361. Беседа по освящении храма в новосозданном Спасопреображенском Гуслицком Монастыре 893

(Said on May 24th; printed in the Works of the Holy Father, 1859 and in the collection of 1861) There are special wonderful destinies of God over some people: there are also special destinies of God over some places, which, with pious attention, we can discover and consider for our consolation and edification. God, in order in the person of Abraham to show the experience of faith in instruction for future generations, and together to foreshadow the mystery of the future sacrifice of Christ on the cross, commanded him to sacrifice his only begotten son Isaac. Why not, it seems, do this in the place where Abraham lived at that time, “and call upon the name of the Lord God everlasting” (Gen. 21:33)? But no. For this purpose, God sent Abraham to another place, distant, unknown to Abraham, which had no name. “Go to the earth on high, and offer him there as a burnt offering, one of the mountains, which is the river” (Gen. 22:2). Abraham walked with his son for two days, not knowing where: on the third day he saw a mountain, and, by a new revelation, learned that he had to make his sacrifice on it. He took fire and a knife in his hands, laid the wood of the burnt offering on Isaac, went up the mountain, created an altar, laid the wood on it, and his bound son on the wood, and stretched out his hand to the knife to slay Isaac. At that moment, in his heart, in his decisive intention, he had already slain Isaac invisibly, and his sacrifice was completed: but before he could apparently actually slay Isaac, an Angel stopped him. Suddenly Abraham saw a ram in a thicket and offered it as a burnt offering. Because Abraham showed such perfect reverence and faith towards God, such self-sacrifice in fulfilling His will, God, calling him with a heavenly voice, blessed him with a high, gracious, hereditary blessing, extending from him to all nations. I ask again: why not this be fulfilled in the place where Abraham lived, or near it? What were they needed for – a long journey, an unknown mountain? - Listen. Let's get to the answer. This previously unknown mountain received from Abraham the name of the mountain of “God Vision” (Gen. 22:14) 894; and, without a doubt, became unforgettable for Abraham and Isaac, and partly for their descendants, especially for pious readers and keepers of sacred fatherly traditions; and the legend about her has survived centuries and nations. But the Mountain of God's Vision stood in the land of pagans who did not know the true God and His mysteries. Centuries passed: the pagan city of Jebus was built near the place of Abraham’s sacrifice. Centuries still passed: a descendant of Abraham, King David took Jebus with arms; called it Jerusalem and made it the capital of the kingdom of Israel. Centuries have yet passed: the incarnate Son of God, according to the flesh, the son of Abraham and David, our Lord Jesus Christ, appeared in the land of Israel; preached the gospel of eternal salvation and, out of the blind envy of the lawless people whom He denounced, and especially according to the hidden providence and predestination of the Heavenly Father, near the walls of Jerusalem, at the site of the ancient sacrifice of Abraham, he was crucified on the cross as a sacrifice for the salvation of the whole world, buried and resurrected. Now we can give an answer why the Mountain of God's Vision was shown to Abraham. This is so that he, standing in this place, will see by faith what is about to happen in this place two thousand years after him, so that he, according to Christ’s own word, “saw the day” of Christ “and rejoiced” (John 8:56) in his Savior. Abraham then saw in Isaac, carrying sacrificial wood to the Mount of God's Vision, the image of Jesus Christ carrying the cross to Mount Golgotha; in Isaac, laid on the altar, there is an image of Jesus Christ ascended to the cross; in Isaac, after he was sacrificed, living, there is an image of Jesus Christ, after death on the cross, resurrected; in the blessing about the seed of Abraham of all the tongues of the earth is the promise of eternal salvation to all people through Jesus Christ. Abraham's Mount of God's Vision opens up majestic and beautiful views for us. How “from eternity all His works have been understood by God” (Acts 15:18)! How the distant future has been foreseen and predetermined by Him from centuries! How secretly he nourished the faith of the ancients, offering them the mystery of Christ in promises and omens! How greatly He strengthens our faith, showing us the mystery of Christ in perfect agreement with the ancient promises and omens about it! How wonderfully with Abraham’s sacrifice He consecrated the place for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross! I also remember, not so distant from us, an example of God’s special destiny over a place, in union with human destiny. The Holy Apostle Andrew, preaching the faith of Christ, goes around the Black Sea, passes Chersonese, goes up the Dnieper, stops at a mountainous place, spends the night, no doubt, in prayer, and in the morning says to his disciples and companions: on these mountains the grace of God will shine; there will be a great city; God will raise up churches; and will enlighten this earth with baptism. As a sign of this, the Apostle erects a cross. Ages pass; in this place Kyiv is built; Christianity arises in him; from it, Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga and Vladimir spread the light of Christ to the entire Russian land. It is unclear to us how the thread of tradition about the Apostle’s prediction reached our chronicler, the Monk Nestor: but, apparently, it was not interrupted; and, perhaps, it was strong enough to support the faith of the first Kyiv Christians, amid the then dominant paganism. But why did the memory of ancient great destinies come here? - She was called by this new, or renewed, small place, in reverent ignorance awaiting its fate from the Most High, without whom not only a city, or a person’s house, but also a turtledove’s nest cannot be built. A cross is erected here; the church is consecrated; the monastery is born: and as a newborn baby manifests its life by crying; so this newborn monastery begins its life with a prayerful cry to God: “do a sign for good with me” (Ps. 85:17), and for “the brothers who live together,” although like some drop of “the dew of Aermon descending on the mountains of Zion, let blessing and life descend forever” (Ps. 133:1, 3). Do we dare to say that here we are not completely deprived of a “sign for good”? These places needed a monastery that, through the conciliar rite of worship, the spirit of prayer, the good-moving life of the brethren, the mind and word of truth and Orthodoxy, would reveal the light of Christ and offer the sweetness of the Church to people alienated from the Orthodox Church by ignorance, and even coercion, and who remain in this alienation because they do not see and do not know the truth and beauty of the Orthodox Church. It pleased our most pious King that this monastery should be founded on the land of a special royal inheritance. According to this instruction, we chose this empty, unfamiliar place. On the twenty-ninth day of December last year, the Most Pious Sovereign confirmed this election and laid the foundation for the monastery with royal bounties. God opened the hearts and generous hands of Christ-loving Moscow citizens: and the beginning of the work received hope of completion. But what else has been revealed? - The local legend told us that in past centuries there was a monastery in this place, that at the beginning of this century this place was still called a “monastery”; that in this place in previous centuries the miraculous icon of Christ the Savior appeared, which, together with this small former church in the vicinity, we transferred here for the initial consecration of the monastery being built. In addition to these legends, the stay of St. Photius of Moscow in these places in the fifth to tenth century gives us the possibility that there was his blessing over the monastery that was here, and, consequently, over this place. Isn’t it comforting, brethren, that we, looking for a place where God’s blessing would rest, accidentally, without knowing, chose the place where an ancient blessing rests? Isn't this a “sign for good”? May our faith not fail at the sight of the difficulties of a work that began with good success, but which, in order to be completed, strengthened, and bear fruit, obviously requires a lot of work and many means, which for the most part are still invisible. “Let our heart be established in the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:1), who creates all things out of nothing, who from a small grain makes a tree, so that the earth, air, water, without becoming scarce, give it what it needs for its growth and fruitfulness. Let faith and trust in God strengthen every feat, and especially the feat of prayer, which is the support of all exploits and virtues. Christ the Savior! Your grace has not left these places; but even those who have strayed from the court of Thy Holy Church are drawn into it, albeit temporarily, by the power of Thy miraculous Image. “Lord, raise up your strength, and come to save us” (Ps. 79:3), protecting the sheep that are in Your courtyard from mental wolves, and bringing those who are not from Your courtyard into Your saving fence. Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos! This church has now been given to you; look with grace on this church and this monastery, and preserve them, as you once victoriously preserved the city of Constantine, as you repeatedly preserved the city of Moscow and many cities and monasteries of our land. This humble monastery does not dare to ask you for the promise that you deigned to give to the monastery of St. Sergius, as if “you will not depart from this place”: at least, when this monastery cries out to you in sorrow, “hear mercifully and have mercy.” Holy Hierarch Father Photius! the love of silence brought you to these places; and they, of course, became no strangers to your heart. The memory of your shrine and your blessings still lives here. Remember us in your heavenly abode, and bless the quiet and silent life of the brethren, so that the immaculate and pure silence of their life will be a faithful testimony and preaching of the truth, faith and Orthodoxy of the Church. Amen. In the past 1858, the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor was pleased to express his Highest will so that a place on the land of the appanage department would be chosen for the construction of this monastery; and a secluded place was chosen near the Nerskaya River. To speed up the construction of the monastery, it was proposed to move the ancient, small wooden church from across the river, and build several cells, and then build another spacious church. On the 29th day of December 1858, this assumption was Most Highly approved, and for the newly created monastery, the All-Merciful grant was 1,501 dessiatines of land with forest, and especially 2,000 (in the Creation of the Holy Ot. 180 dessiatines and 1,000 trees) trees and 5,000 rubles. In the last days of January, the most mercifully donated land was allocated, and on February 8 the first prayer was offered to consecrate the site for the monastery; in March, the above-mentioned wooden church was moved to the appointed place, and since it took a lot of time to build a new iconostasis in this place, so that the monastics located at the building would not be deprived of church visits, a church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ was hastily built in the lower floor of the building and consecrated on the 4th day of April. Then, until May 24, an iconostasis was built in the upper church; and several wooden buildings were built for cells, for fraternal meals and for other monastic needs, and a wooden fence of the monastery, forming a quadrangle of 80 fathoms on each side. On May 22, the Metropolitan of Moscow set out from Moscow after the liturgy, celebrated very early, and, without stopping on the way except to visit some churches and to bless the people, he arrived at the newly built monastery at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and was greeted by the builder, Hieromonk Parthenius and the brethren, like in other churches, according to church custom, with a cross. But even in some villages where there are no churches, and firstly in the village of Evsevieva, Orthodox villagers, as if sympathizing with the upcoming sacred event, met the Metropolitan with an icon and with bread and salt. For 23 days, in the church prepared for consecration, the Metropolitan performed an all-night vigil with two archimandrites and other clergy. The Metropolitan's singing choir was joined by a choir of singers from Pavlovsky Posad, voluntarily formed by zealous church members and brought to significant improvement. 24 days later, the Metropolitan and the same clergy consecrated the upper church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God, with the presence of His Grace Athanasius, Archbishop of Kazan, who unexpectedly arrived that morning. The celebration was attended by a large gathering of people from the surrounding area and some of the Christ-loving Moscow citizens who became benefactors of the new monastery. The celebration continued on the 25th day. His Grace Afnasy, Archbishop of Kazan, and the rest of the clergy celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the newly consecrated church. At the end of it, the Metropolitan and the Archbishop with the council of other clergy, who raised the holy icons, left the church to the prepared place, and laid the foundation of a new church in honor of the Image Not Made by Hands, and the Transfiguration of the Lord, and St. Nicholas. Immediately after this, both Bishops and the entire cathedral moved to the middle of the monastery, and here the Metropolitan said a prayer for the consecration of the monastery, with a cruciform overshadowing of the holy cross. The consecration of the monastery was completed by a procession of the cross around it and, upon returning to the church, concluded with the proclamation of many years to the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor, Alexander Nikolaevich and the entire Sovereign House. In explaining the names of the founded church, it should be added that, together with the ancient wooden church, two ancient icons of the Image of Christ the Savior Not Made by Hands and the icon of the Transfiguration of the Lord, revered in these places with special reverence, were transferred to the monastery. Local legend says that in the place where the monastery is now built, in ancient times there was also a monastery, and that in this place the image of the Lord not made by hands originally appeared, and consequently it now unexpectedly returned to the place of its first appearance. Let’s not keep silent about the 26th day, which will also be memorable in this region. In accordance with the wishes and requests of the citizens of Pavlovsky Posad, at the eve of this day, the Metropolitan performed an all-night vigil, and on this day the Metropolitan and the Archbishop together celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Resurrection Church of Pavlovsky Posad, with a diligent gathering of people: and in the church itself they said goodbye to each other, because the Metropolitan had to immediately go 7 miles to the village of Meryu, for the foundation of a church, which had not existed here until now, which the large population needed, and which the Christ-loving people there finally undertook to build. On the 24th and 25th days of May 1859, the consecration of the church and the newly created monastery, named Spasopreobrazhensky, from the ancient church taken as its foundation, and Guslitsky, from the popular name of nearby places, were consecrated. “And Abraham called the name of that place: The Lord has seen: let them say this day: on the mountain the Lord has appeared” - Editorial “The ABCs of Faith” You might be interested in: