401. Речь Благочестивейшему Государю Императору Николаю Павловичу пред вступлением Его Величества в Успенский Собор

(Said on August 11th; printed separately and in Moskovskie Vedomosti No. 68, 1836) Most pious Sovereign! As we celebrate You in this Royal month, in front of this church of Your royal wedding, we cannot help but remember and see now that over Your head there was not a crown made by hands, - the crown of a decade of Royal exploits - a crown, the more difficult the work of Your spirit worked out, the more precious it is for us and for posterity. And having protected our safety and tranquility, You do not rest, but nevertheless strive in order to strengthen and exalt our well-being. Is it not for this that you now walk around us, resting under the shade of Your Throne, so that with your own eye you can see people and deeds, and with immediate gestures direct everything towards truth, towards benefit, towards order, towards goodness, towards perfection? Seeing all this and realizing that we can feel otherwise, how to rejoice, thank and constantly wish that “He who crowns You with mercy and bounties” (Ps. 102:4) would constantly adorn You with new crowns of blessed years, deeds, glory, with which Your faithful people flaunt themselves as if they were their own decoration. You might be interested in: