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Response letter of Saint Theophan to Metropolitan Isidore The True Reason for the Retirement of His Grace Theophan There was much confusion when Saint Theophan decided to leave his Vladimir flock. Some put this in connection with the investigation assigned to him by the Holy Synod regarding the temporary disorder in the Diveyevo Monastery. There is no doubt that for the archpastor, who found it difficult to reprimand anyone and, in case of urgent need for this, entrusted this to the keymaster of the cathedral, the investigation of the perpetrators of the Diveyevo monastery was a great burden. Nevertheless, the investigation was carried out in such a way that the Holy Synod approved all the orders of the Right Reverend Theophan, as can be seen from the original letters attached to him from Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg: Most Reverend Vladyka, Most Reverend Brother! Now I have received and read your letter: and first of all, I mutually extend to you the kiss of fellowship and joy in the name of the Lord, the Only Begotten Son of God, who came in the flesh into the world for our salvation. – May His grace and peace be with your spirit. Regarding the Diveyevo cases, it would be better for you to contact the leading member of the Synod or the Synodal Chief Prosecutor: because I officially participated in these cases until I carried out the decree of the S. Synod, which ordered me to observe the investigation and present it with an opinion. The investigation has been completed; my opinion is represented; and the assignment given to me ended. However, if you wished to show me fraternal trust by communicating information and demanding my opinion on certain issues, then with fraternal frankness I will say what I understand: The deanery of the Diveyevo Monastery really needed to be changed. She took intensive measures to compile a list of sisters in favor of the new head of Glyceria, and included in it both the insane and the absent. The treasurer, according to investigators, previously behaved impartially in relation to parties; and after being elected to this position, she began to strongly support G. as a boss. Perhaps she could be reasoned with, but when you have already allowed her to change, going back would be harmful. The old woman exiled to Ardatov deserves attention. She confessed her guilt and said to the Right Reverend Nektarios: Joasaph persecuted us, and you are persecuting us; God will punish you. This was finally said after useless, humble begging for Elizabeth. The Reverend could have looked with indifference at the old woman’s brutal frankness. Even if it was necessary to punish her, six months of exile would be enough; and you can return it. I presented this opinion to the S. Synod. That the boss’s idea of ​​not announcing where the absent sisters are is very ill-intentioned. In all likelihood they were sent out for intrigue. The collectors in St. Petersburg are also likely to benefit their pockets and harm the world of the monastery. They are unlikely to listen to the abbess. It would not be superfluous for you to request them to the monastery through communication with the Chief Prosecutor. In the name of philanthropy, I thank you for instructing the Sarov builder not to deprive the Diveyevo Monastery of help. I heard that he, frightened of slander, wanted to refuse everything and stop all communication. By the way, I’ll tell you what has been proven by the investigation: - G.’s election is not correct, I. is harmful to Diveev in spiritual and economic terms; Diveevsky's boss Elisaveta and Sarovsky's builder are respectable people and have been slandered unkindly. From 40 to 50 sisters belong to the party of G. and I. Of these, about 20 previously, for two or three years, were unapproved in the statements. It is inconvenient to leave them all in the monastery; but it’s also inconvenient to send everyone away. Is it not possible to limit ourselves to the removal of a few who more clearly violate the order and have a harmful influence on others? The abbess can divert those from the craze of the crowd. To admonish these latter, would it be objectionable for you to use the priest Sadovsky, who has served as the confessor of the monastery for many years and enjoys well-deserved respect. The Eminences Jeremiah and Anthony treated him with special confidence and sometimes gave him instructions directly. Having told you what I understand, and submitting it to your consideration, I remain with true reverence and love for the Lord Your Eminence, your most humble servant, Filaret M. Mosk. In Moscow. January 1st 1862. Judging by what is in the investigation, here are those who could have been awarded by Dean P., G.S., L.V. Your Eminence Vladyka, Gracious Archpastor! Your letter about the Diveyevo Monastery was reported yesterday to the Holy Synod, which, having approved all your orders regarding this monastery, granted you, in the future, to do everything that you, at your closest discretion, recognize as useful and necessary for the pacification and provision of the monastery, with permission from the Sarov Hermitage, to help it with things and money that can eventually be returned to it. The expulsion of non-peaceful sisters from the monastery is necessary. The head of the monastery must demand that the collectors immediately return to the monastery. If she does not know where the collectors are, let her write to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod to expel them. I wrote to you about the Illarionovsky Monastery. Afterwards they told me that this is a community. Consequently, it is useless to present it to the Holy Synod, because the amount that I had in mind was bequeathed to 8 poor monasteries, and, according to the power of the will, it cannot be used for communities. Committing myself to your prayers, with true reverence and brotherly love for Christ, I abide Your Eminence most zealous servant Isidor M. of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. It is obvious that the investigation regarding the Diveyevo disorder in itself was not the reason for the retirement of the Right Reverend Theophan, and it related to the Tambov period of the ministry of the Right Reverend Theophan, and not to the Vladimir period. Therefore, some, including His Eminence Isidore, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, believed that the true reason for his removal from diocesan affairs was in the very desire of His Eminence Theophan for undisturbed silence, for peace. Here is how Metropolitan Isidore wrote about this to His Eminence Theophan himself, in response to his request for retirement: Your Eminence, Gracious Archpastor! It is in vain to bother yourself with the thought that they want to send you to rest in the Kyiv Lavra. The Holy Synod has not yet seen your petition, and does not know what is written in it; and therefore there was no reason to talk about the place of your rest. Moreover, the Right Reverends who ask for retirement are always asked in advance where they want to live, and only to those the Synod assigns a place who themselves ask to indicate it, at their discretion. If we believe the rumor that you are asking for retirement, only for peace: then I doubt that the Holy Synod will grant the request. Who among us would not wish for peace, especially in these busy and difficult times! But someone must work for others, even with sorrow and sighing. The Holy Synod, as I know from previous examples, is extremely embarrassed even by the fact that it does not have any amount for pensions for those being dismissed. Its treasury allocates a special amount for the maintenance of Bishops who live in retirement; and there are currently 15 of them. The rumor about your intention to leave the Diocese even reached Vyatka, and the Bishop there writes that it is desirable for him to receive a Diocese near Moscow. He doesn't know what he's asking for! Another, even if they were sent to their homeland, would refuse. May the Lord arrange everything according to His will! Asking for your prayers, I abide with perfect reverence and brotherly love for Christ Your Eminence, my most humble servant, Isidore M. of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. It was in response to this letter from the leading member of the Holy Synod that Bishop Theophan revealed the real reason for his removal to Vysha. This is a most remarkable letter: Your Eminence Vladyka, Most Gracious Archpastor! I was just about to respond to Your Eminence and thank you for your warm participation in my case, when rumors spread that it had already been decided and according to my desire. I stopped in the confidence that I would soon receive what I was looking for, so that together I could express my gratitude to you. The rumors changed, and there was no point in believing them. Meanwhile, not long before this, your word reached me that you expect an answer from me and, moreover, a different content than what I thought. I hasten to satisfy this expectation by thinking everything over again. I elect you as a judge, and I ask you to judge my court and agree with myself. In my petition I expressed my desire in the word: compulsion. This is what it is. Like some kind of burden on your shoulders, you always feel this compulsion: quit, go, quit, go. - So think about it: what is this? - Enemy? “But the enemy wants one thing—to destroy your soul, and he can do this anywhere.” He is more comfortable in his current position. It can destroy not just one of mine, but a dozen or so of strangers. Another thing is that! When someone has all the pictures drawn in his head, and he feels a constant urge to draw everything, takes a coal and draws and draws, everyone will tell him: go to drawing school. This - go - isn't it coming to me? If I were in any other position, no matter who I told about my burden, everyone would say: go - there is a place for you! I thought and thought and decided to propose my wish to the decision of the Holy Synod. I did not ask anyone for advice, neither from you, as before, nor from the Most Reverend Jeremiah, nor from Fr. Ar. Lawrence. I know in advance that no one will say yes. And I myself would not say that to anyone else. It's a difficult matter! Why did he take everything upon himself? You sought it yourself, and answer for it yourself – to yourself and to everyone. It seems that this will be no small support for silent patience, if we do not meet the desired peace. There was and is nothing alarming about this action. My circumstances are going better. I just consecrated the church - almost two years of my work and my joy. I have just freed a farmstead from the hands of a careless tenant, which will now yield many times more than before. And there is a great calm in business. I wish I could live happily ever after. But from the beginning of the fast my burden became heavier, and it became heavier and heavier. This is what made me discuss it. My stay in retirement is rosy according to my desire, but I discussed not this rosy, but most of all, all the troubles and difficulties that might encounter me. I express readiness for everything - I raised everything. And having surrendered to the will of God, he declared his desire for a decision. It was March 12, in memory of Theophan of Sigrian, after the Divine Liturgy. Since that time, I have not ceased to pray that the Lord would express His saving will for me in the definition of the Holy Synod. After that, I wrote to Your Eminence and His Excellency, the Chief Prosecutor, with one thing in mind - to confirm the sincerity of my desire, so that they would not think that this desire was light, superficial. Nobody knew about the filing. A certain rumor came to us two or three days after I received your letter. And they started attacking me from all sides. Here, the more cordial the participation, the more my intention wavered from it. But the fruit of all these attacks, let me put it this way, is that I have become closer to the middle or the point of indifference in relation to the decision of the Holy Synod and, it seems, is equally ready to accept both the satisfaction of the petition and the refusal. I don’t see any difficulty in business, I just don’t have a heart for it. In my free time, I don’t sit idly by – no minute passes in vain. I do what I love. But the incessant interruptions do not allow me to do anything I would like to do. The fulfillment of this is expected from the monastery, and everything necessary for this has been prepared in large quantities. There is no subject for which I would not have sources at hand to review. I am looking for peace, so that I can more calmly indulge in the pursuits I desire, but not for the sake of amateurism, but with the indispensable intention that there will be a fruit of labor that is not useless and not unnecessary for the Church of God. I have in mind to serve the Church of God, but to serve in a different way. Grant, Lord, that this intention may not be frustrated if I am awarded peace! I am stating all this to Your Eminence, so that you can see it, and you have not external, but internal data to resolve the matter. As you and the Holy Synod decide, so be it! Asking for your prayers, with sincere respect and brotherly love for Christ, I abide Your Eminence my most humble servant Feofan, bishop. Vladimirsky. This is how Rev. understood it. Feofan his “peace” and on Vysha he found it, as can be seen from his letter from Vysha to Vysoko Ave. Isidora. Letter 760. A letter from Vysha to him Your Eminence Vladyka, Most Gracious Archpastor! I apologize for not informing you of your safe arrival at the monastery until now. I wanted to get an idea of ​​the state of affairs here. Thank the Lord! The desert promises peace. The monastic order here is excellent, the brethren are good. The service is a bit long, but you can get used to it. Matins at 3 o'clock. An early one follows immediately. Late at 8. Vespers at 4. At 7 they are still going to pray before going to bed. There are strong workers who stand during all services and will not sit down; they even get angry if someone asks you to sit down. Desert in the forest. For every Sunday and holiday, a fair amount of people, both black and white, gather. They are accommodated in hotels and fed from the monastery. Not a single day has passed since I arrived that there were no communicants. In all respects, Vysha is a comforting and blessed abode! I am so calm in spirit here that I couldn’t wish for anything better! Letter 761. General instructions for those who wish to follow the path of salvation God's mercy be with you! Your letter, written in July, was sent in November. I thought about not answering you because I thought that there was nothing to talk about with such a careless person. I don’t know why I’m thinking and writing. However, I will say a little. Try to find Domash magazine from someone there. Conversation and read the Letters on Spiritual Life begun last year regarding Speransky’s letters on this subject. Everything you need is included there. Whatever you find practical and applicable to you in them, take it as a lesson and begin to perform. Interpret less and do more better. Don’t forget to give blessings, and God’s mercy will overshadow you. Do not judge, and you will always have God as your protector. Do not create pleasures for the flesh - even in small ways. Vigorous self-constraint and depriving oneself of something pleasing to the flesh is the same as adding wood to the stove. Hands and feet at work, and thoughts with God - this is a real standing person. In prayers, read less, and bow more, closer to the point. Reading prayers, standing in prayer and bowing constitute the prayer position; and prayer actually comes from the heart. When this one is not there, there is none. Things need to be distributed in such a way that the external does not interfere with the internal. The internal needs to be improved in the morning - as soon as your eyes open. Keep it all day, warm it up in the evening, and go to sleep. Reducing external relations and putting everything in order is a saving framework for life. When inner prayer comes, then it can partially replace being in church, but nothing warms up inner prayer as much as church. The angelic image is a good thing. But we must ensure that the external does not preempt the internal. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 18 Dec '71 Letter 762. The imaginary sloth. Advice against going to Vysha. Place of Meeting of the Lord Before I had time to answer your first letter, I received another last evening on Christ’s Bright Resurrection. Guilty! Out of laziness I did not rush to answer. So now I immediately take up my pen. The path to salvation, if it is useful to you, choose the path for yourself, or choose from there what is most suitable. We are masters at writing, but not so good at doing things. May the Lord bless everything that was given to you during the fast to turn into juice and blood and become an element of your real life. I believe that you will soon be heading to the village. Here the Lord is closer than in the cities. Help you, Lord, to rest your soul. Are you going to Vysha? I regret this in advance for your sake. If you have ever experienced disappointment, then you know how sad it is. And I wouldn't want you to experience it again. And for me this is a pure defeat. “You put me on top of the shrine; who doesn’t like to be proud at such a height?!” But I already know in advance that, having been on Above, you will throw me under the bench. The defeat will be extremely severe. So wouldn’t it be better for you to save mutual benefits not to move into our areas? The Lord is everywhere, and everywhere one and the same. No place brings Him closer and no place moves Him away. If He is approaching you there too, and you are aware of this, then why rush here and there. It will be like running from the Lord. You prescribe solitude in the village for yourself. May God grant you the best of it. It's sweeter than honey. I expect that, having enjoyed it, you will not want to deprive yourself of such a great benefit. Riding - how it breaks up thoughts and the whole structure of the soul! Are you looking for the Lord? Search, but only within yourself. He is not far from anyone. The Lord is near to all who sincerely call on Him. Find a place in your heart and talk with the Lord there. This is the waiting room of the Lord's hall! Whoever meets the Lord meets Him there. And He did not appoint any other place for meetings with souls. God bless you and have mercy. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 17 April 72 Letter 763. Vigorous old age. On praying slowly The answer was mine. I didn’t answer - there was a reason that I won’t tell you about. You are well, and your soul is so alive, as your letter testifies. God bless! I cry with you. May the Lord bless you! God bless your ninetieth birthday, you are old enough to be my grandmother, because I still have a year and a half or two to go until my eighth decade. You have already crossed the boundaries of feasible years of life (even eighty). Now you live by the mercy and gift of the Lord, for which there are no measures. So, God grant you to live and live. And everyday worries are like a mountain on your shoulders. There is nothing to do when there is no one to entrust them to. And work, trusting in God’s help to successfully complete the work. Your conscience is disturbed by hasty prayers. And righteously. Why are you listening to the enemy? It is the enemy who is chasing you, quickly, quickly. As a result, you don’t feel any fruit from prayer. But make it a law not to rush. But pronounce prayers in such a way that not a single word is pronounced without awareness of meaning and, if possible, feeling. Apply this work to yourself with the determination of a commander-in-chief, so that no objections to this arise at all. The enemy suggests that this and that is necessary, and you answer: I know without you, go away. See how the prayer goes. Otherwise, you only have a prayer book, but no prayer. Prayer alone nourishes the soul. So you feel unsatisfied. Check the clock to see how much time will pass if you don’t rush, and you will see that it’s a few minutes. And what is the damage from haste!!? And I forgot it was! Thank you for the air. Very good. God bless you! Letter 764. Spiritual attention must be combined with reasoning. About visiting Vysha I received two letters from you. Thank you for the memory; but I apologize for the impolite lack of response. All laziness. God bless you to stand patiently in your chosen order of life. Attention to what happens in the heart and comes from it is the main thing in a Christian life. This puts both the internal and external in proper order. But reasoning must always be applied to attention in order to examine as it should what is happening inside and what is required by the outside. Without reasoning and attention to nothing. Where can I get the reasoning? In a conscience enlightened by the knowledge of the divine will spoken in the Gospel and the Apostolic Epistles. This way very successfully determines what can and cannot be allowed in actions, words and undertakings. May the Lord make you wise. Are you reading divine Scripture, or the teachings of St. Fathers - always slowly reading - draw for yourself personal lessons on how this and that can be fulfilled for you, in your exceptional circumstances. Do you see where I'm getting at? To what bothered you about the letters. This is such a trifle that there is nothing to talk about it. And you allowed yourself to worry. The book is printed; therefore, it came into public possession. Read whoever wants and whoever has to. I can’t think of any other thoughts you might have had. Why is your soul so timid?! You need to walk with a firm foot, i.e. do things after thinking. But maybe that’s the fashion there. The road to Vysha is not blocked for anyone. I wrote to you in my and your interests. Neither prohibitions nor commands were written down so that the person who arrived would then complain to himself about why he went. So the road is open, although those reasons remain valid. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 6 July 72 Letter 765. On the occasion of a long silence Why have you signed up for silence, that there has been no news from you for so long? “I undertake to write to you in order to loosen your tongue, and together to find out whether I am the reason for this.” And isn’t your silence a humble imitation? I wrote to you in the summer, and I guess that the letter might not have gone as intended. In this case, who is to blame? Let us rest in the fact that this is the right thing to do. The time has come, which involuntarily encourages composure. Homelessness and attention to oneself are now a turn instead of entertainment, for which summer almost always provides the occasion. What am I? Are you healthy? And are they even alive? I'm not asking about the main thing. The Apostle wrote: in every way - whether through life or death - let God be glorified in us. I wish this for you too. Whoever glorifies the Lord in life will also die for His glory. You mentioned something about letters, about Speransky’s letters. As if you encountered something there that was either unclear or incongruous. Please explain. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 27 Sep. '72 Letter 766. About humbly enduring sorrowful events Everything that is from the Lord, apart from our arbitrariness, is the best for us. This is not just by faith, in the abstract, but no matter what circumstance you look at in life, you will tangibly see that this is always the case. Now your oppression from everywhere - and your own illness, and your son’s, and those difficult things that you hint about - all this is the best for you and for all of yours. Just pray and pray to thank God. And for the sorrowful, we must give thanks even more—to kiss the punishing and teaching right hand of God. Our blindness, which does not see anything, and our pride, which is too pretentious, are the only reasons for our sorrows and the fact that our hearts are too sick under unfavorable circumstances. You, of course, understand all this and know how to put your feelings into a frame that Heavenly Providence makes with inimitable art. I wish you complacency. A heart devoted to the Lord always knows how to find peace! May the Mother of God warm you with maternal consolation in your soul! How are you feeling now? My wish is that the Lord will make it easier for you and clarify your horizon a little. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 15 November 72 Letter 767. Advice against going to Vysha I hasten to write you a few words about your last letter and wish that these lines find you still at home. You write that you are going to a great seer, who will immediately unravel everything in you and describe to you everything that you are and what you should do, etc. I tell you decisively that in these types your trip is completely empty. I can’t see anything in you and I can’t even talk to you, so it’s better for you not to go and be content with the fact that you have to write to me. Besides, Tambov residents constantly call me to their place. This is the Reverend and some others. Due to my laziness, I deny it, but it seems I can’t resist and will have to go. When and how - I cannot say, for I will resist until the last opportunity. And it’s possible that I won’t go at all. I am writing all this down for your information. There is only one conclusion! Sit and don't move. When I die, then you will come to Vysha. What's the point of driving around?! There you will do some other good thing, but what about the trip?! Apart from fuss, entertainment, empty expectations - nothing. But! Defeat! To see a basket instead of a city!! So no, I don't want you to come here. Stay at home. And do your routine. I am writing in a hurry. Sorry. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Who is R. and how could I know her? The Lord accepts everything that anyone does out of love for his neighbor, for the glory of His Holy Name. God bless your stay. Pray to God for me. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 13 Feb '72 Letter 768. Should I keep a list of my deeds, good and bad? I hasten to tell you a word about what you sent. Although this is not entirely empty work; but one, however, that cannot lead to the goal. When things saved us, then, of course, the points would be on the spot, like the students’ answers. But what is the salvation from works? – If not from them, what is the need to write them down and remember them? In the matter of salvation, mathematical calculations are of no use, and they should have no application. Regarding what is good with us, or happens, there is one law: forget it. Does anyone remember that they are breathing? No, because this is in the order of things. So it is in moral life. What is done properly, what to remember? This is in the order of things right. But since it is admitted that what is not good, we must remember this, and sharpen our conscience so that it notices well - but why? To get better quickly. And this is how it happens. There is nothing to say about mortal sins: they are completely inappropriate for those who are zealous for salvation. Sins remain by chance - a word will break through, a thought will slip through, a feeling will stir - all this in such a way that conscience later finds it unkind and undue. Here is the rule about this: as soon as they are noticed, immediately cleanse them with internal repentance before the face of the Lord. You can limit yourself to this, and if your conscience is not satisfied, then at evening prayer you can remember this with contrition, and that’s the end of it. All such sins are cleansed by this act of internal repentance. Why all these registers?! They say: yes, self-knowledge is necessary! It is necessary, but it will come by itself. When someone pays attention to himself and, without dejection, notices the movements of his heart in order to reject what is wrong, and discuss what is right, and if it turns out to be appropriate to fulfill it; then he naturally forms the knowledge of what interests his heart more, where it is pressing, and what, therefore, is his characteristic mood?! And here the notes are a completely unnecessary matter, besides, knowledge of oneself is essential - you brought into one feeling and conviction that I am worthless, or worthless. This belief gives an introspective life, but it is not the same - inaccurate. She is muddying the matter - because she gives good points, and... If you please, collect all your notebooks and put everything in the oven - and then let me do the same with the leaves sent. If you please, distinguish in life: the deeds that are visibly accomplished, the feelings and dispositions that lie invisibly in the heart and make up its structure, and finally the spirit of life. – The latter is the main thing. Here the most essential thing is to surrender oneself into the hands of the Lord Savior with a cry of contrition: save the image of fate. For there is no other salvation than in Him. Underneath this devotion, let there be a strong selfless zeal for the fulfillment of His holy will, the distinctive feature of which is to consciously not allow a single deed, word, thought or feeling that is contrary to the Lord. This requires constant attention to the heart and walking before the face of the Lord. And at the same time, do everything for the glory of God, everything that is offered to us by the course of our life. Here is a brief program of life for you. You find no peace! Restore your faith in the Lord Savior. For the sake of her and repentance, everything that is faulty is forgiven, and everything that is imperfect is made up for. And with this faith, do everything that needs to be done according to your strength. Nothing more is required for salvation. Failure to understand this in the mind, and therefore the assumption: oh, not everything is done, suppresses, torments, and deprives one of peace. Take a good look at what is written down, and then write down what turns out to be unclear as a result. Happy holiday! Happy holiday! Pray to God for me, a sinner; for it suits me very well: “teaching others, do not teach yourself.” – Oh, if only life would submit to knowledge! Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 19 Dec. '72 Letter 769. Regretting the inability to visit the Saint. The main condition of spiritual life and the meaning of Christian hope I owe you an answer to two of your letters. I answer promptly. They were upset that there was no road to Vysha. No need. - You will undertake such labor, but what will you find? A mean old man, a sneak and a chatterbox, a cliff-tooth. It's worth going to see such a scarecrow. “I’m depicting reality for you, not making it up.” And I must, in good conscience, give you this advice. If the letters are of any use to you, be content with them. Coming to Vysha will make sure that your letters won’t bring you anything. And you will put a double sin on my neck, but she can’t bear it anyway. You also paint yourself too red. After all, you shouldn’t look at yourself too much. Moreover, our hope of salvation does not lie in our works, but in the Lord the Savior. He who believes in the Lord is in the realm of those who are saved. Grace comes to faith through St. Sacrament. And behold, the man is ready to set out on the path of following Christ. What is the main thing he needs? To have constant zeal to please Him by fulfilling His holy will in all the circumstances encountered in life. Whoever has it in him always does something, does it, i.e. lives. In those who don’t, their life has stopped. And look - is there zeal for God? This means that the life of Christ is in you: what remains? All that remains is to preserve it and not miss cases of fulfilling the will of God; to worry, if you worry, you should only worry about that if your zeal has faded. About the same thing, if there are any omissions, although you shouldn’t be indifferent, it’s also not good to groan and gasp: if someone’s joints are all loose, then no matter how hard you try, everything is lame and swaying and wagging in one direction and the other. But as soon as he moves along the road, he still goes. And no one expects him to walk briskly, evenly and harmoniously. This is our moral position. If only we could move at least a little: if we were limping, stumbling and wobbling around, what should we do? Our compositions are weakened. We must cry out: heal my soul. You ooh and ahh. Do you really have no hope of being saved from works? This is the Jewish way. The Christian path is to repent with tears and ask: Lord! In the image of fate, save me. After all, the hope of salvation in the Lord is also the duty of Christians and the spirit of their life. But if there is hope, then there is a joyful feeling! Stop looking at things and expecting salvation from them. Cast everything on the Lord, take refuge under His cross and begin to blossom with the trustworthiness of salvation! Write more and more often. And I will write soon, and the matter will become clear. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 18 Jan 73 Letter 770. About self-abasement, the Jesus Prayer and conversations And great! That's how it should be. You scold yourself well and honor yourself with the most unattractive names. That's how it should be. It is really disastrous when someone says about himself that he is right in everything and has nothing to repent of. Wonderful, wonderful! Please continue like this and go deeper and deeper into self-condemnation. Just look strictly, 1st - not only in words, self-condemning (but the heart is self-righteous) and 2nd - with all the consciousness of your lewdness, do not lose the hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. This last is more significant than the first. You need to feel like a drowning man at sea who grabs hold of and lies down on a board that is strong enough to lift him and carry him over the abyss. He constantly feels that he is ready to die, but at the same time he feels a saving plank underneath him. This is a real image of every soul truly saved in the Lord. She feels that she is dying on her own; but at the same time he feels that there is salvation by the Lord - for the sake of faith in Him. Please restore this feeling in yourself, if it is weak. For this is the essence of personal Christianity, i.e. in every living soul. In the Jesus Prayer, go as deep as you can. She will gather you, let you feel the strength in the Lord and make sure that you will be relentlessly with Him - both when you are alone, and when in public, and when you are running the house, and when you are reading or praying. Just place the power of this prayer not in repeating well-known words, but in turning your mind and heart to the Lord with these words. Both together. You are not allowed to be alone. Please live as you lived, only in everything with the fear of God, for the glory of the Lord, in simplicity of heart. Conversations started in the evenings are a good thing. I’ll give an example: One beauty (72) (they talked about her) had a custom, when one of the monks or priests came to her, to open the book and say: well, read it and tell me what it is. Somehow I can’t understand it. And I listened to what he said. And she wouldn’t blink, even if he was lying, because she understood the whole matter clearly. Please preserve the spirit of humility in this regard. And command less. More requests for admonition; When the Egyptian elders had conversations, they always turned first of all to those who were weaker for permission, in order to inspire them and encourage them to do more work. Sorry for not answering soon. All laziness! You don't know how lazy I am. Oh! Ouch! I call her my missus, who took me in her arms and doesn’t let me say a word. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me. And I ask all of you to pray for my sinfulness. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. Happy post! I wish you a soul-saving experience. Letter 771. About the diaries. Letter from the heart. Caring for the Lost I was just about to write to you answers to the previous two letters, when I received another. How much do I owe?! But this is the first letter before your departure to Moscow. Therefore, I had nowhere to write. The second announced the return, but it came when all communication ceased with us due to flooding of rivers and lack of paths. Here's the third one for you. I'm only guilty of missing one mail, or two or more. But I blame this on my faithful laziness, whose rights due to the long-standing cohabitation are indisputable. I read your notebooks and immediately went into the oven, which was heating up this time. I know that many people do this, and I started it myself. But he quit. A simple old man talked some sense into me: nothing! speaks. If you notice anything bad in yourself, immediately repent and try to improve, but why write?! You shouldn’t even write anything good. This lesson, he continued, teaches hypocrisy before God, i.e. the most evil hypocrisy. And if you continue it, an inexorable conceit will fill your soul, which will enter the juice and blood. The soul will become saturated with it, like a barrel of tar. So I quit. And I advise you too. I remember that only one ancient elder wrote down, but not what you have, but the thoughts that were especially sharply imprinted on his soul. He wrote them down with charcoal on the walls of the cell and read them. This, he said, was what the Angel inspired me with. You could do this too, but I think it is difficult to distinguish what is written on your own from what is suggested. And - it’s better not to do this either, the simpler life, the better. Simplicity and humility are two wings that communicate speed. The troubles and fussiness have completely suffocated you. Be patient and pray to the Lord to help. What can we do without the Lord? Turn to Him for everything. – Once you expressed concern about how to recognize yourself. Pray to the Lord, and He will clearly and accurately show you what you are and what your structure is. And then make plans according to that instruction, or better yet, start a new prayer after that. God help me to fix everything that turns out to be faulty. It is impossible to demand from the laity such purity of thoughts and feelings as is required from hermits and monks. However, they too must hurry there. For it is written to everyone: seek the highest. The life is hidden with Christ in God. The means? Seek and you will find, search and it will be opened to you. The blacksmith knows that if he hits with a hammer, a nail will come out. He who is zealous about spiritual things cannot say in any way: I will do this and that and get this. Fight like a fish against ice, searching; and you will receive whatever the Lord pleases to give and whenever it pleases: write this letter on your heart. Seek, cry out with contrition of heart, with extreme self-humiliation and with undoubted faith that the Lord will give everything you need; when will it work out? This is not ours. Even if the Lord gives nothing, then thank God! You must give all your salvation into the hands of the Lord - the most faithful, reliable, good and wise path. You will have a beauty. So what? God bless! I don’t know how to say anything, see for yourself and what you see is suitable, then do and say. Please ask the Lord to enlighten you. The time is very favorable to do something for this soul. But I think it’s better not to bother her with anything, to give her complete freedom, so that she feels relaxed with you. Cover her with prayer. If she knew a prayer in childhood, then she will now rise from the ashes. Do you sometimes throw out a short phrase as if by accident? And then perhaps here’s what can be done. Let him tell you his beliefs - what she stands for. You tell them to me, maybe I could come up with something to write. It is only necessary that she fully express herself. She declared all her supports. Then cut off these supports, and the whole building collapses. It is better to do this without hiding from her, even secretly from others. You did well that you didn’t go to Vysha. And put it out of your mind. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Pray to God for me, a sinner. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 2 May 73 Letter 772. About impressionability of character. Manifestations of passions and how to deal with them You've talked so much about yourself that all that's left to do is take a stick and hit you. Impressiveness with a lively character - decent things give inconvenience in life. It looks like a small hurricane every time it shows its strength. What to do? There is one law about natural characters: to endure them as God’s intelligible dowry. And as soon as possible, work a little to tame it and make its movement harmless. You should do something to put your liveliness and speed into the proper frame. That the soul is receptive is good; but you have to invest in moderation. I don't know what to advise you. Pray to the Lord to teach you how to prevent your natural disposition from ruining you. There is self-love: who doesn’t have it? There is pride: it’s good that there is something to be proud of. There is inattention and absent-mindedness: where to go with your thoughts. You look and are captivated. Yes, of course, there are many other virtues of this kind. And who is free from them?! It is necessary to distinguish only between feelings that have entered the character and feelings that are fleeting - they came and went. Until passions are finally put to death, bad thoughts, feelings, movements and plans will not stop. They diminish as passions diminish. Their source is our passionate half. This is where all our attention needs to be directed. There is one educational tool. The memory of the Lord is unceasing with prayer to Him. The elders of God knew how to drive away everything bad and keep themselves in good order. The skill of the Jesus Prayer is the outer side of that weapon. In essence, this is the same as being a homebody. Consciousness in the heart to be with the Lord, whose calling drives away everything worthless. Read Hesychia - about sobriety. Work and constancy in monotonous work overcomes everything. Lord help that old woman or beauty to overcome hostile dispositions towards her brothers. She would do something for them, she would always be the first to say hello to them. And most importantly, let her ask the Lord to take this feeling from her. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 25 Feb '73 Letter 773. About spending free time. How to read a house rule What did you say: having given up writing a diary, you no longer find anything to fill your time with? Here's the best thing for you - and an endless task! Establish your mind in the presence of God. Then talk to God with your mind and do something with your hands. And that's it. It is good to write out amazing passages from books, but this must be done from those books that are taken from others; in your own books, it is enough to outline these passages in the margins with a pencil. When there is nothing to do, open the Gospel, take an event or text and think about it, applying to yourself what you come up with; this activity is very life-giving if the soul finds the way. Are you going to read the rule? Good! When fulfilling your rule, do not have in mind only to subtract everything that is required, but to arouse and strengthen the prayer movement in your soul; - for this to work, 1) never read hastily, but read as if in a chant, close to it. In ancient times, all prayers read were taken from the psalms. But nowhere do I see the words: read, but sing everywhere. 2) Delve deeply into every word and not only reproduce the thought of what you read in your mind, but also arouse the corresponding feeling. 3) To trigger the urge to read hastily, do not subtract this or that, but stand during the reading prayer for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour, as long as you usually stand, and then don’t worry about how many prayers you read, but when the time has come, if you don’t want to stand any longer, stop reading. 4) Having put this on the clock, however, do not look, but stand in such a way as to stand endlessly: the thought will not run ahead. 5) To promote the movement of prayerful feelings, in your free time, re-read and rethink all the prayers that are included in your rule - and feel them, so that when you begin to read them as a rule, you will know in advance what feeling should be aroused in the heart. 6) Never read prayers without interruption, but always interrupt them with personal prayer with bows, whether in the middle of the prayers or at the end. As soon as something comes to your heart, immediately stop reading and bow. This last rule is the most necessary and most necessary for cultivating the spirit of prayer. If sometimes some feeling becomes very overwhelming, you be with it and bow down, and stop reading, until the very end of the allotted time. Do not say prayers only in the morning and in the evening, but also during the day, often make several bows without setting hours. Do what is indicated in points 5 and 6 in advance for morning and night prayers only. Perhaps there will be no need to read anything else anymore. God bless you to spend your soul-saving time. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 24 June 73 Letter 774. About peace of mind, constant presence before God and renunciation of the world. A modest review of my leadership As much as I see, your soul finds no peace. Why doesn’t she find peace while working for the Lord, Who is our peace?! Is this what you think you need to decide? When the soul is restless in the world, it is natural: the world cannot satisfy the spirit. And when someone begins to work for the Lord, he should have tasted peace right away, even if not completely. And you are restless, and tea has long since embarked on this path. So, if you please, delve into yourself and solve this. No one else will solve this. You wrote that you stand up for prayer, begin to say the Jesus Prayer, and then give up, considering yourself unworthy to stand wisely before the Lord. I don't understand what's going on here. It is necessary not only when we stand in prayer, but always to walk before the Lord as if looking into His eyes or being under His eyes. Because that's how it is. How about you? As soon as your thought comes before the Lord, you run away. If the Lord forbade appearing before Him, of course there would be something useful in your action; but when the Lord, Himself, draw near, requires everyone to draw close to Himself, then what is the point in your action? This is the second time you write. Please give it up. And try to acquire the skill of constantly standing before the Lord. How you wake up before you fall asleep. And all the time with fear and trembling and with all attention to both yourself and the Lord. The word began about prayer, would you say how you pray, and how is your prayer going? Say that in Penza the world acted on you - and you entered quite deeply into its demands - to the point that your heart was disgusted that now you are throwing away the excess. What the heart said at that time was not the heart, but the conscience through the heart, and the conscience itself listened to the suggestion of the angel who is here. In this subsequent feeling, you must recognize the order of God, and it should have been followed immediately no matter what. But that is the past, now repentance, and correction, a feeling of the heart, and equipping oneself for the future to act among the world - detached from the world. You expect too much from my illness. I wrote that I am a poor expert in practice and you cannot expect much benefit from me. Only tara-tara. And in general, why should you expect much from a person? If you work for the Lord, then He is also your mentor and leader. Run to Him. Always express your needs to Him fully and sincerely and pray that He will enlighten you and give you understanding and correct your feelings. You are right in thinking that we ourselves cannot produce anything pleasing to Him; He Himself produces all these things in us. Turn to Him. All the best to you from the Lord. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. Aug 21 '73 Letter 775. Encouragement for One Seeking the Gift of Prayer My answer to you is not quick. Guilty! I'm lazy, very lazy. I excuse myself for being slow only because there is no need to rush: everything is going well with you. Why are you whining?! Everything is in order in your prayer order: there is nothing to add. Keep it as usual and wait for God's mercy. In-depth prayer, unceasing prayer and other manifestations of prayerful grace are all from grace. Ours is feasible, but diligent and constant work. The prayer sought is grace. The time will come and it will be given. You just need to not be lazy, search diligently and use everything possible. But the main thing is a clear conscience. For the grace of prayer is the grace of sincere communication with God. Nothing unclean can come into fellowship with God. So, getting ready, and working as you labor, wait. And he will come, but when? When it comes, then it will come. I guess that you don’t have Macarius the Great. Get it. He will be very helpful to you in explaining the point that everything is from God, but according to our labors. Without work, nothing will happen. And work alone is nothing. Both are needed. This is the same as air and lungs. Move your lungs and air will come in. Stop it and it won’t go in. It is said so generally about the remaining tooth root that I can’t guess anything, but if it is a hindrance, then we must pray to the Lord to remove it. And he will do it - you can’t do anything yourself - God will do everything; but through prayer and searching and hard work. God bless you to seek and work. I wish you all the best from the Lord. And I forgot it was! Instead of a diary, do this: write down your good thoughts from books. This is the notebook you can leaf through when your soul freezes. Save yourself and pray to God for us. I am sending you an interpretation of the Epistle to Thessalonians. Give another copy to the servant of God Agnia (Pecherina). Letter 776. About my interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. About frequent fasting. The road to childhood in Christ Your two letters inspired me to finally write to you. You have nothing to explain the slowdown in writing except incessant laziness, with which I have been at odds and at odds all my life. The interpretation seemed like Lenten dry food to you. But this is the kind of writing that expressed the apostle’s thought, clarified its connection with others, and further. I still have a lot of unnecessary things against interpretation. And the fact that there are many extracts is because according to the law in our Orthodoxy, what is firmly established is that it stands on the holy fathers. For Protestants it’s a different matter; for them, whatever comes to mind, everything goes. When you receive St. Macarius in your hands, please read first the 9th, 19th and 29th conversations, then the 15th, 26th and 27th, and all this - not like a sexton. Next, whatever you want, memorize these well. You complain about a loss of energy. Smooth but diligent activity may be better. But everything here is inevitably influenced by a natural character, from which you cannot get rid of it, and for no reason. You just need to direct him to the work of God. Are you fasting, fasting? May God grant you salvation. This needs to be done more often. Large posts can be done twice, or even Great Fasts three times. And not during fasting time. Go to a monastery and say a little fast, or else, after saying something at home, run there just to receive communion. Of course you have to do it with fear. But this shouldn’t be too much. There is medicine for the sick. Accustom yourself to think in the morning, having completed everything usual, and take a poem and chew it until the taste is found. See how good it is! But everything is in the simplicity of the heart. The simpler things and thoughts are, the better. It is the road to childhood in Christ, which we should set as our ideal. Will our crazy heads ever come to this? Will it come? - Lord have mercy! Congratulations on the holiday from me too - in due time. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 12 Dec. '73 Letter 777. About fasting during the Nativity Fast Please forgive me for my late response. I felt a little sick, a little lazy. Happy New Year! I wish you something new in your soul too. What you need, ask, and it will be given to you. The Lord is everywhere and abundantly merciful. His treasures are open. Take as much as you want. What you fasted, you did well. Is that how it is with you?! A rarity - shit in this post. And in our monastery, a rare Sunday passes without there being large communicants, not children, not just pilgrims, but also local residents, both ordinary people and nobles. With your light hand they will go and fast with you. But if life is in the Lord, and He says that in Him is the one who partakes of His body and blood, then he who desires life should not receive communion often! Who is stopping you from managing to start studying the Mysteries more often? Just an empty belief. We began to have the words: approach with the fear of God and faith - in an empty form. The priest of God calls, but no one comes, and no one notices the inconsistency in this inconsistency with the call of God, and at God’s supper. You have a lot of trouble. Concern yourself externally with your inner world; how is this? Ask the Lord and he will give. Lord save the philosopher, I remember Elisabeth and I do not forget Agnia. God bless and have mercy on you all! I ask all the saints for prayers about my sinfulness. A little sick. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 17th Gen. '74 Letter 778. Koudelka and strand I think you’re scolding me, scolding me, and you’re exhausted. I don’t write, I write poorly, it’s all your own fault. What do you call that lady who demands a spinning strand but won’t give a strand?! Evil lady. This is you. Did you give me a kudelka? No. Give me some yarn. Give me a piece of work: I’ll put so much strain on you that you won’t be happy. So I undertake to answer. I look at the letter to see what I can complain about, to say something. And there's no point. What do you want me to write? I am alive and well, I wish the same for you, and so on. The general truths are all spelled out in books, and by what minds? no match for our feeble-mindedness. Read there and learn for yourself. If you want my spoiling, my articles are in Home Conversation and in Soulful Reading. What a tragedy that you should blame either your son or your sister! Why not leave the case without charges? Why not take it all on yourself if you can cover for others? You started your speech and said nothing. Either not start, or having started, say definitely what the point is. For this, please bow down and then read: I forgive and permit, and so on. Moral lesson: do not sin in the future, otherwise it will be worse than one bow. Do this punctually. Here's the post. If you are healthy, go to church faithfully, fast, retire, read, and meditate. Have the Lord with you and reveal all your needs to Him. He knows how to please those who sincerely resort to Him. I ask for your prayers for my sinfulness. I wish you all the best from the Lord. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 26 Feb. 74. Letter 779. Various instructions and reflections on piety Humility and patience are great virtues. You have put on them! The Lord's clothing! God bless you to wear it and not throw it off. Lord God, sanctify Him in your heart. And you will be a church to God! The best a person can make of himself. And it’s good when he does it, because he should. It’s good to retire within the walls from entertainment, but to retire within yourself is even better. The first is nothing without the last; and the latter is all important without the former. When they go to the church of God, they do well; but whoever learns to pray at home, as in a church, is no less than that. Those living in society have nothing to save themselves except alms. The more they do it, the closer they come to the equal-angelic life of the great hermits. How difficult it is, when entering into intercourse with others, to maintain composure of thoughts and the same mood of spirit! But it’s also good if they don’t end up with idle talk, but stick to the conversation that is beneficial to the soul. Time is short. An hour or two - and death. Submit your report! And you can’t say that you forgot to keep a note: because all the things are already there. They are waiting for us to read and assault that everything is so, and there are no objections or excuses. Immediately they check the law and get the verdict. When for so many years?! But there are flightless summers. Woe to us! But there is no desire to lament! And we don’t want to give up sin. Be Thy will, O Lord, and save me through destinies. You will make sure that no one knows what I am writing or what I am writing. Letter 780. Spiritual Impoliteness Seek the Lord! Seek His face! Just as a person sees a person face to face, so try to place your soul before the Lord, so that they are eye to eye. This is so natural that there should be no mention of it. For the soul by nature must strive for the Lord. And the Lord is always near. And there is nothing to recommend them to each other, because they are old acquaintances. Why the matter? The soul of a fool keeps turning its back to the Lord, then spins around before Him disorderly, not paying attention to Him. After all, this is very impolite. Take this ignorant lady into your hands and teach her the laws of politeness that are well known to you. Explain how the Lord endures such ignorance? – Or is He not?! And we still sin!! When is the end?! Is there an end to God's patience? You need to check your experience. If there is an end, then on what basis will we be sure that this end will not happen in relation to us? If there is no reason to think so, but on the contrary, we must believe that it can end for us too, then determine at what moment it will end. Tomorrow or this minute? No matter how usual it is for us to have breakfast, we cannot deny that for us God’s long-suffering may end now, this very minute. Apply this to your heart, and what will it say? No matter how rude it is, it cannot cope with this thought without horror, and as a result without crying: Oh, Lord, save and have mercy! God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Stand at this point and don’t move from it. She is the most saving one. Saving spiritual water flows out of it like a fountain, sobering you up from the intoxication of empty thinking, and sometimes thin-mindedness. God bless you and have mercy. Pray to God for me, a great sinner. Your pilgrim Bp. Feofan. 9 Feb. '75 Letter 781. Confession of one’s infirmities by the saint Forgive me, for the Lord’s sake, for my sin in not writing to you for so long. I don’t know what to write. The head is stupid. Heart too. Pray for me, a great sinner, impoverished and increasingly impoverished. I might even despair of salvation if it weren’t for the belief that the one who arranged for us such a wondrous image of salvation and brought it so closer to us is ready to save my all-damned state right now. It’s all up to me, to my desire. Here's hope! Even though I put everything off until tomorrow, I have no doubt that I will get whatever I want tomorrow. What a wonderful Lord for our weakness! I ask for your prayers. I don’t dare tell you anything for edification: for my conscience immediately comes up and reminds you: if you teach others, don’t teach yourself, and it’s a shame. Maybe I wouldn’t have responded to you yet; but the desire has come to clear all debts, and I am writing, although I have nothing definite to say. Congratulations on your post. May God help you to spend it in health and in the salvation of your soul. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 17 Feb '76 Letter 782. Word of goodness flowing through salvation I am very glad that you continue to stand on God’s path and do not deviate to sides, despite all your efforts. May the Lord bless you in everything, both externally and especially internally. Occurring unevenness in feelings and moods are nothing special: this is the common lot of everyone. The first subject of patience is patience with oneself, although almost no one pays attention to this: this matter goes along with forcing oneself to do everything good and denying oneself everything that is recognized as unkind in any respect. In what strict attention to this need - you yourself know! When the memory of God exists and supports the fear of God in the heart, then everything will prosper for good, but when it weakens or is kept only in the head, then everything is crooked and at random. I’m writing this this way: because you have nothing seriously to write. Not small. Everyone should know and you know so much that you can teach others. May this only serve to revive your usual thought of God and good thoughts. Pray, for the Lord’s sake, for me, a sinful, careless and lazy person. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. July 16, 77 Letter 783. Response to news of losses and family worries. Forever new book I regret your losses with you. It is impossible not to grieve, but you are doing good by dissolving your sorrow with complacency and devotion to the will of God. The Lord beats every son and every daughter whom He accepts. Give thanks to God's love. Son near Plevna! May God's protection be over him! Be complacent. Warriors fighting for the cause of God walk the martyr's road. Our war is truly for the cause of God. Convey your kindness to your sick daughter. In Tambov, one God-fearing daughter of God-fearing parents (a long, long time ago - about 30 years ago) came with her parents to Tambov to get grooms. She was healthy; but suddenly she collapsed and fell into relaxation, in which she lay for 20 years, without moving. Saint Mitrofan called her to him and healed her there. It will be 15 years now. Patience, complacency and thanksgiving to God - this is the salvation of your daughter. Pray for your elder. One wave and everything in her heart can turn upside down. Either way it’s God’s will. I am sending you a few of my books. I ask for prayers. But you can live a whole century with one Gospel or New Testament and read everything. Read it all and you won’t finish it. Read it a hundred times, and everything will remain unread. Remember, I wrote to you, to meditate on your daily readings, trying to bring the thoughts you encounter into feeling. This activity is endless. For no matter how hard you think, you will not reach the end of God’s thoughts. Did you do this? No. Please make bows of penance. God bless you! I wish you complacency. Your pilgrim E.F. 18 Oct. '77 Letter 784. Fear of Plague "The storm is coming." Where do you see her? At the place where the plague appeared, everything is already over. There is no point in tormenting yourself with unfounded fears. Is it only good that you can take advantage of this opportunity to awaken the constant fear of death and direct it to stimulate repentant feelings in the coming fast. Please use this trick against yourself. But we still don’t know what spring will give birth to. Maybe there really will be a plague. Get ready to die, because one thing is still necessary. What does plague add to the usual death? Nothing; They say they die even more quietly from the plague. So here's the benefit! How to prepare? And there is no need to worry about it. Now post. We talked, confessed, took communion and are ready. We just need to maintain this unceasing readiness. And that's it. I wish you to be complacent. Save yourself! I ask for your prayers for my sinfulness. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 15 Feb. '79 Letter 785. Spiritual Friction Insensibility confuses you. I think this is the aftereffect of painful exhaustion. Recover completely, and all your strength, and the next thing. and the feelings will enter into their next action. You already felt something when you heard “on the rivers of Babylon.” Go to church, rub yourself with spiritual friction, and the numbness of your heart will go away. Add to this a reflection on the comforting properties and actions of God, which show us in Him the most protective Father. Otherwise, take the trouble to intimidate yourself. For behold, here is death, and there is a report. Lord have mercy and mercy, most merciful! May the Lord admonish your son. Pray for him with a mother’s prayer. Sometimes say a word to him, only out of pitying and crying love, without reproaches and complaints. Times are really bad now. But if they don’t get to the source and block it, then evil will continue to grow and multiply the villains. The source is the one that allowed materialistic books to be released into society, according to which the world itself was formed and man has no soul. If there is no God and no soul, then where does faith stand? She falls. And everything will fall even more if these books are not destroyed. Meanwhile, some professors are not ashamed to skip the same thoughts in their lessons. And there are a lot of them in literature. There are magazines of this kind. Until all this is stopped, evil will not end, but will continue to grow. God bless you with every blessing. Save yourself! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. Mar 9 80 Letter 786. The answer to someone seeking to be warm, satisfied and calm "Hungry and cold." And I am winter and the bare desert. The Lord is bread and fire. And He is nearby. Turn to Him. Open your mouth, He will feed you; make yourself a heat conductor, and He will fill you with His warmth. That's it. My words are like pawns. What nutrition they provide! Weaving them together like a sieve or harrow does not provide a warming cover. So warm yourself and be satisfied as you know. You have so much to do around you! Turn them all face to the Lord and, despite the fact that they are all of an everyday order, they will serve as an instrument for a life detached from everything worldly. If possible, then you should not dismiss yourself from them. God sends as He gives a lesson that must be fulfilled. You can avoid the danger of expected noise with the arrival of a certain person when you arrange everything properly, so that it is not you who walk near them, but those who walk near you. You see Jerusalem as more of a peaceful place. No, it is noisier and provides few conveniences for the work of salvation. You have to go there with a strong spirit. The Lord is no closer to those in Jerusalem than to those in Penza. "And into despair." If you have the Lord as your Savior, then how appropriate is it to despair? And maybe he knows how, and wants, and is looking for someone to save. And he saves, saves everyone who comes running. It only doesn’t save those who want to save themselves. If you belong to this category, then you cannot avoid despair. And if you are drawn after those who place all their salvation in the Lord, then despair cannot approach you, even if you call it to you. God bless you! Save yourself! Letter 787. The immutability of God and the variability of man. How to behave when praised. About the Jesus Prayer I am very glad that you are alive, healthy and living in the good old way, not like the Galatians, about whom it is often written. God bless! We cannot free ourselves from the fluctuations of our life during its normal course. Immutability is a gift of God, but it is and is a property of the One God, which (property) by His mercy He sometimes shares with us for a while. You can’t trust us with anything forever, we’ll eat it from hunger, i.e. We will become vain and thereby destroy ourselves and the gift. God reveals His goodness in us so that we do not despair, and again hides it so that we do not become vain and arrogant. What they praise, there is no problem here. It is clear that the taste for goodness in those around him has not completely deteriorated. This is their praise. What do we need? We have a lesson about humility, which we will take care to fulfill. This is the news; I think you are doing it. Keep the old order, good, Christian. Look inside so that what you owe there does not weaken; because that's the main thing. There, admit it, sometimes not everything is in order, or not everything happens as it should. What should you do if you ask how to help yourself? We have the Lord - the One Teacher, the One Helper, without Whom we cannot do anything as we should. He is always nearby. Turn to Him. Have you read about the Jesus Prayer? And you know it by deed. She is the only one who can make sure that the proper order is strong inside, and she will not allow external mischief to upset this order. It will only provide an opportunity to fulfill the instructions of the fathers: hands at work, mind and heart with God. When it is grafted into the heart, then there are no breaks inside, but everything is one and the same. It is hardly possible to create something systematic inside, but one or the same thing, given the diversity of inevitable affairs, can be retained - and this will be given by the Jesus Prayer when it is grafted into the heart. How will it get vaccinated?! Who knows how? but is vaccinated. The worker is aware of this, without knowing how it happened. Work, walking in the presence of God, repeating this prayer as often as possible. As soon as freedom, now for it. And it will be possible. Reading is one of the ways to renew and revive the Jesus Prayer. But it is advisable to read more about prayer. And thinking is the same kind of activity. The merciful Lord welcomes all those who seek Him in any way with His mercy and does not skimp on gifts when He sees the vaginas ready for them. Your good friend Bp. Feofan. 12 June 92 Letter 788. In the decline of days, awaiting the last decree Thank you for your holiday greeting. May God grant you also to spend your days festively. You believe that the day of your life has already turned towards evening and are about to fall asleep. May the Lord bless your dormition. You are already ripe, threshed wheat. Behold, behold, the teeth of death will sweep you away, and in the form of bread you will enter the Lord's table! Ninth decade!! Few live to be that old. But glory and honor are not among the years. You lived, glory to God, observing and calling all who saw to glorify the Heavenly Father. However, the decree has not yet been received! You think that this is the end, but in fact, maybe the Lord will destine you to live for more than one summer. May the Lord give you at the same time the strength to live without infirmities and burdens. Are you angry with me for not answering your letter, where you wrote to reason with your son (or brother) that he is grumbling?! I was planning to write not to him, but to you. The reason I didn’t write is that you didn’t have the address listed. And now there is no address. But I'll write at random. If the post office knows you, it will deliver, if it doesn’t, so be it! You'll have to regret it. E. Feofan. 12th Gen. '93 Letter 789. Denunciation of Molokan errors. The importance of church tradition. Addition to the apology for icon veneration On icon veneration (Against the Molokans). In those places where there are Molokans, Orthodox Christians are often tempted by them. Living together, it is impossible not to enter into relationships, transactions on everyday matters and conversations. All this happens among Orthodox Christians and Molokans. In other places these relations remain without consequences; and in others, the Orthodox are attacked by the Molokans and are confused in their faith, wavering in their beliefs, and even carried away to the side of the Molokan wisdom. This especially happens where there are Molokans who are scribblers. The main subject with which they try to confuse the simple-hearted and actually confuse them is the veneration of icons. No matter how much they explain to the Molokans in what sense the Orthodox Church holds icons and honors them, they do not pay attention to this, but have formed a false concept for themselves about this subject, and with it they go out to self-defense and fight against the truth. For this purpose, they have selected many scriptures from the Old Testament in which the worship of idols is prohibited. After re-reading them, they turn to the Orthodox with reproach: you are going against God. He threateningly forbids having idols, but how many of them do you have?! – Those who understand the meaning of icon veneration will not be tempted by this and will make a proper rebuff to the attacker; and others are very embarrassed by such speeches, especially by the number of scriptures that another reciter will say. How can Orthodox Christians be protected from such temptation? There can be no better way to do this than to give into the hands of the Orthodox the history of iconoclasm, simple but detailed. Here you will see everything about what kind of people they were who rebelled against the icons, and how St. resisted them. The Church, in the person of its shepherds - martyrs and confessors for that reason - will be presented in a variety of ways, in what sense icons exist and are revered, and what are the grounds for this. After reading, remembering all this, the Orthodox can strongly repel the Molokan attacks, and not suffer defeat, but defeat themselves, and remove from history who is related to the Molokans. For this purpose, a real history of iconoclasm and the struggle against it by St. has been compiled and offered to the Orthodox. Churches. When compiling it, one thing was in mind - to present the matter as it was, and especially not to omit anything that could clarify the meaning of icon veneration, attract people to it and teach them how to use it wisely. How important is iconography and icon veneration? Molokans usually say: show me where it is written in the Gospel that we must have icons and venerate them? “Then they say this to show that they believe only in what is written.” Having heard this question from one of them, do not answer it, but ask him first: do you believe in everything and do you have everything that is written, and that is clearly commanded to everyone? - And without waiting for his answer, tell him: is it commanded to receive holy baptism? - It is clearly commanded. The Lord spoke with His most pure lips - that only he who has faith and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16). But whoever is not baptized and thus born of water and the Spirit will not be saved and will not enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). Therefore, sending St. The apostles to preach, He commanded them to teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Are you baptized? - Not baptized. So why are you, not baptized, asking these questions: show me where it is written? but you do not fulfill what is written and clearly commanded! Then ask him again: Is it commanded to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ? - It is clearly commanded. The Lord said: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man (i.e., Himself) and drink His blood, you do not have life in you (John 6:53). Then, having established the sacrament of body and blood, he laid down the law: do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19). Have you ever received communion? - No. So why are you shouting: show me where it’s written. - Go, do first what is written; then come and we’ll talk about what’s not written. But without waiting, I will ask you: is everything written that the Lord said and taught, that the Apostles did and taught? - Answer me. - Or, so as not to burden you, I will answer for you myself: not everything, much less everything. For the Evangelist John, having written his Gospel, said at the end: But the many things that Jesus did, even if they were written one at a time, are not possible for the whole world to contain the books that were written (John 21:25). Do you see?! But it is known that St. John wrote his Gospel after all the Evangelists, and wrote then to complement those Gospels. But having completed them, having written 21 chapters, of which most of the verses are 40–50, 60 and 70, he said that you cannot rewrite everything, because much remains unwritten. You say: it’s not written, and it’s gone. How can he get lost?! And those before whom what was done, and to whom what was said, where did they go with you? - And the holy Apostles, who saw and heard everything and then received the Holy Spirit, by the way, so that He would remind them of everything - where are your holy Apostles? Here or not?! So, it was impossible for him to go to waste. All this, although it was not written on paper, was written in the memory of St. Apostles 12 and 70 - those 500 brothers whom Ap. remembers. Paul, and many others who believed in the Lord, saw His miracles and heard St. teaching. – And were they silent about all this? They could not remain silent about this, but they conveyed everything to the new believers, who did not know it, and what unwritten commandments there were, they ordered to be fulfilled immediately. When the Apostles preached and the churches established, what did they talk about? Everything about what the Lord taught and commanded. Having founded churches, they did not leave them, but visited them often, and during these visits everyone talked about the Lord. And the believers could not help but torture them about what they knew. - Judge for yourself. If you met the Apostle, would you leave him without asking everything? That's how it was then. And there is no doubt that everything done and commanded by the Lord, although not written down, was handed down to the believers, was kept in the Church and has come down to us. It was lost only for those who are too smart and shout: I don’t want to know anything other than what is written in the Gospel. “That’s what they were.” No one is to blame. But these are vanities, for whom much of what was written was lost, even St. Baptism and St. Communion - so they stopped being Christians. For what kind of Christian is an unbaptized one?! This is how bad it is to be wise and shout: show me where it is written - what is not written, I don’t believe in! – But I showed you only one place about this from the Gospel of John. Listen again to what Ev says. Luke in the book of Acts! - He says that the Lord, after His resurrection from the dead, appeared to the Apostles for forty days, and told them everything that related to the kingdom of God, i.e. before the dispensation of St. Church (Acts 1:3). What the Lord said, St. wrote about it. Luke didn’t write what exactly he said. Where did all this go, what did he say then? In your opinion, everything is gone!? – did the Lord speak in vain? No - not in vain! All this was preserved in the memory of the Apostles, renewed in this memory by the Holy Spirit, and everything was then handed down to the believers, and from them it came down to us from generation to generation. But what is it: speaking about the kingdom of God? – Do you think that this is something unearthly, immeasurably lofty, something that is happening in heaven? - No. All these conversations concerned how to establish a holy church on earth: how to preach, how to baptize believers, how to teach them the Holy Spirit, how to partake of the Holy Mysteries, how to elect and ordain shepherds for them, how they should gather for prayer - morning, evening, noon - what to sing, what to read? And everything else related to pleasing God and saving the soul. - All this is not recorded. But the Apostles, having accepted all this from the Lord, then, when they established churches, put all this into practice. And how they established churches, so it has come down to us. Look how the saints acted. Apostles! – Read in Acts, chapters 13 and 14, as St. Paul and Barnabas went to preach at the inspiration of the Spirit of God. They preached throughout the island of Cyprus, and on the solid land of Pamphylia, Pisidia and Licinia, and founded churches in Perga, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe and other cities and villages. When their preaching here was accepted with faith, what did they do? So they abandoned these believers?! No. They again went through all these places, repeating everywhere how and what one should believe in and save one’s soul, and what is especially important: having ordained elders for the whole church, and having prayed with fasting, commending them to the Lord, they believed in the unworthy (Acts 14:23). This means that in every place they established a special parish with a special priest. This is exactly how we now have it and do it. The question now arises: did these priests, ordained by the Apostles, only bear the name of priests, or did they act in a priestly manner? - What is it? – They gathered believers for prayer, repeated the Apostolic teaching with them, and partook of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood; if anyone converted again, or children were born to anyone, they were baptized and chrismated; who got sick? - he was anointed with oil (the blessing of oil was performed on him); who died? - he was buried with prayer, and so on. That all this was done by priests supplied by the Apostles can be seen from many other places in the Apostolic Epistles and Acts. But how all this was accomplished is not written down anywhere. The believers kept the image of their sacred rites, especially the manner of performing the sacraments, in secret, and conveyed them only in words through their very actions, and did not write them down on purpose, so that no one would know it among the unbelievers, and they would not be guilty of the commandments of the Lord: do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). So that's how it went! And this is how much that was commanded by the Lord and brought into action by the Apostles remained unwritten. And it was impossible to write everything down and should not have been. I will stop here and will not explain to you further that not everything commanded by the Lord and preached by the Apostles was written down, but that much without writing was directly put into practice and constituted the structure of the Church. Then each parish, as it was organized, then kept its structure. The emerging children learned from their fathers how to be in the Church, and everything passed from generation to generation. From this you see that shouting: show me where it is written, I don’t want to believe what is not written in the Gospel - there is no point. Whoever shouts like that clearly shows that he does not read what is written, or while reading, he is so blind that he does not see what is written. If I had read and understood properly, I would not have shouted so uselessly. But we started talking about icons. The Molokans are screaming: it’s not written about icons, we don’t want to have them and venerate them. – From what has been said so far, it is clear that even though it has not been written about icons, they could have been established or admitted without writing, without writing they could have been used in homes and churches, and in this form they could have come down to us. If it were directly written that it is forbidden to have icons; Then it would be obvious that the Lord does not want Christians to use them. But from the fact that it is not written about them in the Gospel and the apostolic writings, nothing can be deduced against them. And if we indicate traditions about their use from the time of the Lord Himself and St. Apostolov: then our vain Molokans should be completely silent. And there are such legends: namely about the image not made by hands and about the icons painted by St. Evangelist Luke. In addition to the traditions of deep Christian antiquity, sanctified by the Church, to which Saint Theophan points out, at present, thorough scientific research has clearly, without allowing the slightest doubt, confirmed the truth of icon veneration, and, what is most significant, authoritative voices from representatives of science and art in favor of the apostolic antiquity of icon veneration are heard in Protestant countries. Thus, Orthodox truth triumphs, despite human errors! The author of the essay “The True Face of the Savior,” setting out the contents of a public lecture given in London three years ago by Wyke-Baylis, chairman of the Royal Society of Artists, says: “catacombs, where Christians buried their deceased brethren, appeared in Rome already in the very early years of the spread of Christianity during the first century. Judging by the images preserved in the catacombs, we can really talk about that early time when the first evangelists of the Gospel were still alive. We find in these images mainly events that are narrated only in the Gospel of John, for example, the resurrection of Lazarus, etc. But the Gospel of John, as we know, was written no earlier than the period of time 80-90 years of the first century. Consequently, these images appeared even when Christians knew about the events in the life of the Savior from living oral tradition, before they became acquainted with the Gospel of John. But in this case, we are already in the period of life of the contemporaries of I. Christ and His disciples. Would John, Peter and Paul, with their authority, sanctify the dissemination of such images of the face of Christ, which they would not recognize as authentic? (The true face of the Savior. 25–26). This is the final conclusion of the Wyke-Baylis lecture. Thus, as if in reproach to the “superstitious” who reject the traditions and teachings of the Church - foreign and our home-grown ones, like the Molokans and Stundists, “in the right time” God raised from ancient tombs silent, but eloquent and indisputable witnesses of the truth - we mean sacred monuments of extreme antiquity. In addition to the legends indicated by Saint Theophan about the miraculous image of Christ the Savior and about the icons painted by St. Evangelist Luke, we point out the following evidence. St. Basil the Great (†379): “I confess the appearance of the Son of God in the flesh and St. Mary, Mother of God. I honor their images and kiss them with remembrance, since they are St. They were betrayed by the apostles and were not prohibited, but on the contrary, they were written in all our churches.” St. Gregory of Nyssa (†394): “When someone comes to a place like this (i.e., to the church), he sees, like an artist, the heroic deeds of the martyr, his confrontation, his torment, the wild and inhuman faces of the tormentors, the blessed end of the struggle and the human image of Christ, the Judge of the struggle - all this, as in a book, is painted artistically with colors and the church is gracefully and richly decorated.” Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council: “We keep, not in a new way, all the church traditions established for us with scripture or without scripture, from which one is the icon depiction of the image, as if it were consistent with the narrative of the Gospel sermon and serves us to assure the true, and not the imaginary, incarnation of God the Word.” At the same time, at the 7th Ecumenical Council, chapters 45 and 180 of the “Spiritual Meadow” were read, speaking about the extreme antiquity of icon reading (IV and V Acts of the 7th Ecumenical Council). But undoubtedly, the most ancient legend about St. icons contained in the life of St. Pancratius, a contemporary of our Lord I. Christ. The Apostle Peter appointed him bishop in Tauromenia, in Sicily. He kept the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God as a great shrine. See Chetii-Minei. July. 9th number. Comp. Acta Sanctorum. Apr. 1, p.237–243. Letter 790. How appropriate is grief for the dead? The dead are alive and continue to communicate with us One cannot help but grieve: such is our soul; but in moderation, and a small one at that. What is most important to a person, body or soul? The soul is the main thing. When the soul is alive, the person is alive. And when they die, what dies, the soul or the body? Body; but the soul remains alive. The dead became alive; your parents are also alive. They just left you and began to live in another place. You will also go there in due time, and you will see each other. Your separation is only temporary. That is why I say that it is impossible not to grieve; only a little, as they mourn when they leave home for school. It so happened with us that we imagine the dead as they were when they were lying on the table in the coffin, and then as they are in the grave, and we even lament: how dark it is for you there, how cramped you are there, how damp you feel there. Meanwhile, there are no people here at all for whom we mourn. They are in a different place, and even near us, only in a completely different form. They continue to communicate with us, directly with their souls, but we don’t feel it because of our troubles. So, instead of grief, which is useless for your parents and harmful to your health, please, imagining them alive, have a sincere conversation with them. And this will not always be a dream, but sometimes it will be accompanied by reality; for they are with you. Letter 791. Preface. Latin tariff on indulgences. Objections to its existence and refutation of these objections with the participation of St. Theophan Saint Theophan's denunciation of the Latin indulgences In the above letter, St. Feofan (No. 790) to E.I. Snegireva it is said that the dead continue to communicate with us. Having written out these words, the magazine Soulful Reading (Oct. 1895), proceeding to print the article “Tariff on Indulgences,” which indicates the participation of St. Theophan in his denunciation of indulgences, prefaces her with a few words, which we present here, and then the article itself about the tariff, the objection of Abbot Gad and its refutation with the participation of Saint Theophan. “They continue to communicate with us!” These words about the “Communion” of the dead with the living were involuntarily recalled to us when, in the struggle with Bishop Simon, regarding the papal tax for sins, we were given an article by the Right Reverend Theophan on the same subject, namely, about the tax for sins. In Bose, the deceased saint, who always treated Soulful Reading with special favor during his life, as if clearly proves his living “communication” with him even after his death, helping him with his weighty word and all the high authority of his learned and ascetic life to dispel the papal and Jesuit tricks, with which he himself waged a stubborn struggle. This is the word: In 1857, in view of the intensifying Roman Catholic propaganda in the Orthodox East, the tariff on indulgences (Ταρίφα τῶν) was reprinted in the Athens newspaper Century (Αἰών) Nos. 1525:1526 and 1530 συγχωροχαρτίων), as it was last printed in Paris by Julien de Saint Achel in 1820. J. de Saint Achel made a preface to his publication of the papal tariff on indulgences. Before our eyes is this preface in the Russian translation, passed almost line by line by the hand of St. Theophan. The following lines are written in his hand: “We decided to place it (the tariff) in translation in our magazine: Aeon - for the general information of all Eastern Christians. We are confident that, by depicting the Roman Church, which is so hostile to us and reviles us so much - in its true form, this article, more than anything else, will help to strengthen in us the feelings of reverent reverence that we, Eastern Christians, have for the Mother of our Church, who has never shied away from such inappropriate actions. But wouldn’t this at the same time be a most eloquent response to the claims of the Western Church, which, considering itself only Orthodox, always calls us schismatics?” Not a desire for controversy - no: true pastoral zeal for the salvation of Christian souls and deep, selfless devotion to Orthodoxy guided the hand of the one who wrote this. And here is some data from the very preface to the publication of the papal tariff on indulgences in the Russian translation, corrected in Bose by the late Saint Theophan. We will mark in italics what was written by the hand of St. Theophan himself. “Alvar Pelagius, defender of Pope John XXII, in his essay “On the Devastation of the Church,” describes the greed of the Roman court this way: “No one can be worthy of seeing the pope without payment - at his door; and the poor can never appear before the pope, because they have nothing to give. What about the cardinals? Their hands are always open to take, and none of them will say: enough.” The same author adds that even now - to the general indignation of the whole world - the lead of papal seals is sold for its weight in gold. “Every time,” he says, it happened to me to enter the inner chambers of the pope, I saw tables covered with thalers, and ecclesiastical money changers correcting their positions.” This Alvar Pelagius cannot be suspected of hyperbole here, when there is positive evidence that Pope John XXII, upon his death, left 25:000,000 gold, an amount that the rulers of Europe did not have together. Likewise, the famous theologian Claudius Espensaus does not hide his indignation at the greed of the papacy. “Whoever, he says, looks at money alone, everything is possible and everything is forgivable. No matter what crime someone is guilty of, in Rome he will immediately receive forgiveness as soon as he pays the money, no matter how great the crime. What a disgrace! Priests are allowed to have concubines, live with them and have children from them, as long as they contribute a certain amount of money every year. Maybe someone will say that all this is slander, invented in order to present the pope as hated, but such things are happening publicly, and they are known to everyone.” Bernard, recognized as a saint in the Roman Church, also reproaches the popes for simony and greed for money. And the popes themselves never cared about hiding this shame of the Roman court. Matvey Parm quotes the following words from one of the letters of Pope Honorius III: “The love of gold has long been a temptation and disgrace to the papal see. He who has no money and cannot give anything will receive nothing from Rome!” Pope Pius II expresses himself in almost the same words: “The Roman court gives everything for gold, it sells the Holy Spirit, the sacraments, the priesthood; absolves all crimes to those who can pay for this absolution.” The coolest of writers could not be indifferent when discussing this subject: Abbot Conrad says: “Rejoice and triumph, Vatican!” Treasures are open before you, waste them carelessly. In the crimes of the children of men is your profit, rejoice! The sons of men enrich you and drown in wickedness and error. Sow discord between them and he will bring you a bar of gold. Rejoice and sing solemn hymns! Are the heavens open to those who bring you gold? What am I saying? And you can sell the Lord Jesus Christ Himself for it!” The Carmelite abbot Baptiste of Mantua says the following: “in Rome everything is for sale - churches, priests, burial mounds, altars, sacrifice, prayers, petitions, heaven and God Himself!!” Others may think that in an enlightened age, like the present, Rome abolished its taxes. Not at all! Even now, many excuses are being sold.” Next follow the very articles of the tariff for indulgences, and then the evidence of the Right Reverend Theophan in confirmation of the undoubted existence of this tariff, contrary to the objections of Paul Gad, the rector of the Roman Catholic Church in Athens, who defended the same thankless task, which in our time “Bishop Symon” undertook to defend. But we’ll talk about this in the next book. Soulful Reading articles about the dachshund have already become widespread. The voice of His Eminence Theophan presents new irrefutable data about the fees of the “infallible” popes, and not “for chairs,” but precisely for sins. Last year, in response to the article of Soulful Reading: “The Tax of the Infallible Popes for Sins,” the Roman Catholic Bishop Simon (?) argued that “neither the French, nor the Germans, nor the Italian Catholics have heard anything like this.” And when the publisher of the Russian Archive P.I. Bartenev stated, “that in 1881 in Amiens, while examining the magnificent cathedral there, I saw on the wall at the entrance door a large table in three columns: in one column the sins are listed, in the other the meaning of prayers, in the third the number of francs. There is also a mug for putting coins under the table”; then the Amiens Bishop Reno claimed that it was not a fee “for sins, but a tariff for ... chairs.” In view of such a purely Jesuitical denial of facts, even the most well-known and occurring in the face of the whole world, such as, for example, the sale of indulgences, in Nos. 5:10, 11 and 12 of the Soulful Reading of 1895, many editions of the “dachshund” were cited for sins, authorized by the popes, and then it was also added: “the voice of the Right Reverend Theophan presents new irrefutable data about the fee of “infallible” popes and not “for chairs”, but precisely for sins. We’ll talk about this in the next book.” But at the beginning of this year there was an urgent need to respond to the encyclical of the current Pope Leo XIII. “The newest answer to old and new Roman errors” was published in the February, March and April books. Then came the days of the Holy Coronation. Naturally, all thoughts and, if possible, all articles of the magazine were directed towards this solemn event. Since September, everyone has been getting down to business with the usual seriousness. Now we are printing a full explanation of the issue of indulgences and the tariff, as it was done in the newspaper Aiw'n with the direct participation of Bishop Theophan. In 1857, in view of the intensified Catholic propaganda in the Orthodox East, in the newspaper Century (Αἰών), published in Athens, in No. 1:525, 1:526 and 1:530, the tariff for the forgiveness of sins (Ταρίφα τῶν) was published συγχωροχαρτίων) or for indulgences, which led to a curious exchange of thoughts between the newspaper editor and Paul Gad, rector of the Roman Catholic Church in Athens. We will first introduce our readers to some articles of the specified tariff, since its complete reproduction, with a listing of all sins, is impossible without offending the senses of decency and modesty. The tariff itself was last published in Paris by Julien de Saint-Acheul in 1820, and the inscription stated that the said tariff was established by Pope John XXII and promulgated by Pope Leo X in 1514. Chapter XVI. §1. “Whoever mutilated a cleric receives forgiveness for 63 lire and 14 soldi.” §2. “A simple resolution from this crime costs 27 lire and 1 soldo.” §3. “If the abbot or rector of any church institution is mutilated, six lire will be added.” §4. “For mutilation of a bishop, 27 lire will be added to the previous price.” §5. “A layman who mutilates a layman pays 27 lire and 1 soldi for the full petition.” Chapter XVII. §1. “A voluntary murderer, wishing to join the clergy, can buy himself forgiveness for 45 lire, 19 soldi and 6 denarii.” §4. If the murdered person died not from a blow, but from something else, and the killer did not intend to cause death, in order to become a priest and receive full forgiveness, he must pay 131 lire, 14 soldi and 6 denarii.” §5. “Forgiveness for murder committed by a bishop, priest, head of an ecclesiastical institution or a knight of the Order of St. John, costs 179 lire, 14 soldi.” §6. “If the murderer is an abbot, an apostolic protonotary or someone holding an equal position, he pays an additional 146 lire, 5 soldi, for each murder he commits.” §8. “If two people conspire to kill one, they receive forgiveness for 134 lire, 14 soldi.” §9. “If one kills many at once, he pays 131 lire, 14 soldi for forgiveness.” §10. If one kills many under different circumstances, he receives forgiveness, paying 90 lire, 11 soldi for each murder.” Chapter XVIII. §1. “A cleric who kills by accident pays 27 lire and 1 soldi.” §3. “Whoever wishes to stock up on forgiveness in advance for any accidental murder that he may commit in the future pays 168 lire, 15 soldi.” §5. “Whoever commits an accidental murder, without taking all precautions, pays 87 lire, 3 soldi.” §7. “If the murder occurs during spectacles or games prohibited for the clergy, clergy and priests must pay 141 lire, 14 soldi for forgiveness.” Chapter XIX. §1. “If a cleric kills someone in self-defense, he pays 27 lire.” §2. “To obtain in advance absolution for such a murder in the future, one must pay 76 lire and 6 soldi.” Chapter XX. §1. “A layman who kills a cleric receives forgiveness by undergoing public repentance according to the rules and paying 27 lire.” §2. “A cleric, having a shaved beard or assigned to a sacred rite, having killed a priest, is subject to prohibition until he undergoes public repentance according to the rules and pays 137 lire, 6 soldi.” §3. “If many people conspire and kill a priest, the culprit of the community pays the full price for forgiveness, his accomplices pay half.” §4. “If, under the same circumstance, one kills many priests, no matter how many there are, he pays six times more for forgiveness.” §5. “If someone kills many priests under different circumstances, for the first murder he pays the due price in full, for the others - half.” §6. “If the killer of a priest did not want to undergo public repentance, he pays 63 lire and 14 soldi.” §7. “If the murderer of many priests wishes, he will pay another 18 lire.” §8. “Whoever kills a bishop or any cleric of the highest rank pays 131 lire, 14 soldi.” §9. “Whoever kills the abbot pays 24 lire.” Chapter XXI. §1. “Forgiveness for a simple murder of a layman costs 15 lire, 2 soldi, 6 denarii.” §2. “The murderer of many laymen on the same occasion pays the same as for the murder of one.” Chapter XXII. “For the murder of a father, or mother, or sister, 17 lire, 14 soldi, 6 denarii must be paid for forgiveness.” Chapter XXIII. §1. “He who kills his wife pays the same amount for forgiveness as a parricide.” §2. “Whoever killed his wife and wished to enter into a new marriage pays 32 lire, 13 soldi for forgiveness.” §3. “Those who helped their husband kill his wife pay 2 liras per head.” Chapter XXIV. §1. “A father or mother, having strangled his child, pays 17 lire, 14 soldi for forgiveness.” §2. “A father and mother, having strangled their child by mutual consent, pay 26 lire, 1 soldi.” Chapter XXV. §1. “The woman who took the drug with the aim of killing the fetus in the womb, and the father who prepared it, each pay 17 lire, 14 soldi.” §2. “If it is not the husband who prepares the medicine, but a stranger, he pays 16 lire, 18 soldi, 6 denarii.” Chapter XXVI. “A witch or sorcerer, having renounced witchcraft, is forgiven for 27 lire.” Chapter XXVIII. “A sacrilege, a thief, an arsonist, a robber and the like receive forgiveness for 131 lire, 6 soldi.” Chapter XXXI. §12. “Every clergy who interferes with the execution of bulls and commands of the Apostolic See pays 131 lire and 14 soldi for forgiveness.” §17. “The bishop who vowed to visit Rome to venerate the tombs of St. apostles and whoever does not fulfill it receives forgiveness for 45 lire.” §18. “Episcopal excommunication is expiated by a payment of 26 lire.” §19. “The papal anathema is expiated by a payment of 45 lire, 9 soldi and 6 denarii,” and so on. and so on. The publication of the tariff, as mentioned above, prompted the following letter to the editor of the newspaper Αἰών: “Attacking the Catholic Church out of a feeling of hostility, you published in Nos. 1525: 1526, 1530 a translation of the so-called Ταρίφα τῶν συγχωροχαρτίων, which you extracted from the work of some Julien de Saint Acheul. “The Catholic Church and we, its faithful sons, have accepted as a rule once and for all - not to respond to this kind of slander, attributing them to fanaticism, never to enter into an argument, leaving the matter to the judgment of society. But now that the reprinting of satanic slander, which is completely indecent for an educated Greek (unless he is under the influence of Voltaire, Rousseau and the like), has been completed, now allow me, Mr. Editor, for the first and last time to bring to your attention that the Catholic Church completely rejects the absolution of sins and the communication of the sacraments for money, calling names (as you yourself well know) and strictly punishing, like Simonians, those clergy who they take money for confession. And the tariff you are talking about is nothing more than an invention, pure slander of the enemies of the Catholic Church, which should include J. de Saint Acheul. Instead of any denunciation of vile slander, we would ask you to deliver to us one copy of this work, published, according to you, by the Catholic Church and by order of the Pope. Or if you cannot satisfy this requirement, then at least point to some famous author who mentions this tariff. I believe that this will not be difficult for you to fulfill if you claim that this tariff is recognized by the Roman Church and is imposed on its children. We, in particular, who have the responsibility to protect Catholics, in all fairness need to have this wonderful work in our hands. I believe our demand is reasonable and fair. If you do not satisfy him, this will put us in the need to announce loudly to the whole world that everything you have published is sheer slander of a stupid person. I hope that, out of honor and justice, you will give my letter a place in the next issue of your newspaper. Paul Gad, priest of the Western Church in Athens. Athens. July 22, 1857." To this letter, having published it in his newspaper, the editor (Τ. Ι. Φίλημων) gave the following response: “In order to eliminate your attacks on my newspaper, I begin to analyze them, and, with fairness in mind, I will try to avoid imitating your expressions. First of all, you are imbuing me with the spirit of slandering the Catholic Church out of a feeling of hostility. I strongly reject this. One who is carried away by enmity should be called one who slander without any reason. Let me ask you, as a faithful son of the Roman Church, do you remember that we were ever the first to begin? Would you rather confirm, if in a sense of justice you want to admit that we have always only repelled attacks? The Western Church does not cease to bother us for a minute, flooding the East with sisters of mercy, Jesuits and Capuchins, using all its influence to seduce the Orthodox, vilify us as heretics, apostates, etc. If, in fulfilling our duty, we repel attacks and try to destroy the fruits of actions so destructive for Orthodoxy, then are we really insulting the Roman Church and its bishop? You are sorely mistaken in believing that we should give the Western Church complete freedom to act against us as it pleases, and that, in order not to seem carried away by a feeling of enmity, we should not undertake anything in the way of denouncing the power that, under various pretexts, is trying to tear us away from its past. You demand that, instead of resisting, we fold our hands on our chests, close our lips and bow our heads before you. Admit, most honest father, that this demand is too excessive; more excessive, perhaps, than all the claims of the ruler of the Vatican that were sometimes revealed. But those centuries have already passed when the pope drew lines and, issuing bulls, divided the sunflower into parts. You consider it decent to publish scolding letters against us, sometimes funny - is it surprising that, turning to history, from its many wonderful pages, we found one, namely, the “Tariff on Indulgences”, in order to show our co-religionists what the Roman Church is, boldly blaspheming the Orthodoxy of the Greeks? In your letter, you deny the existence of the tariff and brand what we have published as satanic slander, demanding that I deliver you at least one copy of the publication of the tariff, which, as I claim, was made by the Catholic Church and at the behest of the pope, or that I point out at least one famous author who mentions it, since “according to general law” the Catholic Church rejects the absolution of sins and the communication of the sacraments for money. I fulfill your request with great pleasure. Merle-d'Aubigné (History of the Reformation, vol. I, p. 34:41) says that there was not one, but 40 editions of the tariff in question. Would you like me to be more specific? – Here is the title of the publication that was in Rome with the permission of the pope: “Taxae cancellariae apostolicae et taxae sacrae penitentiariae. Roma. Anno 1514. Ed. Marcel Albert." The next editions were in Cologne in 1523, in Paris in 1533: 1545 and 1564, in Wirtemberg in 1538, in Venice in 1584, by order of Pope Gregory XIII. In 1651, Laurentius Bank published in Frankfurt his work on the sequential order of all these publications, and in 1700 Silvius Ducius issued a tariff, at the behest of Pope Leo (Potter, “History of Christianity,” vol. IV, 69. V, 59–63). I hope that you have no right to demand more from me. If, after all this, you still have doubts, then I advise you to write to a librarian of any well-known European library, and he will certify you of the truth of my words. He will also tell you that in 1514 a decree of Pope Leo X was announced, by virtue of which the most terrible crimes, for example, parricide, etc., were released for the payment of a certain sum. If you say that we, true Catholics, do not know this bull, then this is not at all surprising, because, according to Potter, the contents of this bull were either not known to the biographers of Pope Leo X, or were deliberately suppressed by those of them who only wanted to praise this high priest, while this bull is one of the most precious proofs of the greed of the Roman court. So it's not just J.S. Aschel, but also many very respectable writers talk about the bull of Pope Leo X. The Western Church, you claim, “according to universal law” rejects the remission of sins for money? However, what has the Roman Church done so far? Did she follow this rule or not? The answer to this is history and the blood shed in Europe during those centuries when the Vatican court was overwhelmed by politics. Most Catholic writers themselves do not deny this. The sale of absolutions, the sale of deviations from generally binding church laws, the sale of positions that cannot be awarded for money - everything combined to weaken the power of the church. Who says this? True Catholic - Hurter! If you even begin to deny that Pope Clement V sold the Venetians forgiveness of all sins for 10,000 gold florins, then you probably will no longer deny the existence of countless bulls that absolved the sins of all who donated to the construction of the cathedral in Rome. View a remarkable collection of bulls of the most holy Roman Church from Pope Leo X to Innocent XIII, printed by the Vatican's superior facultate in 1747. A list of this meeting can be found in our university library. In the first volume of this wonderful collection, on page 262, you can read the papal bull, which proclaims absolution for a whole year to all who donate money for the end of the council. This entire two-volume collection is filled with such bulls. Now let me ask: do you really still not believe in the existence of the tariff? What do you say about the bull of Pope Boniface VIII and many others, which proclaim complete remission of sins to all who come to Rome to worship? What do you say about absolution for the massacre of heretics and apostates? Is this why the Roman Church was punished by Protestantism? It would be better if you kept quiet about this subject and did not point at the Eastern Church, which allows payment to confessing priests. We are not burdened by this. And what comparison is there between the income received by our priests from the voluntary giving of the people for the work of the shepherd, and a certain and strictly assessed tariff? Let me make one final point. You accused me of sympathizing with Voltaire and Rousseau. But you badly thought that this would serve as a reproach for me and disgrace among my compatriots. We know well against whom Voltaire and Rousseau aimed their arrows. We know that they wrote a lot of good things about us and our church, especially the Greeks will not forget what Voltaire wrote to the All-Russian Empress: “The plans of Your Imperial Majesty regarding Greece are worth more than 2000 conquests.” In response, the Empress made a prediction that came true before half a century. You see for yourself, most honest father, I am not writing to you at all like you, and I am not calling you a stupid inventor of empty slander. Letter 792. Evil crops. The harm caused by the writings of Leo Tolstoy for faith, church and fatherland Back in 1885, it turns out, the false teaching of gr. L. Tolstoy was greatly interested in the Vyshino recluse Bishop Feofan, who was responsive to contemporary issues that in one way or another related to faith and Christian life. Even then, he was horrified by this false teaching that was spreading among the students. What would he say after the publication of the latest works of our new theologian, because of which even his fans turned away from him? Apparently, the Eminence was then planning to write in refutation of heresy. Without a doubt, what he wrote in defense of the true Gospel and the Orthodox Church against L.T. will be read with no less interest and spiritual benefit than his letters to one person in St. Petersburg regarding the appearance here of the false teaching of Redstock, Pashkov and followers. This is what the Right Reverend wrote in a letter dated May 27, 1885. “Have you heard about the articles of Count Leo Tolstoy? They are all destructive - for faith, church and fatherland. They are secretly distributed, lithographed abroad. I now have his Gospel and the article: “What is my faith.” The first is a complete distortion of the real Gospel. And the second one is terrible! Denial of all dogmas - and all in the name of the teachings of Christ, distorted. All the dogmas, he says, were invented by the church, spoiling the teachings of Christ. And with him, Christ is not our true Lord Savior, but something vague. No Trinity, no incarnation, no Sunday, no immortality. Our life begins here and ends here. I don’t understand how it won’t fall into the hands of the authorities. And he has something against the state system: for example. the oath is lawless - troops are not needed and war is repugnant to God. And the courts are contrary to the teachings of Christ. Meanwhile, he teaches: they beat, cut, rob - be patient and remain silent. This, he says, is the essence of Christianity. Horror! They write to me: “students of Moscow University are reading all this and can’t get enough.” Isn't this scary?! Meanwhile, evil spreads in secret. I hear that these lithographs sell in the tens of thousands. Recently he was in Kyiv and Kharkov, faithfully sowing his evil seeds. If you please, advocate, arousing the attention of powerful people you know. Now here's a request. In the article: “What is my faith” - he says that, in addition to this article and the Gospel, he also wrote a Critique of the Dogmas of the Church. Please look to see if this article is there. And if you find it, send it, I’ll write it off. I'm going to write something against all this. If this makes it difficult for you, then don’t bother. Bless you, Lord, with every blessing. Save yourself! Your pilgrim, E. Feofan. Letter 793. Advice to the complainant about the reduction in activity and about the Irvingians God's mercy be with you! Praise creates self-praise and well-being; – evil feelings are the leading conductors of vanity and pride. God forbid! ...The funds have been reduced, and the work on your business will be reduced. There's nothing to worry about. God's work. God gave more and assigned more. Now he gives less and will give less orders. No - no trial. You must submit to this. If you feel humiliation, God humbles you: submit. Or God is paving the way for you to finally find the Sabbath after days of work. You mentioned the Irvingians. These are soap bubbles. We started with dreams, we continue with dreams, and dreams will continue. Letter 794. About self-examination during the impulse to solitude You know, of course, that the whole essence of the matter is in internal change, and that according to these changes, and according to the impulse on their part, the external must change. Has any change occurred within, expressed in the urgent demands of the heart, or have only good thoughts appeared in the soul? And were these thoughts only in the head, or in the heart?! Try to understand all this better, so as not to take a step that cannot lead to what you are looking for. I’ll tell you one thing: start now, in your present situation, to retire at home, and devote hours of solitude mainly to prayer, all about one thing: “tell me, Lord, where I will go.” Not only in word, and not only in thought, but with heartache, cry out in this way. For such solitude, designate either the hours of each day (whichever is better) or any days of the week. And maintain solitude properly, seeking more than anything for admonition and God’s instructions. Add to this also fasting, which is sensitive to the flesh. This will be a good help for prayer. And at that time, experiment with inner renunciation, first from one thing, then from another, so that you become indifferent to everything and withdraw so that nothing pulls you back. Goal: to bring yourself to the point where your soul breaks out of your present order of life, as if from shackles and prison. I offer you a general outline. The application and the matter are at your discretion. Letter 795. Temptations and vanity can attack everywhere. About the improvement of everyday affairs and troubles that are not destructive for spiritual life Never pay too much attention to yourself. Arm yourself with the fear of God and, according to his instructions, arrange everything both inside and then outside. We walk in the middle of networks. Sometimes we think that there are no networks there! but in fact it turns out that there are a great many of them there, spread out along all the paths and roads. May the Lord prosper you! I also remember that you complained about vanity. This is of course an evil thing, but you can’t run away from it. Run away from... vanity will teach you to be vain about the fact that you ran away. You need to fight it off in the things you do; and nothing more, but not to run away from these affairs. And it’s good that you decide to humble yourself a little in external life. A good cause! Add to this, so from now on conduct your affairs so that you have time for prayer and edifying reading. The best time is morning and evening hours. If you want, you can arrange this. Put it also - to worry about things externally, without internal fussiness and seething thoughts and feelings. When you settle in this way, your troubles will build you up and not ruin you. Letter 796. A test of spiritual life Your confessor very wisely judges and gives instructions about your spiritual life. Therefore there is nothing for me to talk about this. The general features of this life are, of course, known to you. Stand in them, without pampering yourself. Make sure that knowledge becomes action and that new information received also immediately enters life. Prayer is the test of everything; prayer is the source of everything; prayer is the engine of everything; prayer and director of all. As long as the prayer is correct, everything is correct. Because she will not allow anything to be faulty. I think you spoke at the first one, or maybe at the veneration of the cross. Even if you speak passionately, it will not be out of order. However, manage as best you can. If only there was no negligence and laziness. Your pilgrim E. Feofan. 1886 Letter 797. Encouragement for the goodness of the current path of Christian life How much I am guilty before you for not answering you for such a long time. I'm sorry! In all your letters, you can see your strong desire to improve in everything, small and great. May the Lord preserve this zeal in you. She is the root and source of all human spiritual life. Avoid overconfidence and relying on a person. Cast all your sorrow on the Lord - whole-heartedly. And He, who desires nothing more than the salvation of the soul, will instruct and instruct and give strength to follow His suggestions. Prayer is the breath of spiritual life, as you experience yourself. Therefore, there is nothing to say, pray more diligently. – Pray unceasingly: the Lord is near, and His help is close at every moment. The order of your life is good, go to church, and at home do not be lazy to do what is required for home prayer. Good - good! Work hard - don't be lazy. But be careful not to limit yourself to just external worship and prayer. Lift your mind and heart to the Lord. Try to subordinate the external to this internal. Let it always follow and accompany the inner one. Letter 798. Is the catch good? Advice to someone who has found peace in a new place I didn’t have time to answer your previous letter before this second one. Thank you, because I am very interested in how you are going. According to the last letter, you went somewhere, to some spiritual celebration and have not yet returned, but now, I think, you have returned. What did you bring? We've seen enough, heard enough, talked enough, gotten tired of it, made fun of ourselves, and so on. and so on. How much was collected in total and there is no estimate. What can we do about it? Pile it in a heap in a corner: let it rot?! Or should we sort everything out and throw it all away? This is how the Savior spoke in a parable about fishermen: they captured a lot of fish, then they began to select them from the net and took the good ones for themselves, and threw the bad ones back into the water. So you went fishing, and what did you not capture in your net? Sit down and figure it out, throw away everything that’s worthless and save the good stuff. I offer this not for idle curiosity, but for observation and good teaching. Look, what is more, good or bad? And judge by this whether the catch is good or not. Wouldn't you have to throw everything away? From this, draw a conclusion: is it worth going to such places for fishing? Only labor, but little or no use. Here’s another thing: the fish you catch are tricky: some submit to being thrown out, and others, throw them back, and no matter how much you throw them, they will jump back again, while others will hide in the middle, somewhere in the fibers, and you won’t see them. It may happen that there will be many, many of these disobedient people, so that you will not be able to cope with them. You will fight, you will fight, and you will give up. And that would be fine, but here’s the problem! You will cook and eat the good ones, but the worthless ones will gnaw at you - and if they get into the brew, they will be like poison. Well, what if you have more of these fish?! Shouldn't your celebration conclude with ah-ohs and oh-ohs?! And if you add to this the damage to the net by fish, then I don’t know what to say about your fishing, and with your hands apart, as they say. I wrote this down for you so that if you ever encounter a similar celebration again, you can decide from this experience whether you should take part in it or sit better at home. You have moved to a new home and are very happy. God grant that it always be like this. But I remembered the remark of a certain old man that when at first it is good, expect sensitive sorrows, and these sorrows are all the more sensitive because they occur after pleasant things. Please keep this in mind, and when something rough happens, say to yourself: I see where the wind is coming from, and you will endure it more easily. May God bless you to always have peace without unnecessary worries, and how can you endure such things as mustard and horseradish are served for seasoning. Say to yourself: “Create a pure heart in me, O God.” And in the presence of the Lord, keep yourself conscious, and it will be good. Salvation is from the Lord. Let them fill your soul. In the morning, renew every time the entire arrangement of our salvation, until you reach death and judgment. Stand here with your thoughts and feelings and cry out: Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, do not reject me with a threatening word: go away! Letter 799. Again about the catch, past and future Are you crying!? Good - good! This greatly softens the heart, and in connection with contrition, it sobers, but when it is confined to oneself, it inspires. But aren’t the tears about that, or is it because where you went to fish, you had to catch all the worthless fish that needed to be thrown away, but they began to throw them away, it doesn’t want to be thrown out, it clings to the net and tears it apart, it hurts. Well, there's nothing to do. The whip is not torment, but science is ahead, says the proverb. Sit down and figure out what and why it was not so useful, and write down rules for yourself, not for information, but for implementation, whether to go or not to go next time, and if you go, how you should keep your inner self so that it doesn’t go bankrupt. For three days of bustle, like a storm, everything should be scattered, mixed, and stained with dirt. Lord have mercy! What a disaster! Your apartment is secluded. And this is the main thing for you. Don't waste your privacy and upset him. May the Lord help you in everything. Are you going to travel? There will be some catch in this. Get ready and write yourself a program on how to act so that you don’t cry afterwards. Put your soul, with your mind and feelings, in a special cage; Set her up for this purpose and tell her: Sit! Here is a seed for you to eat and some water to drink, and there is nothing for you to fly out. I’m very happy with how things are going in your church. May God help you to always feel this way. And what happens when you return home - at home, properly. Manage your inner not to give up to the will of the outer. Your good friend E. Feofan. 1887. Letter 800. Notes on absent-mindedness, judgment and the necessary humility You touch on so many subjects that, in order not to get confused, I undertake to write notes in reading order. You wanted to have your spirit crushed. You came across conversations about repentance that showed you how this matter is done. Those conversations disposed you to observe your thoughts. You took it upon yourself and found that you couldn’t get your inner composure even for five minutes. Is this really just the first time you noticed? Do you notice that with these words you exposed your usual absent-mindedness? If so, then repent. Then the book taught you not to judge; you went to N.N. lunch, and there, probably, the whole world was sorted out by thread, and, leaving, they confessed their defeat. And here is the penalty. They decided not to wander in thoughts and not to judge. They didn’t succeed in either one. And I had to realize that the best thing for you is to confess your weakness. There is a whole history of failures in organizing one’s inner life. But the result is very bad, you confessed your weakness and gave up, this means that you are completely indifferent to your spiritual well-being, and, without grieving, you leave it as it is, despite the consciousness that it is disapproving. I’ll add what you should do. So that your thoughts do not wander, you must have such a feeling that you can be with God in your heart, and there will be no place for extraneous thoughts. In order not to judge others, you must deeply feel your sinfulness and grieve for it, mourning your soul as if it were dead. Someone said: when your dead are at home, you won’t take care of the dead in your neighborhood. You ask what the words of St. mean. Climacus: “It is impossible for one deprived of simplicity to ever see humility.” The meaning of this could be better determined if one knew where this saying is located and read everything in connection. I will say, however, that simplicity is an inseparable feature of humility, why, when there is no simplicity, there is no humility. Simplicity is not crafty, not suspicious, not touchy, does not see itself, does not attach any importance to itself, does not philosophize, etc. All this humility means. You realize that you sometimes speak humbly, but you do not have humility. So take care to take it. The main feature of humility is to feel that I am nothing and that if there is anything, it is all God’s. Further, you have no love, and you expose people who take advantage of your dislike. What's next? They saw it, and that’s it. At least they would lift a finger to get what is missing. I wish you to spend time in peace, with less interruption from the outside. You're too fussy, N.N. I vomited on you and it was better, but now you and everything have crawled away. Letter 801. Settling down in a new place. About your eye We ran into each other, talked a lot, thought about it. Now you are supposed to sit down and sit down. Now you are no longer fit for your old life. And the Lord gave you both a new place and a new home, so that you could easily settle down again and establish yourself in new orders. Lord, enlighten you and help you, slowly, arrange everything without hassle, but think it over, and don’t start anything inappropriate for your new life. However, it seems that you are already of age - and you don’t demand it, but who teaches you. Thank you for writing from the road. I'll go to Moscow when my eye stops working. And, if the operation is possible, I will hand myself over to the doctors. Now the eye still serves, and I have little grief. I will be very pleased to know how you are. Please write. Letter 802. After visiting the monasteries Thank you for remembering me. So you forgive me for not answering you. God bless you for your meekness. I believe that you have now returned to your cell. Just as someone walking through a flower garden brings with him the fragrance of flowers, so, I believe, you are now spreading the spirit of asceticism around you. However, don’t let it all out of you. Retain the largest part. Even though you are not a nun, if you decide to live like a monk, you must collect everything monastic in yourself from everywhere. It is a great mercy that you met quite a few gracious faces on..., and had eyes to see it. You were a bee. Now enjoy the honey yourself and please others. Have you seen severity and leniency there and ask which is better? The answer is direct: what do you and I care about them? As they know, they do this - they are not small. In general, it’s like this: both severity and leniency in their place, at their time and in their measure are equally necessary and beneficial. He who always seeks what saves his soul knows how to benefit from both. I am sending you volume 3 of the Philokalia. Here we came across all the best articles. It's worth sitting and thinking. How's my health, you ask? Anything will do. The eye is still useful. Your good friend E. Feofan. 1889 Letter 803. In response to those arguing about the earthly lot of the righteous. A word for the long-term toiler and for the one entering the door of repentance. About my old age To the question put to you, answer: this is decided in the Gospel when it speaks of the narrow and difficult path and the easy and spacious path. Read and decide which one to follow based on where each one leads. Then look at heaven, now quite filled with many who have walked according to the Gospel, and consider who they are, beneficiaries or workers. Whatever you see there, imitate. So say it and there is nothing more to say to such fussies, bullies, and arguers. I'll send you a card, and a big one. I calculated poorly and ordered few cabinets, but there are still some. I’m waiting for the 5th volume of the Philokalia; when I receive it, I’ll send it to you, and I’ll put a card in it. 28 years of serving the Lord! How many olive branches! How many crowns! What chambers were built there for eternal rest. I greet her with such hopes. May the Lord confirm it more and more in the same mind and in the same decisions. “Did you please?” The Lord measures this, but does not tell anyone, but only shows it in the end. For us, the ladder of ascent is determined by the steps of descent in self-abasement and self-reproach: these are the coverings of humility, as it means for her. God bless her to always walk with these words! God bless your trip to... And I wish you success in the business for which you are going there. To the repentant the doors of heaven are opened and the arms of the Heavenly Father are extended to him. It is not great if earthly doors are closed and human embraces and eyes turn away. May the Lord strengthen him in the courage with which he prepares to enter into the tasks laid before him. May God grant him complacency. If you want to know anything about me, then know that not only in word, but also in deed, the old man has weakened both in body and spirit. There is no illness, but there is only one desire to lie down and lie down, which I diligently fulfill. This, however, is done on the advice of homeopathic doctors in books. I wish you health, good spirits and strength. Letter 804. On continuing education in relation to the matter of spiritual life. Letters to a person who sought salvation in the monastery solitude of the M-skaya desert of the K-kaya province Knowledge will never be an extra burden. There may be a fear that his soul would be broken, living for four years among young people, who will not all be of the same spirit as him; this is always the case, but there are also always in its midst, not only good, but also excellent young men who know how to keep their spiritual life strong, without showing off outwardly. For inner life, an external favorable environment is useful, but not absolutely necessary. It can go its own way, or it can turn what is not favorable to it to its advantage. It is difficult to find a suitable leader. You can't rely on anyone right away. It remains, everything is tempting, kind to hold on. The indicator of what to keep from the tempted one will be one’s own internal structure, written fatherly instructions and one’s gradually increasing experience. However, may the servant of God N.N. surrenders himself to the will of God and with tears prays to the Lord: “Tell me Thy ways, O Lord.” He would have read the books: “What is spiritual life” and “The path to salvation” (and, perhaps, “Psalm 118”). God bless him! Everyone is burdening you with intercession efforts. God help you! You have kindly judged that this is not a waste of time, but, on the contrary, its proper use. The fact that we have such long-standing and highly experienced hierarchs is the honor and glory of our hierarchy. They need to be taken care of. Your good friend E. Feofan. 1891 Letter 805. Advice is given to establish a certain way of life and surrender to spiritual leaders with the cutting off of one’s will. God bless your arrival in the desert! Now you have o. Archimandrite and Fr. confessor - two, on the right and on the left, watching over you, they will not allow you to deviate onto an inappropriate path. You need to obey them in everything. God gave them to you. I cannot be a guide to you, because otherwise the old parable could come true for us: a blind man is a blind man... Judging by what you told about the circumstances of Athos, I think you did well that you did not stay there. Now there is no need for you to talk about this. Make up your mind quickly. The uncertainty of your position does not allow you to settle into the simple routines of everyday life. This is why you experience languor and hardship. You don’t have a point ahead of you where to direct everything, but when you decide, the point will appear. Then everything will rush there, and as this should occupy all of you, so that the emptiness will not be visible again, then you will have no time to be bored and languish. If you work diligently, then soon you will have successes, subtle ones, but all traces of them will echo inside, and you will want, and things will go neither shaky nor slow. As you expect, everything will go smoothly, or every step, oh - oh! The tighter it is at the beginning, the better later. However, in everything there are becks of God, and the real road will go among all this, both to the right and to the left, and in front and behind, pushes and proddings. God bless you. With your plans, both former and now calculated, part with rudeness and, having surrendered to the hands of those leading, do not get involved in the matter with your proposals, whether it would be better this way or that. I was not under direction. Everything on my own and in my own way, and nothing came of me, I was made of rubbish. And you, if you want to finally appear standing, immediately and from the first steps throw your will away. Letter 806. Cut off slice. A modest review of my spiritual experience Congratulations on your cassock! The Day of Transfiguration - bright - marks the beginning of your internal transformation of yourself. God bless the beginning for the successful achievement of the intended goal! And straight to the hermitage. The world behind the dense forest. Don't pull it towards you. The forest makes it impossible to see what is behind it, and only the sky is open to you. Do not wander on the earth, but attract the sky to you, and so close that it is impossible to draw a line between it and your hermitage. For this purpose, clothe everything that your eye sees in and around the monastery in a spiritual tunic, imitating St. Tikhon in his spiritual treasure collected from the world. Having done this, you will not dwell on anything visible for a moment, but as soon as you look at something, you will immediately move from that to the contemplation of its spiritual sign that you gave it, and from this further and higher, and you will always be not on earth, but in heaven. If you do not do this, then what you see will always lead you to worldly memories with its pleasures and keep you as if in a fog in worldly thoughts, and your entire internal structure will adjust to this. Your parent - God bless him! - He answered you wisely - blessings on you. That he did not remember anything about your meeting with him - and this is wise; does not want to stir up the worldly dust and mud that has settled among you, and thereby make it difficult for you to begin your new steps. You shouldn't reach for him. You are a cut piece. Remember that ascetic who, when his mother came to see him, did not agree to go out to her, but when the abbot persuaded him to go out to her, he went out, turning his face to his mother, closing his eyes, and a little later returned to his cell. Now it occurred to me that after you have been in the monastery for a while, you need to return to the monastery - and go through all the obediences there, which all those entering monasticism usually undergo. For everything must be retested, and obedience and rationality must be demonstrated everywhere. I think your Abba will do the same with you, otherwise you will remain an unbaked brick. B-th came, and, I think, wrote to you and to Fr. abbot. My house is locked and no one is allowed in. And he didn't pass. It would be the same with you. It’s good that you are sitting at home, and the charter arrived at Vysha alone. We found an advisor!! “I haven’t even experienced monastic life and I don’t know, not just monastery life.” What kind of rhyme does Krylov have - that forcing a shoemaker to bake pies is not entirely convenient. Letter 807. Safe harbor Thus, after a long voyage, you have safely entered a safe harbour. God bless this introduction of yours. Have you ever come across the following verses: “Because of the clouds, the red moon has risen and appears in the river; through the fog and darkness a terrible traveler rides in a shuttle. Now he sees the shore, and he dreams of stepping onto solid ground - meeting his people and so on. Suddenly a wave came, overturned the shuttle and the traveler sank.” Remember this incident often. You are in a monastery; - they were one step ahead of the other army. But since the Commander-in-Chief is not far from you, you have nothing to fear from random transformations; if necessary, He will pick you up. I wrote that you should be put on monastic obedience, to be burned like a mud brick, believing that you are entering from the master's chamber. “And now I see that you have been on fire for a long time.” Therefore, there must be another turn for you, - and oh. The abbot acted very wisely by sheltering your boat from the waves that began to hit it. May God help you get right with yourself. You say the truth that I looked at the monastery as the dwelling of determined hermits. – You write that you noticed monks in the monastery who were hiding so as not to have fun. These are the candidates I had in mind for staying at the monastery. The abbot believes that let the solitary people peck at the monastery, and then, as soon as someone is found to have a strong inward desire, send him to the backyard, which Fr. The abbot has in mind to prepare for them. My thoughts turned out to be worthless, and I wrote about. Abbot, that I have never actually seen either monastic or monastic life, and I am writing from the wind. Your Eminence Yu will arrive and will be a kind and faithful guide for you to everything that is appropriate. You suggest that I nominate you an experienced elder for the monastery as abbot. - I don’t know any. – Where was I and what did I see? I'm still sitting in one place. Your own life, i.e. You can safely consider the placement in the monastery as finally decided. “Lord, help you to lay here a solid foundation for your future life.” You have the blessing of your parents, and His Eminence T, and His Eminence Yu will bless you, and you will be protected. May God help you. In addition to what Fr. will interpret to you. Abbot, - rummage through books. Your good friend E. Feofan. November 22nd, 1892 Letter 808. Blessing in Sarov To Sarov on foot! Good deed - God bless! Be patient! Don’t listen to the enemy, who will start telling you to give up this business and will drive you home instead of Sarov. Stand your ground and hold your ground. God help you! - Write. I will answer. Letter 809. Instructions to a student who wants to go to Sarov. Temptations. Comrades When I wrote to you, I understood your entire intention, both to go to Sarov on foot and to enter the monastery in order to be saved. First we need to get to Sarov, and then do another thing. This last thing does not happen suddenly. They will also look at you to see if you are fit. And you need mother’s blessing, which, when you get to Sarov, take the trouble to ask for it. But don't quit school now. This must be done, when necessary, from Sarov. Don’t think that getting to Sarov is an easy task. “It’s just in appearance, not in reality.” The enemy will follow on your heels to confuse your soul and undermine your good intentions. Look, pay attention to yourself and do not give way to these embarrassments, but immediately suppress them. Immediately, as you notice, begin to cry out to the Lord, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, until silence is restored inside. The enemy will confuse everyone: with fatigue and aching legs, and troubles from people, and fears from animals, and everything. Hold on! If you resist, it will be easier further. And if you do not resist, then your entire undertaking will be frustrated. God's help will accompany you, but it will help the one who is struggling, and not the one who succumbs to the first blow of temptation. May the protection of the Lord and the Mother of God be upon you. Take heart! If you come across one of the good people, probably also marching to Sarov, in Murom or along the road, it would not be bad. But see for yourself. – If this happens, and he is not the same spirit as you, do not enter into conversation with him. Empty conversation will break your head and shake your resolve, and don’t trust yourself at all, especially right away. When you get to Sarov, other temptations will begin here - both from the fans and from the monastic ones, for not everyone behaves as they should - and these are always visible from the outside, but the good ones are hidden. Therefore, do not rush to everyone, but keep yourself apart, doing one thing that lies with the worshiper: go to church and stand there reverently and pray. Don’t look at anyone as he prays, but pay attention to yourself. Sit in your room - think and read something. Look around the monastery and what’s around the monastery afterwards, but now just be occupied with spiritual things. Only to Fr. Go to Seraphim’s well and ask him to receive you more often. Having rested, you can have a casual conversation with some elder about monasticism, and then with the abbot. Most of all, be in the church - this is the house of God. The Lord will meet you here and embrace you. Don't rush into anything. And be all in prayer. Whatever confuses the enemy, do not give in. Lethargy, aversion to church and spiritual things, coldness and tastelessness, wavering thoughts, fight everything off. If they send it to you, I’ll write that you were going on a pilgrimage to Sarov, asked, and I gave my blessing. Before leaving Murom, you too write to B-nki that you have gone to Sarov, and say that you will notify them immediately upon arrival in Sarov; and don’t write about the second case either from Murom or from Sarov. Write after looking around there. Letter 810 to him after a failed attempt Your case failed. Nothing: after you succeed, just keep your heart turned to Him before the Lord. And He will arrange everything. God help you! What should you do? Nothing special. Live as every good person does. Have the fear of God and do not retreat from the memory of God and death. Read a little spiritual books, especially the Gospel. Whatever is going on at the school is ruined, but it will be set up again, with God’s help. May God's blessing and God's protection be upon you. Save yourself! Letter 811 To him, to the question about the continuation of science So you are back in Murom! God bless! Since you already know the reasons for stumbling there, but the desire not to stumble is alive in you, then there is no need for you to bring anything special to mind on this subject. Be careful, pay attention to yourself and cry to the Lord for admonition and help. The teaching doesn't fit behind your shoulders. Therefore, it is not a hindrance to life. Pull it all the way. God help you! How did it occur to you that reading the Divine Scripture will distract you from science? What distracts one from science is wandering of thoughts, uncontrollability of evil desires, but mostly laziness and the desire for a life of convenience. This is what you need to abstain from, and nothing helps to drive away all this more than reading the Holy Scriptures and other good books. And make it a rule for yourself to read a little in the morning and evening, 10 verses each, from the New Testament, with reasoning and application to yourself. Science is science, and life is life. And learn and behave as befits one who has decided to please God. What is required by pleasing God can be accomplished in the midst of activities. Fear of God, memory of God and death, and zeal for the salvation of the soul, as the only thing needed - hold on without interrupting. This is the crux of the matter. Remember what you experienced with the teacher. Sergius and in the Gethsemane monastery, and thus revive your spiritual aspirations. Letter 812. To a good warrior about military service Like Ilya Muromets - may you in your time be a threat to the Germans! You do good by not allowing evil movements to take hold and by suppressing them when they arise. Work hard on yourself and you will remain invincible! Your sleep is good! It means that in heaven the fulfillment of your main desire is meant. It might be good to volunteer. If those advising you about this are among those experienced in military affairs, then you can follow their advice. Or it might be better to let things run their course. Save yourself! God bless you! You have planned a good deed, I.I., to begin military service as soon as possible. God bless and prosper to you! Stick strictly to your previous decisions to live as you should. There are many temptations. The camaraderie there is broad, not heterogeneous. There is something that cannot be approved. Watch out for him like the plague. May the Lord make you wise! Run to Him constantly. Letter 814. Enemy's trap. About malakia I.I., the Lord has preserved you. God bless! And always trust that he will keep. But keep in mind the proverb: God protects those who are careful. And watch out! What you wrote about must be stopped completely. Anyone who is in the water and in danger of drowning should not extend his hand to another drowning person, otherwise they will both drown and one will drown the other. Leave the salvation and conversion of others to God. Just pray. Or better: pray harder one day and then forget it completely - and don’t bring it to mind. You rightly see this as a trap of the enemy, who is trying to plunge you into destruction again. Another thing is yours, which, in your consciousness, makes you guilty before God, you seem to consider easy. Find and read the following passage in the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians: chapter 6, v. 9. What is called here: malakia, that is, your business. It deprives one of the kingdom. Therefore, there is a mortal sin. Prodigal passion is here in full force - and it is satisfied. Think about this. And put an end to this matter. It dries up and causes premature death. For others, it relaxes their abilities, suppresses sanity and energy, and sometimes causes insanity. Take care of yourself! If you have decided to live properly, take care not to give way to lust! You need to finish your studies, and take care of this. God help you! Save yourself! Letter 815. Inciting jealousy. Breath of the soul. Privacy corner You do well to strictly adhere to your adopted intention. Stand, take courage, be strong. Remember the latter, and it will be easy to restrain yourself from inappropriate things. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But it happens that when the spirit is vigorous, the weakness of the flesh has no powerful influence. The cheerful spirit is zeal for salvation - the root force that brings about our salvation in what is required on our part. “I pray that the Lord will keep this strength in you.” It is evidence that the grace of God dwells in the spirit that has and actively manifests it. Don't give up in prayer. It is the same in the spirit as breath is in the body. The body breathes and lives. Stop breathing and your life will end. Try to continuously breathe this breath. To do this, choose several short prayers for yourself - and repeat them all. Otherwise, keep one, namely: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! Do you want a corner to hide? This is easy for you to do at home. Otherwise, isolate yourself in spirit, namely, distract your attention from everything external and, having gathered yourself inside, stand before the Lord. Letter 816. A Dangerous Walk This is the first time I've heard of what you prescribed. – Essentially, it’s a walk along a narrow perch, thin and fragile, over an abyss. Until now everything was going tolerably; but how long will it take to feel dizzy? And fly into the abyss. In view of such danger, I am forced to ask you to stop this walk. You gave your word to do as I say. Here - I said, and I have confidence that you will fulfill my word. You are preparing to fight with yourself on this occasion. Get inspired! It will be a holy deed and will bring inner consolation and lightness in looking at oneself and one’s situation, and especially at God in prayers to Him. I will pray that God will help you overcome yourself. Letter 817. About the same thing. Denouncing disrespect for mother I really regret that you showed such weakness. Brace yourself and stand firm. Did you know your unsteadiness? And they left in vain. If this continues to be the case, when will we expect a correction?! – And death is behind you, don’t forget that. - May God help you to settle down. Why weakness? - There is no help from grace; why doesn't she come? - Because sin lies on you and drives away grace. Sin not permitted is always yours. Get over yourself and confess to your spiritual father. And you will see help. Strengthen yourself morally. “What you told me is still something, and if you cried before the Lord, that’s even better.” But all this is preparation. The real work of repentance ends with the permission of the spiritual father. Do this. And may God help you. The second reason for your weakness is your harshness in conversation with your mother. Harshness implies a weakening of respect or outright disrespect - what is more visible is their disregard for the mother’s peace. There is no more sin of disrespecting and insulting a mother. Good is promised to those who honor their parents. And for those who do not worship - deprivation of benefits. Everything is not going well for you. If you please, go to N.I. now, fall at her feet and ask for forgiveness - and in the future promise to honor her in every possible way and to preserve her peace. Letter 818. Warning to those threatened by love passion. Scourge for taming the flesh The enemy and the evil, sin-loving heart pull everything to its side. The grace of God helps those who take care of themselves, but those who throw themselves into the fire are left to burn. You and your S. need to stop dating and being close, and especially one on one, if you want to keep yourself safe from sin. How many times have you said - I won’t - and it’s still the same and the same. You need to be ashamed of yourself - and show yourself not to be frivolous, not frivolous, and faithful to the Lord. Please make a covenant with yourself to be firm before the face of the Lord. You must have some kind of rudeness towards yourself and towards her, and an inexorable repulsion. Without this there will be no point. Regarding joining the regiment, see for yourself. I think that the sooner you do it, the better. The matter will be in hand. And now idleness teaches bad things and all sorts of indulgences. I think that you do not discuss the bad urges that arise, and as soon as they appear, you are inclined. The enemy pulls you to the task like a rope. The external action will follow the maturation of desires within and the inclination of the will to it. You must always grab the first thought and drive it, without letting it go. This is not very difficult if you want to keep yourself clean from sin. Now I remembered that there was one of the nobles here in the monastery. He had a struggle with lustful passion. He kept a whip under his pillow, and as the flesh began to worry, he beat himself without pity with the whip, and pacified the flesh. Give it a try. Letter 819. At the break of temptation; a reminder of the constant struggle Abandoned?! Hold on! For the enemy is at your side and will not give in for nothing. Fight - and always be ready to fight. Get rid of the idea that staying on the good path can be done with ease, and that it will somehow work out without effort. - No; inevitable labor and struggle until there is blood. Remember the words of the Apostle: “one who struggles against sin to the point of bloodshed” is a certain reproach and an indication that the struggle to the point of bloodshed is inevitable. Would like to start some kind of work or skill, for example, carpentry. Otherwise, idleness is an evil companion. Letter 820. Conviction to the hesitant to resolve to break with passion. Examples of Good Determination Who wants to be a servant of God - And! – When will this desire finally become a deed?! Everything tomorrow, yes tomorrow. And what is holding it back? Some kind of rubbish. And because of this rubbish - to deprive yourself of peace of mind, to cause heartache to your mother, to throw yourself face down in the dirt (for this is a shameful passion) and expose yourself to the sure danger of losing the kingdom of God and inheriting hell with its unimaginable torments - is there any point?! But passion darkens the meaning, and he does not see all the ugliness and all the destructiveness of such behavior. You sometimes have determination, but in the face of passion it dissipates like a light cloud in the wind. Why is this? Because as soon as a thought or slight desire appears, you immediately lean towards their side. Why is this? Because you accept the thought and let it reach the desire. How many times do I have to remind you to drive away thoughts and suppress desires? – Or do you want to get rid of sin without a fight?! Have you heard that those who want to be Christ’s crucify the flesh with passions and lusts?!! – Why, wanting to be Christ’s, do you give yourself the privilege of not crucifying yourself?! Try to bring your determination to the point that, even if you are about to be cut into pieces, you will not succumb to passion. Then passion won't even come up. Such determination will burn her like wood chips. Your weakness of determination comes from self-pity. - We must sacrifice ourselves. Ancient fatherland books tell of such an example of determination. The young man - smart and rich - had a desire to leave everything and retire to the desert. But no matter how many times he planned to do it, he always put it off until tomorrow, because he felt sorry for one thing or another, and the desire to calm himself down a little came. “He was ashamed of himself, and he began to fear that he would die without fulfilling his intention. “Finally, seeing that no sense was coming from such delays, he became angry with himself - he ran out of town, threw off his clothes, and ran naked into the desert. From this you can see that true determination is such that it cuts itself off from everything, both mentally and physically. Here is another example of how to resist temptation with determination. There was a certain harlot in the city - beautiful, and she had no shortage of favorites. The ruler of the city took pity on her and said: stop being disgraceful, and I will take you as my wife, you will live with me in contentment and honor. She agreed - and entered into marriage with him and began to live in his house. “Her lovers looked for her everywhere and did not find her.” Finally they found out that she had become the wife of the city ruler. “However, we didn’t give up the hope of winning her over again.” And for this they tried in every possible way to see her, they walked under the windows and burst into the yard, but they were driven out from everywhere. “Finally we came up with an idea: let’s go behind the house and whistle for her: she’ll hear our whistle and come out.” And they did so. But as soon as she heard the whistle, she covered her ears and ran into the inner chambers. There was no room for sophistication. Here's how to do it. What are you doing? “As soon as this nasty snake hisses under the window, you’re all out of sorts, and like a donkey led by a string, you go out.” Close your ears and the temptations will end. “I advise you to get angry with her and beat her up well.” Letter 821. To the one who banishes passion, a warning about the variability of good intentions. Feedback to someone waiting for good service God's mercy be with you, I.I! I am very glad when I hear: “I am strengthened and I drive away evil thoughts.” - May God help you to stay like this forever. Do not forget about the variability of human good intentions and collect thoughts in support of them. You did well with the snake that bit you, but beware. She is a tool of the enemy, who knows how to pretend to be calm, while she is only waiting for an opportunity - and then suddenly pounces. It would be very good to enter your service. May God help you! Now it just occurred to me that your expectations are too bright - and are unlikely to be realized. The places you are talking about are probably occupied and never empty. There are always a lot of people waiting for such places, and your relative is not always free to dispose of them when they run out of money. – Therefore, you can travel to Moscow in vain. It’s better to get ahead of yourself and then go. Waiting for a place while living there is a waste of money. Letter 822. A word of encouragement and instruction to the repentant You should never rely on your own strengths; and as soon as there is any anxiety within, you must immediately turn to the Lord - and keep crying out until the anxiety subsides. “It is a good deed that you are distressed, and may your heart remain contrite and humble.” O. You have nothing to fear from Hilarion. He is not a judge, but only a witness - and an acquittor. As for what is shameful, know that the more ashamed it is, the better. An accident, as if something had caught fire, does not mean something bad, but the mercy of God. The Lord lets you know that He is ready to dwell in you forever, if you take care to cleanse His abode within you. You say the truth that the words for Pentecost are the most suitable for the repentant. Now read the words for Wednesday and Friday of the first week of Lent. There is also a large treatise on repentance - in the book: “The Path to Salvation.” Here are both of these books for you. Study them carefully, and especially the “Way to Salvation.” I'm also including a portrait. Letter 823. Emetic for a sinful soul May the Lord bless your feelings and confirm good decisions in your heart. Be firm. Be strong in case of temptation from outside or inside. Laying out everything that lies in your heart is a good deed. It is the same as an emetic for treating indigestion. After it, health quickly improves, and after sincere repentance, the internal structure and good disposition quickly begin to improve. Help you, Lord, to receive all this - and to finally step firmly on the path to the Lord into the bosom of His grace and mercy. That book - “The Path to Salvation” - after confession, also indicates what should be done so that what was started well is good and continues and reaches the end. God bless you! Letter 824. Upon receiving God's mercy I rejoice with you that the Lord has arranged this for you. Remember this mercy - and with it always calm yourself down and bring order to your indignant and upset inner world. God bless you for your new life. The book - the stories of a wanderer - depicts the external order of business, and the fatherly writings depict the internal order. The science of walking with God is both simple and complex. It requires a strong mind. Still from the Lord. Letter 825. The meaning of the Jesus Prayer and how to accustom yourself to it The desire to learn the Jesus Prayer came. God bless! But doing the Jesus Prayer is not unceasing prayer, but only an aid to it. Continuous prayer is a gift of grace, and we must pray for this: Lord, grant me to pray to You unceasingly! This prayer does not consist of words, but of a persistent feeling for God. We must take care of this feeling and warm it up. Of course, it happened to you that sometimes you want to pray to God uncontrollably. Remember what was in your soul at the same time, and try, every time you stand up for prayer, to reproduce that in your soul and thus pray to God with the Jesus Prayer. This reproduction will stimulate the Jesus Prayer, and this prayer will support that prayer structure. This is the whole secret of success in creating the Jesus Prayer. The power is not in words, but in this feeling. To practice the Jesus Prayer, determine a special time between morning and evening prayers. Stand up twice before lunch, twice after lunch, each time saying one hundred Jesus prayers with bows - from the waist for small knots and to the ground - for large ones. Having put it this way, do it urgently every day, without making any excuses. When you begin to pray, immediately remember that the Lord is near - and sees, and hears, and wants to give you what is saving for you. Consistency in execution is the main condition for success. Success will not suddenly appear. This will take months and years. Therefore, there is no need to despair of success when the fruits of labor do not appear soon. There is no need to fill your stomach with food, let it feel empty there, and you should not indulge in sleep. Entertainment should not be allowed either - laughter or jokes. Always behave as if you were in the presence of a king. If you do everything carefully, the task itself will teach you a lot. Don't look at the book - stories. There is advice there that is not good for you, which can lead to charm. Read a book about sobriety and prayer. Letter 826. On Patient Practice in Prayer God's mercy be with you, future father I. or commander-in-chief of K-v! Once you start learning, don’t stop. Keep pushing and pulling. Success requires not hours and days, but months and years, sometimes long. Carry out this work patiently, and God will bless you with success. You can do it the way you divided the labor. God bless! The fear of God, attention to spiritual movements and the constant expectation of death are necessary to revive and maintain energy. Read something from a spiritual book every day with meditation. Tell your sister that she is sleeping, I think. Behold the groom is coming! - This voice will sound suddenly. And he will remain outside the crush! P.S. Here is a book for you all - “Guide to Athos”. There is also a little bit about the Panteleimon Monastery. But I don’t have a detailed description of him and his monastic life. You can keep the book in your home library. Thank you for the birthday greetings! What you write about yourself is all good. Work hard without sparing yourself, and God will bless you with success. Become more and more adorned with humility—introduce it deeper and deeper into your heart. And the Lord, who loves the humble most of all, will prosper you in everything. The Jesus Prayer is like any other. It is stronger than all only by the omnipotent name of Jesus, the Lord, the Savior, when it is called upon with full, warm, unwavering faith - that He is nearby, sees and hears everything, and listens wholeheartedly to what is asked - and is ready to fulfill and grant what is asked. Such hope does not disgrace. If fulfillment sometimes slows down, it depends on the unwillingness of the person asking to accept what is asked. God bless you! Read the articles of the Philokalia little by little. Letter 828. Easter greetings Christ is risen, young warrior of Christ! The Apostle writes that Christ the Lord, having risen, never dies. Death no longer possesses Him. Then he adds: so we too will begin to walk in the newness of life. A renewed life is a life that gets rid of everything sinful, sensual and carnal and is zealous for that which is pleasing to God, holy and heavenly. This is exactly what the bright Resurrection of Christ reminds us of. Resurrect in your soul all the energy that you once had, and guard it. Now the time is approaching such that an involuntary whim fills the soul. Be careful, for the sake of the Lord, be careful - and against whim - always hurt your body with something, so that you are sober and do not indulge in lustful intoxication. Letter 829. To the visitor of Vysha. Condition for frequent communion. About soldiering If you feel boldness towards the Lord, generated by faith and love, proceed to the Holy Mysteries here in the monastery. You can always receive communion when your conscience is clear and peaceful. And the Lord always graciously accepts those who approach Him. As for your soldiering, do as you find more convenient and better for yourself. Just guard yourself in every possible way in good feelings and deeds, out of faith in the Lord. Letter 830. Advice to a dreamer about service and marriage God's mercy be with you, future commander-in-chief! But first you need to learn. God bless! However, in such a way that when teaching external warfare, one should not forget about internal warfare and even see in the first indications of the second. You are making all the plans. And that's not a bad thing; but it is better to surrender everything into the hands of God - and wait with humility for what the Lord says about you, with a readiness to accept it obediently. Did you want to get married?! But it is better to give this into the hands of God. Dreams about this can inflame both feelings and intentions - unnecessary for now. They can only trouble the soul to no avail. Pray like this: Weigh fate, Lord, so arrange my life so that I can be saved. Letter 831. On omissions due to piety God's mercy be with you, I.I.! It is very comforting for me to see that you still maintain a godly order and regret if something happens that you do not fulfill due to circumstances beyond your control. These omissions are not considered a sin; what is omitted arbitrarily and to please something non-spiritual is imputed. May the Lord bless you! I don’t understand what sense the upcoming exam has for you. But if you need it, God grant you to pass it as well as required for your purposes. God bless you! Save yourself! Watch yourself before the Lord! Letter 832. The future generalissimo under fear of monasticism and cholera Congratulations on finishing your work - a worthwhile one. I see that this Prayer of God did not pass without a trace for you either. You renewed your beliefs there and deepened them. If you look at yourself, you’re not good for either here or there. I cry out only one thing, tearfully: “Beholden by destinies, Lord, order my life in such a way that I may be saved.” And I cry day and night. The best thing is the mood. God gave it. Thank God and keep this gift! “I noticed,” you say, “that on those days when I perform the rule properly, my soul is calmer and lighter.” Should I add to this: this is an indication for you where to look for peace and strength to hold yourself as you should. And work hard, don't be lazy. These are good thoughts. But this is not entirely commendable: “I see that monastic life is difficult; only the chosen ones can bear it.” That's it, Generalissimo!! Just looked at Plevna and ran away from it. With such a spirit you are not fit to join the rank and file! There are difficulties both in monastic life and in everyday life. And in the latter there are more of them. It turns out that you are running away from smaller difficulties in order to get into larger ones. Is this reasonable? Think of something else for your escape, not difficulties. There is no escape from difficulties. Cholera! Cholera!! In Shatsk, they say, there were two cases. In Voronezh it was announced that she would settle down with them. So get ready! God save us! But since His holy will can subject us to such death for our good, we must first subordinate our will to this will of God and humbly accept this kind of death as a good thing, and thank the Lord! We must restore all the strength of faith in the Lord’s saving death on the cross - and so remain, waiting for the Lord to favor us. Letter 833. How to overcome pride, anger and condemnation You complain about pride, anger, condemnation. The last two are from the first. Seek humility, and anger and condemnation will go away by themselves. But we must fight directly against them. Against anger - clench your teeth and remain silent. This is the first, initial reception. The second one, when he picks him up, moves away a little so as not to see the one who arouses anger. When this doesn’t make your anger go away, and you have to say stupid things and wrongs, find a rope - a thick one - and go to your sister. Having bowed to her, say: good sister, do me a service, with this rope give me a good blow. You can prescribe a measure - five, ten blows, as long as it’s sensitive. Do this after every angry outburst. This technique is also good against pride. Against condemnation, quickly remember your sins and keep them before your consciousness, and condemnation will go away. Fight in every possible way against these and all other passions, driving away their very beginnings and pursuing their movements, with prayer to the Lord. Letter 834. To the future warrior about spiritual warfare You are a future warrior! War is about standing up cheerfully and always being ready to engage in battle with the enemy, without sparing yourself or pampering the enemy. Now, after the cleansing of conscience - the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ - inspiration should come to the usual state. In a warrior, inspiration makes him a stream strong and fast and crushing everything in his path. This is how every Christian should depart from communion. Pay attention to yourself, watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune. Letter 835. Blessing and Warning Thank the Lord for your mercies. This means you feel good in your relationship with God! I rejoice in this. May the Lord bless you. Arzamas is a pious city. Use your stay in it to build your soul. Again, you have a plan to enlist in the military as a free man. Pray that the Lord will finally bless this step. Take care of yourself when you visit your homeland. The temptation there can be strong. Keep your ears sharp. Letter 836. Answer to someone seeking advice on everyday matters I don't know how to advise you anything. See for yourself and choose what suits you. I will only cry out in the wake of your decisions and steps: God bless you! Letter 837. To those who thirst for spiritual enlightenment Get ready to confess and receive communion. May the Lord grant this to be done successfully. You will read this letter after confession and communion. Therefore, I attach another good wish - may the power of these Sacraments be preserved in you without interruption or weakening. You thirst for spiritual enlightenment. It comes by itself when someone follows the path of spiritual life, and to the extent that the requirements of such a life are fulfilled, the fruit is obtained, and then enlightenment comes. We worked a lot about success in spiritual life. And the thing just gets done. We need to plant its root deeper. The root is the fear of God! When he comes, he will arrange everything and teach everything. Pray for him! and try to develop it with your thinking. June 18, 1893 - midnight. Letter 838. Instruction against carnal lust The mercy of God be with you, warrior of Christ, ready to become a warrior of the earthly king. One confessor wrote to me that, due to the multitude of confessors, he does not have time to give everyone the proper instruction, especially regarding carnal lust. I advised him to print from volume 2 of the Philokalia what was said by St. fathers about the fight against this lust. He did it, and sent me several copies. I'm handing you one. Take the trouble to review it and remember what is useful. Happy angel day. May the Holy Prophet fill your soul with the fire of jealousy. Letter 839. Confused by the thought of past temptations God's mercy be with you, future field marshal! God bless you to study for a year, and then further to your mother-in-law - as you intended. What did you write about the thought that confuses you and undermines your energy? The experiences of the saints, who repented after a bad life, are against him. Keep these experiences in mind. Mary of Egypt reached such perfection! Moses Murin - a robber, murderer, drunkard, libertine, having repented, became a model for those with whom he lived. St. Pelagia! She was a public figure, but died a seer and wonderworker. And many, many of them. And you should not look at what was, but what is to come. The former - repentance makes amends; and what is present depends not on the former, but on exploits and labors. The measure of these labors and exploits is the measure of purification, and then the testimony of God about this purification. It is clear from everything that you will not be given peace, otherwise, on the condition that your good intentions are fulfilled. Letter 840. The last blessing from Above I am very consoled to hear that your teaching is progressing successfully. Get ready, and then you will rest on your laurels. Patient work brings its own reward. You are going to Vysha. Above, if you want, will supply you with strength for both military and spiritual warfare. May God help you to conquer all enemies - both visible and invisible. E. Feofan. December 28, 1893 Letter 841. First General Instruction on the Christian Spending of Time Try to do this: in the morning - according to your prayer rule, try to establish your attention before God so that then you can be before Him all day, no matter what happens. If you settle down like this and begin to contemplate the Lord before you with the prophet - with the corresponding feelings, of course - then you will pray unceasingly. And then you won't be bored. Do not depart from prayer - the rule - until contrition is reborn in the heart with devotion to God. You are a wife, mother, housewife. The responsibilities related to this are your salvation. Reading the Gospel and Psalms is a good deed. Do not leave the books until you have learned some lesson or rules for life. God bless you! God's blessing to your husband and children. Letter 842. Parents' duty It is the parents’ duty to admonish their children, and so has it become yours. And be afraid of what? The word of love never irritates. The commanding only does not produce any fruit. In order for the Lord to bless children to avoid danger, they must pray day and night. God is merciful! He has many means to prevent it - which would never even occur to us. God rules everything. He is a wise, all-good and all-powerful Ruler. And we belong to His Kingdom. Why be sad? He will not allow His own to be offended. You need to take care of one thing - how not to offend Him - and He did not exclude you from among His own. Letter 843. God's Forbearance It grieves you to see the violation of God’s commandments. But how God - the most pure - omnipresent and all-seeing - bears our sins. On the outside we still look like something, but on the inside - alas! And yet the Lord endures, waiting for us to come to our senses someday and begin to correct our souls. May God bless you to receive Holy Communion. The Mysteries of Christ for salvation. I’ll wait for the book, there’s no need for it now. Look at something else. Letter 844. Source of life. On the replacement of church services. Information about the recipient of the letters “What is spiritual life” You have done a good deed by partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Do this more often. And “Ch-ka” so that she doesn’t lag behind. The source, nourisher and perfecter of spiritual life is Christ the Lord, Who, by His ineffable mercy, deigns to enter into close communion with those who worthily partake of His most pure body. At this time He can speak to the soul: I am your salvation! Listen! But we must approach Him with the feeling of being lost and having nothing to rely on. It’s a great pity that it’s inconvenient for you to go to church now (why are the gentlemen there looking that they won’t warm the church)? But if you don’t have to go to church, pray at home. How long would you stay in church? It will be about two hours, I think. Please pray at home for an hour in the evening and an hour in the morning. Here comes the holiday. If this is not enough, pray two at a time. In prayer, say only: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. In the image of fate, save me, Lord. You have somewhere to hide, right? Take cover and pray that no one sees. And let “Ch-ka” do it too - in his cabin. The beauty to whom the letters were written lives at home with her father; doesn't want to get married; but I still haven’t gathered the courage to go to the monastery. May the Lord arrange for her. She has a very good and strong character. Yes - salvation is not tied to a place. It’s possible everywhere, and it actually happens everywhere. It’s certainly better in the monastery, as you write. But even there there are inconveniences. For those who are fleeing, the path is narrow and deplorable everywhere. And no one has yet managed to strew it with flowers. Sacrifice to God - the spirit is crushed. God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Let him remember this more than “Ch-ka.” The trouble will hit the righteous woman. Let him achieve the feeling of an unpaid sinner and condemned woman, and in this feeling he cries out: Lord have mercy! Thank you for your congratulations on the R.X. holiday. and your well wishes. Lord grant that you too will meet him in health and with all spiritual consolation. Behold, the last four books of “Soul.” Readings" for the current year! Save yourself! and pray to God for us. Letter 845. Home fasting. Sorrow is charged as penance It is inconvenient to leave home; fast at home. You can do all the work of fasting at home; and then confess and receive communion in church. Bear with complacency the troubles and everything that you have to experience in grief, and the merciful Lord will count it as penance, which everyone should bear for their sins according to the order of the Church. May the Lord give you, in proportion to your patience, consolation to joyfully endure sorrows, and to drive away all despondency, which the enemy does not skimp on pouring into the souls of those who suffer anything. Save yourself! and pray to God for us! Letter 846. What is the perfection of patience. How the righteous will not come to judgment Patience is absolutely a matter of necessity, i.e. it must be maintained properly so that it is not lacking in anything. The perfection of patience is to endure complacently, and moreover, to joyfully and thank God for the circumstances that force you to endure, as for a benefit - direct and essential. Restore the faith that by suffering in vain, you become partakers of the rank of martyrs, and rejoice in this. For it is so truly. And by allowing grief and pity for yourself, as if hurt, you belittle the value of what the Lord gives to you. The text you wrote is clear. There will be judgment for everyone, but for those who are worthy of justification, the judgment will be such that it will be as if it had not happened - it will be joyfully greeted, as if it were not a trial at all, but the embrace of the Lord, it will be joyfully passed, and there will be joy after it. Those who believe in the Lord as they should and live according to His will will be honored with this. Not everyone who says: Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom, but do the will of the Heavenly Father. I am sending you “The Wanderer” for last year. Keep the Epistle to the Romans and Ephesians with you. Guilty! And I thought that I had already sent them to you. Letter 847. Explanation of the text: where there is a corpse, there are eagles. Bumps of life Thank you for your congratulations and well wishes. “Where there is a corpse, there are eagles.” We are talking about the second coming of Christ. Just as eagles soon gather on a dead corpse, so where Christ appears, all the saints will come, soaring on the heights of virtues, and will ascend to the clouds like eagles. The Savior is like a corpse because He died for us. You would have acquired the explanatory Gospel of Archimandrite Michael, now His Eminence - Vicar of Kyiv. He interprets all the Gospels and Acts, briefly but sufficiently. The unevenness of life, both external and internal, must be endured, there surrendering to the Lord, and here repenting and praying, may the Lord level the path of our life. Now is the time to just notice the irregularities and try to correct them. I mean St. fast. God bless you, and your beauties, and your spouse, and the whole house. Letter 848. That from the Lord everything is for the best. About the fear of death If everything is from the Lord, then your illness is also from Him. If everything is from the Lord for the best, then the illness is yours. Your illness prevented you from going to Moscow. Track. It is better for you not to go to Moscow at this time. And calm down on this - and don’t think about going, despite your illness. Moscow will not leave, and the road to it will then be as open as it is now. The illness will pass, and go to Moscow. Here we received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. God bless! If there were an obstacle here, it would be worthy of great pity. But the other thing is all trivial. The enemy inspires: you won’t be able to stand it. And you answer: I don’t undertake to stand it alone, but I hope that the merciful Lord will not leave me alone, but will help me to stand, as He has helped me before. Why be afraid of death? But we must be afraid of what happens after death, and try to always be prepared for it. There is readiness - crying about sins, doing good to the best of our ability and unshakable faith in the Lord the Savior, who wants everyone to be saved. Everyone? Track. and to you. And what does the Lord want for those who can interfere? Just don’t make any mistakes on your part, and the Lord will not forsake you. God bless you; and “Ch-ku” and “B-ku” and everyone. Letter 849. To those who are with the Lord, there is a church everywhere. Enemy temptation Yes, you have a wonderful environment! Exactly like hermits. So, what is there to grieve about? The point is to be with the Lord. Well, be it. He is everywhere, no matter where anyone is. As soon as the soul calls out to Him and turns, He will go to her or into her. Here is the church, here is the monastery! An empty languor rolls into the pit of your stomach - from below - the work of the enemy. It is he who manages to give rise to the idea that God is boring. Come to me. My love is spilled! and there will be no time to come to your senses when I’m spinning around. And never, not for a second, allow yourself to dwell on this tightness, and immediately don’t give a damn about it. The Lord is near! Blessed be the name of the Lord! God bless the fast - and with Ch. What does B. have? Holiday or Lent?! Books “Shower. Thu." only one, which I am sending. I add to it 3 books “Orthodox. Interlocutor." “Simeon the New Theologian” will be a special book. His printing is coming to an end. Letter 850. About the sorrows of life That there are regrets is in the order of things. That's what earthly life is for. But thanks be to the Lord that He showed us where to turn in moments of sorrow and where to seek consolation. The Lord is near, don’t worry about anything. If we were left alone, who would find so much strength to stretch out our deplorable life to the end? The bad act of a son towards his parent is, of course, very bad, absolutely. But what to do about it!? Everything went upside down for us. Instead of mourning, it would be better to pray. That Ch. is calm - and does not succumb to embarrassment on the part of the black forces - I rejoice at this. God bless her! Yes, he listens, prays and does not indulge himself! Letter 851. To those who know God there is no excuse. About inattentive sons and kind daughters I’m very glad that you feel better, because B. is feeling better. May God grant her to get better. Nevertheless, the law that one must wholeheartedly surrender oneself, one’s own, and all one’s own into the hands of the Lord remains indispensable. When there is a commandment, “I cannot and should not take place,” and one should not use this as an excuse. As you wish and as you are able, but deign to place yourself in complete devotion to the will of God - and accept everything that comes your way as directly coming from the will of God, or from the face of God, not only with humility, but also complacently, joyfully and gratefully. You say: you haven’t grown up yet. How old are you? Until you are very old, will you still consider yourself a baby?! And this is only to cover up the wrongness of one’s feelings. Those who do not know God can be excused for many things, but those who know God and do not keep the feelings of their hearts in proper order have nothing to base their excuse on. Inattention from sons should be very sensitive. Be patient with them, covering their failure with love. God willing, they will come to their senses and repent. And everything will go like clockwork. Ch. is eager to join the monastery. But in monasteries there are many irregularities, and much must be endured. Arrange for her to live in some monastery as a guest, and take a closer look, so that later, when she enters the monastery, she will not accidentally encounter what she will encounter. I don’t know the names of either the blueberry or the squirrel. Tell. Letter 852. Blessing on the way to Moscow God bless your path! Caution is not a bad thing at any time. But to be afraid with anxiety, seeing nothing, is not good. The Lord is near. He will hear the cry of those who fear Him and save them. Restore hope and faith, and peace will come. If you pray in Moscow, pray for everything about me. Letter 853. Introduction to the Work of Repentance God bless you all - I will tell you all and receive Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries. More contrition for sinfulness is needed than a listing of sins, although this is necessary. There are more prayerful sighs from the heart than reading prayers, although this is also necessary. Fussiness must be expelled from the soul, and reverence before God must be established there. Having established this reverence, then stay with it. Let the beauties read “Rise to Sleep.” This will be a good introduction to penitential fasting. Here is the promised Psalm 118. There is no Psalter. And here is a collection of prayers of St. Ephraim - in the form of a psalter! Pray for your husband, but refrain from judging. It is not surprising for the Lord to turn his heart in one minute. And may God grant the high school student success. Thank you for the little thing you did. Letter 854. She who tasted the fruits of Communion God's mercy be with you all! I rejoice with you for you that the Lord has vouchsafed you to receive Holy Communion. His Mystery - and let you experience the saving fruit from this. L. Why did you deprive yourself of such a benefit? And Lent would take its course. But since she did this in order to serve others, for this the Lord will give her grace during Lent. Accept my good wishes - to preserve the good mood given to you for as long as possible. Don’t worry, don’t get distracted, and moreover, don’t allow passionate movements, not only big ones, but even the smallest ones. And the light, now burning and shining within you, will continue to illuminate and warm you continuously. You did well to continue your stay here a little longer. You won't be at a loss! Letter 855. Christian lucky woman God's mercy be with you! I congratulate you and you on the bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ! Behold - and the New Year is at the door. I wish you all the best this year, both in yourself and in your children and in your everyday life. You have all the troubles. Judging by the Apostolic, I must tell you: lucky girl! For God's favorite. And may the Lord grant you to enter both with your mind and heart into the path of God’s will and from this draw all consolation. I'm very sorry about S. Here the enemy has clung to her and holds her in his evil desires. May the Lord be merciful to her! I feel sorry for her. God bless you! Your pilgrim E. Feofan. Letter 856. A word from the sick woman. Encouragement for someone running from the world. A visual experience of worldly happiness. About your eye Thank you for your congratulations and well wishes, and for the handicrafts. God bless you! Why are you so sick? If you don’t recover, take communion like a sick person. Pray at home, instead of any service, bow down with your prayer, and then confess and receive communion. For your niece, I am sending Psalm 118 and the book “Rise to Sleep,” and letters to St. Petersburg. and 5 words. I will send you the words of Simeon Nov. Theologian, second edition. Ch. was pleased that she would roll up her fists to fight the world. God bless. It’s better, Mother Ch., it’s a million times better to get rid of the everyday world completely. What a burden he piles up, that you can’t even imagine how to deal with him. On the outside, everything is red and light, but on the inside, in fact, wow! as bad and hard as it is. And life outside the world, on the outside seems harsh and terrible, but inside is God’s paradise. Here B. has only a husband, and it happens that even a husband is no joy. This is heaven! Eat for your health. You wrote that B. was at home, and you sent her there, and this is where she is writing from. I ask you to convey to her my gratitude for my congratulations and consolation - that she behaves in her circumstances as it should. There is nothing more to do than to surrender everything to God, to resort to Him in prayer, with crying and sighing. May the Lord enlighten her father-in-law. Let her guide him to help the poor, at least a little. This is the best way to soften the heart after praying for it. God save them and have mercy! You say about the eye: are there really no ways to help? No. There is only one operation, and it is unsuccessful. This is a disease, or not a disease, because it is not painful, but damage to the lens. May the Lord comfort you all. Letter 857. Consolation of a daughter grieving over her illness How clever are you?! Of course, it’s impossible not to grieve; but what's the point in killing yourself? What's the problem that your daughter got sick? He will get sick and get better. After all, not all people who get sick die. Why on earth are you seeing your daughter off to the next world when she has just gotten sick? That she became worse, the usual order of illnesses. It was worse, but when the messenger arrived, she felt better. And when you get there, you will see that she is walking around the room. Of course, we are all in the hands of God, and death can happen to everyone at any moment. The patient has the peculiarity that death, if it is destined to come, will not come suddenly. In this regard, there is a benefit for the sick person from the disease. She can think about herself and prepare for the outcome in a Christian way. This is what we need to take care of now, rather than killing ourselves with grief. Let's assume - at most - that he will die. What harm does it matter if he dies? Is she the only one subjected to this? After all, we will all die. She is today, we are tomorrow. Who cares? It's not she who will die. The body will die, but the soul will live. And she will be even better off without a body than with a body. Having left the body, it will fly to you and caress you. She will say to your soul: ah! Mom, I feel so good! Drop the earth quickly and come to me. She will not be able to understand your grief when she is better and you are grieving. So you see, that not only because of illness, but even because of death, if it happened, you should not kill yourself. And if you please, get up right now, become animated and at peace, and thereby console everyone. God bless you! - and grant your soul consolation. Save yourself! Ch. God bless you! Letter 858. About thanksgiving for sorrows and obedience to your husband It's hard, it's hard! So why should you endure it? Without patience there is no salvation. Here is the Lord, who arranges salvation for you, and gives you opportunities to show patience and move forward on the path of salvation. Track. you - having felt it hard - need to add both in word and feeling: Glory to Thee, Lord! God appointed the husband to be the wife's guardian. And often he, without realizing it, gives permissions or prohibitions to his wife such as God inspires him. So your husband, without giving you permission to go to Above, is fulfilling the will of God. The will of God is always good. Restore that faith. And calm down! Your niece is an orphan all around. Let it become a blueberry. And she will be at peace. This is a supposed blueberry, but God bless the real one to get more and more involved in the blueberry. Congratulations on Angel's Day. May the Lord give you all the best! Letter 859. Poisoned blueberry It's good that you took communion! May this be your consolation and strengthening. This is what your niece is like?! And I thought she was going to hell! What a misconception! But I didn’t know that she had tasted St. Petersburg. This is a whirlpool! You did well to see her off as quickly as possible. Messages to St. Timothy is not alone. But it will. Then you will receive it. I send you September “Shower. Read,” and return the stories, enclosing another copy for Ch. Look at them often. And how in the Philokalia they say about this St. fathers, look at the letters about spiritual life, letter 15, and keep this book with you. Letter 860. Instructions on fasting. Comforting dream Congratulations on your communion with St. Christ's Mysteries. Here's the post. Talk except the first and last, and when else. At the veneration of the cross, for example, or at the Annunciation. Place all your trust in the Lord, and He will arrange your salvation, as there is a Savior. The dream is sent to you as a consolation. The guardian angel arranged it for you. Instead of me, he could imagine any other face, because it is clearer to you. There is no beauty here. The words: the kingdom is enough for you, point to the promised kingdom, which all true believers will undoubtedly receive, and who remain in the commandments of the Lord until the end of their lives. Track. and you, if you remain so. Here the same thing is said that the Apostle said in words: do not deserve the passion of the present time for the glory that desires to appear in us. From the dream, derive an impulse to greater zeal for salvation, and not just to lie down on your side. Because ours has already taken. This is where the enemy can get stuck. Lie down, lie down. Why bother? And you answer: no, do not lie down, but you must work until you sweat so that what is promised is not taken away. Why be timid? The Lord is with us, our Protector. If God is for us, who is for us? Letter 861. Source of comfort. In illness one must learn mortal memory Are you looking for consolation?! All comfort is from the Lord. For this reason He is called the God of all joy. When the soul tastes the Lord even a little, by His grace; then all sorrows fall away, and the memory of them disappears. You have postponed your trip until next time. weeks. May God help you to fulfill your good intentions. B. is sick. Let him at this time learn the memory of death - saving. It is difficult for a healthy person to remember. The Lord sends illnesses for this reason, to remind us of death, and to transfer from this memory so that the sick person can finally attend to preparing for death. […] Letter 862. About the bad son and the lying Greeks from Jerusalem And I congratulate you on the holiday. May the cover of the Mother of God spread over you, like the tabernacle of God, and may it remain upon you! What should I do with my son? Regret and pray. The Jerusalem Greeks must be deceivers. This letter is false! If a real one wrote, at least all the letters would be legible, but here there is not a single letter. These are rogues! Next time, send them to the police officer. Letter 863. Tireless advisor. Advice on the spirit of despondency May the Lady Theotokos send you every consolation on the festive day of Her Birth - so, however, may this continue invariably throughout the entire day of your life! Where did you get the idea that you were boring me with your letters? Neither reading them nor writing them back to you bores me or bothers me. Congratulations in advance on your angel’s day. I wish you all the best from the Lord. May all-encompassing joy come upon you that day. Communion to St. The Mysteries of Christ - try to arrange it. And may the Lord help you. What congratulation can compare with perceiving the Lord within oneself and being with Him? Be it for you! Complain to the Lord and your guardian angel about the spirit of despondency, and he will run away. But endure everything with good grace. This condition is one of the crosses that we inevitably have to bear throughout our lives. The Lord will either drive him away or give you the complacency to endure such conditions. B. is coming! May the Lord establish happiness for her! I think that she has already had fun and is looking for rest for her soul. I am sending you a new book, which has just been received. Letter 864. Feedback on the news of illness and the condition of close relatives Disease again! Lord give you patience and complacency, and deliver you from sinful grumbling! Do not look gloomily at infirmities. They indicate God’s mercy and God’s attention to you rather than disfavor. Whatever comes from God is for good. I think L.’s mother has little need for consolation. May God help her to stay on her chosen path. She understands this path well. There is therefore nothing to talk about this. Go, mother, go, without looking back or around. B. God forbid. That the husband got along, what's wrong? The frets will be stronger. And this is a great family benefit. The girl that they took into their hands is now yours. Will you somehow manage to completely take possession of her? I'm afraid for her while she's there. S. wrote that she would go to Sergiev, then 15 to Optina and stay for three or four weeks. Don't disturb her. Write to her so that she can come to you after Optina. She needs it more. Do it this way! Everything above stands in one place, and I believe it will remain at least for our lifetime. Because there is nothing to be bored about, because everything is an obstacle to visiting it. God bless you! I wish you recovery. Letter 865. Comforted by God's help and spiritual joy God's mercy was better than doctors for you. Blessed be God, who does not disgrace our hope! A. soldierhood humbles. It would be nice if she wiped him down a little. Changes in spirit are our common destiny. You must endure, handing over your fate into the hands of God. Let us be concerned about one thing, to always be with the Lord. In all cases, turn directly to Him, reveal to Him the burdens of your soul, and pray that He will deliver you if He wills. Joy and consolation are not the final evidence of a good mood. The main thing is determination and zeal to please God, a contrite spirit and a contrite and humble heart, and surrender to the will of God. When this is there, it’s good. God bless you with every blessing! Save yourself! Letter 866. Blessing of the mother of the family and review of the trip to Sarov You have decided to endure! May the Lord bless this decision of yours and give you the strength to do so, pouring out complacency in your heart with devotion to the will of God, from which everything is - and all this is good for believers. Pray earnestly for your children, and God will preserve in good order those who want to be preserved and seek this. Your intention to visit Sarov is good. God bless you to fulfill it. Ten miles beyond Sarov is the Diveyevo monastery, where the sisters consider themselves to be Fr. Seraphim. And visit there. I hear that they maintain very good order there. Maybe when the time comes, you can find a place there. God bless you and Ch., and the little one, and the other children, both obedient and disobedient. Letter 867. Response to the news about the new priest, about the children, about the preparations for Sarov and about the expectation of death Congratulations on your new priest! May God grant that he always proves himself more and more satisfactory to you. AND?! What's wrong with him? Isn't there any sweetness there?! But he seems to be still very young for this. I don’t know how to go there – or not – to see him. How do you judge? And God bless you in Sarov! And go to Diveyevo. I hear that things are good there. And the monastery is crowded. Maybe you will like it. A. I think it’s better to leave him to the will of his heart - and pray. And to tell him, there is no fruit. When the middle is damaged by this, nothing can hold it from the outside. Death is on your mind! This is always saving; and from time immemorial it has been recommended as a fruitful blessing. But you have a special meaning to this. Don’t you see any indication of this, this is the general path. And there is no point in oohing and aahing. And get ready. Prepare yourself, yes, Ch. needs to find and warm up some space. Your good friend E. Feofan. August 29, 1889 Letter 868. About mortal memory and Divine Providence. Recipe for bruises I don’t remember what could have confused you so much in your previous letter. It seemed like it was a reminder of death. Why be embarrassed by this? Today or tomorrow will come; and we will not dismiss her with embarrassment. That is why it is necessary for us to remember the hour of death and to always be ready for it. This should be our main concern. And pray every day and even every hour: “the Christian end of our life is painless, shameless and peaceful, and a good answer at Thy terrible judgment seat, Lord, vouchsafe me.” Here's Vysha for you! Accept this as God's will. We are blind. And if we were not blind, then in every event we would see not only the general will of God, but a specific one, for this and that reason. However, later, when we look back and reflect on the incidents of our lives, and this is partly possible to see tangibly. Rejoice, having surrendered yourself into the most merciful hands of God. God bless you with every blessing! P.S. For bruises – arnica tincture. For a glass of water, add a spoon or two of arnica tea (I do this until the water turns a little yellow). Dampen a rag and apply it, and that's it. And the rush of blood and swelling will break. Letter 869. About the erring son Remembering the mercies of God that have been to you, take comfort in the hope that the Lord will not deprive you of them in the future: for the Lord is the same yesterday and today and forever. Maybe it will also affect A.; but for this he needs to turn to God, and for this he must undergo a fiery temptation, a stunning one, which will shake off all the paradoxical teachings and opinions that have settled on his mind. May the Lord have mercy on him and save him. God grant you patience if something unpleasant happens from him. God rest in peace, Servant of God Trophim! If he was kind, then the Lord is not offended so as to forget his kindness, and will reward him in proportion and beyond measure. God bless you! I wish you all the best and comforting things. And may the Lord keep your little one in a good mood. Letter 870. The feat of patience is required for Christians I will require patience. So the Apostle wrote in the thought that since troubles and hardships are inevitable for believers, they must prepare themselves with patience in order to endure everything without grumbling and with thanksgiving. But when the Savior said: he who endures to the end will save, he indicated that patience is a condition of salvation, so without patience there is no salvation. With this last thought there is another, as its consequence: therefore, one must rejoice when there is something to endure. James, the brother of God, taught this: rejoice when you fall into various temptations. Hold these thoughts, and maybe a drop of consolation will flow out of them. You wish to go to the Highlands for the Presentation. God willing! and may you find here all spiritual consolation, not only for the duration of your stay, but in reserve for all subsequent times. May God grant you freedom from headaches! God bless your children and the one who plans to get married. Because here is a step towards sedateness. Letter 871. Blessing to beauties traveling to Moscow for treatment and warning And you have to endure and endure everything. Blessed road is yours! It’s hard, who can argue. But if complacency does not leave, every minute and every breath will respond in the next world. Your beauties are heading to Moscow. God bless their path. Now Moscow is emptying. Everyone is leaving, some to their dachas, some to their estates. They will have more space. May God grant them to meet a conscientious doctor who would tell them: I don’t know, or indicate absolutely correctly: here is the recipe. If they do it, it will be good. However, watch out for the beauties! There are many temptations there, which may not be scary for you, but most of all there is a lot of deceit. I wish you and them all the best! Your good friend E. Feofan. 23 Apr 1890 Letter 872. What is from God is all for salvation. Answer about the confessor and about the son with re-examination, blessed in Sarov It is very comforting that you have so successfully driven away the onslaught of confusing thoughts. May God grant you to always manage them this way. The Lord is the ruler of the world and the ruler of every person, especially those who serve Him. Whatever He sends to anyone is for salvation. Warm up this faith and be inspired by hope for patience. Your path is blessed, for it is narrow; and the tight one leads to the stomach. Your part is with the martyrs. About the confessor. I hardly know anyone. O. A-iy is good; and o. A-n is good. The first one is better. But that's what I think; but God knows what it really is. It’s very nice to hear that your relative is undertaking to accommodate I. God help him! I. did not mention to me, writing about his desire to go to Sarov, that he was scheduled for a re-examination. Otherwise, I would have told him to complete this task first and then to Sarov. However, I wrote to him not to make a break with school. I had no idea that he would leave school. I was mistaken in that I postponed insisting on this until he visited Sarov and got acquainted with it. Be the will of God! Help you, Lord, to reach the Vysha and receive Holy Communion. Christ's Mysteries! Not a word about Ch.; and she herself - not a word. I believe she is in good condition. May God help her! Letter 873. Upon arrival in Moscow. About the same son Congratulations on your safe move and pleasant arrangement of life in Belokamennaya. God bless your stay there - may it be peaceful, quiet, healthy and always comforting. That the church and monastery are close is God’s great mercy. A quick pilgrimage to Voskresensk and Anosin smiles upon you. May God grant you to breathe the holy air there. Bow to Mother L., full of good wishes and God's blessing. Well done I-I Muromets for passing the exam well, I really regret that such obstacles opened up on his way, and he went out - obstacle course. All the more praise if you kindly jump over them. It is very beneficial for him that he will be with you. Keep him busy with good reading. If only he could do some handicraft! Carpentry, turning, carving, sawing, the healthiest. N.I. I wish you to recover and get stronger, and then be content in a pleasant environment. We have troubles with the monastery. Everyone is preparing for the consecration of the church; but the time has not yet been set. My health is fine, and everything is going well with us. Letter 874. Instruction on family matters. Condolences and blessings I am very glad that your illness is not as terrible as I thought. May the Lord prolong your days. It is necessary to arrange Ch., - and wait for the ordering of I. What a good thought came to him to visit Above and partake of St. Christ's Mysteries. It is now in very good condition. May the Lord grant him to preserve it and strengthen it even more. God grant that your A. will recover completely, so that you will be more free to act according to the movements of the spirit. B. poor! Maybe the Lord will please her too. What can she do on her own? If only she were stronger than her husband physically; then she could be advised to hit him harder. And without this, God grant her complacent patience. Let Ch. have the idea that I. can overtake her. Therefore, she should not make mistakes, but move forward more and more zealously. God bless you all! Letter 875. Congratulations and blessings. About your health I congratulate you on the holiday and on the new year. May the Lord send you everything good, pleasant and comforting that His goodness deigns to find saving for you. You celebrated how God helped, a holiday, and glory to God! I am glad that I. is holding on. May God grant him to stand and resist. B.! What to do? This is how her circumstances turned out. Let it be managed. She is not small, and understands what the main purpose of life is. I still haven't recovered from the illness. The weakness is decent. The main enemy is the stomach. He doesn't want to eat. Letter 876. A bright ray of life. Condolences and joy for the family Thank you for your congratulations and well wishes. And I congratulate you and wish you all the best! Congratulations especially on the communion of St. Tain. May the Lord be with you according to His promise. Do good in that you nourish hope and hope alive. They are a ray that illuminates the path of life and brings joy amid the inevitable cramped conditions of life. Warm them up more and more. They supported the martyrs in patience, and the saints in their exploits. Without them there is only darkness and boundless languor. To the Highest - may the Lord guide your path. We have a lot of people throughout the holiday. And all day long everyone scurries around the monastery. It is very unfortunate that the faithful B. remains unfaithful to the Lord. She herself, of course, has nothing to do but endure. May the Lord strengthen her in complacency. I am very glad that I. behaves kindly. God save him! And what he reads in lessons will pass. May the Lord bless you and all yours, so that you may have every comfort from them. I am sending you books - The soul and the angel are not the body and the Collection - which is small and expensive. 4 copies of each; here I. especially and M.L. Letter 877. Earrings for all sisters It’s amazing how God arranges the course of your life and all its accidents! And you do good by being complacent and in every possible way eliminating sorrowful feelings. Blessed is the path you follow. It is cramped and sad, but it leads straight to the kingdom of God. B. brought so many beauties to Vysha, and they all wrote to me, and I wrote back to everyone, “every sister has an earring,” according to the proverb. And he gave them different books, so that some would share by lot, and others by election. And here enclosed are three copies of Miterikon, two for you and Ch. and one for L. Letter 878. Where does melancholy come from and how is it driven away? You felt the attacks of melancholy. This is an enemy attack. Thank God they got rid of it. It attacks when the ways of God are eclipsed in the arrangement of our life circumstances. Where this darkness brings melancholy, where there is fear, where there is despair. Prayer disperses this darkness, and the light of God’s providence for us allows us to see everything clearly then. Hence the peace of the spirit and the joy of the heart, even in the most bleak situation. May the Lord comfort you! God bless your L. I thank her for the shoes. Lord bless her! Ch. is truly in good spirits both externally and internally. God's blessing be upon her! Letter 879. To mourn the illness of a loved one. How children attract blessings and stop them Again sorrow for God's sake! Again, call on patience and complacency, too! Get used to seeing the mercy of God in sorrows, and meet them calmly in devotion to the will of God, or even with joy. Open the eye of your mind and see the crown coming down from heaven on your head, if you remain unperturbed and calm. May the merciful Lord pour out the oil of consolation on your sorrowful heart. L. clever! Her manner of action cannot but be praised. May the Lord strengthen her! Tomorrow is a crisis! This is typhus. May the Lord grant her healing! It is very nice to see that you have a cheerful and wise assistant around the house. A daughter who watches over her mother's peace is blessed. The son, who does not properly honor his mother and does not care about her peace, encloses heaven above himself and stops the descent of God’s blessings from there. Read these last lines I. Letter 880. Again about patience. Son from the enemy at war. To the history of the Arzamas monastery and about your health All sorrows and sorrows! But take heart! No act of patience is wasted, but everyone has his reward behind him, either here or there. And the enemy prevails. The enemy of thought breaks him and drags him into bad thoughts and deeds. May the Lord arrange him and establish him in good order! He may not even notice how he is succumbing to the enemy’s suggestions. And then, noticing that they have been deceived by the enemy, he grieves over it. God grant him at least this! Isn’t that where his boredom or urge to travel comes from? Let's pray for him. Are you going to Arzamas? God bless! There you will see many who are taking refuge in safe havens - I mean, monasteries. And there is a handicraft community there. Is it as landscaped or configured as it was according to its founder? Its first embryo was in St. Petersburg. - from the elder Theodore, who then lived in the monastery. And then she was transferred here. May God grant you to see good aspirations and quests prevail everywhere. My health is not bad. At times only weakness attacks, like hell. But it’s not pain, it’s just like that – I still want to lie down. And not often and not for long. We got warm, but it was cold, and quite a bit. Ch. and I. - God's blessing! Letter 881. Encouragement and instruction about faith and hope for the sick mother of the family You're all hurting. God bless you! That you decided to receive unction is very good. This sacrament for Christians should be the only medical method for illnesses, as I, it seems, have already mentioned to you. May God help you! I think that you are not finished yet; because you are still very much needed here. It might already be enough for you, but you need to arrange for more children, and when you arrange this, then with God. However, just like the clock of life is not in our hands; the thoughts of God are as distant from ours as heaven is from earth; then during illness, having the outcome in mind is not contrary to either God or our hopes. For this reason, hope and prepare! Restore faith in the Lord, who opened paradise for us through the cross! The crusaders enter these gates. How many years have you been under the cross, and you bear it so complacently? Take heart, for He will win and will not let you be offended. Lord help you to endure, trust and be complacent. Save yourself! Letter 882. Our heavenly patrons. The silence of the Vyshenskaya monastery and its Abba Yesterday St. Sergius interceded for all those who turned to him; now St. Sergius also does the same. John the Theologian. Let us thank the Lord for this heavenly cover stretched over us. Did the Lord vouchsafe you to receive communion yesterday? If yes, thank God. May this communion strengthen you in your good orders, both external and more so internal, and may all consolation fill your heart! Your name day passed quietly with family consolations. May the Lord comfort you and always with such comforts! When you reach Vysha, the day of your consolation will probably last. It’s so quiet in our monastery that one should be amazed. This is our Abba's business. He is very prayerful and seems to have accepted the gift of unceasing prayer. Lord save him and multiply the days of his life! God bless you, I wish you all the best, joy and peace. Letter 883. Variability of spiritual mood. Good gift to the post I received your letter, which was sent by mail, on November 1, and was in no hurry to respond, because there was no need. But here’s another thing, and everything is business as usual for you, thank God. Complain about mood swings. In everyday life it is not the same as in a monastic cell. You are not required to do what is required of monks. If you have the fear of God and the desire to do everything according to the commandments, then it is enough if you apply patience and gratitude. High states of prayer only exist as visits from God. Lent is already in the yard - and now the spiritual consolation you are looking for is offered. Volume 4 of the Philokalia - the writings of St. Theodora Studite. He had a burning spirit, and the word flowed from his heart with warmth and strength. May the Lord grant you to be filled with his spirit. Trinity leaves are good. There are also Athonite ones. God bless the working people! I'm very glad to hear that M enjoys this reading and listening. Letter 884. Blessing to the visitor of the Vyshensky monastery. clear day Thank you for your good wishes! May the Lord make your patience in staying here in prayer a source of spiritual consolation for a long time. In your patience gain your soul. May the peace of God accompany you on your journey, may it meet you at home and may it coexist with you there inseparably. Not only illnesses, but also all sorts of troubles, not only big ones, but even the smallest ones - all are directed by the Lord in favor of our salvation. As the day is clear, so may your soul be light! Be Simeon, bearing the heart of the Lord in your arms! Be Anna, singing glory to God the Savior! Be Joseph, humbly doing what is lawful, in the hope of freedom from all law! Be Mary - the Virgin - the Mother of God - who was entirely in the Lord! God bless you and Ch. - and the whole family! Letter 885. On the day of the angel. An instructive dream. Thoughts when the snow melts Thank you for your birthday wishes. Theophan of Sigrian was a marvelous man both in asceticism and in his suffering from the iconoclasts. - He was both a scientist and a royal. “Lord, save me through His prayers!” Your dream is very instructive; the storms upon entering a monastery are internal ones of the heart. Where will they come from?! God save you! “I think you will still enter the monastery—and you will be birds singing a song of praise and thanksgiving to God—and then, purified by sorrows and hardships, you will become angels, ever praising the Trinitarian God.” You are afraid of rivers or their flooding. But I think that this will not happen. Look - the snow disappears, but not a drop of it remains in place. The sun steals its moisture and takes it to other places, and we will be left with nothing to do with it. Alas and ah! Letter 886. When sending an icon Congratulations on your acceptance of St. Christ's Mysteries. May this be your salvation. This icon is yours! Made according to your wishes. And may you be according to your faith! Remember that there is someone who does not forget you and always groans for you before the Lord. - And be inspired! But don’t think that you can sit idly by because of this. Benevolent prayer will not cling to the one for whom it is being prayed if he himself does not pray. The prayer of others for us is strong only when it is prayer, i.e. accompanies our own prayer. The protection of the Mother of God be upon you. Letter 887. Sick among the labors for the sick We worked a lot for the sake of the sick and fell down. You can console yourself with the fact that it was not your fault that you fell. Although A. is not worth it, the Lord, by His mercy and for the sake of your motherly love and patience for the sake of the one who insults you, will accept caring for him as caring for Himself: he is sick. May God grant you to recover by the time the spring air sets in, so that you can be refreshed by it and breathe new strength. I. your joy; and your hope that because of his good disposition towards you, the Lord will overshadow him with His blessing is not in vain. The merciful Lord will finally take pity on you and send you a joyful arrangement for everyday life. Be patient. Your cross is the cross of the Lord, abundantly fruitful, but not with the fruits here. I wish you spiritual consolations, such that for their sake all desire for the consolations here is cut off. Letter 888. Lenten Instruction. Inhuman monks Congratulations on your acceptance of St. Christ's Mysteries. May this be a source of consolation, strengthening, admonition and inspiration for you - to perform the exploits of the Lenten lifestyle according to your strength. I also congratulate you on the beginning of a soul-saving fast. Great good is this time. God through St. The Church beneficially established it for us who are weak, who cannot and do not know how to fast well all the time of our lives, although we realize that all of it, not excluding a moment, should belong to the Lord and be turned to His glory. This is due to the very creation of us, and even more so due to redemption - in which we are bought at a price beyond price, which is why we should not belong to ourselves, but to the one who bought us, who by virtue of him became our master, legally demanding that we betray ourselves to Him and not bring other masters upon us, who, due to our oversight, are innumerable. You are doing well to sanctify the beginning of Lent in the monastery, like a monk. - Look how inhuman these monks are. The kitchen and dining room were locked down and the fire was extinguished. Dry eating lasts, or should last, for a whole week - and many people endure it. Well done guys!! And some take cabbages and cucumbers little by little, especially those who sing and read. Make an effort to be zealous about imitation, however within your own abilities: for not everyone can do everything, but he who can contain it, let him contain it. God bless you! I wish you joy and encouragement in the Lord. Save yourself! Letter 889. On the Feast of the Ascension I also respond to you: Happy Holidays! Christ our God ascended in glory, to our joy and the inspiration of our hope, because of His promise that where He is, there His servants will also be. Glory to Your goodwill towards us, Lord! Because the Lord has so exalted us; Let us lift up His name together! And we will ascend there - with thoughts, desires and feelings, in order to recognize and study the road there, and not be confused when the time actually comes to ascend there. But will they still be allowed in?! Let us remember this question, and let us take care to earn permission to do so. I am very glad that you finally hold in your hands the means to fulfill your pious desires. However, pray that the Lord will not allow the enemy to put up any barriers along the road and places where you want to get. Together with you, I share your desire to soften A.’s heart and direct it to the best. M. I'm very sorry. “How can she live poor in the world, where every step is required, concessions are required.” God save her! Your good friend E. Feofan. May 13, 1892 Letter 890. Thoughts on the approach of Passion Week and about the home Here is the passionate one in the yard. May the Lord grant you to suffer to the Lord as much as you can. Through His suffering the Lord accomplished our salvation. We assimilate this salvation to ourselves after St. sacraments of compassion to Him. A broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart, Lord grant us. The Fall of St. The apostle called the second crucifixion of the Lord. If only we could accept this into our senses. Then there would be so much contrition, so many tears, so many sighs!!! Our Lord, have mercy on us, weak and lethargic! According to your letters, life is good there. I rejoice in this. Now you will always have a place in your memory where you can find rest from the cramps of everyday life and breathe easy. I.I. wrote to me more than once. He's busy. God bless his efforts. Whatever troubles cause him, that’s how his whole life will be directed. Therefore, there is something to fuss about, and he acts wisely, sparing no trouble. Regarding M. I don’t know what to say. May the Lord arrange the first years of her childhood, so that even into old age she can draw from this strength and guidance in life. Letter 891. Blessing of the One Returning from Above May the Lord bless your return journey! I wish you a safe journey. I wish that what you received here from the Lord will be preserved in you and bear fruit. I wish that all your circumstances will flow favorably for you - both healthy and soul-saving. I wish that all of you, for whom your soul aches, live and act for your joy. The one you wrote about - X-skaya, is the same one who wrote to me; but she seems more courageous to me. She tells me her dream, or vision in a dream. Didn't she tell you too? I.Ch. God's blessing! Sloth. Let her impose penance on herself for not saying a word. Letter 892. Word of participation and blessing to various family members Your ambassador has now arrived at Vysha. And I answer that. I admire the successes of I.I. Well done! May God grant him that by the end of the year he will receive the same scores, or even better, all 4 or 5, or all 5. God bless him! And there is a change inside your home. Regarding her, you chose the best: submission to the will of God; for everything is from Him and everything is for our good, if we are able to understand the intentions of God - and act in the light of such an understanding of the matter. I'm very sorry about B. May the Lord give her the strength to bear her fate and, according to her strength, to correct what can be corrected. L. and M. were left in need. May God grant them patience, and grant their father success in getting a place. May their guardian angels protect them. Ch. did a good job offering M. her care. But a father’s heart must also exercise its rights: otherwise it cannot have any consolation. I thank your neighbor for the wonderful cup. I will use it and remember God’s servant A. God save her! I am sending her a book - Thoughts for every day. Letter 893. The last blessing from Above I congratulate you both on the holiday and on the new year! May the Lord grant you all the best for health, life, and pleasing God! God helped you to pray festively in church - may He help you to spend all the holidays in festive feelings! You are going to the Highest: God bless your path! I. Muromets - arrived. Protect him with a warm word, blessing and prayer, so that what he started will finish well, now, I mean the teaching. About S.S. remember?! I feel guilty before her, I didn’t answer for a long time, and she remains silent and didn’t tell me about her injury. May God grant her health. Most of all, may the Lord grant her the extension of the strength of spirit with which He has endowed her. God save her! May the Lord grant healing to sick A., whom you remember, and until she recovers, patience. Patience is needed everywhere, like air for breathing and salt for food. May the Lord arrange B’s life. So she needs patience. A yoke has been placed on her. Let him wait. The Lord sees everything - and prepare her reward. God save her! Your good friend E. Feofan. 28 Dec 1893 Letter 894. Printed Guides to Spiritual Life. Condition for entering the good path. The Color and Fruit of Prosperity Having been under the guidance of the elder for so long, you, of course, heard everything that was required. – Remember and implement, without putting it off until tomorrow. The Athos people have books: The Path to Salvation (essay on Ascetics); What is spiritual life? Letters on Spiritual Life; Invisible abuse. Acquire them and learn from them, not to know, but to do. Also: whatever troubles your conscience, you must immediately leave it all behind. I think everything that you imposed on yourself after the death of the elder belongs to this category. What is considered necessary in the matter of salvation and prosperity cannot be avoided in any way, no matter how you cover it up, it must be fulfilled. The Jesus Prayer, in its power, appears not at the beginning, but at the end of prosperity, like flower and fruit. It is preceded by an inward gravitational pull. God bless you! Save yourself! Please pray for my many sins. Letter 895. The essence of prayer. How much attention should be given to external techniques when performing prayer? Prayer is an internal matter. Everything that is done externally does not belong to the essence of the matter, but is an external situation. Everything that appears to be good from this appearance only seems good, but is not. Therefore, no attention should be paid to this. It's better to stop what you're doing. The main thing you need to practice is the memory of God, or walking in the presence of God. Try to acquire the skill of always being aware and feeling that you are under the eye of God, penetrating the entire depth of your heart and seeing all your inner movements. The Jesus Prayer is among the means to success in the skill of walking with God. Everything you need to know about the production of this prayer is in the book on invisible warfare. Look there. The main thing here is to pay attention in your heart and cry out to the Lord, who exists everywhere. It's better to stand than sit. It’s better not to think about breathing, head position, etc. at all. And pay all attention to the internal structure. The root of a good inner order is the fear of God. It must be made non-waste. He will keep everything in tension and will not allow either members or thoughts to dissolve, creating a cheerful heart and a sober thought. But we must always remember and feel that success in spiritual life and in all its manifestations is the fruit of God’s grace. Spiritual life is all from the Most Holy Spirit of God. We have our own spirit, but it is powerless. It comes into force when grace overshadows it. Your good friend E. Feofan. 26 Feb. '87 Letter 896. What should be the main thing to pay attention to and what to look for when praying. Where should one keep one's attention during prayer? The meaning of external techniques that the new elders talk about. Where is the heart? The role of imagination in prayer. The harm of idle talk Seek and you will find, the Lord promised. You are looking, and be sure that you will find. What should you look for? Living tangible communication with the Lord. The grace of God gives this, but we need to work for it ourselves. Where should the labor be directed? To always remember the Lord, as if he is near and even in the heart. In order to succeed in this, it is advised to become accustomed to the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, repeating it constantly with the thought of the Lord as existing in the heart or near the heart. Become attentive in your heart before the face of the Lord and say: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. “That’s the whole point, and essentially nothing more is required.” Everything that is invented besides this is invented only as an aid to this main thing. The elders say: keep your attention in your heart or at the end of your tongue and keep your hand at your chest; the old woman says, imagine the Crucified Lord and, as if to a living person, say your prayer to Him. If it helps them, let them do it for themselves, just don’t consider it the main thing. Others did this: he sits on a small chair that is placed under his feet, presses his head to his chest, bends to his knees and breathes, saying one half of the prayer, inhaling air, and the other, exhaling. By working like this, they become accustomed to prayer, and then they advise others to do the same. And let them not think that this is the whole point. - But all this and the like is not business, but an addition. The point: to stand with your mind in your heart before the face of the Lord and say a prayer to Him. At the same time, know that mental prayer is standing with the mind before the Lord with sighs to Him, and the Jesus prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, is verbal, external prayer. In this way, the memory of God will be established in the mind, and the face of God will be in the soul, like the sun. Put a cold thing in the sun and it will warm up. Thus the soul will also be warmed by the memory of the Lord, Who is the intelligent sun. And then you will see what happens later. The first task is the skill of constantly repeating the Jesus Prayer. And begin, repeat and repeat, but always with the thought of the Lord. Where is the heart? – Where sadness, joy, anger, etc. responds and is felt, there is the heart. Stay there and pay attention. The bodily heart is a muscular serchak - meat, but it is not the meat that feels, but the soul, for the feeling of which the meat heart serves only as an instrument, just as the brain serves as an instrument for the mind. Don't judge the elders. – It’s true that they start by keeping attention at the end of the tongue, and then move to the heart. But let them be; If only they would not consider this a smart activity, just like saying the Jesus Prayer. Both are external, bodily matters. The smart thing to do is one thing: to ascend to the Lord with your mind and heart. Is the imagination of the Crucified Lord an essential matter? – No, and it is also helpful, not the main thing. “The old lady says the truth that to keep the mind from wandering it is good to imagine the subject figuratively. This is possible. But there is no reason to become attached to one image. The Lord is now in glory, sitting at the right hand, and all the saints are around Him. - And so you can imagine. But it’s better to do without images, because imagination is brute force. It is better to stand in faith alone, that the Lord is near, than to imagine. “The old woman got used to it, and the image of the Crucified Lord merged with her heartfelt prayer, which is what it’s all about.” – That the old woman goes deep into prayer until she forgets everything, this, truly, is the mercy of God, for the sake of her humility, without which this would not have been possible. It is not in delusion, but in truth. You can't stop talking idle talk. Idle talk is the most ruinous thing. Equally evil is when they walk without respecting their feelings. Both of these greatly hinder success in prayer. When the Jesus Prayer begins to take hold in the heart, then the tongue will be tied. He will be bound by reverence for the Present Lord. Know also that you must conduct your affairs in such a way that your conscience does not condemn you in anything, and if it does, you must immediately pacify it with repentance. – And the body must be lightened with little food, and little sleep, and overexertion. God bless you! Save yourself! P.S. Do you have the book Invisible Warfare? The work of prayer is described in detail there. Please read and understand. Letter 897. Confirmation of what was said about prayer I am very glad that your confusion has been clarified. Place more emphasis on presenting yourself mentally to the Lord than on your physical activities and positions. Your good friend. November 28, 1987 Letter 898. When praying, one must avoid external figurative representations. On attention and other conditions for the perfection of prayer. About bows God's mercy be with you! What the old woman said about visible objects being necessary during prayer, I think you misunderstood. When thinking about God, we must try in every possible way to think about Him as the purest Spirit, having no form or image. But having such a thought gives only grace when a feeling for God is formed in the heart. Until then, our thoughts about God are not complete, they are mixed with some form. For example, the Prophet says: I will foresee the Lord before me, as he is at my right hand (Ps. 15:8). This is an image. Another similar one: How can I walk away from Your Spirit and whence will I flee from Your presence? Even if I ascend to heaven, You are there; Even if I go to hell, there you are; If I take up my wings early and dwell in the last of the seas, then Your hand will guide me and Your right hand will hold me (Ps. 139:7-10). And this is the image of the omnipresence of God. So it is with any other thought about God and divine things. The thought of the old woman is that it is difficult for us to free ourselves from images when thinking about God; but you understood that you must always have an image, and that without such an image you cannot pray. It's your fault, not the old woman's. Please try in every possible way to pray without images of God. Stand in your heart with faith that God is right there, but don’t imagine how He is. Pray and seek so that the grace of God will finally give you a feeling for God. Who came up with this: keep attention on the lips, or on the end of the tongue?! Bad idea: give it up. Try to be attentive in your heart, and nowhere else. – That the mind, after several prayers, runs away from the heart and lags behind the memory of God, is due to weakness of attention and indifference to prayer. The soul does not value prayer and is in a hurry to get rid of it as quickly as possible, muttering it somehow. – Seek the fear of God and with it begin to pray and pray, keeping your attention on the meaning of the words of prayer. – Then, short prayers and the Jesus Prayer are used to instill in the heart a feeling for God and thereby attract attention. But if we are careless about prayer, we will never succeed in it. Remember also that prayer alone is not perfect, but together with all the virtues. As virtues improve, prayer also improves. The most important things are: fear of God, chastity, humility, contrition, mortification of the flesh, patience, love. When they are there, all the others will appear, and with them prayer. “Should I define myself by the number of prayers and bows or should I be more concerned about attention?” – Without attention, prayer is not prayer. Next, this is the main thing. But at the same time, it is necessary to determine the number of prayers and bows as a rule. This is for home prayer. The best way to succeed in prayer is to go to church for all services and try to be in reverent prayer there. Look at Slav. The Philokalia legend about Maxim Kapsokalivite and imitate him. When you receive what he received, then you will have a real prayer. “Lying on your side won’t gain anything.” You are asking about a certain brother. Tell him everything that is written here, and that’s enough. Let him leave his lips and tongue, but do as it is written in the Fathers, that is, stand with attention in the heart. We can advise him: leave all these extras, just be in your heart and with feeling, falling to the ground, crying out: Lord have mercy! This is how Maxim Kapsokalivit. - And let everyone work like that. Let him not miss going to church, make more bows at home, and let him constantly repeat some prayer verse with attention and reverence, especially the Jesus Prayer. – The limit of labor is a persistent feeling for God, or what Maxim Kapsokalivit received. – It is especially necessary to refine the flesh through fasting, vigil and physical labor, and constantly keep it in tension, like a soldier on guard. Yes, distraction, running around, idle talk and laughter, and empty reading. And everything will go well. You need to work hard and overwork yourself without pity. God bless you! Save yourself! Your good friend E.F. March 24, 88 Letter 899. A new explanation of the essence of prayer, with the elimination of external techniques invented by the new elders that can lure inexperienced people into delusion The essence of prayer is in the mental presence of the Lord with an invocation to Him, in the feeling of either thanksgiving, or glorification, or petition, or contrition, or fear, or hope, or some other feeling related to the Lord, so if there is no feeling for the Lord, then prayer is not prayer. When someone is feeling, he has no time to pay attention to the external position of both the whole body and its different parts - lips, tongue, fingers. – You must pay attention in your heart, but not before your heart, but before the Lord. If the Lord is not in your attention, then there is no prayer. You bow a lot. This is good; but try to ensure that at the same time there is attention to the Lord and feeling. The most fitting feeling for us is contrition: the spirit is contrite; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. – This happens from the fear of God, and the fear of God comes to life from the memory of death and the judgment of God. – Every time you begin to pray, restore the fear of God and contrition in yourself and then pray, not allowing these feelings to weaken. The most comfortable place to be in the fear of God and contrition is in the church. Take care to always be in church with these feelings. “And then you’ll wear them at home.” And good for you! I reviewed the letter of the elders and their answer to your question. – There are good thoughts in the letter (See Appendix), you can keep them in mind. What you shouldn’t agree with, I crossed out. Did you respond to their response? - If not, answer this way: since you could not justify your prayerful approach with fatherly instructions, then I refuse to follow you, fearing to fall on the wrong path: innovations are harmful. With them the enemy is digging a hole for us. Tell that young brother to whom you passed on the old man's treatment to leave him. Let him arouse in himself a spirit of contrition and humility and with these feelings pray to the Lord, standing with attention in the heart and always walking in the presence of God and the memory of death. – Let him search and pray for what Maxim Kapsokalivit was looking for and what he found. This is the direct path. He did not seem to have any special techniques, but only a thirst for the good that he finally received. Fortunately, that is, spiritual light and warmth. But they are completely different from those that are generated by senile or other methods. – When the Lord gives that gift, then everything will go differently, and the Jesus Prayer will sound differently. God bless you! Save yourself! I ask for prayers. Your good friend E. Feofan. 7 May 88 (Question: Is this how I understand about prayer: if I ask you for something, will you require me to keep my mind on my lips or at the end of my tongue, or to take a breath and so on, or perhaps just pay attention to your person? - So is my Lord). Letter 900. Program of the Thought of God and the Inner Feelings of a Christian. Books for guidance in prayer I see that you understand what prayer is about. If you please, act like this now. - In the morning, when you wake up, mentally go through all the divine truths, according to the symbol of faith, about the consubstantial Trinity and the limitless properties and perfections of God, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, etc., about creation, providence, the incarnation of God the Word for our salvation and redemption, about His suffering, death, resurrection and ascension, about the descent of the Holy Spirit, about the foundation of the Holy Spirit. Church of God through St. The Apostles, about the end of the world and the judgment of God, and about the eternal fate of everyone according to his deeds, about the mercy of God towards us, that we belong to the one true Church and through it we have hope to be worthy of the promises of God both here, and in death, and after death. – This revision will give rise to a feeling for God and corresponding appeals to God. Here is the prayer. Then, throughout the day, try to be in this feeling, whether you are at home or in church, without initially standing in your heart before the Lord. – More effective than all other thoughts is the thought of death, of judgment and the final decision of our eternal fate. - Hold on to this thought. - From this a contrite spirit will be born and the heart will be contrite and humble, which God will never humiliate. - Here is the whole program of internal affairs. - Be like that. What books should I read? – Buy from Athos a Collection of sobriety and prayer. There is a lot of paternal teachings on prayer collected here, and read a little every day in order to maintain a prayerful mood through this. Take from them also the Psalter of St. Ephraim, where his cries of prayer to God are collected. Re-read the book more often: What is spiritual life? – and chapters on prayer in the book: Invisible Warfare. Russian Philokalia. These are books compiled by me, but there is nothing of mine in them: everything is fatherly. Only the book: What spiritual life is, is all mine, but the teaching in it is not mine, only my words, and in the other books named here the words are not mine: everything is fatherly. “Whoever wants to become proficient in prayer should only read about prayer.” About the midnight office after the all-night vigil, you need to look at the rules. – I think it is better to read it with heartfelt attention. Instead of kathisma, you can bow with the Jesus Prayer - a hundred. Your good friend E. Feofan. 17 June 88 Letter 901. Always an undertaking. A good leader to the fear of God. Should we pray for non-believers and suicides? Your humble feelings, that only after living in the world and in the monastery, you don’t see any success, as if you didn’t start, be blessed, and always be in them, and when you wake up, let your first word to God be: let me, Lord, make a good beginning! This is what they say in general about everything, but you need to take a closer look at what exactly is missing, and try to acquire it. You are, after all, not a thief, not a robber, not a drunkard, not a fornicator, not a brawler, and in general - your behavior is good. What is missing? And why is the conscience restless and dissatisfied? You answer right away: because I don’t remember God. – It’s true: without the memory of God, without the fear of God, without feeling for God, it is impossible to make the soul content. - If so, then now we need to take all care about it. Prayer, which we talk about all the time, is the direct path to this. You work in this. May the Lord bless your work. The idea that it is not yet time for you to engage in prayer is not true. Everyone should pray with heart and mind. Any other prayer is not prayer. Please work hard and don't be lazy. Do you have Simeon - the New Theologian? – Take it and read it again, if you have read it. If not, buy it from Afontsev and read at least the first volume. “He really teaches the fear of God.” Send letters from the elders. I would like to know how they think about prayer. Are you asking whether to pray for people of other faiths? For suicides? Do as the Church commands. So answer those who ask about this. Your good friend E. Feofan. Aug 22 '88 (Question: Tell me, for the Lord’s sake, is this how I continue to pray: while in a church, cell, or wherever it happens, I try to collect my feelings and imagine the Lord before me in an unimaginable way, while my lips close, my tongue remains motionless, and I say the prayer only with my mind and heart; then all my bodily members come into order, a feeling of reverence for the Lord takes possession of me, and I clearly see my insignificance?!) Letter 902. Answer to a question about mental prayer. On the presentation of the image of the Trinity and others during prayer. A monk who is in delusion and delusion. Forbidden Ava I owe you answers. I apologize. I undertake to correct this omission. I don’t remember whether I answered your letter where you remember the elder of the monastery P. - But I will write an answer to it. Let there be repetition. Letter dated 9 Aug. First, you pretend to pray intelligently and with what feelings, and ask if this is possible? – I answer: It’s possible. God bless you to always pray like this, if you remember what you wrote. - Then you add: “I grieve that I rarely pray such a prayer, the prayer fades, and I am scattered again.” It is very necessary to mourn this. But you shouldn’t blame anyone else: it’s your own fault. To strengthen yourself in such prayer, firstly, pray to the Lord, the bestower of every good thing, to grant you to pray like this, and, secondly, begin such prayer more often. The skill will come, by the grace of God. I'm getting distracted. Who's to blame? - Don't get distracted. And as soon as you notice that your thoughts have begun to wander, immediately turn them around again. Learn to be in the memory of God and the memory of death. There will be contrition and will not allow thoughts to dissipate. Following this, you ask: “Should I continue this prayer, or should I go with my mind into my heart?” - And this is what you said, where does it happen? There is nowhere for this to be but inside. Stand before the Lord, without images, in the presence of the Lord, and experience good feelings. What else? Everything is here. Are you the only one doing this in your head?!! - No, you have to stand in your heart. But do not remember the heart, but only contemplate the Lord. – Everything can be expressed this way: “stand in your heart with your mind before the Lord and pray.” Question: when I stand in the heart, do I need to depict any images there: the Trinity or something else? - decides on its own. If you stand before the Lord without His image, then what other images are appropriate here? – They cannot even appear: God the Trinity has no image. It is impossible and should not be represented figuratively. The Lord Savior, according to the incarnate economy, has a human image; but He must appear without an image; in one consciousness of His presence. The monk from the monastery of P. does well by working in the Jesus Prayer. But doesn’t he forget that the point is not in words or the number of Jesus prayers, but in the skill of always being in memory of the Lord. It’s good to maintain the quantity so as not to become lazy, but the main thing is that your thoughts and feelings should be holy. The main fruit of prayer is not warmth and sweetness, but the fear of God and contrition. They must be constantly warmed up, lived with, and breathed in. This monk sees the Holy Trinity figuratively in his heart. – The Holy Trinity-God is invisible, hidden and has no image. We must stand in the consciousness of the omnipresence of God, but we must not build images. He says that he found the idea about this from the Fathers. Ask him which ones? I don’t remember any of them mentioning this. – Those who construct their thoughts about spiritual matters in order to give them weight refer to the Fathers. Without verification, one cannot accept such words as truth. This brother said that he did not even understand what kind of reverence and fear of God this was. This is very bad. Who can stand before the King without fear?! Isn’t it even more so before God?! - In Kyiv, in the Lavra, there was a brother who used to say: “Look, with God, don’t become a familiar brother.” Is this not the problem with that brother? “It’s not surprising when the fruit of his prayer is defined only by warmth and sweetness.” This is spiritual voluptuousness. The main thing is the fear of God and the spirit is crushed. Warmth and sweetness are good in spiritual matters; but it is not by them that the price of spiritual works should be determined. You say that you sometimes forget the count of your rosary prayers. The trouble is not great. When one falls to the Lord, as if present, with fear and hope, this is better than any number of prayers. Is it possible for you to sometimes follow the rule of St. Pachomius prayer? - And it’s very possible. I don’t have anything else useful to tell you, as you ask. “Seek always to be with the Lord, and you will find.” The letter of September 9 again speaks of P. brother, who figuratively sees the Holy Trinity in his heart. – Evidence of it is given from the Fathers. 1st from Abba Dorotheus the Russian. This is not the Father, and his book is prohibited. It contains a lot of edifying things, but it also has disapproving thoughts, including the fact that the Holy Trinity does not suddenly move into a person, but over the years: in the 1st year the Holy Spirit moves in, in the 2nd year the Son of God, in the 3rd year God the Father. There is something else too. At the end of the book he lists dark days, which is empty superstition. But he does not speak about the image of the Most Holy Trinity, but only that the faces of the Holy Trinity move in one after another, every other year. His sin is that he separates the persons of the Holy Trinity, and they are confessed to be inseparable. - Also in Barsanuphius, Rev. 121, it is not said about the image, but only that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit dwell in a pure heart - inseparably. - It turns out that your brother does not prove his wisdom in any way, but arbitrarily imagines it this way. Remind him that he angers God. About prayer, read the collection On Sobriety and Prayer: everything that the Fathers said about this is collected there. It is not bad to look through those chapters in the book about spiritual warfare that talk about prayer. And this is quite a lot. – It is better to work in doing prayer than to philosophize about it and read wisdom. It's very simple. Your good friend. Oct 2 '88 (Question: Until now, I understood the expression of the fathers that the mind must stand in the heart in the sense that when praying one must remember only the heart, and I was perplexed as to what kind of external object should be given to the mind. Now I explain it to myself this way: when I stand with the mind before the Lord, outside of any images, but only in the consciousness of His presence, then my mind is in the heart. - And so, when I pay all my attention to being in the feeling the omnipresence of God, and, delving into the thought of David’s sayings: Where will I walk from Your Spirit and from Your presence will I flee (Ps. 338:7), and will I foresee the Lord before me (Ps. 15:8) - to stand wisely before Him, I feel some special liveliness of spirit, in contrast to the deadness that possessed me when I tried to remember one heart and bring my mind. in such a position that he would be, as the fathers put it, above, or above the heart, thinking that this alone is what real prayer consists of. Please, explain to me whether my concepts are correct and whether this is how I pray?) Letter 903. Gradual development of virtues from the memory of God and the memory of death. About behavior in church, abstinence before the service. On laziness and prayer for non-believers Congratulations on the holiday. May the Lord fill your soul with all spiritual consolations. Everything you wrote about the image with which you are trying to pray is good. Keep working hard and moving forward. Keep the memory of God and the memory of death. From them the fear of God will be in force. From fear - attention to yourself and all your affairs, thoughts and feelings. From this comes a sober, reverent life. This causes suppression of passions. This is where purity comes from. From purity - being with God, not only with thoughts, but also with feelings. Work hard. Labor overcomes everything with God's help. When you fulfill the rule of St. Pachomius, then just do this at home, but in church the rule already applies, i.e. service. And there’s no reason to mix it with yours. In church, pay attention to what is read and sung, and keep your thoughts and feelings in accordance with this. When they read it illegibly, say your prayer to the Lord, or just mentally lift up to Him with reverence, with bows. Try to warm up your heart during every service, and guard it after leaving church. You are already doing all this. I'm just reminding you, saying that this is how it should be. You mention bows. Bows must be made. They need to warm up the heart when it begins to cool. Bowing is bodily work. With them we must combine the thought of God and the feeling for Him. The image of abstinence that you have when preparing for service is not bad. But do not forget to prepare your soul in this regard: faith, fear of God, a contrite spirit, surrender to the Lord, and the expectation of help from Him for this matter; it is appropriate to be adorned with this. You mention laziness. Where there is zeal for salvation and fear of God, there cannot be laziness: there is no place for it. Tell me, whoever sees that there is a fire in the house will lie sprawled on the stove?! Likewise, one who has the fear of God and the fear of death cannot be lazy and careless. - This is how you drive away laziness. The Holy Church does not know people of other faiths and does not remember them, but while they are alive, it prays in general for their conversion. Gentiles have their own memorials. Let anyone who wants to remember them go there. Private individuals - relatives, friends - can pray for them at home, doing this as a work of love, and relying on anything worthy in those being remembered. May the Lord direct your path! Your good friend. 27 Dec '88 Letter 904. The saint’s leisure time I did not have time to answer the first letter, this and the second. Thank you for your memory, and I would be ready to answer you, but I don’t have time. There is so much to do! Meanwhile, all important discussions must be written to you. Wait a little while I clean up. Then we will begin our reasoning. I can only work in the morning. In the evening, my head is only fit for cockroaching about simple things. Your good friend. 17 Mar '89 Letter 905. Mutual revelation of thoughts and confession I did not write to you because I was in a hurry to finish the Philokalia; and at the end of it I rest. Please repeat your questions that were left unresolved. And I solve the newly proposed one like this. Nothing prevents you from having a brother and keeping your thoughts open with him. Confession must be kept according to monastic order. From time to time, however, you can confess to anyone. Your good friend. 14 Jun '89 Letter 906. Spiritual prayer does not depend on bodily tension. On the right to confess novices Spiritual prayer does not depend on any physical tension, such as pressure on the heart or tightness of breathing and the like. It is created in a smart way. You must begin by placing yourself in the presence of the Lord, and then, having devoted yourself entirely to the Lord and being inspired by faith and hope, turn your prayer to Him, simply, like a child. Whatever feelings God sends, be content with those. The spiritual matter is not about ecstasy: its best manifestation is “a broken spirit, a contrite and humble heart.” As you wrote, when you imagine the Lord as present, it is better: always do so. That you confessed to the novices, there is nothing sinful in that. In the letter to the priest, upon their dedication, it is written that he is given the power to confess and absolve those who repent, as well as to perform all other church functions. This power was given to you in initiation itself. But its use in a monastery is subject to monastic regulations. In our monastery, anyone can confess to anyone, although there is a specific confessor. Isn't it better to quietly ask the abbot? Your good friend. 7 Jul. '89 (Question: When I mentally go through the symbol of faith, images are reluctantly drawn in my mind, and since, despite all my efforts, I cannot free myself from them, I am embarrassed and afraid that in this way I will end up in delusion? How can we understand everything that is written about prayer by Simeon the New Theologian in words 8 and 9?) Letter 907. What images should one be afraid of? About performing services with bows. On prayer without moving the tongue and unceasing attention I had been planning to write for a whole month, and I had to force myself to do it. Are you afraid of images? One should not be afraid of all images, but only dreamy ones, and, moreover, those that relate to the Divine being, which is invisible and alien to all imagery. Everything related to creatures is figurative and can be imagined. And the Lord Savior, according to His human economy, can be imagined. It is also necessary during prayer not to keep images in the mind, but, mentally presenting ourselves to the invisible God, uttering a reverent word to Him. This must be sought and it will be found. According to the following Psalter, you can rule the service, and when it is required to serve. And you can shorten it by putting, for example, instead of kathismas, putting bows, as indicated in the same Psalter. You can also send off all services with bows, as again indicated in the same Psalter. There are two measures indicated: for laity and lazy monks, and for zealous monks. If the last measure seems too great, you can take the middle between it and the first. There is no need to indulge laziness. Fervent prayer is never long, that is, it does not seem long. It is possible to go through the Jesus Prayer with your mind in your heart, without moving your tongue. This is better than pagan prayer. Let someone who is lingual be a smart person. Sometimes pagan prayer is required for mental strength. When, after praying with attention and feeling, the mind moves away from prayer and is entertained, one must return it to its place, scold oneself, lament before the Lord, and pray again with attention and feeling. Good prayer is always the mercy of God and the gift of grace. Don't blow the trumpet and thank the Lord. What is written by St. Simeon the New Theologian about faulty prayer is absolutely true. What should I do? – We must pray regularly, driving away inattention, indifference and carelessness: for it is in our hands. Seek and you will find. Save yourself! 1 Sep. '89, Sept. 5 '89 Letter 908. About bowing and reading psalms. About the Philokalia. Communication with a brother from scientists. About prayer with words and mind. Empty jokes of the wise about prayer Loved the bows to you. And good. But do not forget that under bows there should be prayer from the heart - to praise God from the heart, to thank God from the heart, to ask from the heart, whether in your own word - which is better - or memorized, just so that the heart is everywhere. If you want the Psalms not to entertain, read their interpretation and understand their meaning. Then, never read too much, and read slowly, thinking about every word. When your heart warms up from this, you can leave the Psalms. Remember the legend about a certain old man, that he read only one glory, and then went into his heart and contemplation, and so prayed. About bows - whether to put bows at the waist or to the ground - what is to be interpreted? But as good as you do: 10 belt and one ground. You can put it freely, sometimes in the belt, sometimes to the ground. Bows with bows, and most importantly - life is good. A good life comes with fear and trembling, from the memory of God, which does not depart and accompanies every step. Hence the sobriety. But above all is zeal for salvation, strong and merciless. The fourth volume of the Philokalia is entirely addressed to the Cenobites, and it does not talk about prayer. Volume five is more about the silent, and there is about prayer. But throughout the Philokalia there are no explanations of mine: all the Father’s Scriptures. I think that you should not alienate your brother who is a scientist. But what you know, tell him simply, and what you don’t know, say: I don’t know. Whether any of this will happen or not, this can be ignored. Fasting is a saving work, and the service of liturgies is beneficial. – What will they say about N if nothing comes of it, or if something bad comes out? N is not responsible for this. How God bless. God loves workers, as long as they are humble and don’t think too much about themselves. We cannot do anything truly good without the Lord and His grace. The nun’s question about N is resolved with the first words: “pray sometimes with words, sometimes with the mind.” “You just need to explain that you can’t pray with your mind without words, only these words are not heard, but inside, in the heart, they are spoken mentally. It’s better to say it this way: sometimes pray with sonorous words, and sometimes with silent, inaudible words. You only need to take care that both sonorous and silent prayer comes from the heart. Other things added here are jokes, namely: closing your eyes, clenching your lips and teeth, pronounce the words of prayer without touching your tongue to your teeth, hold your breath, through nostril breathing this is even better.” These and similar applications are no good. When prayer comes from the heart, then everything is forgotten. And the inexperienced will read this and begin to do so and believe that this is real prayer. The question correctly related to the Jesus Prayer. – How many jokes have you made about this holy prayer?!! – But the point is simple: do you believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is your only Savior? – If you believe, cry to Him: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. But the wise men forgot about faith, and focused all their attention on words; here they started telling tales about the tongue, and about the lips, and about breathing, and about the head with a beard, and about sitting. It is not just prayer that is needed, but also strong zeal for salvation. When this jealousy exists, it will teach you how to be. And you must maintain a clear conscience: this is the main thing. Your good friend E. Feofan. Oct 15 '89 Letter 909. Instructions on old age. About the works of Rev. Ignatius. Jokes Your brother came to you for advice, and something bad happened to him. You sent him to Fr. N, and from that he benefited. If he is more useful, let him go to him. Another brother like that still comes to you and doesn’t leave. - And let him walk. And always tell him useful things with humility and love. And then, when he leaves, stand and pray for him warmly. Remember the word of the Apostle: “If a person falls into any sin, you who are spiritual correct him in a spirit of meekness” (Gal. 6:1). You are contemplating leaving your eldership. O. N told you well - not to send anyone away from you. It’s good that they come and repent. – And don’t send away anyone who came at least 70 times seven times and repented of the same sin. - Receive everyone cordially, fatherly, like the father in the parable. – Don’t frown, don’t accept stern speech, feel sorry and lament with them. Do not reproach or condemn, but consider them sick and violated by the enemy. Inspire them to fight with the promise of pardon and deliverance from passion if they strictly behave themselves and use the means that you offer. Against lustful passion - fasting and prayer, and the persistent memory of God with the fear that the arrow of God's truth may strike in a truly sinful matter, and so on. – Physical labor is good until you get tired. But the main thing is a firm determination to resist sinful urges. There is a proverb: if you take up the tug, don’t say it’s not strong. “And bear this brotherly burden without backing away.” Should we read the writings of Rev. Ignatius? - Read. Just don’t read the article on death, and not all of it, but only a few pages, it seems, at the beginning, where he says that the soul and the Angel are corporeal, and proves it. It is better to tear these sheets out of the book. The whole article is very edifying, but these sheets spoil it. The enemy egged him on. One can think (and I think so) that the soul and the Angel are spiritual by nature, but are clothed with a subtle etheric body, and that they are a body by nature, one cannot think like that. About the lessons of Fr. N, - what I called jokes - they appear in your scrap - here: close your eyes, press your lips and lips, pronounce the words of prayer without touching your teeth, hold your breath, the nostril breath is higher; whoever is stronger, let him pronounce the words of the prayer more powerfully, so that the heart can feel it. Your good friend E. Feofan. November 27, 1989 Letter 910. Whisperers, snifflers and whoopers Please accept my congratulations on the holidays and the new year. May everything be for your salvation. What was written about Fr. N from the words of strangers, then I think it’s better to consign it to oblivion. The transmitter brought in something of her own here, but to separate it from the words of Fr. N is impossible. Nowadays we don’t know how to handle the Jesus Prayer. How many jokes they came up with! “But they completely forget about the essence of the matter.” That is why it turns out that they stop at words alone, repeating: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, but without any thought or feeling. I call them whisperers, or whisperers. Others stop breathing through their nostrils and sniffle. These are sniffers. Some others appeared who, as if unable to stop the internal movement, began to shout: Jesus... Jesus... Ee... Ee... These are whoopers. But the point of this prayer is simple: stand with your mind in your heart before the face of the Lord and cry: Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, or only: Lord have mercy... merciful Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner... or in other words. Strength is not in words at all, but in thoughts and feelings. Stand on this, and reject all jokes, and teach yourself and others this. That you have freed yourself, at least not completely, from worries is the grace of God. Use it and take care to improve your inner life, to walk unceasingly in the memory of God and the memory of death, and thereby arouse a cheerful and jealous thought about salvation. I ask you to ask the Lord for this good for me too. Your good friend E. Feofan. 3rd Gen. 90 Letter 911. Incorrect way of performing the Jesus Prayer and the method of transition to proper prayer I said what I said about prayer because from the Jesus Prayer you don’t know what you did. They think that as soon as someone began to say this prayer, then by this alone they had already done everything. This prayer became like some kind of conspiracy among them: do it, adding to it those bodily positions that are spoken of elsewhere, and you will receive everything. So they purr, but the heart remains empty, and thoughts wander, even shameful movements come, but they don’t care, as if everything is in the order of things. “Some people feel a little warmth at this, and they shout: here is grace, here is grace!” “And they won’t remember what the experienced say: look, a slight warmth will come, don’t be surprised, it’s from nature, and not from grace.” What are they looking for through the Jesus Prayer? - So that the fire of grace sank into the heart, and unceasing prayer began, which determines the state of grace. It is fitting to know that the Jesus Prayer, when a spark of God falls into the heart, fans it into flame; but she herself does not give this spark, but only contributes to its acceptance. – What does it contribute to? By gathering thoughts together and giving the soul the opportunity to stand before the Lord and walk in His presence. – The main thing is standing and walking before God, crying out to Him from the heart. This is what Maxim Kapsokalivit did. Let all who seek the Holy Fire do this, and do not worry about words and body postures. God looks at the heart. What I say against this is that others completely forget about crying out from the heart. Their whole concern is about the words and the position of the body, and having read a certain number of Jesus prayers in this position, with bows, they rest on this, with a certain conceit and condemnation of those who go to church for the general statutory prayer. Others live like this all their lives, and are empty of grace. If someone asked me how I should carry out the work of prayer, I would tell him: learn to walk in the presence of God or keep the memory of God and be reverent; to maintain this memory, choose several short prayers, or directly take 24 prayers of Chrysostom and often repeat them with the appropriate thoughts and feelings. As you become more proficient, your head will be enlightened by the memory of God and your heart will be warmed. In this situation, the spark of God will finally sink into the heart - a ray of grace. It cannot be produced by anything; it comes directly from God. Then you can stay with the Jesus Prayer alone and use it to fan the prayer spark into a flame. This is the straight path. As for Fr. N, I can’t tell you anything. Handle it as God instructs you. Your good friend E. Feofan. 26 Feb. 90 Letter 912. The spark of prayer is acquired through labor and is not given by any art. The size of the cell rule. On the revelation of thoughts, reading books and accepting those seeking elder advice Everything you wrote in your last letter (February 18) was well written. The Jesus Prayer, done with faith in the simplicity of the heart, is always soul-saving. “The art that is associated with it can be harmful.” We need to be careful about this. You don’t have to suddenly lean into this prayer, but first let everyone get used to praying from the heart with the prescribed prayers and prayers in church. Then, when you notice that someone begins to go deeper into prayer, you can invite him to say the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, and at the same time guard the memory of God with fear and reverence. – Prayer is the first thing. The main thing that is sought through prayer is receiving that light that was given to Maxim Kapsokalivit. This light is not attracted by any art, but is given freely by the grace of God. Why is prayer work required, as St. writes? Macarius. If you want to acquire prayer, he says, work in prayer... God, seeing how diligently you seek prayer, will give prayer (Homily 1, chapter 13). This is Maxim's way. For two years he beat with his heart, seeking prayer, and received the gift of prayer. Teach this to everyone. But add that the house of prayer is a pure heart, a calm conscience and zeal for all virtues and seeding them in the heart. Don't be embarrassed when you are reproached. For this, God will give strength to your lessons. Just humble yourself and do everything in the simplicity of your heart. The elder or brother who told you: morning and evening prayers are enough. Of course, this is a cell rule, with attendance at all services. - Of course that's enough. It is only necessary that both church and home prayers be performed with attention and from the heart. Everything in between must be filled with the memory of God - with fear and contrition of heart. - But with all this, one should remember, or keep in mind, the last goal - to receive that light that was given to Maxim Kapsokalivit. Opening your thoughts, as you know from experience, is very beneficial. – Reading books is also good; and this can, on occasion, bring admonition. But general instructions are written there; and in special cases it is better to seek clarification from a living expert on the matter. Being addicted to reading is bad. This does not lead to good, and it restores a certain wall between the heart and God. At the same time, curiosity and destructive questioning develops. Madness from the Jesus Prayer can occur when, while doing this prayer, one does not lag behind any sins and habits of sinners, which the conscience condemns. At the same time, a deep discord occurs inside, driving away all peacefulness of the heart. From here the head can become clouded, and concepts can become confused and confused. Take courage - and conduct your business with fear and strong trust in God’s help, which is always ready. “When they come to you, you can’t kick them out with a stick.” They come for no harm and no harm. To refuse them a word when you know what to say is just as bad as not to give alms when you have something to give. I forgot to congratulate you on your soul-saving post. Congratulations and I wish you to spend it all as it should, so that you can celebrate Easter Sunday more joyfully. Your good friend E. Feofan. 4 Mar 90 Letter 913. Explanation of the true fire of prayer and the warmth generated by the external artistic image of prayer. On the use of money by monks I am late in answering you: I apologize. Your first word about the light, what is it? – Answer. - When God gives, then you will know. Without tasting the sweetness of honey, you cannot know what kind of sweetness it is. So it is here! – This is revealed by a constant feeling for God. With a burning glass, you explained well how the inner fire is ignited. So do it. – How to stand before the Lord with your mind and heart? – How to stand before the Emperor: so it is necessary here. The Prophet says: I have seen the Lord before me, as He is at my right hand, and so on. (Ps. 16:8). This vision appears in its present form after receiving the fire. “It is not contrary to God to ask for this gift.” That for some this matter ended badly, it is not grace that is to blame, but the one who received and did not keep. About money. When you have a need, satisfy it, and give the rest to the poor, and be left with nothing. – The main thing is not to rely on money. The monasteries will survive, but it’s hard for the poor. You ask: “Isn’t it like a light when you stand in prayer with reverence and a feeling of your insignificance?” – It is connected with the light; but with him it does not waste. The light comes without discretion. And almost always through the sacraments of confession and St. Participles. The artistic image of doing prayer is depicted in the Fathers as an external aid, and is subordinated to internal work. But now, for the most part, they assimilate only the external side, without worrying about the internal. – As soon as some warm movement appears in the heart, they decide: God gave it, and indulge in daydreaming about themselves. Then they condemn everyone who does not adhere to the artistic image of prayer, and not only this, but also church prayers, and those who strictly adhere to it, trying not to lower it. – Because of this, their progress in internal prayer ceases and they are left with only external work. – And spiritual life ceases. Please pay more attention to internal prayer, diverting attention from the external. Prayer work leads to receiving the gift of prayer. Your good friend. 6 May 90 Letter 914. Advice is a good deed. Regret about the diminishment of old age. The novice must endure, and not wander around other monasteries. Letters to the monastery confessor Everything you have said and done regarding those who come to you for advice is absolutely correct. “And there’s nothing to add to that.” It is written: To him who does good, let him do good, and to him who does not commit sin, let him eat (James 4:17). – Is it good to give necessary advice when you know what is required? Of course - good. Therefore, we must act this way. When taking tonsure, there are guarantors. These are the elders for those being tonsured. It is a pity that in our monasteries we have not introduced, as a matter of law, such leadership so that there is eldership and the opening of thoughts with questioning. - It is the enemy who is evil: for questioning and advice, and revealing thoughts to the enemy are terrible. However, although this has not been formally introduced, in reality it exists and is being carried out everywhere. Little by little there is need, now those in need go to those from whom they hope to receive satisfaction. Let the novice be patient, otherwise he will get used to staggering and it won’t do any good. I don’t interfere in monastery affairs. O. Archimandrite conducts affairs according to his own understanding. He is a wise steward. For guidance, always keep at hand the book of Barsanuphius and John, the Ladder, and the Writings of Abba Dorotheus. Many cases are resolved there. Based on them, others can be decided. Your good friend. 13 June 90 Letter 915. About prayer - what should be the main concern of one who seeks the gift of proper prayer. Should mental prayer be prescribed to beginners? Falling Brother Advice I didn’t answer two letters to you out of laziness. Please excuse me, and don’t scold me. In the first letter you write well about prayer, namely, that techniques during prayer, how to keep attention and what position to give to the body and some of its members are not an essential matter in prayer, but as for someone who is better, let him behave. The main concern about prayer is that it comes from the heart. True heartfelt prayer is a gift of grace given through the sacraments of Confession or Communion. And after sending such a gift, it is fueled by the same sacraments. A distinctive feature of this gift is the continuity of prayer, which is expressed by feelings towards God, sometimes with words of prayer, and sometimes without words. What grace gives, labor cannot give. He only prepares for the acceptance of the gift - and upon receiving it, he warms it up - along with the sacraments. At St. It was the law of the fathers: to force yourself to pray - at home, in church, and while doing business, and on walks, and during free time from everything. - That's all you need to know about prayer. Should young people – beginners – be prescribed smart prayer? Prayer without an intelligent and heartfelt appeal to God is not prayer. This needs to be explained to the beginner. Let him perform the prayer according to the prayer book, trying in every possible way so that thoughts and feelings go with the words. With this difficulty, the beginner will become accustomed to prayerful turns of speech, and then he himself will begin to pray with his own speech when it moves from the heart. And a new leader should not be left without a prayer book, except in the case where, before he became a new leader, he became familiar with the mental prayer to God. In the second letter there is more about a certain brother, young and falling. Do as the Lord directs: forgiving and resolving 70 times seven times. Doesn’t the Lord say: He who comes to Me will not be found (John 6:37)? Therefore, accept everyone who comes in repentance, console, inspire, and impose penance - small in strength, frequent, although not numerous, bows, with the publican’s prayer: God, be merciful to me, the fallen one! Merciful Lord, have mercy on me, fallen! If you are better off that it has passed you by, then there is no need to think about it. The Lord knows what he is doing. Letter 916. About prayer and constant attention to God. Knife as a lesson to the confessor May God bless you to guide such a son as N. The matter of salvation is the same for everyone - sincere repentance and determination, strong as death - to walk the other right, both in thoughts, and in feelings, and in deeds. May the Lord direct his path! Let him read a book about the path to salvation and what spiritual life is. How you decide to prepare for prayer is the real deal. There are three words about prayer - from Athos. There, by the way, there is talk about what you have come up with for yourself. Memorize the 24 prayers of St. Chrysostom. And you can start your prayers with them. - And so - repeat them often throughout the day. They contain everything they should. Through them it is more convenient to move on to unceasing prayer with the Jesus Prayer. This is especially useful for beginners. – The whole point is to learn to always keep your attention on the Lord, who is omnipresent and sees everything, and who wants everyone to be saved, and who is ready to contribute to this. This skill will not allow you to grieve - whether internal or external sorrow bothers you: for it gives the soul complete satisfaction, which, satiating the soul, will not give room to any feeling of poverty and insufficiency, plunging oneself and all one’s own into the hands of the Lord, and generating a feeling of His constant intercession and help. You are a confessor. Buy a knife - a sharp, sharp one - place it before your eyes - and look at it often, always bringing to mind the law according to which a confessor is supposed to cut off the tongue if he reveals to anyone the sins he has confessed to him, or gives any hint to guess about them. I have reason to think that confessors fulfill this. They don’t remember what evil comes from this, i.e. if the idea spreads that confessors are not modest: confessions will not be complete, and then they will stop completely. Your good friend. Oct 5 90 Letter 917. On teaching novices to proper prayer. About leaders in spiritual life I don’t remember on what occasion I wrote to you about prayer for beginners. It’s true that some words in your letter gave rise to this. My idea is that beginners must first be taught to pray properly with ready-made prayers, so that they internalize the thoughts and feelings and words of prayer. For the divine word must also be addressed to God. When the teacher notices that they have done enough in this; then let him tell them how to pray not in other people’s words, but in his own words - prayerfully lifting up his personal spiritual needs to God, and begging Him to be merciful to him and help him. At the same time, you can invite them to pray with short prayers, indicating a sample of them in the 24 prayers of St. Chrysostom, and allowing him to collect other similar prayers from the Psalms, from church prayers, and compose them himself. With these short prayers, they are good to learn how to keep the attention of the person who is not distracted during prayer. Here, finally, it is possible to teach them lessons about the Jesus Prayer, without surrounding it with any external techniques, and only inspiring them to say this prayer from the heart. Every prayer must come from the heart, and any other prayer is not a prayer. And prayers according to the prayer book, and your own prayers, and all short prayers must come from the heart to the Lord foreseeable before you. Moreover, this should be the Jesus Prayer. I mean the exercise in prayer in private. – Let church prayer flow according to what is read and sung in church. In this environment, you can insert your own prayer and short prayers, especially during litanies, or when what is being read and sung is not heard or understood. For this reason, solve all your questions about prayer as you wish. Just ask that you not be lazy and that prayer always come from the heart. Never allow anyone to sit in prayer. Let them stand reverently. Sitting with the Jesus Prayer is a bad custom. With a brother who falls and falls, and meanwhile sometimes experiences spiritual movements, manage as you know. Pray for him and force him to pray for himself, sometimes showing him mercy, sometimes severity. The book of Barsanuphius and John is very necessary for confessors and leaders. Read and learn. N. is telling the truth that today there are no real leaders. – However, one should not remain with Scripture and fatherly lessons alone. – Questioning is necessary. Paisius Nyametsky decided this: let two or three like-minded people form an alliance, and guide each other or question each other, leading a life of mutual obedience, with the fear of God and prayer in moderate ascetic severity. Your good friend. Oct 29 90 Letter 918. Reasons for the saint’s non-answer I think you are very surprised that there has been no letter from me for so long. The reason is this: I was ill with a cold for seven weeks; but there is no time for correspondence here. Now it’s all gone—there’s just a little bit of sickness left. I am writing to you just to tell you about this and to satisfy your concern about my lack of response, if there is any. I don’t undertake to answer your letters. You have to re-read your letters, and this is hard work, because you usually write a lot, and your handwriting is not very picturesque. - Please forgive me for this laziness. I wish you all the best, both externally and especially internally. May the Lord preserve your good monastic mood. Your good friend. 14 Jan '91 Letter 919. About the word child and about the cross over what is resolved. Healing mud May the Lord grant you to spend it fasting and... spiritually, in repentance and contrition. I don’t mind receiving letters from you and answering you, but your questions are not always within my power, because I haven’t had any practice, and your questions are all practical. So in your last letter you ask about the child’s word during confession and about the cross over what is resolved. – You need to ask the elder and reverent confessors about this, who have seen and heard a lot. However, I will say what I think: we must act as shown in the rite of confession: for it is written for everyone. If, however, the child’s word sometimes confuses him, say: servant of God. As for the cross, it should not be postponed: for in its name and by its power permission is given and is effective. You write: “I work like a beginner with novices.” – I don’t understand what this work is about? - It can only be a good or disapproving deed depending on the spirit with which it is done. Look at this and behave accordingly. When you see that you are being blackened, accept it as healing mud. You do well that you do not lose your brotherly disposition towards those who apply this healing to you. My illness is almost gone; There is still a little bit of dizziness left, which will also hopefully go away. Your good friend. 26 Feb. '91 Letter 920. Instruction on clergy God bless your clergy. “The Lord has placed this yoke on you. He will give strength to carry it, and wisdom to act on it expediently. If you should have always remained in prayer, then even more so now. The souls that come to you for confession will be brought to you by God. In this sense, accept everyone - as sent by God - and take care to fulfill what they were sent for. Why are they sent? So that you heal them, or rather, communicate to them the Lord’s healing: for the physician of souls is the Lord alone. Medicines are all in your spirit and heart. The Lord will set them in motion or make them. Instead of hands that take and apply medicine, you have a tongue, or words. Sending the apostles to preach, the Lord said: do not worry about how or what you say (Matthew 10:19). And this applies to you. Surrender yourself to the Lord and believe that when you need a particularly healing word, it will flow uncontrollably and formulate in the most healing way. – Compose a prayer for yourself, or several short prayers, which would express the needs of your present rank, and pray with them, repeating them often. You ask regarding excommunication from St. Participles. “It seems to me that as long as the person confessing shows contrition and sets an unfeigned intention to abstain from the sin that exposes him to excommunication, then this can be avoided, not out of indulgence, but out of fear that this might make things worse. In the early days they received communion often, and then the excommunication lasted weeks, months, rarely years. And now, for the most part, they receive communion once a year, and the excommunication will be long. – Where will the repentant and seeker of correction find strength?! - And there will be excommunication - delivery into the clutches of the enemy. “Therefore, I believe that it is better to limit ourselves to the imposition of penance, only with caution and in relation to the case.” - Experience will teach you. P.S. This letter has not yet been sent when I receive another. - But there is nothing to add in response to him. “You act well in the sense in which you receive those who come, and in the way you confess and impose penances.” - God bless your work. Pray a lot and earnestly, so that the Lord does not leave you with suggestions on how to deal with those who repent. Letter 921. About the book Soul and Angel and the writings of Rev. Ignatius. Blood heat when artificially doing the Jesus Prayer. Dismissed from the line. About solitude You write that you purchased the book: The Soul and the Angel are not the body, but the spirit. - Good! Read it and give it to others or advise them to buy it. The plain truth is stated here; but there are people who adhere to the opposite of this lie - not safe: for if the soul is a body, then why should we abstain from bodily things? Eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:19)! But you would be wrong if about all the works of Pr. Ignatius will think badly. They set forth the direct truth about spiritual life, and all in the words of the Fathers, although it is not indicated where the thoughts are taken. Therefore, it should be read without wincing. Someone puts a wet towel on the chest, someone who is currently ascetic. And he wrote to me. This does not apply to the matter of prayer, but to those cases when the blood of the heart heats up during artificial prayer in order to diminish the heat of the blood. This heat is not a spiritual phenomenon, but a blood one, and comes from the excessive use of artificial techniques during the Jesus Prayer. It is hidden in this that they consider the artificial performance of the Jesus Prayer to be the main thing, and the bloody warmth of the heart with this real spiritual Jesus Prayer. Anyone who thinks so is delusional. The fact that you were dismissed from the line means that you are ranked among the elders. However, this is not done to indulge laziness, but so that you more diligently indulge in spiritual works and sacred acts in your heart that are intelligent before God. – Your regret that you rarely serve is in vain; for it was not chosen by you, and the brethren are piercing your eyes in vain because you do not correct the course. Tell them: my friends, it is not my will; for the fact that I humbly submit to the orders of our fathers, I should not be reproached. It’s better not to think about privacy. If you need it, God will arrange it for you when the time comes. – It must be preceded by a strong inward pull. God bless you! I ask for your prayers. Save yourself! Your good friend. 5 Jul. '91 Letter 922. Quirks when performing the Jesus Prayer May God help you in your clergy! As you act when confessing and giving communion to the sick and elderly alms-goers, do so. Advise alms-goers and the sick to pray to the Lord mentally from the heart. What you wrote about certain performers of the Jesus Prayer, who place their hand on the table and gather attention under their fingers, these are not appropriate quirks. Another quirk is that a certain person struck the palm of his left hand with the fingers of his right hand, and thus collected his mind and prayed. – You invite me to explain the matter of prayer. But there is nothing to explain here. Stand with your mind in your heart before the face of the Lord, and cry out to Him: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! – This will be a prayerful work. Depending on how hard someone works, the Lord, seeing the work, will give him spiritual prayer, which is the fruit of the grace of the Holy Spirit. That's all that needs to be said and understood about the Jesus Prayer. Still, everything else that can be invented is not relevant. – It is the enemy who distracts from real prayer. The old man, hearing the noise and feeling the touch, has nothing more to say except what he said: not to pay attention. Let him add a prayer every time: Our Father; can with faith pronounce a prohibition on behalf of the Lord over his enemies! That his forehead was red was true because he was slamming it on the floor. Let him stop doing this. It’s good to bow. All prayer books advise doing this, but there is no need to hit the floor. Letter 923. About my retreat. Encouragement to the confessor I hasten to write to you - regarding your desire to stop by at the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, where I live, in order to talk with me face to face - that you can stop by, but you won’t have to talk to me, because I haven’t received anyone for a long, long time. I have good reasons for doing this. I cannot express them, but I must admit that they are not of an ascetic nature. It’s not my shutter, it’s constipation. Therefore, if you have no other reason to stop by the Vyshenskaya Hermitage, then don’t bother stopping by. Your clergy, judging by what you write, is going well. May the Lord help you and give you reason and reasoning; pray about this, and when you have to act, act in a prayerful disposition, not at all allowing your will and indiscriminate authority. The cell rules you give to newcomers are good. Repeat to them more, so that they learn to preserve the memory of God and death, and walk in a contrite and humble spirit. That you allow everyone to visit St. Secrets, I think, are not bad. But require firm determination to abstain from other sins. This determination is a real treasury for holy and divine Mysteries. – And impose penance and strictly demand fulfillment. Those who sin again, rebuke - without anger, but with regret - and after encouraging them, allow them, with a small increase in penance. Prayer is undistracted when there is a feeling for God in the heart. Teach everyone to kindle this feeling - through prayer, contemplation of God, and through acts of charity according to your strength. Letter 924. Answer to someone asking for something from the saint’s clothes. About Leo Tolstoy. Our healers. Answers to questions about clergy. Know-it-all I was surprised by your desire to have some of my clothes. If you were my enemy, and I wanted to do you harm, then I could not come up with anything more convenient than this. Demons bustle around me and often get hold of something little, sometimes more. I sent you some clothes - the way they know them, they will immediately rush to your cell, and not just one legion, but counting. So for this reason I just can’t decide to send you what you want, because I am not your enemy. What stupid students they are for believing L. Tolstoy, who doesn’t believe in anything. He has no God, no soul, and nothing sacred. He writes nonsense only to confuse believers, and interprets everything crookedly. – In warriors and wars, God often showed a visible blessing, both in the old and in the new testament. How many of our princes are glorified by their relics? who nevertheless fought. In the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there are relics of warriors in the caves. They fight out of love for their own, so that they are not subjected to captivity and enemy violence. What did the French do in Russia? and how it was possible not to fight with them. Is it possible that their beliefs waver even about the worship of icons?! This doesn't look like anything. Be merciless towards them. – Don’t allow it unless they promise to change their thoughts. That they mistakenly look at you, considering you a saint, is not a great sin for them. But if you really think of yourself as a saint, then this is not a safe matter. Deign with yourself about this before the face of God, and manage to humble your thoughts. Yes, however, you have healers. These are the ones who do not praise you, but blame you. They truly wash over you, and even if you think even slightly that you are among the saints. Yes - it’s worth trying to find out why others excommunicate themselves from Communion; maybe conscience, after confession, told them something that binds them, despite your permission. The fact that you don’t look harshly on those confessing is okay. But do not allow anything humorous in your address. Be cordial, friendly - in word and look and manner, but without jokes. Otherwise, they will think that you are cutting corners. Love your students - that’s how it should be. But is there no carnal love? – See for yourself, and don’t let her be. It seems that this is not entirely difficult to distinguish. It is good that you have the door open in the evening for those who need your word. I heard that in Optina Hermitage the confessor does not close the door for a long time, and sometimes they resort to him at midnight. Those novices who go almost every day, if they come for spiritual needs, let them go. But always talk to them only about spiritual things, and having said what is due, let them go. Left on your own, confess everything to God and ask for His admonition in all cases. And do not forget to pray for me, for I am burdened with many infirmities; especially love for the deceased life and arrogance. I think that I am a know-it-all, and such a scribbler that there is nothing like this in the whole world, and there has never been one before, and there is unlikely to be one. Your good friend. Oct 30 '91 Letter 925. About night desecrations. About an old man chilled by spirits Regarding night desecrations, one cannot adhere to one rule, because there are different circumstances here. There is an outflow of moisture that is completely unconscious, and other times it happens with consciousness, but without any lust, both physical and mental, and even with resistance to it in a dream. These two cases do not pose an obstacle to anything, not even to the reception of the Mysteries and the service of the liturgy. It’s enough to be heartily contrite and tell your confessor. But when there are shameful dreams with lust, consent and desire, then, having confessed this to the confessor, it is better to abstain from what you said, and from everything else that requires special purity, until all the bad things evaporate from the soul and body. - However, the confessor, looking at his face, can resolve everything, for there is also extreme need - Look in the book of Barsanuphius and John, it seems there is; St. seems to have it too. Climacus and especially Cassian. You asked those being tonsured: will you listen to me? “It seems to me that you can’t say that, you have to obey the abbot, or the boss.” What should an old man do if he is plagued by demons at night? - So be it as it is without adding anything. – Let him cast aside all fear and face this without embarrassment and timidity. Let him protect himself with the sign of the cross and prayer, let him spit on them, scold them and send them to hell. In the life of St. Antonia has lessons for this. Find and read to the elder. – The main thing is not to be timid, and to drive them away with a feeling of strength in the Lord. Letter 926. A sign to distinguish someone standing in delusion. Advice to a confessor I received both of your letters. I was going to answer the first one, but then the second one came up. – In both letters, the main subject is whether a certain novice who has newly identified himself with you, who learned it from the stories of a wanderer, says the Jesus Prayer well. - I think it's good. If he had been delusional, it would have been immediately revealed in his somewhat wild gaze and especially in his stubbornness to stand his ground. If this is not the case, then you can calmly allow that novice to continue his work. Just instill in him that when he prays he should have the fear of God and the undying memory of God, especially that he should immediately say when something special happens in this work of his. Your second subject is how you conduct the matter of confession and resolution. – I think it’s not bad. But include a prayer among your small prayers, so that the Lord Himself, by His mercy, gives you inspiration and guidance on what to do. Never act with impudence and self-will (that’s what I want), but always with humility and fear of God. That your brothers do not favor you and your way of acting, and even distract others from you, do not look at that. Whoever God sends to you will not be distracted, and no one will be prevented from reaching you. If you have been released from the line, then when will you serve? “It’s true, when you want to serve, no one will refuse you, and he will be glad, receiving through it some relief in his work.” Letter 927. Explanation of the schema. First you need to be crucified, and then go into hiding I owe you more than one answer - but nothing, I think, because you are talking about something about which I have nothing to say, except - settle down as you know. - But in your last letter you are talking about a serious matter - about the schema. “You can laugh jokingly, and there’s nothing to think about.” But if you take on the schema as you should, you won’t be able to change how much you think about it. These are the thoughts you should fill your head with when rumors reach you that they want to kidnap you. – The first thought is that others want it, not you yourself. It is no longer your need that is meant, but something besides you. - Let these others be authorities; but in such an important matter as the schema, they should not act according to their own will, but should also take into account those whom they want to deceive. “And they must ask you if they want to do things according to God.” – Here’s your second thought: what should you say when they ask? - And think about it. – You ask me what you should do. I can't say anything decisive. Decide for yourself. – The schema indicates that the wearer is dead, or is a dead person; but alive. Dead to this life, but living another life. There are many crosses on the schema. This means that the schema-monk is crucified, hanging on the cross and cannot move. – If you have this self-crucifixion, or you fervently desire it, and are ready to do anything for it; then this will indicate that you are ready for schema. - Now solve the problem. But if you have not yet been crucified, and your desire to crucify yourself is twofold, then it is better to wait a little while to smear yourself. Time endures. You are not old. But here’s how you can turn things around. Self-crucifixion is an internal matter. It doesn’t matter whether there is an external indication of it or not. It will not add anything to the inner. But here’s what can happen: there will be a testimony of self-crucifixion, but there will be no self-crucifixion. – What will happen in this case, the abduction?!! Comedy is for laughter. People M.B. they will not laugh, and the Angels will not laugh, but rather cry. The laughter will be raised only by demons, and such that if our ears were opened to hear it, we would all go deaf. “Of course,” the missing self-crucifixion during the shrine can be adjusted later, “but who knows what will happen then?” - No; It is much safer to be crucified first and then to be enslaved. One can be content with the beginnings of self-crucifixion, with a strong will to urgently continue it and bring it to maturity. In this case, you will have to work to arrange yourself in such a way that your contacts do not interfere with the maturation of your self-crucifixion. If you ask, would I advise you to get married, apart from any reasoning? - No, I wouldn’t recommend it. Why? I don’t know why; but I wouldn't recommend it. Letter 928. The spirit of life of ascetics. Love of money and love of love. About Fr. John of Kronstadt I have greatly offended you. I ask you to forgive, forgive and resolve this sin. You have written down your exploits - from waking up in the morning to falling asleep at night. This is the ordinary life of all decent people. Its price - such - depends not on what is done, but on the spirit in which it is done. If the fear of God passes through all these actions, then the commandment of St. Paul: do not please the flesh in lust, then everything is in order - and even more decently, if satisfaction of needs is done with grumbling, I imitated that old man who scolded the body, moving towards sleep. O. N is a money lover. A lover of money is an idolater, and you so easily pronounce such judgment on yourself. If when you distribute, you don’t feel sorry for the money; then there is no passion of love of money, but only love of love. The desire to have money so that it is at hand just in case - your own need, or the need of your neighbor. Although in this case there is a tying thread, it is a cobweb. Having nothing is the goal. And blessed are those who managed to arrange their life according to this principle. But the demand of this beginning is so broad that there is no litter in the cell. What should we do with you? There is a carpet, there is a sofa, there are armchairs, there are chairs, everything is soft and pleasing to the eye. And boots, and stockings, and a cassock, and a cassock, and so on. and so on. Where is the separation from the world? The world is in our arms, with kisses and cuddles!! – I write this off myself. It’s better not to accumulate money, but like this: one hand takes, and the other gives. Let the money sit until the opportunity to give it away. - That's enough. O. John of Kronstadt is a man of God. His prayer to God is successful because of his great faith. May the Lord keep him in humility and devotion to His holy will, and in self-sacrifice. – He doesn’t have just one book, but up to 15 or more. Try to buy it. They are not all big, like the one you have. The image of confession that he knew was probably kept with the blessing of the Metropolitan. But oh. John confesses privately, and then all those who do not have anything special to say or ask. – There are not up to 200 people, but 2000 people. Your good friend. 20 Jul. '92 Letter 929. Beginners are not immediately given the rule of the Jesus Prayer. What should we mainly seek through exercise in prayer? About permission to confess I haven't answered you for a long time. Guilty! – Meanwhile, you asked very important questions. – The first one is about the Jesus Prayer. “I think that the elders are doing a good job not imposing this rule of prayer on the beginners.” We must wait until the one who started the work labors in church and home prayer; and just inspire him to always pray from the heart with remembrance of the Omnipresent God to whom he prays, and with an understanding of the prayer words, believing that the Lord is nearby, listens to his prayer, and is ready to fulfill his request if he prays properly. Keep it in this order for a long time. Then, when he gets used to praying attentively in this way, pass on to him the rule of the Jesus Prayer. In creating this prayer, teach students not to limit themselves to memorizing words alone, but to always have the Lord before their mental eyes, and when turning the words of the prayer to Him, they behave as they would behave if they stood before the Emperor and asked him for something. – Let the spirit be broken and the heart contrite and humble. The novice who wrote the Jesus Prayer on his heart apparently placed all the power of the prayer in the words. – Let him learn to walk in the presence of God and do every work of obedience in the best possible way, knowing that the Lord is looking at him, and for good performance of obedience he is preparing a reward for him, and for careless performance (as long as he gets away with it), either nothing, or something punitive. In this way he will get used to praying intelligently and collectedly. What one should seek through prayer is the planting in the heart of a quiet but warm feeling for God that does not go away; not to seek enthusiasm and special movements, and when God sends special prayerful feelings, to thank for them, and not to appropriate them to oneself, and not to regret when they leave, as if about some great loss, but always humbly descend from them to a quiet feeling for the Lord. The second is about permission. You do well that you allow the lamenting person directly, without imposing penance; but say to him: brother, preserve this broken spirit and renew it when it weakens. - And to the one who coldly confesses - to him, having allowed him, say: brother, take care to acquire and strengthen a contrite spirit in yourself - and for this - make three prostrations to the ground in church or at home, with the prayer: a contrite spirit, a contrite heart and humbly grant me, Lord! Letter 930. Various instructions on spiritual practice You are embarrassed about your spiritual ministry. “You can’t help but be embarrassed: this is a matter of great importance.” But pray that the Lord will admonish you every time. Introduce this prayer into your prayer rule, and at any other time, if your mind ascends to God, add a prayer word about your spirituality. This appeal to God with fear will attract help from the Lord. Take the example of Ap. Paul, how strictly he treated the incestuous man; and then, when he sincerely repented, he immediately forgave him everything and began to intercede for him before the Church. Sincere repentance opened the way for the sinner to obtain pardon. Look at those approaching confession, and as soon as you see repentance, allow it. “But rules cannot be made for all contingencies in the matter of confession.” Pray that God will admonish you. Regarding bows in the dining room, you yourself said that you should not interfere with the orders of the rector. But – there’s nothing to say. – Because those who fall under this penance are embarrassed, that’s why the penance is given, so that the one who has sinned will be sensitive. There is no humiliation for prayer here, the sick person is healed, bows - so that the sinner prays. About clergy - talk there with your confessors. You have quite a few of them there. So, interpret, confide in each other your difficulties, and decide together what to do. Strictness is a good thing. She sobers up. But it happens that it discourages you from confession and plunges you into despair. Condescension weakens the resolve for a good life of the penitents, and sometimes the opposite effect occurs. Be smart as God will help you. Violators of the 7th commandment are multiplying and diversifying. What will you do? The roots of these deeds lie too deep in our nature, and they fall as if against our will. This struggle is harder than all others. But inspire them to fight, and others will find the strength to withstand these attacks. God bless you! Save yourself! I ask for your prayers. Letter 931. Advice on clergy continues. Test of Seraphim They made you a confessor, and bear this obedience. If there are any perplexities regarding this matter, consult with your elders, or ask the abbot, without saying the names of the persons involved in the matter. You answered well to the abbot that you do not find it convenient to tell him about the affairs of the penitents. No one should know this - even you yourself try to forget. The thought comes to shy away from accepting the repentant. Now it is out of your control. It was possible not to accept clergy; and now it’s too late to think about it. – But accepting everyone graciously, demand from everyone contrition, repentance and a firm intention to abstain from sins. If someone tells you in cold blood that he has done this and that, you can say to that person: go and go to church for a week and pray that a spirit of contrition and determination not to sin will come to you. And then come, I'll take a look. To the one who says that there is always a seraphim with him, tell him to test this seraphim, namely, whether he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and let him put the sign of the cross on himself. “It’s written like this in Fatherland books,” and the Angels, who were tortured in this way, praised those who tortured them. The enemy cannot tolerate the sign of the cross. There are no obstacles for him to receive communion. Those who know the morning and night prayers by heart and do it well. And let them read, only slowly, with thoughts and feelings that are expressed in the words of prayer. It’s better to pray this way than from a prayer book. It is a good thing to memorize the Gospel and the psalms. Bless everyone for this. Regarding the fact that he has gone to the village and wants to get married, we have the words of the Apostle: it is better to get married than to lose your life (1 Cor. 7:9). If he overcomes it, he will do better; and if he doesn’t hope to overcome it, let him get married. In your previous letter, you mentioned several brothers who reveal everything to you. This is a good thing. Accept it, and tell them the point. One of them, you say, creates mental prayer similar to how Simeon the New Theologian describes a not real image of prayer. – I don’t know how to say what to do with such people. – I think that we can tell them: the main thing is to stand in the faith that the Lord Jesus Christ exists, and is nearby, everyone sees what is in your soul. And with this faith, cry out to Him. – Don’t consider such imaginations as they are to express the truth – that is, that in reality everything in heaven is as you imagine. Because no one knows this. Let the imagination itself remain for the time being. Just don’t assume that they are true. Letter 932. Explanation to the confessor about the delay in resolution, certain voices heard, books for beginners and fatigue. On the history of the Jesus Prayer You congratulated me on the beginning of Lent, and I congratulate you on its end. - So passionate! – May the passions of the Lord be imprinted on your heart, causing corresponding feelings of contrition and humility! In your previous letter, the Genvar letter, you wrote that you allow everyone to proceed to St. Secrets. This is very merciful, and, I think, is not disgusting to the all-merciful Lord. But, I also think, it wouldn’t help to relax those who come. Sincere repentance is always worthy of leniency; but those who come to confession indifferently can be stirred up somehow. Ask someone else, is it possible to postpone its resolution for some time? Wouldn't this make it difficult for him in any way? If possible; then put it off, imposing penance for this time - bows, abstinence in food and sleep, and even more so, contrition. When he sincerely fulfills it, then allow it. - And exhort them to abstain from sins. You also wrote about certain voices being heard - the idea of ​​the ancient fathers was not to pay attention to this, without delving into the reasons. Think so yourself and teach others. Inattention will shame your enemies, and they will stop performing such miracles. What books are recommended for beginners to read? – Which ones are more publicly available? What are: St. Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, Abba Dorotheus, St. Tikhon. – Can I be allowed to read any stories? Can. Let them read the Chet-Minea. Stories and novels are also stories. But everything is of an everyday nature. It's better not to touch them. - You can attack the seductive one. When you are tired of conversations with those who come, then after they leave, do not suddenly stand up for prayer, but calm down in spirit in advance, then fulfill your prayers, and drive away laziness. This is a bad guest, and she doesn’t come alone. From the fact that the Jesus Prayer is not mentioned, one cannot conclude that it was not in use. It's not a matter of words, but a short prayer. This was not the only one in use. St. Cassian writes that in Egypt they used the following prayer: God, come to my help, Lord, strive for my help. - In other places, other prayers were in use, like: my hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit. Also: As a man who has sinned, You, as a generous God, have mercy on me, seeing the weakness of my soul. – Between them is the Jesus Prayer. – But then – priority is given to the Jesus Prayer. The purpose of short prayers is to promote the collection of thoughts and sobriety. Strength is not in words, but in feeling for God. It will soon be formed among those who work on prayer. This is mental prayer. The mind, standing in the heart, sees God and intelligently confesses to Him by calling upon Him. Feeling for God is unceasing prayer without words. Letter 933. Difficult questions about communion I'm sorry I haven't written to you for so long. Please excuse me and forgive me. I assumed that everything was fine with you, so I wasn’t worried. But in fact this is how it was and is. All you can do is thank God. The questions you are asking for solutions to are definitely difficult. But apply them to those cases in which the last hour lies ahead. - In these cases, everyone can receive communion. Give communion to those you are talking about. - In addition, one can take into account the previous state of those persons, that they are believers, that they always confessed and received communion, reverently. “Then the Lord will apply the former to the latter, and grace will undoubtedly result.” God's mercy be with you. Save yourself! Letter 934. About praying until you sweat Congratulations on the successful completion of your holy venerable journey, and on the good fruits collected from the elders who have matured in the spirit of life. ...the old man, praying until he sweats, seems to be in your question: is it possible, is it good, is it permissible to do this. If he receives a tangible benefit from this, then it is good for him to act this way. But that he attempts to impose on everyone the same way of correcting his prayer rule is unfair and unsafe. Because not everyone has the same warehouse, but everyone has their own. Also: if he thinks that everyone should be obliged to pray like this, then he considers the image of his prayer to be essential, but it cannot be such, as it is external and bodily. If an elder receives benefit from his bows until he sweats, it is not because of this, but because of what is internal - with his mind and heart he ascends to God in the proper way, and not because he gets tired and sweats. – Among other elders, prayer is high and strong not from such bowing, but from internal prayerful dispositions. For others, it was inimitably high even without bowing. There was an old man - and he was probably not the only one - who, raising his hands to the sky, before eating food, at 3 o'clock - began to pray and prayed like this standing until the morning, when the sun rose, and with its action awakened him. That the elder reproached N for something, this is healing medicine for N. And let him use it. Letter 935. Who should read the prayer of permission over the funeral service. About adoptive fathers, spiritual rigor and miraculous icons In all the cases that you have prescribed, on the one hand, the will of the abbot, and on the other, the legal form of the case. I think it is better to always obey the abbot. The commanding abbot takes responsibility for what he commands in some respect is not entirely right, and you can do it without fear of an answer before God. The prayer of permission should be read over the funeral service by the one who confessed him before death and gave him communion. But for the sake of obedience, every one of those attending the funeral service can do this when ordered. Here, one might say, all funeral services are permitted. Read the permission without thinking, only praying that the Lord forgives the deceased. It is also possible to receive unknown tonsures from the Gospel after hearing their beautiful vows. They made vows, and the chief trustee, the abbot, ensures that they are fulfilled by those who made them - and all the brethren should take care of this. What's the point of brotherhood? – You write down those whom you are the adoptive father of and pray for them fervently, entrusting their further success in monasticism to the most merciful Lord. Obedience in the hospital and almshouse is the most fruitful spiritual service for you. Any consolation that you provide to the persons of these institutions, the Lord will accept for Himself, and He will reward you with consolation. Maybe it's a little difficult. But the Lord is near and sees the work. Apply your whole heart to this obedience. What ...sky N told you was kind speech. Let us better direct the severity of the rules to ourselves, and leave others to the Lord, who sees the weaknesses of the weak and has mercy on them. Permission to confession is more likely to incite the person being allowed to be in good order than the most just penance. Why are some icons miraculous? - Because God wants it that way. – Miracles do not come from anyone other than God. The power here is not in the icons, and not in the people who come running, but in God’s mercy. As the Lord of all, God can turn every thing into an instrument of His mercy. I believe your pilgrimage has taught you a lot. – There are many God-wise people scattered throughout the world, especially in monasteries, who can understand the will of God in all circumstances. God bless you and all your work! Save yourself! I ask for your prayers - much-sinful and much-weak E. Feofan. November 22 '93 Letter 936. Faced with a bunch of questions. About the paper icon. Calendars. About the work of caring for the sick You waited - you waited for an answer - but you didn’t get it. And he was already at the gate. If only I had waited a little longer, he would have been in your hands, to save you the trouble of reminding me of my laziness. You still have a lot of questions. I will answer with pleasure; but I don’t give up laziness. Therefore, there will still be some temptation to your patience. Your questions are all practical, and answering them is not puzzling. I received what you sent. The icon of the saint is magnificent. Paste it on the board, and there will be an icon, like the others. Just cover with varnish with alcohol painting. First glue the canvas onto the board, and the paper icon onto the canvas, then cover it with varnish. I'll do it. Calendars are all good. But best of all is Gatsuka, who was the first to invent calendars of this type. They have everything - no matter what you need help with; and this is the first advantage of calendars. God has opened the way for you to work on those who are sick in soul and body. The most necessary and precious matter, in the correction of which human wisdom alone is not enough, even if you have seven spans in your forehead. God alone is the real Teacher here. The Savior said regarding all Christian life that for this we must have only one Teacher, Christ, but in the work of your work this primarily takes place. May the Lord not leave you with His admonition and help! Letter 937. About oral, mental and heartfelt prayer About the Jesus Prayer performed verbally, mentally and heartily 1. About oral. In the abbreviated word it says: Lord have mercy, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner, and in the full word it says: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. At the beginning, it is pronounced mostly forced and reluctantly, and as you practice and force yourself to it, if only there is a decisive intention through prayer with the help of God's grace to diminish all-round passions, it will be made easier, more pleasant and more desirable from time to time by frequent exercise in it, as the passions are diminished. When praying verbally, you should try your best to keep your mind in the words of the prayer, speak slowly, concentrating all your attention on the thoughts expressed in words, and when the mind gets carried away into extraneous thoughts, without embarrassment bring it back into the words of the prayer. Distraction of the mind is not given quickly and not when we want, but when we humble ourselves and when God favors. This gift of God is not determined by time, less by the number of prayers, but by heartfelt humility and Christ’s grace and by always compelling oneself to it. From oral, attentive prayer there is a transition to mental prayer, which is called so when we rush to God with one mind or see God. 2. About mental prayer. When praying mentally, you must keep your attention in your heart before the Lord. To the extent of our zeal and humble diligence in prayer, God grants the first gift to our mind - composure and concentration in prayer. When attention to the Lord becomes persistent, then it is grace-filled attention; and our own attention is always forced. From such mental prayer there is a transition to heartfelt inner prayer, if only there is an experienced teacher, very convenient and free. When we are with God through the feelings of the heart, and the heart fills with love for God, then such prayer is called heartfelt prayer. 3. About inner heart prayer. The Gospel says: if anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross (Matthew 16:24). If we apply these words to the work of prayer, they will mean the following: whoever wants to legitimately strive in the feat of prayer, let him first renounce his will and his own understandings, and then bear the cross, that is, the mental and physical labor that is inevitable in this feat. Having devoted ourselves entirely to the vigilant care of God, we must humbly and complacently endure this work for the sake of true good, which is given to the zealous prayer book from God in his own time, when God, by His grace, sets limits to our mind and sets it motionless with the memory of God in the heart. When such a state of mind becomes something natural and permanent, it is called by the fathers the union of the mind with the heart; with such a structure, the mind no longer has a desire to be outside the heart; on the contrary, if due to some circumstances or a lot of conversation it is kept out of the heart’s attention, then it has an uncontrollable desire to return inside itself again with some kind of spiritual thirst, and with new zeal to begin building its inner home again. With such a heart structure in a person, everything moves from the head into the heart, and then, as if some intelligent light illuminates his entire inside, and whatever he does, says, or thinks, everything is done with full consciousness and attention. He can then clearly see what thoughts, intentions and desires come to him and willingly compels his mind, heart and will to obey Christ, to fulfill every God’s and father’s commandment; any deviation from them is smoothed over by a feeling of heartfelt repentance and contrition with unfeigned pity and with a painful, humble fall to God, asking and expecting help from above for one’s weakness. And God, looking at his humility, does not deprive him of His grace. Let you know that heartfelt prayer comes to the heart of some quickly, and not so quickly of others. I know three people: one came as soon as it was said at this very hour; another one arrived in six months; the third - after ten months; and to one great elder - in two years. And why this happens - only God knows. Also know that before the destruction of passions there is a different prayer, and another after the heart is cleansed from passions: the first is an assistant in cleansing the heart from passions; and the second is, as it were, a kind of spiritual guarantee of future bliss. Do this: when you feel the entry of the mind into the heart and the impact of prayer; then give complete freedom to such prayer, removing everything unfavorable to it; and while it is there, don’t do anything else. When you do not feel such an attraction, then pray verbally with bows, trying in every possible way to keep your attention in your heart before the face of the Lord. This way of praying will also warm your heart. Be sober and watchful, especially during heartfelt prayer. No one is more pleasing to God than the one who engages in correct, heartfelt prayer. When it is inconvenient for you, or there is no time to practice prayer, then in every possible way keep within yourself the spirit of prayer, i.e. keep God in your memory and strain in every possible way with your intelligent eyes to see Him before you with fear and love, and, feeling Him existing before you, with reverent submission in all your affairs, surrender yourself to His omnipotence, omnipotence, omniscience and omniscience so that in every deed, word and thought you remember God and His holy will. This is what the spirit of prayer consists of in short! It is necessary for a lover of prayer to have this spirit, and, as far as possible, with constant heartfelt attention, bring his understanding under God’s understanding and humbly and reverently submit to Him; also bring your wants and desires under God’s will and completely surrender yourself to God’s mind and God’s will. – In every possible way we must stand against the spirit of arbitrariness, or the desire and urge to act without being embarrassed by anything. This spirit whispers: I can’t do this, I don’t have enough time for this, or it’s not time for me to take on this yet, I have to wait, or the duties of obedience are hindering me, and much more like that. Whoever listens to him will never learn to pray. – In collaboration with this spirit is the spirit of self-justification, which begins and begins to act after someone, carried away by the spirit of arbitrary self-indulgence, does something for which his conscience bothers him. Then the spirit of self-justification uses various twists and turns to deceive the conscience and make its wrongness appear to be right. – May God protect you from these evil spirits. Letter 938. Love and Law Love for all laws and virtues, not only the Gospel, but also human - civil - is the basis; therefore, every action consistent with the law is also consistent with love, and every assessment of an action, consistent with the law or just, is consistent with love. But love is higher and broader than the law. There are acts of love that are not determined by positive law, but they are not at all illegal; but actions determined by law and not performed by a person subordinate to the law are lawless and contrary to love, even if they tend to benefit someone. This is especially important in a legal sense. If a judge acquits a guilty person against the law, or awards a reward to an unworthy person, then, although good, apparently, he will do good to the guilty and unworthy person, but he will do more evil than good, violating the love of the common good, power and rules. Praise, you say, mercy in court. Thus, I will act commendably if I am able to show mercy without violating the justice of the court; otherwise my honor should be beaten with batogs. Mercy must be combined with truth. In a word, the basis, motivation, and goal of justice should be love. Isn't the Cross of Christ the best solution to this controversial issue? What infinitely great love there is, and together what infinitely great justice! Letter 939. About the Jesus Prayer Strength is not in the words of the Jesus Prayer, but in the spiritual mood, the fear of God and devotion to God and in constant attention to God and His mental standing. The Jesus Prayer is only a guide, and not the very essence of the matter. Commit yourself to live in the memory of God and walk in the presence of God, and this alone will lead you to a good end. All this is from the grace of God. Without the grace of God, nothing spiritual can be acquired in any other way. As soon as grace settles in the heart, then everything will go as it should. We have the Lord Savior, who wants to save everyone; He needs to be bothered and will give it to him. Accept a humble non-attribution to yourself, an awareness of only your shortcomings, sins and omissions, and painful cries from the heart: “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” And the grace of God will never remove its shadow and cover from you. Letter 940. Nun without tonsure or vows Get used to walking in the presence of God, or in the memory of God, or under the eye of God, adding to this the memory of death. The fear of God will come from them. And then you will not need other teachers. You are half a laywoman and half a nun, but your love for solitude and spiritual pursuits clearly shows that the nun overcomes the laywoman. Continue this way and you will achieve the fact that the laywoman will freeze and you will remain a real nun, although without tonsure and vows. Letter 941. Death is the door to the fatherland. Our salvation is in the Cross What was your prayer when your brother died? “Lord, lift him up”? It turns out, according to your words, that life here is happiness upon happiness, and death is the door to suffering. In fact, death is the door to the fatherland for a blissful life. And we must ask: why else stay here? Or - thank God, he finally went home! Why was your brother taken? Because he deserves peace, and you will still be patient. If N.N. does not give up patience, but only seeks inspiration like the one she herself expressed: nail her to the cross? Our salvation is in the cross, namely in the suffering of the cross. Through needless sorrow and suffering we are grafted into the cross of Christ and from it we accept the power of the cross, cleansing, sanctifying and attracting God’s favor. The narrow and sorrowful path is the direct road to heaven. God bless her! May God grant her to suffer and in suffering to find divine consolation, undeceiving. Every vain, complacently endured - the crown of God is already put on the head, but let it not be thrown off. What do you wish for? Be with the Lord and turn to Him in prayer more often. Read St. The book is not much, but with reasoning. Be grateful. You might be interested in: