249. Речь по рукоположении Преосвященного Филофея, Епископа Дмитровского

(Said Dec. 18; printed in the Works of St. Ot. 1850 and in the collection of 1861) In the Revelation of St. John we see seven Angels of seven Churches. You might think that these are heavenly Angels, guardians of the Churches. But when we hear that the Spirit of Christ convicts and threatens some of them; The heavenly angels do not sin and are not subject to reproaches: then we come to the idea that under the name of the Angels of the Churches are the earthly guardians of the Churches, that is, Bishops. So the Bishop is the Angel of the Church: how much there is in this thought that is instructive for us, and even scary! To correspond to the title of Angel, the Bishop's mind must be bright, his heart must be pure, his thoughts and desires spiritual, his life removed from the impurities of the flesh and the world. As “one who is sent to serve for those who want to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14), he, more than others, must watch himself, so as not to seek his own, but that of God and that of his neighbor. The angel must be the Bishop; what if we have not yet achieved not only angelic purity, but also human good order of spirit and life? What if we are threatened by what was said to the Angel of the Sardinian Church: “Your deeds that you have died have not been found before God” (Rev. 3:2)? Our service is terrible, beloved brother; however, fear was given from God not so that we despair or become despondent, but so that through fear we can save ourselves and others. Let us call on the fear of God to help our ministry: but let us also call on, and most importantly, call on love. Let us love the service of Him who loved us even unto death, death on the cross. Let us love the service of saving those for whose salvation Divine Love itself was pleased to suffer and die. Let us bring her the desire for achievement: and she will not refuse to give us the strength for achievement. May the Lord send you a rod of strength from Zion. Let the rod now handed to you be a sign of this. You might be interested in: