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(See CHURCH PRAYER). Our eternal, essential, spiritual dignity lies in the fact that we are Christians. The price at which this dignity was acquired for us is priceless. The apostle tells us: “They were bought by nature at a price that exceeded all price: with the trembling Blood of Christ. Glorify God in your bodies and in your souls, which are the essence of God” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Just as one price is given for each of us, the spiritual dignity of each of us is equal. “There is neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian nor Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11). “Great am I,” said the Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus, “as a Christian and a monk called you, as you declared, Lord, to one of your servants, how great you are, because you were called My name. Greater is this than all the kingdoms of earth and heaven, so that I may not be excommunicated from the naming of Thy sweetest Name.” This dignity requires that we reverence it, that because of it we reverence ourselves, as vessels in which an invaluable and priceless treasure is kept, as churches of the Divine. We must carefully protect ourselves from all evil, as from a defilement that is humiliating for us, and despise all carnal advantages, as insignificant in comparison with our spiritual dignity and unusual for it. Such should be the holy pride of a renewed nature, as the Monk Isaiah the Hermit said: let it protect this nature from moral humiliation! The beautiful, sublime natural quality of contempt for sin turned in fallen nature into contempt for neighbors, into vicious conceit, self-love and pride. 4. 396–397 It is obvious that Christianity - this mysterious spiritual gift to people - is removed in an inconspicuous way for those who do not pay attention to their salvation from human society, which has neglected this gift. One must see this so as not to be deceived by actors and the acting of piety; Having seen, you need to turn your eyes away from the sad sight, so as not to be subjected to the vice of condemning your neighbors, you need to turn your eyes to yourself, take care of your own salvation, because... God's mercy still grants the opportunity to be saved to those who choose to be saved. 6.761 Holy Scripture testifies that Christians, like the Jews, will gradually begin to cool towards the revealed teaching of God; they will begin to ignore the renewal of human nature by the God-man, they will forget about eternity, they will turn all their attention to their earthly life; in this mood and direction they will engage in the development of their position on earth, as if eternal, and the development of their fallen nature to satisfy all the damaged and perverted demands and desires of soul and body. Of course, the Redeemer, who redeemed man for a blessed eternity, is alien to this direction. A retreat from Christianity is typical of this trend. The retreat will come, according to the prophecy of Scripture (2 Thess. 2, 3). Monasticism will participate in the weakening of Christianity: a member of the body cannot help but take part in the weakness that affects the whole body. The holy monks of ancient times predicted this at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who dwelt in them. When Christianity diminishes to the extreme on earth, then the life of the world will end. 1. 455–456 You rightly say that God’s mercy is for those who are removed by the Providence of God from the general desire of the masses to separate positions, as if to islands, from which only the storm of the sea is visible and heard, and then when the inhabitant of the island leaves its depth - attention to himself, and approaches the shore - he begins to listen to what is happening on the worldly sea. This mercy of God is also proclaimed by the Holy Scriptures (Ps. 30:20-22). The Holy Fathers foretold that in the last times those who are being saved will hide from the eyes of men and will follow a humble path of action, being careful to condemn apostates, submitting everything to the will of God and the judgment of God, reverent before the very permission of God. There is no one to expect the restoration of Christianity from! The vessels of the Holy Spirit have completely dried up everywhere, even in monasteries, these treasures of piety and grace, and the work of the Spirit of God can be supported and restored only by His instruments. God's merciful long-suffering prolongs time and delays the decisive denouement for the small remnant of those who are being saved, while the rotting and almost rotten reaches the fullness of corruption. Those who are being saved must understand this and use the time given for salvation, since time is shortened and for each of us the transition to eternity is not far away. 6.550 I saw pious people in the middle of the world and in monasteries. These people are now extremely rare and sometimes with very little knowledge, and others with mixed concepts, but because they add tar to the honey, i.e. read the fathers of the Orthodox Church, and do not abandon the counterfeit saints of the dark West. And the Russian proverb comes true: a barrel of honey, but a fly in the ointment. Throw it all away! 6.593 The further the times go, the harder it gets. Christianity, as a Spirit, in an inconspicuous way for the bustling crowd serving the world, and in a very noticeable way for those who listen to themselves, is removed from the midst of humanity, leaving it to its fall. Let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 6.556 “You will be in a world of sorrow,” the Savior foretold to His disciples, “but be of good cheer, for I have conquered the world.” And so! - this prediction of the Savior is made over His followers for one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two and a half years. But the sorrows that befell the little flock of Christ in this space of time are very different. At first there was an obvious persecution of Christians: all twelve of the main apostles of Christ, with the exception of John the Theologian, ended their earthly journey with violent death. Subsequently, this obvious persecution was transformed into a more subtle one, unnoticeable to everyone, but quite clear to purified minds: the persecutors began to demand from Christians not the renunciation of Christ, but the acceptance of heresy, just as soul-destructive as renunciation, i.e. demand not directly wickedness, but wickedness. Further, the persecution became even more subtle: faith in Christ was left to its own devices, and living according to the commandments of Christ was rejected - living was accepted, the opposite of them, which is why faith cannot in any way move from introductory to active, much less to living, i.e. spiritual. Faith without works of faith, i.e. without fulfilling the commandments of Christ, she is dead. Its very introductory knowledge remains extremely dark and confusing for a person, as if it were not explained in him and to him by action, much less by the Holy Spirit. In this state of confusion and darkness, we currently see many who consider themselves Christians and even teachers of the Church of Christ: some of them do not believe the miracles of Christ counted in the Gospel, others believe one part of the teaching of Christ, and reject the other; some do not believe the existence of demons, again others think, unable to distinguish between works of faith and works of nature, that everyone will be saved for their good deeds, and so on, and so on. For this reason, it is very rare to hear the true Word of God from human lips, although it is often possible to hear a counterfeit one. The hunger of hearing the Word of God is a disaster, incomparably grave, a disaster of all the disasters that have ever been unleashed on Christians. But this too is God’s permission, which must be endured with devotion to the will of God. 6 517–518 One must be at peace with the position of the Church, although one must also understand it. This is permission from Above, which we cannot understand. Elder Isaiah told me: “Understand the time. Do not expect improvement in the general composition of the church, but be content with what is provided in particular for salvation for people who want to be saved.” 6. 769–770 (See Sin, Repentance, Tribulation, Holiness). (See Blasphemous thoughts, Blasphemy, Heretics). You might be interested in: