Five Teachings on the Path to Salvation

“To the teacher, that having created I will inherit an eternal life” (Luke 10:25)? This is how a lawyer once asked the Lord! And he questioned the Lord, tempting Him, as if curious only what the Teacher would say, for he himself knew what answer should be made to this. But you can ask about the path to salvation and not out of empty curiosity, but out of a sincere desire to receive a direct answer to it - unknown or forgotten, ask out of deep need, because the soul hurts and the heart is tormented by perplexity - what, having created the eternal life, will we inherit? Such painful bewilderment is all the more natural the more uncertain the sphere of thoughts surrounding the questioners, and the more differences of opinion they encounter in human writings and speeches. And is this not the situation we find ourselves in today? Look around and you will see that those who are from us say more than one thing. Another, for example, says: pray, and the Lord will save; another - cry, be distressed, and God will not humiliate you; third - do alms, and it will cover many sins; that one - fast and sneak into the house of God; and this one - dropped everything and went away, running and settled in the desert. That's how many different answers we have! And these are all truths, saving rules, which you will inevitably encounter on the path of salvation. As for those who consider themselves to be from us, but have ceased to be ours - I mean Christians who have been carried away by the spirit of the age and superstition - to those who, having appropriated to themselves several sound concepts borrowed from Christianity, and having dreamed a lot about themselves, have left us and separated in heart from Christ the Lord, although they still confess Him with their tongues; As for them, there is even more sad and painful disagreement between them, which has deviated from the path of truth and wandered at the crossroads of lies. Have you yourself either heard during a conversation or read in a book how others speculate about the order of things that should be in their minds, instead of the one that now exists? There is no mention of saving the soul here. Eternal bliss, if it is allowed, is considered already possessed, as it were, according to some rights of humanity, and all concern is directed at how, in addition to this, we can sweeten earthly life and transform it from sorrowful to heavenly. In this spirit, another proclaims: do not trust anything except your mind, follow the instincts of your nature, be independent, live for your own pleasure and do not allow someone else’s hand to lie on your neck - and you will be happy; another preaches: where there are no public entertainments, theaters and the like, there life is not life. There you hear: you can’t go the straight road, you need the ability to live - the ability to conduct business in such a way as not to lose your interest and not allow others to notice your plans, intentions and feelings (they call this prudence...); It says here that if you don’t defend your honor and dignity, you will perish. Do you notice how gloomy all this is! And yet, it constitutes, one might say, the basis of the customs of the world and it can be found circulating freely in simple conversation, and in a large meeting, and in a printed book - more than one. Imagine now what must happen in the mind and heart of your friend, and sometimes, perhaps, your daughter and your son, when in one, another, third place they are met with similar speeches, when in one book they read such thoughts, in another and a third even worse - and this is not one day or month, but whole years; when, moreover, around them they see customs imbued with the same spirit, and here in their heart, tempted by temptations, whimsical thoughts arise that shake their good mood - imagine that all these varied impressions - at one time - will gather in a young, and perhaps not young, soul - that then the heart should feel, especially the heart that has not yet forgotten the Lord and treasures the word of truth that came from lips of the Divine? I hear from the depths of this heart a cry emanating, similar to the cry of the apostles, frightened by the storm, and Peter, who began to drown: Lord! Save me, I'm dying. God! What can I do to be saved? Mothers and fathers! Can you hear this scream? Don't think I got carried away. No! I deliberately wanted to find out how natural it is, especially now, to ask about the path to salvation, or about the path to the Kingdom of Heaven. And I am sure that if the Lord were here now among us, then all those who seek lasting good and see how the current spirit, the current teaching, the current order contradict each other, all of these with one voice would turn to the Lord, first of all, with the question: Lord! What shall we do that we may inherit eternal life? What can we do to be saved? But, brethren, the Lord is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). Then He ordered the Jew to look for the answer in the law: “What is written in the law..., what do you read?” (Luke 10:26) Today He would command a Christian to turn without a doubt to the Holy Gospel - in general to the New Testament teaching or to the Church of God - and would ask him: what is contained here, as you understand? It is obvious that the Lord, having drawn the Jew’s attention to the law, wanted to inspire him: there is no need for you to ask, the path of salvation is spelled out in the law; do this and you will be saved. That is why the law was given to lead you to salvation. The same should be said to Christians, who are shaken by the perplexities inspired on them: there is no need for you to ask! Christianity is the only path to salvation. Be true Christians and you will be saved. What is the use of the Holy Church, what are the dogmas and commandments, what are the holy sacraments, our fasts, vigils, prayers, consecrations, and so on? All this, or all the contents of the Holy Church, is the right path to salvation. He who heartily accepts and diligently fulfills everything that the Holy Church commands is not outside the path of salvation. Therefore, if this is in us, then this is not the place for us to question, but to glorify; not to look for where salvation is, but to accept it ready-made, presented to us or encompassing us; with all our strength to give glory, honor and worship to the Lord, who saves us in His holy Church. What, that is, should we create? It is sacred to honor and unswervingly follow all the teachings, statutes and decrees of the Holy Church, without listening to any empty speculations of newfangled philosophy, which seeks to destroy everything without creating anything. I think that in our minds it is still unclear - what exactly needs to be done to be saved? Now I will answer you in a few words: believe in everything that the Holy Church commands you to believe, and, receiving the powers of grace through the sacraments and kindling them through all other sacred rites, prayers and institutions of the Holy Church, follow steadily the path of the commandments proclaimed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of lawful shepherds - and you will be saved. I will postpone a detailed disclosure of this until another time and will conclude my word with the prayer that the Lord will grant you light and reason, so that you will know Him and clearly understand the path of salvation, brought by Him to earth and established in the Church and which has already led so many holy people to heaven - so that you too will not be deprived of this good aspiration. Amen. From the past conversation we have left behind us an explanation of one rather important point. We told you that even now, with the great difference of opinion among the people around us, it is natural to ask: Lord! What, having created an eternal life, will we inherit? God! What can we do to be saved? We also said that such a question is unnecessary for a Christian living in the bosom of Christ’s Church, according to the spirit of Christianity; because Christianity is the only path to the Eternal Kingdom, or the path to salvation, paved by God on earth. Why should anyone walking along this saving path ask about the path to salvation? Be a true Christian and you will be in heaven; Be a true Christian and you will be saved. But perhaps it is not clear to everyone what it means to be a true Christian or what exactly in Christianity is offered as an integral condition of salvation and at the same time as a decisive sign that someone is going to eternal life, and not to destruction. The explanation of this point is left to us. Then we answered this with a general statement - now we will explain this in more detail, taking as our guide a comparison of the path to salvation with the ordinary path. Anyone who is about to set out on a journey, in order to successfully complete his journey, needs to know this path, know its direction and longitude, as well as everything that may be encountered along its course; and during the procession itself one must see both him and what he is surrounded by. Likewise, a Christian who wants to achieve the eternal life must know the path leading to it, and everything in contact with it, everything that is above it, and around it, and in front of it - it is necessary to illuminate the mental atmosphere with a collection of sound concepts about everything that exists and happens, it is necessary to know: what is God? What is this world, how does it stand and where is it going? What are we, why are we here and what awaits us beyond the grave? How should we behave in relation to everything around us: to the Supreme Being - God, to our brothers - humans and to the invisible world - angels and saints? He who knows all this walks in the light; but he who does not know this sits in darkness, and if he decides to walk, he will stumble, because the darkness blinds his eyes. And only Christianity disperses this darkness, giving correct answers to all this in its teaching. It teaches that God, worshiped in the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - having created everything with His one word, contains everything with the verb of His power and leads everything to His destiny, moreover, he watches over man and, having fallen, prenaturally restores him in Christ the Savior, admonishing him with revelations and guiding the commandments that define all his obligatory relationships and constitute the actual path that he should follow. go. The totality of all these concepts is the light that shows us the path and illuminates it. So, learn the Orthodox Christian teaching and hold it with all your heart - and you will see the path to the Kingdom, and everything surrounding this path, and everything that can be encountered in its continuation. This is the first. But even if someone knows the way, and this path is illuminated, what is the use of this knowledge if there is no strength to walk along it? A sick, weakened, legless person, lying along the path along which it is necessary to go - and it is so necessary that if he does not go, he will die - he will only be more distressed by the fact that he knows and sees this path. We would have been in this position if the Lord, having enlightened us with the light of knowledge, had not given us the strength to follow the instructions of this light; for we cannot walk on our own, we have no strength, we are weakened, broken. But don't be embarrassed! “All... Divine powers... even for life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3) have already been prepared for us by the Lord, who called us “into His wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9), and are given to every believer in the holy sacraments of the Church, given unenviously, in such abundance as anyone wishes and can contain. Baptism revives, confirmation strengthens, holy communion most sincerely unites with the Lord Jesus Christ, holy repentance raises up the fallen, who falls again after baptism, and so on. Every sacrament gives a special Divine power that a person needs on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven... So, knowing the sacraments contained in the Church, be a partaker of them as often as possible, with faith and according to the entire rite established in the holy Church of God - and the Divine powers needed to complete the path to the Kingdom of Heaven will never become scarce in you. This is the second one. But along the way, your strength may weaken and deplete, you may encounter temptations and hobbies. From the first the procession must stop; from the second - take the wrong direction; the end of both is destruction. How can this be? We need to renew our strength and weed out temptations and hobbies. What do you need for this? One thing is to unswervingly fulfill all the decrees of the Church and all its rites - sacred, prayerful and sanctifying. And here's why! In the holy sacraments we accept the grace of the Holy Spirit, like a Divine spark falling into our nature. Just as in order for a spark that fell into a substance to turn into a flame, air and the movement of this air are necessary, so a kind of atmosphere and movement of this atmosphere is necessary and in order for the spark of Divine grace, received by us in the sacraments, to penetrate into our nature and turn into a flame - this atmosphere constitutes our churchness: all the rites of sacred rites, prayers and the following of the Church, surrounding a person in all positions; and the movement of this atmosphere is the unceasing succession of the Church’s sacred rites one after another and the continuous participation of man in one or the other. Here we mean daily services: vespers, matins, liturgy, church holidays, processions of the cross, prayers for various occasions - in homes and churches, travel to holy places, and most of all, holy fasts with fasting and communion of the Holy Mysteries. The more diligently one participates in all these rites, the stronger and stronger the spark of grace will flare up in him until it turns into a flame that consumes his entire composition - mental and physical. Whoever acts this way will never run out of strength, he will never lose courage on the path and will not fall into carelessness. This same method is given to us in order to weed away from ourselves the lures and entertainments of the world. He who lives according to the rules of the Church, as if hidden behind a fence, is not afraid of its temptations. Churchliness is, as it were, a funeral service and a chastisement from the darkness produced by the breath of the worldly spirit. If this infection affects anyone, run to church and everything will go away; or be unswervingly faithful to the instructions of the Church - and the world will not find an opportunity to attack you; for everything that is in the world is also in our Church, only in its purest and most divine form... There are festivities there - we have holy holidays; there are balls - we have church services; there are theaters - we have divine rites. Everyone compare what is best, and do not get carried away by empty bait and do not abandon what is essential, fruitful and nutritious for its sake. So, live like a church, and you will live as if in a spiritual atmosphere and fence, and your strength will never weaken in you to continue your journey, and no bait will draw you to crossroads. This is the third. So as not to tire you, I will briefly tell you the fourth. There may be obstacles along the way that you won’t know how to overcome; nets may be laid that you cannot avoid; There may be combinations of paths in which you cannot figure out where to go; a cloud may come, which will completely hide the path and frighten you with thunder and lightning - who then should you turn to? What should I do? Who will help in all such cases? Angels from Heaven? But they appear only in emergency circumstances, leaving the usual course of affairs to our existing order. So who will help? Shepherds are spiritual fathers, who were given to the Church, according to the Apostle, in order to prevent Christians from being perplexed and to lead everyone steadily along the path to the eternal life, teaching everyone to come “to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). So, be submissive to the leadership of the spiritual fathers - and you will avoid crossroads and stumbling blocks on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven, and you will soon and safely flow to the gates of heaven. This is all that Christianity offers us about the path of salvation: 1) to know and maintain Christian teaching, which communicates sound concepts about all things and indicates the very path to the Kingdom - in the commandments; 2) to be under the influence of the holy sacraments of the Church, through which strength is bestowed, even to life and piety; 3) participate in all sacred ceremonies, prayers and rites of the Church, as prescribed by the charter, in order to thereby kindle within oneself the spark of God’s grace and recapture the charm of the world; 4) entrust oneself to the leadership of legal shepherds and spiritual fathers and obey their leadership instructions. So, learn and hold in your heart everything that the Holy Church teaches, and, receiving the powers of grace through the sacraments and kindling them through all other sacred rites of the Church, walk steadily along the path of the commandments prescribed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of lawful shepherds - and you will undoubtedly reach the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved. Amen. In the past conversation, we reached the following conclusion: learn and hold in your heart everything that the Holy Church teaches, and, receiving Divine powers through the sacraments and kindling them through all other sacred rites and prayers of the Church, walk steadily along the path of the commandments prescribed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of legitimate shepherds - and you will undoubtedly achieve the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved. And this is the answer, the direct and only answer to every questioner: what, having created the eternal life, will we inherit? All those who were saved were saved in this way and not in another way, and all those who are now being saved are saved in one way and not in another way. There is nothing more to say about this. But I am afraid that there is no one among you who judges this wrongly? Doesn’t anyone think that not everything that has been said is equally necessary or that not everything is necessary for everyone - that perhaps you can do without some things without thereby detracting from your salvation, others can be left to your own devices, not being necessary for everyone. Therefore, I find myself forced to explain to you that everything we have said, that is, the sound teaching of the faith, walking according to the commandments, receiving the sacraments, participating in all the prayers of the Church and the guidance of legitimate shepherds - all this is essential in the work of salvation, so that only there salvation is accomplished, where everything is together; Where anything is lacking, the work of salvation is exposed to great danger and spoiled. For what kind of salvation can one expect who does not contain the true teachings of faith and the Church and thinks wrongly either about God, the world and man, or about our present state of corruption, or about the method of our restoration, which is one, or about death and our future fate, or about any dogma, when the Lord Himself says that if anyone rejects His “word” “in this adulterous and sinful generation,” he also will be rejected before the Father Our own, Who is in Heaven (Mark 8:38)? And whoever the Lord rejects, where is his place? Already, probably, not in the Kingdom of Heaven. But there are people who say: believe as you want, just live well and do not be afraid of anything, as if you can live well without having sound concepts about the objects communicated by true faith. Don't be flattered, brothers! The composition of true life includes not only behavior, but also a sound way of thinking, so whoever lacks the latter should not be said to have lived a healthy and good life. On the other hand, to live well means to live pleasing to God; Godly life is all led according to the will of God, and one of the first definitions of God’s will regarding us is to believe in Him Whom He sent, that is, in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Divine teaching. This means that the one who says: Believe as you want, just live well, when truly believing is a commandment, is like a person who himself destroys the foundation on which he wants to build a house, or like someone who wants to cross a river in a boat, which he deliberately breaks under himself. What kind of salvation can one expect for someone who violates any of God’s commandments, for example: the commandment of truth or mercy, abstinence or hard work, purity or non-covetousness, marital fidelity or any other, belittling the severity of his sins with some kind of misinterpretation, for example: nature attracts, the heart demands; or trying to hide their ugly appearance from the conscience with some visible, not entirely difficult deeds of piety, for example: going to churches, arranging valuable icons and lighting lamps? What kind of salvation, I say, do they expect for such people, when it is directly said that if you want to “take it into your belly, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17)? That the unrighteous, no matter what their kind, cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9)? Of course, external works of piety are needed, and essential, in the matter of salvation, but not alone: ​​it is also necessary to fulfill all the other commandments of God. “It is fitting to do these things,” says the Lord, “and not forsake them” (Matthew 23:23). Just like walking without legs or flying without wings, it is impossible to reach the Kingdom of Heaven without fulfilling the commandments. How is it that others arbitrarily plan to work out their salvation on their own, not accepting Divine powers, even to life and piety, through the holy sacraments and without warming them up with the sacred rites and prayers of the Church? I have already explained that we, the fallen, are weak and cannot take a step on the good path without special grace-filled help; that this grace is accepted in the holy sacraments and, when accepted, is at first like a small spark, which is then kindled to a flame by active participation in all the rites of God’s holy Church. All this is clear by itself, and is recognized by one’s own experience, and is testified by everyone. But there are people who say: all this churchliness is needed for the simple, but for those who understand the matter, mental, spiritual or heartfelt service to God is enough. Blessed are you, simple souls, who unquestioningly accept everything and willingly obey every voice of the Church! You are like trees planted by the springs of water, which yield their fruit in its season. And those who understand the matter - in their own way, of course - are spiritually similar to skinny blades of grass growing on dry, rocky or sandy soil and showing barely weak signs of life within themselves; or even worse: they are like seeds that are still buried in the depths of the earth, not yet frozen or frozen. Imagine rain, snow, stormy weather in the yard and place a man in the open air in such weather, not covered, as he should, with clothes - how long will he live? Those who shun the sacraments and all our life-giving churchliness find themselves in exactly these circumstances. Such people are pathetic! Selfishness and selfishness eat away at their bones. Finally, the Lord chose the apostles, the apostles handed over their work to the bishops, appointing presbyters to work with them. All of them together constitute the divinely established shepherd in the Church, whose job is to elevate everyone into a perfect husband, “according to the age of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), sanctifying with the sacraments, warming with sacred rites, and even more so, guiding with advice in the many-dissolute flow towards spiritual perfection. And thank the Lord that this is so! We are blind; Just as a blind man needs a guide, so we need a pointer to the path to the Kingdom of God - in many cases we need a person who, as it were, took us by the hand and led us out of the confusion of thoughts and feelings into which the enemy and our own lack of understanding sometimes plunges us. Don’t say that the leader of all is the word of God - we ourselves will read and see what is needed. The Word of God contains general instructions for everyone, and what exactly I need and in my circumstances must be explained to me by another - a living, experienced voice. Without this, I must wander along the crossroads and be in constant danger. And this is why we need the help of prudent pastoral advice. How is it that to others, and perhaps not a small number, it seems that they have no other obligatory relationship with their shepherd, except for an invitation, if necessary, to perform a sacrament or some other sacred rite? Such people forget that “those who have no control, like leaves fall, but there is salvation in much counsel” (Proverbs 11:14). From all that has been said, the same conclusion emerges again as before: if you want salvation, find out and hold in your heart everything that the Holy Church teaches, and, receiving Divine powers through the sacraments and warming them up through all the sacred rites and prayers of the Church, walk steadily along the path of the commandments prescribed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of lawful shepherds - and you will undoubtedly achieve the Kingdom of God and be saved. All this is essential in the work of salvation; it is all necessary in its entirety and for everyone. Whoever does not accept or allow one thing, there is no salvation for him - he will not heal his infirmities and will not avoid illnesses. The Church of God is a healer, containing in its structure medicine, healing all our spiritual illnesses. The components of this healing are: Orthodox teaching, life according to the commandments, the sacraments with the sacred rites of the Church and the guidance of pastors. Just as in bodily illnesses healing is healing only when it is composed of all the substances indicated in the recipe, so in our spiritual illness healing can take place in us only when we accept all the elements that are part of our only spiritual healing - Christianity, or the Church. Take away any element from physical healing - it will no longer have its effect. Do not accept anything that is inevitably part of Christianity, or the Church, and you will deprive yourself of the healing that is so necessary for you, and, consequently, you will remain in the same unhealed, destructive state - you will not be saved and will not see the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen. Having previously discussed the path to salvation, we learned that whoever wants to save his soul needs to know and sacredly maintain the Divine teaching of the holy faith, it is necessary, moreover, to receive Divine powers through the holy sacraments and warm them up through all church sacred rites and then, with their help, walk the path of God’s commandments, under the guidance of lawful shepherds. We also saw how necessary all this is, and how necessary everything is in its entirety, so that in vain will he flatter himself with the hope of salvation if he arbitrarily rejects any of these elements that bring about salvation. Turning now to ourselves - to the order of life that reigns among us, what do we find? We find that all this is already operating in our circle, that we are not deprived of the lawful, divinely established shepherdhood, by which saving sacraments are performed for us with all sacred rites, the holy faith is preached and the commandments of God are interpreted; that, therefore, we have all the means to life and piety, or we live in a saving, so to speak, atmosphere. Salvation is so close to us that we can almost touch it. How bitter it will be for us if, at that hour when the dignity of each of us is decided, we find ourselves undone in our salvation! Thinking about this, you again cannot resist the question: what will we create? What shall we do with these divine means for salvation, so that we may be saved? 1. Let us thank the Lord, who has been so kind to us; let us thank him for the fact that as soon as we are born, we already enter into a saving environment and find ourselves ready with everything necessary for salvation and, before we come to consciousness, we are already rushing along the path of salvation - the general flow of those being saved. Just as in visible nature the smallest insect, when born, finds everything necessary for its existence around itself, so the Lord surrounds us with warm care, as soon as we are born, and then continues it until the end of our lives. From the cradle, our mother Church still takes us into her arms - revives us to a new life, nourishes and protects us on all our paths and does not retreat from us until she lowers us into the grave with a calming prayer for those who remain and a powerless prayer for those who have departed: “in the blessed dormition, grant eternal rest, O Lord, to the deceased servant or: “to the deceased servant.” What deserves all this? Nothing. There are many peoples who do not know the true path. Those who are born among them must strive hard to seek this path, and will they still find it? And we enter it without any effort on our part, we find it without looking. Why is this so? Only God knows that. But in every possible way, in this action of Divine providence one cannot help but see God’s special favor towards us. Let us thank the Lord for all this, who has provided so kindly for us! Let us give thanks for this and for the very conviction that we possess truly saving means; for in connection with this conviction there is another conviction - in God’s special closeness to us, in the fact that the one true God is our God and we are His people. And nothing can be higher than this good on earth. 2. Hearing this, not one of you may be ready to exclaim, as if already perceiving salvation: My Lord and my God! But do not forget, brothers, the word of the Lord: “Not everyone says to Me: Lord, Lord! will enter the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 7:21). Here comes the question again: what else will we create? This is what we will do. With all our thoughts, with all our hearts and with all our strength, let us surrender ourselves to this Divine dispensation for our salvation, namely: a) let us maintain an “unshakable conviction” in the truth of this dispensation of salvation and its urgent necessity for everyone in general. Ah, brothers! Conquer the temptation of your mind and the superstitious wisdom of others that reaches your ears. Do not give in to doubts and do not allow the peace of your faith to be shaken by daring and proud questioning: “what is this for” and “why is this for?” It would be better “this way” or “that way”. Avoid these temptations. We are not the first. How many have already been saved this way?! We are sick, we are being treated. Does the doctor explain why he treats the patient this way and not differently? Let us remain silent and humbly submit to everything, as God’s dispensation; b) and not just this; Let us also apply “sympathy” to this entire dispensation, that is, we will set ourselves up in such a way that our heart finds pleasure in the worthy reception of the Holy Mysteries, and in all divine services and sacred rites, and in listening to the preaching of the truths of God, and in attention to the guidance and advice of pastors, and in any general matter prescribed by the law of God. Whoever has sympathy for something is drawn there. He who has sympathy for the works of salvation strives for them. If anyone has sympathy for something else, he runs to that. This is why it happens that while some are in a hurry to go to church, others are going to the theatre, to a ball or a party... But you yourself know what to expect from these latter? Translate your heart from these vain places to the joyful region of God and there you will find delight and the fullness of heart contentment. Where the treasure is, says the Lord, there the heart is also. It became where the heart is, there is the treasure. What kind of treasures does the world offer? And are they worth desecrating the heart, predestined to be the abode of God?! No one would have thought that it was possible to combine both! No, you can't. Our heart is one and simple, so where it is, everything is already there, and in anything else it is no longer there, and it cannot be there. Therefore, whoever is in the world with a heart is in the Church without a heart. And vice versa, whoever is in the Church with a heart is in the world without a heart. Somewhere it is inevitable to be without a heart. And without a heart - what kind of life is this! In the world it is good to be without a heart, but in the Church of God to be without a heart means to be a hypocrite in the eyes of God, before the all-seeing God. That’s why, in addition to everything written down, you must also add: c) “zealous, unforgiving and unmixed fulfillment of everything” that is required for salvation. There is one thing, one thing: if you want to be saved, stick to saving deeds; but if you don’t want to, as you want, just know that you cannot work for God and mammon. Let us decide, brethren, to walk firmly on the path of salvation, not deviating either on the right or the wrong way. Let us reject double-mindedness and straighten our lame legs! What can you say about a patient who lies in a good hospital, is treated by a good doctor, receives direct medicine against the disease and neglects all this - does not listen to the doctor, does not take medicine? What can you also say about someone who stands before a pure source, feels thirst and has the opportunity, even is forced, to quench it from this particular source and instead leaves it and runs to a river full of mud, reptiles and stench, and from there drinks water that does not quench his thirst? Of course, you won't approve of either one. But won’t we pronounce this sentence on ourselves if, having all the means to salvation, we do not use them properly? And won’t God’s reproach apply to us: “I have forsaken the fountain of living waters, and dug up for myself treasures of brokenness that cannot contain water” (Jer. 2:13). So, brethren, thanks be to the Lord that, in His great mercy, He has brought His salvation so close to us. But let’s do our best! The path of salvation is indicated and made clear. He is in front of us. But still we will not be saved if we do not go this way! Look again at the entire structure of this path! We said: learn and maintain the teaching of faith and, receiving power through the sacraments, follow the path of the commandments, under the guidance of shepherds. Here, the knowledge of faith and commandments, the sacraments with all the sacred rites and the guidance of shepherds constitute the organization of the path of salvation, which is outside of us. What is the main point of salvation? To follow this path. Let's go! “Behold, now is the time acceptable; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). Amen. While I was thinking of what to tell you at the end of our conversations about the path to salvation, a legend came to my mind that I read in one of the ancient fatherland books. It is very close to what we were talking about, and I do not consider it superfluous to convey it to you now in the form in which it is pictured in my head. One deep old man, who lived in a secluded desert, fell into despondency, and the darkness of his thoughts began to crush his soul, instilling in him bewilderment whether he was going the right way and whether there was any hope that his labors would finally be crowned with success. The elder sat with his head bowed. My heart ached, but my eyes did not shed tears. Dry grief tormented him. While he was so overcome with grief, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “Why are you troubled and why do thoughts enter your heart? You are not the first and you are not the last to follow this path. Many have already passed through it, many are coming, and many will pass through it to the bright abode of heaven. Go, I will show you the different paths that the sons of men walk, as well as where these paths lead. Look - and understand!” Obeying the angel's signal, the elder stood up and walked; but he barely took a few steps forward when he became beside himself and plunged into contemplation of the wondrous vision that opened to his intelligent eyes. He saw on his left side a thick darkness, like an impenetrable wall, inside which noise, alarm and confusion could be heard. Peering more carefully into the darkness, he saw a wide river along which the waves moved back and forth, right and left; and someone, every time a wave flashed before his eyes, seemed to clearly say in the elder’s ear: this is a wave of unbelief, carelessness, coldness; this is unmercifulness, debauchery, bribery; this is bliss, fun, envy, discord; and this is drunkenness, uncleanness, laziness, unfaithfulness of spouses, etc., etc.; and every wave turned a countless number of people before him, lifting them out of the river and again plunging them into its depths. In horror, the elder exclaimed: “Lord! Will all of these really perish and there is no hope of salvation for them?” The angel said to him: “Look further - and you will see the mercy and truth of God!” The old man looked at the river and saw it along its entire breadth and length covered with small boats, in which sat bright young men with all kinds of tools to save the drowning. They called everyone to them and shook hands with others, lowered poles and boards to others, threw ropes to others, and sometimes plunged hooks and hooks deep into the depths, would anyone grab hold of it? So what? Very few responded to their calling voice, and even fewer were those who properly used the instruments of salvation given to them. The majority rejected them with contempt and with some kind of wild pleasure plunged into this river, which emitted fumes, stench and fumes. The elder stretched his gaze into the distance of the river and at the end of it he saw the abyss into which it was cast. Young men in large numbers quickly swam in boats back and forth, at the very edge of the abyss, carefully giving help to everyone; but, despite this, every minute, at every point of the river, whole thousands of people, along with the river, were thrown into the abyss, from where only groans of despair and gnashing of teeth were heard. The elder covered his face and began to sob. And a voice came to him from Heaven: “It’s bitter, but who is to blame? Tell me, what else could I have done to save them that I would not have done? But they bitterly reject any help given to them. They will reject Me if I come to help them in the most bleak places of their suffering.” Having calmed down somewhat, the elder turned his eyes to the right side, to the bright east, and was consoled by a joyful vision. Those who, heeding the call of the bright young men, gave them a hand or grabbed some saving tool, were taken by them to the right bank. Here they were received by other persons, led into small slender buildings, scattered in large numbers along the entire length of the coast, where they were washed with clean water, clothed in clean clothes, girded, shod, given a staff and, having been strengthened with food, sent on their way - further to the east, commanding them not to look back, to walk without stopping, to look carefully at their feet and not to pass a single similar building without entering into it and not to strengthen oneself in it with food and advice from those to whose care these buildings are entrusted, as well as everyone who enters them. The elder ran his eyes along the shore and saw that along its entire length these redeemed ones were preparing to set off. Everyone's face showed joy and enthusiasm. It was clear that they all felt especially light and strong and, with some irresistibility, rushed along the path, the first stages of which were strewn with pleasant flowers. The elder then turned his gaze further to the east, and this is what was revealed to him! The pleasant meadow did not end far from the shore; then the mountains began, lying in ridges in different directions. They walked, rising higher and higher and intersecting abysses, sometimes bare and rocky, sometimes covered with bushes and forests. Travelers and workers were visible everywhere along them. Another climbed a steep slope, another sat tired or stood in thought, another fought with a beast or a snake; one went directly to the east, and the other in an indirect direction, and the other cut transversely the paths of others; only everyone was in labor and sweat, in struggle and strain of strength, both mental and physical. A rare traveler always saw the road: often it completely disappeared or was fragmented into crossroads; in some places it was hidden by fog and darkness, in others it was cut off by an abyss or a steep cliff; there she was blocked by animals from the oak forest or poisonous reptiles from the gorges. But that's what's amazing! Scattered throughout the mountains were beautiful buildings, similar to those into which those rescued from the water were received for the first time. As soon as the traveler entered them, as he was commanded at the beginning, then, no matter how exhausted he was before that time, he came out of there cheerful and full of strength. Then the beasts and reptiles could not bear his gaze and fled from him; no obstacles stopped him for long, and he easily and quickly found a path that was hidden in some way according to the instructions he received in those buildings. Every time someone overcame an obstacle or defeated an enemy, he became stronger, taller and more stately; The higher one rose, the prettier and brighter he became. Towards the top of the mountain the area again became smooth and flowery; but those who entered it soon entered a bright cloud, or fog, from which they no longer emerged. The elder raised his eyes above this cloud and from behind it or from behind the mountain he saw a wonderful, indescribable beauty of light, from which sweet sounds came to him: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts!” (Is. 6:3) The old man fell on his face in tenderness, and the word of the Lord rang loudly over him: “Be like this, that you may comprehend” (1 Cor. 9:24). Rising to his feet again, the elder saw that from different heights of the mountain a considerable number of travelers in different places were quickly running back to the river, sometimes silently, sometimes screaming and blasphemous, abusive words. An appeal was addressed to each of them, both from above and from the sides: “Stop, stop!” But driven by some small murins, they did not heed caution and again plunged into the stinking river. Then the elder cried out in amazement: “Lord! What is this?” And I heard in response: “The fruit of arbitrariness and disobedience to the established order!” That was the end of the vision. The angel, showing him to the elder, finally asked him: “Are you comforted?” And the elder bowed to him to the ground. I think, brethren, there is no need to tell you much to interpret this vision. The river is the world; people immersed in it - living according to the spirit of the world, in passions, vices and sins; the bright young men in the boats are angels and, in general, grace calling for salvation; the abyss into which the river with people fell is destruction; a beautiful building on the right bank - the Church, where through the sacraments of repentance or baptism, converted sinners are washed from their sins, put on the garment of justification, girded with power from above and put on the path to salvation; climbing the mountain with different difficulties - different labors in cleansing the heart from passions; beasts and reptiles are enemies of salvation; smooth terrain towards the top - peace of the heart; a light cloud hiding travelers is a peaceful death; light from behind the mountain - blissful paradise; the buildings scattered throughout the mountain are churches of God. Whoever enters these buildings along the way, that is, receives the sacraments and participates in the sacred rites and prayers of the Church, uses the advice and guidance of pastors, he easily overcomes all obstacles and soon ascends to perfection. And whoever arbitrarily rejects them, not obeying the instructions and advice of the shepherds, soon falls, and the spirit of the world carries him away again. I consider it unnecessary to attach any admonition to this. I only beg you, brothers, be saved from this evil age! Amen. You might be interested in: