Saint Philaret (Drozdov) and Saint Sergius of Radonezh

Throughout his life, Saint Philaret of Moscow was a deep admirer of St. Sergius of Radonezh. He not only dedicated a considerable number of sermons to the monk, but also compiled his own version of his life. It is obvious that St. Sergius was for St. Philaret a model of high spiritual life and an example that he wanted to follow. The article examines the texts of St. Philaret related to the personality and work of St. Sergius, and reveals the image of perfect monastic life revealed in them - the “path of the saints”, which the saint “reconstructs”, relying on the experience of his great predecessor. There are several facts from the life of St. Philaret, which I will only recall without dwelling on them in detail. It is known that in his youth the saint hoped to end his life as a “grave monk” at the relics of St. Sergius; that, consecrating the Assumption Church of the Gethsemane monastery he built, he put on the phelonion of St. Sergius and served on his Eucharistic vessels, so that, according to the witness, it seemed as if “in the person of the serving hierarch, the great Sergius himself rose from the grave to take part in the consecration of the temple in honor of the Most Holy Mother of God, who once visited him with Her miraculous visit” 1 ; that, finally, the monk himself appeared to the saint at one of the difficult moments of his life, when he had to make a decision to refuse to consecrate the Triumphal Gates in Moscow, decorated with statues of pagan gods. All these facts point to the special relationship of the saint to the monk, but the “key” to understanding the saint’s perception of the personality and significance of his great predecessor is given, perhaps, first of all, by the “Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh” 2, compiled by the saint just a year after joining the Moscow See and read by him himself at the all-night vigil on the day of the discovery of the relics of the Saint on July 5, 1822. In general, it is based on the life, written by Epiphanius the Wise, but is notable for the brief comments with which the saint provides one or another episode from the life of the saint. Let's look at them in more detail. The “Life” opens with a quotation from the Proverbs of Solomon: The paths of the righteous shine like light (Proverbs 4:18), - citing which, the saint explains that the paths of the righteous are not only bright for themselves, for they are illuminated by the light of grace and the law of God, but illuminate the path for those “who, in their footsteps, through purifying themselves by fulfilling the commandments, can also ascend to spiritual enlightenment and bliss with God communication" 3. Speaking about the beginning of the monastic life of the saint, the saint points out that “Sergius remained in the new monastic field without a predecessor and without a mentor, with one God, omnipresent and never abandoning those who left everything for Him” 4. In the episode with the bear feeding from the hands of the monk, he notes that “in this peaceful treatment of the ferocious creature, with the edification of his soul, he contemplated the traces of the initial obedience of all creatures to an innocent person” 5 . The story of Sergius’s dispute with the brethren, who wanted him to be ordained and elevated to the rank of abbot, is crowned with a discussion of “how prosperous societies would be if, in this way, their members quarreled among themselves for maintaining subordination, and not for seeking power” 6. The story about the refusal of St. Sergius, despite the admonitions of St. Alexy, to become the latter’s successor, at the Moscow See serves as an occasion to remind that “a special manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for the benefit: and one gift cannot be changed arbitrarily for another” 7. Throughout the “Life,” the saint’s faith is especially emphasized, revealing itself, first of all, in the complete surrender of himself and his monastery to the will of God, due to which, when its reserves were depleted, its inhabitants “did not go from the monastery to the villages and villages to ask, but, patiently remaining in the monastery, asked and expected mercy from God” 8 . And although the rule seemed very difficult for the monastery, to which an interrupted path in the forest barely led, “Sergius believed, and it was according to his faith; He trusted, and his hope did not put him to shame." 9 Also in many other cases, “when either the edification of the brethren, or general love for mankind demanded it, the faith of St. Sergius appeared with the power that the Savior assigns to it when he says: whatever you ask in prayer, accept it believingly.”10 At the same time, when, through the prayers of the monk, the offerings of benefactors increased so much that there was a danger that the excess “would not lead to negligence or other vice, but would serve to multiply blessings, the wise steward introduced hospitality into the monastery, feeding the poor and giving to those who ask” 11. Moreover, the monk even predicted to the brethren that the fulfillment of this commandment even after his death would be the key to the prosperity of the monastery 12. In the above quote, one thing to notice is the word “blessing.” The non-accidentality of the latter reveals itself in the conclusion of the “Life”, where, looking over the history of the monastery in his mind, the saint exclaims: “Let us marvel with reverence at how far the blessing of one person can extend! How many benefits she acquired and bestowed on others through the grace given to her founder! How many dangers were overcome through his prayers! Besides the miracles performed on some in particular, which do not diminish even in our times when miraculous faith is scarce, how many public events in which the blessing of Sergius was miraculously marked over this place! 13 In turn, the mention here of “social events” related to the monastery sums up another important topic raised in the “Life” - the relationship between the world and the desert. The world does not think to find people useful to it among the desert dwellers, but the faith, blessing and prayers of St. Sergius during the days of Mamaev’s invasion testify to the contrary, 14 just like the inaccessibility of the Lavra, in the most difficult circumstances for Russia, preserved from enemies “by invisible force.” Thus, the “Life” outlines a range of questions related to holiness: the properties of holiness, following the saints (the path of the saints), holiness and peace - as we will see, these questions find further development in the saint’s sermons dedicated to St. Sergius. The saints represent one large “great family of Christ” 15 and are vessels of grace, while each of them is characterized by its own kind of grace, since “together it is characteristic of one God to possess all powers and perfections” 16 . However, it also follows from this that each of us can search and find among them someone whose feat and example is especially close to the state of our soul and to the circumstances of our life 17 . In addition, from the idea of ​​saints as vessels of grace, it follows that grace is not their property, but the gift of God indwelling in them, in the use of which they are completely submissive to God. Consequently, it is not so much to them themselves as through them that we turn to God: “The prayer of the Saint ascends to God and lifts up your prayer; God's favor descends, God's gift in the Holy One moves and, according to the measure of your faith, waters your soul; God’s blessing overshadows your thoughts and deeds, and your good desires are fulfilled” 18. Grace, dwelling in the saints as in their vessels, reveals itself in an obvious way in their word, which becomes strong by the power of the Word of God indwelling in them, and is capable of creating “wonderful works, in some way imitating the creative actions of the Divine” 19, just as the blessing of a saint produces actions “in some way, imitating the actions of Divine Providence” 20. In general, “to bless, in the strongest sense of this word, means to extend the action of God’s Word to God’s creations. The one who blesses is the one who with good will mediates between the Word of God and God’s creation” 21 . From this it is clear that the saints are “living streams of blessings, flowing and watering inexhaustibly” 22 . Finally, the saints are not only our “good and merciful” intercessors and conductors of divine grace, but also the judges of the world. Since they, of course, will condemn sin with “perfect truth,” “and the whole world lies in evil (1 John 5:19); and no one is clean from the filth of sin and unrighteousness, even if he lives only one day on earth (Job 14:4:5), then how terrible must necessarily be the judgment of the Saints over the world!” 23. The book of our life, according to which we will answer at this trial, is written and lies in our hearts, and “the effect of the judgment of the Saints will of itself be upon us, through our conscience” 24 . Thus, Noah, who built the ark in the eyes of the unbelieving world, condemned it with his faith. So, before the last terrible judgment of the saints, we stand before them at the preliminary judgment, “the court of mercy and correction 25.” And now, “the judge of God in our language,” St. Sergius condemns with his abstinence our luxury, with his hard work - laziness, with his meekness - pride, with his free poverty - covetousness, with the spirit of grace living in him - carnal wisdom 26 . The last reasoning, in fact, already contains an indication of the path of the saints. This path should be called, first of all, the path of faith, composed of confidence, trust and fidelity. The first is confidence in the truths of the knowledge of God, faith of the mind; the second is faith of the heart - “unlimited trust in the promises of grace, not needing any guarantee of arguments or evidence; this is the decisive direction of the soul towards the Divine, as if naturally encountering the grace of God” 27; the third is “faithfulness in relation to the commandments of God, consisting in their non-slothful fulfillment, fidelity in relation to the sacraments, gifts, ministries, in the careful use of them according to the intention of God, for the glory of God” 28. This path is impossible without prayer. All members of the Church - both saints and sinners - are commanded to pray for each other, because the saints also have a need for the prayers of others, for if “they were always as miraculously powerful for themselves as they often are for others, then undiscerning people would conveniently attribute to them the power of God acting in them” 29 . This path is inseparable from sorrows, which are necessary both according to the justice of God, and as medicines that heal the soul, and as preparation of the same soul for the highest degree of bliss 30 . That is why saints voluntarily choose sorrow, like St. Sergius, and boast in sorrow (Rom. 5:3), like the Apostle Paul. Sorrows even form “a certain need for virtue,” and not only in order to justify its reward, but so that it “could exist” in general. That is why the apostle says that it is given to us not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). And even though this is “a high gift for high souls,” we must also be jealous, “so that even the lower degrees of this gift are not alien to us” 31. If what has been said applies to all Christians in general, then, undoubtedly, the more personal relationship of the saint to the saint, the innermost “desire for the desert” 32, is colored by the doctrine of desert living that he also derived from the Word of God and the Life of Sergius. Philaret’s masterpiece is dedicated to this teaching - “The Sermon on the Consecration of the Church of the Appearance of the Mother of God to St. Sergius, built over the relics of St. Micah in the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.” According to the saint, the “spiritual desert dweller” is depicted in the words of David’s psalm: And he said: whoever gives me a krill like a dove; and I will fly and rest. He went away in flight and settled in the desert. I hope for God to save me from cowardice and from the storm (Ps. 55:7–9). It follows from them that his first property is love for the desert, the second is genuine withdrawal from the world, the third is trust in God in everything 33 . The latter is especially necessary for a desert dweller, for the desert is a place of both the strongest temptations and “spiritual suffering.” After all, the Savior was led by the Spirit into the desert for temptation, and it was in the solitude of Gethsemane that he offered “for the disobedience of men, a spiritual sacrifice of obedience to the will of God His Father and a strong prayer for our salvation” 34 . Even if life in silence is not accessible and feasible for everyone, “visiting silence should be desirable for everyone” 35, for the one who every day, at least for a short time, “does not bring his soul into reverent silence before God, has not yet learned the path of peace for his soul” 36. Already in the last words there is a hidden thought that the “life of silence” is not only the opposite of worldly life, but also necessarily complements it. This thought, in a more obvious form and in various contexts, is repeatedly spoken to the saints in his Words associated with the memory of the monk. Thus, already in the “Word for the Finding of Relics” of 1822, delivered the day after reading the “Life” and developing its motives, he recalls that the desert monastery became “the shield of an already wounded kingdom and the treasury of its salvation”, and invites the world to “judge this kind of people, although only by temporary benefits” 37 . But this motive sounds most definitely in the speeches delivered by the saint when meeting distinguished guests in the Lavra. They constantly emphasize that St. Sergius “although he exclusively devoted himself to serving God, nevertheless, in his life he committed, and after death he did not cease to perform, in his characteristic way, beneficial service to the Sovereigns and the Fatherland, as a spiritual zealot for the public good, as a wonderful instrument of Providence” 38 ; that, since piety is useful for everything, “the monastery of St. Sergius became a stronghold on which the Capital and Russia could sometimes rely” 39 ; that the power of faith “even makes one who has renounced the world an ascetic of the Fatherland” 40; that thanks to the inaccessibility of the Monastery, it was revealed “that Russia was comprehended by the righteous rebuke of God, but was not abandoned by God; that faith can preserve the kingdom when the royal powers are insufficient for this” 41; that the same monastery “says by its very appearance and memories... what part faith and prayer have in the fate of Russia" 42 that St. Sergius, even today, with the same love for the Tsar and the Russian Kingdom, "raises his prayerful hands in defense, as Moses once did in defense of Israel, with the difference that the hands of the Heavenly prayer book do not become weak, like those of the earthly one" 43 . So, summing up, it can be argued that St. Sergius, who experienced in himself “both the teaching of Christ, and the image of its fulfillment, and the fruits of faithful adherence to it,” 44 was for the saint both an inexhaustible source of theological reasoning and a guide on the path of the saints. Obviously, it is no coincidence that, along with St. Sergius, he so highly revered his contemporary and co-secretary, St. Alexei, in his own way finding in both the one “whose feat and example was especially close” to the state of his soul and the circumstances of his life. Having conveyed their dispute in the Life, the saint noted that “one gift cannot be changed arbitrarily for another,” thereby, as if predicting his own life. Desiring, like St. Sergius, to retire “to the very border of the visible and invisible world,” 45 desiring “spiritual desert living,” he was forced, like St. Alexis, to spend his life in everyday concerns about the needs of the Church and the kingdom. And, apparently, it is no coincidence that his relics, seemingly resting forever in the monastery of the monk, have now returned to Moscow again. Be that as it may, St. Sergius and St. Philaret present us with a wonderful example of a “communion of saints” not limited by either time or space, the confession of which, as a member of the faith, according to the same St. Philaret, was included in some ancient creeds 46 . To this one could also add the fact that “visiting silence” is just as necessary for theology as the verbal teaching of the truths of Christ’s faith, and therefore St. Sergius, who did not leave us a single line, but endowed the Russian tradition with the mystical experience of the Trinity dogma, and St. Philaret, who exalted it with his words like no other, equally stood at the origins of the national theological tradition and schools. Quote by: Nichols R. St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, and the foundation of the Gethsemane monastery // Filaret’s almanac. M., 2008. No. 4. P. 271. Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Words and speeches spoken during the administration of the Moscow flock, and the Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh and the Wonderworker of All Russia, drawn from reliable sources by Synodal member Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow. M., 1835. P. 479 (hereinafter – Life). Philaret (Drozdov), Metropolitan of Moscow, St. Words and speeches: In 5 vols. M., 1873–1885. T. 5. P. 34 (hereinafter referred to as Words and Speeches). See: Ibid. T. 4. P. 192. Words and speeches. T. 5. P. 35. See: Words and Speeches. T. 2. P. 226. See: Ibid. T.4, p. 559–560. Words and speeches. T.4, p. 313. Words and speeches. T. 2. P. 121. “For this reason, I think, and in this sense, the primal Church clearly recognized the communion of Saints as a member of the faith, as can be seen from some ancient symbols of faith. For this reason, I think, the Apostle, as an important advantage of the Christian Church, points to its communion with the heavenly Church” (Words and Speeches. Vol. 4. 15–16).