirmation of the truth that it is just as impossible to renounce it as to renounce one’s existence. You who thirst for freedom, come to the Lord! He will resolve the bonds of passions by which the soul is bound, will pour in strength for good, against which no passion can resist, through the work of goodness he will so akin goodness with the soul that it will not feel not only external, but even internal bonds - from the law, which does not lie with the righteous. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is only freedom (2 Cor. 3:10). He sets the feet of those who act in space (Ps. 30:9), and they act in all the breadth of good intentions, under the blessing and active right hand of God. You who thirst for rest, peace and bliss, go to the Lord! He is life, peace and quiet, and He alone. He will drive away all worries from the heart, reviving in it other, unearthly worries and quests; He will extinguish the burning sensation of earthly sorrows, extinguish every impulse for earthly consolations. He will allow himself to be tasted - Himself, good and pleasing, and thereby bring the taste for everything else into oblivion. For He is the fullness of all comfort. He points out endless bliss to the heart beyond the grave, gives it a foretaste now and assimilates it with hope in the future, in order to replenish the feeling of bliss in it, not only with its equanimity, but also with its continuity. So, go to the Lord, who calls you and promises to quench all your thirst. He alone will give us water to drink, from which the drinker will never thirst. (Compiled according to Puchen. Feofan-recluse, bishop of Tambov). What must you do to be saved? “Do good, avoid evil, and you will be saved,” said Saint Mitrofan of Voronezh. In other words: “love virtue, avoid vice.” More expansively: learn and hold in your heart everything that St. teaches. church, and, receiving grace-filled powers through the sacraments and kindling them through all other sacred rites of the church, walk steadily along the path of the commandments prescribed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of legal shepherds - teachers of the church, avoiding everything contrary to this; and you will undoubtedly be saved - you will reach the Kingdom of Heaven; everyone knows this. The following legend will further explain the matter. “One deep old man, who lived in a secluded desert, fell into despondency, and the darkness of his thoughts began to crush his soul, instilling in him bewilderment as to whether he was going the right way, and whether there was any hope that his labors would finally be crowned with success? The elder sat with his head bowed; my heart ached, but my eyes did not shed tears; dry grief tormented him. While he was so overcome with grief, an angel appeared to him and said: “Why are you troubled, and why do thoughts enter your heart? You are not the first and you are not the last to follow this path. Many have already passed it, many are going and many will go to the bright abode of heaven. Follow me, I will show you the different paths that the sons of men walk, as well as where these paths lead. Look and understand." Obeying the angel's signal, the elder stood up and walked; but he barely took a few steps forward when he became beside himself and plunged into contemplation of the wondrous vision that opened to his intelligent eyes. He saw, on his left side, thick darkness, like an impenetrable wall, inside which he heard noise, alarm and confusion. Peering carefully into the darkness, he saw a wide river along which waves moved back and forth, right and left, and every time a wave flashed before his eyes, as if he clearly said in the elder’s ear: this is a wave of unbelief, carelessness, coldness; this is unmercifulness, debauchery, bribery; this is bliss, fun, envy, discord; and this is drunkenness, uncleanness, laziness, unfaithfulness of spouses, and so on. And every wave turned a countless number of people before him, lifted them out of the river and again plunged them into its depths. In horror, the elder exclaimed: Lord! will all these perish, and there is no hope of salvation for them? The angel said to him: look further, and you will see the mercy and truth of God. The old man looked at the river and saw it along its entire breadth and length covered with small boats, in which sat bright young men, with all kinds of tools, to save the drowning. They called everyone to them, and shook hands with others, lowered poles and boards to others, threw ropes to others, and sometimes plunged hooks and hooks into the depths - wouldn’t anyone grab it there too? So what? Rare - rare responded to their calling voice, and even fewer were those who properly used the instruments of salvation they provided. The majority rejected them with contempt and with some kind of wild pleasure plunged into this river, which emitted fumes, stench and fumes. The old man stretched his gaze along the river and at the end of it he saw the abyss into which it was cast. Young men in large numbers quickly swam in boats back and forth, at the very edge of the abyss, carefully giving help to everyone; but, despite this, every minute, at every point of the river, whole thousands of people, along with the river, were thrown into the abyss - from there only groans of despair and gnashing of teeth were heard. The elder covered his face and began to sob. And a voice came to him from heaven: “It’s bitter, but who is to blame? Tell me, what else could I have done to save them that I would not have done? But they bitterly reject any help given to them. They will also reject Me if I come to help them in the most bleak places of their suffering.” Having calmed down somewhat, the elder turned his eyes to the right side, to the bright east, and was consoled by a joyful vision. Those who, heeding the call of the bright youths, gave them a hand or grabbed some saving tool, were taken by them to the right bank. Here other persons received them, led them into small slender buildings, scattered in large numbers along the entire length of the coast, where they washed them with clean water, clothed them in clean clothes, girded them, put them on shoes, gave them a staff and, having strengthened them with food, sent them on their way further to the east, commanding them not to look back, to walk without stopping, to look carefully at their feet and not to let a single similar building pass without entering it. and not strengthen yourself in it with food and advice from those to whose care these buildings are entrusted, as well as everyone who enters them. The elder ran his eyes along the shore and saw that along its entire length these redeemed ones were preparing to set off. Everyone's face showed joy and enthusiasm. It was clear that they all felt especially light and strong, and with some irresistibility they rushed along the path, the first stages of which were strewn with pleasant flowers. The elder then turned his gaze further to the east, and this is what was revealed to him. The pleasant meadow ended not far from the shore; then the mountains began, lying in ridges in different directions. They walked, sometimes bare and rocky, sometimes covered with bushes and forests, rising higher and higher and intersecting with abysses. Travelers and workers were visible everywhere along them. Another climbed a steep slope, another sat tired or stood in thought, another fought with a beast or a snake; one went directly to the east, and the other in an indirect direction, and the other cut transversely the paths of others; only everyone was in labor and sweat, in struggle and strain of strength - both mental and physical. Rarely does a traveler always see the road; often it completely disappeared or was fragmented into crossroads; in another place it was hidden by fog and darkness; in others she crossed an abyss or a steep cliff; there she was blocked by animals from the oak forest or poisonous reptiles from the gorges. But that's what's amazing! Scattered throughout the mountains were beautiful buildings, similar to those into which those rescued from the water were received for the first time. As soon as the traveler entered them, as he was commanded at the beginning, no matter how exhausted he was before that time, he came out of there cheerful and full of strength. Then the animals and reptiles could not bear his gaze and ran away from him - no obstacles stopped him for long, and he easily and quickly found the path that was hidden in some way, according to the instructions that he received in those buildings. Every time someone overcame an obstacle or defeated an enemy, he became stronger, taller and more stately. The higher one ascended, the prettier and brighter he became. Towards the top of the mountain the area again became smooth and flowery, but those who stepped on it soon entered a light cloud or fog, from which they no longer emerged. The old man raised his eyes above this cloud, and from behind it or from behind the mountain he saw a wonderful, indescribable beauty of light, from which sweet sounds came to him: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Hosts! The elder fell on his face in tenderness, and the word of the Lord rang loudly over him: “Take this, that ye may comprehend” (1 Cor. 9:24). Rising to his feet again, the elder saw that from different heights of the mountain quite a number of travelers, in different places, were quickly running towards the river again, sometimes silently, sometimes shouting and blasphemous, abusive words. An appeal was addressed to each of them, both above and below: “Stop! stop!” But, driven by some small murins, they did not heed caution and again plunged into the stinking river. Then the elder cried out: “Lord, what is this?” and heard in response: “the fruit of arbitrariness and disobedience to the established order!” That was the end of the vision. The angel, showing him to the elder, finally asked him: “Are you comforted?” And the elder bowed to him to the ground. The elder’s vision, taken from one ancient “Fatherland,” is self-explanatory. The river is the world; immersed in it are people living according to the spirit of the world, in passions, vices and sins; the bright young men in the boats are angels and, in general, grace calling for salvation; the abyss into which the river with people fell is destruction; a beautiful building on the right bank - a church, where, through the sacrament of repentance or baptism, converted sinners are washed from their sins, put on the garment of justification, girded with power from above, and put on the path to salvation; climbing the mountain with different difficulties - different labors in cleansing the heart from passions; beasts and reptiles are enemies of salvation; smooth terrain towards the top - peace of the heart; a light cloud hiding travelers - peaceful death; light from behind the mountain - blissful paradise; the buildings scattered throughout the mountain are churches of God. Whoever enters these buildings on the way, that is, receives the sacraments and participates in the sacred rites and prayers of the church, uses the light and guidance of the shepherds, easily overcomes all obstacles and soon comes to perfection; and whoever arbitrarily rejects them, not obeying the instructions and advice of the shepherds, soon falls, and the spirit of the world carries him away again. (From the works of Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov). 5. Brief rules on how to save your soul 1) Repent and turn to the Lord, recognize your sins and mourn them with contrition of heart. 2) Abide in God with your mind and heart, and work with your body in performing your obligatory tasks. 3) Guard your heart from evil thoughts and feelings - pride, anger, condemnation, addiction, etc. 4) Sacrifice your entire life to God, and live no longer for yourself, but for God, doing what pleases Him. 5) Humbly surrender yourself to the will of God, and with patience stand firmly in the order of saving life. 6) As a support for this, let your constant concern for acquiring living faith, hope and love. 7) The tools of such a life are prayer, fasting, vigil, solitude, work, frequent fasting, reading the word of God, etc. 8) Protect yourself with the fear of God: remember the last thing - death, judgment, hell, the Kingdom of Heaven. 9) Above all, pay attention to yourself: keep your mind sober and your heart not troubled. 10) Acquire the spiritual fire of God’s grace, so that it will burn the thorns of your passions and sins and plant the seeds of virtues in your heart. So arrange yourself, and by the grace of God you will be saved! (From the Works of Justin, Episcopal Ryazan and Zaraysk, vol. IX). a) Whoever wants to be saved must belong to the one holy Orthodox Church, be her faithful son, obey its institutions in everything, such as: fasting, going to the church of God, honoring spiritual shepherds, etc. If someone does not obey the church, if someone has separated from the church in the spirit of rebellion or pride, if someone is a schismatic: then no matter how many bows he makes, no matter how much he fasts, no matter how much he prays, he will not to be saved. The Lord compared one who disobeys the church with an idolater: if anyone disobeys the church, He said, he will be like a pagan and a tax collector (Matthew 28:17). The schismatic and the heretic are alien to humility, just as the devil is alien to humility: and therefore they are alien to salvation, just as the devil is alien to it. Once upon a time the devil appeared to the Monk Macarius and said: “Macarius! you fast a lot, but I don’t eat at all; you sleep little, but I don’t sleep at all; You defeat me only by your humility.” He who has not humbled himself is not a disciple of Christ, he has not submitted to Christ. True humility comes from obedience, said St. John Climacus, like the Lord, showed His humility in that He was obedient to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). Without obedience to the church there is no humility; Without humility there is no salvation: humble yourself and save me, said the prophet (Ps. 115:6). b) Whoever wants to be saved must further, although little by little, but often pray to God. On weekdays, pray to God at home, if everyday affairs and services do not allow you to go to the church of God; in the morning, rising from sleep; at night - going to bed; before lunch and before dinner. On holidays and Sundays, one must take part in public church prayers. It is great happiness for a sinful person that he is given the opportunity to attend the Church of God: he can beg God to forgive him his sins and grant him salvation. David was a glorious and rich king, he was also a prophet, but he asked one thing of the Lord: I have asked one thing of the Lord, this I will require: that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord and visit His holy church (Ps. 26:4). The Holy Fathers call prayer the mother of all virtues, because with it one can ask from the merciful Lord all other virtues, all temporal and eternal blessings, as the Lord Himself testified. Ask, He said, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find: push and it will be opened to you. c) Whoever wants to be saved must, according to his strength, do mental and physical alms and generally love his neighbors as himself. Spiritual almsgiving consists of forgiving one’s neighbors for their sins, i.e. insults and insults inflicted on us by our neighbors, as well as in our concern for the salvation of the souls of our neighbors, for example. about teaching them truth and goodness. Physical alms consist of helping one's neighbor as much as possible with bread, clothing, money and hospitality. The Lord said: blessed are they who have mercy, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7), that is, they will be saved. On the contrary, judgment without mercy awaits the unmerciful (James 2:13), that is, the unmerciful cannot be saved. d) Whoever wants to be saved must bring to God, whom he must love above all, thorough repentance for his sins, both during his daily prayers, and especially before his spiritual father during the sacrament of confession. The divinely inspired prophet proclaims: I have known my iniquity, and have not covered up my sin: reh: Let me confess my iniquity to the Lord, and You have forsaken the wickedness of my heart (Ps. 31:5). – Consider the order of the words spoken by the Holy Spirit: first, a person knows his sins, which is achieved by pious consideration of himself; then he rejects those excuses with which an evil conscience usually tries to excuse its sin; finally, the repentant person becomes an accuser of himself and expresses to the Lord, with his confessor as a witness, all his sins, without at all sparing his pride. Then he receives forgiveness from God for his iniquities. The Apostle said: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, may he forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). After cleansing oneself by confession before the spiritual father, having made a strong intention not to sin in the future and, in any case, to fight strongly against temptations to sin, one must, with the fear of God, faith and love, partake of the all-holy body of Christ and the all-holy blood of Christ, which is completely necessary for salvation. The Lord said: Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you, i.e. you have no salvation. You who eat My flesh and drink My blood will have an eternal life, i.e. has salvation (John 7:53–54). One must confess and receive communion at least during all four fasts, four times a year. If, unfortunately and unhappily, everyday worries do not allow this to happen, then you should certainly partake of it once a year. e) Whoever wants to be saved must generously endure all the sorrows that will be allowed to him during this short earthly wandering. Will there be a crop failure, or the already ripened grain will be destroyed by locusts, or hail will strike; whether there is a loss of livestock, a fire, illness of one’s own and of family members, the death of one of the closest relatives, whether one has to endure persecution and insults from a strong person: all this must be endured generously, without grumbling, especially without blasphemy. The Lord commanded us to gain our souls through our patience (Luke 21:19); He who endures to the end, He said, will be saved (Matthew 24:13). Sorrows sent by God are a sure sign for a person that that person has been chosen by God and loved by God. I, the Lord testified, even if I love them, I rebuke and punish (Rev. 3:19). For this reason, the apostle consoles the mourning and suffering in this way: my son, do not be overwhelmed by the punishment of the Lord, weaken below, we are convicted by Him. The Lord loves him and punishes him: he beats every son, but accepts him. If you endure punishment, God will be found to you as sons (Heb. 12:5–7). Such is the dignity of earthly sorrows when they are endured with complacency! they are the gift of God (Phil.1:29)! they are a sign of a Christian's adoption to God! – In order to learn to patiently and complacently endure sorrows, one must meet each coming sorrow with the words of a prudent thief: I accept what is worthy of my deeds, remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom (Luke 23:42). It is also useful to remember and repeat the words of the much-painful Job: we receive good things from the hand of the Lord; shall we not endure the evil ones ( Job 2:10 )? As the Lord willed, so it was: blessed be the name of the Lord forever (Job 1:21). f) Anyone who wants to be saved must read divine books. Blessed is the man, said the holy prophet David, who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the path of sinners, and does not sit in the seat of the destroyers: but in the law of the Lord is all his will, and in His law he learns day and night (Ps. 1:1-2). Our mind, as darkened by sin, cannot in any way be satisfied in relation to salvation with its own thoughts, weak, wavering, deceptive: it needs - through attentive reading or careful hearing of the word of God - to borrow Divine thoughts from it and be admonished by them. The Holy Fathers called reading and hearing the word of God the king of all virtues. The Word of God reveals to us all the sinful passions that live and act in our damaged nature, reveals all their tricks, exposes malice when, to deceive us, it hides behind the guise of virtue and teaches us to fight the sin living in us. Save yourself, brothers, save yourself! The earthly life of each of us is very short - we don’t see how it will pass. We cannot see how death will creep up on each of us. Whoever has lived piously until now: let him continue to live like this. Whoever has hitherto allowed himself to lead a sinful life: let him bring repentance and from here begin to lead a virtuous life, avoiding sins in every possible way, without which salvation is impossible. As I live, says the Lord, I do not want the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him (Ezek. 33:11). (From the book of priest Gr. Dyachenko: “A complete annual circle of short teachings,” vol. II, pp. 459–460). 7. A statement of the commandments, by observing which you can save your soul St. Hermas, an apostolic man, whom the apostle greatly praises. Paul (Rom. 16:14), is known for his book called “The Shepherd,” which in the first centuries was read even in churches along with the apostolic epistles. We think it will be useful for us to become familiar with the soul-saving commandments that are set out in this book, by fulfilling which you can save your soul. We think that the word of the apostolic man will be more convincing for you than our feeble ranting. He begins to present them as follows: “I prayed,” he says, “at home and then sat down on my bed. I see a husband enter, his appearance inspiring respect, in shepherd’s clothes. He was wearing a white cloak, a knapsack hung over his shoulders, and a stick was in his hands. He greeted me, and I greeted him. Then he sat down next to me and said: I was sent to you to be with you the rest of your life. “When he said this, I thought that he was tempting me, and I asked him; who are you? - for I know well the one to whom I am entrusted. “So you don’t recognize me?” he asked. “No,” I answered. “I am the shepherd to whom you are entrusted,” he said. With this word his face changed, and I recognized him as my guardian angel. I felt ashamed, fear and grief began to disturb me; - but he reassured me, saying: do not be afraid, I have been sent to show you everything by which you can save your soul. Listen carefully and write everything down for memory, so that by re-reading it from time to time, you will refresh your thoughts and strengthen your shaky will. If you keep everything that is revealed to you from a pure heart, you will receive from the Lord all the benefits that He promised to His faithful. If, after listening to my instructions, you not only do not correct yourself, but, on the contrary, begin to add sins to sins, then the Lord will send trouble after trouble upon you until He breaks either your heart or your bones.” Having said this, my shepherd, the angel of repentance, offered me twelve commandments, in the following order: 1) Believe in one God, worshiped in the Trinity, the Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible, Who from nothing called all creatures into being and gave them as many perfections as each of them can contain. 2) Live in simplicity and purity, do not harm your neighbor even with a word, on the contrary, help everyone in their needs, without discerning who asks and to whom you give. 3) Do not let any corrupt word come out of your mouth: love the truth and flee lies. 4) Keep marital fidelity like the apple of your eye, for this is the immutable law of the Creator - to be pure and blameless before Him either in virginity or in an honestly preserved marriage. Get married, don’t look for permission or another wife; decided to be a virgin, do not look for a wife. Likewise, when a husband or wife dies, the surviving half does not sin when it enters into a second marriage; but he receives greater honor from God when he decides to keep his widowhood pure and pure. “At these words,” says Erma, “I asked him, what should one do who sins?” “Repent,” the shepherd angel answered me. “I tell him: I heard that besides baptism there is no other repentance, that by plunging into the waters of rebirth, we receive remission of all sins, and after that we should not sin in any way.” The angel answered me: “Baptism is not called repentance. God established repentance for those who, having been called through baptism into the number of believers, then fall into sins, through the machinations of the devil. The merciful God accepts the repentance of such; but you need to know that frequent falling into sin, corrected even by frequent repentance, makes repentance itself suspicious; - and you can finally fall so that after that fall there will be no opportunity to get up again and start living for God. Let everyone who looks lightly at sins fear this.” Having said this, the shepherd began again to continue indicating God’s saving commandments for us: 5) Walking the path of the commandments, you cannot avoid obstacles and labors. Take courage, and let your heart be strong: be patient in doing good deeds and enduring all the troubles along the way. 6) Remember, with every person there are two angels - good and evil. One attracts him to good deeds, and the other to sins and vices. Pay attention to yourself, and lean towards the first, and reject the second, guessing from the inner thoughts of your heart which of them is giving you lessons at that time and wants to rule over you. 7) Fear the One God-Creator and Provider and Savior of yours, and do not humiliate your childish devotion to Him and your strong trust in Him with the empty fearfulness of the dark forces. 8) Be careful to show yourself as a zealous fulfiller of all God’s commandments without exception and a thorough doer of all the deeds that an angel will inspire in your heart, or indicate a combination of circumstances in your life, and you will be a son in the house of God, and not a slave. 9) Pray, strain yourself in prayer, pray unceasingly, so that every time, as needed, strength will come to you from above to do good, and help to evade evil. Prayer makes the earth-born a celestial being and clothes him with heavenly purity and holiness. 10) Flee false prophets - fortune-tellers and magicians (spiritualists, i.e., conjurers of spirits, who then appeared in large numbers. Simon the Magus and his disciples were among them), through whom the enemy destroys the servants of God. Those who are weak in faith turn to these deceivers, and they, answering them according to the desire of their hearts, fill their heads with dreamy hopes. Immediately, mixing a drop of truth with a sea of ​​lies, they seduce them and again draw them back to paganism. He who sincerely believes and has devoted himself to God will not go to them. Such a one seeks heaven; but they usually guess only about earthly things. 11) May the living Church of God be your teacher, your only teacher, the pillar and foundation of the truth. In it is the light of immutable true knowledge. - Outside there is darkness and darkness. There the prince of peace set up his teaching pulpit and blinds the minds of those who listen to him and do not want to listen to the voices of the church because they are secular. Here's a test: what disagrees with the teachings of the church, that is, the voice of the father of lies. Pay attention and keep yourself clean from this fall. – Here is another sign: the word of truth establishes deep peace, tranquility and sweetness in the believing heart; the word of the deceitful raises dreams and doubts and, like salt water, kindles the thirst for knowledge, locking the mind like a captive in an uncertain, dark desert. 12) Without your closest leaders, you cannot live holy on earth. You will find them in the church, where the Holy Spirit appoints them to shepherd the flock of Christ; beg the Lord to grant you what you need. At the right time, and without your asking, he will speak a comforting word to you. The Spirit of God will teach him what is appropriate to say to you, and you will hear from him what God wants from you. Beware, however, of flattering spirits here too. Humility and quietness adorn a true leader. Where there is pomp, that is, external shine in word and life, there is flattery. Heed this and you will be saved. “These are all the twelve commandments that the shepherd angel gave me,” concludes Hermas. “After listening to them, I said to him: “Wonderful rules, but is there a person who could fulfill them properly?” - To this the angel answered me: “Accept them with your heart in simplicity, without reflection, and you will not encounter any difficulty in fulfilling them. But as soon as you begin to decompose in your mind whether and how you can do both, and whether it is possible to somehow free yourself from under this yoke, the enemy will creep up, create relaxation in your heart and make you incapable of any good. “But there’s too much to say!.. Know that if you don’t do something, there is no salvation for you—there is no salvation for you, nor your children, nor your family.” Having said this, the angel changed in his face and became so terrible that I don’t know if there is anyone who would be able to bear his gaze at that moment; I was scared. “The angel, seeing my embarrassment, began to speak meekly to me, with a face capable of spreading joy into my heart: “What do you think and say?” Have you forgotten the omnipotence of God! Is it possible that the One who put everything under your feet did not give you the strength to fulfill His commandments? Know that he who always has God in his heart will easily fulfill these commandments. Whoever has Him only at the end of his tongue will fall under the weight of them, considering them impossible.” I noticed this: whoever does not ask God for strength to fulfill St. His commandments? But the enemy is strong: he tempts the servants of God and keeps them in his power. “No,” the angel answered me, “the enemy has no power over the servants of God. He can tempt those who believe in God with all their hearts, but not rule over them. Resist him with courage and he will run away from you.” This was the end of the angelic instructions set out in the second book of St. Hermas called: “The Shepherd”. Let us pray to the Lord that He will grant grace-filled help to fulfill these saving instructions given through St. apostolic husband. (Compiled from the Words to the Tambov flock, Bishop Feofan; book “Spiritual Sowings”, Priest Gr. Dyachenko, 2nd ed., 1897). 8. You cannot find salvation anywhere except the Orthodox Church Some monks once came to the Monk Agathon and, wanting to test whether he would get angry, they asked him: “Are you Agathon? We have heard about you that you are a fornicator and a proud man?” He answered: “Yes, it’s true.” “They ask him again: “Are you, Agathon, an empty talker and a slanderer?” He answered: “I am.” And they also say: “Are you, Agathon, a heretic?” He answered: “No, I am not a heretic.” “Then they asked him: “Tell us, why did you agree to the first questions, but couldn’t bear the last?” He answered them: “I admit the first vices in myself: for this recognition is useful to my soul, and to be a heretic means to be separated from God; but I don’t want to be separated from God. – This is how the great saint of God reasoned. And whoever excommunicates himself from the church excommunicates himself from God, for our Lord Jesus Christ is the head of His church. Blessed Augustine says: “Only he is saved who has Christ as his head, and only he who is in His body, which is the church, has Christ as his head.” While you are in unity with the church, you are a living member of the body of Christ, although, due to your sins, you cannot call yourself a healthy member, and if you left the Orthodox Church, then you have ceased to be its living member, you are already cut off from it, and therefore a dead member; and no matter how great your virtues are, they will not bring you any benefit. 9. God's punishment for blasphemy against the church It was about 25 years ago, near the village of Mishnevo, Kaluga district, Peasant Deev, on a hot July day, went into a field where his horse was grazing on a leash. Having untied the rope from the stake, Deev rolled it into a ring and, to make it more convenient to control the reins, put it on himself, mounted his horse and rode to the village. On one strip, a reaper, wrapped in a zipun, unexpectedly rose from behind the sheaves, the horse got scared, shied away, and Deev, like a sheaf, flew to the ground, getting tangled in the rope. Seeing this, many chased the horse, shouting at the top of their lungs: “Catch, catch!” The horse rushed across the field like mad, leaving a bloody trail behind it, and when it stopped, everyone shuddered in horror: Deev turned into a bloody, dirty mass, the rings of the rope cut into his body to the very bones. He was still breathing, but did not move a single member; a few minutes later he died, in the prime of his life, he was only thirty years old. “This is what Aunt Deeva, an elderly girl, said about this incident. Deev was at first Orthodox, but then fell into schism and became a great blasphemer of St. churches. He especially wanted to seduce the aforementioned aunt and her sister into a schism; He tried in every possible way to achieve this, but to no avail. Three days ago, having returned from work, this is what he said to his aunt, when she again refused to join the schism: “Remember, you damned heretic! When you die, I will not bury you, but I will tie you like a dog to the tail of my gray horse, drag you out of the village, lash you with a whip with all my might - let the gray one scatter your old bones across the open field. I’ll definitely do that!” And this is what happened two or three days after this: Deev himself tied himself to this same gray horse and died a terrible death... (Miss. collection No. 1, 1894). - In the village In Saltykov, Atkar district, in 1891 a Edinoverie parish was opened and a Edinoverie church was built. Currently, the parish already consists of 350 souls, and all of them are converted from the schism. For their part, the schismatic false teachers used every effort to divert those who had little knowledge of the Scriptures from joining St. churches. They showered the church with countless blasphemies and curses that were intolerable to the ears of every Orthodox Christian. But sometimes heavenly punishment will not touch such detractors. Among the residents of Saltykov, one middle-aged peasant girl, of Austrian consent, was a terrible scolder of the newly built church. The all-merciful Lord endured until time her terrible blasphemy against St. the church, awaiting its admonition and conversion; but she did not stop speaking her crazy words at the dwelling of God. And then she began to have seizures, during which she shook terribly all over her body, screamed, uttering incomprehensible words, and generally went completely berserk. At first such seizures were rare, but then they became more and more frequent, and now she almost never comes to her senses. So, as long-suffering as the Lord is, He is just as righteous, according to the words of the prophet: The Lord is righteous in His words, and His words are as follows: God cannot be mocked (Sarat. Eparch. Ved. No. 3, 1894). – In the parish chronicle of the village of Prishiba, Tsarevsky district, the following significant fact from the life of local Molokans is conveyed. One of them, Evangelical V. Iv. K-nov, who assumed the title of mentor, set off in 1872 for the purpose of propaganda along the lower reaches of the Volga River. In the spring of the same year, when crossing to Dubovka, K-nov, being in a boat with Orthodox companions, began to mock them when, in view of strong excitement, they were baptized and called with prayer to God for the help of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, but God cannot be scolded! K-n somehow accidentally rolled off the boat and immediately disappeared into the water, so that his body was nowhere to be found. Such is the destruction of the wicked who abuse the Orthodox Church! 10. Church of God - Guardian of God When you hear the church bell ringing, calling everyone to prayer, and your conscience tells you: let us go to the house of the Lord (Ps. 121:1), then, if you can, put everything aside and hurry to the church of God. Know that this is your guardian angel calling you under the roof of the house of God; it is he, the inhabitant of heaven, who reminds you of earthly heaven, in order to sanctify your soul there with the grace of Christ, in order to sweeten your heart with heavenly consolation - but who knows? Perhaps he is calling you there also in order to take you away from temptation, which you cannot avoid if you stay at home, or to shelter you under the canopy of God’s church from great danger... This is what one Christian, attentive to the ways of God’s Providence, told about himself: “I did not always have the opportunity to attend the evening service in church; but once—it was on a Sunday—when the announcement was made for Vespers, it was as if some secret voice quietly suggested to me: “Why don’t you go to Vespers too? today is the feast of the Lord; God willing, you will have time to do what needs to be done even after God’s service.” I obeyed and went. My soul was so calm, joyful and light that I did not notice how Vespers ended. I had no one at home; I arrive and notice that not everything is in the same order. It is clear that there was an uninvited guest here without me. The cash drawer was empty; Two or three more valuable things were missing. “God judge him,” I thought: “money is something acquired, it’s good that he didn’t touch the shrine,” and I had valuable decorations on holy icons. “The court of God really found the kidnapper.” Less than six months later, he was caught in the murder, and at the trial he confessed to stealing money from me, and most importantly, he admitted that he knew my habits well, he knew that on holidays I let the servants go to vespers and am left alone, which is why he stocked up on a heavy iron tool, and, of course, if I had not gone to church this time, I would hardly be able to talk with you now. “I believe and confess,” added the one who told me, “that the secret suggestion to go to church was the voice of my guardian angel, and the church of God sheltered me under its canopy from sudden death, like God’s faithful guardian. And here is another similar story, preserved in the writings of the patrists for our edification. One unfortunate father, seeing that he, his wife and son were about to die of hunger, said to his son; “Dear child! There is only one way to save our lives - to sell you as a slave to some nobleman. Do you agree to this? - The obedient son answered: “Do what you want, father; I'm ready for anything." The grieving father himself took his son to the rich nobleman and, parting with him, said to him at parting: “Here is my father’s testament to you, my son: when you pass by the church and see that the service of God is going on there, then you cannot leave from there until it is over.” The son took his parents’ covenant to heart and began to steadily fulfill it. “A year later, the nobleman’s wife hated him so much for some reason that she decided to destroy him at all costs. One young slave, the mistress’s favorite, especially contributed to this. And so she says to her husband: “I have learned for certain that the newly purchased slave is plotting against your life; It’s better to let him die before he kills you.” - The frivolous nobleman believed the slander and on the same day, meeting with the criminal judge, he told him: “Tomorrow I will send you one slave with a scarf; order his head to be cut off and, wrapped in a scarf, give it to the one who comes after him.” And he did not name either one or the other. The next day, the nobleman sends the innocent young man with a handkerchief to the judge, and he goes, not at all thinking that death awaits him there. His path lay past the church, where at that time the service of God was being performed; he remembered his parents’ behest and stopped at the church door until the end of the service. Meanwhile, the impatient mistress hastened to send her favorite to the judge and ordered him to ask: what will be the answer to what the newly purchased slave was sent with? Passing by the church, this one stopped for a minute out of curiosity. The kind young man looked around and, seeing his comrade, asked him: “Where are you going?” “To the judge,” he answered: “The gentlemen demand an answer to what they sent you for.” “Oh,” said the young man: “I haven’t been to see him yet; I really want to listen to God’s service; do me a favor, brother, take this handkerchief to the judge instead of me, and I will be worthy of service and go in your place for an answer.” Wanting to serve his mistress and not suspecting anything, the slave took the handkerchief and went to the judge, and the judge immediately ordered his head to be cut off. “The service ended, and the young man, by agreement, came to the judge for an answer. There they gave him something heavy, wrapped in a scarf, and he, without curiosity, handed the parcel to his masters. You can imagine how amazed they were when they saw the one they had sent to death alive! And having unfolded the scarf, they saw with horror the head of their beloved slave... When the matter was clarified, both husband and wife involuntarily admitted that God Himself had covered the innocent and punished the guilty, and glorified the judgments of God. “Hearing this, brothers and sisters,” this is how the pious writer concludes this story, “do not leave the church before God’s service ends, so that the Lord will cover you from all sorts of troubles.” The church of God is God’s guardian, we will say in conclusion, and the blessings that lurk in the house of God: God Himself is their protection and faithful protection! Evang. from John, count. 34, ch. IX, 1–38. 1. Healing of a man born blind Once, when Jesus was in Jerusalem, performing miracles and preaching His teachings, His enemies became so furious that they wanted to stone Him. But He left them and, as he passed, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him: “Teacher, who sinned, he or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered: “Neither he nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God might be revealed in him.” The Lord took pity on the unfortunate blind man; Having spat on the ground, He made clay, anointed the eyes of the blind man with this clay and said to him: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” It was a spring at the base of Mount Zion. The blind man went, washed and received his sight. This miracle left everyone in amazement. “Really,” some said, “is this the same one who sat and begged for alms?” Others said: “It’s him”; others: “looks like him.” He said: “It’s me.” They began to ask the man born blind how he regained his sight. He answered: “The man whose name is Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes and ordered me to wash in the pool of Siloam; I washed my face, and now I see.” They took him to the Pharisees, and it must be said that this miracle was performed on the Sabbath day. The young man, who had regained his sight, again answered the questions of the Pharisees with a story about his miraculous healing. Then there was a dispute between the Pharisees about Jesus. Some said: “This Man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath;” others objected: “Can a sinful person perform such miracles?” They asked the healed man: “What do you think about Him?” “I think he is a prophet,” he answered. But the Pharisees were still not convinced by such clear evidence of the power of God. They doubted whether the man was really blind, and calling his parents, they asked them: - Is this your son, about whom you say that he was born blind? How can he see now? The parents of the man born blind knew that the Pharisees hated Jesus and that they had already decided among themselves to excommunicate from the synagogue anyone who recognized Him as Christ. In their cowardice, they were afraid to incur the wrath of the Pharisees if they paid due honor to the One who healed their son, and therefore they only answered: “We know that this is, indeed, our son, and that he was born blind. How he received his sight, and who healed him, we do not know; he is an adult himself; let him tell you himself.” Then the Pharisees said to the man born blind: “Thank God; we know that He who healed you is a sinful man.” “I don’t know whether He is a sinner,” answered the one who had received his sight; - but I only know that I was blind, but now I see. Again the Pharisees began to ask how he received his sight. “I already told you,” answered the young man. - Why are you asking again? Do you also want to become His disciples? The Pharisees became angry. “You are His disciple,” they said, “and we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but about this Man we do not know where He comes from.” “It’s strange that you don’t know where He comes from,” answered the young man, “but He opened my eyes.” Has anyone ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of a man born blind? We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but listens to those who honor God and do His will. If this Man had not been from God, he could not have done such a miracle. The Pharisees became even more angry and kicked out the blind man who had received his sight. The Lord Jesus Christ found out about this and, meeting him, asked: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” -Who is He, Lord, that I should believe in Him? - asked the one who had received his sight. “You have seen Him, and He speaks to you,” said the Lord. - I believe, Lord! - the young man then exclaimed and bowed to Jesus to the ground. One can imagine how happy the healed man was when he learned that the one who healed him was the Son of God Himself, who came to earth to save people! How I believed in Him! How ardently I loved Him! He probably did not grieve that the Pharisees expelled him from the synagogue and despised him. They rejected him, but he found and loved the Savior, and this happiness is higher than all earthly blessings. We often see that good and pious people suffer insults and oppression in the world; but if they firmly believe in the Lord, if they love Him with all their souls, if they keep His commandments and confess His holy name, then they will patiently endure disasters; for they know that they have the highest good, and that nothing in the world can separate them from the love of Christ. The parents of the man born blind, fearing the Pharisees, did not decide to give glory and honor to the Lord for healing their son. They were afraid that they would be excommunicated from the synagogue. May the Lord save us from such cowardice! It is better to lose everything, it is better to endure all kinds of insults and troubles, than to deviate from the Lord in anything; He is the highest, eternal good. Neither out of fear nor out of pleasing anyone should we decide to do or say anything displeasing to God. The Holy Church, remembering in the sixth week after the Bright Resurrection the healing of a man born blind, calls out on behalf of everyone to the Healer of souls and bodies: “Blinding with my spiritual eyes, I come to You, Christ, as blind from birth, and with repentance I call to You: You are the brightest Light of all who are in sinful darkness.” (See the book “Stories about the earthly life of the Savior” by Bakhmeteva). 2. Your destinies are incomprehensible, Lord! 27 (From the book: “Iliotropion”, St. John Maximovich). “Oh, how great are Your works, O Lord! Thy thoughts are very deep: the foolish man does not know, and the ignorant does not understand these things” (Ps. 92:6-7). Truly You are the hidden God, incomprehensible to the mind of creation! – Saint Anthony the Great, reflecting on the hidden and unknown mysteries of God and marveling at them, once humbly cried out to God, “Oh, Lord my God! It sometimes pleases You to grant long life to people who are apparently useless and immersed in the abyss of lawlessness, and sometimes You prematurely deprive this life of people who are very useful for the common good; Some who have sinned a little are punished by You with great severity; others, on the contrary, live happily without any sorrows, and through this they gain the audacity to commit crimes.” With such reflection, Anthony hears a voice: “Be attentive to yourself: what you are reflecting on is the judgment of God, and you do not examine or test it.” Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, describes the following incident in the acts of this Anthony the Great: two monks went to visit Saint Anthony. Walking through the waterless and hot desert, they were completely exhausted from thirst: one of them had already died, and the other was near death. Saint Anthony, being in his monastery many miles away, quickly calls two of his monks and tells them: “Run there into the desert as quickly as possible, take a vessel of water with you; one of the two brothers who came to us has already died of thirst, and the other is still breathing, but is suffering greatly and is very weak; If you slow down, then you won’t find anyone else alive: this is what God revealed to me when I was standing in prayer.” The monks immediately set off on their journey; They found the wanderers: they buried the deceased, and refreshed the other with water, strengthened him with food and brought him to Saint Anthony. With this story, Athanasius notes that perhaps someone will ask: why St. Didn't Anthony send his monks earlier to save the wanderers before one of them died? Such a question is truly indecent for a Christian because this was not the business of St. Anthony, but this was God’s judgment: God Himself pronounced His righteous judgment both on the dying man and on the one who remained alive; God revealed His will to Anthony about the salvation of the wanderer. In 1117, when there was an earthquake throughout Italy, several inhabitants of the city of Mediolana were in the same house; suddenly a voice is heard from the yard calling the name of one of those who were in that house to come out. The one who was called was perplexed: who was calling him and why? and therefore was in no hurry to go out. Then some stranger comes to the door and asks the person invited to come out quickly; and as soon as he moved a few steps away from the house, the house falls and kills everyone who was inside it with its ruins. The question arises: why was only one of those in the house saved, while all the others perished? – The judgments of the Lord are a great abyss! Who does not clearly see in this incident the ancient miracles that took place? So the angel of the Lord brought Lot and his children out of Sodom, and left all the other inhabitants to be sacrificed by fire. In the same miraculous way, many other people who were with those who died in the general disaster were preserved unharmed. What can be said about all this except the fair saying: Thy judgments, O Lord, are a great and immeasurable abyss! Who dares to say to God: Why are you doing this, Lord? For My counsels are not like your counsels, says the Lord: Neither are My ways as your ways. As far as the heavens are from the earth, so far is My way from your ways, and My thoughts from your thoughts (or decisions) (Is. 55:8-9). Saint Gregory said: to explore the hidden causes of God's destinies means to contrast our sinful pride with His determinations. Our job is to repeat the words of the Apostle Paul at every extraordinary event: Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways! (Rom.11:33). In our earthly life we ​​will never comprehend many things with our minds. It is enough for us to know and undoubtedly believe that God is just, and on the last day of judgment there will not be any of the defendants who would say anything other than the words to the Lord, except the words: You are righteous, Lord, and Your judgments are just! (Ps.119:137). One day, King David, seeing the happy wicked people of the world, who were leading others to wickedness with their bad example, wanted to understand the ways of God about them; He pondered this for a long time and finally humbly admitted: it is difficult for me to understand this until I enter the sanctuary of God (Ps. 77:16-17). Until the future, better life, we must postpone the full understanding of the incomprehensible in this life of the destinies of the Wisdom of God. And why would you, restless and overly curious human mind, look for all this? Touching the fire of Divine destinies, you will melt; you will only circle around this fire, just as moths and mosquitoes circle around a candle at night until they are burned. The wise son of Sirach says: the works of the Lord are wonderful, they are majestic, and His secrets are hidden before men (Sir.11:4). The Eternal, All-Wise God has arranged everything by measure, number and weight: who can resist His power and will? Why do we, insignificant ones, boast of our pride and boldly strive to weigh the weight of fire, measure the speed of the wind, or return the past day? It is enough for us to believe that the cause of all causes is the will of God. God allowed, God willed, God created everything. What are you still looking for?.. 3. Invitation to donate to the benefit of the blind There are many unfortunate people in the world. We often encounter lame, blind, deaf and various kinds of sick people. All of them, by their very appearance, evoke in us regret and compassion for their sorrowful situation. But, it seems, there is no greater misfortune than blindness, deprivation of vision, especially when this misfortune befalls a person from his very birth. Listen to how the man born blind, mentioned in this day’s service, depicts his deplorable situation. “I don’t think of asking when it’s day and when it’s night; I do not tolerate the stumbling block, for I have not seen the shining sun, which created me below in the image.” (Verse, I cried to the Lord). “All my life I am blind, thinking at night” (ibid.). We, who have vision and use it constantly, cannot fully appreciate this gift of God that is precious to us and comprehend all the bitterness of being deprived of it. But we just have to imagine ourselves with our eyes closed, even for one day, and we will understand how hard it is not to see the light of God, the clear sun, the beauty of the world and its prosperity, which our mind raises to the Almighty Creator - how painful these constant stumblings are, and not only for the feet alone, but for all parts of the body - what it is like to “think about your whole life in one continuous night.” And the blind man grows up, and he grows up not to be a joy for himself, but a burden to his relatives. When he reaches adulthood, his grief does not decrease, but increases. He has no time for his family: he cannot feed himself. Oh, how bitter is bread from the wrong hands! He is also bitter because a person recognizes in himself strength, health, and abilities; he himself would like to be of help and relief to others, but without sight he cannot do anything other than walk, and even then with the help of another, and beg for alms. Our Lord Jesus Christ saw a man “blind from birth,” as we heard today from the Gospel, and healed him; he received his sight and began to see. It is, of course, not in our power to perform miracles and we cannot give sight to the blind, but we can and must alleviate the lot of the unfortunate, our “indispensable duty is to help the weak, to be merciful to everyone with long-suffering” (1 Thess. 5:14). “We must bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not please ourselves” (Rom. 15:1). And I must tell the truth - the Orthodox Russian people, compassionate towards all the unfortunate, treat the blind with special attention and give them their alms with great zeal. Alms for the benefit of the blind have not and will not become scarce in Rus'. But it is obvious to everyone that this method of doing good to the blind is not entirely favorable for them. True, even with this method of charity, the blind man does not die of need, hunger and cold, but not every one of them is able to walk and beg, we do not see many of them at all, and they, perhaps, are in more need than others. They began to think and came up with the best way to do charity. Recently, to improve the lot of unfortunate blind people, with the Highest permission, a “trusteeship” has been founded, which has made it their concern to alleviate the difficult lot of the blind. The guardianship collects blind people throughout Russia and sets up hospitals, shelters, schools and almshouses for them - it hires doctors, who cure some of them from blindness, invites teachers who teach young blind people in schools, teaching them to read from special books adapted for them and teach them various crafts, and the guardianship places the old, sick, incapable of work in almshouses. As you can see for yourself, the goals are good, truly Christian and very broad. To implement them, you need a lot, a lot of money, and, moreover, the more money you have, the greater success you can achieve. Therefore, every week the Guardianship for the Blind makes collections in churches for the benefit of the blind and invites all Orthodox Christians of our Empire to make donations. Give joy, Orthodox Christians, to the bitter fate of the blind. When we give alms into our hands, we sometimes fear that instead of benefiting the recipient, it may serve to harm the recipient, because some use it for evil. There is no room for such concerns here. Rest assured, every contribution you make will be beneficial. It will serve to calm the old man - a crippled blind man in a late orphanage, and will help the young blind man learn to earn food for himself through his labor. Don't say that you yourself are poor. The one who is richer than you will give more, and you be merciful in your poverty - from your poverty, help to sweeten the bitter fate of the blind. An individual contribution is small and insignificant, but when there are many donors, then the insignificant contributions, when combined together, make up a large capital. There are up to 200 thousand blind people in Russia. The eyes of all of them are now directed towards us with hope for our help. From the heights of the Throne we hear the first call for this help and there we see the first example of it. Metropolitans, archbishops, bishops and many dignitaries, through their own words and example, encourage us to do the same. Let us also respond with a feasible offering. And the Lord, who has now given sight to the man born blind, will be pleased with our sacrifice. “It is better to give alms than to collect gold, for alms delivers from death and can cleanse all sin” (Tov.12:8-9). “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7), but “judgment will be without mercy to him who has not shown mercy” (James 2:13). (Christian conversation, ed. “P. Sob.” 1897, vol. I). 4. The Voice of Saving Grace 28 This is what one nun, named Eusevia, who lived in the Bryansk monastery, told about herself: “I was born from Orthodox parents and was raised by them in the Orthodox faith. Unfortunately, of course, according to worldly calculations, they married me off to a schismatic. My father-in-law, a rude, inveterate schismatic, insistently demanded that I join the schism, and I, a sinner, could not resist - I agreed to this. In the village of Kolchevoy they crossed me, and when they began to immerse me in a tub of water, I shook with fear. “Because of what,” I thought, “I am leaving the Orthodox faith and St. church ? Because of some reproaches and threats from his elderly father-in-law? What cowardice!..” Be that as it may, they just immersed me in the water, and what did I see? My God! And now I often remember this vision. It seemed to me as if a white dove flew away from me... “What is this? – I thought, “Isn’t it possible that the grace of the Holy Spirit, given to me in Orthodox baptism, is flying away from me?” Yes, apparently, the grace of the Holy Spirit...” And I felt sad. But the world, vanities, and worldly worries entangled me everywhere: I got used to the schism and forgot that vision. The sinner often forgets God, but God will never forget the sinner. He did not forget me, who had departed from the Orthodox faith. In 1830, cholera appeared in our family, and I was the first to strike in our family. Terrible illnesses tormented me, but help could not be expected from anywhere except God. At that time, we were all afraid of cholera as a contagious disease, and here I could say with St. David: My neighbors are far away from me (Ps. 37:13). I lay alone in the fight against serious illnesses. Meanwhile, night came; everything is quiet, only in the secluded room where I am lying can my moans be heard. Suddenly, in the midst of this silence, I hear someone say: “Euphrosyne! join the holy orthodox church.” This voice was repeated three times, and I was ready to listen to the mysterious voice. My illnesses subsided, and I fell asleep peacefully. Morning came, and I was completely healthy: not even the traces of my cruel illness were visible on me. I told among my people what I heard at night; My father-in-law was here too. After listening to my words, his entire face changed, he looked at me with eyes sparkling with intense anger and in a voice trembling with anger he said: “You see how cunning the devil is, how he hates good! He again lures you into error, so that you can then be tormented in eternal fire.” What am I? I am surprised at my frivolity: I believed the insidious words of my father-in-law as truth... But here again was a visit from the Lord, again His gracious call to me, a sinner! join the holy orthodox church.” At this point I had already made a decisive vow to God to join the Orthodox Church, if only the Lord would restore my health, and in this determination I forgot myself. Suddenly I see that the holy icon of the Mother of God with the Eternal Child is bending over me in the air, and bending so that it covers my face. This happened several times. I fell asleep calmly after that and in the morning I felt healthy again... My niece visited me, and when I told her my vision, she immediately took me to church. As soon as I entered there, I immediately saw on the pillar the same icon that I had seen bending over me at night. My heart beat strongly with joy, and I listened to the entire liturgy with emotion. Then she announced her whole adventure to the priest and at the same time expressed her desire to join the holy Orthodox Church. The Good Shepherd took an active interest in my situation and told me to prepare for the annexation, which he wanted to do the next day. And so, I happily left the church, but on the way home I again began to be troubled by gloomy thoughts: what will my husband, and especially my father-in-law, do to me?.. Oh, how much power a man has for evil, and how little he has for good deeds!.. But, thank God, when I expressed everything to my husband, he told me: “Well, good; I myself would be ready to join the Orthodox Church with you, but you see how our old man looks at it. I'm afraid to offend him; what to do? Be the will of God! And you be calm, fulfill your vow and do not be afraid of anything; I am your protector...” The next day the Lord vouchsafed me to join the Orthodox Church, and I returned with such joy as I had never experienced before. My husband shared my heartfelt joy with me. And his father-in-law?.. The Lord visited him at that time with cholera, he suffered terribly, only moaned, could not say anything, and six hours later he died. I felt sorry for the old man, no matter what he was, he was still a close relative, my husband’s father, and meanwhile he died in persistent delusion... But behind one grief - a new grief: cholera broke out over my husband. For three days, poor man, he suffered greatly, but, thank God, during these three days of trial he managed to repent, joining the Orthodox Church, and died, guided by the holy mysteries... So I became a bitter widow. For me, there are only two joys left on earth: a son about thirteen years old, and a daughter younger than him. I sent my son to Bryansk to teach him to trade, but he died there two years later. Everyone knows what the loss of a son costs a mother, and a widowed mother at that! Shedding bitter tears, I left the village for Bryansk to cry out my grief over the grave in which the ashes dear to me were hidden. But where can I cry out all my grief? To my consolation, I learned that a convent was being established here in Bryansk, and so I decided to stay here with my daughter to seek consolation in God, and the Lord fulfilled my desire. Thus, He, the merciful One, calls us to Himself along unknown paths.” (“Sunday Day” 1897, No. 22). Borisoglebsky tradesman Alexander Moiseev Yakovlev, a tailor, ten years ago, lived in the village of Uryupino, region of the Don army. Here his daughter Maria was born, who, at the age of six months, developed large cataracts in both eyes, so that both eyes turned white. Yakovlev first turned for help to doctor Mr. Tenchinsky, then to doctor Mr. Zakharyevsky and to others, including a military doctor, but all medical measures turned out to be powerless, so that in the fourth year the patient became completely blind, and her eyelids closed. She was so exhausted from severe pain that, at the age of six, she could not walk. On the advice of some people, her father opened her eyelids and saw instead of eyes only meat drenched in blood. Having lost all hope of curing their daughter, Yakovlev and his wife, taking the sick woman, wrapped her in a blanket and went to the church in the old cemetery of the village of Uryupin, where the revealed icon of the Kazan Mother of God is located. Here they asked the priest to serve a prayer service before this icon. Returning to the apartment, they sat their daughter, as usual, wrapped in a blanket, on her usual bed on the chest, and they themselves began to get ready to drink tea. At this time, unexpectedly, their daughter opened her eyes and said that she saw her father, the samovar and everything on the table, and asked her father and mother to speak something, since she had never seen them since birth, but knew them only by one voice. Currently, Yakovlev and his family live in Borisoglebsk, on Bolshaya Street, in Feofanov’s house, near the zemstvo house, and his daughter Maria, who is now eleven years old, studies with beautiful eyes at the Borisoglebsk Women’s School. (R. Palomn., book Ryazan. Eparch. Ved. 1891 No. 3). 6. On the necessity of sorrows to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven (Nikanora, Archbishop of Kherson). God is the need of a grieving heart, said the old philosophy. This truth is based on psychological, spiritual experience. It is known that in happiness a person easily forgets God, but in misfortune, on the contrary, he who has forgotten Him remembers God. The very groan of a grieving soul, the very cry of pain it emits, the very feeling of helplessness that is naturally born in moments of external adversity and inexhaustible internal melancholy, all this involuntarily turns the eyes of the sufferer to heaven, whether with faith or without faith. Unbelief itself then naturally strives to be reborn into faith, hopelessness itself is involuntarily inspired by even a weak hope, carried away by the natural and involuntary desire to get out of melancholy and despair, to get rid of mental and physical pain, to eliminate the threat of death from oneself, to turn away from oneself, as the most disgusting and outrageous, the hopeless darkness of eternal death, whether to understand it as eternal torment, or as eternal destruction. It happens that people invite death upon themselves, even inflict it on themselves; but this criminal movement of feeling and will, and sometimes of a suicidal hand, is always, at least in the majority of cases, a fit of despair and cowardice. It is too unnatural to look always, or too often, in the face of death and mortal or posthumous torment - then a person will certainly want to live, for light and joys, simply even for the feeling of life. You will want to rely on a higher power that can avert death and mortal pain, like any suffering. You will want to resort to God, the Lord of life and death, God, the giver of all good things and the Savior from all evils. Frequent sorrows and suffering, constant dangers, and especially mortal dangers keep the soul in constant tension, in constant conversion and striving towards God the Savior; and by preserving and supporting the soul in this direction, they keep it, if possible, from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, and really bring it closer to God, bring it closer not only by conversion and striving for God, but also by purification and improvement, keeping the commandments of God and pleasing God. This is how a person reaches the kingdom of God through many sorrows. That’s why the Lord loves him and punishes him; He beats every son, but accepts him as a son with the love of the Father. That is why, when a person who is not perishing is forgotten, God sends sorrows upon him, plunges him into the furnace of temptation, in which man is tempted like gold in a furnace. When the faithful people are forgotten, God plunges them into the cave, or war, or infection, or famine and other national disasters. And look, remember how in the time of national temptation the spirit of the people rises, how faith strengthens, how the warmth of popular piety increases, popular prayers multiply, become more persistent, valiant feats of patience and self-sacrifice, faith and fidelity, philanthropy and mercy become more frequent, becoming even ordinary and ordinary, and society, at other times even frivolous and in many respects imperfect, in the time of national calamity is becoming more and more like the kingdom of God on earth. Look, think, how warriors in war, like sailors at sea, to whom death so often and persistently looks into the eyes, how they, whether secretly or openly, but almost always and almost all in their souls, are involuntarily and naturally turned to God, and how other shocks, whether in storms of the sea, in the storms of battles, are reflected by strong and more or less beneficial shocks in the hearts, often for the rest of their lives to the grave, seeing them off beyond the grave. (Demons and teachings vol. IV, p. 646). Evang. from John zach. 56, ch. XVII, 1–13 art. 1. High Priestly Prayer of I. Christ Celebrating the last Easter with his disciples, the Lord I. Christ prayed like this at the end of the Easter supper: “Father! The hour has come, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also will glorify You; For You have given Him power over all flesh, so that He may give eternal life to all that You have given Him. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I glorified You on earth, I accomplished the work that You entrusted Me with. And now glorify Me, O Father, with You, with the glory that I had with You before the world was.” “I have revealed Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours, and You gave them to Me; and they have kept Your word; Now they have understood that everything that You have given Me is from You. For the words that You gave Me, I delivered to them; and they received and understood truly that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I pray for them; I do not pray for the whole world, but for those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours. And all that is mine is yours and yours is mine; and I was glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world; and I am coming to You. Holy Father! keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, just as We are. When I was at peace with them, I kept them in Thy name; those whom You gave Me, I have kept, and none of them perished, except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled (Ps. 109:17). Now I come to You, and I say this in the world, so that they may have My complete joy in themselves.” ( John 17:1-13 ). This Gospel, in which it is so clearly set out in I. Christ’s own words about His consubstantiality as the Son of God with God the Father and, thus, about His Divinity, is supposed to be read on Holy Week. the fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council, who by a council resolution approved the true doctrine of the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father against the heretic Arius. On the seventh week of Easter, the Orthodox Church annually remembers and glorifies the saints and God-bearing fathers who were at the first ecumenical council, also in Nicaea. An ecumenical council is a meeting of pastors and teachers of the Church of Christ, if possible from the whole universe, for the establishment of true teaching and decency among Christians. The great power and importance of conciliar meetings and decisions is based on the words of Jesus Christ Himself, Who said: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” As for the entire universal church, its Founder and Head gave it the importance of infallibility in matters of faith. “Tell the church, and if he does not listen to the church, then let him be on a par with the pagan and the publican” (Matthew 18:17). The Savior gave the church (the community of believers) a great promise “to be with her always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The gathering of church councils began with St. apostles; For a common decision on the issue of accepting pagans into the church, they themselves once all gathered in Jerusalem from different places in the universe. From that time St. The church has always sought strength against violators of true teaching in conciliar prayers and meetings. If she needed to find out the immutable will of God about something, she convened representatives of local churches together, and accepted the unanimous decision of the councils as the voice of God Himself. “It pleased the Holy Spirit and us,” this is how the apostles expressed it, and this is how the fathers of all the councils later expressed themselves about their decrees. The main reason for the organization of councils has always been the appearance among Christians of false teachers (heretics), who, with their sometimes cunning and always perverse teachings about faith, distorted the true Christian teaching about our salvation, confused those who were not firm in the faith, and through this brought discord and disagreement into the community of Christians. There were seven ecumenical councils; the first of them is called Nicene, for it took place in the city of Nicaea. It was convened to refute the false teaching about Jesus Christ of the wicked heretic Arius. Arius was at first a presbyter in the Alexandrian church; being a learned man, he was very proud of his intelligence and soon fell into destructive false thinking. From time immemorial, the Christian Church confessed that our Savior Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, the Only Begotten Son of God the Father, and Arius falsely thought that Jesus Christ is not God, but only a man endowed by God with the highest grace. Such unthinking, of course, could not be tolerated, and Arius was excommunicated from the church, but he continued to spread his heresy and drag the ignorant into his network. Soon unprecedented confusion arose in Christian society; this evil had to be put to an end. Then, by order of Emperor Constantine the Great, an ecumenical council was convened in Nicaea in 325 AD, to which more than three hundred church fathers appeared. The heretic Arius also appeared at the council. No matter how hard the Orthodox tried to reason with the lost man, he stuck to his guns. Arius was condemned and, as a disobedient member of the church, deprived of communion with it, and as a model and guide for believers in the confession of faith, a symbol of faith was compiled, which briefly stated everything that Christians should believe in and how. This symbol is still professed by the entire Orthodox Church of Christ. Thus, Arius was deposed at the council. Despised by everyone, he did not know what to decide and used cunning. Knowing the condescension of Emperor Constantine, he began to ask him to order him to be accepted into the church again. The compassionate emperor agreed to fulfill his request, especially since Arius answered the emperor’s question: “Do you believe as the fathers affirmed at the Council of Nicaea?” falsely answered: “I believe so.” Saying this, the heretic struck himself on the chest, on which, under his clothes, hung a charter containing his superstitious teaching. Not suspecting such deception, the emperor ordered St. Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, to accept Arius into communion with the church. Knowing well the tenacity of his former presbyter, St. Alexander did not believe Arius, but did not want to disobey the king. Not knowing what to do, the bishop then turned with earnest prayer to the Lord God, so that He, the just, would not allow the worst enemy to invade the church, but in time would reveal to everyone the wickedness of the heretic. The Lord heard the saint’s prayer and clearly showed everyone that Arius was unworthy of communion with the church. The day came on which it was necessary to accept the heretic into the church. Surrounded by his like-minded people, Arius triumphantly intended to enter the church and approach St. with the kiss of Judas. communion. But on the way to the church, he suddenly felt a terrible internal illness, from which his entire womb disintegrated and his insides fell out, so that he immediately ended his life. This is how the Lord threateningly punishes heretics and all unbelievers in this life; but even worse punishments await such in the future life. There, without a doubt, they will suffer as much torment as they sowed evil here on earth with their false wisdom, as much as they destroyed simple-minded hearts with their cunning. How instructive for all of us, Orthodox Christians, is this formidable manifestation of God’s judgment on heretics and unbelievers! It teaches us to firmly adhere to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, to sacredly observe the faith of Christ, and to inviolably preserve the statutes and rules of Christian piety established by universal unanimity. The Orthodox faith is revealed to us in the word of God; its truths are defined and approved by ecumenical councils, the definitions of which, like the voice of God, remain unchanged for all times, binding on every Christian. No one has the right to change anything at will in the confession of the Orthodox Christian faith. The faith of Christ must be one, just as Christ is one. Therefore, everyone must believe as the holy apostles and God-bearing shepherds and teachers of the church taught us. The Apostle Paul, protecting the Galatian Christians from being carried away by the wind of the teachings of self-proclaimed teachers, wrote: “If we, or even an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel other than what we preached to you, let him be accursed. I say to you, if anyone preaches a gospel other than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8-9). This is how the teachings of the Orthodox Church, to which all the words of God are entrusted, must be sacredly observed, into which, as into a treasury, the apostles placed everything that is necessary for salvation. Treasure, Christian, the precious heritage of Orthodoxy, unshakably established at seven ecumenical councils; Remember that outside the Orthodox Church you cannot find salvation. Keep yourself from communicating with various vain teachers who want to change the gospel of Christ and tear away the faithful sons of the church from obedience to its teachings and regulations. Shield your ears from their disastrous speeches - all of them, as enemies of the faith of Christ, are already deprived of communion with the church by the invisible judgment of God. All of them are dry branches cut off from the tree, lost sheep, separated from the flock of Christ, having lost their shepherd and falling into an impassable abyss. (See “Resurrection leaf.”, ed. “Resurrection Day”, No. 173). 3. Examples of love for true knowledge of God I. When Abba Silouan lived in Mount Sinai, his disciple Zacharias, one day leaving for work, said to the elder: “Abba, go get some water and water the garden.” The elder, leaving his cell, covered his face with a hood and looked only at his feet. At this time his brother was walking towards him and, seeing him from afar, watched what he was doing. Then he approached him and asked: “Abba! tell me: why did you cover your face with a cupola when you went to water the garden?” “For this, my son,” answered the elder, so that my eyes would not see the trees, and my mind would not be entertained by them in its activity.” The mind of the ascetic was occupied with the thought of God, - (From the book: “Ascetics of piety who flourished on Mount Sinai and in the surrounding area.” 1860, p. 23). II. During the reign of Maximian, in the city of Iliopolis lived one noble and wealthy citizen - Dioscorus, a pagan by faith. He had an only daughter, whom he cherished like the apple of his eye. Beautiful in face, and even more beautiful in heart, she, as she grew older, surpassed all her peers in beauty. So that none of the ordinary people could see the beauty of Barbara - that was the name of Dioscorus' daughter - Dioscorus built a high pillar with a richly decorated dwelling on it and shut his daughter there. Hidden from human gaze, removed from all external entertainment, the young woman delved into the contemplation of the beautiful world of God. One day, looking at the heavenly bodies and admiring the beauty of the earth, she asked the slaves assigned to her: “Who created all this so wisely, so beautifully?” “All this,” answered the pagans, “was created and arranged by the very gods whom your parent worships, and who stand in his chambers.” But the wise maiden was not satisfied with such an answer and thought: “The gods revered by my father were themselves created, by human hands and soulless, made of gold, or silver, or wood: how could they, being themselves unable to walk with their feet or act with their hands, be the creators of such wise things?” She thought for a long time in this way, and finally, the grace of God touched her heart, which was looking for God the Creator, and announced to her heart and mind that there is one God who created heaven and earth with all their beauty. Such a thought about God, which constantly occupied the soul of the young woman, awakened in her an irresistible desire to know more closely and more clearly the one true God, the Creator of everything. But since under Varvara there was no one who could teach her and guide her on the path of salvation, the Lord God Himself appeared as her mentor and teacher, always close to those who seek Him and pouring grace into the hearts, making babies wise and showing the path to salvation. Varvara’s father left home for a long time and gave orders that in his absence his daughter’s freedom should not be restricted, but that he would allow her to go wherever she wanted and do whatever she wanted. Taking advantage of the freedom given by her father, Varvara met Christian girls. Hearing from them about the name of the Lord Christ, she rejoiced in spirit, recognizing in Him the One whom her soul had long longed to know. At this time, by the special providence of God, a Christian priest arrived here. Having learned of his arrival, Varvara immediately called him to her and, having learned from him all the truths of faith necessary for salvation, she was baptized. So St. Barbara came to know the one God, worshiped and glorified in three persons - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and sealed her faith with the crown of martyrdom. She was not afraid of torment, but, in hope of God’s help, in the midst of the most severe suffering, she loudly cried out: “I honor the Trinity - one Divinity.” – The wonderful world of God is open to each of us: know the Creator, Christian, and above all try to please the Lord. From an early age, learn the knowledge of God and do not weaken until old age to succeed in it. (Sun. Thu. 1888, p. 37). 4. Are we improving in the knowledge of St. faith? Every Christian must grow in the knowledge of faith. The Holy Apostle Paul, having taught those who believed in Christ the most essential and necessary truths of the faith (1 Cor. 2:2), did not cease to take care that Christians improved in the knowledge of the teaching taught to them. In concern for this, he does not cease to pray to God for the Christians whom he has converted, so that they may grow in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10), so that He may fill them with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Col. 1:9), so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him (Eph. 1:17). Praying to the Lord, St. Paul never ceases to convince believers: grow in the knowledge of God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Col. 1:10, cf. 2 Pet. 3:18). But can anyone ask, can this instruction really apply to Christians at the end of the 19th century? Does the generation of the “end of the age” really need reminders and instructions regarding improvement in the knowledge of God and Christ the Savior, which was naturally necessary for Christians of the 1st century? Indeed, it would seem that people over the course of nineteen Christian centuries should firmly and sufficiently grasp the truths of the Orthodox Christian faith and life. In reality, this is not what we see. Let's not even talk about simpletons - people of secondary and even higher education know less about the science of faith than about any other science. And such religious ignorance is especially amazing and downright terrifying, if we take into account the spread of enlightenment and knowledge in the field of applied sciences, in the field of mechanics, physics, etc. Meanwhile, if in anything, then it is precisely in the matter of faith that ignorance cannot serve as an excuse. The expiring 19th century became completely earthier; the majority have lost their taste for everything spiritual... The soul is sick, the will is sick. Life has gone astray from the path that God indicated, and obstacles are placed in returning to the straight path. People seem to deliberately avoid that light that could illuminate the dark path of life. Faith has weakened everywhere, the negligence towards faith is amazing. The future generation in many families rarely hears anything about God, religion, or the church before they enter school. Pious mothers who themselves prepare their children for admission to school, teaching them the rudiments of faith, talking with them about the merciful God, about Christ the Savior, about the Guardian Angel, etc. are becoming less and less common. Nowadays, children enter schools often completely ignorant in religious terms. They know a lot of worldly songs, various poems, and so few prayers; they know so much that is sinful, and so little that is divine! And aren’t the sad consequences of such religious impoverishment understandable? “What you don’t know, you don’t appreciate,” they usually say. Whoever does not have sufficient knowledge in the objects of faith, in the teachings of St. Orthodox Church, he will not highly value his faith, his church, he easily becomes indifferent to it and, finally, can leave it without regret. This is especially dangerous among a mixed population of Orthodox Christians with people of other faiths and foreigners, when living together with them. If an ignoramus hears an objection against his confession, against this or that truth of Orthodox teaching, against the decrees and rituals of his church, even if he wants to defend himself, he remains defenseless, as unarmed and not knowing the grounds that every truth of Orthodox teaching and all the decrees of the Holy Order have. churches. Not knowing how to defend himself, since defense requires the clearest, most accurate and detailed knowledge of the revealed teachings (Matthew 10:32), and feeling himself often struck by a completely absurd objection, he, in thought, will begin to doubt this or that truth of St. faith and finally falls into complete unbelief. Is it not from ignorance of our faith that we have that indifference to our faith and the church when they say: “In all faith you can be saved; Everyone has the same God; the difference in Christian confessions is not an important matter.” And is it not because of ignorance of the truth of the teachings of their faith that some themselves begin to invent “their own faith”, while others so easily adhere to this fictitious faith? Is this where the passion for fashionable prophets comes from? Is it not because of ignorance of the teachings of the Orthodox Church that there is now so much hesitation in faith, doubt, and deviation into sectarianism, heresy, and schism? But the harm from ignorance of religion is so great that it cannot be depicted in a small picture!.. Isn’t it due to ignorance or a misunderstanding of the rules and laws of faith that there are many sins that are not even considered sins? The prophet Hosea complains: “there is no knowledge of God on earth” and then explains: oaths, and deceit, and murder, and theft, and adultery have become extremely widespread on earth (Hos. 4:2). Isn’t it so now? More and more violations of God's law are seen; The most shameful passions cannot be restrained in their satisfaction. Where does all this come from? There is no knowledge of God on earth—these words answer the question. “Darkened in mind, alienated from the life of God, because of their ignorance, people reach insensibility, indulge in debauchery so that they commit all uncleanness with gluttony,” says the apostle. Paul (Eph. 4:18–19). Are there any means to enhance religious knowledge? In order for the people to have the necessary knowledge in religion, in the teachings of their faith, shepherds are obliged to strictly pay attention to themselves and their flock. As good servants of Jesus Christ, ourselves feeding on the words of faith and good teaching (1 Tim. 4:6), let us pay attention to the reading and teaching (IV, 11), and let us lift up the voice of our preaching like a trumpet (Isa. 58:1). The people want to know their faith: there is hunger and thirst in the land to hear the word of God (Am.8:11). The lips of the priests must keep knowledge and seek the law from your mouth (Mal.2:7). Let us make every effort to ensure that each of our flock is able to give an answer to those who ask about the hope they have (1 Pet. 3:15). Fathers and mothers, take every possible care that children from an early age know the most important things about the science of salvation. Especially mothers, do not give anyone your precious right to be the first teachers of religion for their children, teaching them the rudiments of their holy faith. faith: a mother’s influence is precious and irreplaceable; The history of the science of youth education loudly and clearly confirms this great truth. All those who have received precious faith according to the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1), having received great and precious promises (4) in the grace of the sacraments of the Holy. churches, let them grow in the knowledge of God and His will, in the study of the law of Christ, the teachings and commandments of St. churches. The Teachings of Christ will enlighten our minds with the light of true knowledge; it will fill our hearts with joy and gladness; we will clearly see the will of God and be moved to willingly fulfill His commandments. Grow so that our entire earth is filled with the vision of the Lord and so that it, like water, covers our entire earth (Is. 11:9) and opens for us free entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:11). (Compiled according to the teachings of His Eminence Irenaeus, Bishop of Mogilev (now Kamenets-Podolsk), see “Daily Teachings” by Priest G. Dyachenko, vol. III. Edition 1897). 5. The Beneficence of the Christian Faith Happy are we Christians that we profess the true Orthodox faith! Salvation comes by grace through faith, and this is not from you, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8), says the Apostle Paul. Yes, truly our faith is a gift of God, a gift brought from heaven by our Savior Jesus Christ! Before the coming of Jesus Christ, people did not know the true God and walked in the darkness of error. Most people after the flood forgot God so much that they began to worship many gods, and instead of the one true God they began to worship various creations of God; for example, they worshiped the heavenly bodies: the sun, moon and stars; they idolized people, revered domestic animals, all kinds of animals, even reptiles, as gods, and finally prayed to all sorts of images of objects - idols. The creed of the pagans was before; it is disgusting that they sacrificed people to their gods. This is the kind of spiritual blindness and ignorance people were in then. Faith in the true God was preserved only in the chosen people of God - the Jews. But even then, few, very few of this people were true admirers of almighty God; these were patriarchs, prophets and some others who pleased God with their faith and life; the rest of the Jews either held to the true faith in God, or constantly deviated into idolatry, or placed all piety and pleasing God exclusively in the observance of the same rituals and customs, in one external holiness. In general, it must be said that before the Nativity of Christ, people, having forgotten God, indulged in dissolute passions and sensual, sinful pleasures. But behold, from Bethlehem the sun of righteousness, Christ our God, rose, and the rays of this sun penetrated to all ends of the world: the teaching of the Gospel was carried across the face of the earth by the apostles of Christ, poor, unlearned, unnoble fishermen. And what did we see and what do we see now? Where the beneficial light of Christ penetrates, everything in people changes. Gross errors are dispelled, cruel morals are softened, pure and sublime concepts of God and humanity are established, legality is established, and prosperity is improved in human homes and societies. These are, in general, the fruits of the Christian faith proclaimed by Jesus Christ. Is it possible to describe the beneficialness of the Christian faith and calculate all the benefits that it brings to man? Take into account the person's privacy. Whether, for example, the loss of a home or property happens, whether an illness or other misfortune befalls, St. faith says that God punishes us for our sins and encourages us to repent and correct our lives. We have lost those dear and close to our hearts - a grave, unbearable sorrow! How can I make it easier? Let us turn to God, in Whom we believe, let us shed prayerful tears, with faith and hope that the Lord of life and death will reward them with a better life and will make us worthy one day to see them again alive and immortal. Finally, St. faith works miracles. What cannot true believers, strengthened by the power of God, do? All believers can be miracle workers, for faith is like a hand with which a person receives the power of God and performs such works that are inaccessible to natural human powers. Believe in Me, said the Savior, the works that I do will also be done by him (John 14:12); all things are possible to the believer (Mark 9:23). Indeed, the history of the Christian church is filled with numerous and amazing examples of the miraculous power of faith. One of these examples is contained in the life of St. Sylvester, Pope of Rome, whose memory is celebrated on January 2. St. Sylvester was a bishop in Rome at a time when the blessed reign of Constantine the Great had already begun, giving peace to the Church of Christ and protecting it from the attacks of Jews and pagans. But the centuries-old struggle of Christianity with its enemies, victoriously ended in terms of the external well-being of the church, has not yet ceased within Christian societies. These enemies, who had previously acted with fire and sword, now tried to use a more subtle, sharp and deeply penetrating weapon of words, thinking with cunning reasoning and vain eloquence to shake the minds of believing Christians. For this purpose, the most learned Jews and pagans entered into public debates with Christian pastors and teachers. Thus, a similar debate was arranged by the Jews in Rome under St. Bishop Sylvester, in the presence of Tsar Constantine and his mother Helen, in which the grace-filled power of the name of Christ was solemnly revealed. Famous among the Jews and considered the wisest among them, Rabbi Zamri argued for a long time with St. Sylvester in the Old Testament Scripture, but, clearly defeated by the indisputable evidence of the same Scripture about Christ, declared a desire to actually show the strength and superiority of his Jewish faith. He said that the name of God was revealed to him, powerful and terrible, which no human nature can tolerate and, if it hears it, will fall dead; therefore, Zamri suggested, bring any animal you like, even the most ferocious, and as soon as I pronounce the name of God in its ears, it will immediately die. They brought the most indomitable ox, and Zamri, indeed, killed him instantly, quietly uttering some words over him. The Jews triumphed, but St. Sylvester told them: “in the sacred books are the words of the Lord Himself: “I will kill and I will create life: I will strike and I will heal. (Deut.32:39). If Zamri, indeed, killed Him in the name of God, let him revive Him in the same name: for God is essentially all-good, and turns even evil into good.” It was here that all the opposition and vanity of the Jewish faith compared to the Christian faith was revealed. Zamri could not demonstrate the gracious power of the name of God, because he did not act in this name, but received some power from the evil one for his sorcery. St. Sylvester, on the contrary, was involved in the grace-filled power of God and did not hesitate to reveal this to everyone. Having said aloud to everyone a prayer to the Lord Jesus, the holy bishop revived the ox and solemnly testified before everyone the beneficialness of the Christian faith. We learn from this example that we Christians now live in the days of God’s favor, that “we are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14), and therefore we must not feel under the yoke of slavish fear in our relationship with God, but must live as God’s beloved children, in full confidence that “all things work out for good to those who love God” (Rom. 8:26) and that is unworthy of a Christian to nourish in your soul any kind of superstitious fear of created beings, having such powerful protection in the great and venerable name of Jesus. No matter what unexpected misfortune befalls us, no matter what evil situation burdens us, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom.10:13). There is only one thing we must fear most of all, lest by our unbelief, our unrighteous life, we should be deprived of grace-filled help from the Lord. So, “let everyone depart from unrighteousness, calling “the name of the Lord” (2 Tim. 2:19) “and hallowed be the name of God” in our lives - then the irresistible power of the name of the Lord Jesus, which we pronounce with faith in our prayers, will not depart from us. (G. D-ko). 6. The Holy Orthodox Church is the only true one Blessed Ephraim, Patriarch of Antioch, having heard about one stylite in the region of the city of Hierapolis, that he belonged to the number of followers of the North and acephalians, went to admonish him. Arriving at the stylite, he began to convince and pray to him to resort to the apostolic throne and enter into communion with St. Catholic and Apostolic Church. “I will not enter into communication with the council without a special reason,” answered the stylite. “What proof do you want from me to convince you that, by the grace of Jesus Christ, our Lord God, the holy church is free from every impure admixture of heretical teaching?” – asked the wondrous Ephraim. “Mr. Patriarch,” said the stylite, let’s light a fire and enter the flames together. Whoever comes out unharmed will be Orthodox, and we will have to follow him. “You, child, should have listened to me as a father,” the patriarch objected, “and not demand anything more, but you demanded from me that which is beyond my weak strength.” However, I trust in the mercy of the Son of God, that for the sake of saving your soul I will do this too. And immediately the wonderful Ephraim turns to those present with the words: “Blessed is the Lord! bring some wood." The firewood has been brought. The Patriarch lights them in front of the pillar and says to the pillar: “Come down from the pillar and, according to your decision, we will both enter the flame.” The stylite was struck by the patriarch’s firm trust in God and did not agree to descend. “Didn’t you want this yourself?” – asked the patriarch. - Why don’t you want to fulfill it now? Having said this, the patriarch took off his omophorion and, coming close to the flame, offered a prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, our God, who deigned for our sake to truly be incarnate from our Lady, the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, show us the truth yourself!” And, having finished the prayer, he threw his omophorion into the middle of the flame. The fire burned for about three hours. The wood was all burnt, but the omophorion turned out to be intact and unharmed, without even a sign of the flame. Seeing this, the stylite, convinced of the truth, was moved, cursed Severus and his heresy and joined the saint. churches. Having received communion from the hands of blessed Ephraim, he glorified God. (Spiritual meadow, Blessed I. Mosha). Evan. from John, count. 27th, 29th, ch. VII. 37–52, VIII, 12 art. 1. I. Christ on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles The Feast of Tabernacles, reminiscent of the repose of the people in the land of promise from the labors of wandering, was a holiday together with the law, since then most people were busy reading it, and for the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 14:16) it symbolically meant the time of gathering in Jerusalem of all nations to worship the true God. On the last day of this holiday, according to custom, a symbolic libation of water was made from the source of Siloam (this water is indicated in the same chapter of Zechariah and Ezekiel), which flowed under the mountain of the church, while singing from the prophet Isaiah: you who are thirsty, come to the water (XII, 9). Probably, by applying this meaning to the holiday and actions, the Lord, appearing on this day in the assembly of the people, said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” And comparing Himself with a church from under which water flows, he applies this comparison to those who believe in Him. Just as He pours out living water, so those who believe in His name, having received the Spirit, will not only have this water within themselves, in their hearts, but will also pour it out to others, spreading the light of the knowledge of God everywhere. The Divine Voice fell silent. Judgments and disputes about Jesus began again. Some saw Him as a prophet, others as the Messiah Himself, but at the same time, some said that the Messiah, as the son of David, should be expected not from Galilee, but from Judea, namely from Bethlehem; others said that there were not even prophets from Galilee. There were even those who expressed a desire to seize Him; but the servants of the church, on whom this was entrusted by the Sanhedrin, returned, at the end of the holiday, without success, declaring that they could not take Him, because no man had ever spoken like this Man. Finally, in the Sanhedrin itself, when deliberating on this case, there appeared a division, which was even more likely to arm His enemies against Jesus. Having listened with indignation to the report of the messengers, they answered them: “Are you really deceived? Did any of the rulers or the Pharisees believe in Him? One people believes in Him. But these people are ignorant of the law—cursed are they.” At this time, Nicodemus dared to notice to the members of the Sanhedrin that they were acting unfairly, concluding their judgment about a Man whose deeds they did not know well and had not listened to. - “What are we looking for? “There was no prophet from Galilee,” the others answered him, forgetting in the darkness of their minds that Elijah, Jonah and, perhaps, even Nahum were from there. And they remarked to him with ridicule: aren’t you yourself from Galilee, standing up for the Galilean in this way? Thus, without entering into further investigation of the matter, they decided to excommunicate from the synagogue everyone who recognized Jesus as the Messiah. (See Evangelical history by Archpriest A. Gorsky, pp. 245–250). Jesus Christ chose His disciples from poor and uneducated people; some were fishermen and lived by their craft. The Lord commanded them to preach His word throughout the world. They had to convert Jews and pagans, speak to the learned and wise, to the strong and noble people. The task assigned to them was difficult. It could not be accomplished without God's help. And this help was promised to them by Jesus Christ, Who commanded them not to leave Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from above. He promised them the gift of miracles, knowledge of languages, and promised them His constant presence with the believers. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth,” He told them. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you to the end of the age.” After these words, the Lord ascended to heaven. The disciples returned to Jerusalem, where they remained in constant prayer, waiting with joy and hope for the Comforter promised to them, the Holy Spirit. They all remained in constant prayer in the upper room on Mount Zion. With them was the Mother of Jesus, some women who had believed in the Lord, and other believers. The day of Pentecost was approaching. This holiday was celebrated solemnly in Jerusalem on the fiftieth day after Easter. They remembered the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Houses and synagogues were decorated with tree branches; many people came to Jerusalem from all countries of the world. The believers were praying unanimously in an upper room on Mount Zion, when suddenly, at the third hour of the day, which by our reckoning means at nine o’clock in the morning, a great noise came from the sky, as if from a strong wind, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, descended on each of those praying; they were all filled with strength and divine wisdom; everyone suddenly received a great gift from above, knowledge of languages, which should have made it easier for them to preach the gospel to all nations. Hearing the noise, many people surrounded the house in which the apostles were; there were many foreigners here and many Jews who lived in foreign lands and came to Jerusalem for the holiday. The apostles came out to them and began to speak to everyone in their natural language, preaching about the great deeds of God. Everyone was amazed at this. Then Peter began to explain the prophecies that predicted the coming of Jesus Christ, and announced that all these prophecies were now fulfilled, that Christ was born, was crucified and then resurrected, that He had now poured out the Holy Spirit on His apostles. Those who heard this were touched in their hearts and said: “What should we do?” Peter answered them: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, that you may receive forgiveness of sins; and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is given to you and to everyone whom the Lord calls. Save yourself from this corrupt generation." On this day, about 3,000 people turned to Christ and were baptized. They began to live together with the apostles and had everything in common, and were constantly in prayer and breaking bread, i.e. performed the sacrament of the Eucharist established by the Lord. The Matchmaking Church solemnly commemorates the Descent of the Holy Spirit. This holiday is called Pentecost Day, and also Trinity Day. Churches and houses are decorated with tree branches and flowers in memory of the fact that under the shade of green tabernacles the Jews also celebrated the giving of the law to them. In glorification of the new grace poured out on the apostles, the church sings: “Blessed art thou, O Christ our God, who are wise fishers of things, having sent down upon them the Holy Spirit, and with them caught the universe, O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.” Blessed be Christ our God, Who revealed the wise fishers, sending down the Holy Spirit to them, and through them caught the universe. Lover of humanity, glory to You! He caught the universe, which means: he attracted the whole world to the true faith. The word caught is used here because the Lord said to the apostles, who were fishermen, catchers of fish: I will make you fishers of men. The liturgy on this holiday is different in that it is immediately followed by Great Vespers with three kneeling prayers. The day following Pentecost is called the day of the Holy Spirit and is a continuation of the same holiday. (See the book “Stories about the earthly life of the Savior” by Bakhmeteva, 15th edition, 1900). 3. Explanation of the custom of decorating churches and houses on Trinity Day with greenery and flowers Remembering on this day the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, we have the custom of decorating the churches of God and our homes with green herbs and flowers. And we ourselves stand in the church of God, holding in our hands green branches of trees and fragrant flowers. And everywhere on the streets, squares and in houses we see the same decoration with flowers and tree branches. Where does this custom come from? Is this custom established and still observed in our church without any basis? No, nothing is done in our Orthodox Church without a reason. If you think about it and delve deeper into this pious custom, it has deep meaning and significance. It is not for nothing that it has been established for a long time and has been carried on in our church from ancient times, because in our church there is no such custom that would not have any meaning and significance. True, this custom is not prescribed to us either in the Holy Scriptures or in the church charter. However, there are very many pious customs and institutions of the Orthodox Church, which are not prescribed either by Holy Scripture, or by church statutes and statutes, but are passed on from century to century through tradition and long-standing use. Among such customs is the custom of decorating our churches and homes with green branches, herbs and flowers on the Feast of Pentecost. This custom has been established since ancient times; it dates back to the times of the apostles. St. Augustine testifies to it in the 5th century. It has deep antiquity behind it and is sanctified by the example of the holy men of the first times of Christianity. Therefore, on this day of the holiday, for our edification, let us consider where this pious custom comes from and what its meaning and significance is. First of all, the custom of decorating our churches and homes on the Feast of Pentecost is taken from the example of the patriarchal church. So, Abraham at the oak of Mamre, seeing three wanderers, invites them to his place to rest and offers them a warm treat. According to the understanding of the godly fathers (Proc. Gazsk. T. I, p. 23), the Lord Himself appeared to Abraham in three persons in the person of three strangers. Hence, from ancient times, a custom arose - to depict the three faces of the Holy Trinity on icons in the form of three wanderers treated by Abraham under the shade of one of the trees of the Mamvrian oak grove. As a result, the custom of decorating houses and churches with leafy branches and flowers on the Feast of Pentecost was a remembrance of the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity to Abraham at the Oak of Mamre. The churches and dwellings of Orthodox Christians, thus, serve as a kind of image of that tabernacle of Abraham, where three divine travelers rested under the shade of the oak of Mamre. So, brothers, looking at the plants and herbs surrounding you on this holiday in the church and in your homes, your thoughts are transported to the appearance of the Trinitarian God to Abraham. Give reverent thanks to the Lord God, who appears to us in images accessible to our senses and so clearly approaches us, sinners, with such grace that a person like us converses with God face to face! But at the same time, try to confirm in yourself the disposition of spirit that Abraham had when he met and accepted the Lord. Namely: try to imitate in life his unshakable faith in God, his deep humility, his love for his neighbor, and so on. In this way you will become like Abraham, who accepted the Lord to himself, and in this way you will attract to yourself, like Abraham, God’s blessing and His love for you. We see the custom of decorating churches and houses with green herbs and flowers on the Feast of Pentecost in another example of the Old Testament church. On the Feast of Pentecost, the Jews decorated their synagogues and houses with tree branches, herbs and flowers in remembrance of the fact that the law given by God on Mount Sinai was given at a time of year when everything was green in nature (Ex. 34:3). Moreover, during the Jews’ wanderings in the desert, they lived in tents made of tree branches (Works of the Holy Fathers, 1857, p. 271). The Ten Commandments of the Sinai legislation are also obligatory and necessary for us Christians. Therefore, the pious custom of the Old Testament church to decorate homes and synagogues with plants can easily be maintained in our Christian church, especially since the Zion Upper Room, in which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles on the day of Pentecost, according to the Old Testament custom, was also decorated with tree branches and flowers. Therefore, the apostles and leading Christians maintained this custom in the Christian church. This custom has come down to us in the same form as it was under the apostles in the primal church. We also find the custom of decorating our homes with herbs and flowers on the Feast of Pentecost in a new example of the Old Testament church. In it, on the feast of Pentecost, it was prescribed by law, as a sign of gratitude to God, to bring Him the first fruits of the harvest, which in Palestine was ending by this time (Lev.23:14-20. Num. XXIII 26). Likewise, in the Christian Church, the custom of bringing the first products of the plant kingdom to the church at the beginning of spring has been maintained. This wonderful custom testifies to our desire to offer the Lord God a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for the spring renewal of nature. In our church charter there is no requirement to establish a special celebration on the occasion of the spring renewal of visible nature. But now, the feast of Pentecost is approaching, so to speak, that time of year when plant life in nature appears in full strength and freshness. And therefore, the thought of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, remembered on this holiday, very clearly points us to another thought - to the actions of the same Spirit of God in the realm of visible nature. As at the beginning, during the creation of the visible world, the Spirit of God moved above the waters (Gen. 1:2), which poured His life-giving power into the unstructured substance of creation; so in the already created nature, everything that vegetates and lives vegetates and lives by the power of the same All-Holy Spirit: send Thy Spirit and they will be created and renew the face of the earth (Ps. 103:30), says the psalmist. Therefore, the custom of decorating churches and homes on the day of Pentecost with green branches and flowers more eloquently than words expresses the feelings of our praise and thanksgiving to the Spirit of God, who renews the face of the earth. Thus, looking at tree branches and flowers, we will always imagine that with these flowers and branches we offer a kind of thanksgiving sacrifice worthy of God, who renews spring nature after a long winter sleep. Finally, the custom of decorating buildings with tree branches and flowers on the holiday of Pentecost has both moral meaning and significance for us. These flowers and tree branches point us to ourselves, to our spiritual, moral state, which we should have in life. Look: the flowers are turning green, blooming and smelling wonderful. This should be the life of every Christian. It should be adorned and bloom with good and pious deeds. She should shine with those wonderful qualities of mind and heart that attract everyone to her, such as: piety, faith in God, humility, meekness, love for others, etc. Just as flowers with their fragrance and beauty attract and attract the eyes of everyone, so piety, faith and love attract the hearts of everyone. Our pious life should shine and blossom with deeds of virtue so that it can be an image and example for others and so that it serves for the glory of God. Thus let your light shine before men, said the Savior, for they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). So, brothers, holding fragrant flowers in our hands on this holiday, let us try to demonstrate this or that virtue in our lives, if we have not had it before. Look: there is a forget-me-not in your bunch of flowers. Looking at this flower, do not forget the Lord God and the Mother of God, who loves you, protects you and prays to God for you. Here you have a lily; - looking at this flower, remember God’s commandment not to worry about excessive decoration and outfits, but to keep your heart pure and immaculate from all vanity and impurity. Here you have cornflowers. Let this flower indicate that sin should not reign in us, but that our spirit should reign over the flesh and passions. So think about other colors and try to find in them certain lessons of faith and morality. May every green branch of a tree with fragrant leaves teach us the abundant and life-giving fruits of virtue. And a dry and lifeless branch indicates the sad image of a sinner who does not have the living fruits of virtue and is dead to spiritual life. Look further and observe. Just as trees in winter, without the influence of the sun's heat and warmth, seem to die from the effects of the cold, stand naked and leafless, such is the state that occurs in the soul of a sinner. She dies spiritually without the life-giving breath of the Spirit of God. In such a state, although our soul, apparently, lives, thinks, feels and carries out its actions, these actions are, without the assistance of the Spirit of God, as if dead, lifeless, because they do not produce the good fruits of virtue. On the contrary, in a person in whom the life-giving power of the Spirit of God shines, the beautiful fruits of virtue appear. These fruits of virtue are one more beautiful and attractive than the other and, according to the apostle, are: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, faith, meekness, self-control (Gal. 5:22). Therefore, we will try to attract the breath of the Spirit of God. What and how? A pious and immaculate life, faith, prayers, humility and other good qualities. Thus, from examining tree branches and flowers, we each learn moral progress in faith and piety. Brothers Christians, we have seen where, from what example, the custom of decorating our churches and houses with flowers and tree branches on the Feast of Pentecost originated; Let us take care to observe this pious custom. But, at the same time, let us take care to learn from this custom lessons of faith and morality in life. Such a custom will serve you for the benefit of your soul, to improve yourself in morality for the future life. (“Tamb. Ep. Ved.”). 4. Those who are thirsty and called by the Savior “On the last great day of the holiday, Jesus stood and cried out, saying: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37) - the words of the Gospel read today. This last day of the Jewish eight-day holiday of Pentecost represented the current day of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and on all Christians. On this day, the Jewish high priest solemnly, accompanied by priests and people, left the temple of Jerusalem to the source of Siloam and, having drawn water here with a golden cup, brought it to the church and poured it onto the altar. This water depicted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on people at the coming of the Messiah Christ to earth. When the high priest performed such a ritual of pouring out water, Jesus Christ, the true Messiah expected on earth, stood in the church in a high and prominent place and loudly spoke to the Jews: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink,” that is, if any of you Jews sincerely desires, thirsts for the coming of the Messiah Christ to earth in order to receive from Him the abundant grace of the Holy One. Spirit, then here I am before you, the Messiah you have been waiting for: come to Me, everyone, and draw from Me, as from an abundant source, as much grace as anyone wants; widen your thirsty lips and drink as much as you want. These very words are now being extended to us by the Lord from St. Gospel: “If anyone is thirsty, come to me, draw grace from me and drink.” To whom exactly among us does the loving Lord extend these significant words of the Gospel? Who are these thirsty ones among us whom He calls to Himself? These are, firstly, those unfortunate and bitter people who, suffering from extreme poverty, homelessness, resentment of their neighbors, from family discord, or from illness, from separation from those close to their hearts, or from some other misfortune, desire and crave relief and consolation for themselves. Raise your bowed heads, you sufferers of life! Incline your dull ears to the calling of the Lord, He calls you to Himself; draw closer to Him, fall down before Him with your tearful prayer, tell Him your grief, your sadness and, putting aside all grumbling about your fate, place all your hope in Him; and truly, you will drink the grace pouring straight from His loving heart; truly, He Himself will comfort your soul, calm and delight your torn and thirsty heart. Be assured of this by His true words: come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Secondly, those who are thirsty, whom the Savior now calls to Himself, are those of us who, being burdened with various sins and vices, desire, thirst to sincerely repent, cleanse our souls and calm our conscience. Why are you delaying, sinful souls seeking repentance! Hear the sweet voice of the merciful Savior: if anyone thirsts for forgiveness of sins, let him come to Me and drink the grace of remission. He has been calling you to Himself for a long time, has long been waiting for your true repentance: rise up and be encouraged and now approach Him with a contrite and humble heart, now confess to Him all your sins before His servant - the priest: and you will undoubtedly drink from Him the grace of mercy and forgiveness, He will undoubtedly cleanse your soul and calm your troubled conscience. For our humane Savior accepts all sinners with love and forgives all who repent, whatever their sins, as He Himself assures: He did not come to call the righteous, but the sinner to repentance (Matthew 9:13). Thirdly, thirsty Christians are those Christians who, not seeing anything truly good in themselves, neither love for God and neighbors, nor proper zeal and warmth in prayer, nor meekness and humility, nor a firm determination to move away from sin and live according to God’s commandments, remain dissatisfied with themselves and therefore want and thirst to live a truly Christian life, to kindle in their hearts love for God and neighbors, to love prayer, to move away from all sin and establish yourself in virtue. Christians, languishing with this saving thirst for piety and virtue, take heed! - Isn’t it you especially who the Savior is now calling to Himself to quench your spiritual thirst? Expand the thirsty lips of your soul and rush to the life-giving source, Sweetest Jesus, and through the communion of His body and blood, drink from Him the abundant waters of the grace of the Holy Spirit, who will strengthen your weak forces for all good, inflame your heart with love for God and your neighbors, kindle in you the spirit of unflagging prayer and give you strength to overcome all sin. And so all, all who are thirsty - thirsty for consolation in the sorrows of life, thirsty for the cleansing of their sins, thirsty for piety and virtue, all come to your Savior, who is now calling you to Himself, and receive from Him, in your tearful prayer - the grace of consolation in your sorrows; in your sincere repentance - the grace of cleansing your sins, and in holy communion - the grace of sanctification, strengthening and love and virtue. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. (See Instruction by Archpriest A. Phlegmatov, ed. 1898) 5. An example of love for truth 29 God's law commands us to maintain truth in all our words and actions, and not to lie or deceive under any circumstances. Truth, established in human society, strengthens its well-being. It generates mutual trust, nourishes love and, stimulating forces to unanimous action, leads all our endeavors to the desired success. If we all tried to live in truth, avoid lies and deception, our lives would flow calmer, safer, in peace and quiet. Nothing causes so much evil between people as from untruth. Deceit, deceit, and theft undermine the general welfare. Everyone suffers in this case - both honest workers and unrighteous money-grubbers themselves. Those who resort to lies in order to gain benefits for themselves usually end up in great misfortune. When convicted of untruth, they lose honor, trust, and sometimes even their very social position, with which their very means of livelihood are connected. Thus, the path of untruth, lies, deceit and deception is a direct path to human impoverishment. Even if some people manage to increase their well-being by untruth, this always does not last for long. What is easily acquired is easy to live; what is acquired with evil, will perish with evil. The tears of those offended by the unrighteous money-grubber reach the Just God and bring down the wrath of God on human unrighteousness. Can a person’s well-being be secure when the wrath of God weighs over him, when he is deprived of God’s blessing?.. Unfortunately, many do not understand the obvious manifestations of God’s wrath at untruth and, despite its disastrous consequences, there are always many servants of untruth among people. To lie, deceive and generally hide the truth, especially when it brings benefit, is not considered a sin - and if they are considered, then it is a small, forgivable sin. What happens from such a frivolous judgment about actions is that a bad disposition becomes stronger in the soul and turns into a strong passion, which a person is then unable to cope with. It is especially disastrous when a person from childhood sees examples of lies, deceit and deceit around him, when he himself gets used to the same from an early age, and there is no one to correct these bad habits. It is difficult to correct a crooked tree once it has become established in that position. Thus, the habit of acting untruthfully, lying and deceiving, having taken root in a person’s soul, becomes, as it were, his second nature. Therefore, if we want to preserve ourselves from double-mindedness and guile, if we want to stand steadfastly on the path of truth, we must correct at the very beginning the slightest inclination to deviate from the truth. Our God is the highest truth - everything that deviates from the truth is not pleasing to God. There can be no justifying circumstances for allowing lies in the face of God. One unconditional truth is justified before God. How sacredly one must observe the truth and not allow lies in any apparently excusable cases is shown by the following example from the life of St. Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, whose memory is celebrated on September 3. St. Anthimus lived during the reign of Diocletian, a cruel persecutor of Christians. When at this time the persecutors tried first of all to find and execute the abbots of churches, in order to thereby deprive Christians of leaders, then St. Anthimus, at the special inspiration of God, withdrew from the city for a while and hid in a nearby village. From there he sent exhortations and letters to the Christians committed to trial and imprisoned, encouraging them to the upcoming feat of martyrdom. This became known to the king, and he sent soldiers to find St. Anthima, The soldiers searched for him for a long time and, tired, stopped in the village where he was; they met him here and asked: “Where is Anthimus, the Christian teacher, hiding?” Realizing that the hour of martyrdom had come, St. Anthimus said to the soldiers: “Come into my house and rest; I’ll tell you where the one you’re looking for is hiding.” Having received the soldiers into the house, the saint prepared a meal for them, treating them with all love and cordiality. After the meal, standing before the soldiers, St. Anfim said that he himself was Bishop Anfim, for whom they were sent - “take me and lead me to those who sent you.” The soldiers were amazed by the generosity, meekness and benevolent appearance of the old man, who sheltered and treated them with such sincerity. They all unanimously began to ask St. Anfima escapes, promising to inform the authorities that he was not found anywhere. “No,” answered the saint, “it is a great sin before God to violate the truth; It is criminal to deceive any person, and even more so one’s king, and to allow a lie in the performance of one’s duty. Do your duty honestly, you are innocent of carrying out an illegal order given to you.” With this word he went to the city and what did he do while going to his death? All the way he talked with the soldiers about the Christian faith and so confirmed them that right there on the way, in the river, he baptized them, thus making them children of grace, beloved of God. Presenting himself before the tormentor, St. Anthimus fearlessly confessed his faith in Christ and, after terrible torture, was beheaded by the sword. So, Christians, keep the truth as the apple of your eye, do not betray it under any circumstances. Whoever, out of self-interest or for some personal calculations, begins to deceive himself, will little by little, imperceptibly reach that disastrous state when a person, in the blindness of the mind and in the hardness of the heart, fearlessly tramples on the truth, becoming a criminal before the human court and preparing for himself the wrath of God, “opening up on all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth through unrighteousness.” (Rom.1:18). I am the light of the world (John 8:12), says the Savior of the world about Himself. There was a time when this light visibly shone on earth, illuminated minds with a life-giving word, penetrated into the most cruel hearts, healed the sick and raised the dead; There was a time when this light shone on Tabor like the sun, but on Golgotha ​​it hid from the eyes of the world, turning the day into deep night. The earth and the sun were terrified, the Savior, hiding, You, the non-evening light, Christ, went into the grave carnally, it is sung in a church song (in Great Sub.). Since then, this non-evening light is no longer visible to bodily eyes; but nevertheless it shines and has a life-giving effect in the human race. – Where Jesus Christ is the Son of God, there is the Divine light. Where on earth is our Lord Jesus Christ? Where two or three of us gather and pray in His name. He Himself says: where there are two or three congregations in My name, I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). And where does this happen? In the Church of God. Yes, in church Jesus Christ is with us during services; therefore, here the divine light shines primarily, therefore, here His light can shine for us primarily, here we can primarily enjoy His ineffable glory, and the divine light shines here and we enjoy this light here. That is why it is so good and joyful for us in the church of God. - Therefore, Christian, always, but especially when it’s hard for you for some reason: whether sorrows, troubles threaten, doubts, perplexities disturb, need, poverty weighs you down, despondency, boredom attacks - hurry quickly to the church of God; here you will rest your soul, calm down, you will feel good here, just remember from whom it is good here, from whom the joyful, soothing light shines here: do not forget Jesus Christ; Without the thought of sweet Jesus, nothing in the church will please you, and nothing will calm you down. Further, just as the sun not only shines itself, but communicates its light to other, smaller luminaries, for example, the moon, stars, so our Lord Jesus Christ, this non-evening light, not only shines Himself, but also communicates His light to people and, above all, to the shepherds of the church. You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), Jesus Christ said to the apostles and their successors - the shepherds of the church. The pastors of the church, who have received grace from God, enlighten us with holy baptism, tell us the truths of the Gospel and guide us to eternal salvation in all the paths of our lives. Our duty is to obey and rely on our spiritual shepherds in everything. Finally, the light of Christ can be reflected on all of us. Live in love and harmony among yourself, and you will live in the divine light. He who loves his brother, says the beloved disciple of Christ, abides in the light (1 John 2:10). The blessing of God descends on those people who live among themselves in harmony and love. And from the outside, your heart rejoices when you look at people living in harmony with each other; What kind of joy do they themselves enjoy?.. Unfortunately, such families are rare and such people are few. Many of us, although we bear the name Christians and are called sons of light, are unworthy of such a high name. These are all those who hate their neighbors. He who hates his brother, says St. John the Theologian is in darkness and walks in darkness (1 John 2:11). Meanwhile, the sin of hatred of one’s neighbor is almost common and very often repeated among us. How many different types of this sin are there? Do not envy, blasphemy, slander, murder and many others stem from one main root - hatred? Yes, these sins dominate the human race most of all. If we add to this that love for one’s neighbor is closely connected with love for God, so that whoever, according to the Apostle, does not love his brother cannot love God (1 John 4:20), then it becomes clear that all those who hate their neighbors remain in darkness. Terrible truth! What should we do to belong to the sons of light? What means will we choose for this? Mental illnesses, just like physical illnesses, are for the most part cured by means that are directly opposite to them. Therefore, the real disease—hatred—can and should be treated in the same way. If hatred of our neighbor is the reason that we remain in darkness, then love is a virtue completely opposite to hatred, and can place us in the light. Love is the beginning and soul of all virtues, therefore the one who has it will do everything necessary to remain in the light, will fulfill the whole law, because love, as the apostle says. Paul, is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10). And whoever fulfills the law of Christ is a gracious son of God and, therefore, a son of gracious light. Christ the King, Holy Light, turn those who praise You from darkness of ignorance to faith! Enlighten us with the light of Your face, and grant Your peace to us who cry out to You from the darkness of sin. (See “Resurrection sheet.” No. 208, ed. “V. Den”). 7. The action of God's grace in converting a sinner to the path of salvation For three years I have been a priest in the village, writes one shepherd, and it’s been a year since I met one gentleman about whom I want to talk. 186... in the summer, a young man about 25 years old came to our village and settled in a clean house. This house, standing on a mountain and surrounded by a dark impassable forest, first belonged to one landowner, then it came into the possession of the peasants and has now been sold to a newly arrived gentleman. This gentleman, or, as the peasants called him, “master,” at first did not go out anywhere, then two weeks later I saw him in the church. His physiognomy was one of those that catches the eye from the very first time and arouses curiosity in anyone who just had time to look at it. Despite his young years, his face was wrinkled, wrinkles lay in whole folds here and there and involuntarily said that his youth had not passed without shocks and storms. He began to visit our church often, and not only on holidays, even on weekdays one could see him praying somewhere in the corner, with the faint flickering of a lamp. He always came early, left late, and each time with some special reverence he kissed the cross and took the antidor from me. The appearance of such a gentleman, who came from I don’t know where, I don’t know why and, as I heard, expected to stay with us forever, his unsociability and, especially, piety - all this interested me, and I decided to get to know him in any way; but it was quite difficult to get to know him. Summer has passed, now winter is coming to an end... The life-giving rays of the February sun have already begun to disturb the icy crust of the earth. St. Pentecost; The church bell hummed sadly and rarely, calling sinful souls thirsting for cleansing to repentance, and somehow these blows resonated especially well in the soul of a true Christian. It’s already the heel of the first week, and I, significantly tired of confessing to the parishioners, return home and find out that a note was sent to me from the master: “I ask you, unknown but respected priest, welcome to my apartment this evening.” I was very interested in this short note, and I hurried to go to the unfamiliar gentleman. At my light knock, the door of the secluded house opened, and I met a gentleman with a smiling face on the threshold. “Come here, father, to this room, and I’ll come to you now,” he told me, and went into the opposite room. The room I entered was small. The walls, covered with purple wallpaper, have taken on a dark appearance over time; the curtains drawn down over the windows and not letting any light into the room made this small closet seem somehow gloomy. In front stood a carved Crucifix, and in front of it lay a prayer book laid out. On the table in front of the sofa lay the Gospel in Russian translation, several spiritual magazines, a huge artificial skull and some pieces of paper. I walked around the room for a while and sat down in a chair, waiting for the owner. “Hello, father,” he finally said, entering the room and approaching me for blessing. “Hello,” I answered, blessing him. - Please excuse me for disturbing you at such a time - now it’s already 11 o’clock and you, perhaps, wanted to go to bed soon... “For mercy... why such apologies,” I responded. “As a person, it will be very interesting for me to get to know you, because there is no one here with whom I can talk about anything serious; then, as a shepherd, I must, according to my duty, come to you, because perhaps you need me, as a shepherd, as a spiritual doctor. – That’s right: I need you as a doctor... I need your teaching, your warm, sympathetic, instructive word. – I am very, very glad that I can serve you! I ask you to say everything that is in your soul; my job is to share all the needs of my flock, heal their wounds and bring them to the Heavenly Father... - Thank you, thank you, father... so let me ask you for your attention and patience to listen to the story of my short but bad life. When you recognize it, it will be better for you to prescribe one or another remedy for my healing. “My father,” he began, was a small landowner; in Y... province, D... district, one village belonged to him. In this village, my father had a large house in which he constantly lived and in which I received my initial education. My father was almost always at home and, together with my mother, tried to instill in me the beginnings of all goodness and “Christian piety.” Both of them loved to tell me various sacred stories, and often, listening to these stories during the long winter evening, I fell asleep where I was sitting. And, my God, what sweet dreams I had then! Everything I heard that evening was reflected in my dreams, and in my truly innocent imagination, as if in a fog, dear, sacred images from the stories of my parents flashed by. This is how I see it now - the Savior in a crown of thorns, stained with blood, hanging on the cross, His eyes are full of love, and He asks God the Father to release the tormentors: “They don’t know what they are doing!” And the Mother of God - as I now see - stands at the cross, with a pale face, full of boundless love for her suffering Son - and how much torment and suffering is expressed in her eyes! All these dreams filled my soul with inexplicable bliss, I experienced a lot of things that are sometimes inaccessible to another person, and some kind of unearthly smile appeared on my face, as my kind mother said. And how much joy they had when they admired me at my crib: “he talks with angels,” they said. My life flowed quietly and smoothly, and I was an exemplary child. I prayed, and my childhood prayer was sincere, fervent and warm - life was good then, and it is impossible now to remember this childhood life without a joyful sinking heart. But this blissful life did not always have to continue: I turned 10 years old, and I entered one of the secular secondary educational institutions. It was hard for me to get used to the new life; in the institution in which I entered, I no longer heard the warm, truly religious instruction that was given to me at every step at home. At first I was religious and prayed often. I prayed... but this prayer was often the reason for the ridicule of my stupid and bad comrades. All the pupils of this institution, without the supervision of God-fearing parents, were terrible blasphemers, and their caustic ridicule rained down on my head for my piety. Time passed, I had no support, and my desire for prayer gradually began to weaken and finally disappeared completely, first because I was afraid of my comrades, then it turned into a habit; I pestered my comrades, and prayer never came to my mind again. Our conversations and conversations were the most dirty, ungodly: mockery of the Holy Scriptures, of worship, of the zeal and religiosity of some priests and ordinary people - that was the constant subject of our conversations. At first I was jarred by all this, then time and society dulled me and this last manifestation of goodness was a remnant of home education. But still, no matter how vulgar I was in this environment, I had the consciousness that I was sinning before God by this, but I continued to do the same thing with my comrades... Sometimes - this happened very often - I felt the need to pray and even began to pray, but it was no longer the same prayer - it was rather mechanical work, not warmed by the heart, and I felt that something was missing in me... Time passed, I moved to the last grade, and then My downfall finally took place, and the previous ridicule of the rituals and religiosity of people turned into complete ridicule of the entire Divine religion. Time flew by, and I became a notorious unbelieving madman. The existence of God, the existence of the soul, the future afterlife - I considered all this a product of fantasy and laughed evilly at everything. The cross is an instrument of our salvation, I threw it off myself and looked at it with some contempt. When I stood in church, on the orders of the authorities, how I mocked, how I laughed at the performance of the divine service! When fasting days came, I deliberately tried to eat fast food in order to show complete contempt for church decrees. Holy icons and lives of saints were the main objects of my ridicule. In a word, at that time I was some kind of monster, not a person. But then the time came for me to leave the establishment, and then with all my strength I rushed into the abyss of destruction, and I carried away many pure and innocent souls with me... Yes, for these fallen souls I will have to give a terrible account to the Lord! I tempted them, and the scripture says: “Woe to that man through whom temptation comes!” Our reason is too weak to stop us from vulgarity when there is no voice of conscience in us, or, more accurately, when this voice of conscience is drowned out by a vicious life; so did I: having drowned out everything sacred in my heart, although I tried to be guided in everything by reason, it did not help me - and I finally perished. Surrounded by godless and depraved comrades and women who had lost shame and conscience, I spent whole nights drinking bottles of wine, and what never happened in these noisy demonic orgies!.. As time passed, I became even more corrupted and was finally mired in the abyss of vice. It seemed - what more: the man was completely dead, and no outside hand could pull me out of this whirlpool; but, to know, there is no sin that overcomes the mercy of God, to know, the Lord does not want the sinner to die, but to turn and live for him; if man could not help me, then the Almighty Lord, Whom I rejected, helped; a special action of His Providence turned me to the true path and called me to moral revival. One year my good parents died of cholera; their warm prayer before the throne of the Most High must have led to the correction of their lost son. Upon receiving the news of their death, I went to the village to their grave. It’s strange: no matter how I vulgarized, no matter how I laughed at all the holy feelings of a person, still this attachment to parents remained, and the cold depraved mind gave in to the voice of the heart - the desire to visit the grave, and did not ridicule it. I attribute this to the special action of God’s Providence, because this trip to my homeland was the beginning or reason for my correction. Arriving in my native village, I asked the church watchman where the grave of such and such was, and, without thinking of crossing myself at the church, I went to the indicated place... Now the grave is already 10 steps away from me, now I see a fresh mound, but... suddenly it darkened in my eyes, my breath took away, my head began to spin, and I fell unconscious to the ground. I don’t know what happened to me here, only I came to consciousness in an apartment rented by my servant from a peasant. From his stories I learned that everyone around me thought that I had a stroke; because I was unconscious, with a purple face and foam at the mouth. The next day I got up completely healthy and, no matter how much I racked my brains, I could not explain to myself why I had such a fit. Then I again went to the grave at the same hours of the day, but what was my surprise when this time the same thing happened to me as yesterday! Thinking that I had suffered from an epileptic illness, which periodically returned at certain hours of the day, on the third day I stayed at home and did not have an attack. But when I went on the fourth day and as soon as I began to approach the grave, the previous attack repeated again. Getting up the next morning, I met my servant looking somehow frightened, afraid of me. Later I found out that he immediately decided that there was something evil in these attacks, and that I must be too sinful if the Lord did not allow me to go to the grave of my parents. He was happier than me then: he had faith in Providence, faith in God, but I was a pitiful person and did not want to recognize the actions of the finger of God in all this. However, I was rather puzzled by these strange attacks, and I sent for the doctor. The doctor promised to arrive the next day, and while waiting for him, I fell asleep at about 12 at night. In the morning I woke up early, and - my God - it’s terrible to remember: I could not move, my tongue did not obey, I lay completely relaxed, my body was all on fire, my lips were dry, I felt terrible thirst and completely lost heart. The doctor came, examined me and gave me medicine. Treatment has begun... At first the doctor prescribed me medicine without difficulty, but then sometimes he stood over my bed for a long time, biting his lips, and then one day, after six weeks of treatment, he wrote to me on paper: “When dealing with a man, I always openly talk about his illness, no matter how dangerous it is: your illness is inexplicable, despite my efforts to discover it; therefore, not foreseeing success from my labors, I leave you to wait until it opens by itself.” Imagine my horror when I was abandoned by human help, which I had only hoped for! Another has hope for higher help, but it has been rejected by my depraved mind. Time passed, my illness intensified even more, pimples appeared on my body, which turned into purulent wounds, from which a foul odor emanated; and I didn't know what to do. For whole nights I did not sleep and did not find peace for myself - and what terrible pictures were painted in my imagination then! So, as I remember now, one day I imagined: a gloomy, damp, stuffy dungeon... the stench does not let you breathe, there is darkness all around... moans, screams and some kind of wild growl are coming from everywhere... I felt scared, a chill ran through my skin, I shuddered and opened my eyes... The candle burned dimly... it was dark in the room, and I forcibly forgot myself. As soon as I began to fall asleep, I suddenly felt another hand in my hand. I shuddered, opened my eyes and - my God - what did I see? my mother stood in front of me I could not imagine how and how she found herself in front of me. But she died, I thought, how can she exist? Meanwhile, my heart beat at the sight of my dear mother. She was all in white and only in one place was there a black spot; her face was gloomy, and she was all in some kind of twilight. “I am your mother,” she began; - your iniquities and your dissolute life, full of unbelief and atheism, reached the Lord, and He wanted to destroy you, wipe you off the face of the earth. You not only destroyed yourself, but even stained us, and this black spot on my clothes is your grave sins. The Lord, I say, wanted to strike you, but your father and I prayed before the throne of the Most High for you, and He wanted to turn you to Himself not with mercy, because you could not understand this, but with severity. He knew that our grave alone was dear to you here, and therefore he did not allow you to go to it, striking you with a supernatural illness, so that you would recognize a higher power over yourself, which you rejected, but you did not convert! Then the Lord sent me to you - this is the last resort for your correction. You did not recognize God, the future life, the immortality of the soul, but here is proof of the afterlife: I died, but I appeared and speak to you. Believe in the God you deny. Remember your mother, who, without sparing her life, tried to make you a true Christian.” With these words, her face darkened even more, muffled grave sobs rang out in the room and shook my soul. “Once again I conjure you,” the mother continued, “turn to God. “You don’t believe, and perhaps you think to explain my phenomenon by a disorder of your imagination, but know that your explanations are false, and I stand before you with my spiritual being.” And, as proof of this, here is the cross you rejected - accept it, otherwise you will perish. Believe - and your illness will be healed miraculously. Destruction and eternal hell are yours if you reject me!” That's what the mother said and disappeared. I came to my senses and saw my small cross in my hand; the whole room smelled of something indescribably good. The supernatural appearance of my mother, her requests and curses shook my soul to the deepest depths; It seems that such a revolution has never happened to me, my conscience rose with all its strength, my old convictions collapsed - and in a minute, it seems, I was completely reborn. What a sweet, incomprehensible feeling appeared in my chest, and I really wanted to thank God for His mercy, for His gracious conversion of me; but then I heard that someone was coming towards me... I listened, and a footman entered my room, holding a tea cup with water. - “Try it, father, maybe it will be easier; “This is holy water from the life-giving cross,” said my lackey, handing me a cup. I gladly accepted his offer and, encouraged by him, drank some water. God! I cannot remember this wonderful moment without tears: I immediately felt healthy, my limbs began to obey, my tongue began to speak freely, only spots remained where the scabs had been, and this confirmed my mother’s words. I got up and my first thing was to pray in front of the image that the footman brought, but I didn’t have my own, because I considered it superstition! After that, I went to church and prayed there... And how much sincerity there was in this unfeigned prayer, when the soul could freely express itself before the Lord, after long-term slavery in the shackles of sin and serving Satan! Immediately I went to my dear grave... I kissed it, cried, and these tears washed my former life and were the repentance of the prodigal son. The day of my healing, both spiritual and physical, was the 15th of July, and I always celebrate it as the day of my deliverance. After staying there for a few more days, I decided to leave from there to here, because one comrade of my violent life had joined the judicial investigators, and I did not want to see him. I won’t go into the world, because I’m disgusted with it. I want to work hard here, to make amends for my old life. Tomorrow you will have communicants, and perhaps you will allow me, after confession, to partake of St. the terrible and life-giving Mysteries of Christ, because I have not been honored with this for ten years - you will advise me what I should do to make amends for my previous life.” I talked to this gentleman for a long, long time, I gave him a lot of advice, and finally I went home. Glory to Thee, merciful God, who showed the light to this man, I thought, walking along the road and heartily rejoicing at the conversion of a sinful soul to the path of truth (See Letters of the Holy Mountain; sn. Good Word, Priest G. Dyachenko, part III). First Sunday after Pentecost, All Saints Evang. Matt. zach. 38 and 79; Ch. X, 32–33; 37–38 centuries; Ch. XIX, 27–30 Art. I. Explanation of the Gospel read on All Saints Sunday Many people sometimes say: “How can we be saved? We are worldly people, sinners, we have been fussing and sinning all our lives: our worries have overcome us.” It is sad, brethren, to hear such speech from an Orthodox Christian: the path to salvation must be known to all of us. Such speeches could be spoken by pagans who lived before the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, who did not know His teachings, who were not baptized into the Orthodox faith, St. no secrets were shared. But we, the beloved children of Christ, should not think and speak like that, for the path to salvation has been shown to us. For example, it is also spoken about in the gospel, which you heard today during the liturgy. Read it again and think about what you read. “Everyone who has confessed Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. And whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32–33). Hear, the Lord demands from those seeking salvation that he be His confessor before people. What does this mean? To understand this, listen to how St. speaks about the same thing. Apostle Paul: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9). So this is what, first of all, it means to be a confessor of Christ: it means not only to believe in Him in your soul, but also to openly declare with your lips that you believe in Him, not to hide your faith from others, not to be ashamed of it, but to boldly and openly reveal yourself as a Christian. We say directly and fearlessly that our earthly fatherland is Orthodox Rus', that the Father of the fatherland is our Most Pious Sovereign. Likewise, directly and fearlessly confess that you believe in another fatherland – the heavenly one and walk under the protection of the Lord who is in heaven. But this is not enough to be a true confessor of Jesus Christ. He Himself said in another place: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of My Father, but he who does My will” (Matthew 7:21). This means that verbal confession is not enough for the Lord; He expects from us confession in practice, so that all our actions are in agreement with His will, so that we also openly and boldly in practice show ourselves to be Christians everywhere and always. Judge for yourself: if any of you had a son who would please his father in words but insult his father in deeds; Would not his father have said to him: “My son! Your kind words are not enough for me; prove by your very actions that you love me!” Likewise, in relation to the Heavenly Father, it is not enough that we say: “we are an Orthodox people, we are not Jews or Tatars;” but we need to show in practice that we are an Orthodox people, enlightened by the light of Christ’s Gospel. A living example for us in this case is St. confessors of Christ. They lived a long time ago, in those centuries when the Church of Christ was still persecuted by pagan emperors. These pagan emperors sought out Christians everywhere and brought them before their courts. "Who are you?" they asked the Christian, “What is your name?” “I am a Christian,” answered St. courageously. a champion of the faith of Christ and fearlessly went to the most cruel tortures and death for his Orthodox faith. This is what it means to be a confessor of Christ. “I also will confess (him) before My heavenly Father.” This is the reward the Lord promises His confessors. He Himself, before His heavenly Father, will testify to the love of His confessors for Him. For love He promises love, for our earthly confession - His heavenly confession. If in earthly life you sometimes say: “You can ask anyone about me, everyone will say that I am an honest person;” If another servant proudly displays the written approval given to him by his master, then shouldn’t we all the more seek and desire the heavenly testimony about us, the testimony of Jesus Christ about our virtues before His Father in heaven? And if we believe the promises of men, can we doubt the promise of the Lord? “Where I am,” He said, there My servant will also be (John 14:3): I go to prepare mansions for you” (John 14:2). That is why we should never lose heart if we are repaid with evil for good, untruth for truth, or malice for love. Just always remember that in heaven we have a true Witness to our goodness, Who sees everything, hears everything, and that He has prepared blessed abodes for those who love Him. The saints trusted in Him. martyrs who shed their blood in His name, and He miraculously helped them during their suffering. So, remember the suffering of St. Great Martyr Panteleimon. He was thrown to be devoured by wild beasts, but they fell at his feet; They threw him into the sea, and he walked on it as if on dry land. St. torment. Bonifatius (Dec. 19) was poured melted tin down his throat by his tormentors, but St. remained unharmed; They threw him into a cauldron of boiling resin, but he also came out of it healthy. Thus, even on earth, the Lord glorifies His confessors: what joy awaits them in the Kingdom of Heaven? But just as one can confess the Lord in word and deed, so one can reject Him in word and deed. If someone does not live according to the commandments, someone who does not leave their lips with swear words, who gets drunk with wine beyond measure, brings discord into the family, drives the beggar away from their windows, oppresses the orphans, then all these people reject Christ, and He will deny them before His heavenly Father. But think: what could be more regrettable than this? If it is bitter for a person, even a criminal, when all people reject him and expel him in chains to Siberia and even further, then won’t it be a thousand times more bitter for us when the Lord Jesus Christ denies us? How will we feel when we hear His menacing voice: “Depart from Me, O curse, into everlasting fire?” (Matthew 25:41). And we will stand before the Judge Lord, tormented by our conscience, having before our eyes all the evil we have done, every last detail. If there is a fire caused by arson, then it will be revealed who the arsonist is; If there is something missing in the church, then the thief will be discovered; for money, to woe to the innocent, a man took a false oath, then this too will be revealed; and all evil will be revealed before the whole world to our shame. And then the doors of heaven will close for us, and the torments of hell will accept us. Let us try to correct our lives before the verdict is pronounced and the eternal gates close behind us. “Whoever loves father and mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son and daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Here is another commandment the Lord gives. For us, He should be dearer than what is dearest to our hearts: children, wives, parents. Love Him more than you love your family, think about Him more than about your family, submit to His laws more than you submit to the feeling of parental and family love. Listen to how the holy people fulfilled this commandment. You probably know that the relics of St. Theodosius, Abbot, rest in the Kyiv Lavra. When this saint was still a youth, he already loved God more than anything else in the world. His mother loved him dearly, sewed good clothes for him, and tried to feed him the best food. But he, to his mother’s chagrin, distributed clothes to the poor, fasted and wore chains. It was in vain that his mother tried to persuade him to hang out and play with his peers - he only knew the way to church. Several times, to his mother’s horror, he disappeared from home, going with wanderers to monasteries. But his mother found him and turned him over. Finally, he took monastic vows at the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. His mother found him here too and begged him for a long time to return home, but the saint refused even to see her, loving Christ more than her (May 3). You will think: this saint could have conquered himself like that, where should we stand like that? But the saints were the same people as we are: they had the same weak body, endured the temptations of Satan more than we do, and even sometimes fell into sins, just as we, sinners, fall into. For example, Rev. Erasmus, also a Kiev saint, was formerly a merchant, then he entered a monastery and used all his treasures to decorate the monastery church. But the devil began to suggest to him that he had spent his wealth uselessly and that it would be better to give it to the poor. Erasmus fell into depression and even became very ill. But the Lord had mercy on him: St. Anthony and Theodosius, etc. appeared to him in a dream. Mother of God and assured him that he did not use the wealth for nothing, but for the benefit of his soul (February 24). So, you see that the saints fell, just like us, but only they cried over their sins and did not remain indifferent, like us; and God, seeing their sorrow and repentance, showed His power on them. Therefore, one should not say so: “those were holy people, where do we care about them.” This is the despondency that the devil instills in us. No, and we, with God’s help, can accomplish a lot. Do not let your heart grow cold, fight the temptations of the devil, call on the Lord for help, cleanse yourself of sins more often by confession and feed your soul with the body and blood of Christ - and you will be an imitator of the saints. Ave. Theodosius put love for Christ above love for his mother. And there are often times in our lives when we must be guided by his example. First of all, I will point out to you an ordinary case, which, apparently, there is nothing to think about. Your children, playing in the street, quarreled with your neighbor’s children. Has it ever happened to you, the father, or you, the mother, without sorting out the matter, directly attack the neighbor’s children, rashly curse them, and, perhaps, by the way, their parents: these are the kind of brats they raise, etc. What can come of this? - A quarrel between you, parents. But if you want to act like a Christian, then calmly reconcile the children, sort out their quarrel and, if your children are guilty, teach them, tell them to ask for forgiveness from the offended, and exact it from them. This will not be humiliation for you or for them, but will only be justice, the fulfillment of God’s law, and you, according to the commandment of Christ, will prefer love for Him to love for children. You may think that this is a trifle, not worth attention; but also think about the fact that to always indulge children in everything means to corrupt them; secondly, in such cases, quarrels often arise between parents; and thirdly, our whole life is formed from such little things. I think you have seen how beads are threaded: small beads are strung on a thread one after another and you get a large necklace. This is how our life passes day after day in countless small cases, and blessed is the one who watches over his soul in all the little things. But larger cases are also not uncommon, when love for God should be placed above family love. Your father, brother or other close relative has, due to human weakness, fallen into a crime and asks you to be a witness that he is innocent, or he sells some thing to an inexperienced person - a cart, a bad plow and asks you to praise it; You never know how many such cases exist in life! Do not be accomplices of sin and deception. Remember that the Son of God loved us so much that He did not spare Himself for our salvation, but for this He demands from us wholehearted love: with all our soul and all our thoughts. “And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:38). To be a confessor of Christ means to show oneself in word and deed everywhere as an executor of His law, which means to love Him more than anything else in the world, but this is often difficult and regrettable. It is these sorrows, always inseparable from a virtuous life, that the Lord compares with the cross that a person bears. During the life of Jesus Christ, evildoers were crucified on crosses. Christ Himself was crucified with the villains. The cross was then a shameful weapon and carrying it was both shameful and difficult, since they became heavy. It is just as hard and sorrowful for His followers to live: here it is necessary to overcome love for oneself, here love for the family, for parents, for children; here to earn the enmity of neighbors, of the whole society; there to omit obvious benefits, even sometimes whole wealth, which could so easily be acquired by illegal means; ridicule, reproaches, persecution - everything must be endured, this sorrowful cross must be held on one’s shoulders in order to remain a confessor of Christ. But as the teacher is, so must the students be. Jesus Christ, innocent of any sin, endured spitting, beating, strangulation, and crucifixion for our sake, and we, His followers, must also courageously endure temporary tribulations for His name. “Through many tribulations it is fitting for us to enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Acts 14:22). But is there enough strength to endure these sorrows? you say. Brothers, the Lord sends every temptation according to our strength, for “He is slow to anger and abounding in mercy” (Ps. 144:8). He does not want the sorrow sent by Him to crush a person’s strength, like a hammer crushes glass, but for a person, enduring sorrow, to become stronger in love for God, just as iron becomes stronger when it is forged. And, defeating temptations, courageously enduring sorrows, we will find them lighter more and more and we will justify the words of the Lord: “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). Remember the story of righteous Job. Initially, the Lord struck him with the confiscation of one part of his property: robbers stole his oxen and donkeys. Job bravely endured this deprivation. Then other hardships followed: sheep and camels died; Job endured this too. Then his children died, and Job did not grumble against God even now. Finally, a cruel illness struck his body, and immediately the friend of his life, his wife, lost heart, leaving him alone in this struggle with grief. Job even now remained unshakable in his love for God. The same thing happens in our lives; you see, trouble will come to a person: either a fire, or a crop failure, or thieves will offend. But do not lose heart: this is the hand of God. God, therefore, sees that you can endure all this: otherwise the righteous Lord would not have tested you, and sent temptation according to your strength. “Then Peter answered and said to Him: Behold, we have left everything and followed You: what will happen to us? Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, at the end of being, when the Son of man sits on the throne of His glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:27-28). So far we have all talked about what the Lord requires of us; now He indicates the reward that we will receive if we are His confessors. The Apostle Peter asked Him about this reward, which is why the Lord speaks first about the reward for them, the apostles. He promises them great glory and honor: when He comes to judge the world, then they, together with him, will be judges of the universe. St. received a great reward, but also great labors. apostles! When the Lord called them, He did not promise them any earthly joy: neither wealth, nor human honor, nor peace, but labor, sorrow, persecution, torment and death. You will be in a world of sorrow (John 16:33), He told them, if they persecuted Me, they will persecute you too (John 15:20). The time will come when everyone who kills you will think that he is serving God (John 16:2). But the apostles were not afraid of the world, they left everything, for they loved Christ more than their wives and children, followed Him and courageously endured all sorrows and persecutions in His name. Both they and we will have a great reward in heaven if we follow in their footsteps. Listen to what the Lord says next. “And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29). You will probably think that, judging by these words of the Lord, you can only be saved in a monastery, by renouncing everything: family, property, even acquaintances, etc. But you should not think like that. There is only one path to the Kingdom of Heaven, but everyone follows it in their own way. You can fulfill these words of the Lord by living in the world, in a family, and owning property. Each of us undertakes only the work that he is able to perform. So it is in spiritual life: take upon yourself only those labors and vows that are within your power, so the Lord teaches: “Not everyone can comprehend this word, but he who is able to comprehend it will” (Matthew 19:12), i.e. whoever recognizes himself as strong enough in spirit to endure all the toils of a celibate life, take this vow upon himself, but this will not be exacted from the weak. Live in peace, in a family, acquire property, but just don’t imitate those people who forget God in all this. There are people who know neither fasts nor holidays; There are those who, when they ring the bell for the liturgy, go and go to work. But you put the law of God above all: do not worry about unnecessary acquisitions: the Lord feeds even the birds; love God, as they previously said, more than your wife and children; visit the church of God more often, read St. Gospel, do not spare alms to the poor, cleansing your soul with repentance, nourish it with the Body and Blood of Christ, and you will fulfill the words of the Lord by choosing love for Him over love for the world. Everywhere you can be saved and everywhere you can die. David was saved on the royal throne, Judas was an apostle and died. George the Victorious, John the Warrior were warriors, St. Vladimir, Boris and Gleb were princes, Filaret the Gracious was a tiller of the land - they were all laymen and were saved. St. Macarius of Egypt was a great hermit and saint of God, but one day the Lord told him that two women living in the world were superior to him in virtues. Macarius went to them to learn from them; Having found them, he asked them: what good deeds are they doing that they please God so much? They answered him that they were two daughters-in-law, they would like to go to the monastery, but their husbands would not let them in, and they decided to serve them until their death, that they never quarrel or talk idle talk. So, living in the world, you can be a great ascetic. “But many who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30). We will receive a hundredfold in heaven for our patience on earth, and this reward will be given to all those who do the law of Christ without distinction. On earth there are rich and poor, nobles and commoners, scientists and non-scientists. But beyond the grave there are only the righteous and the sinful. There the rich man, who was flattered by everyone on earth, goes to hell; the beggar despised on earth rejoices in the Kingdom of Heaven. In truth, we will bring nothing there except the good and evil we have committed. This is the path that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. Be a Christian everywhere and always, not only in name, but also in deed - and you will be saved. A true Christian loves God more than anything else in the world and joyfully bears the cross of Christ; the title does not save, only a virtuous life saves, which in heaven will be rewarded a hundredfold to all the righteous without distinction. May God grant that the doors of His glorious kingdom are not closed for us. (Compiled from “Christian Conversations,” appended to the magazine “Past. Conversations,” 1893, No. 5). 2. Christian example of self-sacrifice of fatherly love for his son out of love for God Whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37). Parental love for children often, and without intention on the part of the father and mother, imperceptibly for them, goes beyond the limits of proper Christian use and, using the name and rights of legal love for children, at the same time becomes enmity against God and His holy law, and makes Christian parents with such a feeling for children unworthy and evil servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. To love a son and, out of animal affection for him, not to pay attention to who grows and strengthens under the cover of fatherly love - an honest person, or a depraved person, a faithful servant of the fatherland, or a violent seditious and enemy of any order, a true Christian, or a person without faith and good convictions, a champion of the Gospel and truth, or a traitor to the faith and a traitor to the truth - is this really love worthy of a Christian father, the love that the duty of a Christian father and the direct law of the Gospel inspires in him? No, this means loving only flesh and blood in your son, and not loving his soul and rational life; This is animal love, not human, much less Christian, which acts according to the spirit of the love of Christ and according to the gospel law; this love is contrary to love for the Lord and the requirements of His holy law; this love is enmity against God. Among the various manifestations of such paternal love, for its reproof and admonition, how gratifying it is to meet in the history of the first times of Christianity with examples of true love for children, in the person of Christian parents, who selflessly sacrificed all love for children to love for the Lord and His holy faith, as soon as the former became a transgressor before the duties of the latter. Here is one such example. Apostasy in the person of the Roman Emperor Julian had many followers on the part of Christians, not firm in the faith, cowardly under the threats and flattering promises of the hater of Christianity. One of these imitators of the apostate was a young man, the son of a noble citizen of the city of Beria and a high state dignitary, but for all that a pious and devoted Christian. When the son revealed his thoughts about faith and about his unfortunate fall to his father, the pious father did not spare, for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ, either the honor and name of his son, nor his love for him, nor his hopes for mercy from the apostate king: the father immediately deprived his son of his name and publicly renounced him. An enterprising young man - an apostate from God - went to the apostate - the ruler to seek his protection, protection before his father, reward and honor for his renunciation of Christianity to please the king, the enemy and persecutor of the name of Christ. Julian, who dreamed of turning the whole world to the ancient, then declining pagan idolatry, was very pleased with all sorts of examples of apostasy and did not spare his rewards and favors to increase the number of wicked people like himself; he treated the young man kindly, reassured him and promised himself, through his mediation, to return to him his father’s favor and the right to his property. Arriving in Beria, Julian invited to his table, among many famous citizens of the city, a pious father and his apostate son; At the table, Julian turned to the father of his rejected son with the following words: “It seems to me that it would be unfair to do violence to people with a different mood of thought and against the will of a person to direct him to other thoughts. So, do not force your son to follow your teaching when he does not want to. After all, I don’t force you to follow mine, although I could very easily force you to do so!” - “Are you, king, talking about this lawless person who preferred lies to the truth?” - answered the pious father in indignation at his apostate son. In the response of the Christ-loving father there was so much invincible zeal for the defense of the holy faith of Christ and at the same time so much undaunted indignation at the apostasy of his son, protected by the apostate king, that this traitor to faith and conscience did not find in himself the usual audacity to defend a lie against the truth. Feeling powerless against the holy zeal of the defender of Christianity, Julian assumed an air of feigned meekness and, turning the matter into a joke, said to the young man: “I myself will take care of you, when I could not persuade your father to do this.” Indeed, the father of the young apostate did not change his righteous anger towards his lawless son; Neither the caresses nor the threats of the wicked king affected him; for him there was nothing more terrible than the sentence of the Lord Jesus: whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me (Sunday Thursday, g. XXI, pp. 137–138). 3. You can please God in every rank Many, especially ordinary people - peasants, artisans, complain that in their occupations it is impossible to please God. Such a complaint is unfair! The Lord God, by His infinite mercy, calls everyone to salvation, if only there is a desire for it on our part. And many examples of this kind are recorded in the lives of saints. Let's point out some of them. – Probably many people know St. Martyrs Florus and Laurus, whose memory is celebrated on August 18. They were siblings and lived in the 4th century AD. Christ; By their trade, both of them were simple masons. But this title did not prevent them from leading a pious life and benefiting people. And the Lord rewarded the working brothers with the gift of miracles. In the region neighboring them they decided to build a majestic pagan temple; the head of their region sent St. Flora and Lavra, because they were known to everyone as the best masters of their craft. And so, when they were busy cutting stones, the son of the main pagan priest approached them and was struck in the eye by an unexpectedly flying stone fragment. The bruise was so severe that the boy threatened to lose his eye. To the angry cry and reproaches of this boy’s parent, the saints calmly replied that they would heal the eye of the innocent child if the father agreed to let him go with them for a while. With the consent of the parent, the saints took the boy into their wretched hut, prayed to the Lord for him all night and taught him the faith of Christ, and in the morning they marked him with the sign of the cross. After this, the child’s eye immediately opened and began to see as before. This miracle had such an effect on the idol priest that he and his entire household believed in the one true God and joined the Orthodox Church. For their miracles and virtuous life, Saints Florus and Laurus were thrown into a waterless well and covered with earth. Many years later, the bodies of the holy martyrs were found incorrupt and transferred to Constantinople. The Lord gave the relics their healing power. And here’s another wonderful man - St. Mark of Pechersk! The most amazing thing about him is the simplicity of his feat. He did not lead a high contemplative life. His occupation was very ordinary: he was digging the earth. Living in a cave, he dug many caves with his own hands and carried the earth on his shoulders, working day and night for the Lord. He dug many places for the burial of the brethren and did not take anything for it, unless someone himself gave something, and even this he distributed to the poor. But even with this simple work he achieved a high spiritual perfection that few achieve. – This is the most convincing example of the fact that with any bodily labor, if the spirit works for the Lord, drives away everything unclean from the soul, fills it with thoughts and sighs of saints, strictly guarding it with humility and meekness, the soul can improve spiritually. One saint, for the surest receipt of the Kingdom of Heaven, became a mason. This is what we know about him from the life of St. Ephraim. This Ephraim was the ruler of the city of Antioch. He was tasked with rebuilding this city after the earthquake. A lot of working people were invited, the work went on amicably, but of all the day laborers, one attracted attention: his clothes were the most worn, his face was emaciated, he worked harder than anyone else. And Ephraim had a vision of a pillar of fire rising above this day laborer while he was sleeping. Surprised by this vision, blessed Ephraim turned to the wonderful worker with the question: “Who is he, what city is he from, and what is his name?” He answered: “I am a poor resident of Antioch and live by day labor.” Not believing his words, Ephraim urged him to open himself; “Trust me,” said the ruler, “I will not let you go until you tell me the whole truth.” The imaginary worker, unable to hide himself any longer, said: “I was a bishop, but for the sake of the Lord I left my bishopric and came here to an unfamiliar country, where I work and from my labor earn my daily living.” These examples clearly show that no title, as long as it is honest, does not interfere with pleasing God. Therefore, it is in vain to make the excuse that with hard and low activities it is impossible to please God. On the contrary, during hard labor it is easier to be saved than to perish. Labor is a great and good thing; work is happiness, and idleness is misfortune for a person. “There is nothing,” says St. John Chrysostom, - truly there is nothing in human affairs that would not be destroyed by idleness, for even water, if it stands, is damaged, but if it flows, it retains its properties; and iron, if left unused, becomes covered with rust, but when something is forged from it, it is useful and shines like silver.” It’s not for nothing that they say: “God loves work.” The question is: why does God love work? And because, of course, work leads to goodness and happiness, and idleness is the mother of all vices, destroys a person and makes him unhappy. The Apostle Paul says that if anyone does not want to work, he should not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). But, while working, do not forget God - pray before starting any work, ask Him for success in your undertaking, and at the end of it, again thank the Creator and Benefactor God, because from Him comes every perfect gift and every good gift. When you are freed from work—for example, Sunday or a holiday has arrived—go to the church of God: here you will receive both the sanctification and enlightenment of your soul. And when you come home, do not indulge in revelry, drunkenness, - do not start quarrels, much less fights. And so that you don’t get bored, read some soul-helping book. After spending a day like this, the next day you will get up with renewed strength and easily get back to your previous work. Is it impossible to please God with such a lifestyle? Of course, it is possible: our righteous saints are living proof of this. Therefore, no title, no matter how low it may be, will prevent us from pleasing God if there is a desire in our soul to do so. Follow the commandment of the Apostle of Christ: everyone act as God has determined for him, and everyone as the Lord has called. (1 Cor. 7:17–31) (See “Sunday leaf.” ed. “V. Day", No. 385). 4. To be saints is the duty not only of great ascetics, but also of all Christians If a citizen or villager were told: do this and that, you will be close to the king, who gives you the right to this advantage and calls you to it: with what willingness, with what ardor would he take up the work required of him, even if the feat was not easy and the work was not short. But the herald of the will of the Heavenly King to us, and the last degree of citizenship in this kingdom to those unworthy, says: Be holy; you will be morally holy, and then be blessedly holy; live piously and virtuously, and you will be close to the King of heaven, who allows you not only to approach Him, but also to abide in Him, and He Himself wants not only to approach you, but also to live in you. So what? How is this calling accepted? Will everyone, or at least how many, follow it with readiness, with ardent zeal, with unflagging zeal, with full activity? Isn’t it more common that we think and say: where should we be saints? We are sinful people; It is enough if we are somehow saved by repentance. “Where should we be holy?” But have we thought about what we will be, and what will happen to us, if we do not strive to become saints? There are higher degrees of holiness in which especially chosen and blessed souls shine; but holiness in general is not just a private distinction between Christians, which is commendable for some to have, and which others can easily do without. According to the apostolic teaching, everyone who is called by a holy God to the kingdom of God, in other words, every Christian, in this very calling and in the thought of the God who has called must find for himself a law, duty and motivation so that he will certainly be or become holy. According to the Holy One who called you, you yourself will be holy in all your life; it is written before: You will be holy, for I am holy. If you live without effort and without hope of being holy; then you do not live according to the Holy One who called you, you do not correspond to the dignity of those called by God and the sons of the covenant of God - you are Christians in name, and not in essence. What such a life leads to can be seen from another apostolic saying: have peace and holiness with everyone, and no one else will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). It is clearer: have peace with everyone, have holiness: and without peace and without holiness no one will see the Lord, that is, will not achieve eternal bliss. So, if we carelessly and carelessly think that we should not be saints, then we are writing a sentence on ourselves not to see the Lord, to be strangers to eternal bliss. “We are sinful people,” they say. – It seems that this truth is undeniable. For, on the contrary, if we say that there is no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we call ourselves sinners, with a superficial thought, without contrition of heart, without turning away from sin, with carelessness, with the crafty implication that everyone else should admit the same thing, and that therefore we are not ashamed to admit it, and it is not dangerous for us to remain the same after confession as we were before the confession: such recognition of sinfulness, of course, will not lead to holiness; and in this case, even when we speak the truth, as imams sin, we deceive ourselves, the truth is not in us, that is, in our heart and in our life, although there is the sound of truth in our lips. The word is true and worthy of all acceptance, for Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). But we are deceived if we think that we will be saved while remaining sinners. Christ saves sinners by giving them the means to become saints. “We will somehow be saved by repentance,” they say. – Yes, repentance is one of the means of salvation that Christ teaches to sinners when he preaches: repent and believe in the Gospel. But if we think of somehow repenting, somehow being saved, then we judge too easily a matter of great importance. Will a slave please his master if he does his job somehow, and not as best as possible? - Of course, it won’t please. Moreover, a person will not please God if he only somehow does the work of God, which is the work of our salvation. Moreover, the perfect teacher of repentance, John the Baptist, says that true repentance requires something else in its wake. Create, he says, fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8). Repentance clears the soil of the heart from thorns, cultivates it, softens it; faith sows the seed of heaven into it; the growth of this new plant is keeping the commandments and doing good, its color is spiritual inner enlightenment, and the mature, perfect fruit is holiness. The wheat must reach maturity so that it can be brought into the granary. It is necessary for a person to achieve holiness in order for him to be brought into the kingdom of heaven. Truly, if we were to achieve holiness only through human, natural forces, then it would be fair to say that this is beyond our ability. But when for this we have God’s grace that precedes, enlightens, strengthens, promotes, protects: no one should lose hope of achieving that for which God and the Father of our Lord I. Christ chose us in Him before the foundation of the world; but He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him in love (Eph. 1:3-4). (From the sermon of Philaret, Metropolitan, Moscow; sn. Full yearly circle, short instruction, vol. II, priest Gr. Dyachenko). 5. Examples of how powerful the intercession of the saints is How many of you, Orthodox Christians, doubt that the saints of God can petition God for this or that gift for us sinners?! Here is the definition of the Eastern Church: “We call the saints to mediate between God, so that they pray to Him for us; We call them not as any gods, but as His friends who serve Him, glorify Him and worship Him. We demand their help not because they can help us with their own strength, but because through their intercession they ask us for grace from God... Although the saints themselves do not know and do not understand our prayers, they know and hear by the revelation of God... So, rightly we honor them and ask God for help through them... We do not give them divine honor, but we pray to them, as our brothers and friends, to ask we, our brothers, received help from God and interceded for us before God.” (Orthodox confessional church eastern, part III. Answer to question 52). And sometimes our prayers to the saints of God are not in vain. Here are examples of this. In the life of St. Apostle Bartholomew, whose memory is celebrated on June 11, the following is told. The Monk Joseph the hymn-writer had special respect for the memory of the Apostle Bartholomew: he acquired part of his relics, built a church in his monastery in the name of this apostle and placed the relics in the newly created church, and was often privileged to see the apostle in a dream. He wanted to decorate the celebration of the apostle with special songs, but he was afraid whether the saint would like it. Bartholomew; and so, he began to fervently pray to God and St. to the apostle, so that news of this might be given to him. 40 days of fervent and tearful prayer passed by the saint, and now, on the eve of the feast of St. Bartholomew, the Monk Joseph saw him at the altar, dressed in white vestments; the apostle pulled back the altar curtain and called the Monk Joseph. When he approached, St. Bartholomew took the Gospel from the throne, placed it on Joseph’s chest and said; “May the right hand of the Almighty God bless you, and may the waters of heavenly wisdom flow onto your tongue, may your heart be the seat of the Holy One. Spirit, may your singing delight the universe!” Having said this, the apostle became invisible; The Monk Joseph, filled with indescribable joy and feeling the grace of wisdom within himself, began to compose church songs and canons. He not only composed canons in honor of St. Apostle Bartholomew, but also in honor of the Mother of God, St. Nicholas and other saints, for which he received the name “hymn writer” (from Thursday Min. 11 June). And here is another example from the life of St. Theodore Sikeot, whose memory is celebrated on April 22. One day this saint had to fall into a serious illness, so that he despaired of life: he already saw the holy angels coming for his soul; Therefore, he cried and sobbed, considering himself not prepared for death. Above the head of the monk hung an icon of the unmercenary saints Cosmas and Damian. They appeared to him in a dream and, touching his hand veins (in our opinion, his pulse), talked for a long time among themselves, as if they were not vouching for the favorable outcome of the saint’s illness. Then the unmercenaries asked the patient: “What are you crying and grieving about, brother?” “And about the fact,” answered the monk, “that I did not repent to God and did not completely organize my flock.” Then the holy doctors asked him: “Do you want us to pray to God for you, that He may extend your life?” The patient answered: “If you do this, then you will be the culprit of many blessings and will receive a reward for my repentance.” The holy unmercenaries, turning to the angels, asked them to wait a little while they went to the Tsar and God and begged Him for Theodore. The angels promised to wait, and Saints Cosmas and Damian went to the all-powerful King Christ God and begged Him to add years to the life of the Monk Theodore, and soon returned, having in their midst a young man similar to the angels, but much brighter than them. This young man said to the angels: “leave Theodore alive: the common Lord and King of glory has prayed for him.” And immediately the holy angels with that bright youth went to heaven, and the holy unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian said to Theodore: “Arise, brother, and pay attention to yourself and your flock, for our good and merciful Master has accepted our prayers for you.” The monk rose from his bed, and the holy unmercenaries became invisible. (Thu. Min. 22 Apr.). Finally, who among us does not know and honor St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, our zealous prayer book and great intercessor in troubles? How many times did he appear to those asking for his help, either in a dream vision or in reality. For example, there was a case. One Greek commander, named Peter, was once captured by the Saracens and imprisoned. Here he grumbled not so much at his bitter fate as at himself. “A similar incident happened to me,” he said, “and I asked St. Nicholas to deliver me from my enemies, promising to accept monasticism in Rome. He fulfilled my request: he delivered me from captivity, but I, ungrateful, forgot my promise, and for this I suffer here. But, servant of Christ! Save me, and I will certainly fulfill my promise.” Saint Nicholas appeared to him in a dream and said: “I heard your prayer, but God is still delaying your deliverance. However, do not lose heart and do not stop praying: press, it is said, and it will be opened to you.” After some time, the saint of God appears to him again and says: “I prayed to God for you, but I don’t know how He favors you. However, I will show you a most worthy prayer book, this is Simeon the God-Receiver. Ask him constantly: he is strong before God and together with the Most Holy Theotokos and St. John the Baptist stands closest to the throne of God." Finally, he appears to him in reality, and not alone, but with the righteous Simeon, and both say: “Take courage, Peter, and call on the Lord in sorrow.” Then they took an oath from him that he would fulfill his promise; then Simeon touched his shackles with his staff, and they fell apart, led him out of prison, and Peter received complete freedom. At the same time, Saint Nicholas appeared to the Roman high priest, holding Peter by the hand, told him his story, ordered him to be tonsured a monk, and became invisible. When Peter appeared to the Roman high priest, the latter immediately recognized him and told him that he had heard about him from the saint himself. Having accepted the monastic title, Peter spent the rest of his life on Athos in great exploits. His memory is celebrated on July 12. The following is told about St. Vassian. In the city of Ravenna, where the saint of God lived, a command came from the king to execute one official, named Bithymnia, who had been innocently slandered; he was immediately taken, put in chains and brought to the place of execution. Without realizing any guilt, Vithymnius remembered the saint of God Vassian and, bowing his head under the executioner’s ax, prayed: “Servant of God! By the grace given to you from God, be my helper now.” So what? As soon as the executioner raised the ax, it tore out of his hands and fell to the ground. Having secured the deadly weapon in his hands, the executioner again wanted to strike, but the ax fell out of his hands a second time, and the same thing happened a third time. The mayor, suspecting this was a deliberate betrayal of his duty on the part of the executioner, called another to carry out the execution, but this ax was also torn out of his hands three times. The people, who witnessed such an extraordinary incident, recognized in this the invisible Divine protection of the condemned man and demanded his release. When the king was informed about what had happened, and the king ordered a strict investigation into the guilt of Bithymnius, it turned out that he was a victim of slander. The king ordered him to be released and all his ranks and dignities returned to him. Vithymnius publicly glorified the saint of God, Vassian, whose prayers had saved him from a vain death. So, listening with living, heartfelt faith to all these church legends about the heavenly intercession of the saints of God for us, always ready to help us and console us in the sorrowful circumstances of our lives, let us thank the all-merciful God, who gives us, earthly beings, through these mediation of the saints, to rise in the boldness and power of our prayer. "God! Even if Thy saints had not had prayer books and Thy goodness that is merciful to us, how dare they, O Savior, sing to You, and the angels incessantly praise Him!” From many sins the body becomes weak, and our soul also becomes weak. As serious criminals, we would not dare to raise our eyes to the throne of the terrible Judge God, if we were not encouraged by faith in the intercession for us of the saints, who, being close to God, as His friends and the secret places of His grace (John 15:15; Matt. 13:11), have great power before the King of heaven and at the same time can fully sympathize with our weaknesses, being people servile to us and who have experienced all the hardships of life in the struggle with sin. Let us not grow cold in our prayers before the saints of God, especially before those whose names we bear and to whom churches are dedicated in our places of residence. “For the prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). 2nd Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 9th, ch. IV, 18–23 art. 1. The Lord’s election of the first disciples Once, in the first year of His public ministry to the human race, Jesus Christ walked along the shore of Lake Galilee. He was then still a little-known preacher to the world and was only gathering around Him the first followers - His disciples. Seeing two young brothers - Simon, called Peter, and Andrew, throwing nets into the sea, the Savior, as if in passing, said to them: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The brothers did not ask their Divine Commander who He was, with what power He commanded them, and where He would lead them, but they immediately left their nets and followed the Savior. Walking further with Them, Jesus Christ saw two more brothers - James and John, sitting with their father Zebedee in a boat and mending nets. The Son of God, who discerns the hearts and wombs of men, called these young men too; and they immediately responded with full readiness to the voice calling them: they left their father, the boat and the nets and followed Jesus. Here is the Gospel story of the calling to the apostleship of the Savior’s first disciples. How simple it seems to be; but in fact, how instructive it is for us Christians! Look, says St. John Chrysostom, what was the faith and obedience of those called. All these four people were not rich people, they earned their livelihood by fishing and were busy with their business while the Savior passed by them. However, all of them, as soon as they heard the calling of the Savior, did not slow down, did not postpone until another time, did not say: let’s go home and consult with our relatives, but, leaving everything, they followed Him at that very moment. Isn’t every one of us who confess God and Christ called from the day of our baptism to follow Christ? Shouldn’t everyone strive for heavenly glory, following the example of Christ’s apostles, following the holy saints of God, blessed by St. church? True, we do not hear a voice calling us from the lips of the Savior Himself, as was the case with the apostles Peter and Andrew. But only people who were destined to capture the universe and gather the flock of Christ from people were worthy of this. For us, the call that we hear in the speeches and words of the Savior conveyed to us by the apostles is quite sufficient. Whoever listens to the reading of the Gospel in the church of God should listen to it as if Jesus Christ Himself were speaking. We must remember that in the church the Lord Himself is always invisibly present among us according to His immutable promise: “where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” Here, in the Church of God, the divine voice of Christ is heard in everything: in the sacred rites performed before our eyes, in the reading of divine scriptures, in the singing of touching church songs, and in the contemplation of holy icons. All this tells our hearts that we should leave our addiction to the vanity of the world, cleave to Christ and relentlessly follow Him, fulfilling His holy will. How do we relate to the call of Christ the Savior addressed to us? Do we follow Him, our Redeemer, as hastily and irrevocably as the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John? Most of us, modern Christians, it is true, with tenderness and humility accept the divine call to salvation, but we postpone the implementation of saving advice from hour to hour, year after year, for an indefinite time. Worldly pleasures, worldly needs and sinful habits tie our hearts to themselves so much that because of them we often seem to completely forget the law of Christ, and we do not do good if we want, but if we do not want evil, we do it. How often, because of some petty and insignificant matter, many decide to omit God’s service, and sometimes to offend their neighbor. Having thought about all this, let us try to take care of correcting our lives, abandon our usual laziness and inertia in the matter of salvation, and strive to pave our way to the honors of the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. The Lord wants all people to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4). He stands at the door of the heart of each of us and pushes, and if anyone opens the door, he comes in and dines with him (Rev. 3:20). What else, if not God’s call to repentance, mean the misfortunes that suddenly befall us in this life, the terrible natural phenomena that happen to us from time to time, unexpected mercies or remorse of our conscience? Therefore, if anyone hears such a call either from within himself, or from somewhere from the outside, if someone comes up with the idea of ​​​​starting to “live according to God,” let him immediately put this thought into execution, let him not put off his holy determination under any pretext, not for one day or hour, but, “leaving all abie,” follow Christ. Don’t say: I’ll live another year for the world, I’ll arrange my affairs, and then I’ll get down to pleasing God. No, as Simon and Andrew did when they heard the call of the Savior, so we must do. They didn’t even tidy up their nets, but simply abandoned them, so we must immediately part with everything that stands in the way of salvation, renounce worldly ties and pleasures. (Compiled from “Sunday List” No. 176, ed. “Sunday Day”). 2. On obedience to the word of Christ The apostles of Christ showed us a wonderfully wonderful example of obedience to the word of God. One day Jesus Christ walks along the shore of the Sea of ​​Galilee, and then He sees two brothers, Simon and Andrew, throwing nets into the sea. Follow Me, He tells them, and I will make you fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed Him. They go further, and Jesus Christ sees two more brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father and mending nets. And he called them. And they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him (Matthew 4:18-22). Oh, if only we Christians were just as ready to listen to the word of God and fulfill the gospel law! But, unfortunately, we give so many excuses for not following Christ and not fulfilling His holy law. For example, Sunday or some holiday comes; the sound of a bell is heard, prompting us to leave everyday affairs and inviting us to go to the church of God for prayer. So what? Are we listening to the call of our Orthodox Church? Unfortunately, not always and not all. “The worries of life overwhelm us,” some say, “that’s why there is no time to go to the church of God.” What unreasonable concern for immediate needs! Don't we know that success in our affairs depends on God?! Listen to what is said in the prologue (July 9). There lived two neighbors, and both were tailors; one had many children, and his father and mother were old men, and he fed the whole family unnecessarily, and went to church every day with him. His neighbor was more skilled than him in his work and worked tirelessly, even on Sundays, but did not go to church at all; however, he could not feed himself either. And so the latter became envious of the former and once said to him with annoyance: “Where does this come from? I work more than you, but I live like a beggar.” He answered him: “I go to church every day and every time I find gold on the road, so little by little I got rich. Do you want me to come get you, and what we find, we’ll divide it in half?” The neighbor readily agreed and began going to church with him. And God blessed him for this, and he soon became rich. Then a good neighbor says to him: “You see, brother, how useful it is to go to the Church of God. But believe me: I didn’t find any gold on the road, but I went to the church of God simply because God Himself promised: “Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and everything else will be added to you.” You see for yourself - I did not lie: God also added to the church of God for your zeal. “I’ll pray at home,” some say. Do people know that one “Lord, have mercy,” said in church with a community of believers, is worth a hundred prostrations of home prayer? The Church has decreed that on holidays we should be in the church of God, and we must obey it, and not philosophize in our own way: “I’ll pray at home.” Listen to the story of one pious warrior about a certain merchant. He was a kind man, he was happy to give his last penny to the poor. But he did not like to go to church, although he was a very pious person. “It makes no difference,” he reasoned, “whether you pray at home or in church: there is only one God. I’ll do something during the service, and in the evening before going to bed I’ll pray better.” And it happened that during the service, in the summer, he went to the field to look at the crops and grain, and in the winter, he did something around the house. Once, on Peter’s Day, he went into the field, and they rang for the all-night vigil. It was a wonderful evening; when suddenly a black cloud approached from behind the forest, rain poured down, terrible thunder struck, and lightning flashed two steps away from the merchant... This time God had mercy on him: he remained unharmed. Another time, during mass, on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, he went into the forest gatehouse, and barely managed to close the door behind him, when the ceiling collapsed behind him in the hallway... And then the Lord saved him; but he did not come to his senses and still did not go to church, although his friend often persuaded him. Finally, the Lord guided him on the true path. The feast of St. Trinity. The merchant was in the city, where he received his labor money from the bank in order to transfer it to another bank. They announced the service for the all-night vigil, and the merchant decided to go home. His friends tried to persuade him: “Where are you going to go? Tomorrow is a big holiday, I should go to church and pray - there’s no hurry.” But he did not listen: “At home,” he said, “I’ll pray, but it’s better to go in the cold.” And I went. The divine rides and sings; Meanwhile, the sky became covered with clouds, it began to rain, and it began to get dark. He rode into the forest, when suddenly someone grabbed his horse and shouted: “Stop!” From fear he could not even move. Several people attacked him, pulled him off the cart, and he doesn’t remember anything what happened next. He woke up and saw that it was already light; there is no horse, he is naked, blood is flowing in places, he cannot move a finger, and he feels that he is beginning to shake with a fever. It was then that he turned to God with a fervent prayer of repentance: “Lord! I am a sinner, I have not visited Your holy dwelling; Forgive me, merciful Father, don’t let me die like a dog!.. I will, I will certainly go to church!” After this prayer, he again became unconscious and woke up in the house of his friend, who found him by chance that day and brought him home. The merchant was ill for six months, but never once complained about the Lord God; I kept praying and saying: “I’m not worth this: glory to You, Lord!” And when he recovered, he began to go to church diligently: he would go even before the good news, but would be the last to leave; He stands there, praying, and tears just flow. A year has passed, Trinity Day has arrived again. The merchant went to the all-night vigil and tearfully, fervently prayed that the Lord would place him somewhere: not everyone can live on someone else’s bread. He comes from the all-night vigil, they give him a letter. And who do you think this letter was from? From the one who robbed him a year ago and left him without a piece of bread. And this unkind man writes that his conscience has tormented him, that he can no longer keep his money and wants to return it in full to the owner... The merchant read the letter, began to cry, fell to his knees before the image of the Savior and began to pray... The money was returned to him, and he improved his affairs. Needless to say, after such God’s mercy, he became even more zealous for the Church of God, for church service (see “Trinity List,” No. 336). So, Christians, listen to the voice of your mother - the church: go to the church of God! Further, church pastors often exhort Christians to leave their sinful lives and start a new one, in accordance with the gospel law. Well, do we obey their voice? Unfortunately, we either listen little or not at all. Meanwhile, listen to how beneficially the word of God proclaimed by the shepherds affects the soul of a sinner. Have you heard, perhaps, about our Russian saint, St. Nikita the Stylite? Who was he before? He was born and raised in the city of Pereyaslavl (Zalessky), Vladimir province. When he came of age, he became a friend of the publicans, worked with them around the judges and caused a lot of grief and insult to innocent people; By collecting unrighteous bribes, he fed himself and his wife. They spent many years doing this. One day he entered the church and heard the words of the prophet Isaiah: wash yourself and be clean, take away wickedness from your souls. These words amazed him: he spent the whole night without sleep; untruths lay like stones on his heart. In the morning he went out to his friends and, to entertain himself, invited them to his place for the evening. Having bought what he needed for the treat, he ordered his wife to cook. But when she began to cook, she first saw blood on top of the water, then the head, then another part of the human body. In horror, she told her husband about that. He came and saw the same thing. “Woe to me, who have sinned greatly!” - said Nikita and, without saying another word, left the house and indulged in difficult feats on the pillar (“Lessons of the Arch. Faith”, Priest Dyachenko). The Word of God is a seed, said the Savior (Luke 8:11), and from the seed, both in visible nature and in the nature of our soul, fruit does not immediately appear. But sooner or later the word of God, according to the word of St. scriptures, does not remain lean and barren. “Let’s wait a little longer to follow the Gospel teaching, at least a year, at least a day, we’ll live for ourselves, and then for God,” so some say. What cowardice! As if in a year or two it would be easier to give up your sinful habits! Isn’t it the other way around – isn’t it much more difficult?! This is what our reverend father Dorotheos tells. One great elder was walking with his disciples in a place where there were various cypress trees, large and small. The elder said to one of his disciples: “Pull out this cypress tree.” The cypress was small, and the brother immediately pulled it out with one hand. Then the elder showed him another one, larger than the first, and said: “Tear out this one too.” The brother swung it with both hands and pulled it out. Again another, even greater elder showed him, but although the brother worked hard and sweated, he could not pull it out. Then the elder ordered the other brother to get up and help him, and only both together could barely pull him out. And the elder said to the brothers: “This is how passions or sinful attractions are: while they are small, then, if we wish, we can easily pluck them from the heart; if we take care of them, then they become stronger, and the more they become stronger, the more work they require from us; and when they become very strong in us, then even with difficulty we cannot alone pluck them out of ourselves, unless we receive help from some saints who help us according to God.” So, Christians, do not hesitate before anything, do not make excuses and do not put off a good undertaking for an indefinite time. And as soon as you hear the voice of the church, or its shepherd, calling you to some good deed, immediately drop everything and get down to it. Look at what the apostles Simon and Andrew did when they heard the call of the Savior: they didn’t even take away their nets, but simply abandoned them and followed Jesus Christ. 3. Every good undertaking is patronized by God Himself and His saints “Without God there is no way,” says the ancient proverb. Indeed, what can we, the weak, do without the help of the Creator, Almighty and Provider God?! He is our Creator, who gave us breath and life; He is our Provider, taking care of everything we need in life, and especially what leads us to salvation. Unless the Lord builds a house, those who build it labor in vain, says the word of God (Ps. 126:1). One day, the apostles of Christ worked on fishing all night and there was no catch. The Divine Teacher came to them and ordered them to cast the net... And in just an hour, or even less, the catch was so great that the apostles had difficulty pulling out the net, and the boats even began to sink from the multitude of fish. What was the reason for such successful fishing? From the blessing of God. “We worked all night and caught nothing,” the apostles told the Savior. Everyone works, they work diligently, but everyone complains that their work is in vain. Why is this? But because their work was undertaken without the blessing of God. The Lord God loves every good undertaking and, if they turn to Him in prayer, protects this intention. Let's take an example from the life of St. Peter, Metropolitan of Moscow, whose memory is celebrated on December 21. St. Peter was from Volyn. Upon reaching the age of seven, he was sent to book learning; but, no matter how hard the young student tried, the teaching was unsuccessful. This greatly saddened him and his parents. The young boy began to earnestly pray to God that He would grant him the gift of wisdom. And then one day, in a dream, Peter sees a man dressed in holy clothes, who, standing near him, said: “Son, open your mouth!” The perplexed youth fulfilled the order. Meanwhile, the one who appeared touched his tongue and, blessing him, seemed to pour some sweetness into his mouth. Since then, he began to succeed in learning more (more) than all his peers. Having become a monk in his twentieth year and having passed all the stages of obedience, St. Peter reached the rank of Moscow Metropolitan and was the founder of the Assumption Cathedral, where his relics still rest incorruptibly and provide many healings. Isn't it clear from this that God protects good intentions? The saints of God, being imitators of God's love for mankind, also extend their protection to all who seek good knowledge and turn to them for help. It is known that to St. Many parents and children come running to the unmercenary and miracle workers Cosmas and Damian before the start of studies and exams. And their prayer and hope for the help of the saint is not in vain. unmercenary. Here's what was recently said in a spiritual magazine about this. In 1895, in the city of Perm, the former magistrate N. Babin was ordained as a deacon. At the end of the liturgy, the newly initiated made a speech in which he expressed what prompted him to make the transition from a secular to a spiritual rank. “I was born,” said the newly initiated, among other things, “sick and often lay almost on the verge of death; but, thanks to the prayers of my priest father and frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries, I was healed of my illness. My weakness after the illness was, however, so great that they began to teach me only in my tenth year; but, despite my diligence and diligence, I studied poorly. Tormented by the consciousness of my inability, I complained to my father, who told me to pray to St. to the unmercenary Cosmas and Damian, who received tuna (free gift) and gave healing to tuna. Listening to my father’s instructions and learning that in the village adjacent to my homeland the church was dedicated in honor of the saints of God Cosmas and Damian, I, up to five times, according to my own desire and zeal, made a 17-mile forward and back journey on foot to this village and there in the church with a warm child’s prayer I lit candles, served prayer services and fervently asked St. saints about bestowing upon me the ability to teach. And now - a wonderful miracle! - soon, having entered the theological school, to the surprise of myself, my parents and friends, I began to study quickly, caught up with my fellow students and was transferred to the second grade as the second student, and to the third... already the first. I brilliantly completed my course at the seminary and passed the university with flying colors...” So, Christians, our prayer to God and His saints before the beginning of every good deed is not in vain! Therefore, when starting any good deed, always first turn to God in prayer, and He will bless your good undertaking. If, for example, you decide to send your son or daughter to school, first of all pray to God that He will give them wisdom and strength to continue their teaching for the benefit of the church and the fatherland. If you intend to build a house, again turn to God, your helper in all our affairs. If you want to open any trading business, also turn to God, Who loves honest and kind traders, and He will help you in a good enterprise. If you decide to marry your son or give your daughter in marriage, again pray to God: He is the patron of every honest marriage. In general, in every good deed or intention, God protects us. It is not for nothing that our caring mother, St. the church has provided for all these cases. Listen to the voice of St. church and know that good intentions are protected by God Himself and His saints! (See “Sunday leaf.” No. 663). 4. No honest work is humiliating 30 Many of the Christians, to whom God has assigned low work, according to human concepts, grumble about their occupation, are often dissatisfied with their position and often envy noble and rich people. But... remember the words of the apostle: everyone do as God has determined for him and as the Lord has called (1 Cor. 7:17). Any useful work, even menial work, is honest and pleasing to God. Our Savior Jesus Christ himself, living in the house of Joseph the carpenter, undoubtedly engaged in this craft, because he was in complete obedience to his parents (Luke 2:51). The apostles also fed from the labors of their hands: thus, St. Paul was engaged in making tents, and other apostles, for example, Peter, John, were engaged in fishing. The Blessed Virgin Mary was doing needlework. And many of God’s holy saints also engaged in menial labor: some cultivated the land, others weaved baskets, others chopped wood, etc. Let’s take St. Alexander, Bishop of Coman, whose memory is celebrated on August 12. Who was he? Alexander came from noble parents and received an excellent education: he knew not only Christian wisdom, but also pagan wisdom and was known as a philosopher. By his education he could have held a prominent position and enjoyed great honor in society, but his holy soul sought the highest honors; he chose the highest Christian feat - self-imposed poverty: out of deep Christian humility, he decided to live the simplest life, which according to people’s concepts was almost shameful - he became a coal miner: he burned coals in the forest and carried them to the city for sale, which is how he fed himself. According to his occupation, he always appeared black, dirty, in patched clothes. Little by little they forgot about Alexander as a philosopher and knew him only as a coal miner. Now, from time to time, even small children mocked him, but Alexander did not pay any attention to this. He thought of ending his life in this position, but God’s Providence judged him differently. In the city of Comanach, in Asia Minor, a bishop died. To choose a bishop, the presbyters and surrounding bishops gathered in Comana; Bishop Gregory the Wonderworker of Neocaesarea, famous for his spiritual experience, was also invited here with the rank of chairman. When voters began to point to one or the other as a worthy successor to the deceased, meaning either the nobility of the family, then wealth, then the gift of eloquence, or the venerable years of the chosen one, Gregory the Wonderworker, in turn, noted that when choosing a bishop, one must pay attention mainly to internal qualities, to the kindness of the heart and to the direction of God, proving his idea with a well-known event from Old Testament history, namely, the election of the youngest son as king Jesse - David, who was a shepherd for his father. Some voters did not like the saint's idea; They began to grumble at the saint’s proposal and said with mockery: if when choosing a bishop they do not pay attention to appearance, then shouldn’t they elect Alexander the Comanian bishop? And Alexander was standing right there in the crowd of people at that time. “Who is this Alexander?” asked Gregory of Neocaesarea, thinking to himself: is this not God’s indication of a worthy chosen one. Alexander was called in as he was - black, dirty, in torn and patched clothes. Voters, looking at him, could hardly restrain themselves from laughing. Meanwhile, the coal miner did not pay any attention to this and behaved quite decently before the meeting. Noticing a lofty soul in him, the perspicacious Saint Gregory took him aside and, under oath, began to question him about his former life. Alexander could not help but open up before the great, respected saint; and Gregory the Wonderworker was convinced of the validity of his assumption regarding this man and of the indication of him from above. Alexander turned out to be very knowledgeable in Christian law, and most importantly, in terms of the height of his life he turned out to be a rare Christian. Having invited him to wash, change clothes and appear at the cathedral, St. Grigory went to the meeting again. After some time, Alexander also appeared at the meeting; he was now barely recognized by those who had previously laughed at him. They began to ask Alexander some questions, and he answered so reasonably that one could not help but be surprised at his answers. Then the meeting by a general vote elected Alexander bishop of Comania. Alexander soon passed through the lower hierarchical positions and was finally consecrated bishop. According to custom, the newly installed bishop had to say an instructive word to the people. When Bishop Alexander began to deliver the teaching, the listeners were all delighted and moved by the simplicity and sincerity of the teaching. But then, there was one philosopher from the residents of the city of Koman, who laughed at the simplicity of the teaching of the philosopher saint, and the Lord enlightened him with a vision: he saw a flock of white, very beautiful pigeons, shining with some special light, and heard a voice: “here are the words of Alexander the Bishop, at which you laughed.” After this vision, the young philosopher came to his senses and, coming to Bishop Alexander, repented of his sin. Meanwhile, Alexander at the episcopal see was always a worthy saint, setting an example in his life for the faithful in both word and deed. With honor, glory and great benefit, Alexander served as a priest in his Coman flock, until, finally, for an open and firm confession of faith, he was captured by the enemies of Christianity and, after various tortures, was burned. This is how Bishop Alexander, who used to be a coal miner, ended his life as a martyr! This example clearly tells each of us that no work is humiliating; therefore, if any of you, Christians, are destined to bear hard, black labor, do not complain about God and your situation. Every title is good if you yourself are good, and vice versa - every title will be bad if you yourself are bad, that is, if you are lazy, a drunkard, a thief, in a word - a worthless person. And you, whom the Lord has destined to occupy the highest positions, do not humiliate your brother because he lives in poverty and simplicity. Do you know the soul of the one before whom you boast? Perhaps his soul is several times more perfect than your soul. Why, in fact, should a person be valued if not for his spiritual qualities? Gold is hidden, as we know, in blocks of earth, and precious stones in hard, earthy crust. Are not the precious qualities of the soul sometimes hidden in a similar way under the shell of poverty and simplicity - under beggarly rags, as can be seen from the life of St. Alexander, Bishop of Coman? 5. Election to a bishop is carried out according to the will of God 31 (A story about his childhood of St. Jonah, Archbishop of Novgorod). “I was left an orphan, so said St. Jonah, in the world John, after his father for seven years, and after his mother for 3 years. God put it on the heart of the widow Natalia, the mother of Yakov Dmitrievich Medovartsev: she took me into her house, fed and clothed me, and gave me to the clerk to learn to read and write. There were many students at the school; I was quiet from poverty. One day the children were playing after Vespers; a blessed man walks down the street; the children rushed at him, throwing pebbles and rubbish at him, and I stood there without moving. The blessed one, leaving the children, ran to me, took me by the hair, raised me higher than himself and, without knowing me at all, called me by name: “Vanyusha! he said, learn to read and write, you will be an archbishop in Novgorod”; then he hugged me and ran away.” It was Blessed Mikhail Klopsky. In his mature years, John retired to Otnya Pustyn, fifty miles from Novgorod; The desert was poor then. Here John took monastic vows with the name of Jonah. For a pure and ascetic life, the brethren, after the death of the founder of the desert, Chariton, elected Jonah as abbot. In 1458, the Novgorodians elected the zealous abbot Jonah as archbishop of Novgorod, and in February 1459 he was consecrated in Moscow by High Hierarch Jonah. From this story, the reader will, without a doubt, draw the conclusion that the election to the bishop, predicted many years ago by the perspicacious fools for Christ's sake, is carried out not by the will of man, but of God. (See the book “Russian saints, revered by the whole church or locally,” Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov, part III. St. Petersburg, 1882, pp. 308–310). 6. It is dangerous to insult a priest Here is a very instructive story from one priest: “My father, says this shepherd, served as a priest for a long time at St. Andrew’s Church, in which I have served since 1824; he gave me the following obvious proof of the truth that it is dangerous to insult a priest. In his parish (from the Little Russian Cossacks) there was a certain Maxim, a man of obstinate character, and especially when he drank, which unfortunately happened to him often. My father, as a shepherd, exhorted him at every opportunity to reform and stop drinking. At one time, seeing this Maxim again rampaging in a drunken state, he made a remark to him: “how you, Maxim, are doing wrong, how you are sinning!” But Maxim, instead of obeying the instructions, said a lot of rude and abusive words to my father, and in response to my father’s remark: “But I’m your confessor,” he said: “If I don’t teach you, I’ll die.” 32 That was the end of the matter then. Several years passed from that time, and it happened that this Maxim fell ill. His family asked my father to give instructions to the sick man, and my father went to him with holy gifts; but as soon as he entered the hut, sick, conscious and talking, suddenly in the presence of his confessor he became speechless, unconscious and looked in a frenzy, seeing nothing. No matter how much my father and his family spoke to him, he remained numb. There was nothing to do; the father left the hut and wanted to go home, when suddenly the family said that the sick man had regained consciousness and asked him to come back. The father returned, but as soon as he entered the hut, the sick man again lost consciousness and became unable to accept parting words. The next day, the patient’s relatives again ask the father to confess and commune him, reporting that he is already feeling. My father, believing that the patient, perhaps, could not receive guidance from him, did not go to him himself, but invited another priest; but what? and the same thing happens with this: before his arrival, the patient spoke and was conscious, but as soon as the priest entered his hut, he became insensitive and numb; the priest left the hut - and the sick man came to his senses again; The priest is again asked to return, but when he entered the hut, the patient again lost consciousness. So this poor man died without the guidance of the saint. secrets. May the Lord God forgive and have mercy on him! (From “The Wanderer” for 1861). 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 18th, ch. VI, 22–33 art. 1. Explanation of the Gospel reading: about the true enlightenment of the mind and impartiality to earthly acquisitions The Lord says: The eye is a lamp to the body; if your eye is simple, your whole body will be light; if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark (22-23). Before this, the Savior gave His listeners a lesson - to seek for themselves not earthly, but heavenly treasures, and on this occasion he remarked: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (21). And then he adds: the lamp of the body is the eye, etc. Just as this remark refers to the inner life of our heart, so, obviously, these last words must be understood as applied to the inner state of the soul. The eye of the soul, its lamp, is the mind or rational consciousness of a person: and like the sensory eye, it is of great importance for our body, because through it light is given to the body; Likewise, our mind serves as an internal instrument for enlightening the soul. Those whose eyes are damaged see objects incorrectly; Those whose eyes are completely closed see neither themselves nor others at all, and even walking in the middle of a clear day, they remain entirely in darkness. So, if someone’s mind is darkened, then, turning among the bright indications of the truth, he has erroneous ideas about things, or does not see the truth at all; and his mind and whole soul remain in darkness. Even if there is darkness in you, the Savior continues, then how much darkness is there (23)! If, he says, the light that is in you becomes darkness, then what can we say about the darkness itself - about the entire soul, which is illuminated through the medium of reason? This serves as an incentive for us to take care of enlightening our minds; but even at a time when we work on developing our rational consciousness and are consoled by the successes of the mind, we need to keep in mind the Savior’s remark every time, and even more so. What if the very light of education, which we are proud of, for the acquisition of which we spend so much time and effort, turns out to be darkness in the end?.. And following the testimony of the Gospel, we must conclude that such a phenomenon is possible. In our present situation, we have been given a pure and undisturbed source of mental enlightenment - in the word of Divine Revelation: in its instructions, when excited by the Spirit of truth, our mind must draw for itself the beginning of true sanity and, using them diligently, refine and strengthen our gaze; This is also where we need to direct natural means of mental education, which in any case have their own importance in the eyes of a right-thinking person. But in order for us to successfully, through his medium, be able to assimilate the suggestions of the truth of God, it is necessary that he himself be illuminated with purity and abundantly by its light. And his gaze can become crafty, that is, thin, when, instead of the real truth that is given to him, he will convey to us incorrect and self-made ideas about it, as happens with a diseased eye; He may even become completely blind when he stubbornly begins to close himself off from her living impressions. But so that our mind can surely avoid all these shortcomings and acquire a living receptivity to the suggestions of heavenly truth, for this we must first cleanse it of passionate thoughts; because passions and vices are the first clouding of the mind. It is necessary that his bright view in us is expressed, first of all, in the pure and sublime aspirations of the heart, which is always in close connection with our convictions: otherwise, here our mind is in danger of leading ourselves into endless darkness; “If rational consciousness, which is the light of the soul, says Blessed Jerome, is darkened in you by spiritual vices, then how dark must the darkness itself be in you?” It is necessary that this rational consciousness reveals itself in a sound, if possible, and thorough distinction between good and holy inclinations from sin and sinful desires: moral and practical sanity is a necessary condition for the integrity and purity of the mind, in all its rational activities. In talking about this here, we want to point out that the gospel says the same thing. When the Savior teaches us to turn our hearts to heavenly blessings, and after this directly inspires us to take care of the purity of our views, it is not in vain, without a doubt, that He puts both of them in line with one another. And even earlier, in another place, He directly assimilates the vision of God through purity of heart, which constitutes the crown of mental perfection: blessed are those who are pure in heart, He says, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Therefore, when a person’s heart is separated from earthly impure desires, this means that his mental eye is also pure. But this is not enough: then the Savior again turns to the doctrine of impartiality to earthly acquisitions, which He began to talk about earlier. No one can work for two masters: either he will love one and hate the other: or he will hold on to one, but will begin to be careless about his friends: you cannot work for God and mammon (24). The word "mammon" means: wealth; This was the name of the god of wealth among the Sirians. Man cannot work for God and mammon together, because serving one and serving the other are not reconciled with one another: one is for heaven, and the other for earth; one turns to the benefit of the soul, and the other only to the benefits of the body and to the detriment of the soul. Here, in a prudent choice between them, in preferring God and heavenly blessings to wealth, the Christian has the opportunity to reveal his sanity and show that the lamp of his mind has not been darkened. Human attachment to wealth can find a plausible basis for itself in the needs of our bodily life, for the provision of which we ourselves have to seek out the means. Therefore, the Savior turns His word to this subject and here at the very foundation undermines our unreasonable attachment to material acquisitions. For this reason I say to you: do not worry about your soul, what you eat or what you drink, nor about your body, what you put on. Is not the soul more than food, and the body clothing? Look at the birds of the air, how they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you better at eating them? Whoever took care of you can add one lakot to his age (25–27)? Thus, even in the most extreme needs, He limits our love of acquisitions; after that there is no more plausible excuse left for her. So what? Is it really moving towards us abandoning all concerns about earthly property, even those for which there is a glaring need? Yes, we know glorious ascetics of piety who carried out the commandment of Christ with clear literalness in their lives, renouncing all property, not thinking today about what they will eat tomorrow, where they will lay their heads, but eating what God sent, and taking refuge wherever they had to; and God apparently showed them traces of His providence - he even miraculously sent food to many in the desert through angels. But the question arises: is it really possible to completely abandon the care of earthly things, when through this the correct order of life would be upset, the generally useful works of industry, which bring us closer together on the path of education, would be destroyed? True, the indicated example of holy ascetics is not a universal example: these were extraordinary manifestations of faith. Just by asserting this, it seems that we should name here not the main reason that we just mentioned, but another. We do not yet know what would happen to our earthly life if we all suddenly came to such an age of faith that we would completely abandon all worldly cares, for the sake of Christ and the Gospel: after all, we should not lose sight of the fact that one day a state will come when all worthy participants in salvation will live like the angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:30). Or better yet, let’s ask this: are we all now capable of such faith in God’s Providence as was sometimes revealed in those holy chosen ones? There is a more important reason here than the first; as a result of it, it also receives its legal force; both of them, in combination with one another, encourage us to look in the words of Christ for a more lenient application to life, which could be accessible to everyone, and together, for everyone, already constitute a direct duty. And indeed, they apply to all of us. Let us note that the Savior does not free us from honest work for the benefit of external life and does not bless us to surrender to laziness and inaction, in idle anticipation of the benefits of Providence. No, what was said to Adam: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread” (Gen. 3:10), remains an unchangeable law for us as long as we live here. And the holy hermits, abandoning everything worldly, nevertheless worked in their distance from people, and even often helped others with the labor of their hands. But Christ tells us: “don’t worry,” that is, don’t allow yourself unnecessary worries, don’t fuss. “We must work,” says one church teacher, “but we must not worry.” That we have the right to explain the words of the Gospel in this way can be deduced from the following words: “Which of you, by caring, can add even one cubit to his height?” Obviously, here those concerns are removed from us that are incompatible with our limitations and should be left to Providence itself, which alone belongs to the final distribution of the means of life among us and its organization, the final overcoming of all its difficulties, the provision of all its contingencies. Despite all the obligatory nature of honest work in life, we will still have a lot of things here that we ourselves cannot accurately determine in advance or arrange on our own, and that are in the hands of the Supreme Ruler of all, just as the very existence of our soul and body is in His hands every minute. And this last circumstance serves for us as a constant provision for hope in God’s Providence; Christ also points out this to us: does not the soul eat more food, and the body eat clothing? That is, if God has given us a soul and a body in which such a wealth of life is discovered, it will not be all the more difficult to help us in the secondary, external means of life. Let only this strong confidence in God’s Providence appear in us and turn into a constant habit of the soul; Then we ourselves will each time find out without difficulty where we will need to use our own efforts, where we should surrender directly to the will of God. The main thing is that we have no right to deny that the traces of her providential actions in our fate are undeniable: we notice the same thing in the visible nature around us. The Savior brings this last point to our attention when he points to the birds of the air, and then to the lilies of the field, which God takes care of in such a way that we are never able to take care of ourselves. The general conclusion of the Gospel reading is this: seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (33). That is, we must adhere to such a rule that not the external prosperity of life, but the kingdom of God with its holiness and truth constitutes our direct and inseparable task in life, then God Himself, Who is always pleased to help us in this matter, will not deprive us of the slightest of earthly gifts, if only it turns out to be suitable for our main goal (“Resurrection Reading.”, g. XXV, part I, pp. 281–289). 2. Against luxury in clothing and decoration (Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow). What are clothes? In the natural order - a means to protect the human body from the destructive effects of the elements; in the order of morality - the defense of modesty; in civil order - an artificial covering of the members of the body, adapted for the administration of one or another public rank, and at the same time a distinctive sign of the ranks and degrees assigned to them. From these concepts one can immediately see that care for clothing should be governed by necessity, modesty, and constancy. God in some way sanctified what is in clothing, the simplest and at the same time the most necessary. And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins: and clothed them (Gen. 3:21). But through this very thing, reckless care for decorating the body is condemned. If the substance, according to the instructions of God Himself, used to make up the garment was leather, then why do some imagine those who wear simple linen and coarse wool to be either unfortunate or despicable? Why is it unpleasant for us if the silkworm is not spinning on us? Is it not for us that the earth gives birth to gold and a sea of ​​pearls? Why such childish whims? What is better and more splendid for you than the clothes that God Himself prepares for us! For we can say that He creates the necessary garments for each of us, as for Adam and his wife. In which country of the world He predetermines us to be born, in the same country He produces everything that, according to the quality of this country, is needed for our body; and in order to obtain what is needed, His all-wise Providence almost always puts sufficient means into our hands. Why do we still often want our clothing to exceed not only the requirements of necessity, but also the decency of our condition? Why are we sometimes dissatisfied with our jewelry just because it was not stolen from our most distant brothers? Look - this is how the wisdom of God puts to shame not only vain worries about what is superfluous, but also about what is superfluous: - look at the flowers of the field; how they grow; they neither spin nor toil; and you, you of little faith, arbitrarily torment yourselves with elaborate worries about your clothing; as if Providence is less concerned with you than with the past, now blooming and tomorrow fading; and as if it forgot to produce near you what you need! If you, looking at wild flowers, do not gain the wisdom of bees in yourself in order to collect subtle, spiritual honey from them; if the spectacle of nature does not bring you instruction that would turn you into strength and life, choose another, higher spectacle; lift up your spirit and look not at the image and shadow of truth, but at its very face, at uncreated beauty, at the color of perfection - look, members of the body of Christ, at your Head - and look closely to see if your favorite jewelry will suit her. What an incongruity! The head is in a manger, on straw; and the members want to rest on their seats and drown in their beds! The head is in humiliation, in poverty; and the members only think about wealth and splendor! The head is wet with bloody sweat; and the members are anointed and doused with incense! Tears fall from the Head, and pearls overshadow the members! Head in thorns; and the members are in roses! The head turns purple from the flowing blood and is filled with mortal pallor; and the members, with crafty art, complement their lack of natural liveliness and, thinking to give themselves the beauty that nature denied them, transform a living human image into an artistic image! The head is sometimes naked, sometimes in the clothes of reproach; and their members love to rest under silver fine linen, under a golden fleece, or, instead of the nakedness of the Crucified One, with contempt for shame and modesty, they invent for themselves clothes that would not so much cover as expose! But must everyone really reject all splendor and put on rags? - No, co-questioners, the wise do evil, but do not know good (Jer. 4:22)! Nobody demands this. Our Divine Teacher denounces only worries about clothing, and especially unnecessary, vain, partial ones. Why are you worried about clothes? However, it is known that He Himself (no doubt, so as not to deprive the people who served His bodily needs of consolation and reward) wore a precious unsewn tunic, which those who shared His garments were sorry to tear apart. There is a type and degree of splendor and even splendor in clothing, which does not indicate partiality, but decency, not vanity, but state, not vanity, but duty and obligation. But care without end, pomp without measure, waste without purpose, daily changes of attire, only because there are people who have the baseness to engage in inventions of this kind, and that there are too many who have the slavish baseness to imitate such children’s inventions - incredible recklessness! Recklessness even more so; it is absurd that, without a doubt, many who are guilty of it admit it, and yet do not cease to become guilty of it again! And let it remain recklessness: the disastrous thing is that lawlessness is generated and fed by it. Let's see, for example, how sometimes in a market place they pass by a beggar asking for a small coin for their daily bread without paying attention, and thousands are given away for an unnecessary decoration. Who would dare to say that love for one’s neighbor is not violated here? Who does not see from this and many other examples how easily vanity, excused by the world, can make a person guilty before both tablets of the law of God? (Vol. I. From the word of the 3rd week after Pentecost, pp. 93–96.) 3. The admonition of a young man who doubted God’s Providence Is there Divine Providence in private human affairs? - So, in various cases of life, one young man often asked himself, by nature lively and fiery, but at the same time irritable and impatient, whom the inquisitiveness of a quick, but not yet mature mind, involved in some doubts regarding the Providence of God; arrogance of mind without measure and experience, irritability of imagination without patience and humility, under the influence of frivolity, common in youth, almost led the young man to the pitiful conviction that what happens to us in life is accidental. In such a pitiful state of anxious doubt, the young man with rich powers of mind and heart was likened, by his own admission, to a ship with a rich cargo, which, without sails and a helmsman, rushes along the waves of a stormy sea; To save the young man, both the pacification of his restless mind and the experience of a leader were needed. And the Providence of God, in which the young man doubted, did not leave his wavering mind without admonishment; the following events in his life, which he himself told us with deep contrition, served as an intelligible lesson for him about Providence and the transition to a new good belief in thoughts and way of life. One day this young man, having gone out of town, was late there and stayed overnight in the forest with a sheep shepherd. At night, wolves attacked the flock and tore the sheep to pieces. When the shepherd announced this to the owners of the flock, they did not believe it and accused the young man that he had let down the thieves who had stolen the sheep at night, and the young man was sent to the judge. After him, another man, convicted of adultery, was brought before the judge. The judge, postponing the investigation of the case, sent both accused to prison, where they found another farmer accused of murder. But, in fact, neither the farmer was a murderer, nor the one brought with the young man an adulterer, just as the young man himself was not a predator of the sheep. Convinced of their innocence, as of his own, the young man in such circumstances became even more excited by thoughts regarding the participation of God’s Providence in private human affairs; but this excitement was no longer so much the cold doubt of the mind, rejecting the truth, as the restless desire of the heart, seeking the truth. After spending seven days in prison under the influence of the thought of God’s Providence, the young man sees in a dream a man who tells him: “Be pious, and you will understand Providence; go over in your thoughts what you were thinking about and what you were doing, and you will realize for yourself that these people are not suffering unjustly.” Having awakened, the young man began to reflect on the vision and, searching for his guilt, found that once upon a time, having previously been in the same village in the field at night, with evil intentions he drove the cow of one poor villager out of the corral, and it was torn to pieces by a running beast. As soon as the young man told his dream and guilt to the prisoners, and they, excited by his example, began to confess and admitted - the farmer, that he saw a man drowning in the river and did not save him, although he could have done it; accused of adultery, who joined the accusers of a widow whom her brothers accused of adultery in order to deprive her of her father's inheritance. These stories of prisoners completed the young man’s conviction of the existence of God’s Providence: in his own circumstances and in the circumstances of his fellow prisoners, the young man could not help but see the obvious action of Divine Providence, apparently rewarding people for the secret untruths; he repented of his destructive doubt and, while still in prison, made a vow to wash away his sin with repentance. On the eve of his liberation, he again saw his husband in a dream, who now told him: “return to your place and repent of unrighteousness, making sure that there is an Eye that watches over everything.” The young man was faithful to his vow and the instructions of the one who appeared: leaving the world, among the hermits he did not cease to repent of the sin of his youth and told his brethren about the wondrous ways of God’s Providence, secretly and openly operating in all circumstances of human life. This young man was St. Ephraim the Syrian. (See his self-reproof). One artisan (a tailor by trade) worked in the room in which his child slept in a cradle. Suddenly, in the midst of his gaiety, for no apparent reason, he was seized by some incomprehensible fear, as if his heart was squeezing from a spasm, and some vague feeling told him that the life of his child sleeping in the cradle was in some danger. Not only that, he quite clearly heard a voice inside himself, briefly and definitely telling him: “Get up quickly and take the child from the cradle!” The craftsman did not immediately listen to this unknown voice. He even tried to calm himself down with various considerations. The child was still sleeping soundly in his bed; nothing bothered him in the room; It was also quiet outside. Where could his life be in danger? It must have been just imagination that created such mental anxiety; “We need to drive him away,” the tailor decided, and, taking up the needle again for work, he even tried to start singing. Indeed, he managed to calm down for a few moments; but then suddenly fear still gripped him, this time much stronger than before, and again he heard an inner voice, more definite and almost threatening: “Get up quickly and take the child from the cradle!” Again the father stops his work, and the song itself seems to have died away on his lips. He looks around carefully and examines the entire room, starting from his desk and to the very last, most distant corner of it. Since he absolutely nowhere found any reason to fear for the child, and the latter was still sleeping soundly in his bed, it seemed unreasonable to him, because of some imaginary danger, to disturb the child and take him out of his warm bed. Without thus listening to the voice, he again took his place at the work table and began to work; but his former gaiety had already disappeared: he no longer hummed the song. In vain he now made every effort to overcome his fear by any means. A few moments later the fear returned again and much stronger than before; in my heart, with the force of a thunderclap, a voice again rang out: “get up quickly and take the child from the cradle!” Now, at last, he did what the warning voice demanded. Instantly he was already at the child’s cradle, hastily picked him up and carried him to his place where he himself had been sitting. As soon as he had time to take his place, a strong roar was heard in the corner of the room where the cradle was located. The entire ceiling instantly collapsed, fell onto the cradle and completely covered it with debris and fallen pieces of plaster. The child woke up from a loud noise and began to cry; but he was safe and sound in the arms of his father, who, deeply touched by what had happened, pressed him to his heart. What a living joy the poor mother was overcome when, hearing a loud noise, she ran into the room with deathly pallor in her face; she was afraid that her husband and child were killed, but they both remained safe and sound! Filled with deep piety, her heart, as well as that of her husband, poured out with the most sincere prayer to the Lord when her husband told her how miraculously their dear child had been saved. (See "Sunday" 1885 No. 19). 5. Miraculous rescue from fire This is what happened in the city of Maloyaroslavets in 1868. At the indicated time, a fire occurred here in hot summer weather and strong winds. The latter spread the flames throughout all the streets of the city, and the first helped the fire destroy the city buildings. Some of the townsfolk, having left their homes to go to their friends to help them save their property, returned to their homes to find them already in flames. During this memorable fire for Maloyaroslavl residents, up to 80 houses burned down, and two streets were completely burned out. On one of these latter lived a pious old woman named Malutina. When the alarm sounded, she took the icon of the Savior from the shrine and walked with it around her house, sprinkling it with St. Epiphany water, which she always had at the shrine. So what? The entire street where this old woman’s house stood burned out on both sides; Many houses burned down on other neighboring streets, but the old woman’s house survived with all its outbuildings. Everything contributed to his burning down. Why was he saved? The answer is possible only in the light of revealed faith and divine Providence. It should be noted that the mentioned old woman was distinguished by piety throughout her life: she died only in 1886 at the age of 94 from birth, perfectly remembering the events of 1812 (From “Sunday” of 1887). 6. Don't worry about tomorrow We have a lot of concern about tomorrow and little hope in the Providence of the Almighty and in His fatherly care for us. Each of us dreams of arranging his own life, tries to foresee everything, provide for and protect himself from various vicissitudes of fate, and in these worries about the urgent needs of earthly life, he spends precious time without benefit to the soul, becomes hardened in heart and falls into selfishness. The founder of one ancient monastery (near Constantinople), in which there was a church in honor of the holy martyr Eustratius and his companions, wanting to protect the monks of his monastery from this universal human inclination and make them think more about the blessings of heaven than about earthly ones, he decreed that the monastery should not make any supplies or preparations for itself, but would be content with offerings from zealous pilgrims. Knowing the rules of this monastery, indeed, many of the faithful supplied those living in it with various products, and even the patriarch himself and the persons of the reigning house sent them every holiday or gold, or some other offering, so that they did not suffer a great shortage. But one day it happened that on the eve of the feast of the holy martyrs there was a big storm with rain and wind, which prevented the townspeople from gathering at the monastery. The monks served Vespers alone and began to grieve and murmur against God and the patron saints of their monastery because for the sake of such a great holiday, no one brought them even a piece of bread for dinner, and nothing was foreseen for tomorrow either. The Lord was pleased to take advantage of this opportunity to admonish cowardly people and to glorify his holy saints. When dusk came, the monastery gatekeeper entered the abbot of the monastery and reported to him that an ambassador had arrived from the king with wine and various food supplies brought on two camels. This ambassador not only delivered dinner to the grumbling monks, but there was still a lot left of what he brought until the next day. Before the monks had finished their meal, another messenger from the queen appeared and brought a lot of fish and ten gold coins (“Sunday Thursday” 1881, No. 50). 7. Give us our daily bread today! So we pray to our heavenly Father! With these words we ask the Lord to give us bread. So what? Shouldn't we earn our own food? No, on your own. Even at the beginning, after the creation of man, God said: “By the sweat of your brow you shall bear your bread” (Gen. 3:19). Therefore, a person himself must work and buy his own bread. But can he do this on his own without God? Man plants, but God gives back. Without God, all our labors will be fruitless. Therefore, we pray to our heavenly Father to give us bread. How long do we ask God for bread for ourselves? Today, today, i.e. on this day. Why is this so? And so that we do not worry much about temporary things, but expect everything from our heavenly Father, Who knows all our needs and always cares about us. For your heavenly Father knows that you require all of these (Matthew 6:32), said the Savior. He, the Merciful and Most Caring One, knows our needs and often grants them before our petition. And there are many examples of how the Lord miraculously sends food to His faithful servants. Let's turn to Old Testament history. Throughout their wanderings in the desert, the Israelites ate ready-made bread, manna, which came down from heaven every day, except Saturday. The holy prophet Elijah once hid from persecution by the wicked king of Israel in the desert; there was no food there at all and there was nowhere to find it, because there was hunger. And so, the ravens bring bread and meat to him every day, and at certain hours, morning and evening. How could the birds know about the prophet’s hunger, and how did they understand the human hours for receiving food, which they themselves do not observe? One possible explanation: the Lord Himself commanded the birds to feed the righteous. Another time, an angel of God offered him unleavened bread and a jug of water to strengthen him for the forty-day desert journey (1 Kings 19:6). The prophet Habakkuk, who was suddenly caught up and carried by the hand of an angel from Judea to Babylon (Dan. 14:33–34), brought a whole meal to the Holy Prophet Daniel, who was thrown into a den to be devoured by lions. And how many examples of God’s miraculous provision of righteous people are contained in the Prologue and the Four Menaions! In one area, it was noticed that crows fly to trees every day, break and carry away branches with fruits. After prolonged observation, it turned out that in one cleft of the desert mountains there were several women who were fleeing. It was to them that the Guardian and Nourisher, who gives food to all flesh (Ps. 135:25), and the chick of the corvids calling Him (Ps. 146:9) sent them through the birds of the air. And here is another touching example of how the Lord protects helpless people and especially orphans. Here, for example, is what is told about the birth and upbringing of St. Martyr Kodrat, whose memory is celebrated on March 10. During the persecution of Christians in the 2nd century, one pious woman named Rufina, hiding from her persecutors, left the city of Corinth and wandered through impassable places. Rufina was not afraid of death, no, she wanted to save the baby conceived in her womb. Finally, the time came for permission, and she gave birth to a son; but, unfortunately, she died a few days later. It is most natural to think that a helpless orphan will die of hunger or be eaten by animals. But “open your hand and do every kind of animal goodness” did not despise the swaddling Kodrat and stood up for his father and mother. God commanded the clouds, and in response to the cry of the baby, descending from the heights and bending down, they poured sweet dew onto his lips and fed him with milk and honey until he grew up and could gather desert fruits for himself (Ch. M.). The Monk Theodosius taught the brethren to despise everything carnal and not to worry about immediate needs. As he taught, so he acted, for example, at the monastery he organized all sorts of services, but he never agreed to build barns for storing bread. Moreover, while going around the monks’ cells, if he found anyone with cooked food or clothing that was in excess of the regulations, he took it away and threw it into the oven; at the same time, he always hoped in the Heavenly Father, recalling the words of the Savior: do not worry and do not say: what will we eat or what will we drink... And the Lord did not disgrace the hopes of His faithful servant. So, one day the food supplies in the monastery ran out; The cellarer (this is what the senior servant in the bakery is called in monasteries) Theodore and says to Saint Theodosius: “What are we going to do?” Theodosius tried to persuade us to rely on God and not think about tomorrow, but the caring cellarer kept repeating his thoughts: “What should we do tomorrow?” Suddenly three carts from one boyar with bread, fish, cheese, millet and honey arrive at the monastery. “You see, brother Theodore,” said the monk, “the Lord does not abandon us if we trust in Him with all our hearts. Go quickly, prepare dinner for the brothers, this is a visit from God.” You see, Christians, how wonderfully the Lord feeds His faithful servants. Don’t say that these are rare experiences of divine providence. Isn’t the Almighty, Who illuminates and warms the whole world with one sun, able to serve ready-made bread to everyone? Will the treasures of His goodness become scarce because of the multitude of those who demand? No. Impoverishment is on our side, not on God's. We do not get our daily needs without difficulty because we ourselves care too much about them. In fact, all we have is thoughts and worries: “how to live? What to feed the family. What to raise children for...” And, despite all these worries, all the worries, most of us complain about shortcomings, about the difficulties of life, as if the Lord had really forgotten them... But it is not the Lord who forgets us, but we forget Him. Do we pray? Do we ask the Lord: give us our daily bread this day? Don't we rely on our own strength, on our own mind more than on the Lord God? But no matter how much we fuss, no matter how much we care, we must remember one thing: without God we cannot reach the threshold, that without God’s blessing there will be no success in anything. And the blessing of God is given only to those who fulfill the commandments of God and care first of all about the kingdom of God, according to the word of the Savior: seek first the kingdom of God and all these (bodily needs) will be added to you. (Compiled by Ch. M.). 8. Parable of the Two Masters 33 Two people stood in the city square and waited to see if someone would hire them into their service. They were siblings, but had very different properties: the eldest was sensible and experienced; the younger one was flighty, frivolous and especially prone to fun and pleasure. Both of them were poor and therefore had to look for employment and food. In the same city, two gentlemen were looking for servants for themselves: one had an extensive farm, and, giving idle people work in his house, wanted to thereby give himself pleasure and benefits for them; the other, although he did not do housework, was vain and always envied the first, and therefore gathered as many servants as possible in his house in order to shine with pomp and splendor. Those sent from both masters came to the square and began to call both brothers, each to his master. One said: “Come serve us: our master is rich and generous; He has a lot of work, but the reward is great; you just need to be diligent and faithful, and he will make you happy forever.” Another said: “No, you’d better come to us: our master doesn’t have any work at all, and he only needs people for light services in the house; With us you will spend time in pleasure; there is nothing to say about maintenance and pay: you will see for yourself how generously he rewards his employees.” The brothers thought for a long time and did not decide where to go. The eldest preferred the first gentleman, and the younger was captivated by the description of the cheerful and pleasant life of the latter and decided to definitely go to him. Thus, the brothers, although with some regret, decided to separate. However, in order to know who made the better choice, they decided to see each other once every week and tell each other about their lives. After a week, both brothers, as agreed, saw each other. - “How are you, brother? - asked the younger one, - what is your master? How were you received? You’re somehow gloomy and despondent: apparently you’re unlucky?” “I don’t know what to tell you to this: I’m both happy and not. Our gentleman, apparently, is a rich man and very kind. He received me both importantly and kindly, promised to reward me generously if I was efficient and faithful, and without delaying for long, he immediately assigned me a task and ordered me to go to work. “Time is precious,” he said, “there is no need to waste a minute.” Keeps us well; cares for everyone as if they were their own; He himself observes whether everyone is happy and healthy. It would be nice for us to live with him, but there is too much to do. I've lived a little, but I'm already exhausted from work. How are you living? - “Oh, I’m not living, but blissful. Our gentleman is the most kind man in the world. What a rich house he has! Everywhere there is gold and silver, or marble. And how he received me! This seems to be not a master, but a friend and comrade. My whole business is to either accompany the gentleman to the theater, to a hunt, to visit, or to receive guests at my place, to give them pleasure, to amuse them and that’s all. A whole week passed and I didn’t see her. And what content! Not only is the food the same as what he himself consumes, but wine also allows us to consume as much as we want. Oh, I would advise you to come to us too” - “I’ll see what happens next,” said the elder brother: if it doesn’t make it easier for me, then I think I’ll decide on it. In a week I’ll tell you what I’ll come up with.” A week passed, and the brothers saw each other again. “What, have you decided to leave your strict master?” - asked the younger brother. - “No,” answered the elder. “Now I don’t think of ever leaving my master: I see that I live in a good place. Our lord is the kindest and noblest man: what rich gifts he gives us!” - “But you said that it’s difficult for him: do you have less to worry about now!” - “No, no less: but now I’m used to work. Now it costs me nothing to get up at sunrise and study all day long. Even I cannot understand how I could previously live without occupation and labor, as you live now. I think you should be bored." - “Oh don’t worry about me. I don't see how time flies. Our pleasures are so varied and so numerous that there can be no place for boredom.” - “Why are you languid and pale: are you really healthy?” asked the elder. “Oh, nothing,” answered the younger one, “of course it’s because I didn’t sleep much at night, because I was having fun with the guests until dawn. And now it’s time for me to go home and get ready to receive guests. Goodbye". – Another week passed, and the brothers saw each other again. “Are you healthy, dear brother? You’re pale and thin, you’re barely recognizable!” - “Oh, I can barely walk. It seems that I didn’t do anything difficult, I spent my time in only games and amusements: but they also tired and tormented me so much that I begin to fear that something bad might happen to me.” “I predicted that this would happen to you, but I just didn’t dare tell you, because then you wouldn’t have listened to me. But listen now, dear brother, listen to sincere advice: change your lifestyle; leave your master. You served with him for a little while, but you were so exhausted: what will happen after? What will happen if he sends you away from him when you are not able to serve him? How will you live then? Think about it!” “I’m already thinking about this myself, and I’m ready to leave my master. Only now you can’t do this; I need to finish some things. I hope to be free next week." “A week later, the older brother came to the meeting place, but the younger brother was not there. He waited for him for a long time and, without waiting, finally decided to go to his house. “Is he sick? We need to visit him.” Approaching the house, from afar he sees its magnificent entrance, hears loud music, and thinking that his brother, of course, is busy receiving guests, he wanted to go back. But to what amazement he came when, not far from him, he heard a groan and then saw his brother lying on the bare ground! “What's wrong with you, brother? How did you end up here and in such a pitiful situation?” “Ah,” he answered, how crazy I was that I served a master who has neither feeling nor conscience, who only seduces poor people with the lure of pleasant service, and then, you see, how he rewards for it! Having heard about my illness, the owner immediately told me that he no longer needed me, and that, therefore, I should look for another place. I presented to him my zeal for service, but he made a sign to the servants, and they forcibly took me out of the gate and left me here to die of illness and grief.” - “Unhappy brother! - said the elder, - your frivolity has ruined you. But if you recover, do you hope to overcome your tendency to fun and bliss and work as hard as you can? In this case, I would tell my master about you, and he, out of his mercy for the poor, will surely not reject you, despite the fact that you served with his enemy, and will take care of you like a father. Just promise to serve him alone from now on, as much as your strength allows. You will feel good with us." The poor man had tears in his eyes. “Lead me to him,” he said, and immediately walked, albeit with difficulty, leaning on his brother’s shoulder, to the new master. The merciful gentleman graciously received him, caressed him, calmed him down, soon healed him of his illness, encouraged him to work and made him a happy person. - Brothers are all of us. A gentleman who at first received so kindly and then expelled his younger brother so contemptuously is a world that deceives people with the false appearance of its wealth, lures people in with the lure of incessant amusements and pleasures, and then leaves them to obvious destruction. Another master, strict, but fair and good, whom the elder brother served, is God, who, having given us a short time of life, demands that we spend it all in labor without the slightest omission. Serving God at first seems difficult and difficult, but then it is easy and pleasant, and ends in acquiring from Him the richest inheritance - the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed is he who spends all the time of his life in serving God! Happy is the one who, although he served the world, saw its deception and came to God with sincere repentance and a willingness to henceforth serve Him alone! But woe to him who serves the world all his life and dies a servant of the world! (From Christian Reading, 1831). 4th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 25th, ch. VIII, 5–13 art. 1. On the healing of the centurion's servant, indicating what the mutual relations should be between masters and servants One day Jesus entered Capernaum. In this city there lived a centurion (or the commander of a hundred soldiers), whose beloved servant fell very dangerously ill. The centurion heard a lot about the miracles of Jesus. He asked the Savior for help; but he did not dare to call Him to himself, considering himself unworthy to receive Him into his home. This centurion was a pagan, but he loved the Jews and helped them. The elders of the Jews said to the Savior: “visit him, he is worthy of such mercy: he loves our people and built us a synagogue.” (Synagogues were houses where people gathered to listen to the Holy Scriptures. Almost every city had synagogues, but there was only one temple in all of Judea - in Jerusalem). The Savior went to the centurion. On the way, he met his friends, who on behalf of the centurion said to Him: “Do not work, Lord! for I am not worthy that You should enter my house. And I did not consider myself worthy to come to You; but say the word, and my servant will be healed. I myself am a subject person; however, when I give an order to my subordinates, they obey me; Everything is subordinate to you.” Jesus, having heard these words, turned to the Jews who surrounded Him and said to them: “Neither have I found such faith in Israel.” Those sent returned home and found that the patient had already recovered. (See the book “Stories about the earthly life of the Savior” by A. Bakhmeteva, 15th edition, 1900). How kind and courteous the Roman commander is to his servant! It is not bad for us Christians to learn from this centurion how to treat employees kindly. Look at the kindness and care he shows to his servant. This servant fell ill; a severe illness confined him to bed, all hope for his recovery had already disappeared, inexorable death was already ready to make him its victim! The centurion sees all this and with pain in his heart, he realizes that neither he himself nor anyone else can help his servant. But then he hears that the great Wonderworker has come to the city, and a spark of faith and hope is lit in his soul. He forgot everything: his wealth, his high position, and the opinion of his fellow believers (pagans) about himself - with only concern for his sick servant, he prays to the Savior for his healing. Yes, another father would not have treated his son with such love as the centurion treated his servant. Oh, if only we Christians had such a fatherly, loving relationship with our employees! But, unfortunately, this is not what really happens with us. Most owners are cold and indifferent towards their employees. They look at employees as labor. As long as they are healthy and working hard, they are good. If for some reason an employee becomes incapable of his work, whether due to old age or sudden illness, we hasten to remove him from us as quickly as possible. Few of us will try to tolerate it, to invite a doctor; but visiting in a hospital is a rare occurrence. And yet how expensive it is for a sick employee! Owners do little good to employees in other cases. But what is most regrettable is that many deliberately distract them from the church, forcing them to work on holidays and Sundays. What a grave sin all such masters take upon their souls! How to answer them at the Last Judgment! Even worse and more ruthless are those employers who deprive the hireling of his bribe, that is, do not give due wages to the working person. A working man, perhaps, sheds not sweat, but blood at your work, and you deprive him of the pay that he has earned through such hard work - aren’t you treating this worker mercilessly?! Isn't this obvious lack of mercy towards one's neighbor? And you, whom the Lord has destined to be servants, can learn from the servant of the Capernaum centurion. We saw how the centurion cared for his sick servant, looking for all kinds of means to alleviate his illness. What was it that attracted him to the servant? There is no doubt that the latter fulfills the will of the master, unquestioning submission, honest and faithful service to him and, in general, good behavior of the servant. And you, employees, if you want to enjoy the love of your masters, work with all truth, without laziness and guile; whoever your master is, a gentleman or a commoner, equally serve him according to your conscience; increase your master's property and take care of it more than your own, do not hide anything from it - remember that evil acquired by evil will perish. But, while working for your masters, do not forget to work for the Lord, and you can please Him and achieve the kingdom of God, for in the Lord there is no slave and no freedom, but Christ is all things and in all. Don’t say: how can we please God in our low rank! I will give you an example that even in the rank of slave you can please God and achieve heavenly glory. This example is presented to us by St. Martyr Julia (her memory is celebrated on July 16). St. was born Julia in Africa, in the city of Carthage, around the 6th century AD. At that time, the Persians attacked this city, defeated it and took many people prisoner. Among them, the youth Julia, the daughter of a venerable Christian, was taken and sold into slavery to a pagan merchant. The captive, even to an unfaithful master, was a faithful servant: she was always hardworking, truthful, honest, modest, and most importantly, pious. For her diligent and honest service, the owner and his entire family loved and respected Julia very much. The Lord blessed the owner’s house: the merchant’s business was going as well as possible. One day, going with goods to Gaul, he took Julia with him, as a necessary, faithful, intelligent and managerial servant. They sailed by sea and finally sailed to an island in the Mediterranean Sea and stopped here for a while. Having seen from the ship, when they were still landing on the shore, that some noisy pagan festival was being celebrated here, on the shore of the island, the owner hurried here and here with his companions took part in the celebration, he also bought a calf, sacrificed it and began to feast with everyone. During the general feast, someone noticed that there was only one girl left on the ship, who was sad and crying about something. And this was Julia: she mourned the blindness and wickedness of the pagans. Now they told the elder of the island about this. He, having learned that Julia, the merchant’s servant, was a Christian, that she was very hardworking, honest and, at the same time, firm in her faith, said to the merchant: “Would you like, I will buy her from you and then I will certainly force her to renounce God.” “You will never force her to renounce her faith,” said the merchant: “she would rather die than renounce Christ. As for the fact that you would like to buy her from me, I will say one thing - that all your fortune is not enough for you to buy such an honest, hardworking and faithful slave.” Encouraged by such a decisive answer, the elder decided, at all costs, to force Julia to renounce her faith. When everyone had already become drunk at the feast, and Yulia’s owner fell fast asleep, the elder demanded Yulia for questioning and began to force her to participate in the pagan celebration. Julia resolutely refused this. Then he began to hit her in the face and on anything; then, after various torments and tortures, he crucified her on the cross. The holy virgin endured all the suffering with amazing patience. When Julia’s owner woke up and found out that she was hanging on the cross, he hurried to her with the greatest sorrow, but it was too late: the martyr gave up her spirit in front of him. Her pure, holy soul, like a white dove, flew into the sky in the sight of everyone. The owner was very sad about the death of his faithful servant; but the Christians who were here mourned the martyr even more. (Ch. M. July 16). Here, Christians, is an example of how you can serve people and please God. 2. The secret of resigned service in a lower position St. John Climacus says that, having come to a certain monastery hostel, he heard a lot about the virtuous life of the local cook. “Seeing that in his service he had constant tenderness and tears, I asked him to reveal to me how he was awarded this grace? Convinced by my request, he answered: I never thought that I served people, but God; I considered myself unworthy of any silence, and looking at this fire, I constantly remember the eternal flame.” (“The Ladder” of John, abbot of the Sinai Mountains. M. 1862. Sl. IV. § 16, pp. 35–36). The Capernaum centurion, whom you heard about in this day's gospel, teaches us the truth that faith has great power. Many saints teach the same thing. Let us present one example of the power of the Christian faith. Born of pious parents, St. From childhood, Basil the Great acquired sincere faith and firm rules of Christian piety. While other peers of his age wasted their energy and time on enjoying worldly pleasures and pagan entertainment, Vasily turned all his efforts to understanding the word of God and acquiring virtues, to acquiring Christian wisdom. Having become the bishop of Caesarea, St. Vasily came out to fight the then heretics, the Arians, who distorted St. Orthodox faith. In defending the truth against the enemies of the Orthodox faith and the Christian Church, he showed such zeal and firmness that, according to St. Gregory the Theologian, was for the Orthodox “a solid wall and stronghold”, and for heretics - “the rock that crushes the stone.” For such zeal for the Orthodox faith, the Lord rewarded St. Basil with the special grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit, manifested by the saint during his lifetime. At that time, the famous Jewish doctor Joseph lived in Caesarea. Foreseeing in spirit his conversion to Christ, Basil the Great sometimes invited him to his place and convinced him to leave the Jewish faith. But the Jew always answered the same thing to all the saint’s convictions: “I want to die in the faith in which I was born.” When St. Vasily fell into an illness from which he was supposed to end his days, then, among others, that Jewish doctor came to visit him. Seeing the great weakness of the archbishop, he ordered everything needed for burial to be prepared, assuring that St. Vasily will not live until morning. Having learned about this, the saint asked that doctor: “And if I live until the morning, what will you do then?” “I’m ready to die myself,” answered the Jew. “So,” said the saint, “you will die to sin and live for God.” “I understand what you are talking about,” answered the Jew, “and I swear that if you live until the morning, I will fulfill your will.” Then St. Vasily began to earnestly pray to the Lord, so that for the sake of saving the soul of the Jew, his life would extend until the morning. His prayer was heard. When morning came, St. Vasily sent for the Jew, but he did not want to believe the servant and he himself hurried to the saint. Seeing him alive, he exclaimed: “Truly, great is the Christian God, and there is no other God besides Him; I am ready to fulfill my word. So, holy father, they commanded to teach St. baptism for me and my whole household,” “I myself will teach St. baptism,” the archpastor said then. “You can’t get up: you are very weak,” answered the doctor. “The Lord will strengthen me,” St. remarked to him. Basil the Great and went to church with him. Having baptized the Jew himself and all his family, teaching them, after the liturgy, St. secrets, the great saint returned to his home and by the evening of that day he departed to the Lord in peace. This happened on January 1, 379. These are the miracles that right, sincere and firm faith in God and His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, performs. Holy faith makes a person firm on all the paths of his life, strengthens and revives him where all human means remain powerless. Let us more often kindle in our hearts the life-giving flame of the faith of Christ, let us accept with all our souls everything that the Holy Church and the word of God teach us. (See “Sunday leaf.” No. 151). 4. Church historical stories about spiritual poverty or Christian humility 34 This week's Gospel teaches us, through the Capernaum centurion, the virtue of humility. Let's present a few examples of it here. The ancient church considered humility to be the crown of all Christian virtues, the main principle of Christianity. perfection, the best decoration of the followers of Christ (Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Chrysostom). And in ancient Christian history. In the church we meet many wonderful examples of true Christian humility, especially among monasticism. Here are several church-historical examples of marvelously beautiful Christian worship. humility. I. One of the remarkable church teachers, famous for his education, Clement of Alexandria did not want to have any other position than a teacher in the catechetical school. II. St. Ephraim the Syrian always refused the degree of presbyter and bishop and remained a simple, modest deacon. The dying will of St. Ephraim the Syrian testifies to his great humility. In his dying will, Ephraim expressed what had filled his soul throughout his entire life: he expressed his contrite spirit. He wrote: “Whoever places me under the altar, let him not see the altar of my God; It is indecent for a stinking corpse to lie in a holy place. Whoever buries me in the church, let him not see the church of light; Empty glory is useless to the unworthy... Take me on your shoulders and run with me and throw me as an outcast... Oh, if only someone would show you my deeds! You would spit on me. Truly, if the smell of my sins could be noticed, you would flee from the stench of Ephraim... Do not cover me with aromas - this honor is of no benefit to me: burn incense in the sanctuary, and help me with prayers; dedicate the aromas to God, bury me with psalms... Do not put me in your coffins: your decorations will serve me nothing. I promised God to be buried among strangers; I am a wanderer, like them; So, brothers, place me with them. Look, Lord, I beg You, have mercy on me. I pray to You, Son of the Merciful, do not repay me for my sins.” (From the book “Historical Doctrine of the Church Fathers” by Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov and Nizhyn. T. II. St. Petersburg, 1882, pp. 83–84). III. Blessed Jerome, although he had the degree of presbyter, in fact remained a simple monk, considering himself unworthy to serve at the throne of God. IV. Emperor Theodosius Vel., at the request of Ambrose of Milan, performs public repentance at the gates of the church. Constantine the Great, subduing his sense of being the ruler of the whole world, did not sit on the throne at the 1st Ecumenical Council, but stood out of respect before the assembled fathers of the church. V. Teacher Svyatosha (diminutive of the name Svyatoslav), Prince of Chernigov, in monasticism Nikolai (Nikola) was the son of David and grandson of Svyatoslav. And he thought how deceptive everything is in this vain life, and that everything earthly flows, passes by, but future blessings are imperishable and eternal, and the endless Kingdom of Heaven, prepared by God for those who love Him. And, leaving his reign, and honor, and glory, and power, and imputing all that to nothing, he came to the Pechersk monastery and became a monk. It was in the summer of 1106 February 17th day. All the monks who were with him recognize his virtuous life and obedience. He spent three years as a cook, working for the brethren; He chopped firewood with his own hands for cooking, often even carried it from the shore on his shoulders, and with difficulty his brothers, Izyaslav and Vsevolod, kept him from doing this. However, this true novice asked and prayed that he could work in the cookhouse for the brethren for at least another year; after this they assigned him to the monastery gates, since he was skilled and perfect in everything. And he stayed here for three years, not leaving anywhere except the church. From there he was ordered to go serve at the meal. Finally, by the will of the abbot and all the brethren, he was forced to have his own cell, which he built himself. And to this day this cell is called Svyatoshina, as well as the vegetable garden, which he dug with his own hands. They also say about this blessed Saint that no one has ever seen him idle; He always had handicrafts in his hands, which he used to make for his clothes. The Jesus Prayer was constantly on his lips: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” He never ate anything other than monastic food: although he had a lot, he gave it all to the needs of the strange and poor and to the church building. There are still many of his books in the Pechersk monastery. Even during his reign, this blessed prince Saint had a very skillful doctor named Peter, a Syrian by birth. This Peter came with him to the monastery, but, seeing his free poverty in the kitchen and at the gate, he parted with him and began to live in Kyiv, treating many. He often came to the blessed one and, seeing him in much suffering and immeasurable fasting, admonished him, saying: “Prince! You should take care of your health and not destroy your flesh with immeasurable labor and abstinence: you will someday become so exhausted that you will not be able to bear the burden that lies on you, which you were pleased to take upon yourself, for the Lord’s sake. God does not want fasting or backbreaking labor, but only a pure and contrite heart, and you are not accustomed to such need as you are now enduring, working like a forced slave; and to your pious brothers, Izyaslav and Vsevolod, your poverty is a great reproach; How can one go from such glory and honor to the last squalor, to the point of exhausting one’s body with such food! I marvel at your stomach: how it endures! I used to be burdened with sweet food, but now I take harsh potions and dry bread. Beware, someday the illness will gather from everywhere, and you, having no strength, will soon lose your life, it will no longer be possible for me to help you. And you will leave inconsolable crying to your brothers. So also your boyars, who served you, thought someday to become great and glorious through you; now they are deprived of your love and blame you; They built large houses for themselves, and they sit in them in great despondency. You yourself have no place to lay your head, and it seems to them that you have even abandoned your mind. What prince did this? Is your blessed father David, or your grandfather Svyatoslav? Or which of the boyars did this, or even had the desire to follow this path, except Varlaam, who was the abbot here? If you don’t listen to me, you will die before your time.” And so he often spoke to him, sitting with him in the kitchen, or at the gate, having been taught by the prince’s brothers. The blessed one answered him: “Brother Peter! I thought a lot and decided not to spare my flesh, so that the struggle would not arise in me again: let it humble itself under the weight of much labor. Strength, it is said, brother Peter, is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The sufferings of this present time are nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). I thank the Lord that He freed me from slavery to the world and made me a servant to His servants, these blessed monks. Let my brothers take care of themselves: each must bear his own burden. I left everything: my wife, and children, and house, and power, and brothers, and friends, and slaves, and village, for the sake of Christ, so that through this I might become an heir to eternal life. I became poor for God's sake in order to gain Him. And when you heal, don’t you also order us to abstain from food? But for me, dying for Christ is gain, and sitting on a weed heap, like Job, is a kingdom. If the princes did not do this before me, then let me appear as their leader: maybe one of them will be jealous of me and follow my trail. You and those who taught you don’t care about anything else.” Prince Svyatosha lived after that for another 30 years, without leaving the monastery until his repose into eternal life. When he died, almost the whole city was at his burial. (From the “Kievo-Pechersk Patericon”). VI. Ave. Theodosius of Pechersk, the famous abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery, once returned at night from the Grand Duke Izyaslav. The prince’s servant, who did not know the ascetic, rudely told him: “Monk, you are always idle, and I am constantly at work; get on the horse and let me into the chariot.” Theodosius, without saying a word, exchanged places with the driver and drove him all night. In the morning, the servant was frightened when he saw that the boyars he met were bowing to Theodosius, even dismounting from their horses, but the monk even brought him to the monastery and ordered him to be treated well. VII. Rev. Kirill of Belozersk, elected abbot by the brethren of the Simonov Monastery, was afraid of the honors shown to him, resigned his rank and settled in a small cell as a simple monk. Humility of St. Kirill of Belozersk was such that he once said to a certain monk, who at first respected him, and then hated and reviled him in front of everyone: “Everyone is mistaken about me, considering me righteous; You alone speak the truth and know all my unworthiness.” When one prince was planning to go to Cyril’s monastery for a meeting, he, having learned about this, wrote to him to dissuade him from the trip: “I inform you in advance that you cannot see me; I will leave the monastery and go wherever God leads. Do you think that I am a kind, holy person here? No, truly I am more sinful and unhappy than everyone else and full of shame. If you come to me, all people will say: I went for Kirill,” (“Ch. M.” June 9). 5. Stories showing the power of Christian humility I. One commoner went with his sick son to the Monk Sisoes, who lived in Egypt. The patient died on the way. The father was not embarrassed by this, took the dead man and brought him to the monk. Knowing the latter’s humility, the villager did not openly ask for his help, but, entering with the dead man in his arms, bowed to the monk and at the same time laid his dead son at the feet of the elder - he himself left the cell. Not knowing that a dead man was lying before him, and thinking that the one who bowed did not want to get up, the monk said to the deceased: “Get up and go!” And the dead man came to life, stood up and went out to meet his surprised father. Then the latter went in to Sisoy and told him what happened to his son on the way, and how he brought him dead to the monk. St. was greatly saddened. The ascetic, hearing this, forbade the common people and his disciples to talk about what happened until his death. (Prologue, May 3 days). II. To the desert monastery where the Rev. lived. Vissarion, he came possessed. The brothers offered a prayer for him in church, but the demon did not leave the unfortunate man. Then the monks began to reason: “What should we do? No one will drive out this demon except Vissarion, but how can you ask him about this? If we start asking, he won’t go to church. What if we do this: tomorrow we will bring the demoniac before everyone else to the church and seat him in the place of the monk. And when Abba rises, we will say to him: “Wake up your brother, father!” And so they did. And so when Vissarion, having entered the church, began to pray, the monks said to him: “Wake up your brother, father!” And the monk said to the demoniac; “Get up and get out of here.” And the demon immediately left the man. (Paterikon, skete). One day, visitors came to a certain old man in Thebaid; They had with them a demoniac, whom they brought so that the elder could heal him. They begged the elder for a long time, and finally he said to the demon: “Get out of God’s creation!” The demon answered: “I will go out, but first give an answer to my question: who are the goats and who are the lambs?” The elder answered: goats are like me, and who are sheep, God knows about that.” The demon, hearing this, exclaimed in a loud voice: “I am leaving because of your humility!” and left immediately. (“Fatherland”, Bishop Ignatius, p. 516). 5th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 27th, chapter VIII, 28–34 art. Ch. IX, 1 art. 1. Healing of two demoniacs One day, Jesus Christ arrived with His disciples in the country of the Gadarenes 35. When they got out of the boat, two demoniacs ran out to meet them 36 . They were very fierce, so that no one dared to pass along the path where they could be met. The unclean spirit drove them into the mountains, desert and caves. One of them was often shackled with shackles and chains, but he broke the shackles and broke the chains. Now he had become so wild that everyone was afraid to approach him, and no one was able to tame him. He was always in coffins and mountains day and night, screaming and beating against stones. When the demoniacs saw Jesus, they ran to Him and worshiped Him. Jesus commanded the unclean spirits to come out of them. Then they cried out: “What have you to do with us, Jesus, Son of the most high God?” They bow before His greatness, they know that He can bind them with the bonds of hellish darkness and is keeping them for the judgment of punishment (2 Pet. 5:4), hence their fear, their request. Jesus asks the evil spirit who spoke on behalf of the others: “What is your name?” The unclean spirit boldly replies: “My name is legion, because we are many” 37. Then the demons begin to ask the Lord not to drive them out of this country, but to allow them to enter the herd of pigs that grazed on the mountains here. Jesus allowed them to do this 38 . They then entered the pigs, and the whole herd (two thousand heads) rushed into the sea. The shepherds announced what had happened to the residents of the city and nearby villages. When the residents arrived, they saw that the demoniac was sitting at the feet of Jesus Christ, already dressed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Eyewitnesses told them how the demoniacs were healed. But they had little interest in saving poor, suffering people. They were afraid that through Jesus they would have to suffer even more loss in their property. Therefore, they began to ask Him to leave their country. Jesus went to the boat to cross to the other side; but the healed one began to ask Jesus to allow him to be with Him. He felt so good near the Lord that he no longer wanted to leave Him; but Jesus did not allow him, but said: “Go home to your people and tell them what the Lord has done to you, and how he has had mercy on you.” He wanted to make him a witness of His work among the people who had neglected Him and removed Him from themselves. And this man went and began to preach in the Decapolis what Jesus had done to him, and everyone was amazed (See the book “The Earthly Life of the Lord I. Christ”, translated from German Horde). (Leonty, Archbishop of Warsaw). When the Lord Jesus Christ entered the country of Gergesinskaya, He was met by two unfortunate people possessed by demons. The possessed, at the suggestion of evil spirits, wanted, perhaps, to frighten Jesus Christ in the same way as they frightened everyone who passed along that path, but instead they themselves were frightened when they met the Son of God. And behold, she cried out and said: What do we and You, Jesus the Son of God? Thou hast come before the time to torment us (Matthew 8:29). In these words, a true Christian believer clearly sees evidence of the existence of evil spirits, both because it lies in the gospel, which constitutes an immutable testimony of the truth, and because those possessed by themselves and on their own could not speak so, partly due to ignorance of Jesus Christ, about whom, of course, they had not heard, but mainly due to the unnaturalness of speech. Is it proper and natural for people who saw Jesus Christ for the first time and had no idea about Him to say that He came ahead of time to torment them? In the mouths of people, no matter what they are, such words have no meaning. So, in the unfortunate demon-possessed, evil spirits were obviously speaking, whose power over people our Savior came to destroy. However, in the word of God, both the Old and New Testaments, there are so many direct and clear indications of the existence of evil spirits that it would be extremely strange for those who call themselves Christians to doubt it. Well, what do you often hear? Some Christians say that the demoniacs mentioned in the Gospel must be understood as people possessed by a special nervous disease, or a physical one, but only one for which the Jews did not know how to come up with a name, and not by evil spirits. But if it was a natural disease, then why is it not named so, while other diseases are directly spoken of in the gospel? And could the Savior, the incarnate truth, the Son of God, speak unfairly, adapting only to the concepts of the Jews? Could He, who denounced the superstitions of the Pharisees, remain silent about such an important superstition? On the contrary, the word of God directly says that Jesus Christ healed all those possessed by the devil (Acts 10:38) - that the Son of God came for this purpose - that he might destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), who, through the fall of his first parents, at his own instigation, received power over sinners. This power was destroyed by Jesus Christ by His atonement and by giving the redeemed the means to defeat the machinations of the ancient spiritual enemy of men - in the true Christian faith with its sacraments and rules of piety. But a Christian, through his unbelief and sins, again gives access to evil spirits, who now act more cunningly, as the weakest, against pre-Christian times, but nevertheless harmful, disastrous for the salvation of believers. Evil spirits try to adapt to our passions and inclinations; Using them, they hide their intrigues from us as if with some kind of veil. But Christians, attentive to themselves, trying to acquire righteousness, fighting against evil inclinations, clearly notice the tricks of evil spirits, see their intrigues and temptations, and not without effort defeat them by faith in the Lord, prayer, fasting and vigilance over themselves. They also say: by evil spirits we must understand personifications of our sins and passions. – But this, firstly, is completely contrary to the word of God, and secondly, it clearly contradicts experience. We do not approve of evil, we condemn sin both in ourselves and in others; The most inveterate villains very often suddenly change their lives and look with disgust at their previous deeds. What does this mean? The fact that evil and sin did not originally originate from men, as Holy Scripture asserts, that evil in our nature originated from outside, precisely through temptation from the devil. Of course, sin is strengthened by the inclinations of our damaged nature, created good; otherwise we would not love evil. After this, it would be strange to personify our passions in the name of evil spirits (From the word in week 5 of the Five. “Words and Speeches” vol. I, 2nd ed., 1888). One day, a demon came to the cell of the teacher at night. Macarius of Alexandria, said to him: “Get up, Abba Macarius, and let’s go to church for worship.” Macarius, being filled with the grace of God, understood the temptation of the devil and answered him: “Oh, liar and hater of goodness! What kind of participation can you have in the divine service and what can you have in common with the council of saints?” The devil said: “Don’t you know, Macarius, that without us there is not a single church service and not a single monastic meeting; come and see our deeds.” The elder answered: “May the Lord forbid you, you unclean demon.” And turning to prayer, he asked the Lord to show him whether what the devil said while boasting was true. When the time came for the midnight service, he went to church, asking God within himself to reveal and show him whether what the devil had said was true. And so, throughout the church he sees, as it were, some small youths in the form of Ethiopians, quickly walking around the church and flying. In that monastery there was a custom: one brother read psalms, and the others sat and listened - and next to each of the brothers sat those Ethiopians and laughed at them. Those who touched their eyes with their fingers now began to doze off, and those who placed their fingers on their lips immediately woke up; before others they walked in the likeness of women, and before others they did something else. And what they presented before someone, he reflected on that within himself. But from some, as soon as they began to do something like that, they were immediately driven away and removed by some force, and could no longer stand in front of them or even pass by. And some weak brothers, who did not listen to prayer, sat on their necks and shoulders, mocking them. Rev. Macarius, seeing this, sighed from the depths of his heart and said: “Look, Lord, and do not be silent, rise up, O God, so that your enemies may disperse and flee from your face, for our soul is full of reproach.” At the end of the service, prof. Macarius, calling each brother one by one, asked what he was thinking about during the service, and each one revealed his thoughts. It turned out that everyone was thinking about what the demon represented before him, mocking him. (Ch. M. Jan. 19 d.). 4. Betrayal of this vow due to temptation from the devil To understand how strong and seductive the temptations of the enemy of our salvation can be, let us listen to the following story from the patericon. “One young monk, who labored in a monastery, wanted to live as a hermit and begged the abbot to go to a remote place in the desert for a hopeless life. God blessed the monk's intention and showed him a special sign that showed him the very place of such residence: when on the way the future hermit, exhausted, fell asleep together with the monks accompanying him, an eagle flew in and, striking its wings, woke them up; then the eagle flew away from them and sat down in sight of them on the ground. The accompanying monks said to the young monk: “Here is your angel, get up and follow him.” He stood up, said goodbye to the brothers, followed the eagle and walked to the place where the eagle was sitting. Then the eagle rose, flew further and sat down again, and the monk followed him; and again the eagle rose and flew away not far away, and the brother followed him. This went on for three hours. Finally, the eagle turned to the right and did not appear again. The monk followed him and saw three palm trees, a source of water and a small cave. He said to himself: “This is the place that the Lord has prepared for me.” And the young monk began to remain silent here, eating dates and drinking water from the source; He lived here for six years as a hermit, not seeing anyone. But then the devil came to him in the form of a worldly young man and began to examine him from head to toe. His brother asked him: “Why are you looking at me?” He said, "Don't you recognize me? I am your father’s neighbor,” and named the name of the hermit’s father and mother and sister. Then he said: “Your mother and sister died more than three years ago, and your father died only recently, making you his heir; before his death, the father asked everyone to find you, so that you would come home, take the property and distribute it to the poor for your soul and your father; many went to look for you, but did not find you, but I, having come on my own business, recognized you; Go immediately and do the will of your father.” The hermit answered: “I should not return to the world.” But the devil, through various seductive suggestions, persuaded the hermit to leave his cell, escorted him to the city where his father lived, and then left him. The monk enters his parents' house with the confidence that his father is no longer alive, and then the father himself comes out to meet him, alive and well. At first the father could not recognize his son, and the son was ashamed to explain the true reason why he left his cell; but he said that the reason for this was his sons’ love and affection for their father... So he remained in the world, finally betraying his monastic vows. (From Otechn. 8, 94). 5. Our main enemy is the devil The famous ascetic, St. Anthony the Great, once saw nets spread across the face of the entire earth. Amazed by the multitude of these nets, he exclaimed: “Oh, Lord! Who is able to avoid them? And the voice of God came to him: “Humility!” - But what are these nets placed everywhere for us? Networks are temptations and seductions that pursue us at almost every step, and with which, as our enemies, every Christian must fight. Our first and most important enemy is the devil; He is the first in time, and in strength, and in malice, our adversary. The Savior calls him the father of lies, a murderer from time immemorial (John 8:44), from the beginning of the century. He laid the foundation for sin by deceiving our first parents in paradise and making them transgressors of God’s commandments. Since then, he has been walking around like a lion, looking for which people to draw into his destructive snares (1 Pet. 5:8). What can we say about people! Our sinless Lord Jesus Christ himself was subjected to temptations from the devil. For what? Of course, for us sinners - so that He, being Himself tempted, could help us, the tempted ones (Heb. 2:17). And how often we sinners are subjected to temptations from the devil! True, the devil now rarely acts on people in a visible and open way, but he constantly tempts us in a secret, imperceptible way. In open struggle, perfect Christians, great ascetics who have completely dedicated themselves to Christ, fight against him. And how difficult this struggle with the devil is! Let us give several examples of such struggle. Thus, the Monk Sergius, the miracle worker of Radonezh, endured many sorrows and temptations from demons at the beginning of his desert exploit. They often took on the form of terrible beasts and disgusting reptiles in order to frighten the saint, but he courageously drove away all their temptations with prayer and the sign of the cross. Once the monk sang Matins in his church at night. Suddenly the wall parted before his eyes, and a whole demonic regiment entered this hole in the clothes of Lithuanians, who at that time were causing a lot of evil to Russia. The demons rushed in with noise and wild screams, as if intending to ruin the church and threatening the monk with death. “Run away from here quickly,” they shouted, gnashing their teeth. “If you don’t leave, we will tear you apart.” But the courageous and strong-spirited ascetic was not afraid of demonic threats; He turned to God with a fiery prayer, and the fallen spirits instantly disappeared. At another time, demons, taking the form of disgusting reptiles, filled the entire cell, so that not even the floor was visible. Often, in the thicket of the forest and around the cell of St. Sergius, frantic cries of demonic hordes were heard: “Get out of here!” Why did you come here? Don't expect to live here any longer, we won't leave you alone. Death to you and destruction from our hands!” But all the efforts, all the fierce stubbornness of the primordial enemy of man, all his anger against St. Sergius remained in vain and were completely crushed by the great ascetic filled with the grace of Christ. Another famous ascetic, Anthony the Great, also suffered many temptations from the devil. His life tells that one night demons beat St. Anthony was so strong that the next day a pious man, who was bringing him food, found him unconscious and brought him, like a dead man, to the nearest village church. But he, having come to his senses, begged his friend to take him back to the cave, where, unable to stand, he lay, without ceasing to pray and fight against invisible enemies. But the courage of the saint only ignited rage: the demons made noise and knocking, as if wanting to shake the building at its foundation, and then, approaching him in the form of lions, tigers, bears and other predatory animals, they intended to frighten him with roars, whistles, rushing at him with open mouths in order to devour him, and even struck him several blows. But St. Anthony, despite the blows, maintained patience, firmness of soul and reproached them for weakness. “If you had power over me,” he said, “it would be easy for one of you to destroy me; but since the Lord has taken away your strength, you are trying to frighten me with multitudes; It even serves as a sign of your weakness that you turn into animals. If you can and have power over me, then do not hesitate and attack, and if you cannot, then why are you fussing in vain? The sign of the cross and faith in my Savior serve as my indestructible shield.” So he spoke to them, and the demons, irritated by his contempt for them, gnashed their teeth in despair. These are the obvious and open actions of the enemy of our salvation - the devil! But these open actions of the devil are directed primarily against pious people, and with us, sinners and careless ones, he will not enter into open struggle. One desert elder, getting up at night according to custom to pray, heard the sound of a military trumpet calling for battle, and was surprised: where could there be troops in such a deserted desert? Then a demon appeared to him and said: “Yes, these are, of course, troops, because you are standing in prayer. Lie down and sleep if you don’t want us to fight; We fight only with those who arm themselves against us with prayer, and we do not fight with the lazy.” 6. A remarkable incident from priestly practice (The story of priest John Baronov. - “The Wanderer” 1867). On Tuesday of the sixth week of Lent, 1856, I was called to administer the Holy Mysteries to a woman about 30 years old. At first glance, it seemed to me that the patient was not in great danger. She sat quietly and talked to those around her. To my question: how long had she been unwell, and what was her illness, this woman answered firmly and clearly that something had happened to her that night, and that she felt sick, and therefore wanted to communicate in advance. The reading of prayers began. At first the patient crossed herself twice, but then her hand refused to serve her. She visibly tried to raise her hand, but could not. A few minutes later, the woman serving her crossed her with the same hand, but the servant was no longer able to repeat this; for the arm had lost the ability to bend. It was clear from the patient’s eyes and face that a strong change for the worse was taking place within her. At the end of the prayers and after strangers left the room, I began confession. In response to my first question, the patient uttered several incomprehensible words, then she became completely numb and only gave affirmative or negative signs with her hand and movement of her head, and finally, she lost all movement and looked at me senselessly. No matter how hard I tried to evoke on her part at least some sign of consciousness and understanding, nothing helped. I called my family. About five minutes later, she seemed to wake up, made a sign with her hand and wanted to say something, but could not. Wanting to take advantage of the moments of consciousness, I prepared the Holy Mysteries. But as soon as he approached her with the Holy Gifts, she suddenly experienced severe convulsions. Her hands were thrown away, her head fell back, her eyes rolled under her forehead, her teeth clenched and gnashed, and she became completely dead. I stepped back in fear. A few minutes later the patient woke up again. I approached her a second time with the Holy Gifts, but again I had the same attack. Three times I approached the sick woman with the Holy Gifts in order to give her communion, but to no avail. Each time she fell into a stupor, and after I left she came back to her senses somewhat. Having entrusted the sick woman to the will of God, I was forced to leave without any success, asking her family to notify me of the change that would happen to the sick woman. A few days later I received the news that Tatyana (that was the patient’s name) was screaming like a cry, that is, going crazy, and that since the day I was with her, she had not come to her memory for one minute. I felt sorry for Tatyana and for the poor family, in which, with four adult men and four young children, there was only one worthy, modest, hardworking and God-fearing woman. I had the opportunity to see the patient in person during Bright Week. Along with others, we served a prayer service in their home. During the prayer service, the patient screamed loudly and fought so hard that two people could barely hold her. Despite the demonic possession, I nevertheless put the cross to the sick woman’s lips and sprinkled her with holy water. After several convulsions that seemed to have occurred, the patient became calmer. When the icons were taken out of the room, and after them all the household went out into the courtyard to venerate the icons while the clergy sang the Easter stichera, I remained in the room with only one woman, who was watching over the sick woman. In my presence, the patient began to scold me with various insulting words; but I, not paying attention to her words, looked intently into her face. At the same time, I was especially struck by the fact that while the words were pronounced by her with particular fervor and with significant emphasis, not the slightest expression was revealed in her face - she lay with her eyes closed, as if half dead, and only slightly moved her lips. Moreover, when talking about herself, she expressed herself in the masculine gender. When the flow of words stopped somewhat, I said: “Tatyana! what a wonderful woman you were! You used to meet me with joy and pray fervently with me, but now how cruelly you offend me! Aren’t you ashamed and sinful?” “Yes, I’m not Tatyana at all,” she answered. - Why not Tatyana? I see Tatiana. - You see Tatyana, but it’s not Tatyana who is speaking, but me. - Who are you? “You yourself know who I am, and if I tell you, you won’t have time to escape from here.” - But if you are not Tatyana, then why did you come here? “I didn’t come on my own, but I received such a determination from my boss.” However, there is no need to spread the word, get out of here, your comrades have already left, no one called you, and I can’t stand you. – But if you are not Tatyana, then you have come to the wrong place, and, fearing the name of the now risen Lord Jesus Christ, you must leave here. - Yes, I will leave, but not now. And now I still don’t have a determination from my boss. - When will this be? “Then how will these great days pass?” These days I cannot appear anywhere, and I must remain where I am ordered. At these words, the household began to enter the hut, and I, stopping the conversation and crossing the sick woman, left. But the words I heard occupied me greatly - I thought a lot about this conversation and waited to see if any change would actually happen to the patient. And so it happened. On Monday, St. Thomas Week, I was asked to attend to the patient, explaining that last night she felt better and she regained her memory. Indeed, I found the patient recovered, she walked and stood without assistance, spoke well and freely. Her face and eyes expressed some kind of special liveliness and intelligence, which was not present even in her healthy state. During the prayers for communion, she prayed so earnestly, with such fervor, that she surprised me. During confession, she discovered such sincerity and sincerity, such strong faith and love for the Redeemer, such a reasonable understanding of St. a sacrament that I have never encountered among villagers, and which cannot be imagined in a woman who is completely uneducated and has a short-sighted mind. Everything proved that she was under the special shadow of God’s grace. Having received St. with the greatest reverence. Secrets, she, in spiritual, gracious delight, thanked the Lord with a long bow to the ground. After communion, she asked me for forgiveness and blessings, as if before her death. Wanting to calm her down, I tried to arouse in her hope for recovery. But in response to my words, she said with complete confidence that she did not have long to live. About three hours after this, I was informed that Tatiana had passed away... The circumstances surrounding Tatiana’s illness, such as: initial seizures that prevented her from teaching the Holy Mysteries, tormenting her and beating herself, uttering blasphemous words incompatible with her spiritual mood, and the manifestation of thoughts that exceeded her mental development, the cessation of the demonic possession that happened as it was predicted, after the great days of Bright Week, there is no doubt about the nature of her illness. – The patient was under the influence of an evil spirit. And the beneficial change that happened to her just before her death speaks intelligibly about the goodness of God, which, having allowed suffering and exhaustion of the body, through this achieved higher and beneficent goals - namely: cleansed, enlightened and saved the spirit. 7. About spiritual means to combat evil spirits Christ the Savior has given us all the means to defeat the devil. “By the grace of Christ the sin that dwells in us is cut away” (Col. 2:11–12). The Lord destroyed the power of Satan and his hordes of demons, taking away from them all power to force us. “Having taken away the strength of the principalities and powers, He subjected them to authority, having triumphed over them in Himself” (Col. 2:18). Only through sin and passions do demons cling to the soul, and while it is in sin, it is covered with them and appears, as it were, dressed in them. Leeches adhere to a living body and suck living blood from it; but if you pour salt water over the body, the leeches will immediately disappear. So the Lord salted our nature with the salt of grace of the Holy Spirit. And the demons all had to jump away from him, struck by the Divine Power and the light of faith with the love of holiness 39 . St. church fathers. St. John Chrysostom says: “if the devil is a predator, then it is up to us not to let him steal” 40 . St. Gregory of Nyssa says: “When our nature fell into sin, God did not leave our fall by His Providence, but to help everyone’s life he assigns a certain angel from those who have assumed an incorporeal nature; but, on the other hand, the corrupter of nature contrives to do the same thing through some evil and malicious demon who would harm human life. A person, being among an angel and a demon, himself makes one stronger than the other, choosing a teacher from the two with his free will. A good angel foretells to the thoughts the benefits of virtue, which are revealed to those who succeed in hope, and the other shows material pleasures, from which there is no hope for good. Therefore, if someone shuns what attracts him to evil, directing his thoughts towards the better and putting vice behind him, as it were, and turning his soul, like a kind of mirror, to the hope of good things, so that in the purity of his own soul all the images and representations of the virtue pointed out to him will be imprinted, then his brother scolds him and helps him; for, by the gift of speech and the intelligence of the human soul, an angel in some way is a brother to man” 41. A strong weapon against demons is a right life and faith in God. The evil spirits are afraid of ascetic fasting, vigil, prayer, meekness, silence, love of money, lack of vanity, humility, love of poverty, almsgiving, lack of anger, and especially of pious faith in Christ. Rev. John Cassian says: “the enemy lies in wait in a hidden place, like a lion in a den (Psalm 9:30), hiding for us the snares and traps of unclean and wicked thoughts. But we, if we are not sleeping, can set even larger and more dangerous nets for him, snares and ambushes, for prayer and psalm, vigil (spiritual) and humility, service to neighbors and mercy, thanksgiving and listening to divine words - this is an ambush for the enemy, and a net, and a pit, and whips, and a snare, and strangulation 42 . Let no one be left without armor, which, according to the Apostle, is good faith; no one without a shield, which is humility, no one without a sword, which is Divine prayer, no one without a helmet, which is obedience, and so on. (Eph.6:11-17). The Lord, mighty in battle, who with the weapon of the cross defeated the principles and powers of the world ruler of this age, gave us the power to step on the serpent and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19) 43. “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” says St. ap. James (IV, 7). You just need to not weaken in the fight against the enemy and wage the war with patience, remembering the covenant of the Lord: “With your patience save your souls” (Luke 21:19). For our victory over the devil, an eternal reward awaits us in the Kingdom of Heaven. If the devil attacks us especially strongly, then this is the first sign of his weakness, for if we were defeated by him, he would have no reason to enter into a fight with us. St. John Climacus says: “no one can so testify to the defeat of the devil and demons as their cruel attack on us” 44 . “The God of peace will crush Satan under our feet” (Rom. 16:20). “If Christ ascends into heaven, you too ascend with Him, be among the angels accompanying or meeting Him” 45. The holy fathers and teachers of the church indicate the following means to fight the devil: faith, the word of God, calling on the name of Christ our Savior, fear of God, humility, sobriety, prayer, the sign of the cross. We ourselves can use these means in the struggle, but there are also those that can be used through the clergy - this is repentance with communion and an incantation. 1) Faith is an immaterial shield against an invisible enemy. “Above all, take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the arrows of the evil one.” (Eph.6:16). The devil often throws the kindled arrow of lust for shameful pleasures, but faith, recalling judgment and cooling the mind, quenches this arrow. 46 If we believe in God, then we are not afraid of demons; for the Lord sends us his help 47 . “The Destroyer will not find a place for itself in us if we are protected by the shield of faith” 48. 2) The Word of God. – “The spiritual sword for fighting the devil is the word of God” 49. “Oppose him (the tempter) with the word of life, which is bread sent from heaven and giving life to the world,” says St. Gregory the Theologian 50. “The Destroyer will never find a place for himself in us if we reflect him with the sword of the word of God” 51, “Demons must be driven out, following the example of Christ, with the words of the priest. scriptures" 52. 3) Calling on the name of Christ our Savior. “In My name they will cast out demons,” said the Savior (Mark 16:17). Church fathers and teachers testify to the fulfillment of Christ's promise. St. Justin the Martyr says: “We always pray to God through Jesus Christ to preserve us from demons who are alien to God and whom we once worshiped, so that after turning to God through Christ we may be blameless. For we call Him Helper and Savior, from the power of whose name the demons tremble, and now, when we conjure in the name of Jesus Christ, Crucified under Pontius Pilate, they obey us; from here it is obvious to everyone that His Father gave Him such great power that even the demons submit to the name and dispensation of His former suffering” 53 . “And to this day the demons tremble at the name of Christ; The power of this name is not weakened by our vices. But we are not ashamed to insult the venerable name of Christ and Christ Himself” 54, we are not ashamed to hear how Christianity is rejected, as if ashamed to be His believing sons... St. Theodore of Edessa says: “None of us can escape the wiles of the evil one by our own strength, but only by the invincible power of Christ” 55 . The following story is contained in the Prologue about the power of invoking the name of God. There was a sorcerer in Constantinople who wanted to attract a youth to serve demons. To show the strength and greatness of the demonic prince, the sorcerer took the youth outside the city to an uninhabited place. And so, the seduced youth imagined a large city with iron gates. The sorcerer enters with the youth into an imaginary city and leads him into the church standing in the middle. At the entrance to the church, the youth sees many burning lamps and someone sitting on a high throne, like a king, and surrounded by numerous servants. It was the prince of demons who joyfully greeted the sorcerer, seated him next to him and asked: “Why did he bring the boy?” The sorcerer replies: “We are your servants, and he wants to be yours.” Satan asks the boy: “Are you my servant?” The youth exclaimed: “I am a servant of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” From this exclamation, Satan suddenly fell from his throne, the sorcerer died, and all the ghosts of the city and the church disappeared 56. 4) Fear of God. - He who, out of love, is afraid of offending his Creator and constantly carries in his heart a grateful memory of God’s mercies and the fear of being ungrateful for them, neither the devil nor man is afraid of him: for he is not afraid of death, trusting in the eternal life given by God. St. Ephraim the Syrian says: “The fear of God is a strong pillar in the face of the enemy; Do not destroy this pillar and you will not be taken captive" 57 . St. Simeon, new The theologian says: “he who fears God is not afraid of the demons striving against him” 58. 5) Humility. - No one is afraid of the humble, for no hand is raised against the humble; he is not afraid of deprivation and torment, for humility does not allow him to feel wounded by the persecution of the enemy; all evil will be broken against the wall of his humility. St. Simeon, the new Theologian, says: “What is more courageous than a contrite and humble heart, which without difficulty puts to flight the armies of demons and completely drives them away” 59? Rev. Abba Dorotheos says: “When St. Anthony saw all the snares of the devil spread out and, sighing, asked God: “Who can escape them?” then God answered him: humility avoids them, and added: “they don’t even touch him,” that is, to humility” 60. 6) Sobriety, spiritual wakefulness. St. John Chrysostom says: “It’s scary, scary, beloved, to be caught in the wiles of the devil; for then the soul, as it were, becomes entangled in a net, and just as an unclean animal, wallowing in the mud, enjoys this, so it, having indulged in a sinful habit, no longer feels the stench of sins - therefore, we need to be vigilant and vigilant, so as not to give the evil demon any access to us from the very beginning, so that he, having darkened our minds and blinded the eye of the soul, does not force us, unable to look at the light of the Sun truth, like those deprived of visible sunlight, strive into the abyss" 61 . “If we manage our actions with caution, we will receive great mercy from the Lord and avoid the wiles of the devil. When the devil sees that we are vigilant and careful, then, knowing that his attempts (on us, to tempt us) will be useless, he leaves in shame 62 . 7) Prayer. – Prayer is the means of our communication with God: through prayer we ascend to heaven. Faith is gained from prayer, for in prayer a person feels the happiness of grace coming from God, and can no longer doubt the existence of God. Through prayer a person is cleansed, protected, saved. In prayer a person feels his soul; recognizes himself as a spirit independent of the body, capable of ascending to his Creator Himself and seeing Him with his spiritual eyes. (We are talking about real prayer, and not about just pronouncing words of prayer, learned by heart, when they do not delve into what is being said, do not understand what is being said, do not feel what is being said, due to the lack of thought, occupied with earthly thoughts extraneous to prayer). St. Basil the Great says: “even if during prayers he (the devil) began to entertain crafty dreams, let the soul not cease to pray and let it not honor as its own fruits these crafty efforts of the enemy, these dreams of a miracle worker inexhaustible in the machinations, but, having judged that the appearance of inappropriate thoughts happens in us due to the persistence of the inventor of craftiness, let us fall all the more strongly to God and pray to Him scatter the crafty barrier of obscene (prayerful state) thoughts remaining in the memory, so that with the desire of your mind, unhindered, without any delay and instantly, flow to God; then the invasion of evil thoughts will not in the least cut off the path to prayer, and if such an uprising of thoughts continues due to the persistence of the one at war with us, then in this case we should not fall into despair and leave the feat halfway, but endure, continuing to pray until God, seeing our perseverance, illuminates us with the grace of the Holy Spirit, which puts the accuser to flight, cleanses and fills us with the Divine Our mind is a light and gives us the fact that our thought in silence serves God with joy” 63. St. Anthony the Great testifies that prayer is one of the most powerful weapons against the human enemy. St. Simeon, the new Theologian, says: “a Christian who performs prayer as if it were some kind of work, and feels (during prayer) that, as if against his will, he is enduring violence, compulsion and torment, let him not think that he has freed himself from the hand of the devil, let him know that mentally (i.e., with his thoughts) he is still held under the yoke of the evil tormentor” 64. Therefore, to communicate with God, we need free, unconstrained prayer, which would constitute the life of the soul. St. Gregory of Nyssa says: “we must pray, for the consequence of prayer is that we are with God: and whoever is with God is far from the enemy” and also: “he who fears the attack of the evil one, let him pray, so as not to be in the power of the evil one” 65. So, let us pray, for in prayer we come into communion with God and come to know Him. 8) Sign of the Cross. – According to the expression of the church song: “the cross is the destroyer of demons” (Canon of the Cross, paragraph 3 tr. 2), “the drive away of demons” (paragraph 6 tr. 4), “the cross is erected - and the spirits of soulless ranks fall” (paragraph 6 tr. 4). Rev. Theophan the recluse speaks about the meaning and power of the cross of the Lord this way: “by the cross heaven and earth were reconciled, the Spirit of grace was brought down to sanctify everyone, and to expose everyone with the power to attack (by the power of the cross) all the power of the enemy; why demons cannot look at the cross: at the very sight of it they run away as if in the face of the wind. The sign of the cross is a protection for believers and a victorious weapon against invisible enemies.” St. John Chrysostom says: “one should not just depict a cross with a finger, but this should be preceded by a heartfelt disposition and complete faith. If you depict him on your face like this, then not one of the unclean spirits will be able to approach you, seeing the sword with which he was wounded, seeing the weapon from which he received a mortal wound. After all, if we look with trepidation at those places where criminals are executed, then imagine how horrified the demons are when they see the weapon with which Christ destroyed all their power and cut off the head of the serpent. So, imprint the cross on your mind and both (mentally) the saving sign of our souls. When we have the cross with us, then demons are no longer scary and dangerous” 66. The demon confessed to the sorcerer Cyprian that the sign of the cross drives away the devil, on whose instructions he thought to defeat the maiden Justina, but did not have time to do so. To Cyprian’s question: “Tell me, with what weapon is she resisting?” he answered: “We cannot look at the sign of the cross, but we run from it” 67. 9) Repentance and communion. – St. Ephraim the Syrian says: “Blessed are those who, having fallen into the enemy’s net, managed to break his bonds and disappeared, fleeing from him, like a fish escaping from the deep. While the fish is still in the water, if, when caught, it breaks the net and disappears into the depths, it is saved; and when brought to land, she can no longer help herself. So we, while still in this life, have from God the power to break the bonds of the enemy’s will and, through repentance, throw off the burden of sins and be saved. And if this terrible command overtakes us, and the soul leaves, and the body is consigned to the earth, then we will no longer be able to help ourselves, just as a fish, taken out of the water and enclosed in a vessel, can no longer help itself.”68 The monks Callistus and Ignatius say: “John of Vostra, a holy man and having power over unclean spirits, asked the demons who lived in some demon-possessed girls and acted evilly in them, saying: “What things are you afraid of in Christians?” They answered: “You truly have three great things (that drive away demons): 1st is what you wear around your neck; The 2nd one is that you wash in the church; The third is that which you eat in the congregation.” Then he asked them: “Of these three, which are you most afraid of?” They answered: “If you had kept well what you partake of, then none of us would have been able to offend a Christian.” These things that our furious enemies fear most of all are: the cross, baptism and communion” 69. Indeed, what could be a greater proof of faith in the Savior than His fulfillment of the bequeathed communion with Him through communion, and what greater merit than sincere repentance before God? We, people, even cannot resist anger at a person who repents to us of his misdeeds against us. We are always ready to forgive a sincerely repentant person; Isn’t this proof that there is salvation in sincere repentance?.. So, the salvation of our souls from the afterlife slavery of the devil lies in communion with Christ our Savior according to the commandment He bequeathed to us at the Last Supper, and in sincere repentance to Him for our sins, while trying not to repeat what we have recognized as sin; only in this last case can we prove the sincerity of repentance. Repentance is an expression of the knowledge of one’s sin, and once a person has learned what his sin is, will he repeat this sin if he has sincerely repented of it? and if he repeats it, it means his repentance was not sincere. 10) Spell. – By definition, St. Gregory the Theologian, “a spell is the expulsion of demons” (part 5, p. 286). St. Justin is martyred. says: “We who believe in the crucified Jesus our Lord conjure all demons and evil spirits and keep them in our power” 70. And again: “every demon is conquered and subdued through a spell in the name of the Son of God” 71. Indeed, the spell turns out to be a powerful weapon for Christians against the devil. Patients who are considered by doctors to be hopeless for recovery often receive healing. And where can we look for more healing, if not in the church of God, where people gather in the name of the Lord?.. Who else should we turn to for help, if not the Lord God and His saints, the Mother of God?.. Who besides the Lord can heal us from our sins, who besides the Lord can heal our soul, what physical doctors can heal these human ulcers? The Lord, in His goodness, heals mental illnesses, which are associated with bodily torment, by the forgiveness of sins that gave rise to these torments. True, the sick are not always healed immediately, but this is because sometimes the Lord punishes people, seeing the insincerity of their appeal to Him, and along with the punishment teaches patience. The main reason for God's punishment is our lack of faith. That is why non-believers do not receive healing for a long time, because the Lord wants to test us and teach us faith, creating an example for others. (Extracted in abbreviation from the book of Abbot Mark: “Evil Spirits” St. Petersburg, 1899, pp. 145–168). 6th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 29, ch. IX, 1–8 art. 1. Healing the paralytic with the veins One day Jesus arrived in Capernaum, which he looked upon as His city, 72 and came to a house, probably St. Peter, placed at His disposal each time he was in that city. Immediately many gathered (into the house), so that there was no longer room at the door: and He spoke a word to them 73 . Here sat the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from all the places of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem 74. And so they brought to Him a paralytic (in veins), laid on a bed 75 . Being one of those persistent people who want to seize the Kingdom of Heaven by force, the sick man, together with his friends, finally decided to gain access to Jesus. Four porters, having found where to carry him, due to the crowds, climbed to the top of the house where He was, opened the roof of the house, and, having dug through it (taking out several tiles), through the roof they lowered him (relaxed) with his bed into the middle before Jesus 76. Frightened, probably, by the strange course of action by which he achieved the opportunity to approach the Savior, the paralytic remained silent; but Jesus, seeing their faith expressed by the paralytic and his friends in action, said to the paralytic: be of good cheer, child! your sins are forgiven you 77. At the same time, some of the scribes and Pharisees thought in their hearts: Why is He blaspheming? Who can forgive sins except God alone? 78 The Savior forgave the sins of the sick man, as having full authority to do so, and showed His equal dignity with God the Father. The scribes, consumed by malice and thinking of accusing Him of blasphemy, involuntarily glorified Him for healing the soul, saying that the power to forgive sins belongs to God alone. Wanting to show that He is God, equal to God the Father, the Savior opened and revealed that which the scribes thought only in themselves and which, fearing the people, they did not dare to reveal before everyone. Why do you think evil in your hearts? 79 The Lord suddenly said to them. If anyone could be indignant, then perhaps only the sick one, as if he had been deceived in his hope. He could say: I came so that You would heal me from relaxation, and You heal something else; How can I be sure that my sins are forgiven? But he does not say anything like that, but betrays himself into the power of the Healer. The scribes, being proud and envious, condemn His very good deeds shown to others. That is why the Savior reproaches them, albeit with meekness. “If you do not believe the first proof of My Divinity and consider My words to be vanity, then I add something else: I reveal your secrets.” 80 Finally, I ask you: what is easier? Should I say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven?” or should I say, “Get up, take up your bed and walk?” 81 “The first thing anyone can say is that there is no way to ascertain whether sins are forgiven or not. But whoever can say the second expression, and his words will be followed by execution, should probably be invested with the highest authority for this. If I can heal a paralytic with one word, then isn’t it clear that I have the power on earth to forgive sins? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, He said to the paralytic: I say to you, get up, take up your bed and go to your house 82 . With this word, strength returned to the weakened limbs and peace to the broken soul: the paralytic instantly recovered and immediately stood before them, took his bed and went to his house, glorifying God 83. Having raised the paralytic, the Lord sends him to the house, again showing His humility and confirming that the miracle He created was not a dream; for those who witnessed the illness of the paralytic makes witnesses of his health. Thus, the Lord shows that He is the Creator of soul and body, and, healing the sick from spiritual and physical relaxation, reveals the invisible through the visible. But the witnesses to this still grovel. Although they exchanged exclamations of surprise with each other, not without an admixture of fear: we have seen wonderful things today! We have never seen anything like this 84; but the flesh prevented them from ascending the mountain, for they, says the evangelist, glorified God, who gave such power to men, 85 still not realizing that God Himself was before them. (From the “Chronicle” of St. Demetrius, Moscow of Rostov). Sin is a great evil, and much evil comes from it. The sin of the bright angel turned him into dark Satan and cast him down from heaven. Adam's sin drove him out of paradise and brought curse and death to the entire human race. The sins that multiplied among the people of the first world covered countless nations with flood waters. Evil sins destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah and their neighboring cities with fire. Sins struck Egypt with many plagues, and plunged Pharaoh and all his army into the sea. Because of their sins, all those Israelites whom God brought out of Egypt did not enter the promised land, but died in the desert. Sins opened up the very earth under Dathan and Abiron to hell - they turned people into cattle, like Nebuchadnezzar, and into insensitive pillars, like Lot’s wife, and never spared anyone, but on the contrary, they prepared judgment and punishment from God for every sinner. The sins of men nailed to the cross the innocent, righteous and most holy Son of God Himself, Who did not commit sin, nor was flattery found in His mouth (Is. 53:9). Will they spare any sinner? Grave sins - they overthrew the mighty of the earth from the thrones, ravaged kingdoms, destroyed cities, destroyed orderly regiments of troops, devastated entire countries, and even now they are doing the same thing... Oh, how cruel is every sin! Scripture exhorts well: as if you approach the serpent, flee from sin, and it will gnaw you (Sir.21:2). “There is no evil in heaven greater than sin.” Whether there is illness, or some misfortune, poverty or persecution, misfortune or suffering - all this is not as great an evil as mortal sin. St. Chrysostom says: “What is disease? – what is blindness? all this is nothing; The greatest evil is sin! Why is it that all the sorrows and troubles in the world are nothing against sin? Yes, because all this is temporary, and sin prepares eternal torment. Even if he is forgiven, he will still remain in the memory of the sinner forever. Just as a wound on the body, even if it was healed, leaves a mark: so in the soul that has sinned and received forgiveness from the mercy of God, although it will dwell in the kingdom of heaven, the memory of sin will remain in it, as a sign of its former wound. For this reason, the pardoned sinner will glorify and thank God forever and ever, that God has forgiven him so many grave sins and iniquities. Thus, even after death, a person will forever remember his sins. Will there be any difference that the condemned sinner will remember his sins in eternal torment to greater torment of his conscience, and the one who receives the mercy of God will remember them to greater glorification of God’s mercy, which forgave him his sins. Sin is such a great evil for which a person, by himself, without the assistance of God’s mercy, can never completely satisfy the truth of God, even if he lived a thousand years, and spent all these years in the works of repentance, in fasting, prayers and tears. “If,” says St. John Climacus, “if a sinner made the whole universe weep for himself, if he turned the entire Jordan into tears, and brought drops from his eyes, if he suffered a thousand deaths for Christ, then he himself cannot pay the debt for his sins, for his blood cannot be equal to the blood of the Son of God, who suffered for us.” One sin of Adam was so grave that all the tears of the forefathers, all the blood of the prophets, innocently shed, could not atone for it; it was necessary for the Son of God Himself to descend from heaven, become incarnate, suffer, and with His blood pay the debt to God’s justice for human sin. What should we do with not just one, but with the countless multitude of our grave sins? What shall we offer to God for them? How will we pay if we do not seek God’s mercy? But although we will seek this mercy, we will not find it unless we first part with our sins, for it is impossible to appease God while sinning! Sin is such a great evil that it not only destroys the sinner himself, but also exposes others who are innocent of sin to misfortune. Because of Jonah's sin, everyone who was with him in the ship was in danger and despaired of their lives. And during the flood, animals, cattle, and birds perished along with wicked people, having not sinned in anything before God. And now in the world, as in a stormy sea, how many troubles there are for the sins of people! And all these troubles, along with the guilty, are suffered by the innocent, and those who have not sinned suffer for the sins of others, as was the case under David: David alone sinned, and the whole kingdom suffered punishment for sin. 3. That during illness one should not be afraid to invite a priest for parting words of confession and communion of the holy mysteries 86 When relatives advise a sick person to invite a priest for parting words of confession and St. secrets, some of the patients consider such an invitation from the priest to be a sign of their imminent death and respond with grief to the kind advice of their relatives: “Why are you preparing me for death, I am still able; So, the hour of my death is near when you send for the priest? And if, after intense requests from his relatives, the patient finally agrees to accept the pastor of the church from St. secrets, then as soon as he sees him entering, he becomes faint-hearted and gets scared, thinking that his hour of death has already come. Those who think like this are in great blindness! Death entered the world as a result of sin: the patterns of sin were death (Rom. 6:23), it is said in Scripture; and the priest comes to you in order to cleanse you from sin by repentance and unite you through the communion of St. secrets with the Lord. Why do you look at the priest as a harbinger of death? Is it really repentance and communion of St. do secrets have the destructive power to kill? It's shameful to even think about it! God often punishes a person for his sins with illness, and repentance often returns a person to health. To Manasseh, the king of Israel, God promised through the prophet health if Manasseh repented of his sins; Manasseh repented of his sins and was healed. The Savior Himself, when healing the sick, first of all absolved them of their sins as the causes of their illness. So, Healing a sick man, paralyzed by the veins, first of all forgave him his sins, then healed him: first he said: child, your sins are forgiven, then he said: get up, take up your bed and walk: he said the same to another, 38-year-old sick man, having healed him from the disease of paralysis: behold, you are healthy, let him not sin, let him not be worse. If repentance for sins is not the cause of illness and death, but of life and health, then even more so is the communion of St. secrets Don’t you yourself read after the priest: “Let the communion of Your holy mysteries, Lord, not be for judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of soul and body?” The apostles of Christ rejoiced when they saw the Lord, but are you sad when the priest brings you His most pure body? The ancient murderer Satan instills in you such a disastrous thought, so that you die without confession and communion with St. secrets, or - so that St. gifts without living faith and sincere repentance for sins. And what will happen if you, afraid to invite a priest at the right time, go to your grave without repentance, or, due to increased illnesses, become incapable of true repentance? Then your eternal destruction is inevitable. No, Orthodox Christians, do not be afraid to invite a priest during your illness for confession and communion with St. Body and Blood of Christ; Through this, apparently, sometimes the miraculous power of God was revealed, healing the sick. As an example, we will tell you what is written in the life of St. Alipia (Ch. M. life of St. Alipia, Aug. 17). “There was someone in Kyiv, a rich man, who suffered from the most serious disease - leprosy. After being treated by doctors for a long time, he did not receive any benefit. Then one of his friends advised him to go to the Kiev-Pechersk monastery and ask the venerable fathers of Pechersk, Anthony and Theodosius, that through their prayers God would give him health; The sick man, forced by the strong requests of his friend, although he went to the Pechersk monastery, did not fully believe in the power of the reverend’s prayers. Antonia and Theodosius. As soon as he was presented to the abbot of the Pechersk monastery, the abbot ordered to give him something to drink and wash his face and head with water from the well of St. O. Feodosia. As soon as he drank water and washed himself, he immediately boiled all over with pus for not having full faith in the prayers of the saint. Anthony and Theodosius came to the monastery; his illness became so intense that everyone began to run away from him; for, due to the stench emanating from him, it was impossible to be with him. In such a terrible situation, with tears and sadness, he returned to his home and did not leave his house for several days in a row, due to the stench that covered his whole body, and he confessed to his friends that God had punished him this way for his lack of faith in the power of the prayers of St. Antonia and Theodosius; but the illness did not go away. Finally, after thinking with himself, he decided to go to the priest and confess all his sins to him. Therefore, having returned to the Pechersk monastery, he appeared to who was then a priest, now our Reverend Father Alypius, and confessed all his sins. Alypius, having heard his confession, said to him: “You have done well, child, in confessing to God your sins before my unworthiness, for so the prophet testifies of himself, saying before the Lord (Ps. 31:5): Reh: Let us confess my iniquity to the Lord, and you have forsaken the wickedness of my heart.” Then he brought him into the church and introduced him to St. secrets; after this he commanded to wash himself with the water with which priests wash their mouths after receiving holy communion. secrets, and he received perfect bodily health. (“Sunday Thursday”, 1885 No. 34). A certain person, passing through the monastery, entered the medical clinic located at this monastery. Seeing many sick people lying in it, he approached the doctor and asked: “Are there plants that heal sins?” “There are,” answered the doctor, “and I will show them to you. Take the root of obedience, the branch of patience, the flower of purity and the fruit of good deeds; wipe it all out in a vessel of humility, sift it through the sieve of sanity, pour it into the konob (i.e. cauldron) of hope (hope), pour in sighs and add a few tear water; then light the fire of divine love, cover the horse with alms and cover it with the wood of hard work. When the prepared mixture is completely boiled, then treat it with brotherly love and accept it with the spoon of repentance. By accepting this healing with pure faith, with the help of abstinence and fasting, you will be cured of every sinful illness, and you will be healthy both in body and soul” (“Resurrection Reading” 1851, No. 20). 5. The punished and pardoned sinner One of the church writers (Simeon Metaphrast) says: “It is evil to speak inappropriately, and to remain silent is what is useful and honest. Just as a dishonest word harms the thoughts of those who hear it, so a good one who is silent deprives the pious of benefits.” In the everyday life of mankind, there are often such drastic cases that go beyond the ordinary that when you carefully look at their meaning, you see in them, as if in a pure source, small imprints that testify to the all-governing Providence of God over people, and - the more you penetrate into the essence of the facts - the more clearly you see the manifestation of the highest creative power, you bow before the almighty Provider, you realize your unworthiness, your sinfulness, which constantly offends the mercy of God, and from the depths of your soul you cry out with the prophet David: what is man, that you remember him? In the transmitted fact (“Resurrection. One sheet.” 1877, No. 51), the reader will see a miraculous manifestation of the power of heavenly Providence, which even in the age of the current impoverishment of faith does not deprive us of His grace. At the end of the sixties, by the will of the diocesan authorities, I was ordained as a priest in the Novo-Borisoglebsk central convict prison established by the government at that time. My service was not easy, since every single one of my parishioners was deprived of all rights, and some were exiled here for certain periods, others for an indefinite period, and many for life. Most of them consisted of terrible robbers and murderers; There were also quite a few “educated” political criminals. Some of them boasted of their daring in robberies and extreme cynicism in immoral acts; others were proud of their unbelief, or denial of the existence of God; and others flaunted, one before the other, blatant blasphemy over the teachings of the Orthodox faith, its sacraments, rituals, and so on. And I had to visit all of them (and there were up to 500 souls) every day in their cells, notice their mental illnesses and pastorally heal them. Of all the prisoners, the ones who most aroused pity in me, and therefore a special heartfelt participation in their sad fate, were the so-called eternal prisoners, that is, those imprisoned in cells for life. I sometimes sat with them for an hour. When asked how they were faring, whether they grumbled at the authorities and at God for their bitter lot, some responded with silence, others with the consciousness of their guilt and well-deserved punishment, while some were directly offended by the proposed question and objected with a grin: “What, father, if you were brought here, to us for company, to be incubated until your death, that is, deprived of all hope of any vegetation in this world for the rest of your life, what would you sing then? When you remember your hopeless situation, you don’t know what you would do to yourself; So we call on witches, brownies, and the devil for help, but there is no deliverer: we even took the crosses off our necks, broke them in half, and wear them in our shoes under our heels, so that Satan would not be afraid of the cross, would love us and pay us a visit... Now we no longer think about God and do not place hope in Him; if He existed, then, despite our suffering, He could not resist helping us; Perhaps in the old days He existed, but now He is not, no, He is not.” “Brothers! - one convict objected to this, quite young, pretty and with refined manners, who turned out to be a student at the University of Dorpat, a political criminal, - brothers! you are naughty like children. God exists, but you just shouldn’t bother Him: they say, Lord, don’t leave me, give me generosity, I will shed tears before You like a river and make countless bows to the ground for my whole life, just save me - this is all unnecessary for now. For example, me! Why would I prematurely climb to God with requests, torment myself with groans and sighs, tear my soul with tears, exhaust myself with bows, fasting and prayer? I am young, the life in me is strong, the muscles are elephantine, we will live boldly, probably 60 years; Think about it, father, is it possible for me to play the role of a crybaby for so many decades? - this way you will tire of God and disgust people; to do this is typical only of small, unreasonable children who give their mother no rest day or night; And for us, and for me, three days is enough for all this. When I’m 80 years old, then, lying on my deathbed, I will say from the bottom of my heart: Lord! You are infinitely merciful, have mercy on me, as a thief who repented and hung with You on the cross; remember me with him in Your kingdom.” Having given a decent instruction to everyone, as I left the cell, I especially remarked to the young man not to philosophize any more than philosophizing is appropriate; that it is not ours to understand the times and years of our life, which God has placed in His power. “You see for yourself,” I continued, “that in this prison in just four months 200 souls died of scurvy, why not assume that you will be the 201st death victim? May the Lord enlighten you!” A week after this, when, after the liturgy, I was consuming the Holy Gifts at the altar, the prison guard reported to me that some prisoner wanted to see me and was waiting at the church door; When I came out, I saw, to my considerable surprise, the young speaker, who had recently dreamed of a long life, emaciated, pale, pitiful. “What's wrong with you? - I asked, “and why do you need me?” “After you left our cell,” he answered, “I was suddenly struck down by an illness - bloody diarrhea; I haven’t slept for a whole week, I haven’t eaten anything and apparently I’m melting like wax - help me, save me, I’d like to live longer.” “I don’t have any medicine,” was my answer, “and even if I did, then, according to the prison rules, I cannot give you any powders, no vials, nothing except religious and moral books, but the only medicine I have is prayer. Try this remedy too, and add repentance and tears to it.” He was not entirely willing to listen to my advice and went into the cell with a downcast face. A few days later, at the end of the service, they again reported to me about a prisoner who had very urgent and important business with me. I go out and see the same patient, trembling, with terribly sunken eyes, leaning on his knees against the wall; barely taking a breath, he says to me in a broken voice, kissing my hands: “Father! My illness is not abating at all; the last strength is exhausted; death apparently raises its hand over me; the idea of ​​her terrifies me... And to move into boundless eternity without doing good... oh, scary! Oh, Lord, have mercy and save me! and began to sob like a child. Then he continued: “Do you know, father, what came to my mind: bless me with proskomedia prosphora: I hope that if I eat it with faith, my illness will go away.” Rejoicing at such a good thought, I immediately took the requested prosphora from the altar and, handing it to him, added: “According to your faith, be it done to you: go in peace.” And, oh, wonderful thing! the grace inherent in St. bread, revived a terminally ill man: three days later, he came to me in the church, shining with joy, and, in an abundance of grateful feelings, like the Evangelical Samaritan, he then prostrated himself before St. icons, pressing them to yourself and kissing them; then he threw himself at my feet and hugged them tightly; then he grabbed hold of the sacred garments and kissed them. I could not compare any of the most pleasant moments in my life with what my soul experienced at that time. Behold, I thought, how tangibly one can see the Providence of God and the great mercy of God towards sinners! He does not reject the one who turns and does not completely defeat, but preserves and strengthens the exhausted one. "Child! - I told him from the icon of the Savior: behold, you are healthy, do not sin, and do not be bitter about what happens. The Lord gives you, and in your person and others, a lesson and warning that you should never rely on your own strength; that the soul of everyone is in the hand of God, and God wants to live and to die, to bring down to hell and to raise up: that the salvation of the soul should never be postponed to the distant future, and that strong faith in God can create great, wonderful and glorious things not only from the proskomedia prosphora, but also from moving mountains from place to place, and there is nothing impossible for it.” (“Dushen. sob.”, 1896, issue III). 6. Blasphemous thoughts do not harm those who neglect them 87 One bishop, having come to Rome, announced to Pope Gregory that he was confused and overwhelmed by numerous blasphemous thoughts against God, so that from great sorrow he was weak in the flesh and was already coming to despair. Hearing this, the pope said: “You are a bishop, but you do not know the wiles of demons. Our constant enemy, the devil, when he sees someone doing good and cannot seduce him into the path of sin, then begins to act on him with blasphemous thoughts in order to outrage him, upset his mind, deviate him from virtue and cast him into the depths of despair. But know that blasphemous thoughts have no meaning and cannot in the least harm those who neglect them and are not embarrassed. They cause harm only to those who, being cowardly and inexperienced, impute them to themselves as sin and fall into exhaustion from vain sorrow. On the same cowardly people the word of the prophet David comes true: there they fear fear, where there is no fear” (Ps. 13:5). (See “Resurrection reading”, g. XVII). 7. How did one monk free himself from blasphemous thoughts? One pious monk, having suffered attacks from a blasphemous demon for 20 years, exhausted his body with fasting and vigil; but seeing that he was not getting any benefit from it, he described on paper all his temptation and confusion, and, having come to a certain saint. husband, handed him this paper, throwing his face to the ground and not daring to look at him. The elder, having read the paper, smiled and, raising his brother, said to him: “Put your hand on my neck, child”; and when the brother did this, the great man said to him: “On my neck, brother, let this sin be, both for the past and for the future; Just don’t worry about him anymore.” Afterwards, this monk saw that he had not yet left the elder’s cell when this passion disappeared... “I heard this story, says St. John Climacus, from the lips of that same monk who endured this temptation and (who), speaking about it, sent thanks to God.” (“The Ladder”, f. 23. § 16, pp. 212–213). 8. Thinking about blasphemous thoughts One of the most severe temptations to which people who stand on the good path of Christian life are often exposed is the internal thought of blasphemy against all that is holy, implanted in the soul of a person by the enemy of our salvation. This state becomes all the more painful for a person because he feels powerless to drive away blasphemous thoughts from himself even while standing in prayer before God. On the contrary, at this very time they seem to have an even stronger effect on a person, overwhelming his mind with all sorts of doubts and vile images, and what is most remarkable is that not only those who begin to lead a life according to God are subjected to such a grave temptation, but also people who have been struggling for a long time in the cause of salvation - often the highest ascetics of piety. For those experiencing such a gloomy state of spirit, the recluse saint Theophan, bishop. Tambovsky, teaches the following advice: - “... The spirit of blasphemy torments you. The demon... produces them. He does this in order to confuse you and deprive you of the courage to pray. And what he means is whether you will agree to some kind of blasphemy in order to plunge you into the sin of blasphemy, and then into despair. The first thing to do against this demon is... do not be embarrassed and do not at all think that these are your thoughts, but directly attribute them to the demon. Then - against thoughts and words - think and say the opposite. He instills bad things about the saint, and you say: you’re lying, you sly man: that’s what he is like... So against everything, and you keep saying it until they leave. Turn to the Lord with this prayer: I open my soul before You, Lord! You see that I do not want such thoughts and do not favor them. The enemy controls everything; drive him away from me. St. Niphon was tormented for four years by a spirit that buzzed in his ears: there is no God, there is no Christ, etc., but he said: God is and Christ, and I worship Them and serve with all my soul... God finally delivered him... Demetrius of Rostov in the 1st volume has a very intelligible and comforting article about this” 88 - “... Here is tactile confirmation that there is an enemy spirit of blasphemy in you: with what hostility does he treat the Lord Savior?! This is natural to him, for the Lord has destroyed their power, so that His name alone is terrible for them. Why should we listen to these enemy potions? Pray that the Lord will remove from your heart the very possibility of such thoughts. Communion to St. Tain - very good! Help you, Lord! “You need to confess fully... Tell your confessor everything and ask for prayers” 89. “...The elders write that when temptation attacks, one must fight it off from the heart with hostility towards it, and then, or at the same time, turn to the Lord in prayer. This is a strong, unpleasant remedy for the enemy. – We must prepare for it in a peaceful state. We must truly arouse in ourselves hatred against the enemy and his attacks” 90. 7th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. ZZ-e, ch. IX, 27–35 art. During His journey from Jerusalem to Galilee, Jesus probably came to Capernaum. One day, two blind men followed Him along the path, never ceasing to shout: “Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David!” Word of Him reached them, and they were convinced that He was the promised Son of David. Therefore, they cried out to Him with faith so that He would have mercy and heal them. On the street, however, they could not stop Him. When He came to the house, the blind again approached Him asking Him to help them and heal them from their illness. Jesus asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They answered him: “Yes, Lord!” Jesus saw their confession, saw that it came from their hearts, and therefore confirmed and glorified their faith. He said to them, touching their eyes: “According to your faith, be it done to you!” And their eyes were opened, and they began to see. After this, Jesus strictly forbade them, saying: “Be careful that no one finds out!” 2. Comforting message of the Monk Theodore the Studite to a certain Eudokimus Spafari, deprived of sight So you've lost your sight. A sad adventure! For how is it not sad to lose the lamp of the body:? But, on the other hand, there is something to be grateful for when we do not see the vanities of the world, with which the minds of everyone are usually carried away against their will. You are not allowed to go out and be in city assemblies and in court chambers, but in this way you have freed yourself from the assembly of the wicked and from the community of the lawless. You know what I'm talking about. Are you deprived of your property? and this is very difficult to bear. But there is an incentive for you to endure this with ease and to be above everyday circumstances and relationships. Where, most venerable one, would you find as much space as you do now to exercise for God and to know Him as much as possible? Where is so much time for prayer, for sighing, tenderness, raising of hands, which you can use in a real disaster? Don't you see that your circumstances have tilted towards your good, and the malice of people has turned to your salvation? One thing that is most worthy of note is that in the previous state it was difficult to know whether you were on the path of salvation, when, as you know, many were hindering your pious intention. And now not only has the door of repentance been opened for you, but the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven has also been opened, and everyone who thinks well will place you among those who are saved. Oh, if only I could convey my feelings to another! It would be very desirable for me that with the taking away of vision, the incentives to sin were also taken away from me, in its objects. But this is enough for the right of friendship. May the all-merciful God Himself give you much consolation and strength to endure everything with gratitude, following the example of blessed Job! May He grant us permission to enter into personal conversation in order to fill in with a living voice what cannot be expressed in writing! 3. Stories about the miraculous healing of the blind 1. Through St. Mysteries the Lord gave sight to the blind. St. John the Faster, Archbishop of Constantinople, placed a part of the body of Christ on the eyes of one blind man and said: “He who healed a blind man from birth, let him also heal you,” and he received his sight. Such is the wonderful power of St. Christ's mysteries! (Thu. Min. 2 Sept.). 2. One priest told the following miraculous incident. He was invited to a neighboring village, due to the absence of the parish priest, to give farewell to the patient. While teaching the sick St. secrets, the spare particle somehow fell from his spoon and, no matter how much the priest and the owners looked for it, they could not find it. The patient was a blind old man, and all the time they continued to look for the particle, he lay on his bed, anxiously asking from time to time: “Have you found it?” Finally, with great force, he got up from bed and bowed his head under the bench and said: “What is that, father, is it glowing under the bench?” – and at the same time pointed his finger. No one except the blind old man could see the blessed light; but on his instructions the priest found St. particle and gave it to the wonderful blind man (“Dush. Read.” 1877). 3. “Among the serfs was retired lieutenant Al. Feud. Krechetn., there was a girl Agafya Ilyinishna, of rare kindness and piety. This girl served from almost adolescence until her daughter Anast was given in marriage. Alex. When the latter, now 76 years old, was 10 years old or less, Agafya, her faithful servant, became blind. The situation was sad! Despite all this, she did not stop trusting in God’s help and praying. And this is what was the fruit of these qualities of her meek soul. Several times in her dreams she hears an invitation to go to Palitsa to receive healing there. It was a village not far from the Makaryevsky Monastery. Agafya goes there with living faith and already on the porch of the village church she feels that she is beginning to see the light. She entered the church, bowed several times before the miraculous icon, and became completely sighted as before. She lived a long time after this, faithfully served her masters, and finally gave up her spirit to the Lord in peace in another village, when Anast. Alec. was married” (Letters from a spiritual father to a nun, Bishop Gerasim, 1889). 4. A resident of Kanev, who had lost his sight from an illness that covered his body with scabs, once came to the abbot of the Kanevsky monastery, the Venerable Martyr Macarius, who lived in the 17th century. The disease, with the help of medicines, was partially alleviated, but vision did not return, and no advice from doctors was of any benefit to the blind man. On the advice of his family, he turned to the teacher for help. Macarius. The monk answered that he had no medicine, but offered evangelical advice: believe and pray to the One who gave sight to the blind; “Go,” added the monk, “to the evening of the Epiphany of the Lord and pray.” The monk himself celebrated the vigil, praying for the blind man. When he said in the prayer of the church: “Great are You, O Lord, and wonderful are Your works,” the blind man felt that a sharp ray of light passed past his eyes, and he began to see everything. In gratitude, he built a church in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord. (From the book “Lives of the Saints”, Archbishop Philaret Gumilevsky, September 7th, pp. 85–86). 4. Spiritual eyes that see and know God arise and develop from a pious life Blind people, like all true Christians, have incomparably more precious physical spiritual eyes that see and know God. If they lost their eyes, with which they could examine external objects, they did not at all lose their spiritual eyes, with which they could contemplate God and the entire spiritual world for all infinite eternity. Moreover, deprivation of earthly vision very often contributes to the development of the spiritual. The Holy Fathers often point out both the existence in our spirit of the ability to directly sense the action and presence of the Divine in us and through this to more and more understand the concept of Him, and the dependence of this ability on a virtuous and pious life. This idea is developed very clearly by Theophilus of Antioch. Addressing the pagan Autolycus with the goal of converting him to the true God, Theophilus says: “if you say, show me your God, then I will answer you: show me your man, and I will show you my God: show me what the eyes of your soul see... for just as the bodily eyes of sighted people see objects, so exactly there are the eyes of the soul to see God, and God is visible to those who are able to see Him, whose eyes are open. soulful. Everyone has eyes, but for others they are covered in darkness and do not see the light of the sun... So you, my friend, the eyes of your soul are darkened by sin and your evil deeds. A person must have a soul like a shining mirror: when there is rust on the mirror, then a human face cannot be seen in the mirror; so a person, when there is sin in him, cannot contemplate God (Ad Autolic. liber 1. and 2).” Theophilus says that in the human soul there are certainly spiritual eyes to see and know God; but at the same time, it is required that these eyes be healthy and not covered with darkness and sinful impurity, otherwise they will not see God, just as those with sick eyes or the blind do not see the sunlight, although it is not closed to them. It is clear that Theophilus admits in the human soul the existence of a special ability, with the help of which he can directly sense the presence and action of the Divine on the soul. 5. Compassionate transfer of illness Several years ago, in one of the Moscow churches, two friends met by chance after a long separation. Their friendship began a long time ago, when they were still children sitting next to each other at school; but after finishing the course they had to separate and did not see each other until recently. Both were happy about the unexpected meeting. One of them, Elizabeth, was married, had children, was happy, but out of eleven years of marriage she had been ill for eight years. - Why are you sick? – asked her another, Varvara. “My chest hurts,” Elizabeth answered calmly, “I probably have consumption.” - Oh, what did you come up with! If there is pain in the chest, then now there is consumption! Get it out of your head! – Varvara hastened to convince her. “Do you think this upsets or frightens me?” Not at all! - Elizabeth smiled. “Well,” thought Varvara, “if she smiles so calmly, it means she doesn’t recognize her situation as dangerous.” But she was wrong. After talking a little more, the friends parted, promising to visit each other. Varvara, however, returned home with a restless heart; The changed, muffled voice of her friend continuously sounded in her ears. "My God! - she thought, - what if this is true? So early to die, and when life is so full! Poor children! Poor Lisa! And who can save us from this terrible disease? - One miracle. Well, miracles do happen; everything is possible to a believer.” And returning home, Varvara began writing the letter, advising her friend to turn to Kronstadt for help. She soon learned that the kind, compassionate Kronstadt shepherd, at the invitation of her husband, visited Elizabeth. But what did she ask for? In response to his promise to pray for recovery, she said: “Father, I don’t want to get better, I’m not burdened by my illness; Only I wouldn’t want to die soon, but I don’t need health: it’s better for me.” – This is quite Christian! – the honorable guest answered her. A year passed, and Varvara, visiting her friend one day, saw her already lying in bed. “Sit next to me, Varya, and I’ll sit as long as I have enough strength,” She rose from the pillow and sat down. How she has changed! It was a shadow of the former man: terrible thinness and suffocating, short breathing made the most painful impression. The friends began to talk about God, God's providence, about His great mercy towards people, about the paths leading to salvation. – Has your sister died, Varya? Do you know, my family wanted to hide her death from me, as if there was something terrible in death? She lived her life in such a way that one should not regret or cry about her; God is so merciful, He will forgive a person his universal sins if that person has always come to Him. This is what we need to cry about and weep bitterly: those who have not been to church for several years have not considered it necessary to receive Holy Communion. secrets; and there are such people. Oh, Varya, how I miss being without church! How I loved church services! It used to happen, when I was still healthy, in the first years of my marriage, if I went to the theater, I forgot everything I saw and heard when I returned home; and having been to the church for the service, I came home in some extraordinary mood, all filled with holy words, holy melodies, and then for a long, long time I heard these words, these melodies. After my wedding, on the very first Saturday, as soon as I heard the bell, I immediately put on my fur coat and went to the all-night vigil, and I did not change this habit until I stopped leaving the house. Often, when I came home from church, I asked myself the question: where is everyone in such a hurry to leave the church, and can there really be anything higher than this bliss, how to stand in the church and pray? Varvara began to feel sorry for her that she was forced to remain motionless in bed, and consoled her with the hope of recovery. “I assure you,” answered Elizabeth, “I don’t miss you at all, and as for the end of suffering, then, of course, it is inevitable when God wants to send it.” It only becomes unbearable for me when an attack of suffocation begins: then I suffer terribly. Can you imagine how crazy I was once! My seizures became so frequent that I was completely exhausted and suddenly said: “Well, what is this, how long will it last? Either way, sit down - it would be over soon!” As if God doesn't know how much I have to suffer? How I repent of this! You are surprised and say that I endure the disease with unusual patience. I assure you that God gives the cross according to my strength, and when I look at others and how they suffer, I see that it is not nearly as difficult for me as it is for them. I have been sick for eight years and have not heard a single reproach from my husband, while others endure so many reproaches because of their illness! No, it’s not that hard for me yet! - Lord strengthen you! – Varvara said in amazement, looking at the calm, clear gaze of the sufferer. Soon after the conversation described, Varvara was deprived of the opportunity to visit her dear friend, since her extremely painful condition no longer allowed Elizabeth to receive outside visitors. Then they began to communicate in writing. – Pray for me, my dear, that God will give me patience; I have such shortness of breath,” wrote Elizaveta, weakly tracing the letters with a pencil: “I can hardly speak at all, I write while lying down.” Either I lie there and nothing happens, otherwise I get terribly bored. I have to lie on my back: on the left side there is a cough, on the right it is stuffy. As soon as I hear someone’s steps, my heart immediately begins to pound and I can’t catch my breath, and therefore I don’t see anyone except my husband and the nurse. - How glad I am, how glad I am! - Elizabeth wrote some time later, - that our merciful Lord has vouchsafed me, unworthy, to be a partaker of His St. secrets Think about it, the King of glory Himself, our Master, Himself deigned to come brought on the chest of His servant to me, His unworthy servant. He, the Heavenly King, did not demand a magnificent meeting, and hid the light of His ineffable glory from our bodily eyes. I was terribly excited when I heard the priest’s steps, and I didn’t feel like myself; but what do you think? As soon as the Lord Jesus Christ visited me, I did not even feel whether my heart was beating in me or whether it was not there at all. Yes, my dear Varya! what can replace the Lord on earth? No wealth, no glory, no all earthly pleasures; You can have all these treasures, but if there is no God in your soul, then it will be so empty and, it seems to me, so boring that you can go crazy. More and more oppressed by her illness, Elizabeth, however, found so much moral strength in herself that she followed the daily prayer rules she had adopted exactly all the time and managed to pray not only for herself, but also for her husband, deeply compassionate with him: “his dejected state is my second illness,” she poured out her grief in a letter to a friend, “and I pray for him, but he becomes sadder and sadder.” Finally, her strength began to completely fail her, she grew weaker every day. “I feel so bad,” she told Varvara, “that I even started reading my daily rules.” But then came Elizabeth’s most difficult test. The original enemies of man could not tolerate her procession to God and began to inspire her that she was unworthy of Him, that she had no true love for God, that her prayer would never be heard, and that they would take possession of her and cast her into hell. Her poor soul, tormented and exhausted in the struggle, fought like a bird in a cage. She then cried, then prayed, then began to read the Gospel and, feeling unable to perceive the holy words as clearly as she could so recently, she closed the holy book with tears and recognized herself as lost, having lost the path to heaven. Having accidentally learned about such a painful condition of hers (Elizabeth no longer wrote letters due to weakness), Varvara sent her extracts from the writings of Father John of Kronstadt and other clergy whom Elizabeth especially respected, showing her suggested ways to combat evil spirits. With a pure, open heart, Elizabeth joyfully accepted the instructions of men experienced in spiritual life and emerged victorious from the struggle. With her spirit lifted, feeling new strength in herself, she, barely drawing on paper with her weakening hand, wrote the last letter to her spiritual sister, as she had recently begun to call her friend. “My sister about Christ,” she wrote: “your guardian angel must have inspired you to write me this letter of yours, a direct response to my state of mind.” After reading it, I cried. Cross yourself! What do I want to tell you? For two days I could not pick up the Holy Gospel; every word of it cut my heart like a knife; and when she asked me to honor my husband, I suddenly broke out in a sweat - I was afraid that I would go berserk and die. Christ save you. I am unworthy of you, please do not object to me. She has risen to such humility! Having lost the last thing - sleep, Elizabeth prayed more diligently than before, and received Holy Communion more and more often. secrets, blessed her husband and children and finally fell into unconsciousness. But even in her delirium, she read prayers and crossed herself with a trembling hand: her soul became so close to prayer! Finally, the last hour of her life had come. Before her death, she came to her senses and then quietly departed into the world into which she had been striving all her life, and the pure soul, freed from the shackles of her long-suffering body, rushed to God, Whom she loved more than anyone and everything in the world. Varvara stood both mournful and at the same time joyful at the funeral service. Every word of both the liturgy and the funeral service was praise for her fallen sister. “Whoever went to God should not cry for him,” she remembered the words of Elizabeth: but she could not help but grieve, because she was burying a true friend, from whom she had heard nothing but good and holy things. Where, from what source, do people like Elizabeth draw such great strength? – In God, in infant love for Him. Truly, our God, Lord Jesus Christ, the praise of their strength is You (Ps. 88). (Extracted in abbreviated form from the magazine “The Helmsman”). 6. God has much mercy, but it is given only to the humble 91 In the life of Rev. Anthony the Great has such a legend; One day two demons conspired with each other to lead a great ascetic into temptation. One of them said to the other: “Brother Zerefer, what do you think: if one of us decided to repent, would God accept repentance from him or not?” Zerefer answered: “Who can know about this except Elder Anthony, who is not afraid of us! Do you want me to go to him and ask him about it?” “Go, go,” another demon told him: just watch - be careful: the old man is perspicacious, he will understand that you are tempting him, and will not want to ask God about this; however, go, maybe you will be able to get the answer you want,” Bes Zerefer took on a human form, came to the elder and began to cry and sob bitterly in front of him. God wanted it to be hidden from St. The elder’s pretense was demonic, and the monk mistook the stranger for a simple person and asked him with sympathy: “Why are you crying so much that you are crushing my heart with your bitter tears?” The demon answered: “Holy father! I am not a person, but simply a demon due to the multitude of my iniquities!” The elder, thinking that the stranger out of humility called himself a demon, said to him: “What do you want from me, my brother? “I beg you about one thing, holy father,” the demon said, “pray to God so that He will reveal to you: will He accept repentance from the devil, or will He reject it?” If he receives from him, he will also receive from me: for I too am guilty of the same sins as he.” “The elder told him: “Come tomorrow, I will tell you what the Lord will reveal to me.” Night fell; The elder raised his venerable hands to heaven and began to beg God, the Lover of Mankind, to reveal to him: will He accept the repentance of the devil? And so, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “Thus says the Lord our God: Why do you plead with My power for the demon? He only tempts you...” The elder said to the angel: “Why didn’t the Lord God reveal this demonic trick to me?” The angel answered: “Do not be embarrassed by this; here was God’s special intention so that sinners who had committed many iniquities would not give in to despair, but would repent before God and know that God does not reject anyone who comes to Him, even if Satan himself came to Him with true repentance; Moreover, God did not reveal the demonic deceit to you so that demonic bitterness and despair would be revealed. So, when the tempter comes to you for an answer, do not reject him, but say: “You see how merciful the Lord is: He does not turn away anyone who comes to Him in repentance, even if Satan himself comes; He promises to accept you too, if only you fulfill His command.” And when he asks you: what was he commanded from God? tell him: this is what the Lord God says: I know who you are and where you came from with temptation, you are ancient evil and cannot be a new virtue, you were from the beginning the leader of evil, and now you will not begin to do good; you have become hardened in pride, and how can you humble yourself in repentance and receive mercy? But so that you do not justify yourself on the day of judgment, so that you do not say: I wanted to repent, but God did not accept me, behold, the Good and Merciful Lord determines for you - if you yourself want - such repentance: He says: stand for three years in one place, turning your face to the east, and day and night crying out to God: “God, have mercy on me - the ancient malice!” and repeat this a hundred times; then say: “God, have mercy on me, my darkened beauty!” and this also a hundred times; and again: “God, have mercy on me - the abomination of desolation!” again a hundredfold. So cry out to the Lord unceasingly, for you do not have the constitution of the body, and therefore cannot become weary or exhausted. Now, when you fulfill this with humility, then you will be returned to your former rank and numbered among the angels of God.” And if the demon promises to fulfill this, then accept him in repentance, but I know that ancient malice cannot be a new virtue.” “Thus spoke the angel and ascended to heaven.” The next day the devil came and from afar began to sob with a human voice. He bowed to the elder, and the elder, without exposing his deceit, told him as the angel commanded - and so what? Zerefer, in response to his speech, laughed loudly and said: “Evil monk! if I had wanted to call myself ancient evil, the abomination of desolation and darkened charm, I would have done it long ago and would have already been saved; do you really think; that I will now call myself an ancient malice? This will never happen! And who told you this? Yes, to this day I am held in great esteem by everyone, and everyone obeys me with fear, but did you imagine that I would call myself an abomination of desolation or a darkened beauty? No, darling, never! I still reign over sinners, and they love me, I live in their hearts, and they walk according to my will; Yes, so that I could become an indecent slave for the sake of repentance... no, evil old man, never and for nothing! I will never exchange my honorable position for such dishonor!” The devil said this and disappeared with a cry. And the elder began to pray and, thanking God’s mercy, said: “Thy word is true, Lord, that ancient evil cannot be a new virtue, and the ruler of all evil will not do good!..” “We told you this, brothers, not for the sake of idle curiosity,” says the pious descriptor of this legend in conclusion, “but so that you might know God’s goodness and mercy.” So do not despair, you who grieve immensely for the multitude of your sins - God has a lot of mercy. He would have lovingly accepted the devil himself into his former angelic rank if he had wanted to repent. But for us, sinners, the Lord did not spare His Blood... You should be afraid of one thing, lest sin bring you to the point of bitterness similar to that of Satan. But in such a hardened heart, is repentance and salvation possible? 7. There is no need to seek glory from people 92 Tell me why and why are you looking for praise from people? Don’t you know that this praise, just like smoke, and even like something worse than smoke, spreads through the air and disappears? Moreover, people are so fickle and changeable: the same people praise the same person today and blame tomorrow. But with God's judgment this can never happen. Let us not be reckless, let us not deceive ourselves in vain and in vain. If, after all, we do something good, but we do it not only to fulfill the commandments of our Lord and to be known to God alone, then we work in vain, depriving ourselves of the fruit of this good deed. He who does something good to receive fame from people, whether he receives it or not - and it often happens that despite all his efforts he cannot receive it - enjoys a full reward here, but there he will not receive any reward for this deed. Why? because he himself deprived himself of a reward from the Judge in advance, preferring the present over the future, human glory over the verdict of the righteous Judge. On the contrary, if we do something spiritual in order to please that never-sleeping Eye, before Which everything is naked and open; then our treasure remains inviolable, and the future reward is undoubted, and the pleasant hope of it in itself already gives us great consolation, and at the same time that this reward is kept for us in a safe depository, even human glory can accompany us. For it is then that we use it to a greater extent, when we neglect it, when we do not look for it, when we do not chase after it. And why are you surprised that this happens among those who lead a spiritual life, when very many of those who love peace most of all abhor and despise those who seek glory from people; You will even find that such people are mocked by everyone for their vanity. Don’t you see, beloved, just like in the horse races, the drivers of the horses do not pay attention to the fact that all the people sitting there are scattering an abyss of praises, and they do not feel pleasure from these praises, but they look at only the king sitting in the middle, and, listening to his wave, they despise the whole crowd, and only become magnified when he lays wreaths on them. Imitating them, do not value human glory and do good deeds not because of it, but expect a verdict from the righteous Judge, and, heeding His beck, arrange your whole life in such a way that you will constantly be nourished by good hope here, and there will enjoy eternal blessings. (From the Works of St. John Chrysostom). 8. Beware of slanderers 93 It is a very serious sin to slander one’s neighbor, that is, to attribute to him a vice that does not exist in him, or to exaggerate and disclose his actual shortcomings, with the intention of causing him significant harm. In fairness, the name slanderer is assigned to the spirit of malice seeking to destroy a person (the word devil from Greek means slanderer). Nothing can so easily and imperceptibly cause great evil to one's neighbor as through slander. The tongue is a small member, says St. ap. Jacob, but he does a lot. Look, a small fire burns so much substance. And the tongue is fire, the embellishment of untruth... This is uncontrollable evil; it is full of deadly poison” (James 3:5–6; James 3:8). In all its forms, from light mockery of one’s neighbors to openly hostile slander of them, slander can be equally harmful. Thus, very often the most worthy people, honest workers for the benefit of society and guardians of the truth, innocently suffer from obvious and secret attacks of slander, trying to damage their good name and the glory they deserve. But if slander, as serving untruth intentionally or unintentionally, is a grave sin, then, obviously, everyone needs to carefully guard themselves from participating in slander. This participation is usually revealed in the fact that they listen to and trust the slander. It would not have had access to human society, and it would have died out at the very beginning, if it had not found trust in people and assistance in its further spread. Unfortunately, among people there are quite a few obedient servants of slander, some intentionally, out of ill will and malice of heart, some unintentionally, out of frivolity, and sometimes out of false jealousy and pharisaical vanity, in order to appear to be guardians of the truth and purity of life. However, it is not difficult for the most well-intentioned and benevolent person to fall into the snare of a slanderer and believe his slander against his neighbor. Slander is very often so skillfully covered up by zeal for the truth that it involuntarily captivates a person who is limited and by nature receptive to evil, prompting him to unfoundedly condemn his neighbor. And from the life of St. Cyril of Alexandria, we can see that the suggestions of slander are so strong and dangerous that even righteous people and great champions of the truth succumbed to them. It is known that the great saint of Christ, St. John Chrysostom was deposed from the episcopal throne and exiled solely because of the slander of his enemies, among whom Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, was especially stubborn. After the suffering death of Chrysostom, St. the church honored his memory by numbering him among the saints of God. But in the Alexandrian church, where Theophilus, Chrysostom’s main enemy, was archbishop, the latter did not want to write him down in the memorial books. Theophilus’s successor, St., believed the slander and did not pay due veneration to the deceased saint. Cyril, the famous church teacher and champion of the faith, who chaired the 3rd Ecumenical Council against the heretic Nestorius, who humiliated the dignity of the Most Holy One. Mother of God. It was not out of malice of his heart, completely imbued with the heights of the Gospel teaching, that the great saint was angry with the deceased saint, but out of his ignorance and trust in the hostile slander of his uncle Theophilus, who established in the soul of Cyril an incorrect concept about the person and activities of Chrysostom. Likewise, the greatest saints were involved in human weaknesses, they allowed “something shameful and contrary to pleasing God, but we will see their miraculous correction” (Cheti Menaion, June 9). The Lord, indeed, miraculously enlightened St. Kirill in his sin against the duty of love and brotherly love. Once upon a time it was St. Kirill has the following vision: he stands as if in some beautiful and majestic church and sees Pr. The Virgin Mary surrounded by many angels and saints. In the face of the saints he sees St. John Chrysostom, standing near Ave. The Virgin Mary with a book of teachings, shining with a wonderful light. When St. Kirill wanted to get closer to Pr. Theotokos and give her veneration, St. Chrysostom and the others who were present pushed Cyril away and expelled him from the church. But the Mother of God Herself firmly stopped the expulsion of Cyril from the church and, through Her mediation, arranged the mutual reconciliation of the saints. After this vision, having also received a fraternal admonition from St. Isidore Pelusiota, St. Cyril recognized his sin against the ecumenical saint and, immediately convening a council of bishops, composed a spiritual holiday in honor of Chrysostom. From then on, until the end of his life, he did not cease to please this great saint. So, if the great righteous could be exposed to the dangerous effects of slander, then all the more we, weak in spirit, limited and short-sighted in mind, must take care not to fall into the networks of slanderers, woven to the harm of our neighbor. 8th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. Chapter 58 XIV, 14–22 centuries. 1. For the feeding of five thousand people by Jesus Christ with five loaves, with the instruction for us to pray before eating food During His earthly life, the Savior was once near the city of Bethsaida, on the shores of Lake Galilee, arriving here in a boat along with His disciples. Coming out of the boat, Jesus Christ saw a multitude of people gathered and began to teach them, talking about the kingdom of God. The conversation dragged on for a long time; Evening was already approaching, and the people listened with pleasure to the words coming from the lips of the God-Man. Finally, the apostles approached Jesus Christ and said: “Teacher! The place here is deserted, and the time is already late; So, let the people go, so that they can go to neighboring cities and villages and buy themselves bread.” “They don’t need to disperse; “Give them something to eat,” said the Savior, and then turned to the Apostle Philip and said to him: “How can we buy bread to feed them?” Philip answered: “Lord! and two hundred denarii (43 rubles in our money) will not be enough bread for everyone to get at least a little.” But the Savior said: “Go and see how much bread you have here.” After searching and questioning, it turned out that one boy had five barley loaves and two small baked fish. Despite such a small number, Jesus Christ said: “Bring them to me here, and tell the people to lie down.” And they all sat down on the grass, and about five thousand people all reclined, not counting women and children. Then Jesus Christ took five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven and, having given praise to God, broke the loaves and began to distribute them to His disciples, who took them to the people. And a wonderful thing: they all ate and were filled, so that there was still a remainder - twelve boxes of pieces. Let us pay attention, Orthodox Christian, to how Jesus Christ began the miraculous feeding of the people. Talking about this event, the evangelist and eyewitness expresses himself this way: “look up to heaven and bless.” So, the Savior, before feeding His listeners, turned His eyes to the Heavenly Father, glorified Him, the Giver of all good things, and in mental prayer called on Him for help. Doesn’t this teach you and me, brother beloved in Christ, to turn to the Lord in prayer every time before eating food? And what is the food that we eat? This is a gift given by the generous hand of the Heavenly Father to support and preserve our life and health. How can someone who eats not remember the One who feeds him? In life we ​​see that food does not always bring a person the desired health, that sometimes, instead of benefiting a person, it causes harm to a person, that people often sit down at the table healthy and leave the table sick. Keeping this in mind, you, Christian, when you begin to eat food, always offer a prayer to God, so that the food you eat will truly benefit and strengthen your body. Whoever asks through prayer for God's blessing to eat food, whoever accepts and looks at it as a gift from the All-Merciful God, and not as a means of carnality, always eats it with benefit for his health. Look at the saints of God: they all ate the simplest food, many of them ate nothing but stale bread and water, but they all maintained their strength for long years of labor and difficult feats. Nowadays, many people take great care of food in order to maintain their poor health. Let those know that without God’s favor, even the most expensive, most luxurious food will not bring a person the desired effect, will not restore his bodily strength, broken by a non-Christian way of life. However, fervent prayer offered with faith makes our food not only healthy, but also pleasant to the human taste. With prayer, even the simplest food becomes for some more pleasant and sweeter than the luxurious foods that decorate the meals of sensualists. This is what is told, by the way, in church books on this occasion. Not far from Constantinople, in deep silence and solitude, lived one saint. ascetic. Everyone revered this hermit for his pious life; many visited him and found edification. One day, dressed as a simple warrior, the Roman emperor himself came to the hermit. In the midst of the conversation, the emperor's eyes accidentally stopped at a basket of dry bread hanging on the wall; suddenly he wanted to taste this bread. The elder gladly fulfilled the guest’s wish, brought a bowl of water, put dry bread in it and, after praying, sat down with the visitor for his meager meal. When the modest dinner was over, the emperor, revealing himself to the hermit, said: “Behold, I was born a king, and now I reign, but I have never eaten bread or drunk water with such pleasure as I now ate and drank with you. How sweet is your food! In response to these words, the elder remarked to the king: “We hermits take our food with prayer and blessing, which is why our food, although bad, is sweet. But in your houses they drink and eat without prayer, with noise and idle talk, and that is why your rich and luxurious meals are tasteless: they lack the delightful blessing of God.” Unfortunately and to our shame, we must admit that at our table there is an abundance of idle talk, inappropriate laughter is often heard, and conversations are carried on. Yes, we forget that according to our Christian calling we must do everything for the glory of God, as the Apostle teaches us: “whether you eat or drink, do everything for the glory of God.” Fathers of families and elders in the family! Use the power granted to you by age to establish good order and Christian customs among your household. When occupying the first and senior place at a family meal, first of all, set an example of sedateness and piety for the youngest in your family. Remember that in houses in which pious customs are still sacredly observed, they eat bread in unbroken silence. Above all, take care of decent prayer whenever you use the gifts of God. Let every meal of yours begin and end with the glorification of the Lord, who supplies food to everyone in good season and satisfies all living things according to His good pleasure. (See No. 81 “Resurrection List.”). 2. Every business should begin with a blessing. One day, Grand Duke Izyaslav visited the Monk Theodosius of Pechersk and stayed to dine with him. Simple monastic food was prepared on a simple table: black bread and ordinary vegetables. But this food seemed so tasty to the Grand Duke that he tenderly asked the Monk Theodosius: “I have a lot of everything, expensive supplies, overseas seasoning, learned cooks, but I have never eaten at home with such a taste as yours, why is this?” - “Sovereign! - answered Theodosius, our brethren, when they want to cook or bake bread, have this rule: first they take a blessing from the abbot, then they make three bows in front of the altar, light a candle from a lamp before the image of the Savior, and with this candle they light a fire in the kitchen and bread room. When it is necessary to pour water into the cauldron, the servant says to the elder: “Bless, father!”, and he will say: “God bless you, child!” Thus, everything we do is done with blessing. This is the reason why everything is delicious with us: and your servants begin every task with grumbling and annoyance at each other. And where there is sin, there can be no pleasure. In addition, your butlers often beat the servants for the slightest fault, and their tears also add a lot of bitterness to the food, no matter how expensive they are.” The Grand Duke agreed that the holy elder was telling the truth, accepted his blessing and returned home. When taking on any task, you should always pray to God, or at least cross yourself and say to yourself: “Lord, bless!” (According to “Ch.M.”). Many people, before eating and after eating, forget to offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for the gifts of His mercy - food and drink, without which we could not exist. We are no longer talking about the fact that all the countless blessings of God do not evoke in some a feeling of gratitude to God, therefore, let our word this time be about gratitude to God, which is what the reading of the Gospel of this day encourages. It is easier to measure the expanses of the heavens and the depths of the abyss of the sea than to measure and know the greatness and number of God’s blessings. Who gave us life? and what kind of life? What a wonderful creation man came from creative hands! God created him in His own image and likeness, making him a little less than an angel (Ps8:6). By Him, the all-good and all-active, we live, move and are (Acts 17:28). The husband's feet are straightened by the Lord. Our houses, our cities and kingdoms are built by him. What shall I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? (Ps. 115:3). I am a fallen creature before You, Heavenly Father! What should I expect for myself if not trial and condemnation? We have moved away from You, and You are looking for us, Son of the Eternal Father! You found and took the lost sheep for Your ramen. The faces of the angels are amazed at Your love, which sacrificed Yourself for the redemption of us sinners. And who, if not the Holy Spirit, creates in people a pure heart and a right spirit! Our soul, upset by sin, only comes to life for God when fervent prayer brings down upon it the grace of the Holy Spirit; all our contentment comes from God. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget His rewards. Hear, O Christian soul, how the Heavenly Father complains about ungrateful Israel; He calls heaven to be a witness and earth to be a hearer of His complaint. Hear the sky, inspire the earth; I gave birth to sons and raised them up; they rejected Me; exposes rational Israel to the example of a foolish animal. The ox and the donkey knew his master's crib. Israel did not know Me, and My people rejected Me (Is. 1:2-3). What a strong reproach to Israel! We Christians, more than Israel, have received gifts from the Heavenly Father. How great is our foolishness, how great is the cruelty of our hearts, when we do not recognize with a grateful mind and heart the benefits of God! Awake, rise from humiliation, my soul, into which the sin of heart hardness has plunged you. Confess your wickedness to the Lord and pray to Him to enlighten your mind and inflame your heart with grateful love! If we thank God little, it is, of course, because we do not see God’s good deeds. How does this happen to us? A proud mind recognizes only its own merits and ascribes to itself what it has: this, it says, was acquired by my calculations, this gave me my skill. Pathetic self-delusion! Confront each of us with such proud thoughts in ourselves by reflecting on the immense weakness of our nature; Repeat to yourself the words of the apostle: “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn’t receive it? (1 Cor. 4:7). The ancient peoples knew God: but they did not honor Him worthy of His glory; they did not thank Him worthy of the benefits they received from him. Their hearts became cold to the mercies of the Most High, and their love for Him weakened, knowledge about Him was lost; darkness and desolation, vices and impurity increased - man became like senseless cattle. The self-willed wickedness of ingratitude is finally punished by the most extreme uncleanness, which the pagan soul has come to love. The same can happen in Christian hearts. Look around. If God is good to pour out grace on the graceless, then He is also just to punish wickedness that despises the gifts of His goodness. The execution of God is the natural fruit of ingratitude, because ingratitude brings spiritual devastation into the soul, drowns out its best dispositions and instills savagery in it. And a grateful soul, the more often it turns to God with gratitude, the more capable it becomes of accepting the gifts of His goodness. God is good; He only expects us to approach Him for gifts, and He does not hesitate to give them to us; looks with love at our consciousness in its weakness and accepts it as our acceptable sacrifice. Do you want to be grateful before the Lord? Sanctify your strength by serving the Lord; do not be lazy, do not refuse to come to the church when called by the church to offer praise and praise thanks to the Lord. Dedicate to the Lord what He has blessed you with; Bring Him the fruits of your labors, may He again send blessings on your labors. Do not despise the riches of His goodness and meekness and long-suffering, as if you do not know that the goodness of God leads you to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Give your poor brother what you can: in the person of your brother, the Lord will accept your gift from you as a favorable sacrifice of gratitude to Him. The Lord Himself tells us: since you have created one for the least of these brothers of mine: you have created for me (Matthew 25:40). (From Prop. Philaret, Archbishop of Chernigov). 4. Miracles of Divine Providence 50 years after the appearance of St. the cross to Tsar Constantine, the apostate Julian ascended the throne of the Roman Empire; brought up in the Christian faith, he went over to the side of the pagans and began to persecute Christians. The Lord Jesus Christ predicted to the disciples about the Jerusalem Temple that not one stone would remain upon another; everything will be destroyed, and in the holy place will stand the abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:2-15). Julian gave orders to the Jews to rebuild the Jewish church on the site of the destroyed one, ordered them to be given money for this from the public treasury, and ordered the ruler of Palestine to assist in the construction of the church. The workers set to work in large numbers; but, as his contemporary Ammianus Marcellinus, a pagan, courtier and admirer of Julian, writes, “terrible clouds of flame, often erupting from the foundation, made this place impregnable, burning those who worked repeatedly; Thus, this enterprise was stopped by the elements, which drove away the stubborn workers” (book 23, chapter I). Jewish writers also testify to this. One Rabbi Ben-Jechaiah, who wrote about this in the next 5th century, says that the fire erupted with such force that the iron parts of the building melted, and countless Jews were burned. He saw this as a miracle, but explained it as God’s displeasure, because the temple was being restored by order of a pagan king. But the Temple of Solomon was also built by pagan craftsmen, and the second Jewish temple after the Babylonian captivity was built by order of the Persian pagan king. The holy great fathers of the church speak with triumph about this wondrous event in the same fourth century. Contemporary and fellow student of Julian, St. Gregory the Theologian, in his word against Julian, says that at that time there was a shining cross in the sky, and the clothes of the spectators were imprinted with crosses; Saint John Chrysostom very eloquently depicted this miraculous event in his conversation against the Jews, 20 years after it took place; Other church fathers, as well as Christian historians of the fifth century, testify to it, so its reality cannot be doubted. According to historians, many outside spectators came running to watch this spectacle of the workers’ struggle with the mysterious fiery element. No natural causes can explain this event. Gases ignite and kill workers, but in dungeons or in closed places, and, moreover, they are ignited by fire, but here the work was carried out in the open air and during the day, and flammable gases, even if they came from the ground, could not ignite with such force, and of course, all the stubbornness and all the construction cunning were used by the Jews; but the fire that burned the workers was more persistent and forced them to abandon the work, to the great shame of the Jews and the emperor himself. Let us note that in addition to this case, at least four times large works were carried out on this place from the foundation, firstly, during the construction of the Temple of Solomon, secondly, during the construction of the temple after the captivity of Babylon, thirdly, under King Herod during the great reconstructions in the temple and extensions to it, and fourthly, at the beginning of the seventh century, during the construction of a Mohammedan mosque on this very place, which still stands today. There were no clouds of flame in those buildings from the foundation, but under Julian there was the most persistent fire! Truly this is a great, worldwide miracle that happened in the eyes of the inhabitants of a big city: Christians, Jews and pagans. Julian was then killed by an unknown hand in the war with the Persians, and paganism no longer rebelled, and the Jews were still without a temple and victims. Under Emperor Valens, the Arians began to publicize that the famous ascetic Julian Sava, who lived in Mesopotamia near the Euphrates River, was participating in their teaching. At the request of the bishops of the Patriarchate of Antioch, Julian came to Antioch in Syria. Having healed many sick people in the house where he was staying, he went to a meeting of Orthodox Christians. When he passed under the gates of the royal chambers, one beggar, deprived of the use of his legs and crawling on the ground, touching his cloak with his hand, freed himself from his illness and, jumping up, ran as he had walked before his illness. After this, the entire population of the city flocked, and the place of military training was completely filled with the assembled people. The slanderers (Arians) were covered with shame, but the Orthodox were delighted. A certain man, who held an important position and ruled the entire east, sent to ask the elder to come to him and heal him of his illness. Julian immediately came to him and, after praying, resolved the illness with a word. This is what the historian, Bishop Theodoret, writes, from the words of eyewitness Acacius, Bishop of Berea. From the fourth century, descriptions of many miracles have reached us in the writings of Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa and others. In their writings, they talk about various miracles that happened to themselves, to members of their families, and to other people contemporary to them. St. Athanasius the Great described the life of St. Anthony the Great. She is all full of great miracles. Palladius, Bishop of Elenopolis, in Lavsaik described many miracles of the ascetics of Egypt and other countries who lived in the 4th century, as a contemporary and eyewitness. We have many of the most reliable descriptions of miracles in the Church of Christ that took place in all subsequent centuries. Thus, the evidence of the Divinity of the Christian faith, revealed and revealed from above by God Himself, starting from the first people on earth, extends to our time. Despite the fact that in our times there are people among Christians who, when they see, do not see the works of God and when they hear, do not hear about them. Faithful Christians have the duty to pray, that those who are stuck in unbelief will turn to the path of truth, and that the glorified God in the Trinity will heal them, to Him be glory, honor and worship forever and ever. (Extracted from the book “Conversations on the Fundamental Truths of the Holy Orthodox Faith”, Sergius, Archbishop of Vladimir, Moscow. 1893, pp. 141–150). 9th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 59th, ch. XIV, 22–31 art. 1. About the miracle of the Lord’s walk on the Sea of ​​Galilee, with edification in troubles and misfortunes to seek help from God At one time, Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to get into a boat and sail to the opposite side of Lake Galilee, while He Himself remained on the shore to pray alone. It was already getting dark, and Jesus Christ still did not come ashore to the disciples. Obedient to the voice of their Teacher, the apostles sailed from the shore and moved towards the middle of the sea. And so, a strong wind blew towards them; the sea became agitated, raging waves beat directly into their boat. Morning was coming; The disciples saw the Savior walking on the water towards them. Amazed by the unheard-of miracle, they were embarrassed and, mistaking the Savior for a ghost, were afraid. But Jesus Christ told them: “Calm down, it is I, and do not be afraid!” Then the Apostle Peter exclaimed: “Lord! If it is You, then command me to come to You on the water.” “Go,” said the Savior. And Peter got out of the boat and went to Jesus Christ. Faith in the omnipotence of the Son of God initially supported Peter, so that he walked unhindered on the waves of the sea. But then, a strong gust of wind prompted him to pay attention to his position above the depths of the sea and at the same time aroused in him the fear of drowning in the water. As soon as his confidence in God’s help wavered, he began to drown and cried out in fear: “Lord! save me." Jesus Christ immediately extended his hand to him and said: “You of little faith! Why did you doubt it? With these words, He and Peter entered the boat with the disciples. They were all amazed at what they saw, approached Jesus Christ and, bowing, said to Him: “Truly You are the Son of God!” Who among us has not experienced various kinds of adversity? Who has not suffered sorrows and disasters that even threatened to take their lives? But do we treat you in the same way, Orthodox Christian, as the Apostle Peter did at a dangerous moment in his life? Do we resort to calling on the saving name of God when we are in adversity and do not see a quick deliverance ahead from the disasters that have befallen us? Do we humble ourselves under the strong hand of God in the dark and difficult days of temptation? What a pity that some, instead of humbly praying to the Lord for help, instead of complacently enduring the misfortune that has befallen them, torment themselves with anger and vexation and even indulge in disastrous despair. Truly, such people aggravate their sorrowful state and deprive themselves of the saving hope of speedy deliverance. “If anyone suffers in you, says the holy Apostle James (James 5:13), let him pray.” And indeed, prayer pronounced with faith and hope has great power. It is always beneficial for a Christian, and especially in times of anger and adversity, when a formidable cloud of disasters has broken out over us, sent to us either through the punishing hand of a formidable Judge, or through the inspiration and action of the culprit of all evil in the world - the devil. Indeed, where and from where can an unfortunate sufferer get help and consolation? Our friends for the most part remain faithful and devoted to us only in the bright days of our prosperity, and in times of trouble and misfortune they most often leave us to the mercy of fate. Even if those who are favorable remain with us, ready to help us, then they often do not have the strength and means to save us from trouble; in other cases we need special, inhuman help. The Lord is the only refuge and strength in our misfortunes, the only helper in the sorrows that befall us. There is no grief in which the Lord cannot comfort us; There is no such trouble that the heavenly Father would refuse to help us with. He hears and graciously accepts every breath of our heart and is ready to provide timely help to all who call on Him in truth. He unexpectedly and unexpectedly for people turns their sorrow into joy and sorrow into joy. In this regard, St. Great Martyr Eustathius. He was a Roman commander, had enormous wealth, and many slaves. But then, grief after grief, trouble after trouble began to pursue him, so that from a rich man he became poor, and from a happy family man he became lonely. Unkind people robbed his house and took away his property; wild animals carried away his two sons, and finally, to top the misfortune, robbers took away his kind and pious wife. But even amid such terrible and, apparently, unrewarding disasters, Eustathius did not despair, did not lose his comforting faith in the Lord Provider and hope in His mercy. “I cry as a man, Lord,” he said, but in You, my Provider and builder of my path, I am confirmed and I trust in You and with Your love, like cold dew, and with Your desire, like sweetness, I delight the sorrow of my troubles.” Some time passed, and he was consoled: he found his wife and children miraculously preserved, became rich again and became noble. Thus, in difficult circumstances we must not forget the One on whom our whole life depends. So, in the most apparently hopeless situation one should not despair, but ask and pray, for, as St. Demetrius of Rostov, “the leader of good receipt is petition, and prayer is the intercessor.” (See Resurrection sheet No. 80). 2. About how much in our lives depends on the strength or weakness of faith The miraculous journey of the Apostle Peter across the sea shows us what extraordinary works pious and courageous faith can sometimes accomplish in a person if it does not weaken in its action, and how much in our life in general depends on the strength of this faith, or its weakness. The general aspect of the presented phenomenon is not that Peter walked on water; This was an exceptional case in his life, and he decided to do this only because he saw his Teacher walking on water. The general side of the phenomenon here is that Peter, carrying in his soul the determination of faith, walked with it unharmed in the midst of danger, but when he began to lose heart in view of it, he began to perish and was only supported by the direct help of the Savior in a moment of extremity. It was not the storm of water that threatened him with death, but the storm of doubtful thoughts within him, as the Holy Church puts it (Acath. Jesus. Sladch., cond. 4), just as it was not the density of the water mass that kept him on the water, but the strength of faith. This can be applied to everyone who is called to walk the path of faith. On the other hand, cases of such a predicament as Peter found himself in can occur in everyone’s moral life. These cases are different. In one of its liturgical songs (Week 3, Chapter 3 in the morning, Song 6, Irm.), the Holy Church compares the position of drowning Peter with the position of a man drowned by the abyss of sins, and puts a prayer into the mouth of this latter, where he asks Christ the Savior to give him a helping hand, as Peter once did. He who sleeps in sinful self-forgetfulness and does not at all think of getting out of this situation, obviously cannot be compared here: he does not fight danger, but directly becomes its victim. But now - when a person, realizing his disastrous situation, begins to break out, so to speak, and take the high path of repentant faith, it is now revealed to him how many more difficulties he will need to overcome and how much he will have to fight with himself in order to finally come completely to the Savior. And then sometimes he has to see himself in great extremes: previous skills, acquired inclinations, the germs of sinful impulses hidden in the soul - all this outrages the bright mood of his faith and agitates an uncontrollable storm in his soul. In these difficult moments, a person is busy not so much with the strength of character to restrain the impulses of passion in his soul and impart to it the well-tuned silence of faith, but with somehow maintaining his moral fulcrum and not completely destroying the good beginning. Of course, if he achieves success in this, he will gradually receive the power to pacify the very movements of passions. That's one thing. Further, also in one of its songs (Ir. 6th ode, 6th chapter), the church calls the real life of a person “the sea of ​​life,” which is agitated by “storms of adversity,” that is, various sorrows and vicissitudes, although here the main culprit is the same general misfortune of sin that has befallen the human race. We all experience more or less everyday sorrows; But most often and most strongly, those people who consciously, for moral purposes, come out to fight this captivating movement of accidents have to experience them. Trying to follow the firm and straight path of pleasing God and to rise above the seductive lures of life, a person encounters trouble in the very thing that at first flattered him with the hope of earthly pleasure; enters into inevitable clashes with people who unsuccessfully sought to lure him into a criminal community, suffers various hardships in life, failures, and finally, deliberate temptations sent by God to test him. Here again, sometimes a person has to see himself in a difficult situation, when, according to the word of the Psalmist, his soul disappears (Ps. 106:5) in sorrows, and his very faith begins to waver; this happens in moments of some strong, unexpected misfortunes, as they say, blows of fate; This also happens among small everyday troubles and anxieties, which, sometimes accumulating around a person, by their sheer multiplicity exhaust his patience, and, like small, quickly moving waves, cause the strength of his constancy to fluctuate. – Finally, there are times when a person has thoughts that are actually “doubtful,” i.e. thoughts of doubt regarding certain objects of faith. They appear from time to time and at a time when a person has finally established his convictions in obedience to faith and has consciously assimilated its suggestions - they appear in the same way as in moral terms - the good rules of life accepted into the soul sometimes slip away from attention, and in their place old bad aspirations left by the person arise, challenging him to fight against them. But most of all, a person suffers from a tormenting spirit of doubt at a time when, although he has already acquired a general consciousness of the dignity of truth, he has not yet assimilated its particular content as he should; in a word - when his convictions, as they say, are still in a transitional state. - In all these cases, the only way for a person to preserve the spirit of faith in himself and preserve the last remnants of it is to turn to the Savior with a prayer for help and express to Him the extremity of his situation: He is always close and ready to give quick assistance to the discouraged, to impart a new, strong excitement to his faith. Sincere, even brief prayer in this case is a very important matter; consciousness of the lack of one’s faith can replace the strength of faith itself, because it will serve as its own feasible expression (Resurrection Reading, g. XXV, part I, pp. 468–472). 3. Against the fear of ghosts 94 We have many bad habits, customs, and rituals left over from ancient times, when our ancestors were still pagans. But what is characteristic of pagans is indecent for us Christians. For example, many of us suffer from a fear of ghosts. They are afraid to be alone in the room at night, they are afraid even to leave the house on a dark night: in every dark corner they see a monster. And in those places where a dead man lay a few days ago, or when passing through a cemetery at night, such fear knows no bounds. Also, how much timidity and fear one feels when entering a forest or some secluded place! And “fear has big eyes,” says the Russian proverb; therefore, the slightest noise or rustle in a secluded place, especially at night, an echo in the forest, the shadow of a tree shaken by the wind - all this brings the soul into an indescribable shudder. This is why it often happens that they see extraordinary phenomena where in reality they do not exist at all. This fear of ghosts, common to many adults, is often passed on to children. It also happens that others themselves, perhaps, do not have a superstitious fear and do not believe in ghosts or apparitions, but they often frighten children with them. Wanting to calm down a crying child, they point him to a dark corner, threatening that a monster will come out of there, or often in the evenings they entertain children with stories about various ghosts that allegedly appeared to people. All this greatly inflames the child’s already ardent imagination and roots a superstitious fear in his soul, from which he then cannot get rid of it for the rest of his life. Such people are for the most part cowardly and indecisive; they are incapable of undertaking any difficult feats or courageously meeting the dangers and hardships of life. These are the harmful consequences that superstitious fear leads to. And in general, the fear of some kind of ghosts is indecent for a Christian. After all, this is a remnant of the religious beliefs of our pagan ancestors. They believed that the souls of dead people wander like shadows both in the cemetery and in the places where these people lived; they believed in countless spirits living in houses and stables, in forests and swamps, rivers and lakes; They believed that all these creatures could harm a person when they met, and therefore were in slavish fear of them. It is these errors of our ancestors that have passed on to us Christians. This is why we are afraid of various brownies, goblins and are afraid of various ghosts. But how unforgivable is this superstitious fear for a Christian! Think carefully about what a Christian can be afraid of when he is under the protection and providence of the Omniscient, All-Good and Almighty God! Each of us can say with the prophet David: The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior, whom will I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, from whom shall I fear? Even if an army rises up against me, my heart will not fear; even if it rises up to fight me, I will trust in Him (Ps. 27:1-3). If there is anyone a Christian can fear, it is evil spirits; but even they, without God’s permission, cannot cause him the slightest harm. At the same time, it is also in our power to remove evil spirits from ourselves. God has given us reliable means against the devil: prayer, fasting and a virtuous life. After all, demons have power over unbelieving and vicious people. The holy martyr Tryphon (his memory is celebrated on February 1) at a young age healed illnesses and cast out demons. The Roman Emperor Gordian, from whose daughter St. The martyr cast out the demon and wished to see the cast out demon with his own eyes. St. Tryphon commanded the demon, and everyone saw him in the form of a black dog with fiery eyes. The holy martyr asked the demon: “Who sent you to become a young woman?” The demon answered: “father, the ruler of all evil, sitting in hell - “Who gave you such power?” - asked St. Tryphon. The demon answered: “We have no power over those who know God and believe in the only begotten Son of God, only, by God’s permission, we inflict light temptations on them; and we have complete power over those who do not believe in God, walk in their own lusts and do what pleases us; the things that are pleasing to us are: idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, envy, murder, pride, etc. These people are entangled in sins like nets; they are our friends, and the same fate awaits us.” So, if you want, Christian, not to be afraid of evil spirits, then lead a godly and pious life. As for the fear of the dead, this fear is also unfounded. Our faith teaches that the souls of fathers and brothers who have departed from us find rest in the places assigned to them by God, and do not at all wander through cemeteries or former dwellings. True, dead people live a special life in the next world and can, subject to the will of God, appear to us sinners on earth. But what’s so terrible if our close relatives appear to us in a dream? Such phenomena will bring us nothing but joy and consolation. There are many examples of how not only saints, but also sinners appeared to those living on earth to admonish them and assure them of a future life, and these phenomena did not arouse in people such superstitious fear as many of us feel from some imaginary ghosts in cemeteries. Let us give one story from our national history. In 1812, our fatherland suffered a terrible disaster: hordes of Western peoples under the leadership of Napoleon moved to the center of Russia and on their way caused terrible devastation. And so, when Napoleon captured Moscow, Prince Eugene, the Italian Viceroy, set out with a detachment of troops from Moscow to Zvenigorod. He took rooms in the monastery of St. Savva, a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh. About ten o'clock, without undressing, the prince lay down and fell asleep, but whether in reality or in a dream, he does not know, he sees a man in long black clothes entering the room, coming up to him so close that in the moonlight he could see his facial features; he seemed old, with a gray beard. He said: “Do not order your army to plunder the monastery, especially to carry away anything from the church; If you fulfill my request, then God will have mercy on you, and you will return to your fatherland safe and sound.” The prince gave the order in the morning for the detachment to return to Moscow, and he himself went to church and at the tomb of St. Savva saw the image of the one who appeared to him at night and, recognizing whose image it was, reverently bowed to the relics of St. Savva and wrote it down in his book. All of Napoleon's other marshals (military leaders) met unfortunate ends, but Eugene remained unharmed and was not wounded anywhere in the battles after that. He bequeathed to his son Maximilian that if he were in Russia, he would venerate the tomb of St. Savva. The son came to Russia in 1839 under Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and after maneuvers on the Borodino field he asked where the monastery of St. Savva, came there and bowed to his tomb. The appearance of dead people, especially the righteous, is so beneficial for us living on earth! Judge for yourself after this, is there any reason to be afraid of the dead?! If sometimes dead people appear in a dream, they will not be able to cause us harm, but will only bring benefit, that is, they will convince us of the truth of the immortality of our souls, convict us of sin and guide us on the path of truth. Therefore, such phenomena should be treasured, I should not be afraid of them. (See “Resurrection sheet.” ed. “Sunday Day”, No. 298). The ancient Jews had a proverb: “God created seven lakes in the land of Canaan, but He chose only one - Lake Galilee for Himself.” The Jews said so because this lake lies in an area that, both in terms of climate and the beauty of nature, could in ancient times be called an earthly paradise. Palm trees, fig trees, all kinds of nuts, oranges, lemons, dates, almonds and grapes grew here in abundance. It was a continuous garden for fifty miles along the course of the Jordan, and along the banks of the lake, which is about 25 miles long and 7 to 10 miles wide. Fruits on the trees here could be seen for ten whole months of the year. The warm, almost hot climate was cooled by the proximity and abundance of water, and the air was full of the aroma of gardens. That is why the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee were very densely populated: cities and villages stretched here almost without interruption, and Roman warships, clumsy fishing boats, and gilded ships from Herod’s palace, which stood in Tiberias on the very shore of the lake, glided in all directions along its transparent waves. Yes, it was an earthly paradise, which is why the Jews said that God chose Lake Galilee for Himself. But for us Christians, this Jewish proverb has a completely different – ​​deeper meaning; we have more reason to say that the Lord chose this lake - the sea for Himself; we know that our Lord Jesus Christ loved the surroundings of this lake, loved to stay here, loved to talk with the people here and pray in the silence of the night... How many miracles of mercy He performed here! Here, on the northern shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee, was the humble Bethsaida - the homeland of His first-called apostles - Andrew, Peter and Philip. Here He called Simon and Andrew, the sons of Jonah, and then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, to great apostolic service and from simple village fishermen made them great theologians and fishers of men. Here, from the boat, He taught the crowds of people standing on the shore, and here for the first time people heard His Divine in simplicity and deeply instructive parables about the sower, about the cast-off net, and many others. Here, above these waves, His divine prohibition to the stormy wind was heard: be silent, stop! and there was a great silence... One night a boat with His disciples sailed along this lake, and now they see in the darkness of the night: their Divine Teacher is walking along these waves, as if on dry land, they see and do not believe their eyes; Thinking that it was a ghost, they cried out in fear... But the Lord gives them His encouraging voice: be of good cheer. I am, do not be afraid! - Then fiery Peter volunteers to go to meet Him, - the Lord allows, and so Simon walks on the water, but does not walk with a firm foot: seeing the strong wind, he was afraid: and he began to drown, crying out: Lord, save me! “And the Lord extends his hand to him, that merciful hand that still helps us, sinners, in our difficult voyage across the sea of ​​life, raised by misfortunes and storms... “More than once here the fishermen - the apostles, according to the word of Christ, retrieved miraculously filled ponds after they had worked all night in vain: what an instructive lesson for all workers, that without God’s help they work in vain, which means that for any work you need God’s blessing and God’s help! – On the shores of this lake there was Capernaum, called in the scriptures the city of the Savior - that Capernaum to which the Lord spoke a terrible word: and you, Capernaum, ascended to heaven, but descended to hell!.. (Luke 10:15). And this terrible saying came true: there are no more traces of Capernaum, and scientists argue about the very place where it was located. But there, on the eastern shore, rises a steep cliff: when looking at it, one involuntarily recalls the story of the healing of a demoniac, which ended with a huge herd of Gadarene pigs rushing from this cliff into the sea and dying in its waves. It is difficult to count all the memories of our Savior dear to the heart of a Christian, connected with the name of the Sea of ​​Galilee. The Lord loved this lake and was pleased to appear on its shores to His disciples after His luminous resurrection. What a wonderful, touching picture! Early morning; It’s still dark, it’s barely starting to get light: Tired fishermen - the apostles are swimming to the shore after a sleepless night and futile labors. Their nets are empty... But now, a man is visible on the shore. Who would it be?.. “Children!” - heard from the shore: - “Do you have anything edible?” “No,” they answer sadly. “Throw the net on the right side of the boat and you will catch it,” says the one who appears. They cast and can barely drag from the multitude of fish. This involuntarily reminds them of the previous wonderful fishing, and now John’s loving heart tells him who it is standing on the shore. "It's the Lord!" John whispers to Peter, and the ardent-hearted Peter quickly girds himself with clothes, throws himself into the water, swims across a space of fifty fathoms and, all wet, falls at the feet of Jesus... Meanwhile, the other disciples are sailing on a boat, dragging a tightly stretched net filled with fish... And on the shore there was already a fire, there was bread, and fish was already being baked on the burning coals for the tired fishermen. The Lord tells them to bring the fish they just caught. Simon Peter went and with his strong hands helped to pull the net ashore, which contained 153 large fish. Now everyone saw that it was the Lord... “Come here, have lunch!” He told them. And they silently reclined around the Lord and began to dine... And at this meal the Lord asks Simon three times: Simone Jonas, do you love Me more than these? And three times the humble apostle confesses his love for the Lord, and with this threefold confession he atones for his threefold renunciation... The shores of the sacred Lake of Gennesaret are now deserted. With the exception of the small town of Tiberias and the wild village of Medjedel - ancient Magdala (the birthplace of St. Mary Magdalene), there is not a single inhabited place on its banks. There are no more luxurious gardens. On the eastern shore there are exposed rocks, cut by gloomy ravines. For a long time, no boat has glided across the waters of the lake and is not revived by the movement of this dead desert. Only in the middle of the lake stretches a light silvery ribbon of the fast Jordan, which flows into the lake in the north, cuts it from north to south and continues its flow further to the Dead Sea. Everywhere the same palm trees, the same green fields and babbling streams; - only next to them the gray heaps of ruins look gloomily... (Extracted in abbreviation from No. 418 “Trinity, leaf.”). 10th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 72nd, ch. XVII, 14–23 centuries. 1. Healing of a demon-possessed deaf-mute lunatic The next day (after the Savior’s ascension to Tabor and the transfiguration), when Jesus Christ with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and came to the other disciples, the Lord saw many people around them, and scribes arguing with them 95 . “At that very moment the people saw Jesus. His appearance, His extraordinary greatness, His radiant gaze filled the hearts of those around him with a reverent feeling, and all the people were amazed, and ran up and greeted Him” 96 . What are you arguing with them about? 97 He asked the scribes calmly. But, on the one hand, the scribes were ashamed to admit their actions, on the other, the disciples of Jesus were deeply aware of their lack of faith and failure to dare to answer. “Then a man stood out from the crowd, approached Jesus and, kneeling before Him, exclaimed: Lord! have mercy on my son: I beg you to look at my son: he is the only one I have; On the new moon he goes berserk and suffers greatly: for he often throws himself into fire, and often into water. The spirit seizes him, throws him to the ground, and he suddenly screams, emits foam, and grinds his teeth, and becomes numb, and the spirit forcibly retreats from him, tormenting him. I brought him to Your disciple, but they could not heal him” 98. “He brought the unfortunate sufferer to the disciples to expel the evil spirit, and their failure caused ridicule of the scribes.” O faithless and corrupt generation! Jesus said in response. How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? 99 Bring him here to Me, the Savior continued. And they brought him to Him. While he was still walking, and as soon as the demoniac saw Him, the spirit shook him and began to beat him; he fell to the ground and lay there, emitting foam 100 . “Rejecting the accusation from the disciples in the eyes of the people, Christ, with the words: O, unfaithful and corrupt generation, accuses the petitioner himself; but, in order not to confuse him, he turns not to him, but to all the Jews, many of whom were tempted and began to think badly about the disciples. Not content with the accusations, the Lord said: bring him here to Me, thereby arousing hope and confidence in the father that his son will be delivered from the demon. If the Lord delays healing and allows the patient to suffer, then he does this not for show, but for the sake of the father,” 101 in order to evoke in him, force him to express and confirm his wavering faith. How long ago did this start with him? Jesus asked his father. Since childhood, the father answered, and many times the spirit threw him into both fire and water to destroy him: but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. “If you can believe a little,” Jesus answered, as if returning his words to him, “all things are possible to him who believes.” “I have so much power,” Christ says in these words, “that I can make others miracle workers; and therefore, when you believe as you should, you yourself can heal this one and many others” 102. Then the hopeless father, with tears, let out a cry, repeated hitherto by millions, and closely applicable to an age like ours, which has no faith and is shaken by doubt: I believe, Lord! help my unbelief 103 . Meanwhile, during this short conversation, people gathered in larger and larger numbers, Jesus, seeing that the people were running, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him: the spirit is dumb and deaf! I command you: get out of it, and do not enter it again 104. This word was followed by a new wild cry and violent convulsions, and the demon screamed and, shaking him violently, came out of him; and he (the possessed one) became as if dead, so that many said that he had died. But Jesus took him by the hand, lifted him up, and healed the boy, and gave him to his father. And everyone was amazed at the greatness of God 105. “The Lord gave the power to cast out demons to His disciples first of all, and His name was successfully used for this even by those who were not among those called 106. Therefore, it is very natural that, as Jesus entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately: why could we not cast him out (the demon)? fearing that they had lost the grace given to them” 107. Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief.” For truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting 108. 2. About the wiles of the devil and that prayer is the most effective means of repelling them The thirty-first day of January in the month of St. The church commemorates the Monk Nikita, the recluse of Pechersk, Bishop of Novgorod. Regarding this ascetic of Christ, I ask you to listen to my best word, which will help us to better understand the Gospel read this week about the healing of the demoniac. In the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, under Abbot Nikon, there was one young ascetic named Nikita. He asked the Abbot for permission to work in seclusion. The abbot did not allow him and said: “child! you are young, there is no benefit for you to sit idle; It is better for you to work together with your brothers, and you will not lose your reward; You yourself saw our brother Isaac the cave dweller, how he was seduced in seclusion from demons, only the great grace of God saved him.” Nikita answered: “I will never be tempted by such things, but I strongly desire to stand against the wiles of demons and ask God to give me the gift of working miracles, like the recluse Isaac, who still works miracles.” The abbot again told him: “Your desire is greater than your strength; Beware, child, lest, having ascended, you fall; I command you to serve the brethren, and for your obedience you will be crowned by God.” But Nikita did not listen to the advice and warnings of the abbot and, shutting himself up in his cell, tightly blocked the doors and lived alone, being in prayer, not going anywhere. However, after not much time, the recluse Nikita did not escape the snares of the devil and the tempter. One day, during his prayer, he heard another voice praying with him, felt an extraordinary fragrance, and, seduced by this, said: “If he had not been an angel, he would not have prayed with me,” and began to pray to the Lord so that He himself would appear to him visibly. Then a voice came to him: “I will not appear to you because you are young, so that you, having ascended, do not fall.” The recluse said with tears: “I will never be tempted, Lord, and I will do everything that You command me.” Then the soul-destroying serpent, having assumed power over him, said: “It is impossible for a man living in the flesh to see me, but I am sending my angel, he will be with you, and you do his will.” And suddenly a demon appeared before him in the form of an angel; Nikita bowed to him like an angel. And the demon says to him: “Now you don’t pray anymore, but read books, and in this way you will talk with God, and you will give useful words to everyone who comes to you, and I will always pray for your salvation.” Believing what was said and being deceived, the recluse stopped praying and read books; He always saw the demon praying for him, and rejoiced, thinking that the angel was praying for him. Nikita became perspicacious and teacher. And what he said or prophesied came true. Princes and boyars began to come to him to listen to his instructions. But everything he said was revealed to him by the demon. No one could compare with Nikita in knowledge of the books of the Old Testament; he knew them by heart. But he not only did not read the holy book of the Gospel and the books of the apostles, but did not even want to see or hear about them. And it became clear to everyone that Nikita was deceived by the devil. Then the reverend fathers of the monastery, shining with virtues, came to the seduced man and with their prayers cast out the demon from him. They brought him out of seclusion and asked him to tell them something from the books of the Old Testament. But he swore that he had never read those books; It even turned out that now he didn’t know how to read a single word. The reverend fathers barely taught him to read and write. Then, through the prayers of the saints, the father, brought to full consciousness, confessed his sin and wept bitterly about it, devoted himself to strict fasting and obedience, and began to live such a pure and humble life that he surpassed others in virtues. For his great virtues, the Lord elevated him to the rank of Bishop of Novgorod. As a bishop, St. Nikita, during the former lack of rain, with his prayer brought down rain from the sky, extinguished the fire that took place in the city, and performed many other miracles. For thirteen years he was the bishop of Novgorod, and on January 31, 1108, he departed to the Lord into eternal life. The Lord glorified his body with incorruptibility and miracles. Now let’s think about how much is instructive for us here. The devil the tempter ordered the recluse Nikita to read books and give up prayer. From this it is clear that the devil does not tolerate Christian prayer. Why doesn't he tolerate it? Because prayer, I mean true prayer, which the ascetics of Christ pray, and which we all should pray, is an important matter. The Monk Macarius of Egypt teaches: “The head of all virtue and the summit of good deeds is always remaining in prayer” (Collected teachings of various holy fathers, 1803, p. 119). And indeed, whoever prays true prayer always tries to have in his soul a firm faith in God and the fear of God, crosses himself and worships with a tender heart, has a meek and humble soul, always reads the prayer with reverence, with full consciousness of his unworthiness before God. He who prays true prayer repents of his sins sincerely and sincerely, with a contrite heart, and, asking God for forgiveness of his sins, forgives all offenses to his enemies and offenders, loves everyone, is not attached to anything earthly, thinks about God alone and always tries to live according to the will of the Lord. Such a pilgrim is a faithful and good servant of the Lord, worthy of the heavenly kingdom. Such pilgrims are not harmed by demons and run away from them. Their cross and prayer, their faith and humility, conquer and drive away all demonic power. Would you like to see this with examples? Here are some examples. One sorcerer sent demons to torment the Monk Theodore Sikeot, but they could not approach him, because the prayer was on their lips - they waited for the night, but even at night, during sleep, fire came from the mouth of the monk and drove away the demons (April 22). The Monk Niphon once saw a certain monk walking and reading a prayer, a fiery flame emanated from his lips and reached the heavens; His angel also walked with him, having in his hands a fiery spear, with which he drove away demons from that monk (December 23). That is why the devil the tempter forbade the Monk Nikita to pray to God - so as not only not to be afraid of Nikita, but to seduce him from faith in Christ God and from other virtues that come from prayer, and thereby remove him from God and the kingdom of Christ (See “Christ. Demon.” 1893, vol. I). 3. Humility is a weapon against the devil Blazh. Augustine says: “the enemy of our salvation is cunning and crafty: now he appears as a lamb, now as a wolf, now as light, now as darkness.” So, in the form of not only an angel, but even Christ Himself, he appears. Here's an example. – There was a wonderful ascetic – Isaac of Pechersk. For seven years he labored in solitary retreat and remained in unceasing prayer. His food every day was one prosphora and a little water. This wondrous ascetic never went to bed, but sat and rested. “One day, when night fell, tired of singing the psalter, he put out the candle and sat in his place, he saw an extraordinary light in the cave, and two demons appeared to him in the form of young men, saying: “We are angels, and behold, Christ Himself is coming to you.” The monk, not supposing any deceit on the part of the imaginary angels, accepted everything as reality, fell to his knees and bowed to Satan in the image of Christ. As soon as this happened, the demons joyfully exclaimed: “our Isaac!” And immediately, surrounding the monk with timbrels, pipes and harps, they grabbed him, began to jump with him and tormented him so much that in the morning he was found unconscious and remained for several years in mental and physical relaxation (Pater. St.). This is how dangerous it is to give in to the enemy! But how to reflect it? Church history testifies that great Christian ascetics defeated the devil, who appeared to them in the form of an angel of God and tempted them with proud and dreamy thoughts - humility. So, the devil appeared to one desert man in the form of a bright angel and said to him: “I am Gabriel, sent to you from God.” The hermit objected to this: “See if you were sent to someone else; I am not worthy to see angels as a sinner.” The devil immediately disappeared (Prol. April 21). Humility is a weapon not only against the devil, but also against all his evil deeds. 4. The Holy and great name of I. Christ and the sign of the cross as a weapon in the fight against the devil Of great importance to us are the most holy name of our Savior and the instrument of our salvation - the life-giving cross of Christ. Our primordial and vigilant enemy, the devil, constantly prowls like a lion, looking for someone to destroy, but the Lord has also given us powerful weapons against all the machinations of the enemy, this is precisely the prayerful invocation of the most holy name of our Savior, about the power of which the Lord Himself told the believers: in my name the demons will be destroyed (Mark 16:17), - and the cross of our Savior and the sign of this cross. According to the testimony of St. church, the devil, at the sight of the cross of Christ, trembles and shakes, impatient to look at its power (verses resurrection on praise. 8th chapter). Believers have always defended themselves from the devil with these holy and Divine weapons. The Jesus Prayer did not stop in the heart and did not leave the lips of Christian ascetics, and they also constantly depicted the sign of the cross to drive away the enemy. Of the many examples of this, I will point out a few. The life of the Monk Abraham relates: one day at midnight, when the saint was standing in prayer, a light stronger than the sun suddenly illuminated him, and he heard a voice that said: “Blessed are you, Father Abraham, truly blessed, because there is no one equal to you in merit.” Realizing that this was nothing more than the flattery of the evil one, the blessed one said to him: “Let your darkness perish with you!” I see your flattery and deception: I am a sinful man, the grace of my God and trust in the Lord my Savior Jesus Christ is with me, I am not afraid of you, in His name I conjure you, unclean and evil one! As soon as the blessed one said this, at that very moment Satan disappeared. A few days later, Satan again, during the prayer of the blessed one at night, began to destroy his cell with an ax and, having cut through it, shouted: “Hurry, my friends, hurry, let’s go in and strangle him!” Hearing this exclamation, the blessed one said: “All the nations have gone after me, and in the name of the Lord I have resisted them” - and the enemy disappeared, and the cell remained unharmed. Several more days passed; at midnight, when the saint stood on the matting and sang psalms, the matting suddenly caught fire, but he was not embarrassed, knowing well that this was an obsession of the devil, and, trampling the fire, said: “I will step on the asp and the basilisk and trample the lion and the serpent and all the power of the enemy in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who helps me,” and the devil suddenly ran away with a cry. One day to the cave of St. Peter, who labored on Mount Athos, the devil gathered all the beasts and reptiles, and he himself and his minions turned into various beasts and reptiles. The spectacle was truly terrible: some crawled at the feet of the ascetic, others whistled in a terrible voice, others were already opening their mouths, intending to devour him alive, and were rushing at him. But the ascetic already knew that these were the machinations of the enemy, and therefore, as soon as he protected himself with the sign of the cross and called on the name of the Lord, the evil one ran far away from him. Wanting to tempt the great ascetic Simeon the Stylite, the devil took on the appearance of a bright angel, appeared one day to Simeon with a fiery chariot and the same horses, as if he had descended from heaven, and said: “Listen, Simeon, the God of heaven and earth sent me to you so that I would take you, like Elijah, to heaven, for you are worthy of it for your life, and the hour has come to receive you a crown for your labors from the Lord. Go immediately and worship the Lord your God; and let the prophets, apostles, angels and martyrs, who all want to see you, see you.” Not recognizing that he was being tempted by the enemy of the human race, St. Simeon exclaimed: “Lord! Did You really want to take me to Your villages? and, having protected himself with the sign of the cross, he raised his right leg, his own, in order to sit in the chariot, but at that moment the devil, frightened by the sign of the cross, disappeared with the fiery horses and chariot. That is why pious Christians constantly bear in their hearts and on their lips the most holy name of our Savior. That's why St. the life-giving cross of Christ adorns our churches; That’s why he’s on St. the throne, and on the royal throne, and in our houses, and on our chests; He, like a faithful guardian, protects our mortal remains in the graves until the general resurrection and the judgment of God. And we, sinners, how rarely and without proper reverence pronounce the most holy name of our Savior. But almost every hour on our lips is the name of the enemy of our salvation! How irreverently we kiss St. the cross of Christ and carelessly protect ourselves with the sign of the cross! How often in our homes, at the sight of our Savior crucified on the cross, do we allow ourselves disorder, obscene speech, and unworthy actions! A similar attitude towards St. the cross is harmful to our souls. Therefore, as your shepherd, with your salvation, I beg you always, at all times and in every place, whether in church, in the house, or on the road, to reverence the Holy One everywhere. with the cross, as often as possible with faith, to overshadow yourself with it, to guide them in every business, every step in life, to teach your children the same, firmly remembering that in the cross is our bright paradise, just as without the cross there is eternal hell for us. (See “Christian Conversations” appendix to the magazine “Pastoral Sobes”, 1893, vol. I). Godly fasting reconciles us with God, attracts God's favor to us, and delivers us from God's righteous wrath and punishment. Here's an example of this. The Ninevites angered God with their untruths and iniquities. The Lord condemned them to destruction for this. The Holy Prophet Jonah announces to the wicked people that in three days Nineveh will be destroyed. And, behold, the king and all the inhabitants of Nineveh impose a strict fast on themselves: no one eats or drinks anything; they forsake all their iniquities; turn to God with a heartfelt prayer for mercy. And the merciful Lord has mercy on Nineveh. ( Jonah 3:1–10 ). The Most Holy Theotokos herself admonishes us that by fasting we are delivered not only from God’s punishment in this life, but also from eternal hellish torment. Here's an example of this. The Monk Dosifei was brought up by his relatives. They were noble people; dressed and kept their pet luxuriously; but he never heard the word of God from them. It had to happen - since the people they knew during the time of young Dositheus were talking about Jerusalem. He liked this conversation. He asked his teachers to leave to visit holy places. He was released to worship holy places with one good friend. He comes to Jerusalem and Gethsemane. Here the monk saw an image of God's Last Judgment; it amazed him. He examines with horror the picture of hellish torment. Suddenly Rev. Dositheus sees next to him the Bright Woman, dressed in purple. She explains to him the torment of each of the convicts, teaches him and instructs him for a long time. Previously, he had not heard anything about the Last Judgment. Hearing from St. Women of the word of St. scriptures, he is touched in heart and soul and horrified; Finally, the monk asks this Wonderful Woman: “Lord! What needs to be done to get rid of this torment? The Wonderful Woman tells him: “Fast, don’t eat meat, pray often and you will be freed from torment.” Having taught the monk this way, the Wonderful Woman became invisible. This Wonderful Woman was the Most Pure and Most Holy Virgin Mary - the Mother of God. From that time on, the Monk Dositheos holyly observed this commandment and was saved. (Life of St. Dosifei - February 19). 6. In trouble, call on God and pray to St. His saints Deacon John, who often impregnated Rev. Simeon, the holy fool for Christ, fell into unexpected trouble: unknown villains killed one man and threw his corpse into the deacon’s courtyard. In the morning the murdered man was found, and Deacon John was accused of murdering this man. The judge sentenced him to hang from a tree, and he was already led to the place of execution. Walking the road to death, Deacon John mentally prayed: “God of the holy fool, help me; God of Simeonov, appear to me at this hour!” Simeon teacher at that time he was playing the fool somewhere. One old man came to him and said: “Fool! your friend and benefactor John the deacon is condemned to death; if he dies, then you will die of hunger: no one cares about you as much as he does.” St. Simeon immediately hurried to a secluded place where he usually prayed secretly from everyone. There, kneeling down, he began to earnestly pray to God for the deacon’s deliverance from mortal trouble. His prayer was heard: suddenly the murderers were found, and the judge immediately sent horsemen to the place of execution to free the innocent and barely found the deacon alive: he was already at the place of execution. Freed John did not rush home, but went straight to the place where he was holy. Simeon prayed, and found him not yet finished his prayer. When Simeon finished his prayer and the deacon approached him, the monk greeted him with the words: “Brother John, you have not yet drunk the cup of death! Go, pray and thank the deliverer - God. This test happened to you because you did not give anything to two beggars who came to you, although you had something to give, and you sent them away empty-handed. Is it really yours that you serve? or you don’t believe the One who said: “He who gives to the poor for God’s sake will receive a hundredfold in this present age, and in the future he will receive eternal life.” If you believe, give; If you don’t give, then obviously you don’t believe the Lord.” (July 21 days, see “Lessons from the Lives of the Saints”, Priest A. Grammatina, pp. 37–38, ed. 1892). 7. The power of faith of a true Christian I. A certain pious priest was invited to a certain house (in Laodicea) to baptize a child who had been born. Since the child was too weak and close to death, before the priest came to the house and prepared everything necessary for baptism, the child died. But, without any hesitation, the priest continued his work. Having prepared everything necessary for baptism, he cried out: “An angel of God who took the soul of a child before baptism! return her to the body so that I can baptize the child, and then you will take her again.” A great miracle of faith occurred: the child came to life, received baptism and again fell asleep in eternal sleep. (Preaching leaflet for 1883). II. When one day great disputes and discord arose between Orthodox Christians and heretics (i.e., those who had fallen away from the Orthodox faith), the Orthodox turned to a certain blessed Macarius for help. Then Macarius, having gathered the Orthodox and heretics, went with them to the cemetery and called out to the first grave he encountered: “Tell us, deceased, buried in this grave, whose true faith is Orthodox or heretical?” So what? The deceased gave an answer, calling the Orthodox faith the true faith. Thus, the heretics were put to shame, and the Orthodox triumphed. (From there). The situation of a soul caught in the captivity of sin is difficult and deplorable. Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34), said Christ the Savior. Apparently, slavery to sin is something impossible in itself. After all, sin is self-will, following one’s will contrary to the will of God. The sinner is his own master, who does not want to constrain himself by the demands of God’s law. He does not recognize any other law over himself except pride, self-indulgence. Like the prodigal son depicted in the Gospel parable, he wants to live according to his entire will and therefore does not tolerate the power of the moral law over him. With this property of sin, the concept of slavery to sin is apparently incompatible. Nevertheless, the words of Christ: everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, constitute an immutable truth. True, in sin there is a kind of freedom, that is, willful deviation from the law of the Lord. But what a pitiful freedom this is! If someone who willfully deviates from the path of righteousness to the path of sin thinks that he is free, and if he rejoices in his freedom, he is only deceiving himself. By overthrowing the power of the law, he only exchanges it for another power, for the power of sin, the most humiliating and shameful, therefore he becomes a slave of sin, for, let’s say in the words of the Apostle, “whoever is overcome by someone is his slave” (2 Pet. 2:19). In this regard, there is not a single person in the world who would not be in the strict sense a captive or slave of sin. Each of us bears the yoke of sinful slavery from the moment of birth, for no one is free from original sin inherited from Adam. Everyone is born with an invincible inclination to sin, which prompts him, even against his will, to do something that his conscience does not approve of. Slavery to sin is increased by personal or voluntary sins. Even the great righteous are subject to sinful temptations. However, although they fall, each time they rush to rise from their falls. But there are slaves of sin whom he keeps in constant captivity. There are sins that have turned into passion, into habit. Such sins are truly the most terrible masters, whose service is more painful than Egyptian work, harder than Babylonian captivity. Such, for example, is the habit of foul language. She takes possession of someone so much that he cannot say two or three words without adding an obscene word. This is also the habit of drunkenness. He who is accustomed to it is truly a miserable slave of this vice. Having sobered up, he himself condemns himself, curses his habit, vows to give it up, even enters a sobriety society and binds himself with an obligation not to touch wine; but at the first temptation he encounters, he indulges in intoxication more than before. The passion of greed enslaves a person to such an extent that he ceases to think about repentance and the salvation of his soul. They say about one selfish man that he never fasted and finally fell dangerously ill. Everyone saw that he would not survive this disease; he alone did not recognize the danger. The illness took such a turn that it was necessary to think about preparing for death. Well-meaning people somehow persuaded him to send for a priest to give him the holy gifts. The priest appeared, but at the same moment a telegram arrived. They reported it to the patient; it required some urgent orders regarding trade matters. The sick man removed the priest, busied himself with trading orders, and suddenly gave his soul to God. The slave of greed was unable to fight the slavish habit even at the moment of death and died without repentance. “The addiction to fashionable clothes enslaves some frivolous women to such an extent that she is ready to spend the whole day at the toilet and does not care about anything else except dressing in the latest fashion. The latest fashionable picture is an idol for her, to which she sacrifices common sense, duties to the family, even to the church, because, being busy with dressing and hairstyle for too much time, she does not have time for the church service. – A lover of strong sensations experienced during moments of gambling at cards is truly an unfortunate slave of addiction to it. He has brought himself to such a state that he is ready to gamble away his entire fortune, to deprive himself and his family of a piece of daily bread in order to satisfy his insane passion. – People who are angry in fits of anger are like an enraged beast and to such an extent they feel their powerlessness to control themselves and not bring themselves to the extreme in an angry state that sometimes they themselves warn people not to come close to them at the moment of their irritation: they do not vouch for themselves and can commit a crime at these moments. So, truly, everyone who commits sin, and especially whoever turns sin into an invincible habit, is a slave of sin. (See “Kostroma Teachings” by Bishop Vissarion for 1898). 11th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 77th ch. XVIII, 23–35 art. I. Parable of the Unmerciful Debtor The “Our Father” prayer, which each of us repeats every morning and evening, was given to us, as we know, by Jesus Christ Himself. In it, by the way, we ask God to forgive us our sins. “And forgive us our debts (sins), we say, and add, “just as we forgive our debtors.” If we do not forgive those who have sinned against us, then we cannot expect the Lord to forgive us our sins. So, we should beware of anger, make peace with our comrades if we happen to have a quarrel with them, forgive their offenses and remember that God will not hear the prayers of someone who, coming to church, harbors anger or rancor against his neighbor. To explain this truth, the Lord once told the following parable: “A servant was brought to one king who owed him ten thousand talents (a talent meant an amount of more than one thousand two hundred silver rubles). Since that servant had nothing with which to pay the debt, the king ordered him, his wife, his children, and everything he had to be sold to pay the debt. But that slave threw himself on his knees and said: “Sir! Be patient with me, I’ll pay you everything.” The Emperor, having mercy, released him and forgave him the entire debt. After this, the servant met his friend, who owed him one hundred denarii (less than 52 rubles), that is, much less than what he himself owed the king. He grabbed his comrade and began to beat him, demanding payment of the debt. His comrade fell at his feet, and, begging, said: “Have patience with me, I will give everything to you.” But he didn’t want to listen and put him in prison.” The king was told about this incident. Then the king, calling a servant, said to him: “Evil servant! I forgave you all the debt because you begged me; Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your comrade, just as I had mercy on you?” And, becoming angry, the sovereign ordered him to be tortured until he repaid his debt. “So,” Jesus added, “My heavenly Father will do to you if each of you does not forgive your brother his sins from the heart.” (See the book “Stories about the earthly life of the Savior” by A. Bakhmeteva, ed. 1900). 2. Christian, farewell always! Wanting to know how many times one should forgive a brother, St. ap. Peter asked I. Christ: Should I forgive up to seven times? And having said this, I thought that I had prescribed the greatest measure. How short is human patience! The Lord, applying His long-suffering to our infirmities, determined: not seven times, but seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). This is the same as saying: always forgive, and don’t even think about not forgiving. All-forgiveness will be a distinctive feature of the Christian spirit, just as all-forgiveness is the source and constant support of life in us in the Lord, on the face of God. Constant forgiveness of everything to everyone is the outer garment of Christian love, which, according to the Apostle, endures for a long time, is merciful, is not irritated, and covers everything (1 Cor. 13:4-7). It is also the surest guarantee for forgiveness at the last judgment; for if we let go, our heavenly Father will also let us go (Matthew 6:14). Thus, if you want to go to heaven, forgive everyone, sincerely, from the heart, so that not even a shadow of hostility remains (From the book “Thoughts for every day of the year”, Bishop Theophan, pp. 242–243). This is the story we read in the life of St. John the Merciful: “there was one nobleman in Alexandria who, despite all the admonitions of the saint of God, did not want to hear about reconciliation with his enemy. Once the saint invited him to his home church for the Divine Liturgy. The nobleman has arrived. There were no pilgrims in the church, the patriarch himself served, and in the choir there was only one singer, whom the nobleman began to help in singing. When they began to sing the Lord's Prayer: Our Father, the saint also sang it; but in words: give us our daily bread today - St. John suddenly fell silent himself and stopped the singer, so that the nobleman alone sang the words of the prayer: and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors... Here the saint turns to the irreconcilable nobleman and with meek reproach says: “Look, my son, at what terrible hour and what you say to God: forgive me, as I forgive... Are you telling the truth? Are you leaving it?”... These words struck the nobleman so much that he threw himself in tears at the feet of the archpastor and exclaimed: “Whatever you command, lord, your servant will do!” And he did it: on the same day he made peace with his enemy and with all his heart forgave him all his insults.” (Life of St. John the Merciful). 4. A hater destroys both his soul and body He who does not love his brother remains in death (1 John 3:14), - this is what the holy evangelist John the Theologian says. What kind of death is he talking about - spiritual or physical? About both. The hater destroys his soul and his body: he destroys his soul by being deprived of the grace of God and becoming incapable of any virtue; He also destroys his body - because malice and anger can be the cause of visible - physical death. Here, for example, is a case that shows how a person can destroy his soul with hatred. The two brothers had a grudge against each other. This was during the persecution of Christians. As confessors of Christ, they were thrown into prison. There, one of them felt his sin and, not wanting death to befall them unrepentant, began to ask his brother for reconciliation; but he was so fierce with hatred that he would never agree to make peace with him. What happened? In the morning, both of them went to torture. He who sought reconciliation with firmness endured torment and accepted a martyr’s death, while the hater renounced Christ at the very beginning of the torture. This circumstance surprised the tormentor himself so much that he asked the apostate: “Why did you hold on to your faith yesterday?” The one who renounced faith in Christ answered: “I had enmity with my brother and did not reconcile with him, despite any requests from him, that is why the power of God abandoned me, and I did not endure the torment.” Thus, the hater himself understood and recognized his destruction: he was convinced that through malice he had driven away from himself the grace of God, without which he was unable to acquire the crown of martyrdom, and became an apostate from the true faith. And an example of how malice and hatred can cause bodily death can be found in the life of St. Titus of Pechersk, whom St. The church celebrates February 27th. The Monk Titus lived and labored in the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery and was awarded the priesthood. Deacon Evagrius lived with him; Both of them, in brotherly love, practiced monastic deeds and were so friendly that the other brethren were surprised at their friendship. But the enemy of the human race was jealous of the good agreement of the two brothers and turned their brotherly love into such irreconcilable hatred that they could not look at each other without anger. Even during the Divine service in the church, when one walked with a censer, the other stepped aside so as not to hear the incense. Such anger continued for a long time and, no matter how hard the brothers tried to reconcile them, it was all in vain. One day Rev. Titus became seriously ill and, in mortal danger, realized his sin, began to cry bitterly and sent to his enemy to ask for forgiveness; but Evagrius did not want to hear about reconciliation and continued to revile and cruelly curse his enemy. The brethren, seeing such a disastrous error, forcibly drew Evagrius to the dying man’s bed. Titus, having gathered his last strength, stood up and bowed at the feet of his enemy, saying: “Forgive me, father!” Evagrius was so evil and inhuman that he turned away from him and said: “I don’t want to be reconciled with him either in this age or in the future.” Having said this, he broke free from the hands of the brothers and fell to the ground. The brothers wanted to raise him, but they found him dead and suddenly cold, so that they could neither move his hands nor close his eyes and lips. At the same time, Titus, who was near death, suddenly received relief, and he himself rose from his bed, as if he were not sick. Horrified by such an extraordinary incident, everyone surrounded Titus and asked what this meant? The Monk Titus told the brethren: “being in a serious illness, while I was angry with my brother, I saw angels retreating from me and crying about the destruction of my soul, and unclean spirits rejoicing - that’s what made me ask for reconciliation with my brother. When they brought him to me, and he began to curse me, I saw that one formidable angel struck him with a fiery spear, and the unfortunate man was thrown dead to the ground, and the same angel gave me his hand and restored me from the bed of illness. Avoid, Christians, these disastrous vices. Let us drive out all malice and hatred from our hearts; With all the strength of our souls, we will avoid all quarrels and discord; Let us kindle and nourish in ourselves the spirit of love, peace, meekness, complacency, remembering that this is required, this is bequeathed for our own good by Christ, who Himself loved us to death, the death of the cross. We are all people - noble, rich, poor, and wretched - all brothers in Jesus Christ, and we must live and act like brothers. (Kievo-Pechersk Patericon.). The vicissitudes of human destiny are amazing. Now surrounded by all the blessings of earthly happiness, a person in the morning is deprived of everything, loses his honorable position, power, wealth, and becomes insignificant, a beggar. He who did not know the limits of his pride and was unshakably convinced of the consciousness of his greatness is forced to humble himself and bow before those who until recently depended on him in everything, flattered him and groveled before him. Just as a green grass, being cut down, soon withers, and just as a felled tree quickly loses its greatness and beauty, so quickly the illusory shine of earthly happiness in a person disappears under the blows of misfortunes that overthrow those fragile supports on which a person thinks to establish his earthly happiness and glory. “I saw, says the psalmist, the wicked, exalting himself and standing tall like a cedar of Lebanon, and he passed by, and behold, he sought, and his place was not found” (Ps. 37:35-36). So quickly does earthly greatness fall. How do people usually treat such victims of the vicissitudes of fate, these unfortunates who have fallen from the heights of their greatness and are humiliated?.. They are usually persecuted with ridicule, reproaches, treated with gloating, especially if these unfortunates in the days of their greatness made themselves ill-wishers with their untruth, pride and hard-heartedness. The human heart, under the influence of pride and self-interest, in the face of a fallen and powerless enemy, is most likely inclined to show feelings of gloating and vindictiveness rather than generosity and Christian love. In triumph over a humiliated enemy, it finds satisfaction and retribution for previous insults and oppression. But is this acceptable? Everyone must admit that even according to our ordinary concepts, gloating and vindictiveness in relation to a fallen and powerless enemy are ignoble, dishonest qualities. Moreover, this is contrary to the law of the Gospel, which commands us to always love our enemies and do good to them, not to repay evil for evil, but to accept insults with meekness and patience, and not even to resist evil, not to take revenge, but to repel the enemy’s evil with love and good deeds, to overcome evil with good (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:21.). An instructive example of Christian generosity is presented to us by St. John Chrysostom. During his time, at the court of Emperor Arcadius there was a strong and glorious nobleman, Eutropius. He tried to convince the king to issue a decree abolishing refuge in churches for those who had committed any crime. The right of refuge, given by the pious Tsar Constantine, elevated the importance of the Church of Christ in the face of the pagans and at the same time was beneficial for criminals who, resorting to the protection of the church and remaining untouched, recognized the grace of the Redeemer, who did not want the death of a sinner, and with tears of repentance washed away their crime, corrected themselves and emerged kind and honest for the rest of their lives. St. John Chrysostom, as a faithful guardian of the house of God, rebelled with all his might against the unlawful interference of Eutropius in the affairs of the church, and thereby incurred the wrath of this nobleman and suffered many insults from him. So what? Eutropius was soon subjected to such a grave accusation that he was deprived of power and condemned to death. There was no protection or salvation for him anywhere except the church, whose rights he tried to illegally restrict. In fear of death, grief-stricken and humiliated, Eutropius hastens to take advantage of the right of refuge in the church, and at a time when St. John Chrysostom was performing a service and preaching, the fallen nobleman comes running and hides in the altar. The saint of Christ does not reject his former enemy and annoyancer - he does not excommunicate and does not drive away the destroyer of church rights from the altar, but in his sermon he immediately sets out an amazing case of the vicissitudes of human life and instills pity among the people for the fallen nobleman. Not a single reproachful word and not a single hint of previous grievances came out of the mouth of the great saint. With complete love, he accepted the former enemy of the church under the protection of the altar of the Lord, in the hope of his repentance. So, Christian brothers! Banish from your heart the low and unworthy feeling of gloating and vindictiveness towards your enemies who have suffered disasters and are in need of compassion and help. Act according to the commandment of the Apostle: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: for in doing this you will heap burning coals on his head” (Rom. 12:20). 6. God will not remain in debt One beggar-lover told his friend about himself: “I was still there. as a ten-year-old boy, when he once heard a sermon in church that whoever gives to a beggar receives Christ Himself from him. I thought then: how does Christ accept this when He sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father? I’m walking out of the church and I see a beggar standing in rags, and above his head is the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, a passerby gives alms to a beggar, and I see that Christ stretches out his hands, accepts the bread and blesses the giver. Then I believed the preacher’s word and to this day I see the image of Christ over the head of every beggar.” This is what the beggar-lover told about himself. But here is proof that Christ the Savior will not remain in debt to anyone. He pays this debt, sometimes he pays it here, in this temporary life, and in the future life he will certainly pay with eternal bliss in the villages of paradise. “In the city of Nisibia,” says Blessed John, in his book: The Spiritual Meadow, “there lived a Christian woman whose husband was a pagan. They had fifty coins. One day the husband said to his wife: “Let’s give these coins on interest in order to get at least a small profit from them.” His wife answered him: “If you want to give them on interest, then go and give them to the Christian God.” The husband said to her: “Where is the Christian God?” “She answered him: “I’ll show him to you, He will double your capital.” The husband told her: “let’s go.” His wife brought him to the church porch and, pointing to the poor, said: “If you give it to them, then the Christian God will accept it; for they are all His servants.” The husband joyfully immediately distributed fifty coins to the poor and returned to his house. After three months, they had nothing left to spend. Then the husband said to his wife: “Wife! The Christian God does not repay us; we are in dire need. The wife answered him: “Go where you gave, and He will give it to you with all his will.” The husband ran to the holy church and, returning from there to the house, said to his wife: “I went to your church, and believe me, wife, I did not see, as you said, the Christian God, and no one gave me anything, except that I found this coin lying where I distributed fifty coins.” Then this wonderful woman said to him: “It was He who invisibly gave her to you. For He is invisible, and with invisible power and right hand rules the world; go, my lord, buy us something to eat today, and He will give it to you again.” “The husband went and bought himself bread, wine and fish, and gave it to his wife. The wife, taking the fish, began to clean it, and when she cut it, she found a wonderful stone inside; she was amazed, and although she did not know what kind of stone it was, she nevertheless hid it. When her husband came and they began to eat, the wife showed him the stone she had found and said: “This is the stone I found in the fish.” When the husband saw it, he was surprised at its beauty, but he did not know what kind of stone it was. When they had eaten, he said to his wife: “Give it to me, I’ll go and sell it; Maybe I’ll take something for him.” Taking the stone, he went to the money changer, who was also a silversmith, and said to him: “Do you want to buy this stone?” The silversmith, looking at the stone, asked: “What do you want to take for it?” The seller told him: “Give me what you want.” The merchant said: “Take five coins.” - The seller, thinking that he was laughing at him, said to him: “And you are giving this for him”? - The silversmith, thinking that he answered him with his heart, said to him: “Take ten coins.” – The seller, again thinking that he was laughing, fell silent. The silversmith told him: “Take twenty coins.” – He was silent and did not answer anything. The silversmith began to give thirty, and then fifty coins, and little by little, raising the price, he reached three hundred large coins and gave them to him. Taking the coins and giving the stone, the pagan came to his wife in joy. The wife asked: “How much did you sell the stone for?” “He took out three hundred coins and, giving them to his wife, said: “That’s how much!” The wife was amazed at the goodness of the man-loving God and said: “Here, husband, what is the Christian God like! How good He is, how merciful, how rich! You see that He not only returned to you with interest the fifty coins that you lent to Him, but in a few days increased the amount by six. Know that there is no other God, neither on earth nor in heaven, except His one.” The husband, convinced by the miracle, immediately accepted the Christian faith. - This is how the merciful Lord sometimes pays the debt to His creditors - those who were merciful even in this life. – And here is the story of the same blessed John about what payment awaits them in the future life. “Bishop Synesius of Cyrene converted his school friend, the philosopher Evagrius, to the faith of Christ. Soon after baptism, Evagrius gives him three gold denarii for the benefit of the poor: “Take,” he says, these three denarii, distribute to the poor, and give me a receipt that Christ will reward me for this in the future life. He accepted the gold and immediately gave him a receipt, as he wanted. After some time, Evagrius felt weakness, bringing him closer to death, and, being already close to death, he said to his children: “When you take care of my burial, put this paper in my hands and bury me with it.” The children did just that: when he died, they buried him with the handwriting. On the third day after the burial, he appears to Bishop Synesius in a dream and says: go, take your receipt in the coffin in which I am buried; I received what I should have received, I am completely satisfied, and to assure you of this, I signed your receipt.” The bishop did not even know that his receipt was placed with the philosopher in the coffin; The next day he called his children early and said: “What did you put in the coffin with the philosopher?” “They thought that he was talking to them about money, and they told him: “Nothing, sir, except his funeral clothes.” - "How?" he exclaimed, “didn’t you put some paper with it?” They told him: “Yes, sir, he gave us some paper to put with him.” “Then the bishop told them his dream and, taking with him the clergyman, the priest and some of the citizens, he came to the philosopher’s tomb. Having opened it, they found that the philosopher was lying and holding a receipt in his hands; Taking the receipt from his hands, they unfolded it and saw the following written again in it: “I, Evagrius the philosopher, wish to rejoice in you, the most holy Mr. Synesius the Bishop; I received everything according to your receipt - I am satisfied, and I no longer have the right to demand anything from you for giving you gold and through you to Christ our God and Savior.” Those who saw this were horrified and cried out for a long time: “Lord, have mercy!” and they praised the Lord, who had performed such a miracle and rewarded His servants with eternal reward. This receipt with the philosopher’s own signature is still carefully preserved and lies in the treasury of the Church of the Lord.” This is how Blessed John, who himself saw the receipt, concludes his story. – Many similar tales can be read in the lives of the saints of God and the patristic writings. The word of the Lord is true: the poor give mercy to God. Elika, you have created the one and only one of these lesser brothers of Mine - you have created with Me. “Who do you want to have God for yourself: a Debtor or a Judge?” asks St. Chrysostom “What is best for you - judge for yourself!..” 7. I owe you a lot, Lord! (From the works of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk). I will bless the Lord at all times; I will make His praise in my mouth (Ps. 33:2). I did not exist, and now I am and live, like other people. You, Lord, have deigned me to be, and to be considered among the works of Your hands, and to see the works of Your hands - heaven and earth with their fulfillment, and to know You, the great and glorious Creator, from Your great and glorious works, and to be satisfied and comforted with Your blessings. Thy hands make me, and create me (Ps. 119:73). I owe you a lot for this, and I cannot repay you with anything! You did not create me as a soulless creature, not as cattle, not as a bird, not as a fish, nor as any other dumb animal, which are all creatures and live, but do not understand their bliss; but I created a rational man who can know and understand that I have the beginning of my being and life from You; I am Your creation, You are my Creator: I owe You a lot for this and cannot repay You in any way! Having been created from You, I cannot be and live without You. Thy hand, O Lord, sustains me and Thy goodness gives to me. I cannot live and circulate without light: Your luminaries, the sun, the moon and the stars, shine on me. I cannot live without fire: Your fire warms me and cooks my food. I cannot be whole and alive without air: Your air revives me and preserves my life. I cannot be without food: Your generous hand, Lord, gives me food. I cannot be without drink: Your goodness, Lord, has produced springs, rivers and lakes for me, and with these I cool and wash myself. I, naked of God-woven clothes, cannot be without clothing: I receive even that from Your generous right hand. I cannot be without a home: you give me a house for the repose of my weak and poor body. I cannot be without cattle: Your cattle serve and work for me: I owe You a lot for all this! But what will I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? (Ps. 115:3). What would I be if You took even one of these benefits from me? What would my eyes do to me, if Thy light did not shine on me? I would inevitably wander like a blind man... How could I live if You did not give me Your food? I can’t live without air even for the slightest minute. So every creature of Yours is very good, and serves me poor. But receiving this good from You, I hope for future and better blessings, according to Your false promise, and from the visible to the invisible, and from the present to the future, and from the temporal to the eternal, and from the earthly to the heavenly, my spirit strives. Even though in exile and exile you have given us so much goodness, so much gift in your fatherland and your house! Truly, eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the heart of man has not sighed, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). May Thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, as we trust in Thee (Ps. 32:22). I am blind, like others, without Thy grace and enlightenment; my sin has blinded me. For this reason You have sent down Your holy word to us through Your chosen servants and servants. This, like a light for those who sit in darkness, shines and shows harm and benefit, evil and good, sin and virtue, lies and truth, what is displeasing to You and pleasing, unbelief and faith, and thus drives away my blindness and enlightens my mind. Your law is a lamp for my feet, and a light for my paths (Ps. 119:105). I owe you a lot for this, Lord, and I can’t repay you with anything! - From Your word I know You, my God and Creator; in it I see that You have created and are doing glorious and wonderful things, which the hand of man and no creature can create; and from all this I recognize Your almighty power, I tremble and humble myself under Your mighty hand. “I see in Your word that Your almighty right hand protects, preserves and saves those who fear, love and honor You, while He humbles, punishes and executes the self-willed. And from this I know Your righteousness and fear Your judgment: God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (Luke 18:13). Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living will be justified before You (Ps. 142:2). If you see iniquity, Lord, Lord, who will stand? (Ps. 129:3). - In Your word I see that You call all those who have turned away from You to You and those who have turned and come with repentance, as a Father who loves children and kindly accepts humanity. From this I recognize Your goodness and unconditional mercy towards poor sinners; and therefore I myself do not despair for my sins, but with hope I run to You, the good and merciful God, and ask for mercy. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity! (Ps. 50:3). I see in Your word that everything you reveal to us is the truth; and what you predict comes true; and what you promised and promise, you fulfill everything, for the Lord is faithful in all His words; I see that both heaven and earth pass by, but Your words cannot pass away. And from there I come to know Your truth, and am confirmed in my faith. I know that the church of my body will be destroyed, and my body, like earth, will be given over to the earth; but Thy mercy assures me that the same body in which my soul now lives will arise by the power and omnipotent voice of Thy, and by Thy grace will be transformed into its best and most beautiful form. It is fitting for this corruptible to put on incorruption, and for this dead thing to put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53). And so with Thy holy Church is the tea of ​​the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the next century. In Your word I see that You, as the Creator, provide for all Your creation in such a way that not even a small bird falls without Your will (Matthew 10:29); but most of all about man, whom You created in Your image and likeness. In this I see that man in his creation is honored by You, his Creator, honored more than all Your creation by Your special advice: let us create man. Created in Your image and in Your likeness, created holy, pure, blameless, wise, and created for eternal bliss. But he was seduced by the flattering advice of the evil serpent, he lost all his honor and bliss, and so turned away from You, his Creator, he drowned... A man of honor without understanding, was likened to senseless cattle and became like them (Ps. 49:13-21). Thus the primordial man perished; We, his sons, also perished. But you, good, merciful and humane God, did not tolerate seeing a poor man in destruction, but had mercy on him. Thy law was given to him, so that he, who had fallen away from You, might be converted and brought to You; but he only showed him his weakness, and did not heal him. You sent Your chosen servants, the prophets, to fallen man, and they only denounced man, and did not help man, but pointed to Him who was coming to save man, and they proclaimed Him, and thereby gave some kind of joy to the poor man: He is coming, He is coming to save us; He who is coming will come and will not be obdurate!.. Finally the time has come, and by Your most holy favor You have sent to us Your very only begotten Son, co-essential and co-originating. He took on flesh obsequious to us, and was born of the immaculate Virgin Mary, and this God, without beginning, became an infant, and the King of heaven lived on earth. He was sent from You, our God and Creator, to us poor people to seek and save us, Your lost creation: God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:10). He, having come to us, declared Your highest mercy, declared to us, preached to us that You forgive us our sins, and through Him you call us to Yourself, and to those who believe in Him and to those who listen to Him, opening the doors of Your eternal kingdom, as He Himself testified to this to our consolation: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for the sake of the anointing of Me to preach good news to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted: to preach remission to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; let the afflicted go to joy: it is pleasant to preach the year of the Lord (Luke 4:18–19). Having brought this all-joyful news from You to us poor sinners, with people, like a man, he lived on earth, and he taught us to believe in You, and to please You, and to do Your will through Himself, and showed us the way to Your eternal kingdom and called us, and suffered and died with His suffering and death, poured out for us, and cleansed us. we, who believe in Him, are drawn from our sins to You, His heavenly Father, as the Good Shepherd, Your lost sheep... For this humane, saving, wonderful and incomprehensible to our minds, Thy providence, like all people, so I, a poor sinner, owe You a lot, Lord! But what will I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? I confess to You, Father, with Your only begotten Son and Your Most Holy Spirit! I sing Your love for mankind! I glorify Your goodness and mercy, unworthy and poor sinner! Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and brought deliverance to His people: and He has raised up the horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David (Luke 1:68–69). Where would I be, a sinner and a lawbreaker, if not in destruction and in eternal death, lying like a defeated dead man? Your goodness, mercy and love for mankind did not allow me to do this, but You saved me so wonderfully: I owe You a lot, Lord, for this! Bless, my soul, the Lord, and my entire inner being, His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His rewards. ( Ps. 102:1-2 ). “I see in Your holy word that the devil, envying our blessedness, to which You lead us by the grace of Your only begotten Son, like a roaring lion, walks around, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). From this enemy of ours, both all who know You and me, unworthy, are warned by Your goodness, and Thy all-powerful right hand preserves. Oh, how safe I could have been if not Your almighty right hand had protected me! I owe you a lot, Lord, for this! Blessed be the Lord, Who did not let us be caught in their teeth (Ps. 123:6). But do not leave me, Lord, to the end, but deliver me from the evil one. Do not give over to beasts the soul that confesses to You; do not completely forget the souls of Your poor (Ps. 73:19). “I see in Your holy word that Your holy angels take up arms around those who know and fear You, and preserve them by Your command from the evil demons, and are sent into service for those who want to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). I, Thy unworthy and indecent servant, have been granted this grace by Thy grace. I owe you a lot, Lord, and for this! I know and confess with humility that I have sinned a lot to You, my Creator and God, and I regret it, and I see other sins in my conscience, but I don’t see others, and I don’t see more than I see: for who understands the Fall? (Ps. 19:13). I regret and lament that with them You, my good and humane God, my Creator, my Redeemer, my highest Benefactor, the One Whom the holy angels honor with fear and trembling, sing and worship, - You, Lord, I foolishly, the last worm, have offended many!.. And how many times have I sinned to You, so many times have I seen You are the one who sins me; and how many times have I seen, so many times You have endured me through Your goodness; and how many times has he endured me, so many times has he had mercy on me. And if You had acted according to Your most holy righteousness with me, my soul would have long ago descended into hell: but Your goodness and Your love for mankind and Your long-suffering restrained You, and did not allow me, a poor sinner, to my destruction. I owe You much, O Lord, and for this great mercy I owe to me! Let me confess to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever: for Your great mercy is upon me, and You have delivered my soul from the lowest hell (Ps. 86:12-13). From these and others, whom I do not know, I see Your good deeds towards me, that I am completely contained in Your love for me and kindness, love for mankind and long-suffering and generosity. Your goodness, Lord, is that I have not yet perished, I still live. I see that You are leading me to eternal salvation. Have mercy on me, a poor sinner, to the end, and with the grace of Your only begotten Son, atone for all my sins, and save me into eternal life, so that there, with all Your chosen ones, for all Your good deeds I will thank, praise and glorify You with Your only begotten Son and the Most Holy Spirit, not by faith, but face to face for endless ages. From these considerations you see, Christian, that 1) both you and I are unpaid debtors to God; that you live, move - all this is by God’s goodness, and no matter what you do, no matter how you please God, even if you suffer all your life for the sake of His name, and it would be nothing: you would always remain an unpaid debtor before God. We owe the Lord so much! For the mere fact that He created us, we cannot repay in any way or anything, but how will we repay Him for all His other countless and greatest benefits? What shall we render to the Lord for all who have given us back?.. This alone is nothing... 2) From this we learn to humbly thank Him from a sincere heart and recognize our poverty in the fact that from Him, as the Benefactor, we receive blessings every day and every hour, but we cannot repay this Benefactor in any way. 3) We must thank Him for all blessings, especially for His word, and for the saving coming of His only begotten Son to us, and for the eternal life and bliss promised for His sake. 4) From this you see, Christian, how wretched and poor you yourself are - without God’s blessings you cannot live even for a minute. The one who does not have food, the one who does not have clothing, the one who has no home and other things is wretched and poor: but you have all this, nothing of your own, but you receive everything from God, who is rich in mercy. And if the Lord had not given you everything, you would have been more unhappy and poorer than any creature. Know your poverty so that the Lord enriches you with His mercy. 5) We cannot earn anything from God; we receive everything freely from His generous right hand. He, good and rich in mercy, seeing our poverty and misery, opens His treasures of goodness and from these treasures gives us everything freely. Such is His nature that He cannot help but do good. 6) He who knows God, the more he knows, the more he is corrected, renewed and made better. Knowing God truly and living ungodly are the opposite of one another. 7) This means that those who live lawlessly do not know God, although they confess His holy name, and pray to Him, and go to church, and partake of the Mysteries of Christ. This is why the apostle wrote: And of this we understand, because we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He says that he knows Him, but does not keep His commandments; it is a lie and there is no truth in it (1 John 2:3-4). 8) Therefore, you, sinner, if you want to live not only with your body, but also with your soul, then turn with all your heart to God, Who is Life Himself and gives life to everyone, and hold on to Him with faith and righteousness, and you will be truly alive, both now and in the future life, and although you will die, you will still come to life and go forth into the resurrection of the eternal life... 8. Will the second coming of Christ happen soon? 110 We all believe that at the end of the world Jesus Christ will appear again on earth, but none of us knows when this second coming of Christ will happen. While assuring us of the reality of the Savior’s second coming to earth to carry out judgment, the word of God does not, however, reveal to us whether our Lord will soon come to earth. “But about that day and hour,” said the Savior, “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but only My Father” (Matthew 24:36). Moreover, Christ positively refused to answer His disciples when they asked Him about this; He even forbade them, and through them, us, from such curiosity, once saying directly: “You do not understand the times and seasons that the Father has ordained in His power” (Acts 1:7). So, it is not our business to test the destinies of God, it is not our business to predict the day and hour of the Lord’s coming, but our business is always to prepare to meet Him worthily; therefore, “Watch, for you do not know at what hour your Lord will come,” the Savior instructs us; be always ready to appear before the judgment of the Lord, because at the hour we think not, at that the Son of man will come (Matthew 24:44). But, without indicating to us a specific day and hour of His coming to earth for universal judgment, the Lord Jesus Christ nevertheless deigned to reveal to believers some signs by which one can learn about the proximity of the end of the world and the Last Judgment. These signs are indicated in the word of God as follows: the preaching of the Gospel to all nations on earth, the extreme impoverishment of faith and love between people, the spread of wickedness and the multiplication of vices and, as a result, the multiplication of disasters on earth and, finally, the appearance of the enemy of God - the Antichrist. Before the coming of Christ to earth, the preaching of Christ will spread throughout the whole world, so that there will be no place where the word of the Gospel has not penetrated, there will be no people who have not heard the words of salvation. “And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all languages, and then the end will come,” said the Savior Himself (Matthew 24:14). This will happen so that the wicked will not have the excuse at the judgment of God that they did not know the teachings of Christ. But, despite the worldwide spread of the preaching of the Gospel, before the end of the world, an unprecedented corruption of morals will occur among people, unbelief, mutual hatred, envy and malice will increase; so that the Only Begotten Son of God, having come to earth, will barely find faith on earth (Luke 18:8). St. ap. Paul says that in the last times there will be men who are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, majestic, proud, blasphemers, opposed to parents, ungrateful, unrighteous, unloving, unforgiving, without self-control, necrotic, having an image of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Tim. 3:1-5). The anger and mutual hatred that has developed between people will produce incessant wars, civil strife and bloodshed on earth. “Language will rise against tongue and kingdom against kingdom” (Matthew 24:7). For such iniquities, the just Lord will strike people with various, but equally severe disasters: now famine, now plague, now earthquakes. “Then there will be famines and destruction, and cowardice in places” (Matthew 24:7). But since a sinner, when he falls into the depths of evil, is no longer at all concerned about salvation, then these punishments of God’s wrath will not bring the corrupted human race to its senses and will not stop it on the path to destruction. Therefore, disasters will not only not cease before the last times, but will gradually increase, as Jesus Christ says: “But all this is the beginning of diseases” (Matthew 24:8). At the same time, the devil, sensing the approach of the end of the world and his final destruction, will use all his efforts to darken and trap people in his insidious nets. According to his inspiration, among people in large numbers “false Christs and false prophets will arise, who will distract people from faith in God with false signs and false miracles. The cunning and cunning of such servants of Satan will be so strong that they will almost deceive even the most chosen of the Lord’s worshipers. They will “show great signs and wonders as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). The temptation will then be so strong that only the cessation of these evil days by the will of the Almighty will save people from universal destruction: “and if those days had not ceased, all flesh would not have been saved; But for the sake of the elect these days will come to an end” (Matthew 24:22). But the most obvious sign of the imminent coming of Christ, and at the same time the most powerful disaster for believers in Christ before the end of the world, will be the appearance of the Antichrist. What is the Antichrist? The word antichrist means an opponent of Christ, one who does not submit to His teaching. According to the prophecy of the Apostle Paul, the Antichrist, who is about to appear before the coming of Christ, will be “a man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, an adversary and one who exalts himself more than any spoken god or worshipper, as if he should sit in the church of God, as if he were a god, showing himself that there is a God” (2 Thess. 2:3-4). He will be so proud that he will reject the Lord and Christ, will pretend to be God, demand divine worship for himself, and will blaspheme the name of God. He will come out with terrible hostility against Christians and will cruelly torture believers in the name of Christ. St. Ephraim the Syrian describes the enemy’s life and deeds of the Antichrist in the following way: “The all-wicked one will come like a thief to deceive everyone, he will come feignedly reverent, humble, meek, averse to idols, kind, poor-loving, extremely comely, affectionate to all. At the same time, with great power, he will perform signs, wonders, and take cunning measures to please everyone, so that the common people will soon fall in love with him, and in all this, with a blissful appearance, he will begin to deceive the world until he reigns. His kingdom will soon be established. Then he will rise beyond measure in his heart and will confuse the universe; He will oppress everyone, he will defile many souls, no longer acting like a reverent person, but in any case, harsh, cruel, destructive, trying to plunge the entire race of mortals into the abyss of wickedness, he will produce great signs falsely, and not really” (Word on the Procession of the Lord, 2nd). But the reign of the Antichrist will not last long; The time of autocracy, hostility and violence against Christians will soon pass. The Lord Jesus Christ will appear, destroy the Antichrist with the spirit of His mouth and destroy his power with the glory of His coming. These are the signs of the imminent coming of Christ and the end of the age. They show that the end times have not yet arrived, and that the Antichrist has not yet come. But this should not dispose us to laziness and negligence about our salvation, and the Lord can always call each of us through death to Himself for judgment. Which of us can say about himself that he is far from death, after which, just as after the future at the end of the world of the coming of Christ, the believer also goes to the private judgment of Christ? And just as none of the people knows “the day and hour of the coming of the Lord,” so none of the living knows the day and hour of their death. Therefore, the words of the Savior should be memorable and edifying for all of us: “Watch, because you do not know at what hour your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42). (See "Resurrection sheet". No. 317). 12th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 79th, ch. XIX, 16–26 centuries 1. The Gospel story about the rich young man On the way from Perea to Judea, a rich, noble young man, one of the leaders (perhaps one of the leaders of the synagogue), approached Jesus, reverently fell on his knees before Him and said: “Good Teacher! What good thing can I do to have eternal life?” Jesus knew that this young man, despite his good aspirations, lacked the consciousness of his sins, and therefore, wanting to awaken this desire in him, he said to him: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” The young man saw in Jesus only a man like himself; therefore the Lord rejects such a name. He was good only because God was together, but among people no one is good. By this, He wanted to remind the young man not to consider himself a kind, good person, so that he would recognize his sins and the need for repentance. To do this, Jesus pointed him to the law and said: “If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.” The young man counted on extraordinary commandments, on a very special path to heaven: therefore, with a sense of his own dignity, he asked “which ones?” Of course not ancient, ordinary? And when Jesus actually named the ancient commandments: do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself,” he answers Him with proud self-confidence: “I have kept all this from my youth.” There was some truth in this answer; he kept the commandments as he understood them. But at the same time, these words expressed his innocence and frankness. He himself noticed that this was still not enough, so he asked: “What else am I missing?” This noble desire, for which the whole law was not enough, this simplicity and frankness won him the heart of Jesus. Jesus looked at him with a loving gaze and said one thing that was still missing to him. His heart was still attached to earthly property and, moreover, in such a way that it could only be helped by completely tearing it away from property. Therefore Jesus said to him: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor: and have treasure in heaven; and follow Me.” With this demand, Jesus completely revealed to the young man the depths of his heart and showed him his shortcomings. When the young man heard these words, he became sad and went away embarrassed, because he was very rich. He would have liked to be saved, but the struggle was too hard for him, and the sacrifice required was too great. That's why he left Jesus. The example of this young man showed how much wealth can hinder entry into the kingdom of Christ. With sadness, Jesus looked at the departing young man whom He loved and said to His disciples: “Truly I say to you, it is difficult for a rich man (who puts his hope in his wealth and attaches his heart to it) to enter the kingdom of God. And again I tell you: it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were afraid of these words and timidly asked: “So who can be saved?” Jesus, looking at them significantly, confirmed their opinion with the words: “This is impossible for men, but with this He again consoles them - with God all things are possible.” (See the book “The Earthly Life of the Lord Jesus Christ” translated from German by Priest Horde). 2. What must be done to inherit an eternal belly? In order to truly know what we must do to receive eternal life, or eternal bliss, it is undoubtedly most reliable to pay attention to what Jesus Christ Himself recognized or presented as necessary to obtain eternal bliss. a) Jesus Christ presented faith in Him as necessary to receive eternal life, or eternal bliss. For thus he said to Nicodemus: Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so it is fitting for the Son of man to be lifted up: that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God loved the world, for He also gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14–16). b) Jesus Christ declared love for God and neighbor necessary to obtain eternal life, namely: when the lawyer asked Jesus Christ: “What, having created eternal life, will I inherit?” and when the Lord asked him: “What is written in the law?” and he answered: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself: then the Lord said unto him, Do this, and thou shalt live (Luke 10:25-28). c) Jesus Christ presented the need for observance of all the commandments of God to receive eternal life, namely: when a certain young man, like the aforementioned lawyer, asked the Lord: “What good will I do, so that I may have eternal life?” Then the Lord said to him: If you want to be taken into the belly, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17). d) Jesus Christ taught that those who abandon or reject everything that prevents them from clinging to Him with all their hearts will receive eternal life. For this is what He said to His disciples: everyone who leaves a house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children (no doubt only if they distract him from Christ and the Christian life), or village, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29). e) Jesus Christ declared that all the sheep who carefully listen to His word and follow Him in life will receive eternal life. For thus He said: My sheep hear My voice, and follow Me: and I will give them eternal life (John 10:27-28). f) Jesus Christ taught that all who worthily receive His holy communion will receive eternal life. body and blood. For this is what He said: I am the living bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats of this bread will live forever. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood will live forever (John 6:51–54). g) Jesus Christ demonstrated through the holy prophet in the Old Testament that those who bring true repentance will receive eternal life. For this is what it says: If a wicked man turns from all his iniquities that he has committed, and keeps all My commandments, and does justice and righteousness and mercy, he will live life and not die (Ezek. 18:21). h) Finally, St. the apostle declares that people who do good deeds in life will receive eternal life; for this is what he said: God will reward everyone according to his deeds: for those who have done good works, glory and honor and incorruptibility, according to endurance, have eternal life (Rom. 2:6-7). i) Only those who live within the fence of the Orthodox Church, as its faithful and obedient children, can inherit eternal life. Since Jesus Christ, according to the saying of St. ap. Paul, is the Head of the Church and He is the Savior of the body: then, in order to have participation in His salvation, it is necessary to be a member of His body, that is, the Catholic Church. Remember, brothers, that without obedience to St. Orthodox Church, without a close union with it it is impossible to be saved, even if someone shed his blood for Jesus Christ. Remember the terrible words of the Savior: if the church (your brother) disobeys, be like a pagan and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17). Therefore, beware of false teachers who want to tear you away from the obedience of St. churches! This is what we must do to inherit the eternal life. To the question: what must one do in order to inherit an eternal life, one can give another answer, from the opposite side, namely: a) All those who do not believe in Jesus Christ will not inherit the eternal life; For whoever does not believe in the Son of God, said John the Baptist, will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36). b) The eternal life will not be inherited by all those who in this life do not walk through the narrow gate of the Lord’s commandments, for the Lord said: Thou shalt bring the narrow gate and the narrow way into the life; but lead the wide gate and the broad way into destruction (Matthew 7:14–13). c) Everyone who is disorderly attached with love to something created by God will not inherit the eternal life, no matter how important, or dear, or kind it may be to us: for whoever loves, says the Lord, father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37). d) All those who remain without true repentance will not inherit the eternal life. In your sin you will die, the Lord said to the unrepentant Jews (John 8:21). e) All those who do not partake of the flesh and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will not inherit the eternal life, for this is what the Lord said: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you do not have life in you (John 6:53). f) Finally, all those who, fearing difficulties, do not overcome sinful lusts in themselves, but allow them to act within themselves until the end of their lives, and die with them, will not inherit the eternal life. For this is what the Lord said: He who overcomes will inherit all things: the fearful, the unfaithful, the abominable, the murderers, those who commit fornication, and those who practice enchantments, the idolaters and all those who lie, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and the bogeyman, which is the second death (Rev. 21:7-8). Believe in the Lord, all who do not want to lose their eternal life! Leave a life contrary to His commandments, and live according to His commandments, bring true repentance, partake of His body and blood more often; - and you will certainly have an eternal belly. (See “Words and conversations on all Sundays and holidays” by Gregory, Archbishop Kazan and Sviyazh., vol. I, pp. 315–321; book of priest Gr. Dyachenko: “Full annual circle of short teachings,” pp. 331–332). 3. Is our concern for the “rainy day” reasonable? 111 We only think about what to eat, what to drink, what to wear; All we worry about is where to get money, how to support ourselves, what will happen to us tomorrow, the day after tomorrow... And especially in our sinful times, people seem to be obsessed with how to make more money, their only thoughts, their only worries... But why such care? Judge for yourself: what son will take care of everyday needs when he is with his father, under parental care and affection? Don’t we all have a Heavenly Father? Doesn't He care about us? Yes, truly He cares for us. He grows bread and all kinds of fruits for our food with our slightest labor, and others without any assistance from us. He feeds the animals and decorates the fields with flowers. If God cares so much about unreasonable creatures, then will He, the Merciful, leave man, His most excellent creation, without His providence and care? Of course not. In the lives of the saints there are many examples of how quickly the Lord satisfies the needs of those who come to Him for help. Let's take the example of St. Sergius, the miracle worker of Radonezh. The Monk Sergius himself never cared about tomorrow and taught the brethren the same. But the brethren often grumbled about the shortcomings and hardships of desert life. One day, the poverty in the monastery reached such a point that the brethren spent three days without food. Constrained by hunger, they grumbled against St. Sergius, who forbade them to leave the monastery and collect alms; some even decided to leave the monastery completely. Then the monk called all the monks and began to meekly exhort them so that they would not faint in temptation, would not murmur, but would place all their trust in the Lord. Then, to console the brethren, he said: “I believe that God will not leave this place and those living in it.” And indeed, the next day, early in the morning, a lot of bread, fish and other supplies for the monastic meal were sent to the monastery from an unknown benefactor. Another time, the lack of water aroused murmurs among the brethren. When the monk chose a place for desert silence, he did not care about having water nearby; it was even pleasant for him to carry it from afar in order to tax his flesh even more. But as the brethren multiplied, the lack of water became more and more noticeable. The brethren more than once complained to the monk about the lack of water... Then the monk, taking with him one of the monks, went to the ditch located near the monastery itself. Having found some rainwater in the ditch, Sergius knelt down, fervently prayed to God and made the sign of the cross over this place. - And oh, miracle! - a large source of water instantly appeared in the ditch, which from then on began to satisfy all the needs of the monastery. This is how the Lord cares for His faithful servants who trust in Him! But for us sinners, these examples are apparently not intelligible. We all continue to struggle as hard as we can, working day and night, without knowing any rest even on holidays - and all with one goal, how to make more money, so that we ourselves can live peacefully in old age and leave more money for our children. In short, each of us has concerns about the “rainy day” on our minds. But is such concern reasonable? To answer this question, we present the story of one ascetic. “There lived one gardener named John, who worked very hard, but had no money, since whatever he earned, he gave everything to the poor. But then one day he thought: “What if I get old and get sick? Who will shelter me then? Who will feed and water? He thought so and began to save money for a “rainy day”, at first little by little, and then more, and finally he became so addicted to money that he began to refuse beggars. He saved up a lot of money for a “rainy day” - and then this “rainy day” came for him. A terrible wound opened on his leg. He went to bed and began to be treated by doctors. Soon he spent all his money on treatment, but there was still no help. Finally, the doctors told him directly that if his legs were not taken away, he would die. No matter how hard it was for the patient to lose his leg, he still agreed to have his leg cut off... Meanwhile, at night he changed his mind, remembered his previous life and began to repent of his sins and ask God for mercy and forgiveness. And behold, an angel of the Lord appears to him and says to him: “John! Where is the money you collected? John cried and said: “I have sinned, Lord, forgive me, I will not save money in advance!” Then the angel of the Lord touched his sore leg, and John was healed. Since then, he considered it a sin to save money for a rainy day: “What do I need money for, he said, when the Lord Himself takes care of me?” You see, Christian, how reasonable our concern for a rainy day is! After this, decide for yourself - is it necessary to save money for a rainy day? There cannot be a dark day for a true Christian, since the Lord protects His faithful servants from troubles. And even if some trouble were to happen, then turn to the Lord again, and He will not leave you. Cast your sorrow upon the Lord, and He will nourish you (Ps. 54:23); Cast your worries on the Lord, and He will support you! (See “Trinity. List.” No. 208). 4. Having done good, do not repent Repenting of sins is understandable, for whoever commits sin fulfills the will of Satan; but how can one repent of a good deed? After all, whoever does good fulfills the will of God; a good deed is pleasant to God and pleasant to good people; it means that if God helped you do a good deed, you should rejoice, you should thank God, and not repent... This is how it should be; but here, beloved, is our great misfortune: sin often takes such hold of a person’s heart that it makes him regret the good deed he has done: isn’t it, what sinful regret, what ungodly repentance! – In the days of St. John the Merciful, Patriarch of Alexandria, there was one bishop named Troilus, a stingy and calculating man. Once Saint John invited him to the hospital with him to visit the poor and sick. Bypassing the sick, St. John said to Troilus: “Here is a wonderful opportunity for you, father, to comfort the poor brethren and give them alms.” Troilus was ashamed to refuse a good deed, and he donated a gold coin to the sick, spending thirty gold coins on it. But when he returned home, he felt so sorry for this money that he fell ill and went to bed. - Meanwhile, Saint John sends him an invitation to dinner; Troilus refuses, citing ill health; then St. John understood what was going on: he took 30 pieces of gold and went to the sick bishop. “I brought you the money that I borrowed from you to distribute in the hospital,” he said to Troilus: “here, take it; just take the trouble to write with your own hand, so that the Lord gives me the reward that followed you for them.” Troilus, seeing the gold, joyfully got out of bed - and immediately wrote the following note: “Merciful God! Give reward to my master John for the gold that I, sinner Troilus, distributed in the hospital: for he returned mine to me.” Having given this receipt to Saint John, Troilus forgot his illness and went to John to have dinner. It was sad to see such a love of money for the saint of God, and in whom? - in the shepherd of the Church of Christ! And so, St. John began to pray with all his heart that the Lord would enlighten Troilus, and the Lord would hear his holy prayer. The next night, Troilus saw in a dream a beautiful house, above the doors of which was written in gold letters: the abode and eternal rest of Troilus the Bishop. He was incredibly happy about this vision, when suddenly a certain formidable man appeared and said to the servants who were here: “The Lord of the whole world commanded that the name of Troilus be erased here and in its place write the name of John, Patriarch of Alexandria, who bought this house for himself for 30 gold coins. So - change the inscription! - At these words, Troilus woke up and was filled with fear and pity. The next morning he hurried to St. John; covered in tears, he told the high priest his vision, repented of his love of money, and from that time on he became generous and merciful to everyone. So the Lord admonished the stingy Troilus, did not allow his soul to perish: it is clear that in his former life there was goodness, which the Lord now remembered, through the prayers of St. John the Merciful: after all, with the Lord God, not a single sigh of the heart, not a single drop of tear will remain forgotten; He, the Merciful, can give us sinners the price of good deeds and those sorrows that we endure in captivity, for our sins - as long as we do not grumble in these sorrows and repent of our sins. But here is another story, from which the most selfish heart should involuntarily shudder. – One resident of Constantinople was seriously ill; Fearing death, he distributed to the poor, like Troilus, also 30 gold coins. God had mercy on him and gave him health for his alms. But the foolish man began to regret the money spent, and told his grief to one of his acquaintances, a rich man. He persuaded him not to spare money: “Be careful not to anger the Lord,” he said, because God raised you almost from the dead for alms; lest you die for this without repentance.” But he never stopped regretting the money. Then the acquaintance tells him: “If you don’t want to listen to me anymore, then, perhaps, let’s go to church; there just say: “Lord! It was not I who gave alms, but this man,” and I will immediately give you the money.” - The unfortunate money lover willingly agreed to this. And so, as soon as he took the money in his hands and said the mentioned words, he fell and died right there in the church... The clergy offered his comrade back 30 gold coins after the deceased, but the servant of God answered: “God forbid me to take what I have already given to the Lord God!” Is this possible? God cannot be mocked!” - and the money was distributed to the poor. - This is how God’s terrible judgment was carried out on a man who was not ashamed to renounce, for the sake of self-interest, that good deed for which he himself had already received God’s great mercy! (Prologue January 10). 5. The harmfulness of the love of money There lived one old man who was pious and strict in life; but, unfortunately, he became infected with the spirit of love of money. He lived near one trading place, as if so that the people, gathering there every day, would have a mentor and spiritual father nearby, but in fact so that visitors, returning from the market, would not come to him empty-handed. St. Andrew, the Fool for Christ's sake (whose memory is celebrated on October 2), one day, walking past a money-lover, saw, by the revelation of God, that a terrible serpent had wrapped itself around his neck. The seer looked in amazement; and the monk, thinking that he, being one of the beggars, was expecting alms, said: “God willing!” Saint Andrew retreated a few steps and saw an airy inscription above him: “The serpent of the love of money is the root of all lawlessness.” Condolent over the death of his brother, Andrei wanted to leave, but as soon as he turned back, he saw two young men arguing with each other; one was black, with dull and fierce eyes, and the other was beautiful, like the light of heaven; the first claimed that the elder belonged to him, for, like the second, he worked not for God, but for him; but another said that this old man, being humble and meek, being in fasting and prayer, is God’s servant... So they argued, when suddenly a heavenly voice came to the luminous young man: “You have no part in the old man; leave him,” and the angel instantly left. Surprised, Andrei began to cry out of pity and went on his way. But Andrei’s heart could not be calm: wanting to convert the unfortunate old man to the truth, after a while he again walked past the marketplace and, seeing him, took him by the hand. “Servant of God! “look closely,” he said, “listen without anger to me, your servant: I am very sorry for you, and I cannot without horror think that you, previously a friend of God, have now become a servant of the enemy of our salvation.” Your soul had wings like a seraph; Why did you allow the hostile spirit to circumcise them? You had the image of an angel: why did you want to be dark? Why did you make friends with the serpent of the love of money and warm it in your bosom? What are you collecting treasures for? Will you really be buried with them? Vigilantly collecting pieces of silver from spiritual children and having fun with them, you collect all their crimes on your head... How can you stand before the terrible judgment of Christ with such a burden? Know that your guardian angel has retreated far from you and is crying about your destruction, and the devil is leading you wherever he wants... I am telling the truth, listen to me and squander your property on the poor, widows, orphans and strangers - otherwise, you will perish in evil... Do you see the devil?” Then the spiritual eyes of the old man were opened: a black beast-like giant stood at a far distance from him and gnashed his teeth; but, terrified of Saint Andrew, he did not dare to approach him... The elder trembled with horror and could barely pronounce the promise to live according to the commandments of the Lord... But as soon as he took the oath, suddenly lightning flashed from the east, the unclean spirit disappeared, and the angel of the Lord approached the monk. The sin of love of money is so destructive for eternal life! And here are examples of how the Lord punishes money lovers in this life. Saint Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow (his relics rest in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, and his memory is celebrated on March 31), was very compassionate towards the poor and often gave them alms, but for the most part he did not do this himself, but trusted his servants. One day, he gave one servant a fair amount of money to distribute to the poor; but he, obsessed with the passion of love of money, gave away one part of the money and kept the other for himself. And one poor widow came to the saint with a complaint against the servant that he had not given her anything from what the saint had given out. Then St. Jonah, calling the servant, said to him: “Why did you insult this widow by not giving her anything?” He began to deny it, saying that he gave it to her, but she still asks. The widow assured that he had not given her anything. Then the servant lost his temper and said angrily: “Go and die, because you are lying.” But the saint, seeing that the widow was right, said to the servant: “No, it won’t be like that, because the widow tells the truth, and you lie and steal; therefore this widow will live, but you will die.” And at that very hour the money-loving servant was overcome by illness, and he soon died. And here is a story from everyday life. In 1864, in the large Siberian city of Omsk, bread was so expensive that poor people almost starved to death. One of these poor people belonged to a widow of the noble class with her daughter, already an adult. This widow suffered from a serious illness for a long time, and was unable to earn food for herself: her daughter supported her by selling her handicrafts. The poor somehow managed to get by in the best years, but in the lean years they became completely destitute. Lent of 1864 came, the most difficult period of this memorable year for Siberians. Bread, which had been high in price until that time, became extremely expensive, especially during Lent, when, due to the thaw, its delivery from the villages stopped. The mentioned mother and daughter, in the sixth week of Lent, absolutely had no opportunity to buy even half a pound of bread for themselves, and the last two days of this week literally sat hungry, because there was nothing to sell or pawn; there was no work, and, consequently, no income for it, and it was a shame to go begging. But two days spent without a piece of bread could drown out the feeling of modesty. And so, the poor daughter, reluctantly, on Palm Sunday itself, before dinner, went to one rich flour merchant - merchant A., for whose family she sometimes worked, and, telling him openly her hopeless situation, asked him for the sake of Christ to give her at least a few pounds of flour or oven-baked bread as payment for the work that A.’s family might later order for her. What did this rich man do? He said with contempt: “There are many of you hungry now! If I feed everyone, I myself will probably die of hunger. Go where you came from...” The poor girl, who believed in the help of this rich man the last hope of saving herself and her mother from starvation, in a fit of despair uttered the following words: “The Lord will punish you for this!” and left. These words, without a specific purpose, bursting out of the mouth of a deeply saddened and grief-stricken girl, were prophetic: God’s punishment for the hard-hearted rich man did not slow down. After the girl left, A. sat down to dinner with his family and, while eating fish pie, choked on a bone, which is why he died a few hours later. The whole family recognized this terrible event as the punishing finger of God, and the widow of the unfortunate A., soon after her husband’s funeral, wanting to atone for his cruel act towards the poor orphans, took them both into the house for food. This is how God punishes the hard-hearted! Yes, apparently, every tear of our neighbor, which we could dry, but did not want, means a lot, a lot in the eyes of a just God! So, Christian, avoid the love of money, as the destroyer and cause of all evil on earth. (See Wanderer for 1870, June). 6. St. righteous Philaret the merciful, as an example of mercy and non-covetousness St. Philaret, originally from Asia Minor, was a rich and noble man. From an early age, pious parents instilled in him a love for God and His law. He married and with his family, his wife and three children, lived in the village of Amnia, in the Paphlagon region, in complete contentment. It seems that it would be difficult to find a happier person: the family lived in harmony, his wealth increased every day; neither sadness nor care darkened his life. How often does it happen that, living in such contentment, a person gets used to self-gratification and forgets about the poor who are in need! But Filaret was not like that; “God didn’t give me wealth,” he said, “so that I could use it alone; but so that I share with the poor, with those whom at the Last Judgment the Lord will not be ashamed to call His brothers. What is the use of property to me if I begin to take care of it out of stinginess? Will it help me on the day of judgment, which will be so terrible for the unmerciful? Will it be my food and drink in the age to come? Will luxurious dresses be my incorruptible clothing? Of course not. The Apostle says: “We have brought nothing into the world; It’s obvious that we can’t take anything out of it.” (Tim.6:7). If nothing of earthly property can be taken out of here, then wouldn’t it be better to give it to God through the hands of the poor; but God will not forsake me or my family; I believe the prophet David, who says: “I was young and old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children asking for bread.” (Ps.36:25). Reasoning in this way, Filaret acted in this way. He loved the poor and unfortunate, like the father of his children, and generously distributed benefits to them. The whole region blessed him; all the beggars, the sick, widows, orphans, and the strange found shelter, help and consolation with him. Many years passed like this. But behold, it pleased the Lord to test His faithful servant. The enemies, the Ishmaelites, attacked the region in which the good Philaret lived, and like a storm and flame they devastated it. They plundered all the wealth of Philaret, took many of his servants captive, plundered his herds and took possession of his fields. Philaret had only a servant and a maid left, the house in which he lived, a small field, a pair of oxen and a horse. With these meager funds, only constant and hard work could provide the daily bread to feed the family. Filaret meekly submitted to the will of the Lord and began to cultivate his field himself. One day he harnessed his oxen and went to the arable land. While working, he glorified and thanked the Lord for bringing him to fulfill the commandment commanding him to buy bread for himself by the sweat of his brow, and by sending him work, he delivered him from laziness and idleness, so dangerous to the soul. At this time, another villager was working in a neighboring field, and suddenly his ox died. The villager was very upset; he was poor, and the dead ox belonged to a neighbor. He began to cry bitterly. “Who can I find help from?” he thought. “If this had happened in previous years, I would have gone to good Philaret, and he would have helped me, but now he himself is poor. But still I will go to him, tell him my grief; he will feel sorry for me and help me at least with a kind word.” He did just that. Filaret, seeing his sadness, unharnessed one of his ox and gave it to him. “Take my ox, brother, continue your work and thank the Lord,” he told him, and he went home. Filaret's wife, having learned about what had happened, began to bitterly reproach her husband. “Do you want to starve us to death,” she said, why did you give up the ox? How will you cultivate your field? After all, I know that you gave the ox not out of kindness, not for the sake of God, but for your own sake; because you are used to living in wealth and idleness, and you are too lazy to work and cultivate the field. How are we going to live? Filaret responded to these reproaches with meekness, reassured his wife with the mercy of God, and he and his son began to work day and night, knowing almost no rest. However, poverty increased every day. Filaret deprived himself of almost necessary things, but it was beyond his strength to refuse a beggar: so he gave away both another ox and a horse; sometimes he took off his clothes and gave them to the poor. His wife often scolded and reproached him. Filaret told his family: “I have a treasure that you do not know about”; but his wife and children did not understand his words. Finally, they reached extreme poverty and began to need daily food. Sometimes neighbors sent them, out of regret, bread or flour; but even here Filaret shared his share with the poor. God was pleased to again endow the kind and meek Philaret with wealth, and this is how it happened: Empress Irina, who reigned in Greece with her son Constantine, wished to marry him; The dignitaries of the royal court were sent to bring the most beautiful maidens from all over the empire, from whom the king could choose a bride. Those sent also came to the village in which Filaret lived. Seeing his house from a distance, which was the largest of all, they wanted to stay in it, but the villagers told them: “This house, although large and beautiful on the outside, is poor and empty inside: the poorest man lives in it.” Meanwhile, Filaret, seeing strangers who were walking towards his house, went out to meet them and began to call them to him, completely forgetting about his poverty, and rejoicing that he could give shelter to travelers. They entered, and Filaret, hastening to his wife, ordered her to prepare dinner. - What's wrong with you? she exclaimed, “What should we make dinner from?” There is neither lamb nor chicken in our poor lot, and we barely remember oil and wine when we had them. “Then at least light a fire, heat some water, and prepare a room for the wanderers; maybe God will send us something to help us. In fact, as soon as she began to fulfill what was said, the elders of the village appeared at the door; Having heard that good Philaret had guests, and knowing his poverty, they hurried to help him in any way they could: one carried a lamb, another a chicken, another oil, wine, and so on. Filaret accepted all these offerings with gratitude and cordially entertained the wanderers, who asked him about his family and learned that he had three young granddaughters. They wanted to see them, and were so amazed by the beauty and modesty of one of them, whose name was Maria, that they certainly demanded that she go to Constantinople, and Filaret and his family went there. Ten young girls were brought to the king’s choice: Maria, brought up in humility, did not expect a brilliant fate for herself, especially since one of the girls, proud of her beauty and the nobility of her family, directly said to her friends: “Do you really think that the king will choose one of you? His choice will probably fall on me, because I am more beautiful, and smarter, and more noble than all of you.” Maria listened to these speeches with meekness, considering herself completely unworthy of high rank. But the Lord exalts the humble and crushes the thoughts of the proud. The king's choice settled on Mary. Having married her, he showed mercy and honor to her entire family, and gave rich houses and estates to the merciful Philaret. Filaret's wife and his household then repented of their previous grumbling and asked Filaret for forgiveness. “Forgive us,” they said, “that we sinned against you in madness and reviled your generosity and mercy towards the poor and wretched. What is given to the poor is given to God himself, and He will reward it a hundredfold in this life and with bliss in the next. For your virtues the Lord has exalted you and us together with you.” – Amid greatness and wealth, the merciful Filaret remained meek and humble, as before, rejoicing only that he could help the poor more. One day he said to his wife: “Wife, let’s make a rich feast and invite the king and his nobles.” The wife prepared everything, thinking of treating the Tsar and the nobles to a truly luxurious dinner, and meanwhile Filaret went to invite guests. On the appointed day, many poor, lame, blind, and wretched people gathered at his house; he came out to meet them, received them cordially, and himself and his family served them. Those who saw this then understood that he really received the King of Heaven in the person of the poor and wretched; for the Lord Jesus Himself said: “Whatever you did to one of the least of My brothers, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40). They said to each other: “Truly this man is all God and a true disciple of Christ, who said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Filaret, releasing the poor, gave each one a piece of gold. For works of mercy, Philaret used the wealth given to him by the king, who, loving him, would have willingly entrusted him with an important position, but Philaret moved away from earthly greatness and kept deep humility in his heart. He often said: “I thank and praise my God, who raised me, a beggar, from the dungeons and raised me to such a height that I could be the grandfather of the queen, this is enough for me; I don’t need anything else.” Having lived to a ripe old age, Filaret received a notification from God that his death was approaching; he ordered a coffin for himself, distributed the money he had to the poor, and when he went to bed, calling his wife, children and grandchildren to him, he announced to them that his death was imminent. They began to cry inconsolably, but he joyfully and calmly blessed everyone and told them: “You know and have seen, my children, my life. The Lord first gave me great wealth; then he experienced poverty; and seeing that I patiently and resignedly endured what was sent, he again elevated me to earthly glory and seated me with the kings and mighty of this world. But I no longer kept my wealth in chests, but through the poor and weak I sent it to God. I ask you, beloved, do not spare the fleeting wealth of this world, but send it to another world, where I am already leaving. I ask you, do not forget your love of strangers, intercede for widows and orphans, visit the sick and those in prison, do not abandon church meetings, do not take someone else’s, do not offend anyone, do not slander, do not rejoice in the misfortune of either friends or enemies, commemorate the dead, and do not forget me, a sinner, in your prayers.” After this, having spoken to each of his grandchildren a few instructive and prophetic words about their fate and having prayed for all of them and for the whole world, he sang the psalm with a beaming face: “I will sing mercy and judgment to You, O Lord,” then he began to read the Lord’s Prayer, and with the words: “Thy will be done!” gave up his soul to God. Even after death, his face retained an expression of joyful calm, which until his old age gave him extraordinary beauty. When the news of his death spread throughout that country, it aroused universal grief; the tsar and nobles and a great multitude of beggars, weeping, accompanied the body of the merciful Philaret to the grave. One relative of Blessed Philaret, a day after his death, had a wondrous dream. “I saw,” he said, “as if I had been transported to an unknown place, and a bright man showed me a river of fire, which frightens me with its noise. And beyond the fiery river I see a bright and joyful paradise. There, a sweet fragrance fills the air, a quiet wind sways the beautiful trees covered with fruits and flowers. There are no words to describe all the good things that the Lord has prepared there for those who love Him. There I saw the righteous, clothed in white robes and enjoying the blessings of heaven. Between them there was one old man whom I suddenly did not recognize. He sat on a golden throne: on one side, newly enlightened children surrounded him, holding candles in their hands, on the other, many beggars crowded to come closer to him. And I asked one young man: “Who is this old man sitting on the throne among these bright men? Isn't it Abraham? And he answered me: “This is Philaret of Amni, who, for his love for the poor and wretched and for his pure and righteous life, like the second Abraham, settles here.” Filaret, when he saw me, began to call me to his place. “Come here,” he said, “and you will receive the same benefits.” And I told him: “I can’t, O blessed one, the fiery river prevents me from crossing it; the path is narrow and the bridge is not convenient.” He tells me: “Be bold and walk fearlessly; for all who are here have walked the same way, and there is no other way.” With these words he extended his hand to me, and I passed safely across the river. But as soon as I touched his hand, the wonderful dream disappeared, and I woke up and became sad, thinking how I would cross the river of fire and reach the villages of paradise.” (According to Ch. M. December 1). 7. Stories about the exploits of piety of saints who walked the narrow path to the kingdom of heaven I. Bishop of Alexandria Theophilus (late 4th and early 5th century) says that a certain Ammonius, a Nitrian ascetic 112 or monk, in order to pacify carnal passion, burned wounds on various parts of his body and from time to time renewed them with hot iron. Another Nitrian monk, St. Macarius of Alexandria, or the younger, lay naked for six months in the monastery swamp, giving himself over to the torment of poisonous mosquitoes. Similar blessing. Theodoret speaks of the famous stylite St. Simeone. This latter, for a long time, allowed himself to be bitten by twenty worms, unusually large and poisonous, in order to “accustom himself to practicing large ones through small feats.” II. At the beginning of the emergence of monasticism, such great men as St. Anthony, St. Hilarion and other patriarchs of monastic life constantly wore hair shirts on their naked bodies and found imitators. Subsequently, examples of this kind are less common; Only among such persons do we find wearing a hair shirt, who were distinguished by special ascetic patience. Among such ascetics are the Greek St. Theodore Trikhina, that is, the hairy one, whose memory is celebrated on April 20; famous Martin, Bishop Toursky, dying and offering his last prayers to God, dressed in a hair shirt, said to the disciples around him: “a Christian should die no other way than in a hair shirt and ashes.” Also examples of great ascetics among monasticism are St. Anthony, St. Hilarion, who died in a hair shirt, contributed to the widespread dissemination of the custom we are talking about. III. In the history of ancient and modern monasticism, as well as in stories about various journeys to St. In some places, about religious processions, another type of ascetic self-mortification is known, which we will now discuss. We mean barefoot or self-deprivation of shoes. Barefoot was based primarily on some very famous examples from veterinary history. covenant; so Moses was ordered to take off his shoes (Ex. 3:5); David flees barefoot from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:30), and Isaiah was commanded to take off his sandals (Isaiah 20:2–4). In Christian antiquity we encounter both exhortations to barefootness and examples of the same kind. Already Clement Alexander. Among the moral instructions necessary for a man is the advice to walk without shoes. He expresses the opinion that the most decent thing for a man is not to wear shoes at all, with the exception of military service, since tying sandals to his feet is, in his judgment, a shameful and humiliating thing, a sign of slavery, just as “chains on the feet of women” are shameful, against which the prophet also armed himself. Isaiah (Isaiah 3:16–18). Indeed, it is known about Clement’s student Origen that he walked barefoot for many years. Other reasons for barefootwear are presented by the famous describer of the life of ancient monks - Cassian the Roman. He finds such reasons for monks in the gospel. He points out that I. Christ Himself prescribes barefoot shoes to His apostles (Luke 10:4; Matt. 10:10), although I. Christ only forbids the apostles to take spare shoes with them, commanding them to be content with simple shoes (Mk. 6:9). IV. Just as some of the Christian ascetics denied themselves shoes, others considered it possible to do without any clothing necessary to cover the body. In the history of Christianity, such examples are not often found. The hermits of the so-called hermitage desert in Egypt walked completely naked; when looking at them, Rev. Macarius of Egypt learned for himself that, despite all the severity of his life, he had not yet reached the degree of self-deprivation to which these hermits had reached. There were also isolated examples of naked ascetics who either lived in caves or in the open air. Sulpicius Severus says about one hermit on Mount Sinai that he had no other cover for “50 years” than what his own long hair provided him with. Something similar is known about the ascetics Onufria and Sophronia. Much more numerous and instructive are examples of extreme ascetic poverty in clothing, which the ascetics of Christian society were able to content themselves with. Since the times of deep Christian antiquity, strong and incessant voices have been heard advocating possible simplicity and unpretentiousness in clothing. Such famous writers of the ancient church as Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian of Carthage in their writings, one might say, outlined harmonious rules of biblical-contemplative asceticism. Clement recommends preferring simple white clothing to any other, because angels and saints are dressed in white. people in heaven (Rev.6:2; Rev.19:8); he warns against colorful and colorful clothes, because such clothes are more pleasing to the eye than they serve any practical need, and because simplicity is the best reflection of Christian holiness and truth. In the Old Testament, clothes that were colorful or mixed from different threads were already prohibited. Silk materials are completely inappropriate for a Christian, not only because they are a completely useless product, but also because silk is the product of worms, which serve as a symbol of inconstancy and changeability of spiritual disposition. A Christian should not use pearls at all, because the very word of God is likened to precious pearls (Matt. 7:6; Matt. 13:45), because the doors of heavenly Jerusalem consist of twelve pearls, and because nature itself, although not prohibiting, nevertheless makes it very difficult to use pearls and gold, hiding the first under water, and the second under the ground. Wearing false hair, as women do, is indecent and completely disgusting, for wearing someone else's hair on your head is as disgusting as having a shaved head. And on whom, in this case, will the priest place his blessing hand? Will he not bless someone else's head when he touches with his hand such hair on a kneeling woman that does not belong to her? Also, a Christian should not decorate his head with wreaths of flowers, for he should not love the opposite of what the Savior’s head was decorated with, and His head wore a crown of thorns. In general, a person who cares about external decorations, but does not care enough about internal purity and beauty, is likened to the Egyptian temples, which, although the outside shone with luxury, were inside filled with cats, crocodiles and other disgusting animals that served for the worship of the pagans. – In the 4th and early 5th centuries, Blessed. Jerome and St. Chrysostom also teaches a lot of wise advice regarding the clothing of a Christian. Blazh. Jerome already gives certain instructions about how monks or ascetics should dress. He demands that monks and nuns wear poor, coarse and dark dresses, however, warning against dirty and slovenly clothes as boasting of poverty. St. Chrysostom, for his part, denounces those who exposed their, so to speak, artificial simplicity in dress. For some persons, although under the pretext of simplicity, wore narrow, black underwear, cloaks and shoes of the same color, but at the same time tried to copy some of the persons depicted in ancient paintings. In return, he praises his faithful student, the rich widow Olympias, for her poor attire, because in appearance she was no different from the poorest people. V. In this series of stories about asceticism, which dealt with such forms of carnal self-mortification as barefoot, complete or partial nudity, it is very opportune to provide information about that ascetic custom, which consists directly in combating the feeling of cold and in accustoming oneself to enduring the most terrible cold. The simplest and most common way to combat the feeling of cold or winter cold is to constantly deliberately keep rooms unheated, even if there is frost in the air. A similar custom is found very early in the history of asceticism. So blessed. Theodoret says about Abraham, bishop of Kara (400), that he considered the use of fire unnecessary for any purpose. The boldest and most difficult form of struggle takes on the unfavorable influence of winds and bad weather in the case when the ascetic remains for many days or even his whole life without any shelter, in the open air. This type of asceticism is naturally found in the east, where the climate, at least during most of the year, is favorable to this type of life or greatly facilitates it. In the history of the ascetics of the ancient church we find many hermits in Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Mesopotamia, about whom the blessed one speaks. Theodoret, and who, according to his story, either stood on pillars, or actually lived in the desert following the example of John the Baptist (Luke I. 56; II, 3), or stayed in cisterns (i.e., containers for water) and in open caves that did not provide any protection, or, finally, settled on cold-prone rocks and mountain peaks, open to all kinds of weather changes. Many of these anchorites (hermits) spent a similar life for more or less a long time, some all their lives. Blessed. Theodoret, you can find similar stories even about pious women, for example, Marina and Cyrus, who wore iron shirts. According to other writers, St. Mary of Egypt remained homeless for more than 47 years, living in the wild desert. – Even in later times, this type of asceticism was preserved to a significant extent. In the writings of Eustathius of Thessaloniki we find references to numerous ascetics who lived outside the shelter - he mentions stylites, those living in trees, cave dwellers, etc. VI. Fasting is one of the most distinctive signs of an ascetic. Fasting, as is known, consists not only in the fact that a certain person abstains from certain types of food or eats food in the most moderate quantities, but also in the fact that with this kind of abstinence is combined the renunciation of all strong and pleasant drinks (of course, from all animal food) and in general from everything that can delight the sense of taste. Let us begin to describe fasting and fasting in Christianity. St. Pachomius, the founder of cenobitic monasticism, following the example of his teacher Palemon, ate only bread and salt, without consuming butter (and if he allowed himself butter on holidays, he mixed it with dust or ashes); nevertheless, he was quite lenient towards the monks subordinate to him. Having forbidden them the consumption of tasty and appetizing dishes, as well as wine, Pachomius established that the brethren should have food cooked on fire every day, that they should have a sufficient amount of bread, and in general took care that the monks had sufficient strength for field and manual work. Once, when Pachomius became aware that the monks of one hostel founded by him, for the sake of greater feat, had not had hot food at the table for two months, as a result of which the monastery cook, taking advantage of his leisure time, prepared at least 500 handicrafts for sale, Pachomius became very angry at the deviation from his instructions - he burned all the cook’s products in front of the astonished monks and addressed them with a strong accusatory word. He told them that it is much easier and more convenient to refuse food that is not prepared and not put on the table than to observe moderation when sufficient and good food is offered to satisfy a person. Only on Pentecost were the monks supposed to eat more meager food, and some monks at this time, such as the monks in Tavenna, did not eat for two or three days or even five in a row. Meat was completely forbidden to the monks, but it was not a great need in hot Egypt. Bread was the main food of the monks. The monks were given two loaves of bread per day, which, according to Cassian, weighed 1 pound or 12 ounces, therefore each loaf weighed 12–14 lots. (It must be remembered that the ancient pound was smaller than the present pound: the ancient pound contained 12 ounces or 24 lots, and not 16 ounces, like the present one). One of these loaves was eaten at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and the other after sunset. On fasting days, the monks were given only the evening portion. The more strict of the monks were content with one loaf of bread a day, while others tried to eat even less: so St. Macarius Alexander. for 3 years I ate from 10 to 8 lots of bread every day. St. Hilarion, from the age of 31 to the age of 35, did not eat more than 12 lots of barley bread daily. For Marcian of Cyrus on the Euphrates, the usual daily portion of bread was a quarter of a pound, or only 6 lots. Quite moderate demands regarding the fasting of monks are expressed by Vasily V., who, as is known, in his rules for monks, gave a model of monastic life for the entire Orthodox East. Strictly prescribing to abstain from meat, and at times from fish, butter, wine (for example, on Pentecost and other days of fasting), Vasily is a champion of the rule that the degree of fasting must be commensurate with the state of health and the work that the monk is engaged in. He prescribes to avoid everything that can harm health, any excess in food and too much deprivation in it. Greek monasteries of subsequent times, faithfully following the example of Basil, never introduced too strict regulations regarding food. Until now we have talked about monastic fasts prescribed by various monastic rules, and therefore forced. The voluntary fasts of individual ascetics should be distinguished from these fasts. As arbitrary, they are very diverse. Church history has preserved much instructive information about fasts of this kind. During his stay in the desert, St. Anthony suffered strong attacks from his body, which did not want to completely submit to his spirit; his means of combating sinful desires was intense fasting. At the indicated time of his asceticism, he lived either in a dilapidated fortress, or in an abandoned cave, which once served for the burial of the dead; His only food was bread and water, which he usually ate once a day at sunset, and sometimes after 2 or even 4 days; With both bread and water, he stocked up for a whole six months in advance. Anthony's disciple, St. Hilarion was guided in his own life by the following thought: “in order to tame a donkey, that is, your own body, for this you need to feed it not with barley but with chaff.” Hilarion was content with the most unpretentious food, taking it every few days, and finally reached the point that it was enough for him to eat food once a week. Oh St. The Egyptian story of Macarius tells many instructive things. So, she talks about the courageous struggle that he waged with a feeling of thirst. To his disciple Evagrius, who asked him for water, since Evagrius was exhausted under the scorching rays of the southern sun, Macarius said: “It’s enough for you that you have shade, which many travelers and sailors are deprived of. Think about it, my son, for more than 20 years now I have never gotten enough sleep and have not eaten enough bread or drunk enough water. During all this time, I eat bread to a certain extent, I also drink water to a certain extent, I devote only a little time to sleep, because I fall asleep standing, leaning against the wall.” The ascetic Arseny, in order not to give pleasure to his sense of smell, which was subtle and developed, did not drink any other water except the smelly one in which he soaked his dry bread and palm leaves. Also, Postumius cared so little about satisfying the feeling of thirst that his tongue became dry and cracked. John Moschus says that one monk abstained from drinking so much for three years that he finally fell into a fever. – Other ascetics expressed their asceticism by abstaining from all bread. This is what Abraham of Carra and Evagrius did, and this is what Hilarion did. The latter, in his old age, from 64 to 80 years of his life, ate only cabbage leaves, sprinkled with a little flour. And Posidonius of Thebaid and the monk Alas deprived themselves of bread for decades - the first for 40, and the second for 80. Palladius tells about a certain John that until the year 90 he ate only tree fruits and never ate food cooked on fire. Other ascetics showed their abstinence in the fact that although they had food before their eyes, they tried not to eat it for as long as possible, accustoming themselves, as it were, to not pay attention to food at all. This is what simple Paul did. Elpidias ate food only on Saturdays and Sundays for 25 years; therefore, in appearance, he seemed to be a skeleton of skin and bones. St. Fevronia ate a little once every two days. St. Euphrosia or Eupraxia, daughter of Senator Antigonus, first fasted two days a week, then four, and finally six, with the goal of defeating the evil one, who tempted her in a sleepy state. St. Sava, who lived in a cave near Edessa, finally reached the point where he could eat only once a week, and the merest food at that, consisting of millet bread with water and salt. A certain hermit John for 3 whole years neither lay down nor sat down, but only stood, and strengthened his strength with the Eucharist, which he received every Saturday. We cannot fail to mention here the exploits of our Russian teacher. John the Recluse. The exploits of this ascetic are amazing. “Truly blessed is he who dedicated himself, writes Polycarp, to the will of God and kept His immaculate commandments, keeping body and soul without defilement of the flesh and soul; I'm talking about Saint John, who shut himself up in a narrow cave. He spent thirty years in great abstinence, suppressing his body with strong fasting, wearing glands all over his body.” At the beginning, for three years in a row he spent two or three days without poverty, and sometimes a whole week; Heavy glands on the body increased the severity of hunger and thirst, but the carnal passion did not go out. He went to the cave of St. Anthony and stayed there day and night, praying at his tomb. The saint announced to him: “John, John! you need to shut yourself up here in order to at least weaken the abuse through invisibility and silence; “The Lord will help you with the prayers of the saints.” And John shut himself up in the narrowest and darkest cave; the swearing did not stop; 30 years were spent in this cave and thirty years were a time of painful struggle. Not knowing what to do with himself, John decided on an even more difficult feat: he dug a hole, sat down across his chest and covered himself with earth. I spent the entire Great Lent in this situation; his legs were burning, his veins were writhing, the heat was consuming his insides; John rejoiced in spirit, not feeling the fire of sin. Only the terrible vision terrified him. “Lord, my God! forever have you forsaken me? have mercy on me, for You are the only one who loves mankind,” the sufferer prayed. And when he finished the prayer, a light shone, and the terrible serpent, hitherto ready to devour him, disappeared, and he heard a voice: “Here is help for you, John; but take heed to yourself so that no worse thing happens to you. According to the strength of your patience, it has been allowed to you, so that you will be burned like gold; The master assigns hard work to the strong and strong servants, and bad and easy work to the weak and weak.” St. John himself spoke about such exploits to one brother who was in great despondency (“History of the Russian Church,” Archbishop Philaret Gumilevsky, trans. 1st, pp. 244–245). Oh St. Mary of Egypt, whom the Eastern Church represents as a model of fasting, knows the following: while staying in the East Jordanian desert, for three years she was saturated with the bread she had taken with her, and then for 40 years she ate only the grains and water that the desert provided her. When she, who was considered long dead, was met by the pious monk Zosima and offered food, she was able to eat only 3 lentil grains, since she was completely unaccustomed to ordinary human food. From the point of view of modern physiological science, stories about the long fast of ascetics do not represent anything incredible. Physiology claims that a person, like many animals, for example, dogs, horses, if you give them water to drink and do not block access to air, can live without any food for several days and even weeks. One criminal in Toulouse, who wanted to starve himself, but drank water, died only on the 63rd day of his fast. It is also known from the testimonies of the most truthful travelers in India that some of the Indian ascetics actually support themselves only with water and air. An example of a forty-day fast was shown by the doctor Tanner, which was reported in all newspapers. VII. Next to fasting, celibacy or virgin life is one of the distinguishing signs of an ascetic. One who strictly fasts or leads a virgin life is usually said to be an ascetic. Indeed, celibacy or virginity is one of the most difficult feats among other ascetic self-deprivations. There was a custom among ascetics to pacify the inner heat of their passions through cold, for which they resorted to cold water, ice and snow. This also includes the desire of some ascetics to subdue their lusts by lying on thorn bushes, thistles and wrens. In this last respect, a wonderful example is provided by St. Benedict, who, wanting to banish the image of a beautiful woman from his imagination, entered a thicket of thorns and wounded himself on all sides. A further form of asceticism in maintaining chastity consisted in the avoidance on the part of men of absolutely any meetings with women. Remarkable in this regard is the story of one Egyptian monk, Paul. One day, when Paul chanced upon a woman, he took flight as if he had encountered a “lion.” In the legends of John Moschus, one abbot tells his monks: “a monk should with the same care avoid any contact with a woman with whom salt is protected from water, in which the salt dissolves and disappears.” In other cases, the avoidance of meeting a woman extended so far that the ascetics suppressed family feelings and did not want to see either their sisters or their mother (based on Matthew 12:50). Pachomius refused to see his sister, and even when she became a nun and the abbess of a special convent, he spoke to her only through the medium of the monk Peter, an elderly man with a highly chaste life. A similar story tells about Pior, John Calamite, Theodore, Marcian and other ascetics of the east, and in the west about Benedict of Nursia, who allowed his sister Scholastica to see him only once a year, and this meeting should not last more than one day. Some did not even want to see their own mothers; this is known about Theodore, the student of Pachomius, Pimen, Nufa and Simeon the stylite. The latter did not want to see his mother, despite her persistent requests to do so. – This also includes the strict efforts of the monks to protect their monasteries from women visiting them. (Compiled from the book by Prof. Moscow Spiritual Academician A. Lebedeva: “Stories from the history of Christ. ascetic. life" and other decree. in its place to sources). 8. A person must constantly improve morally “Walking in the forest, in the garden, or in the meadow and seeing young shoots of plants, fruits on trees and a variety of wild flowers, take for yourself a lesson from all this God’s vegetation, just such a lesson: every tree in the summer certainly gives off significant shoots, certainly grows in volume and height - every tree seems to be strengthening every year to move forward with the strength God has given it; so tell yourself: and I must certainly every day, every year become morally higher and higher, better and better, more perfect and perfect, I must move forward on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven, or to the Heavenly Father, by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Spirit, living and acting in me. Just as a meadow is decorated with many flowers, so the meadow of my soul should be decorated with all the flowers of virtues; just as trees bear flowers and then fruits, so my soul should bear the fruits of faith and good deeds.” (From the book “My Life in Christ” by Archpriest John Sergiev of Kronstadt, vol. 1, 1st ed., 1891, p. 161). 13th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 87th ch. XXI, 33–43 art. 1. The parable of the vineyard and the husbandmen Listen to the parable, the Savior once said, addressing the members of the Sanhedrin and the people: “There was a certain owner of a house who planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower and, having given it to winegrowers, went away for a long time. When the time for gathering fruit approached, he sent his servants to the winegrowers to receive from them the fruits of the vineyard. The vinedressers seized his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than before; and they did the same to them, and many others were either beaten or killed. Having yet another son dear to him, the lord of the vineyard said: What should I do? I will send my beloved son: perhaps when they see him they will be ashamed. But the vinedressers, seeing their son, said to each other: This is the heir; Let's go, kill him and take possession of his inheritance. And they seized him, took him out of the vineyard and killed him. So, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers? They say to Him: He will put these evildoers to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other winegrowers, who will give him the fruit in their own time.” 113 Thus the Pharisees and scribes were forced for the second time to make an involuntary conscious; they had to pronounce judgment on themselves, expressing personally that they agreed with the justice of God, which would deprive them of their exclusive rights and transfer those rights to the pagans. And Jesus Christ confirmed this, saying: “He will come and destroy those winegrowers; and will give the vineyard to others" 114. The Pharisees and high priests, who first pronounced their sentence, and now heard the confirmation of Jesus Christ and understood the parable, said: “Let it not be” 115. But He, looking at them: “as proof that not only justice itself requires this, but that God himself predicted and determined so,” cited a prophecy, saying: “Have you never read in Scripture: the stone that the builders rejected, the same one became the head of the corner; This is from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes. 116 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a people who bear the fruits thereof.” 117 “To prove to them that St. The Scripture prophesied about their actions, He asked them if they had not read in the psalm about the Stone that was neglected by the builders, and which nevertheless, due to the wondrous plans of the Lord, became the main corner stone that connected the two walls 118. How will they remain builders any longer when all their plans are rejected and cancelled? Isn't the ancient prophecy about the Messiah being visibly fulfilled, that God will call other builders to build His church? “With this parable, Jesus Christ teaches many things: that God has provided for the Jews from ancient times, that from the very beginning they are prone to murder; that all possible measures were taken to correct them, that even after they beat the prophets, God did not abandon them, but also sent the Son to them; that both the New and Old Testaments are one and the same God; that through the death of Christ a great work was accomplished; that the Jews will suffer extreme punishment for the cross of Christ and for their crimes; that the Gentiles will be called, the Jews will be rejected. Jesus Christ proposed this parable in order to show the severity and unforgivability of the sin of the Jews when, with all their care for them, they allowed harlots and tax collectors to get ahead of them. God's care for them was great and their carelessness was exorbitant because He did what the farmer needed to do himself, planted a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, etc., and there was not much left for them: to take care only of what was already there and to preserve what was entrusted, since nothing was forgotten, but everything was prepared. But even with all this, they did not take advantage of anything, although they received a lot from God to a large extent. When God brought them out of Egypt, he gave them a law, gave them a civil existence, built an altar, erected a church “and went away,” that is, he endured for a long time, did not always and did not punish immediately after a crime. He sent “slaves,” i.e., prophets, to “receive the fruits,” i.e., obedience proven by deeds. But they showed their malice after such care for them: not only did they not produce fruit, which revealed their inactivity, but they were even indignant at those who came. If there was nothing to give, although they were obliged to do so, then they should not be annoyed, not indignant, but beg. They not only became indignant, but also stained their hands with blood: they put the messengers to death, deserving execution themselves. Therefore, God sent a second and third time, so that their malice and the love for mankind of the Sender would be visible. He did not immediately send the Son, so that they would feel how unfairly they had treated the sent slaves, and, putting aside anger, would be ashamed of His coming. The words: “perhaps they will be ashamed of My Son” do not express ignorance, but indicate that they should have been ashamed. If they were not grateful to the slaves, then at least they should have respected the dignity of the Son. They had to come and ask for pardon for their crimes, but they behave as before, even commit new atrocities, worse than the previous ones. Christ Himself points to this, saying: “Complete the measure of your fathers” 119; The prophets accused them of the same thing before, saying: “Your hands are full of blood 120; and bloodshed follows bloodshed" 121. But they did not become more prudent. Although in the Decalogue the commandment was given to them: Thou shalt not kill, and they were ordered to abstain from many other things, however, with all these and many other incentives to fulfill the commandment, they did not abandon their evil intention. Seeing the Son, they say: “Let’s go and kill Him.” For what? Was it because He honored you: being God, He became a man for you and performed countless miracles, forgave your sins, and called you into the kingdom? And how, despite their wickedness, they are extremely insane; how reckless is their impulse to kill: “let us kill Him,” they say, “and His inheritance will be ours” 122. And where do they intend to kill? "outside the vineyard." So Jesus Christ predicts the very place where he will be killed, and brings them to an involuntary consciousness by which they themselves pronounced their judgment; and there is no fairer sentence when those being punished blame themselves. He assures the Jews in every possible way that the unbelievers will be expelled and the pagans accepted. He made this clear by his treatment of the Canaanite woman, the selection of a colt upon entering Jerusalem, the example of the centurion, and many others; He points to this even now and adds: “This is from the Lord and is marvelous in our eyes,” letting those know that the believing pagans, and those of the Jews themselves who believe, will be one, despite all their previous differences between themselves; that all this is happening according to God’s determination and is wonderful, amazing for everyone. He calls Himself a stone, and Jewish teachers as builders. Stone, i.e. They rejected Christ when they said: “He is not from God; He deceives the people; You are a Samaritan, and you have a demon" 123. But the words of Jesus Christ did not enlighten the Jews; they were not ashamed of either the testimony of the prophets or their own verdict. Thus they were completely blinded by lust, vanity and attachment to the temporary.” (Extracted in abbreviated form from the book: “Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, Son of God”, Lebedinsk). 2. The bitter fate of unrepentant sinners “God is far from the wicked,” says the wise Solomon (Proverbs 15:28), and therefore they are unhappy in this life. How often it is observed that some people, despite all their apparent happiness, are so unhappy in their souls that in despair they wish themselves to die, and even, as often happens nowadays, cause death to themselves. And that the cause of all these misfortunes lies in sin, rarely does anyone think about it. When a person, as a result of grave and unrepentant sins, has left God, then God also leaves him; then the evil spirit takes possession of the whole heart of the sinner and makes the latter unhappy. And torment of conscience - is this a small punishment for an unrepentant sinner? The voice of conscience, no matter how hard they try to drown it out, nowhere gives rest to the sinner, and at last the word of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled: “There is no peace for the ungodly” (Is. 57:21). But all these punishments, no matter how severe they may be, will cease with the death of a person. But what awaits the unrepentant sinner beyond the grave? It’s scary to even say: eternal torment in the eternal, unquenchable fire of Gehenna, prepared for the devil and his angels. Unless you turn, Jesus Christ said to the stubborn Jews, and repent, you will all perish (Luke 13:3). To explain this idea, we will tell one story written in the “Four Menaions” on the 28th of March. “In the African city of Carthage there lived a certain man named Taxiot, a warrior. He spent his life carelessly and sinned a lot. At that time, an infectious disease occurred in Carthage, from which many people died. Fearing death, Taxiot repented of his sins and moved from the city to the village. But here he fell into the sin of adultery with the wife of a farmer and a few days after that he died from a snake bite. They buried him in a nearby monastery. Soon after his burial, the monks of the monastery heard a terrible cry from the tomb: “Have mercy on me! have mercy on me!” Having dug up the coffin, the monks, to their great surprise, found Taxiot alive and in tears; they began to question him about what had happened to him, but he did not say anything, but only asked them to take him to Bishop Tarasius. For three days, Taxiot could not come to his senses and only on the fourth day he spoke about what had happened to him. “Fathers and brothers,” the warrior Taxiot began his story, “when I was dying, I saw terrible murins (demons) before me; I also saw two bright young men (angels) who, taking my soul, carried it past various ordeals, where they torture the souls of the dead about their sins - and as many sins as there are so many ordeals; in each of them the demons represented my sins. But St. The angels “matched good deeds to my evil deeds, and thus the ordeal was over.” And so we reached the fornication ordeal. Here the demons presented all my prodigal sins that I had committed since childhood. The holy angels said: God forgave him all the bodily sins he committed while living in the city, for he repented of them. But the demons said: after moving from the city to the village, he sinned with the landowner’s wife. Hearing this, St. The angels, not finding a single good deed that could be opposed to the sin of adultery, left me. And so, the evil spirits began to beat me cruelly. Then I was cast into hell, where sinners suffered. Here I heard incessant cries: woe to us, woe! It is difficult to describe the misery and torment that I saw there. They groan, and no one regrets them; they cry, but no one consoles them; They beg for mercy, but no one heeds their plea. I too was imprisoned with sinners. Suddenly, I see, a small light appeared, and two angels appeared to me; I began to beg them to take me out of there, promising to repent of everything. And they answered: you are praying prematurely: no one will leave here until the general resurrection; I began to ask them even more diligently. Then one angel said to another: Do you guarantee for him that he will repent? He replied: I guarantee it. And so they, shaking hands with each other, took me out of the underworld and brought me to my body, ordering me to enter it. My body was dark and stinking, so I didn’t want to enter it. But the angels said: it is impossible for you to repent except in the body with which you sinned. Then I entered the body and began to shout: have mercy on me!” With this Taxiot finished his story. He was offered food, but he refused to accept it. Moving from church to church, Taxiot prayed to God with tears and said out loud to everyone: “Woe to those who sin, woe to those who do not repent, woe to those who defile their bodies”! He spent 40 days in prayer and tears of repentance and after that he peacefully departed to the Lord. You see how severely torment Taxiot was subjected to for one sin, for which he did not have time to repent, what unimaginable torment awaits those who do not repent for several years, who live so carelessly that they do not think about their sins at all. My friends! Let us take pity from our hearts on such unfortunates, we will try to reason with them in order to save their souls, we ourselves will repent incessantly, we will mourn our sins throughout our lives in order to always be ready for death, then only we can avoid the fate of unrepentant sinners. 3. About God's long-suffering The Word of God teaches, and the voice of conscience of each of us confirms that our evil and wicked deeds anger the Lord God and call upon us punishment from Him. Many sins are committed by all of us, sometimes due to the tempting power of evil, sometimes due to the weakness of the flesh in the fight against temptation. But there are also those among us who, due to the darkening of their hearts with unbelief and pride, consciously and stubbornly resist the grace of God and indulge in sin and wickedness. In bewilderment, with a sorrowful and shaken heart, how can a Christian not exclaim, in this case: how long, O Lord, will Thy enemy be exalted (Ps. 12:5) and that the way of the wicked will be sung (Jer. 12:1)? “Let us not, brothers, boldly test the ways of God’s Providence, which we cannot comprehend with our weak minds, but rather, in this regard, let us seek consolation and confirmation in faith in the word of God.” Once during the Savior’s earthly life, His beloved disciples, James and John, asked to bring down fire from heaven in order to destroy the inhabitants of a Samaritan village who had offended them by refusing hospitality. What did the Lord say to them in response to this request? You don’t know what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of man did not come to destroy the souls of men, but to save (Luke 9:55–56). Here is for us some explanation of the great mystery of God - His inexpressible long-suffering towards our sins and iniquities! – It lies in God’s endless love for the human race, in calling everyone to salvation. The Lord our Savior Himself, who descended to earth and became incarnate out of great love for us, endured spitting and strangulation, the cross and death from His unworthy servants, and is long-suffering for His crucifiers. Lord, when You ascended to the cross, You forbade the earth to devour those who crucified You, but You commanded hell to release the centurion, You came with taxes, not death (from the verse of the great fifth) - this is how God’s patience is depicted in one of the church songs. The Lord, with His love, wants to overcome the malice of the crucifiers so that some will leave Golgotha ​​with a contrite spirit, beating their hearts, so that at the cross there will also be those who would confess Him as the Son of God. He endures persecution from Saul in order to later make him a chosen vessel, appointed to preach His name among the pagans. He suffers reproach from every sinner who crucifies Him with their iniquities, waiting in every possible way for him to turn to Himself. Therefore, the entire time of our earthly existence can be called the time of God’s long-suffering. Let us try to use it for our spiritual benefit, for our eternal salvation. May none of us, because of God’s long-suffering, think of giving room to our passions and lusts. In this case, this long-suffering of God towards us will serve not to justify us, but to our greater condemnation! Terrible is the judgment and terrible torment that awaits beyond the grave of sinners and wicked people who despised the goodness of God and died in unrepentance! However, God’s judgment is often carried out in this life on the wicked and sinners, when they continue to stagnate in their iniquity and persist in sinful bitterness. The Lord waited a long time for repentance from the wicked people who lived before the flood; but when he saw that there was no repentance in them, he destroyed them with a flood. He also expected repentance from the Sodomites and destroyed them with fire; For a long time he expected repentance from Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, but when this latter neglected His long-suffering, he drowned him in the depths of the sea with all his army. “The same judgment of God,” says Saint Tikhon, “even now befalls the lawless, those who are careless about God’s forbearance! We often hear how lawless people are sometimes amazed at their very lawlessness. (Although not all of them, according to the unknown destinies of God, are punished here, nevertheless, all of them are cut by death, like an ax, and thrown into eternal fire!)” Let us recognize the great love of our Lord for us, His inexpressible mercy and long-suffering for us. Let us repent of our sins and iniquities, while the time of His long-suffering continues, while His holy voice is still heard: repent (Matthew 4:17), so that the death and judgment of Christ in sins may not befall us. Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of your compassions, cleanse our iniquities (Ps. 50:3). 4. The Lord endures for a long time, but it hurts The Lord is generous and merciful, long-suffering and abounding in mercy. Hourly and even every minute we anger Him with our grave sins, but the Lord endures everything and waits for our repentance and correction. He does not want the death of the sinner (Ezek. 33:11) and is always ready to have mercy on the repentant, no matter how great and grave his sins may be. An instructive and comforting example in this regard is the repentance of the Ninevites. The inhabitants of the ancient city of Nineveh once greatly angered God: they completely forgot Him and indulged in all sorts of vices, and so, God decided to completely destroy them and for this purpose sent the prophet Jonah there to preach. Jonah began to walk around the city and preach, saying: “Forty more days, and Nineveh will be destroyed!” And the Ninevites believed God, and declared a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. This word reached the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and took off his royal vestments, and put on sackcloth, and sat down on ashes. And he commanded to proclaim: “So that neither people nor cattle should eat anything or drink water, and that people and cattle should be covered with sackcloth, and cry out loudly to God, and that everyone should turn from his evil way and from the violence of his hands. Who knows, maybe God will have mercy and turn away His burning anger from us, and we will not perish.” And God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, and God regretted the disaster that he said he would bring on them, but did not bring. See, Christians, how merciful the Lord is! But at the same time, know that He is just, that although He waits a long time for our repentance, He punishes greatly. An example of this can be the same Ninevites about whom, in addition to the prophet Jonah, another prophet, Nahum, preached. Let's say a few words about this Old Testament saint, whose memory is celebrated on December 1st. The holy prophet Nahum came from the city of Elkiseya, lying on the banks of the Jordan River, from the tribe of Simeon. He, just like the prophet Jonah, prophesied about Nineveh - he predicted that this city would perish from water and fire, which, indeed, came true. The inhabitants of the city of Nineveh, although they repented through the preaching of the prophet Jonah, but not for long; Having seen that Jonah's prophecy did not come true over them, they again returned to lawless deeds. Then the wrath of God befell them. At Nineveh there was a large lake surrounding the city; One day there was a strong earthquake, during which almost the entire city drowned in that lake, and the other part of the inhabitants who escaped on the mountain was consumed by fire, and thus Nahum’s prophecy came true. This incident clearly shows how just the Lord is. Be afraid, Christian, to offend your God and Creator with grave sins: God endures for a long time out of His love for mankind, but at the same time it hurts. In countless experiences, sometimes there are special, sharply outstanding cases where the judgment of God, striking a crime immediately, reminds of itself to those of us who forget that the words of the Lord will not continue to what He speaks, and that the Lord will not touch the promises, just as Netiia thinks touching. Who can stand against His wrath? And who can resist His fury in anger? His wrath melts away the powers and the stones are torn away from Him (Nahum.1:6). Among such obvious examples of the wrath of God is the following incident. In the village In the B-th district there lived one peasant family, consisting of an old mother and two sons, of whom the eldest was married and the youngest was single. At one time (it was in 1862) the brothers quarreled among themselves over something. The elder, who was drunk at that time, not wanting to listen to accusations of his reproachful behavior from the younger, decided, by the right of the elder, to use fists. The younger one, conscious of his justice, did not consider it necessary to give in to the drunken man, and a fight began. The old woman’s mother was lying in bed sick at the time, but she saw and remembered everything that happened and, gathering her last strength, leaned on a crutch and went to the place of the fight. It occurred to her to use her crutch on the drunken man’s back, but he, with the words: “None of your business, mother,” roughly pushed her away; the weak old woman fell from this push like a sheaf and gave her soul to God. An investigation began, the corpse was opened, and it turned out to be a bruise that caused death; When it comes to the criminal, he locks himself up. The younger brother, out of cowardice, also did not dare to tell the truth. But, besides his own family, the matter could not have happened without outside witnesses: another family lived nearby and - wonderful! - the same composition: an old mother and two sons, of which, just like there, the eldest is married, and the youngest is single. As closest neighbors, they were demanded for questioning, and although they were all eyewitnesses to the incident, they stubbornly refused everything and were not afraid to confirm their lies with an oath. Of course, this did not prevent the case from being discovered, and the culprits were sent to prison. The neighbors, who under oath renounced any participation in the incident, were recognized by human courts as inviolable from the case and left free. But now the judgment of God against false witnesses opens. About two months after the end of the judicial investigation into the above-mentioned case, the family of oath-breakers was punished: first of all, the old mother was found dead. They immediately let the right people know, and according to a medical examination, it turned out that she died from a blow. Since no traces of violence were discovered, the case was consigned to the will of God, and the body - in its turn, to the earth. One might have thought that this would be the end: but this was only the beginning of God’s wrath. Less than two or three weeks had passed since the last event - the daughter-in-law of a suddenly deceased old woman was found dead in the arable land, on all fours, with her head buried in the ground, as she was, with a sickle in her hand. An investigation was carried out, and the case was consigned to oblivion. But the hand of the Lord is high. The line was behind the older brother, and she did not slow down. Having buried his mother and wife, the elder brother himself found himself in new trouble; being drunk, he quarreled with a fellow villager, and, as often happens, the quarrel soon turned into a fight; At this time, the unfortunate man hit his opponent with a stick so accurately that he died two days later. The investigation began again... But, strange thing! - during the investigation of the case, a stick was presented with which the fatal blow was made - it turned out to be no thicker than a finger and so flexible! Moreover, the blow was, one might say, so indecisive that only one miracle could have given it such a formidable effect. The killer was sent to prison. What remains is his younger brother... The thought of the terrible fate that befell his family haunted him, and he went crazy... So the righteous wrath of God, in a very short time, destroyed to the ground a whole family of sinners! No matter how you explain this case, in the end you will have to admit that God cannot be mocked; that as much as He is merciful, He is also just, and that sooner or later, grave sin will receive its retribution, if not in this life, then in the future life. So remember this, Christian, and write in your heart: “The Lord endures for a long time, and for that he beats you painfully!” (“Sunday Day” 1895, No. 47). 5. Under what conditions can a Christian be a living member of the church? 124 The human race, as descended from a single Creator, should be a closely knit family, one home, under the leadership of God as the Father. After the fall of the first people, the human race not only forgot and abandoned God - its heavenly Father, but also divided into tribes and peoples living in hostility among themselves. The Heavenly Father was pleased to bring people closer to Him (Eph. 2:13–18) and unite them through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. The Savior reconciled, led and united with Himself all things in His body - the church (Eph.1:10), becoming its foundation and head (Eph.1:22; Eph.2:21-22; 1 Cor.3:11). The Word of God compares the church of Christ to the building of God, the house of God (1 Cor. 3:10; Eph. 2:22; Heb. III, 22), calls Christ the foundation (Col. II, 9) and the corner stone (1 Pet. 2:6-7; Eph. 2:20), and the believers - members of the church - living stones (1 Pet. 2:5). The house is strong at its foundation and corners. And the church is firm and strong, until it is invincible by the forces of hell (Matthew 16:18), by Christ. The scribes and Pharisees rejected Christ as the Messiah, as the organizer of the kingdom of God on earth. But He, rejected by them, is the Founder of the church on earth. The stone, which was built carelessly, became the cornerstone (Matt. 21:42; Ps. 117:22). In order for the corners and walls of the building to be strong with a solid foundation and strength, each stone from which the building is constructed must be firmly interlocked with other stones. It happens that a stone loses its connection with the others, falls out of the wall, breaks and is trampled on. New stones are placed in place of fallen stones. Thus, the building (house) remains unharmed and well-maintained; while the fallen stones are broken and destroyed. If a Christian means anything, then it is in union only with Christ and other members of the church. He remains in the church as long as he has a union with Christ and with other members of the church, as long as he generally forms a living part of it. If he breaks his connection either with Christ or with the members of the church, then what is he? Nothing more than a stone falling out of a strong building, trampled under the feet of those passing by and destroyed. But what binds Christians in a living building - the church? Faith and love. Faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Redeemer of the world, faith in the church as such a Divine institution, belonging to which a Christian is in real communion with Christ and all-sanctifying grace. But the church is a living union of its constituent members. Christ is united with the church by His divine love for it. Love, like cement, unites all members of the church. However, the necessity of connecting each individual member of the church with others through love is not recognized as vividly as it should be. It is usually imagined that one can be in church regardless of the relationship one has to one another. This is a deep misconception. Let us imagine, for example, that the head of a house is at odds with some of his members. What does this lead to? In most cases, the result is that someone who lives at odds with his family stops loving his activities, fulfilling his duties towards it, and deviates towards some kind of vice. But the evil doesn't stop there. Such a person at the same time is also a bad Christian who runs away from prayers, does not visit the church of God and generally does not fulfill his Christian duties, that is, he who does not have love and peace with his neighbors breaks off communion with Christ. What kind of church member is he? He is like a stone in a building that has lost its connection with the others and is ready to fall out. But the stone in the wall of a building can be joined with cement to hold it in place. And a Christian, in order to remain a living member of the church, must again be united in love with other Christians who come into contact with him, otherwise he, as a member of the church, is lost. Oh, how necessary is mutual love between Christians in order to be in deed and truth in communion with Christ and the Church! Unfortunately, the need for love and peace between individual members of the church is not recognized. The life of modern Christians presents more and more frequent cases of clashes based on worldly interests and various manifestations of anger. Do not flatter yourself, brothers! By being hostile to each other, we are deprived of access to the love of Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the love of the Savior and the grace of the Holy Spirit act like blood in the members of a living body. Blood is distributed by the heart throughout the body only if all its members are inseparable. It does not reach those of them who are in disunity with those closest to them. And the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit are communicated to the Christian not as an individual member, but only as a constituent part of a single indivisible body - the church. Given the enmity and anger of Christians against each other, what kind of unity can there be! And in this case, is it conceivable to communicate the love of Christ and saving grace? Those who have ears to hear, let them hear and let them avoid enmity and malice in every possible way! (Christian conversations. 1899 No. 8). 6. You must constantly think about your salvation One often hears the cry of people ignorant of religious life: is it my business to think about salvation? Is it possible, among the various activities and pleasures of life, to seek one kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33)? The pathetic one, in his blindness, does not see that, by abandoning the concerns of salvation, he abandons not only his most sacred duty, but also all the true joys of life that follow the fulfillment of this duty, and only under this condition are given to people. Is it my business to think about salvation?.. Poor, perishing soul! Whose business is this?.. If this were left only to the will of those who wished it - if it were only a random need, which not everyone has the opportunity and means to satisfy - then one could say: this is none of my business. But concern for salvation is the common responsibility of everyone, and mine in the same way as everyone else. Is it my business to think about salvation? Whose business is it? These citizens of the desert, inhabitants of solitary cells, people who have doomed themselves to only deeds of piety, to whom I pay due tribute of reverence, but I dare not undertake to imitate?.. I know that not everyone can accommodate the words of their lofty vows... But with the exception of these vows, with the exception of the external way of life, which is beyond my strength, is there still something left that I could imitate in them, to which I am equally obliged like them?.. Shall I say that I have the right to love God less than them; that I can value less than them the merits of the death of Christ the Savior on the cross; that I have the opportunity with impunity not to use the means of salvation provided to me, like everyone else?.. Oh, my God! no no! Is it my business to care about salvation?.. Oh, life, earthly life, you give me too clear an answer to this. Given to us without our will, not terminated by our will, you, at your longest, up to several decades, are so short that the most ardent defender and seeker of your joys will not consider you the only goal of our existence; you, and in your shortest continuation from a few days to a few years, can be so long that even in a young heart you can plant a spark of thirst for another life, more joyful. I am afraid to lose even one day, knowing that he will not return; I'm afraid to use it for some vain concern or pleasure. I feel sorry for the day I spent carelessly; I feel terrible after one day spent in sinful pleasure, which leaves only a trace of repentance in my soul. The voice of conscience, as well as the teaching of the Gospel, constantly tell me that there will one day be a day of judgment, when it is necessary to give an answer to God for every moment of life. What will I bring to this trial? I have already deceived myself enough with the hope that there will still be time for worries and salvation; Now half of my life has passed (God knows, is there more?) and has brought me nothing for the future: what if the other one passes in the same way? No, concern for the salvation of the soul does not belong to certain years: my conscience, trembling at the judgment of God, tells me this very clearly now; this care must accompany a whole life, which is all preparation for eternity. I leave it to you, my soul, to choose your life or death... No, you will not choose eternal death for yourself at a distance from God, in the terrible torments of hell, you will not dare to exchange eternal bliss for the temporary sweetness of sin. But if you value the bliss of eternity so much, don’t tell me: there will still be time to earn it; I still have time to prepare for it. I do not remind you that only God knows when the time of your transition to eternity will come; that, perhaps, before you say: behold, soon you will need to think about eternity, the angel of death will open its doors to you!.. I want to judge you from your words before the final judgment comes, after which there is no correction... Do you value the bliss of heaven? You will not give it up for any blessings of the world, which will one day leave you, just as you will leave it?.. Why don’t you try to deserve it more, to prepare yourself better for it? Why are you wasting time in vain, at the price of which you could buy yourself a greater measure of bliss?.. And let the evil of your carelessness be limited to this only, that you would not acquire the right to a greater reward. But don’t you know that not a single minute of our life passes without a trace, that every minute in which we have not done good and have not earned a reward is a minute of more or less serious sin, for which we will one day accept punishment? Look to what end you are leading yourself... Beware, beware, my soul, how dangerous it is to walk, redeeming the time, for the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16). Is it my business to think about salvation? Mine, mine, my beloved Savior! I understand this when, in moments when my soul is illuminated by the light of Your grace, I look at Your cross. Oh, how clear to me in these moments is the saving voice of the Gospel: how clear, how strong and binding then its commandments become for me! Shame and sorrow cover my soul when, at the foot of Your cross, I look at my former life! Someday my disastrous blindness must end! It’s time for me to finally come to the conclusion that if my soul, my eternal life is dear to me, then I need to work for my salvation, for which the Lord has done so much. I won't put it off any longer. I will try to do what I can for my salvation, at least from now on my main concern will be salvation... Is it difficult to reconcile concerns about salvation with matters of the calling? What a daring and senseless lie! I take upon myself many varied tasks, varied ministries, and I am not afraid that it will be difficult to combine them, but I consider it difficult to combine a pious mood of spirit with the affairs of my calling. It is not difficult for me to combine with the affairs of my family life concerns about pleasing another, on whom I depend or from whom I expect some benefit for myself; on the contrary, people-pleasing adds strength and activity to me, makes me able to work twice as hard in order to have time to do what is necessary for my family, and outside the home not to miss the opportunity to do what pleases the one whose attention and favor I value. And when it comes to pleasing God, it seems difficult to me to combine the work of pleasing God with family matters!.. It is not difficult for me, out of self-interest, for money or for honors, to take on dozens of positions; It’s not even difficult to give up the pleasures of family shelter, which I easily forget on days of special troubles or undertakings that promise profit; I just can’t combine concerns for the eternal good of the soul with the affairs of my ministry! Among the most varied activities, I find time to satisfy some random whim, to exercise in this or that art, to study this or that science, to idlely read some frivolous book. There is only no time to take care of the soul... Oh, how rudely I deceive myself, while, on the contrary, how many incentives can be found for zeal for the salvation of the soul in our very temporary fate! Without Your blessing, my God, those who build work in vain, no matter how someone builds their well-being; and Your blessing rests only on those who seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33). I am a family man: and in this very thing I find an incentive to please You, taking care of my soul... I would like my children to be good people, so that You would be their Father when It pleases You to call their father to You; I am afraid to leave them an illegally acquired piece of bread, lest it arm Thy righteousness against them, but I do not want to leave them without hope, and I place this hope in You, entrusting myself and my home to You... Let my good example teach my children a good life, and my loyalty to You will, in the eyes of Your immeasurable mercy, be a petition for Your blessing on them!.. I am a citizen, faithful to my dear fatherland: and this forces me to care about the correction of my soul, about the rightness of my life... I know that truth elevates the language (the people), and that the more good people in society, pleasing to You, the stronger and more reliable it is; I pray to You for the correction of the hearts of my fellow citizens, I also pray for myself, trying, if possible, to always act in life according to the rules of the law and conscience... I am afraid that self-interest will lead me to a bad end; so that my dishonesty does not arouse Your wrath against me, punishing the guilty when they do not even think about punishment... I am a servant of Your Church: and I cannot help but acknowledge my duty to live for You, saving my soul. Your righteousness will not tolerate me in Your sanctuary if I am not faithful to Your laws; My coldness and inattention to my soul will not go unpunished by my flock, who would completely surrender to me if I deserved their respect, but who will cover me with dishonor if they see me as a slave of passions, a careless sinner... Am I rich? I must repay the undeserved gift of Your bounties, my wealth, with good deeds: otherwise, how much envy and malice will my wealth arouse in my neighbors, how many ill-wishers will I have cursing my gold!.. Am I poor? There is nothing left for me but, having completely entrusted myself to Your Providence, to treasure up wealth for myself in the future by pleasing You, in order to delight the grief of the present with the hope of future ineffable blessings! 14th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 89th, ch. XXII, 2–14 art. 1. The parable of those invited to the marriage of the king’s son One day Jesus Christ told the following parable: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man king, who held a wedding feast for his son; and he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast; and didn't want to come. Again he sent other servants, saying: Tell those who have been invited, behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks, and what is fattened, slaughtered, and everything is ready, come to the wedding feast. But they despised this and went, some to their field, and some to their trade. The others, seizing his slaves, insulted and killed them. Hearing about this, the king became angry and, sending his troops, destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he says to his servants: The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. So go to the highways, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast. And those servants, going out onto the roads, gathered everyone they found, both evil and good, and the wedding feast was filled with those reclining. The king, entering to look at those reclining, saw a man there, not dressed in wedding clothes, and said to him: friend! How did you come here not wearing wedding clothes? He was silent. Then the king said to his servants: having tied his hands and feet, take him and throw him into outer darkness (pitch darkness); there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen 125. Here is an explanation of the parable: The King is God the Father; Royal Son, Bridegroom - God the Son incarnate; bride - church; slaves are prophets; those called are Jews; title - faith; Taurus, etc. – the commandments and teachings of the Gospel, the dogmas of faith and the mystery of the Eucharist; field and trade are temporary blessings of life. The second slaves are the apostles, who, due to the stubbornness of the Jews, are commanded to preach to the pagans. Taurus, etc. mean, in addition to the commandments and teachings of the Gospel, and the Lamb-Christ, slain for the sins of the world, and the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist, in which those who partake of the Body and Blood of the Life-Giver of Christ are united with Jesus Christ Himself. The meal of the Divine Eucharist was mentioned before because through it a spiritual marriage is accomplished, the spiritual union of the Bridegroom and the Bride, that is, Jesus Christ and the immaculate soul; and after this it was added: everything is ready, to indicate that St. The apostles, calling, not only said: come, the meal of the Divine Eucharist is ready, but everything is ready: repentance, baptism, sonship, glory and the eternal kingdom of God. Rasputia is a pagan and heretical error; a person who is not dressed in wedding clothes - having faith, but not having good works; bound hands and feet mean that after death it is no longer possible to do good deeds. Many are called, but few are chosen - this means that not all believers will be saved, that faith without works is dead, that with faith it is necessary to fulfill all the commandments of the Lord and do good deeds. (See Interpretation of the resurrection of the Gospel. Nikephoros, Archbishop of Astrakh, and Stavrop. M. 1805, vol. I l. 326, 327). “Like the parable of the vineyard, so the parable of the wedding feast shows the long-suffering of God, His great care and the wickedness of the Jews; and the last parable even more clearly predicts the falling away of the Jews and the calling of the pagans” 126. In addition, it shows the right way to live and what kind of life awaits the careless. This parable is rightly offered after the parable of the vineyard. Having said in the parable of the vineyard that the kingdom of God “will be given to the people who bring forth its fruits,” Jesus Christ shows here what kind of people it will be given to, and also shows that He had special concern for the Jews. There He is depicted calling before His crucifixion, and here He is drawing them to Himself after the crucifixion; when he should have punished them in the most severe way, He calls and draws them to the wedding feast and honors them with the highest honor. And just as there he did not first call on the pagans, but on the Jews, so here too. But how is it that when the Jews did not want to accept Him and even killed the one who came to them, He gave the vineyard to others; so here too, when they did not want to come to the wedding feast, He called others. The Kingdom of Heaven is depicted here as the wedding feast of the King for His Son in order to show both God’s care and His love for them, and the fact that there is nothing sad or regrettable there, but everything is filled with spiritual, eternal joy. Here Christ also foretells the resurrection, since before He spoke about death, now He says that after death there will be a marriage of Christ with the church, there will be a Bridegroom. But this did not make the Jews better, did not soften their cruel hearts. First they beat the prophets, then they killed the Son, and finally, after committing this murder, being called from the murdered man to the wedding feast, they do not go to it, but present the reasons - oxen, wives, fields, trade. Although these reasons are plausible, we must learn from this that, even if necessity restrains us, the spiritual must be preferred to everything; they present such reasons for refusal only to cover up their carelessness, their laziness. And not only is it bad that they did not come, but the most reckless and terrible thing is that they received those who came to call them very badly: they scolded them and killed them - which is much worse than before. Previously, people came to them to demand fruit, and those who came were killed; Now the apostles come from the murdered man to invite him to the wedding feast, and these they kill in the same way. What's next? Since they did not want to come, but killed those who came to them, He burned their cities and, sending an army, destroyed them. By this He predicts the events that happened under Vespasian and Titus. This happened during the lifetime of the Jews and many others who were with Christ, and those who heard this prediction were witnesses of these events.” “Further, so that the Jews do not rely on faith alone, He talks with them about judgment and punishment for bad deeds; He tries to lead non-believers to faith, and instructs believers in the rules of life, since the “wedding garment” refers to the deeds of life. If calling is a matter of grace, then why does He discuss it in such detail? Because although calling and cleansing are a work of grace, the fact that one who is called and clothed in clean clothing constantly keeps it that way depends on the efforts of those called; calling is not according to merit, but according to grace. Therefore, one must correspond to grace with obedience and, having received honor, not show such wickedness.” Finally, so that we do not think that only one title and faith is enough for the salvation of the faithful, but there is no test of their deeds, the Lord added that “when the wedding feast was filled with those reclining, the King came in to see the guests.” By this the Lord clearly shows that just as the King, at the wedding feast, entered to look at those reclining, so God, on the day of judgment, will test the deeds of all the people standing before Him; and, as the King did at the wedding feast with a man who, although invited, that is, faithful, “was not dressed in wedding clothes;” that is, he did not have good and saving deeds of virtue; God will do the same with everyone, although they believe, but did not do deeds of love and mercy during their life on earth 127. 2. Christ calls the sinful soul to Himself (From the works of St. Tikhon, Bishop of Zadonsk). Why have you, man, left me? Why did He turn away from the One who loved you? Why did you again stick to My enemy? Remember that I came down from heaven for you. Remember that I became incarnate for your sake. Remember that for your sake I was a child. Remember that I humbled myself for your sake. Remember that for your sake I became poor. Remember that I lived on earth for you. Remember that I endured persecution for your sake. Remember that for your sake I accepted slander, reproach, reproach, dishonor, wounds, spitting, strangling, ridicule and shameful passions. Remember that for your sake I died a shameful death. Remember that for your sake I was buried. I came down from heaven to take you to heaven. I humbled myself in order to exalt you. I became poor to make you rich. I suffered dishonor to glorify you. I was wounded to heal you. I died to revive you. You sinned, and I took your sin upon myself. You are to blame, but I accepted the execution. You are a debtor, and I paid the debt for you. You are condemned to death, but I died for you. And to all this – My love, My mercy attracted Me. I could not bear for you to suffer in such misfortune. Do you really despise this love of Mine? Instead of love, you pay with hatred! Instead of Me, you love sin! Instead of Me, you work for passions! But what did you find in Me worthy of disgust? Why don’t you want to come to Me? Do you want good for yourself? - Every good thing is with Me. Do you want bliss? - All bliss is with Me. Do you want beauty? -What is more beautiful than Me? Do you want nobility? -What is nobler than the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin? Do you want heights? -What is higher than the King of Heaven? Do you want fame? Who is more glorious than Me? Do you want wealth? - I have all kinds of wealth. Do you want wisdom? – I am the Wisdom of God! Do you want friendship? - Who is more loving than Me, Who laid down His life for everyone? Are you looking for help? – Who will help, except Me? Are you looking for a doctor? – Who will heal except Me? Are you looking for fun? - Who will amuse you besides Me? Are you looking for consolation in sadness? - Who will console you besides Me? Are you looking for peace? – With Me you will find peace for your soul! Are you looking for peace? - I am peace of mind! Are you looking for life? - I have the source of life! Are you looking for light? – I am the Light of the world Are you looking for the truth? – I am the Truth! Are you looking for a way? – I am the Way! Are you looking for a leader to heaven? - I am a faithful Leader! Well, why don’t you want to come to Me? Don't you dare start? – But who is more convenient to access than Me? Are you afraid to ask? – But who, asking with faith, did I refuse? Do sins keep you out? – But I died for sinners! Does the multitude of sins bother you? – But I have even more mercy! Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). 3. Do not deprive yourself of the cup of Christ! Our Lord says with His most pure lips in the Holy Gospel: He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood will have eternal life (John 6:54) - this is the great gain from partaking of His holy mysteries! - And on the contrary, He says: if you have not eaten the flesh of the Son of Man, nor have you drunk His blood, you have not life in you (v. 53), - this is the great loss from the deprivation of the cup of Christ. I know that many will tell me: “I am unworthy, I am a sinner, and therefore I do not dare to begin communion of the Divine Mysteries.” You speak well when you call yourself an unworthy sinner, for who can be completely worthy? - No one is worthy from those bound by carnal lusts and pleasures to come or draw closer to You, the King of Glory! - says the “Service Book”. But you are doing something bad by removing yourself from communion, for it is written in the psalms: those who withdraw from You, O Lord, will perish (Ps. 72:27). – Our unworthiness is of two kinds: the unworthiness of those who truly repent and the unworthiness of those who do not truly repent. Those who truly repent are worthy of Divine communion for the remission of sins, according to the word of Christ: they do not require the health of a doctor, but those who are sick (Matthew 9:12). Those who are not truly repentant are unworthy of Divine communion, for it is written: You shall not give the holy thing to a dog (Matthew 7:6). Who is this – the untrue repentant? This is the one who hides his sins before his spiritual father; or opens them, but does not regret having done them; or, although he regrets, he does not have a firm intention in his heart, does not make a strong vow - not to return to his previous sins, but also intends to continue them: such a person is not worthy of St. communion, and if he comes, he will eat and drink himself! And whoever truly repents, regrets his sins and sets the indispensable intention, in the hope of God’s help, to guard himself from sins in every possible way - such, by the mercy of God, is worthy of Divine communion, even if he was very unworthy. It is written about the Venerable Mary of Egypt in her life that she was a great sinner, that the grace of God forbade her even to enter the Church of God, which she herself later told the Venerable Zosima about. But when this unworthy sinner placed in her heart, before the icon of the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, a firm intention and promise - not to return to sin again - she was immediately not only able to freely enter the church, but on the same day was granted communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. You see: she has not yet managed to do anything good for her sins, has not yet entered the sorrowful path of desert exploits - barely one day has passed since she left her sinful life, and she is not deprived of the cup of the Lord, for her repentance was true, and not false. There is a similar story in the Prologue. It was reported to one bishop that two women had fallen into adultery. He prayed to God to reveal the truth to him, and ordered everyone to prepare for Holy Communion the next morning. secrets And so, when he gave communion to the people, the faces of those receiving communion seemed to him - some dark, and others light. Those two women also come up to communion, and he sees that their faces are bright, and when they took communion, their faces shone like the sun. When the bishop was surprised at this, an angel appeared to him and said: “They told you the truth about the adultery of these women, but they repented, confessed their sin and made a firm promise not to fall into it again, and now God forgave them their sins and made them worthy of such grace as you saw.” So, no one should deprive themselves of the cup of the Lord: just truly repent and make a covenant in your heart - not to return to your previous sins! Then, even if you were unworthy, trust in mercy. God, insurmountable by the sins of the entire human race, and approach the cup of Christ - approach with fear, but also with hope in God’s love for mankind, and you will be holy. communion for the remission of sins! Don't believe me on this? - Believe the unfaithful lips of Christ our Savior Himself, Who says: take, eat for the remission of sins; - drink for the remission of sins! If you believe in God, then believe the words of God; If you don’t believe the words of God, then that means you don’t believe in God! God Himself says: partake of My cup, but you still doubt! God says: there will be remission of your sins, but you don’t believe, you say: I’m afraid... Don’t be afraid! Proceed without doubt and with faith! You do well that you are afraid, but it is bad that you run from the cup of Christ. God is not your enemy, but a doctor: He wants to heal you, not destroy you. God is not your adversary, but the Father: He wants to give you life, not kill you. God is not a beast and a destroyer, but a merciful Benefactor: He desires your salvation, not destruction; Why are you running from His Divine cup? It is better for you to accept this spiritual medicine and be healed, than to run away from this medicine and fall into even more incurable sinful diseases and perish. The participant in the cup of the Lord is united with Christ Himself, - this is what our Lord Himself says: He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him (John 6:56). Unite with Christ Himself, have Christ in yourself and be in Christ yourself! what is higher than this? What's more expensive? Which is better? – Knowing this, beloved, let us approach the cup of the Lord more often, although we are unworthy of it; By the mercy of God we will be worthy when we cleanse ourselves, to the best of our ability, from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and we make a firm intention and vow not to return to our former sins. (From the Works of St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, book “Trinity, leaf.” No. 308). 15th Sunday after Pentecost Evang. from Matt. zach. 92nd, g. XXII, 35–46 art. 1. The Gospel story about the lawyer who asked Jesus Christ about the greatest commandment in the law, with an explanation of whether we need to love ourselves Once, as the Gospel tells us, a lawyer approached Jesus Christ and asked Him: Teacher! What is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets are based on these two commandments (Matthew 22:36–40). This is the commandment of the Savior! But whether it is necessary to love ourselves, this does not seem to be discussed. In fact, self-love is itself implied here. It has a close connection with love for your neighbor, it is said: love your neighbor as yourself. He who does not love himself cannot love others; he who has no respect for himself has no respect for others, and vice versa. But whoever honors the image of God in himself will appreciate it in others. Therefore, wanting to fulfill the most important commandments of God about love for God and our neighbors, we need to love ourselves, but love what is good and beautiful in us, and turn away from the bad and immoral. Thus, everyone must take care of himself (and the proverb says: “God protects those who are careful”) and, without becoming attached to everything corruptible and fleeting, must value his life, because life is given from God, and no one except God has the right to dispose of it. But how many people take their own lives these days! Every day we receive news: one hanged himself, another shot himself, a third was poisoned, etc. This is a sad phenomenon! The fate of suicides is sad: by depriving themselves of temporary life, they are deprived of eternal life. Rule of St. The church says: “if anyone kills himself, or stabs himself, or strangles himself, let no offering be made for him, unless he has truly destroyed his mind” (Kormch. CVI, pr. 14). The fate of suicides is sad: they are deprived not only of guidance to eternal life - the sacrament of communion, but also the prayers of St. church, and especially the bloodless sacrifice during the liturgy. On this occasion, it is not uninteresting to listen to the following story of one peasant about the afterlife fate of his father - a suicide - a fate that, through the intense prayer of his son, was revealed to him in a dream. “On December 19, 1865, a peasant from the village of Kadnikova, Ivan Antropov, brought the body of his wife, who died from a long illness, for burial. After the burial was completed, he turned to me,” the priest said, “with a request to serve twenty dinners for Matryona (his wife), and also to remember all his relatives, except for his father. - Is your father still alive? - “No, he died... but I heard that mass cannot be celebrated for him.” Why? Didn't he die like a Christian? - “That’s exactly what it is, it’s not Christian - from one’s own hands.” - How is this possible? Tell us. And here with me were my clerks. “It was a holiday, you see,” the old man began, “Demetrius Day (October 26). And it is known that we have both a holiday and drunkenness. My father, let it be remembered, loved to drink. I was eight or nine years old at that time. As I remember now, guests came to us; the father walked with them and finally went with them to his son, who lived separately from us. The hut became empty and somehow boring after the noise. I sat alone for a short time, and I also decided to go to my brother, and so I went. I was running (and between our houses there was an alley so narrow that a person could only walk through - it used to be that I was still afraid to walk past him - and then it was also evening), I was running, and suddenly I saw: my father was there - hanging in a noose on some kind of crossbar... my legs gave way... I was terribly scared. In addition, it seemed to me that some kind of monster was standing next to my father - black, large, bristly; and his eyes sparkled like hot coals, I rushed headlong to my brother’s house and reported what I had seen... They judged and ordered... finally, by order of the authorities, they buried him in the forest and did not hold a funeral service. I felt deeply sorry for my father, and I often thought about him. And as I grew up and got married, and I began to live and work, my father did not go crazy with me. And I began to pray to God at night to find out where my father was now. Then one day I saw in a dream: someone asked, exactly the same peasant as me: “Do you want to know where your father is?” “Yes, I say, I would like to see him.” “Come,” he said, “with me.” We walked for a long time, and I don’t know where, exactly in a dark forest; only the further we walked, the hotter the ground under our feet became, so that our legs burned. Finally, we reached a place where a very strong fire shoots out of the ground, and in a large valley I hear noise and crackling. The stranger brings me closer and closer, even against my will; I was scared and in pain from the fever. People constantly appeared in that flame; they were thrown out of the abyss as if along with fire, and then they again fell into the fiery abyss. Their faces and whole bodies were black as coal. Their moans and screams were terrible! “Oh, Lord! This is where sinners are apparently tormented?” I said, “Your father is here,” the counselor told me. But I didn't see my father. “After such a terrible dream, I absolutely didn’t know what to do,” the old man continued, “how to help my father, but I wanted to help. In such thought, I once fell asleep... And again I saw in a dream: a great flame coming out of the ground, I felt a disgusting, stinking smell, and I heard terrible human screams and groans. Peering, I came closer, and I wondered if I might see my father here. Suddenly he appeared on the surface, so black, as if coated in tar... I barely recognized him. - “Oh, Vanya, my dear! Buy me out of here... there, a penny here is worth a ruble..." - and again he was gone. I was frightened and didn’t even have time to utter a word to him. And again I think I didn’t ask how I can help him? After all, he probably knows. And I myself stand and look at the terrible fire, see if I still see my father. Meanwhile, it seemed to me that from somewhere above dew and light rain were falling on the fire and somewhat weakening its power. I think again, what does this mean? This is the alms and prayers of the saints for those who are suffering here, falling like dew onto the fire of Gehenna. From then on, I began to give alms even more often to the soul of Theodore, my father, and I understood the words: “You have a penny - here it’s worth a ruble.” But my business is not rich! I would give generously, but there’s nothing.” Thus the old man finished his story. “The Scripture says, grandfather,” I told him: “alms deliver from death and cleanse all sin. The prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Tov.12:9; James 5:16). You see, Christian, what consequences suicide leads to! God save you from such a crime. A terrible fate awaits a suicide!.. God gave you life, and God will take it. It’s hard for you to live in the world - need, illness and other troubles oppress you - be patient and trust in God, but don’t encroach on your life, because it is from God: it is in His holy will that you live or die. Love in yourself what is valuable in the eyes of God: a bright mind, kindness of heart and firmness of will - treasure your life in order to please God and your neighbors. (See Wanderer 1866). 2. Several stories about living love for God I. During his torment, the youth Irenaeus was surrounded by his father, mother and all his acquaintances and with tears begged him to spare his youth, fulfill the will of the king and avoid torment, but Irenaeus did not listen to them. To the tormentor’s questions: “Do you have parents?” He answered: “I have not,” repeating the words of the Lord: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). (“V. – Thu.”). II. Parents of Rev. Saint Savva, having once met his son, already a monk, in Alexandria, after many years of separation, immediately recognized him and rushed to his neck. “Leave the monastery, take off your black clothes, join the military rank and you will live with us in joy and wealth; comfort us and calm us down in our old age,” the parents said to their son, tenderly hugging and kissing him. The young man’s heart was excited at the outpouring of strong parental love, but immediately the consciousness of his duties to God flashed in his soul, and the young man did not fight with himself for long: the feeling of love for God took possession of his entire soul and weakened the feeling of love for his parents. In this mood, the son told them: “You yourself know the words of the Savior: whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me... and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me (Matthew 10:37-38): judge for yourself, is it possible to honor and love you more than God? I am now a warrior of the King of Heaven. If earthly kings punish with death soldiers who fled from a regiment during a war, then the Heavenly King will subject to greater punishment those who, having joined the ranks of His spiritual army, leave the regiment they have chosen. Do not convince me to leave my beloved place of achievement, your words will be an empty sound for me.” The parents, seeing their son’s firm determination to follow his chosen path, said goodbye to him with tears. (According to “Ch. M.”, December 5); III. One young pious Christian, who lived under the apostate Julian, named Eupsychius, returning from church after the marriage ceremony, rejoiced with his beloved amid the wedding feast and the greetings of numerous friends. Such a moment is one of the best in a person’s life. Almost all earthly joys are combined in it. If ever, then even more so at this moment a person is involuntarily chained to earthly life... And so, in the midst of the honest celebration, the joy was suddenly disrupted by the sight of a crowd of pagans rushing to the temple to sacrifice to their false gods... Oh, unfortunate ones! far from the truth! - the soul of the young Christian, rejoicing in his joy in the Lord, is indignant, I will go and overthrow their idols! Let them not pray to those destroyed by human hands! Let them know the uncreated and indestructible God! And, forgetting both the feast and the bride, and the fact that, by destroying objects of false veneration, he, in an unequal struggle, destroys his own earthly, just beginning happiness, Eupsychius