77. Речь к Преосвященному Епископу Тамбовскому Евгению по рукоположении Его

(Spoken in the Assumption Cathedral, June 9th; printed in meetings of 1844 and 1848) By the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, a work has now been accomplished over you, visible in its signs, invisible in its essence; mysterious in the relationship between its signs and its essence - a matter that has the appearance of a human in its instruments, but is truly Divine in the power operating in it, not so much understandable to reason as felt by faith - perhaps not quite felt due to our imperfection, but nevertheless essential and real. The Holy Apostle speaks “of the gift,” which is given “with the laying on of the hands of the priesthood,” and which “lives” in the person who receives it (1 Tim. 4:14). Just as in a grafted tree there lives a force that produces fruit according to the kind and quality of the graft: so in a person into whom, through sacred secret action, a gracious force is, so to speak, grafted, it lives later, acts through him, and produces a gracious fruit according to the kind and degree in which it is imparted. Let him not feel untamed curiosity about how spiritual power is transmitted through the laying on of hands, or sacred writings, or vestments: but let a reverent mind observe and consider how even in those times when the currents of grace were not as open as they were in the wounds of the crucified Savior - still, I say, in those times, Elijah, for example, casts his vestments on Elisha, and this one feels an irresistible urge to leave everything, so that suddenly from a simple farmer he will be reborn into the son of a prophet; how again the same Elijah, at the moment of his ascension, casts down his mantle on Elisha, and he receives with it the deep spirit of his initiator; or as the least gracious of the Bishops (because he pronounced condemnation on grace and truth itself), he still discovers in himself the highest prophetic power, only because he is a Bishop: “he is not speaking about himself,” notes the Holy Evangelist, “but this Bishop ... prophesied” (John 11:51). If even during the times of the canopy and fortune-telling the secret power sometimes shone so clearly: what should we think about the times of grace and truth itself? If in a vessel full of hellish influences the grace of the Bishops who had previously been influenced into it still continued to act: what can we say about vessels that were not only sanctified in their time by the sacrament, but also preserve, multiply, and renew their sanctification through pure faith, pure prayer, pure life, and cleansing repentance? So, God-loving brother and participant in mystical grace, having now entered this Sanctuary with faith that you will receive the “gift” of God, go away from here with new faith that this gift “lives” in you from now on; and inspired by this faith, with fear carry the treasure, which “imams are in scanty vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7) of our weakness and unworthiness, - “do not neglect” - we remind you with the words of the same Apostle who gave us the testimony of the gift of the Holy Hierarch - “do not neglect the gift that dwells in you, which has been given to you”, now, “with the laying on of hands" of the Bishops. The reminder is not strict, so as not to frighten you with the greatness of the demand, but quite significant to indicate to you your duties, and sufficient to guide you in fulfilling them. There is no reason to assume that there are many people, especially among the ministers of the Sacraments, who stubbornly reject the gift of God. But the sad experience of this remnant of times shows that there are not many in whom the gift of God would bear fruit as abundant and obvious as in the Apostles and our God-bearing Fathers. What fills the vast middle between these extremes? Without a doubt, people who are not happy about the gift of God in them. And so “don’t neglect” him: and with this, just a short and simple rule, you will be able to follow as closely behind the Apostles themselves, as Saint Timothy followed Saint Paul. Do you see yourself as knowing the Divine dogmas: do not think that you know enough, and do not stop “listening to the teaching” for yourself: “do not be negligent.” Do you teach the people: do not be careless, comparing yourself with others who practice this less often; but be jealous of Paul, who taught his people day and night with tears, and because of this the truth of his words was like the life-giving sun, and his tears were like beneficial rain for the spiritual field. Will you meet ignorant and erring people in your flock: do not secure yourself with the thought that they became like this under your predecessors: “do not be negligent.” The failure of predecessors will not justify the failure of the successor. If you see Christians who do not live Christianly: do not be irritated, but do not look indifferently: “do not be negligent.” Reprove an evil deed with a gentle word, and reprove it even more with a good example. Especially “do not neglect” to use the gift of spiritual reason for impartial testing and prudent guidance of those to whom you will give participation in the grace of the Priesthood, and holy zeal for cleansing the House of God from temptations sowed by unworthy servants of the Altar. For this purpose, remember with fear the negligence of the high priest Eli, which ended in the death of him and his children, and the destruction of the very shrine of the Icon of God. Behold, as a sign of the firmness of government and prudent severity, we entrust you with the sacred rod. Use it as much as possible, like a shepherding rod, and as little as possible, like a punishing club; threaten rather than strike, and all without negligence, with attention, with reason, with the fear of God. May the Chief Shepherd himself protect you and the flock entrusted to you, “comforting” you and strengthening you with the invisible “rod” of His supreme all-saving Providence and management. Amen. You might be interested in: