A simple gospel word to the Russian people: articles for reading on Sundays and holidays throughout the year

Articles to read on Sundays and holidays throughout the year. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb (Ps. 50:12) The Creator of times has vouchsafed us, dear brothers and sisters, to see another new year, which, according to our deeds and our old habits, will again be old and decrepit. Only a holy, virtuous life, combined with constant repentance, renews a person every day. And this is because in every person there is a seed and germ of corruption - sin, inherited from sinful ancestors, which constantly, although sometimes imperceptibly, corrupts the entire being of a person. With this seed of aphids and the most serious diseases, a person is born into the world and gradually smolders, and little by little, sometimes dies alive! According to the word of the Lord, who tests our hearts and bellies, from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, an envious eye, blasphemy, pride, madness. All this evil comes from within and defiles a person 1 . So, what does New Year mean for us after this? This is God’s continued mercy and long-suffering towards us, awaiting our correction, arranging for our spiritual salvation. The New Year is a strong motivation for our repentance and good deeds. Let us remember the parable of the barren fig tree, which the owner of the garden wanted to cut down because of its barrenness, but the gardener begged Him to leave it for another year to fertilize the soil under it and to bear fruit. But the last day will come, after which there will be no time, as it says in the Revelation of John the Theologian: The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth raised his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and everything that is in it, the earth and everything that is in it, and the sea and everything that is in it, that there will be no more time. So, the time will come when time will cease completely and immeasurable, endless, unimaginable eternity will come, the changes of days and nights will cease forever, the dawn of morning and evening and the seasons; there will be no these gradual alternations of winter, spring, summer and autumn; there will be no such beautiful decoration of the earth with greenery, flowers, foliage and fruits; there will be no births of either humans or animals - the earth itself, according to the word of Divine Scripture, will burn up - and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, an incorruptible heaven and an incorruptible earth, consistent with the spiritual deeds of future resurrected people; the sun will fade and disappear, and the all-illuminating, all-enlightening, all-enlivening Sun will be Christ the Lord Himself, the Sun of Truth; there will be no moon and stars: for all this is temporary, elemental, complex, and therefore not eternal and perishable. Finally, the kingdom of vanity and sin and all untruth will end, all sorrows, illnesses, sorrows and sighs will disappear in the new fatherland and there will be no mention of them at all; the kingdom of love, truth, unshakable peace, joy and eternal joy will come; there will be no such diversity of peoples, tribes and languages; there will be one people of God with one wondrous and understandable spiritual language for all - angelic or human; everyone will be like one people, like children of one family, which will have one Father, God. And this eternity, predetermined by the Creator from the beginning, before the existence of heaven and earth, will come soon, according to the true word of the Creator Himself: behold, I am coming quickly and with Me I will repay everyone according to his deeds 3 . For this eternity, for this future endless life and bliss, the all-good Lord created man and the human race - and if only in this century we trusted in Christ and did not have in mind the future endless life - in which eternal truth and holiness is established, then we would be even more wretched, more ill-fated than all people, suffering here countless illnesses and sorrows and thousands of types of all kinds of deaths and, having no reward for everything that we suffer for truth, for Christ. So, there will be a blessed and eternal reward for all the good deeds and exploits of this life, accomplished through faith and trust in our Leader of the Faith and Perfecter of Jesus Christ - and He will wipe away every tear from the eyes that wept here for the sake of His righteousness, and the unfortunate and the righteous will be comforted on the knees of God, according to the Prophet, and their joy will have no end, and the unrepentant sinners will be in eternal torment; every untruth of people that is not smoothed over and corrected by repentance and virtue will receive its righteous retribution. Do not be flattered: God cannot be mocked 5; for whatever a man sows here, that he will also reap there, in eternity, says the unfaithful Word of God. So, brothers and sisters, prepare urgently for eternity - through repentance and good deeds. There will soon be no time, and time for correction and exploits of faith and virtue will be taken away. Let us repent, correct ourselves, and bring to the Lord the fruits of good deeds. Then the coming year will be truly new, because it will bring us renewal of our entire being, soul and body. Then, although our outer man will decay in illness and sorrow, the inner man, the hidden man of the heart, will be renewed every day, as was the case with the Apostle Paul. Amen Word a week before enlightenment And he preached (John) saying: He who is mighty is coming after me, He who is not worthy to bow down, loose the strap of His boots. Because you baptized with water, you also baptize with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7–8) Happy new year of the goodness of the Lord, I greet you all and wish you all, from a sincere heart, renewal in spirit, in faith, in hope, in love, in all life so that everyone becomes a new creation, according to the Apostle: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation 6. The bright holiday of the Nativity of Christ has passed; Another bright holiday of Enlightenment is approaching - the Baptism of Christ, which took place 30 years after the birth of Christ. From this time on, Jesus Christ had to enter into His open, glorious service for the salvation of the human race. To prepare people for the reception of such a glorious King of heaven and earth, the Creator of ages, the only begotten, co-originating with the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Son of God, a great herald and prophet, the Forerunner of the Lord and the Baptist John, a man of extremely strict, righteous and holy life, was sent. He was commanded by God in the desert in which he lived to go to the banks of the Jordan and there preach to the flocking people the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. This great Forerunner and angel in the flesh was predicted by the prophet Malachi, whose memory was remembered on the third day: behold, I am sending My Angel before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You. And then John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness, and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And the whole country of Judea and Jerusalem came out to him, and they were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins 7 . Sinners like us were baptized by John; but why, you ask, was the sinless, most holy Lord baptized by John? - In order, my brothers, to sanctify the waters for us with His baptism and to establish and legitimize for us the sacrament of St. baptism, through which we are all cleansed from the filth of sin and reborn into a new spiritual, grace-filled life - we are sanctified and become children of God, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ. You see how many and what great gifts we become participants through baptism! Remember this and cherish, firmly cherish the fact that you are a baptized people, the people of God and Christ, and behave worthy of the high title of Christian, living in virtue and avoiding all sin. So, this is why the sinless Christ Jesus was baptized by John; This is what and how great a gift was given to us all from God in baptism, and how we should value it and how worthy we should be of it! John the Baptist preached the baptism of repentance to the people who came for the forgiveness of sins, and the people confessed their sins to him. This, brethren, is where our repentant confession begins. John was commanded by God to accept the confession of sinners. Priests are also given the power by the Lord Jesus Christ to confess and loose or bind repentant sinners. St. Evangelist Luke narrates that John the Baptist sternly, strongly, accusatoryly and harshly said to the people who came to be baptized by him: brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath? Produce fruit worthy of repentance; and do not think of saying to yourself: Our father is Abraham; for I tell you that God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Already the axe, that is. a mortal ax lies at the root of a tree (under the root of a tree, of course, human life): every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire 8. Why did John the Baptist so strictly and sharply, although with great love, rebuke the people and force them to repentance? Firstly, because he himself was the greatest righteous man, he deeply loved God and the truth of God and hated untruth, being zealous for the truth; and secondly, because the people, due to their deep moral corruption, due to their extreme untruth and lawlessness, had a need for a strict and harsh word, just as those infected by Anton’s fire require cauterization and cutting or sectioning. Here it is also necessary to note that John was a seer and saw the depth of the hearts of the people who came to him, all their disgusting untruth and deceit; and therefore could not speak to the unrighteous otherwise than strictly, in order to frighten them and correct them with fear; therefore, he did not value their origin from Abraham, saying that the omnipotent God could raise children for Abraham from stones; and brings to their memory the mortal ax, ready to cut down the days of life, as barren trees are cut down. Now I ask myself and those like me a question: why are we, preachers of repentance, weak and extremely lenient towards repentant sinners, almost to the point of indulgence in all kinds of sins? Because sinners themselves did not love truth with all their hearts and did not hate untruth and do not have divine zeal for truth. We quickly lay our hands on the heads of sinners with the grace of permission and forgiveness and often share in the sins of others, contrary to the apostolic instruction: do not quickly lay your hands on anyone 9 . My brothers, be strict with yourself, with your weaknesses and sins, examine yourself more strictly, more precisely and demand a strict confession for yourself in order to quickly improve, and so that we, for the weakness of confession, are not condemned by God as careless about repentance. – How did the sermon of the great preacher John the Baptist affect the people? It had a very saving effect: the people woke up, woke up from their sinful sleep and asked them: what should we do? John pointed out to him works of love and mercy, which serve as the best fruit of repentance: he who has two clothes, he says, give to the poor; and whoever has food, do the same 10. To the tax collectors, covetous people and soldiers, who also demanded his instructions on deeds of repentance, he answered - first: do not demand anything more than was determined for you, - and second: do not offend anyone, do not slander, and be content with your salary 11. Thus, John demanded from everyone the fruits of repentance, and calling the truly repentant the wheat of God, and the unrepentant - straw or chaff on the universal threshing floor of God, threatened the latter with unquenchable fire, and about the former he said that the Lord would gather them into His eternal granary after His universal terrible judgment, which he calls likewise - the winnowing of bread on a shovel in the threshing floor. This is how John prepared the people to accept the universal Savior Jesus Christ. For us, Jesus Christ has already come a long time ago, and we only annually remember His wondrous, saving appearance and the wonderful, saving events from His life. But, brethren, from us, who have tasted the ineffable blessings of Christ, baptized in St. font and those who have become children of God, the more the fruits of repentance, the fruits of love and mercy for each other are required. The Spirit of Christ's grace is mutual love: this I command you, that you love one another. Amen. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came out of the water, John immediately saw the heavens opening and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him. And a voice came from heaven: You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased (Mark 1:9–11) What humility of the God-man! What unquestioning obedience to the will of the Heavenly Father! When John the Baptist, knowing the greatness of Him coming to his baptism and his insignificance before Him, did not allow Him to be baptized, the Lord said to him: leave it now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness 12 . But doesn’t all truth always dwell in God? God is called the God of Truth, and He is the righteous Judge of all 13. The Lord speaks these words to the Forerunner as a man: we need to fulfill all righteousness. So He fulfilled all righteousness for us and for us; - and teaches us to accurately fulfill God’s truth; for us he received baptism from John, so that, having no need for baptism himself, he would show us the need for it, sanctify the waters and forever give them the power of the sacred; to give us the bath of renewal and renewal of the Holy Spirit 14 and to sanctify us; in order to drown human sin in the waters and open to us the sky concluded by the fall of Adam and bring down to earth the Holy Spirit, who had no place on earth to lay his head, due to the extreme incarnation and corruption of the human race; so that Adam could be cleansed from filth and raised to heaven justified. The Church, theologizing in its hymns about such fruits of the Baptism of the Lord, proclaims: “May you fill all things (heaven and earth) with Your glory, You yourself have been exhausted even to the image of a slave; now you bow the head of the slave (the Forerunner) slavishly, graciously cleansing my creation (sins) and giving a new revival. When you appeared in body, the earth was sanctified, the waters received blessing, the sky was illuminated; The human race will be delivered from the bitter torment of the enemy. New-creators of the earth-born new Adam was - the Creator Himself - by fire and Spirit and water, performing a strange rebirth and wonderful renewal, new-creating by God-given baptism without contrition and crucible; - With the Holy Spirit you give life to souls, and with water you sanctify the complex body, correcting the verbal animal - man. Christ is coming to give deliverance to all through faithful baptism: in this way he cleanses Adam, lifts up the fallen, puts to shame the deposed tormentor (the devil), opens the heavens, brings down the Divine Spirit and bestows the sacrament of incorruptibility” (December, Menaion 4th and 5th). From these song broadcasts of the Holy Father, you can see what wonderful grace and power is communicated to us through the Baptism of Christ, namely: cleansing, sanctification, renewal, reconciliation with God and adoption as sons to Him. Glory to the Lord Jesus, who was baptized in the Jordan for the sake of our salvation and who granted us rebirth, restoration, sonhood and eternal life, and who destroyed the former mediastinum of enmity and curse and righteous rejection from God. – Will we be indifferent and insensitive to such benefits of rebirth and renewal given to us in baptism? Let us try to understand and clarify for ourselves these gifts of God in order to use them for our renewal and salvation. But I hear from the Tolstoyans, Pashkovites and Stundists and our old schismatics: we don’t need your baptism, your confirmation, your communion - we don’t need the Church with its sacraments and rituals: we will be saved without the Church. To this I will say to all of them: God cannot be mocked 15 . The Lord will not come again to admonish the daring freethinkers, will not be baptized and crucified again for them, and will not create a new Church, but will come to judge all the living and the dead 16 . The trial will be terrible for opponents and freethinkers. If we, having received the knowledge of the truth, says the Apostle, sin voluntarily, then there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour our opponents. If one who rejects the Law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is punished without mercy with death, then how severe a punishment do you think will be guilty of the one who tramples on the Son of God, and does not consider as sacred the Blood of the Covenant, by which he was sanctified, and offends the Spirit of grace? We know the One who said: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And one more thing: The Lord will judge His people 17. It's scary to fall into the hands of God Zhivago 18! These words apply both to schismatics and sectarians, and to all those who call themselves Orthodox Christians, but do not live by faith, do not accept the sacraments and live in unrepentance. But what does the procession to the Jordan mean? This is not a simple, although magnificent rite. The Church does not occupy anyone and does not engage in idle spectacles; she performs a holy, commemorative rite, caused by the need of nature itself, or the nature of the elements - water and air, desecrated and corrupted incessantly by human sins - and the need of the people themselves, living in the air space on earth desecrated by sins and having a constant need for healthy water. All nature and all the elements, I repeat, are constantly desecrated by human sins and evil spirits living in the air and producing in it all sorts of pernicious trends and diseases. And therefore there is an urgent need for church sanctification and healing of these infected elements - fortunately for this the Church has power and strength from God. Don’t you notice that especially this year, something strange is happening in the sublunary world, that is, here on earth? Then there is complete winterlessness and it rains when there shouldn’t be any, or harmful fogs spread, or deep snow falls, it becomes, apparently, winter and suddenly a southern wind begins and melts all the snow. Every now and then there is a change in phenomena in nature, inappropriate for the time of year. And hence, how many acute diseases are there, how many people die suddenly or very quickly? Weak bodies or even strong organisms often fall in the fight against such harmful inconstancy in nature. Of course, she depicts our inconstancy, our unfaithfulness to God, our worldly vacillation and punishes us for that. Come, come, Holy Church of God and sanctifying everyone and everything on the waters - and sanctify them along with the air given to you by the grace of God and cleanse and heal them; Grant us, by sprinkling and drinking consecrated water, purification and sanctification for us and our dwellings and health for our souls and bodies. All-good and all-powerful Sanctifier and Creator of the world, Holy Soul, proceeding from the Father and resting in the Son, cleanse us all, sanctify, enlighten, strengthen, renew and comfort us with your wonderful, life-giving, holy and sweet overshadowing. Amen. A word a week on enlightenment The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, and to those who sit in the land and the shadow of death, light has come to them (Matthew 4:16; Isaiah 9:2) This is how the prophet Isaiah once spoke, foreseeing by the Spirit of God the coming into the world of the non-evening Light - Christ. Seven hundred years after this prophetic vision, people sitting in darkness actually saw a great light, and a great light actually shone on those sitting in the land and canopy or shadow of death. But what is this darkness and what is this light that the prophet speaks of here? – The darkness mentioned in this prophecy is spiritual darkness, much worse than ordinary darkness, the darkness of ignorance of the true God, the deep darkness of superstition and idolatry. Before the appearance of the luminous Sun of Truth on earth, all idolaters, and once our Russian ancestors, all people, excluding the people of God, the chosen people, the Jews, were enveloped in such and such spiritual darkness. These people, sitting in darkness, saw, with the coming into the world of the Son of God, that great light that shines in the darkness, and its darkness is not embraced 19, they saw that life-giving source of all light, which is Christ the Lord, who by His coming to earth dispelled the deep darkness of ignorance of the true God everywhere and called people out of darkness into the wonderful light of the true divine knowledge. And what, my brothers, were the terrible consequences for the human race from this dark night of ignorance that covered the ancient world for so long! Running through the time before the birth of the Savior, we meet here people who are led in life and faith by their own darkened minds and corrupted hearts, by their passions, immersed in wickedness and depravity. At the same time, according to the word of the prophet, they kissed the foolish beasts and became like them; among them there was no one doing good, not even one 20. Faith in the one true God - the Most Holy Being - had no place, with the exception of the Jewish people, among the people of these times. The glory of the incorruptible God was changed into the likeness of the corruptible image of man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things 21 . People did not know their Creator and gave due honor to Him to various creatures, which themselves must serve their Creator. Instead of worshiping and serving with fear and trembling the Lord and Judge of the world, man bowed to the creature, said to the tree: you are my father, and to the stones: you gave birth to me 22. Having been so grossly mistaken in their faith in God, people were no less mistaken about themselves, believing that the purpose of their lives was to enjoy - as many do now - only corruptible and fleeting goods, not knowing why they were called to live in the world, not knowing about the dignity and high purpose of their soul. That is why they had a wicked and depraved life, similar to the life of senseless cattle. The devil, this primordial enemy of human salvation, has exhausted all his hellish cunning, all his evil efforts in order to pave the way from his dark region for all the vices into the poor human race, which loved darkness more than light 23 . According to the word of the apostle, people at that time walked in uncleanness, in lust, in drunkenness, in goat-speaking, in covetousness and in abominable idolatry 24 . And this wickedness, this debauchery made them the sons of destruction, the prey of hell. There was no Savior; he had not yet appeared. The best of the people of that time, however, sometimes rose significantly above their contemporaries by some purity of their thoughts and feelings, by some knowledge about the true God, about the purpose and purpose of the human soul, and therefore they tried even within their own strength to please Him. But they were not alien to errors and vices of a different kind, inseparable from the everywhere darkness of idolatry. And most importantly, they could never, through their own efforts, achieve proper knowledge of the true God; they did not have faith in the future Redeemer of men, which alone justified man before the court of God’s righteousness; there was no light that enlightens every person coming into the world, 25 and therefore there was no opportunity for salvation for them. These, my brothers, are the truly terrible and deplorable consequences of this terrible night of ignorance! But now comes the predetermined end of time. The corruption of people has reached the last extreme. Man himself feels complete powerlessness and exhaustion in the fight against sin and strongly desires and expects help from above - and the merciful God sends His only begotten Son to earth to give all-powerful help to completely exhausted and needy humanity, to disperse the thick darkness that covered humanity and to illuminate those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death with the light of His divine understanding. Behold, He resolves the coming condemnation of the primordial Adam, whose crime cast all his descendants into this darkness, and Himself, as God, not needing purification, cleanses fallen man in the Jordan, in which, having killed the enmity that separated man from God by an impenetrable abyss, He gives people peace, surpassing all understanding. They are enlightened by holy baptism and are already beginning to taste that spiritual, heavenly peace that the Savior promises to all those who work and are burdened in this world. People are no longer led by their own passions in their lives and, like lost sheep who have again received the good Shepherd, they follow His voice and walk in Him. Instead of the former likeness to cattle, the lost likeness of God now appears in them in all its purity and strength; instead of the distorted image of God, the image is renewed in all its greatness, so that people become a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy tongue, people of renewal 26 - and become capable of demonstrating virtues in their own lives. Faith in the one, true God is spreading throughout cities, entire kingdoms, and throughout the world. Already the Apostle of Languages ​​thanks the Lord God for the fact that the faith of Roman Christians is preached throughout the world 27; already the other apostles greet their numerous churches with joy with the knowledge of the light of truth. All peoples try to worthily worship the one, incorruptible, invisible God and, having come to know His infinite greatness and holiness, no longer change His glory into the likeness of the corruptible image of man and birds and four-footed animals and reptiles 28 . People now know themselves well, their soul, its heavenly origin and high purpose in the future; they know that God gave us eternal life to eat, and this life is in His Son 29; that great and precious promises have been given to us, so that through them we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust 30 . The world, lying in evil, with the coming to earth of the Source of all good, begins to gradually emerge from the depths of evil. The darkness is passing and the true light is already shining 31; people in joy rush to be enlightened by Him and seek to enjoy His saving fruits. The works of the devil are destroyed; the days of his dark dominion over the world are over; heaven has reconciled with earth; the kingdom of God has come near for people; instead of children of wrath they are called sons of God. Man was granted all the Divine powers, including life and piety, 32 and it depended and now depends solely on his will to be either a member of the heavenly kingdom or a prey of hell. These are truly the most salutary and comforting consequences of this heavenly Light, which shone upon those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death! My brothers! At our very entry into the world, we are enlightened by holy baptism; From birth we bear the sacred name of Christians, we are called sons of light. It seems that none of us wants to count ourselves among those poor people who once sat in darkness and of whom there are still some; no one thinks of himself that, despite the high title of Christian, he remains in darkness, especially the so-called enlightened people - with the modern gloss of education. But, brethren, the word of God also points out among us those who, even though they are Christians, remain in darkness. Who are these unfortunate people? These are those of us who hate our brother! Yes, brethren, this is a truly bitter truth, and it seems difficult to believe that we, in the light of the knowledge of God, should remain in darkness. Nevertheless, however, this is an undoubted truth. Not to mention whether we accept with our mind and heart and with all our soul all the dogmas of our holy faith, whether we try to multiply with our good deeds the grace imparted to us in the sacraments of the Church, or whether we criminally abuse these sacraments and thus, therefore, condemn ourselves to remain in darkness, because we do not do works of faith; - without talking about all this, let’s listen to what Christ’s beloved confidant John says this time, and whom does he place in the darkness? Speak to yourself in the light of being, says the apostle of God, but hate your brother, who is still in darkness 33. We are all brothers with each other in Christ. Who would not agree that the sin of hatred of one’s neighbor is almost the most common, very often, much more often than other sins, recurring among us? How many different types of this sin are there? Do not envy, blasphemy, slander, murder and many others stem from one main root - hatred? Yes, these sins reign most in the human race. If we add to this the fact that love for one’s neighbor is closely connected with love for God, so that whoever, according to the Apostle, does not love his brother cannot love God, then we agree that all those who hate their neighbors remain in darkness to this day. Terrible truth! What should we do, brothers, so that in all justice we may belong to the flock of Christ, to people walking in the light? What means will we choose for this? Mental illnesses, as well as physical illnesses, are for the most part cured by means that are directly opposite to them. Therefore, the real disease—hatred—can and should be treated in the same way. If hatred of our neighbor is the reason that we remain in darkness, then love, a virtue completely opposite to hatred, can put us in the light. Love is the beginning and soul of all virtues, and therefore the one who has it will do everything necessary to remain in the light, will fulfill the whole law, because love, as the Apostle Paul says, is the fulfillment of the law 34. And whoever fulfills the law of Christ is a grateful son of God, and, therefore, a son of the gracious Light. Christ the King, Holy Light, turn those who praise Thee from darkness of ignorance to faith! Enlighten us with Your commandments and the light of Your face, and grant Your peace to us who cry out to You from the darkness of sin. Amen. Sermon for the thirty-first week after Pentecost Jesus asked the blind man, saying: “What do you want, I will do to you?” He said: Lord! Yes, I will see clearly. Jesus said to him, see: your faith will save you (Luke 18:40–42) This Gospel, beloved brethren, speaks of the miraculous healing by Jesus Christ of a blind man in the city of Jericho. This blind man had strong faith that the Son of David, as he called Jesus Christ, would certainly heal him of his blindness, and when he cried out: Son of David, have mercy on me! those passing by him said to him: shut up, he began to shout even louder: Son of David, have mercy on me! And he shouted loudly because the Lord was not close to him, but was at quite a distance. The Lord stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought, and when he approached, he asked him: what do you want from Me? He said: Lord, that I may receive my sight. Jesus said to him: see, your faith has saved you. And he immediately received his sight and followed Him, praising God. All the people, seeing this, gave praise to God. The greatest miracle! With one word, see, the Lord delivered a man from blindness, making his eyes completely clear. - Happy is the blind man; Blessed is he who has not seen and yet has believed: for faith has saved him. But here’s what’s strange: why did sighted people, such as scribes, Pharisees and priests, this is the so-called intelligentsia in modern language, why did these scientists and nobles of the Jewish people not believe in Jesus Christ, as the Messiah, as the God-man, as the Savior of men? After all, they saw His miracles with their own eyes; Have you heard His divine word with your own, and not only with the ears of strangers? These questions themselves lead us to the fact that in addition to physical blindness, in many, many people there is spiritual blindness, unnatural, arbitrary blindness, which can more simply be called tyranny and self-darkness. Such voluntary blindness reigns in our highly enlightened age, the age of civilization and all kinds of progress, that is, moving forward and forward. This spiritual blindness also affects the common people, immersed in darkness and the abyss of schism, who have closed their eyes so as not to see and their ears so as not to hear the truth, and especially learned people, even highly learned, in the opinion of the world, and rich people, carried away by learned delirium and blinded by their own vicious inclinations. They, these scientists, put human reason in the place of faith and the Church, a reason so short-sighted, darkened by passions, that it barely understands what is on earth and has difficulty finding what is at hand, 35 and has no idea what is in the spiritual kingdom of God. They believe in omniscience and the power of the human mind, they unquestioningly believe in its research, although these research are very often erroneous; they do not believe the word of God, they speak contrary to it; they reject the obvious truths proclaimed in the word of God (for example, the six-day creation of the world by the word of almighty God and the creation of man in the image of God; the immortality of the human soul, the afterlife; they consider the Church unnecessary with its divine teaching, worship, sacraments, clergy, and - who knows what else - which should not be discussed from this place). What else? Sometimes an obvious historical truth, accepted by the Holy Church, is turned inside out and spoken contrary to the Church and history itself; They call black white, white black, bitter sweet, and sweet bitter. God save every Christian from such blindness! Such blindness often has no cure: because learned blind people are infected with incurable pride, which does not allow anyone to speak more correctly than they do about what they claim. These were the scribes, Pharisees and high priests who were contemporary with Jesus Christ. Oh, that these scientists would come to the humble conviction that one ancient sage came to when he said to himself: “I know that I know nothing.” For what does all our scientific knowledge mean in comparison with what we do not yet know, what the eye has not yet seen and the ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man? Nothing. And what we have learned with our minds is far from essential knowledge for us, and we most often do not possess the most essential of knowledge, possessing, so to speak, fragments of knowledge and even those that seem so; and what they learned, they learned in the light of the Christian faith, which expanded the horizons of all human knowledge. But there is another kind of blindness, besides the blindness of proud learning: this is dislike and hatred of one’s neighbor. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian says: whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because darkness has blinded his eyes 36 . This blindness occurs in every rank and class of people. Also terrible blindness! Man hates his fellow man, his own nature, his brother, his fellow member, his fellow citizen, a member of Christ and the Church, who, like himself, is subject to weaknesses and sins. My brothers! One must hate one sin, but one must love one’s brother, one’s natural one, one’s fellow member of Christ, and take care of him as oneself, sharing with him the blessings of the earth, which are given from the good God to everyone, and not to us alone; in a word, to bear each other’s burdens, for in this way the law of Christ will be fulfilled 37 . Christ, the true Light, enlighten us all with the light of reason of Your holy Gospel and kindle the underlying darkness of our minds and hearts, we pray to You by faith. Amen. Homily for the thirty-second week after Pentecost The current Gospel, beloved brothers, teaches us by the example of the chief tax collector Zacchaeus the good science of giving alms to the poor, repenting in deed, and not just in word, and satisfying our neighbors for the offenses we have done to them 38 . It teaches everyone, both rich and poor, the science of active repentance, the science of generous and feasible alms to the poor and retribution of the offended to acquire the great and rich mercy and favor of the Lord and the eternal salvation of the soul. Zacchaeus was a publican, tax farmer or tax collector from his fellow citizens; and tax farmers often collected taxes, not without sin - and not without great sin - they squeezed, so to speak, taxes from the people, often through all sorts of oppression and untruths, just to take twice, three times more than what they themselves paid to the Roman officials appointed from Rome to collect - and as much as possible to enrich themselves at the expense of the people's needs. And Zacchaeus, for this reason, was very rich and was unloved by the people, who called him a sinner. But this sinner is marvelous, O Lord, in everyone! - with the coming of the Lord to Jericho and to the house of unrighteousness, he woke up, recognized the ugliness and destruction of the love of money, profit, untruth with hardness of heart, and sincerely repented to the Lord of all his untruths and became righteous. God! - he said, “I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay him fourfold.” Oh, the blessed voice of the repentant publican, who felt all his bliss from the visit to his house by the first Goodness and the Source of bliss of rational creatures! How suddenly the publican was reborn! He, who before this knew only the art of making money and getting rich, now suddenly learned the good science of giving and distributing and carefully unwinding the ball that he had previously diligently wound. May this serve as an example to you and me, brothers and sisters! Even now, my brethren, among us Russians, although not specifically among us, there are cruel tax collectors, flattered by easy money and unrighteous enrichment, but it is extremely unfortunate that they are not like the Gospel tax collector. Zacchaeus, who had gained unrighteously, distributed it all to the poor, of whom there were quite a few at that time, not only in ours, and whoever he offended, he returned to him fourfold, and our tax collectors, who are soon making much more than Zacchaeus, enrich themselves only and do not think of distributing what they have unjustly acquired to the poor, or even - what insolence and pride - they laugh at those who give or distribute to the poor, in their opinion, not deserving of a piece of bread; - you see, - all these parasites and drunkards are beggars, every one of them, it seems; it’s true - it’s easier to condemn everyone, - after all, it takes a long time to sort it out - to distinguish a real beggar from a fake one. Let us assume that among the poor there is not without sin, all people are sinners, and among them there are actual drunkards and parasites. But I will say the word to these strict judges - not mine, but the Lord's, what will they say to him? With the judgment you judge, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you 39 . Are you pure and righteous before God, judging the lesser brethren so strictly? And you, I would tell them, are eternal conscientious workers, abstinent, chaste, uncorrupted to the depths of your heart, uncovetous, your wealth was acquired by righteous labors, your conscience does not convict you of lies, untruths, bribes, idleness, idle games that feed self-interest, envy, vanity, rivalry, mutual enmity and hostility, feasts, in all luxury, etc.? And you dare to raise an eyebrow and condemn the lesser brethren to go on hunger strike and almost starve to death? But do the poor have an iron nature, made of steel, and not servile and weak, like all of us, that they are not allowed to drink, eat, or warm themselves in a warm corner after freezing in the cold for several hours? No, our publicans are cruel, although they were born and raised in the Christian, heavenly, loving faith, and live and enjoy its innumerable benefits. But do they use it? The Gospel tax collector shines as a bright star of active repentance and mercy: we must imitate him. May the all-good and all-powerful Lord soften our hearts and the hearts of all wealthy and wealthy people. It has become common practice to only scold the beggars, despise them, call them parasites, but no one bothers to give them work and business, or no one wants to give them clothes so that they can work in the cold. Is it really possible to help grief with abuse and contempt? Come to these beggars with active help: clothe them, feed them, give them something to do - and you will see that they will happily work. Or - without further hassle - give material assistance to the parish trustee for the construction of the House of Industriousness, so that they can build it and establish permanent work in it, so that our and your parasites will not eat bread in vain, and take care to give them all feasible work - and there will be no parasites. All of them, by the way, are the fruit of our hard-heartedness, inattention, our pride and self-indulgence - not only they are to blame for their idleness, but also society. Tell me: what would you do if you found yourself in their midst, if you took their place? May God deliver everyone from their fate, and may the lucky ones of this world thank God for the fact that, with all the multitude of their sins, voluntary and involuntary, they live in contentment, luxury, that all the benefits flow to them like a river - may they repent of their vain life, in their games and amusements; but let them not forget that when they are very warm and light and nourished and cheerful, many, many are very cold and hungry and extremely sad. Amen. Now do You let Your servant go in peace, O Master, according to Your command (Luke 2:29,30) When the time came for the incarnate Word of God, who was all things, to appear on earth, then by the Providence of God some chosen people were prepared to meet His wonderful, all-saving appearance, and to announce it to the world - and firstly, the Bethlehem shepherds of the wordless flocks, aware of this from the heavenly Angels, who loudly testified to the Divinity and humanity of the born Christ; then - the holy elder Simeon, filled with the Holy Spirit, who was promised from God that he would not die until he saw the Christ of the Lord. This meeting with Simeon is celebrated annually by St. The Orthodox Church repeats its counter hymn to the Savior of the world every day during the evening Divine service. You all know it - it begins with the words: now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word in peace, as my eyes have seen Your salvation. The righteous elder blessed the God-Child and His Mother, and said to Her: Behold, this One is destined for the fall and rebellion of many in Israel, and is reproached as a sign: and a weapon will pierce Your very soul: so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed 40 . This is the event that the Holy Church remembers and celebrates every year for our edification and salvation. What does the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord teach us? – First of all, the truth that God is faithful in all his words and promises. He also promised Adam and Eve, our ancestors who fell universally in paradise, that He would send to earth a Savior for them and the entire human race, namely the blessed Seed of the Woman, who would erase the head of the murderous serpent, which was fulfilled, is being fulfilled daily and will be fulfilled until the very end of the world, until people who are faithful and believe in God and His Christ are born and live on earth, for through them He, Christ tramples and erases the head of the serpent. Such were the patriarchs, forefathers, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, the venerable and righteous and all the saints - such are now among the faithful, defeating the ancient serpent that deceives the entire universe 41 . Secondly, the Feast of the Presentation teaches us that the Lord Himself comes only to those who do the truth, or to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, like Elder Simeon, because He came to earth in order to fulfill all the righteousness of God and to teach us to do the truth and to deliver us from all unrighteousness, from all lawlessness and to grant us repentance with saving fruits. The Lord yielded and rested in the arms of the righteous Simeon, but He would not have yielded to the arms of a sinful man and could not have been carried on them: for what fellowship is there between truth and lawlessness, between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial 43? So now Christ cannot dwell in a heart and in a body guilty of sin and passions, and if we want to have Christ in our hearts, we must repent and hate sin, loving truth and virtue. There were several more solemn meetings or meetings of Christ God, besides Simeon’s, during the life of Christ on earth. So He was met by the Magi, the eastern sages with gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh; He was met and proclaimed loudly by the Jordan River by John the Baptist, who baptized the sinless Master of creation, who sanctified the waters for us with His baptism. He was solemnly greeted at the entrance to Jerusalem with fronds and tree branches by the Jewish people, singing: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord 44. We also meet Him daily during the liturgy, when at the end of it the Holy Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ appears in the open royal doors, and the choir sings: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, God the Lord and appearing to us. In addition, believers and piously living Christians have daily internal secret meetings, that is, meetings of the Lord in their souls during prayer, secret or open, during fervent repentance, when Christ comes to the repentant soul secretly and comforts it, embraces it in a fatherly manner, reconciles with it, and dwells in it, especially during sincere communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, His Body and Blood. But there is also a pitiful, deplorable separation of a person from Christ, when the Christian soul falls into voluntary or involuntary sins, for example, into nasty, unfaithful, crafty, blasphemous thoughts, or into pride, pride, disbelief in the truth of the Gospel, when in unbelief it rejects God and completely departs from Him, blasphemes Him, as happened with the blasphemer Count Tolstoy and numerous followers of him, Tolstoy. On them the prophecy of Simeon the God-Receiver came true, who spoke memorable words to the Blessed Virgin: Behold, this One is destined for the fall and rebellion of many in Israel. – This is said both about the scribes of that time, the Pharisees and Sadducees, and about the false scientists today who call themselves Christians. Christ became a stumbling block for Tolstoy. Further, every time there is a pitiful, unthinkable separation between us and God when we fall into various sins - fornication, adultery, malice, envy, intemperance, drunkenness, disobedience, self-will, rioting, swearing and foul language; greed and love of money, and various other sins; - and if a person dies in sins unrepentantly, he is forever separated from Christ and united with the devil, to whom he was likened and finally became like in life, and inherits the same fate as him - eternal torment. The last meeting of the Lord will be at His second and terrible coming, when He comes in the terrible glory of His and the heavenly Father with all the angelic powers and every eye will see Him and those who pierced Him, and when all the tribes of the earth will weep before Him 45 . The Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: The Lord Himself, with a proclamation, with the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are left alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord 46 . Let us meet the Lord here on earth, as long as we live, in repentance and virtue with pure and undefiled souls, remaining in mutual love and doing all righteousness, so that at His second coming we may meet Him in joy and settle forever in His kingdom. Amen. Pride and humility A Word for the Week about the Publican and the Pharisee Having become a Pharisee, he prayed to himself: “God, I give you praise, for I am not like other men, predators, unrighteous, adulterers, or like this publican” (Luke 18:11) Being teachers of faith among the Jewish people, the Pharisees boasted of their knowledge of the law, and yet, more than anyone else, they dishonored God by breaking the law and by their extreme hypocrisy. The Savior rated them well, saying that they loved presiding at gatherings and kissing in marketplaces 47 . This unfortunate passion of exaltation occurred in them from a false exaggeration of their merits, since, being public teachers of the faith, they knew well the law of Moses; which many of the Jews did not know. Publicans were tax collectors and, due to their rank, very often resorted to illegal means of their exactions. In the Gospel we see an amazing example of the humility and self-sacrifice of one publican in Zacchaeus, the foreman of publicans. When the Savior came to his house, Zacchaeus, in a deep feeling of repentance, said to the Lord: Behold, half of my property, Lord, will I give to the poor, and whoever I have offended anyone with, I will return in fourfold 48 . There are still Pharisees and tax collectors, not by name, but by deed. The passion of exaltation and self-praise still prevails in the sons of fallen Adam. Let us talk, following the call of the mother of our Church, about how destructive this passion is and about incentives for humility. Where do we get our passion for exaltation and self-praise? From where all our sins came from: from the first ancestral sin. Man was created so that he would love God as the author of his existence, most of all, in order to look at His perfections and imitate them, holyly fulfilling His will. But he loved himself more than God, he wanted to appropriate His perfection for himself, he wanted to be as great as God, he wanted to be a self-righteous man, he was subjected to self-love and pride, and he fell. Thus, pride is enmity against God and contempt for neighbors. Can God look with favor on a creature that is puffed up with some of its own perfections and does not find its equal in them, as if we had something of our own? Like passion, pride is naturally a disease of our soul, which infected it in the moments of the fall of the first people. As a false opinion about one’s perfections, as an illegal movement of the will, it is, at the same time, the fruit of an internal evil spirit, which itself, having fallen with pride and envy, carried away man to the fall of the same sins. We know that people did not fall on their own, but through temptation from the devil. Is it necessary to spread the word that pride or self-praise, combined with the humiliation of others, is a disease of our soul? To be convinced of this, you only need to look at a proud man - with the eye of holy faith. What is a person in his present position? A fallen man, broken, covered in wounds. Do you think this comparison is exaggerated? Remember the parable of the Samaritan and the man who fell among the robbers 49 . Who does this man represent, falling into the hands of robbers, beaten and wounded? Who else if not us, tormented by passions, the world and the devil? If such a person were to claim that he is completely healthy and does not feel any pain, what would we say about him? Wouldn't we say that he is too sick and close to death: because in his body there is no longer sensitivity that reveals the presence of vital forces in him. This is certainly the same thing we must say about a proud man. Pride, further, is the fruit of the suggestions of an evil spirit. Is it difficult to be convinced of this? Pride is a false, exaggerated opinion of one’s own perfections, true or imaginary, combined with offensive humiliation of others. False opinion; – where does the lie come from in the world? God is truth. The Holy Scripture shows us one source, one father of lies: You are of your father the devil, says the Savior to the Jews, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He is a murderer from time immemorial, and does not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him; Whenever he speaks a lie, he says from his own people: for lies is the father of lies 50. He whispers to a person busy with himself, with his good deeds, that he is the most perfect being, at whom all others should be amazed, that many people are despicable creatures who live in vain in the world. But judge for yourself how false this is. Is this impudent self-praise really the most perfect being, and is his neighbor, whom he condemns, really like? Perhaps at the very time he was condemned, he repented, shed tears about his sins before God, who searches the hearts of all, and received forgiveness. Meanwhile, the perfections of one who exalts himself are suspicious by the very fact that he proclaims to trumpet them. True perfection, true virtue is modest: it loves to hide in secret and does not dare to attribute its own perfections to itself, much less humiliate others. You say about yourself that you are kind, merciful to everyone, zealous for the faith and the Holy Church, and exhaust your flesh with fasting. Wonderful. But who declared you to be kind, merciful, zealous for the Church and its holy statutes? God? Angel? Or have you assessed your own virtue? How can we evaluate our deeds? How are we going to weigh them? What measure should we take in this case? Do we know well our unclean heart, which always, or at least for the most part, takes a great part in doing good deeds? Do our virtues not include calculations of pride or other unseemly motives? How easily sometimes the evil impulse that was the cause of our good deed hides from our own consciousness. The poison of sin penetrates deeply into our soul, and, unbeknownst to us, it poisons almost all our virtues. True perfection, true virtue is modest: it loves to hide in secret and does not dare to attribute its own perfections to itself, much less humiliate others. We should not be proud of others, but humble ourselves. And how many incentives to humility for each of us! Man has nothing of his own: everything he has is God’s - soul, body, and everything he has, except sin. Every good deed is also from God. What can he boast about? Why did Imashi, the man, accept him? Have you also accepted that you boasted as if it were not accepted? 52? If he boasts of his virtues, then he sacrilegiously appropriates to himself the glory that belongs to the only God. Further, every person is more or less in a state of sinful relaxation, and at least very many are in a state of sinful insensitivity. How unbearable is this painful, false confidence in them that they are completely healthy and have no need for a doctor. What incentive does this have to not highly value our good deeds, which, perhaps, are nothing more than the delirium of our soul. The heavenly, omniscient Judge took upon himself and assessed our deeds and rewarded everyone for them in due time. How necessary, therefore, is it to perform every good deed of ours in the eyes of God and leave the judgment of it to Him alone, not daring to touch it with our own sinful judgment. But it should be noted that we have very few good deeds, incomparably more bad ones. A new and powerful incentive to humility. I am a sinner, but God is just: how can I not have in my thoughts the judgment of God, which, perhaps, is ready to take place on us this very day, and not forget, perhaps, the most insignificant good deeds, which in comparison with the multitude of sins do not mean anything: because we certainly sin every day, every hour, both in word and deed, and in thought and feelings. Oh, God, grant us to constantly have before our eyes our complete dependence on You, our weakness, our sinfulness, so that we can constantly humble ourselves before You and before our neighbors. Brothers and sisters! You, without any doubt, cannot help but like the example of the publican’s humility presented in today’s Gospel, since it portrays us as sinners who repent; and we easily recognize and love our image, outlined for us in the Holy Scriptures; you cannot help but like it especially because you saw how he was pardoned by God for his humility, and although he was a great sinner, because tax collectors, in general, lived by oppression and bribery, he was justified when he went down to his house 53 . Let us try to imitate this example of humility. No one, of course, will say that he is not a sinful person who has no need, like a tax collector, to lament his sins, strike himself on the chest and humbly ask for forgiveness: God, be merciful to me a sinner 54. We are all sinners and need God’s mercy. If the blood of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, did not intercede for us, then every day and hour the blows of heavenly justice would thunder over us; We would be in misery every day and would die with our sinful souls, and we would never experience either peace or joy forever. But the Son of God intercedes for us; and our sins do not cry so loudly for vengeance on us; for the sake of His merits, God forgives us for them, if only we would recognize them ourselves and repent of them. Yes, God forgives us our sins. We just need to grieve for them, ask with all our hearts for forgiveness from the Lord Jesus, and He, through the grace and generosity of His love for mankind, will forgive us through His servant all the sins that burden our conscience. Imitating the publican in humility, let us avoid in every possible way the self-exaltation of the Pharisee. What unpleasant features are depicted by the Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel, enjoying the sight of his virtues. I, says such and such, am not like other people or like this publican. Thank you, he says, for this. You are doing well in thanking God for good deeds: they are not from us, but from God; but why do you boast, exalt yourself in them before the face of God Himself, as if He does not know their dignity? Why do you humiliate your brother? Are you not the same condemned and sinful person as the publican; did your virtues suddenly make you a pure and sinless angel? Did you fulfill them yourself? How is it that you suddenly forgot about your weaknesses and see only perfections and don’t think much about the humility that is necessary for you! Why do you think that you are a great, virtuous person? Why don’t you, even with your virtues, think that you have only done what was due and remain the same unslave slave, according to the Savior’s commandment: When you have done all that is commanded to you, say, as you are unswept servants: for whatever you ought to do, you have done 55. God! Without You we cannot create anything 56. Give us this humility of a publican and drive out from us every thought of Pharisee pride. May we always remember that we are all Yours with everything that we have and that we see around us, and we have nothing, absolutely nothing to boast about. Amen. A Word for the Week about the Prodigal Son And he went and clung to one of the inhabitants of that country; and he sent him to his village to feed a pig. And he desires to satisfy his belly with the flesh of a swine; and no one gave to him (Luke 15:15–16) This is what the youngest prodigal son, mentioned in the Gospel parable, finally came to, who, due to incomprehensible willfulness, did not want to stay in his father’s house, from whom, as he himself later admitted, even a hired hand would run out of bread 57 . Instead of a native, truly friendly community with his older, intelligent and well-behaved brother, he now cleaves to one inhuman inhabitant of that unfortunate side to which he withdrew from his father and in which he squandered his property, living fornication. A cruel resident sends him to his village to graze a pig. Instead of the perfect contentment and abundance that he previously found in his father’s house, he suddenly now suffers extreme and shameful poverty - the fruit of a dissolute life, so that he wants to fill his belly with mugs, or acorns, like the meat of a pig. It was so disastrous, brethren, for the prodigal son to be removed from his parental home, with the property he had inherited through division, to a distant and alien country! Need I say that the prodigal son mentioned in the Holy Gospel portrays us as sinners? Exactly, our abilities: mind, will and heart, our body with its health, with its wise, beautiful structure; our titles, to which one is called, our wealth, all our well-being, even the piece of land on which we live - all this is the property of the heavenly Father that was given to us by division, Who, solely by His goodness, undeservedly on our part, allocated to each of us a part of the benefits from His rich treasury and gave us the will to go in all four directions. Rarely do any of us remain with our property under our father's roof; many, having taken their part, seem to leave the all-good Father to a distant side - into the sinful world and live there dissolutely in captivity of passions, until finally their cruelty and obvious destruction convince them to return to their Father. Yes, our passions, our sins are real tyrants for us. Let's talk about this. The Lord our God is the most perfect being, so that our thought can never rise to the full representation of His perfections. Since He is all-perfect, therefore He is all-pleased and all-blessed. The all-perfect and ever-blessed God created us not so that anyone would torment and tyrannize us, but so that it would be eternally good for us, so that we would be eternally blissful; but, just as only one who tries to be perfect and holy, like God, can be blissful, the Creator has given us free will and commanded us to be holy, as He is holy: be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God 58 . Try to imitate Him in holiness with your mind, will and feeling; know His perfections, love Him and all people in Him, do the works of God: and you will be blessed. If you do not try to know Him, love Him and do what He commanded, you will be an unhappy sinner, an everlasting captive, a martyr of passions; because bliss is in God and from God; Outside of Him there can be no bliss: there is only the tyrannical rule of the passions. What a labor it seems to be for a person to know and love God with all his soul and with all his heart! Even if his soul were some alien creation from God, otherwise it is His creation, the breath of His mouth, His image; How could she not love her Creator, her everlasting and eternal Benefactor, completely, inseparably! Our body is the work of His wise mind, His creative hands, our title, wealth, everything we have, except sin, is His property; How can one not know and not love with all one’s soul such a Benefactor, Who gives us life and breath and everything; By which we live, move and have our being 59! How can we not love our neighbors with Him, as brothers, as children of the same Father! One should, it seems, rightly be surprised how we know and love anything other than Him! How can we move away from Him - the Source of life and bliss, how can we be hostile to His law and statutes, and do something displeasing to Him! However, we love many other things besides Him, we do not do what He pleases, and we move away from Him. But look at what is happening to us, who we sometimes resemble. Here is a daring freethinker who speaks not in his heart, but already proclaims out loud: there is no God 60 or: there is no God-man Redeemer; there is no Church and heavenly gifts taught in the sacraments for our spiritual life, perfection and salvation! What then? Have you rejected everything spiritual, sacred and heavenly? So you are flesh, earth, you have no soul, you do not know heaven, hell is your eternal destiny. Where is your soul, tell me? Every soul is from God and knows Him, strives for Him, but for your soul there is no God, it does not know Him; It is easier to believe that your soul does not exist than God, the Creator of everything that exists. Oh, I see how pathetic is what you call your soul. In an unknown distance from the Father of spirits and all flesh, she languishes, poor, in the realm of flesh, darkness and destruction, with an irresistible longing for some loss, for something dear; what emptiness and darkness she feels within herself, how bleak she finds her situation! To be a spirit, to have spiritual needs and aspirations and not find satisfaction for them - what a torment for her soul! To see how others come running to the churches of God with fervent prayers to God, how they receive from there the gifts of heavenly grace, and at the same time to feel in oneself the struggle of a proud mind, disobedient to the holy truth - with the natural aspirations of one’s soul: - how deadly it is for the soul. Return home, prodigal son: where have you gone? Why are you wasting your heavenly Father’s wealth far from Him, living fornication? Your mind is not yours: it is a gift from God; why do you use it for evil? God gave it to you so that you would know Him and try to become like Him; and yet you make it a harmful means - to get away from Him, to forget and not know Him. Return to your Father, unfortunate one; you have come far; in this distance there is nothing but eternal death. Here is an ambitious man for whom earthly honors are the goal of life. Instead of striving for the eternal honor of the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus, he exhausts all efforts to obtain as much honor from people as possible. But on the way to his goal, he meets many rivals who admire the virtues that, in his opinion, belong to him! What a shame, how hard it is not to receive what you strive so hard for and what you sometimes consider to be yours! How many nights does an ambitious man sometimes spend insomnia! Turn back too, don’t you notice that you are going to a country far away; further and further from your heavenly Father. Love of this world, love for its honors and distinctions, enmity against God is 61. Why do you want to be higher than others? Do you not know that the glory of man is like the flower of grass: the grass is gone, and its flower is fallen away, 62 that we are given eternal glory in heaven with Christ? You have been given a heart in which, by the way, the love of good glory burns - not so that you always strive for quickly passing honors, but so that you love the spiritual ascent from glory to glory, turning away in every possible way from sin, as the most powerful obstacle to your spiritual perfection. Return to your Father’s house, give up petty ambition. Here is a money lover, into whose hands a lot of light earthen sparkles have already passed and who wants to accumulate as many of them as possible. Silver and gold are his idol. And he withdrew from God to a far country: tiresome worries day and night about acquiring and saving his treasure haunted him; he sometimes hears the word of God, but the thought of wealth suppresses it; he has no time to think about God, about his soul, about its afterlife fate. How many and what means does he sometimes use in order to acquire for himself as much beautiful, shiny land as his unlimited desires can contain! Where are you going, why do you need so much silver and gold? For a rainy day, to provide for your family? But in the life of a true Christian there should not be black days, that is, unhappy days, according to worldly concepts; can we call black those days when we greatly sin and anger the all-good Lord of our life. We live in the kingdom of our loving and caring Father, the eternal Mediator of the Son of God and the Comforter of the Holy Spirit - our God, the Trinity of one essence. What are the dark days in such a kingdom? To provide for the family? Fine. But for the family you need much less than what you collected. And you want to provide for your family completely alone for the future! Why don’t you leave it to God to arrange the future good of your children, leaving them almost exclusively to soulless metal? What if the shiny metal falls into the hands of wasteful and dissolute children, if it spoils them? Then you have double trouble: from the fact that, having collected, you did not use your wealth as it should, and from the fact that you destroyed your children. Return also to your Father's house. It seems to you that you are increasing the property that you received from your Heavenly Father: no, you are squandering it. To increase one's possessions means to multiply it through use in accordance with God's intention. How? Multiply by use? When you use, you do not multiply, but waste, you say. In the world this really happens, but with God it is not so. But you don’t use it as you should, therefore, you waste it, you certainly waste it willy-nilly, sometimes, perhaps, unnoticed by yourself. Return also to the house of the Heavenly Father; learn here that all earthly wealth is His property, that we are the guardians and distributors of this property; make sure that, having given as much of our wealth as possible to the poor, we do not waste it, but acquire it. But here is a slave of bliss and voluptuousness. What is this? Does he think of returning to the Heavenly Father? Or has his soul's torment and bodily suffering not yet reached its final limit? But why wait for the time when the soul has already completely relaxed from the cold deeds of voluptuousness, and the body is exhausted from the constant stress that kills it. You have forgotten, dear brother, that the soul and body are not yours, but God’s: because, belonging to God entirely, as the work of His hands, we, moreover, are redeemed from sins at the price of the blood of the Son of God; I forgot that we must glorify God in our bodies and in our souls, which are the essence of God 63. You have gone far from God; You rarely go to church, you are ashamed to appear with your uncleanness before the all-holy God. Cleanse yourself and return to the Heavenly Father: bad things will happen to you in a distant land with a cruel master - your shameful passion. Come to Me, the heavenly Father and His beloved Son say to you: I am well. Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest... for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light 64. It is true that your passion does not give you anything for food except the beetles that swine eat, your pleasure is painful, imaginary, come to Me: I have enough of everything, I have enough bread for hirelings 65. But here is the pitiful victim of an insatiable belly: a person, from excessive love for hot drinks and tasty dishes consumed in excess, is eternally sick in both soul and body. Come too. Heavenly Father has been looking for you for a long time. He does not want you to perish irrevocably, but to be saved, sobered up, and instead of a carnal man, opposed to God, to become a spiritual man, pleasing to God. Hate serving the belly, love golden moderation, be spiritual and do not waste the property of your heavenly Father, your mental and physical strength, by living dissolutely. Look at yourself: you almost only eat and drink, constantly drowning in the pleasures of sensuality; and the Heavenly Father endures you on His earth; all His sun shines on you; everything does not completely take away its benefits from you. Like a barren fig tree, you should have been cut down long ago and thrown into the fire; meanwhile you are still standing. Turn back: and the Holy Church is waiting for you. You have long forgotten her, your mother. Meanwhile, she worries about you as if she were her child, worrying about how to save you, the rebellious one. The Lord now calls everyone, through the voice of His holy Church, into the arms of His fatherly love; He wants to save everyone. The days of fasting and repentance will soon come; Let us all hasten to cleanse ourselves of our sins and passions in order to become new and spiritual people. Almost all of us live prodigal lives - in a distant country - on a sinful earth, completely forgetting about our longed-for and true fatherland in heaven. Oh, holy faith! Come to the aid of us who are lost, tell us that there is undoubtedly another life for us on the other side of the grave, an endless life, blissful or painful - depending on who lives here; Is it like a faithful son of the Heavenly Father - in constant communion with God, in purity, holiness and love, or like a prodigal son away from God, in lusts and impurity? Say that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God 66. Brethren, think for yourselves to be dead for sin, but to be alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let sin not reign in your dead body, so that you can listen to it in its lusts; Below, imagine your uds as weapons of unrighteousness against sin, but imagine God’s as from the living dead, and your uds as weapons of God’s righteousness. Let sin not possess you; I am not under the law, but under grace. Do you not know that you imagine that slaves will obey him? Naturally, you will listen to him, either sin leading to death, or obedience leading to righteousness? 67. Let us put aside dark deeds and put on the weapons of light. For in the days let us walk decently, not in slander and drunkenness, not in fornication and adultery, not in zeal and envy: but put on our Lord Jesus Christ, and do not please the flesh in lust 68 . Amen. A Word a Week about the Last Judgment The spade is in His hand, and He will clear away His threshing floor, and will gather His wheat into the barn, and will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12) On this Sunday, the Church, with the greatest reverence and tenderness, remembers the terrible judgment of Christ that will take place at the end of the world. The picture of this trial brought and continues to thrill not only sincere Christians and saints who have accomplished a good feat in their lives, but also all the Angels, witnesses of our lives. The incomparable, terrible greatness of the Creator Himself and the Lord Savior of the human race will be revealed before the eyes of everyone, before Whom the sun is like darkness, and the never-before-seen greatness and glory of the heavenly Angels, who will move with Their Lord to the world judgment; all humanity will appear naked and open both before themselves and before the eyes of all; everyone will see themselves as they were and are; and everyone will appear with a written book of his conscience, in which not a single iota will be hidden. All thoughts, words and deeds will be exposed as clear as day; There will be no room for contradiction or justification. The final verdict of the Righteous Judge will be pronounced for all eternity - for some joyful, for others terrible and plunging into joyless despair. This judgment, mentioned in clear words in many places of the Old and New Testaments, especially the New, according to the untrue words of the Lord Himself, the prophets, the Forerunner and the Apostles, is also required by the laws of the human mind itself, which has the innate ability to discuss, weigh, evaluate, and pronounce judgment on everything; it is required by our conscience, which is given a subtle, innate ability to distinguish between good and evil and the impulse - to follow everything that is good, true, honest, high, holy - and to avoid the evil, deceitful, dishonest, base, sinful. The Last Judgment is the last, final, formidable manifestation, on the one hand, of truth and mercy towards the righteous and repentant, and on the other, of the righteous, terrible, unbearable wrath of God towards unfaithful and unrepentant sinners, who have used all the gifts of His goodness and mercy, all His forbearance, for evil. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about the terrible final Judgment of the wicked, saying: Behold, the Lord will come in the darkness of his holy angels, to execute judgment on everyone, and to expose all the wicked of all the deeds of their wickedness, which is your wickedness, and of all their cruel words, even the sinners spoke of wickedness 69. The holy prophet and king David in many psalms prophesies about the final judgment of God's righteousness: For the judge of the earth is coming: he will judge the world in righteousness, and people in his truth 70 . Christian nations will be judged according to the Gospel, to what extent they were faithful and obedient or unfaithful and disobedient to it, and infidels and pagans - according to the law of conscience. Those who sin lawlessly will perish lawlessly: and those who sin in the law will receive judgment by the law 71 . Christians, and especially Orthodox Christians, who have received all the means of grace for salvation and neglected them, will be subject to especially terrible punishment, greater than others who do not belong to the Orthodox faith and the Church. “For it is time to begin judgment from the house of God,” says the Apostle, “if first from you, what will be the end of those who resist God’s Gospel? And even if the righteous are barely saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear 72? If the truth of God, the truth of the Heavenly Father, treated the green tree (Jesus Christ) so terribly, then what will happen to the dry tree? The truth of God will deal especially strictly with the leaders of heresies, schismatics, and sectarians who distort the Gospel and teach contrary to Christ: If we, or an Angel from heaven, preach the good news, let him be anathema even more than we preach the good news to you. The Christian faith requires from us obedience to its teaching, works of repentance, renewal, wedding attire, purity and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord 75; requires the Spirit of Christ, the spirit of meekness, humility, simplicity, goodness, non-covetousness, mercy. Many Christians live like pagans, and are worse than pagans: such are drunkards, adulterers, covetous people, rich people who collect only for themselves, and not for God; proud despisers of their neighbors, possessed by envy, the spirit of disobedience, self-will, who seem wise to themselves and reasonable before themselves 76. All such, if they do not repent and correct themselves, will be condemned to eternal torment. Thus, the Terrible Judgment will be the final manifestation of the truth and mercy of God towards the faithful and obedient and - a manifestation of the terrible wrath of God towards the unfaithful and opponents of God and scoffers of His righteous judgments: Or about the riches of His goodness and meekness and long-suffering, careless, not knowing how the goodness of God leads you to repentance: But according to your cruelty and unrepentant heart, you store up for yourself wrath in the day wrath and revelation of God's righteous judgment 77. Let us hasten, brothers and sisters, to repentance and carefully prepare for the day of God’s Last Judgment, the final judgment that decides our fate for all eternity. Amen. Word in the week of raw food If you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:14) This Sunday is called among the Russian Orthodox people Forgiveness Sunday from the good and pious custom of saying goodbye to each other, that is, asking each other for forgiveness before Lent and fasting. And this custom came into force from the command of the Savior, who commands us in the present Gospel to forgive each other’s sins, if we want the Heavenly Father to forgive us our sins, whom we grieve and anger without number every day and hour. Since Great Lent begins tomorrow, and we are all, according to Christian custom, going to throw off the heavy burden of sins, and since this casting off of the sinful burden requires some self-sacrifice on our part and some kindness, the Lord teaches us what exactly is required of ourselves so that our sins will be forgiven to us all, without a trace - or what we must sacrifice on our part, since the Lord God, with For my part, I am always ready to have mercy and save repentant sinners; namely, He says, that what is required of us is simplicity and forgetfulness of malice, lack of anger, forgetfulness of insults, friendliness, love for enemies. Your salvation is in your hands, in your power, man. You will forgive others for their insults, mistakes, annoyances, and begging; and your sins will be forgiven, and you, with your worries and frequent petitions from God, will never leave Him empty-handed and will be honored with great and rich mercies from Him. You will forgive your neighbor’s few sins, compared to your sins before God, and God will forgive you countless sins; you will forgive a hundred denarii, and the Lord will forgive you ten thousand talents. But what rancor people often have! While the Lord demands little from us - forgiveness and forgetting the insults of our neighbors - which are like drops in the ocean in comparison with our sins before God, and demands for our own good and wanting to accustom us to meekness, kindness, patience, humility, brotherly love, forbearance, peace - we lose our temper, present our rights, violated by our neighbors, kindle in ourselves and the flame of enmity towards our neighbors, and thus we madly and boldly push away from ourselves the right hand of God that saves us - we add sins to sins - and we ourselves rush headlong into destruction. A great good, a great virtue, is gentleness before God and people: it covers a multitude of sins. In the Old Testament, 6 were especially beloved and glorified by God for this virtue: Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David the Godfather, king and prophet, and many others; and in the New Testament there are countless righteous people who imitated the meek and humble Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who says in the Gospel to all of us: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls 78 . So, let us not obey the devil, who teaches us to harbor evil against our neighbors, but in the simplicity of our hearts we will forgive the insults caused by our neighbors, also at the instigation of the enemy. Let no one think evil against each other; Let no one be carried away by evil suspicion regarding one’s neighbor, for this is the charm of the enemy of our salvation, who is trying in every possible way to destroy the union of love and brotherhood in us and to instill demonic enmity and hostility; I give you a new commandment, that you love one another 79 and the words of the Apostle Paul: Love one another and fulfill the law. So, the fulfillment of the law is 80. Next, the Lord teaches us unhypocritical fasting and tells us that we should enter the field of fasting not with sad, but with cheerful faces, as true and faithful warriors of Christ, entering the fight against sin and our multi-passionate flesh, with the help and assistance of the omnipotent grace of Christ, and in the face of the Heavenly Father, with whom a reward is ready for all who truly struggle against delusion. sinful. Anoint your head, says the Savior, and wash your face; anoint your head, that is, anoint your soul with the oil of alms, and wash the face of your soul with the oil of purity, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. Further, the Lord teaches us to renounce our hearts from earthly treasures and from earthly passions and encourages us to desire and seek heavenly treasures, firstly because our souls are of heavenly origin and immortal, and earthly blessings, being rough, corruptible and transitory, are unworthy of us, created and redeemed by the blood of the Son of God for the enjoyment of spiritual and eternal blessings, and secondly because clinging with our hearts to earthly goods, through this we make them earthly, rude, low, passionate, and ourselves - incapable of loving God and our neighbor - while love is the main goal and duty of our life. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break through and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also 81 . St. John Chrysostom speaks about it this way: it will be a great harm to you if you cling to earthly things, become a slave instead of a free one, fall away from heavenly things, and be unable to think about heavenly things, but only about money, about interest, about debts, about profits and vile greed. What could be worse than this? Such a person falls into slavery, the worst slavery of any slave, and, what is most disastrous of all, arbitrarily rejects the nobility and freedom inherent in man. No matter how much I talk with you, but you, having a mind nailed to wealth, cannot hear anything useful and necessary for you... for where your treasure is, there is your heart.... But if you put the treasure through alms - in heaven, then you will not only be awarded heavenly honors for this, but also here you will receive a reward, ascending to heaven, thinking and caring about heavenly things. For it is obvious that you have transferred your mind there too, where you will place your treasure; and on the contrary, you will experience the completely opposite when you place your treasure on the ground. So, let us apply to our hearts the teaching of our Savior, offered to us in this Gospel regarding the forgiveness of offenses, regarding godly fasting and the detachment of our hearts from earthly treasures, and love for heavenly, incorruptible blessings. Let us try, I will say in the words of Chrysostom, to prepare ourselves for leaving here. For although the day of universal death has not yet arrived, the end of everyone, both old and young, is already at the door... So, while we have time, let us prepare for ourselves boldness before God; Let us store up oil in abundance and transfer everything to heaven, so that in due time and when we especially have need, we will enjoy all this through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and ever and unto ages of ages. (Chrysostom). Amen. If anyone sins, the imams intercede with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and by Him there is cleansing for our sins (1 John 2:1-2) Today, beloved brethren, you will go to repent. Out of duty as a pastor, I want to instill in you what is required of someone who begins confession - so that his confession is true, pleasing to God and soul-saving. – Namely, what is required from the repentant is contrition for his sins, the intention to correct his life, faith in Christ and hope in His mercy. So, first of all, contrition for your sins is required. But this is something that we, confessors, very often do not see in our spiritual children. Quite a lot of people come to the spirit with complete indifference, and if they had not been asked anything, they would either say nothing, or would only say in general that I am a sinner, my spiritual father, in all my sins. And if they had also said this with a heartfelt consciousness of their guilt: - no, then woe is that without consciousness of their sins, and so - in order to quickly finish with confession. Beloved, let us not turn God’s extreme mercy towards us sinners into a reason for God’s wrath. How insensitive we are! Don't we have anything to grieve about in confession? We don’t have enough sins: if we began to cry all our lives about our sins, then we would not do anything unnecessary, but only what should be done. Oh! If any of us were to say that he has no sin, he would be deceiving himself, and in that person anyone would seek the truth in vain. Can't you see your sins? Pray to God that He will allow you to see them; Was it in vain that you often said behind the priest in church: Lord! grant me to see my sins! “Let us try now with our common strength to see our sins, so that later in confession we can confess them with heartfelt contrition.” And our first very important sin is that we, being great sinners, do not feel that we are sinners who deserve not mercy, but God’s punishment! Let us first of all condemn ourselves for this insensibility and say to the Lord with all our souls: here I am, Lord and Master of my life, an insensitive sinner, the greatest sinner I am, but I do not feel my sins; It must be because my sins have multiplied more than the sand of the sea, and I am all in sins, like a smallpox patient - in smallpox. I repent to You, my Lord God, with all my heart for my insensibility, and I pray to You: Grant me to feel with all my heart how much I have angered and am angering You. - Oh, this imaginary, Pharisaic righteousness of ours, how many people it has destroyed and is destroying! And to our evil, it strikes our heart precisely during fasting, during the very sacrament of repentance and before the sacrament of Holy Communion. But let's look further - what sins did we sin against God the most? But if we are people of little faith, we live on earth not for heaven, not for God and the salvation of our souls, but for the earth and everything pleasant on earth, in a word - we live for the flesh, for its pleasures, and not for our immortal soul, not for its future life - is this not a great sin? Have we forgotten the suffering for us of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, His most pure blood shed for us on the cross, His glorious resurrection? Was it not for us, that is, in order to raise us to heaven, removed from heaven by sin, His descent to earth, His divine teaching, His miracles, His prophecies - for example, about the future terrible judgment, about the resurrection of the dead on the last day of the world, about the bliss of the righteous and the eternal torment of sinners? - finally, His suffering, His resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven? - So, if it is true that we must live here for the next century, then is it not a sin not to live for that life, but to live with all our thoughts and with all our hearts on earth and for the earth? And how much sin comes from the fact that we only want to live well on earth and do not believe with all our hearts in the future blissful life? - How much anger, hatred, love of money, envy, stinginess, deception comes from that? Hence all the vices: all carnal lusts, all passions of the soul. So let us repent of this, that is, we will repent that we are of little faith, if not unbelievers, and that for God and for the salvation of our souls, we either do not live here, or we live very little; also that there is little hope in our hearts, if not none at all - for a future life. – We also suffer from the greatest sin of ingratitude to God, dislike for Him for His countless, ineffable mercies. This, I think, is something everyone is aware of, at least from time to time. Here are all of you who move on your own feet, all of you are healthy in body and soul, honorable in mind from God the Creator, with free will, and what were you so recently? - Nothing; but the Lord brought you all from non-existence into existence - and from that time on he gave you everything: he gave you a soul with its abilities, he gave you and is constantly giving you food - to nourish your body, clothing for its apparel, he gave you a corner on His earth, and shelter for your dwelling; nourishes you with the priceless, life-giving food of His Body and Blood, sweetens and reassures you with it; makes you glad by hearing His word, forgives you your sins without number, constantly preserves your life - like a mother the life of a child; He gives us His future kingdom, and doesn’t He do anything out of His love for us sinners and ungrateful people? It is impossible to list. So what? How do we respond to His love for us - a love that has no number or measure? - Just lawlessness, just bad behavior, just ingratitude. – So, let us repent with tears of our ingratitude before God, of our dislike for Him, and also with tears we will ask Him for the gift of love. ABOUT! Bless the Lord for my soul, and do not forget all His rewards 82. The repentant is also required to have the intention to correct his life: and pay attention to this. When going to confession, say to yourself: after confession, I will try with all my might to correct myself from those sins that I now want to repent of. I won't deceive myself any longer; I will not lie to God; I will no longer insult the sacrament of repentance. Help, Lord, strengthen my spiritual strength, Lord! What is the benefit of such repentance, after which they again, without a twinge of conscience, indulge in the same sins of which they repented? With such people the proverb is fulfilled: a dog returns to its vomit, and a pig, having washed, returns to its puddle 83 . Finally, faith in Christ and hope in His mercy are also required from the repentant. Anyone approaching confession must believe that during the sacrament Christ Himself stands invisibly and accepts his confession; that only Christ can forgive sins, since He, through His suffering, His honest blood and His death, sought for Himself the right from the Heavenly Father to forgive us all iniquities, without offending divine justice, and that He, in His mercy, is always ready to forgive us all kinds of sins, if only we would confess them with contrition of heart; If only we had the intention to live better from now on, if only we had faith in Him in our hearts. Your faith will save you: go in peace 84. This is what He says internally to everyone, after permission from the priest, who repents as they should. Let us all repent sincerely; Let’s do everything we can to improve our lives; Let us bring God the fruits of repentance. Amen. Conversation on Communion of the Holy Mysteries Receive the Body of Christ, taste the immortal Source (Participated) Before you, Christ-named flock, in this cup is the divine Body and divine Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you have prepared by fasting and confession to receive these holy, immortal and life-giving Mysteries. - In order to accept them worthily, it is required from each of you, firstly, a childish, simple-hearted faith that you accept, under the guise of bread and wine, the most pure body and the most pure blood of the Savior, - that you accept the Savior Himself with your lips into your heart, become one flesh and blood with Him, one spirit, as it is said: You are His body, of His flesh, and of His bones 85; He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I am in him 86; and - cleave unto the Lord; there is one spirit with the Lord 87; for in this part of the body and blood of Christ God, which you receive, the whole Jesus Christ is found, as a soul in a body. What is required of you, secondly, is complete, unshakable trust in the mercy of the Savior, that He, like divine fire, will burn and cleanse with His blood all your sins; therefore, each of you, recognizing your unworthiness to accept the Divine Mysteries, surrender yourself completely to the mercy of the Lord, so that He Himself, by His grace, makes you worthy of receiving His holy Mysteries; everyone be trustworthy; no one hesitates, do not be faint-hearted, do not become despondent, presenting your wretchedness and lewdness; from the cup the mercy of the Lord and great forgiveness and cleansing of sins are given to everyone. Just believe and trust. Thirdly, great, ardent, angelic love of the participants for the Savior is required; Each of you must respond to the love of the Lord with love: for, tell me, what kind of love of God for us sinners was revealed in the fact that God Himself, having become incarnate for us, suffering by dying and rising, gave us His divine Body and Blood for food and drink, and through this He united with us in the closest union, dissolved and mixed with us, making us sharers of His divine nature! What mother, what father ever loved their children as much as the Lord loved us? – And why does the Lord unite with us in the Holy Mysteries? - In order to cleanse us from the filth of sins, from filth, which is nothing more disgusting and murderous - in order to impart to us His holiness, His divine life, peace, consolation, joy, lightness, sweetness, freedom, of which there is nothing more valuable, more desirable in the world; - so that we, cleansed from sins, changed, renewed, can be taken to heaven, to eternal life, to eternal bliss: for with sins, with passions, no one can be in paradise. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood will have eternal life, says the Lord, and I will raise him up on the last day 88. So, you who have to partake of the Divine Mysteries, inflame your hearts with love for the Savior. Holy Soul, Comforter, Treasure of the good, pour Thy love into our hearts! Fourthly, what is required of you is a change of heart. Until now, many of you loved sin, yet - willingly or unwillingly - you indulged in sin; now try to hate him with all your might: for sin is the product of the devil, resistance to God; try to change everything in the very depths of your soul. You have the opportunity to taste the body and blood of the divine Lamb, the meek and gentle Lord Jesus Christ: be meek lambs yourself, gentle, patient, submissive to the will of God, the Church, the will of your parents, and elder leaders. You will accept the body and blood of the Savior, and He is all love, and enmity and malice are disgusting to Him: let us also try to live in mutual love; forgive insults, do not repay evil for evil, or annoyance for annoyance. Come to the Lord, the Heavenly King, who leads us all to heaven; – try to think about heavenly things; strive to acquire heavenly morals; give up your addiction to earthly things, which are perishable and enslave and corrupt souls; love the mountainous fatherland; the mountain city of Jerusalem, where the Mother of God and all the saints are, and where we should all strive; leave all impurities and sinful passions; everyone show a change for the better, everyone show a correction; everyone bring some good fruit of good deeds to the Lord; everyone create fruits worthy of repentance. God! You yourself change us, renew us yourself! Finally, in order for us to preserve this heavenly gift - the most pure body and blood of Christ - we are required, fifthly, to pay attention to ourselves, to our thoughts, to our heart, to all its feelings and inclinations, to curb our sinful desires and aspirations, and also to abstain in food and drink; abstinence from idle talk, profanity, desecration and all lies; in a word: - everyone, take care of yourself from everything that is contrary to Christ, the Savior of our souls; remember that through communion the Lord adores you, making you divine; divinely and try to live in all holiness, righteousness and truth. You are children of God and Christ: what kind of life befits the children of God? May the Lord vouchsafe all of you to accept the Divine Mysteries worthily and fruitfully. Whoever eats and drinks the divine Body and divine Blood unworthily, eats and drinks condemnation for himself, 89 says St. Apostle Paul. So, let us draw near by faith and love, that we may be partakers of eternal life. Amen. Word for the Sunday of Orthodoxy Behold, truly an Israelite, in him there is no flattery (John 1:47) Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke the words just spoken about one Israeli, a resident of the city of Cana in Galilee, Nathanael, when he, on the advice of his acquaintance Philip, went to meet Jesus Christ to make sure whether He was the Messiah promised to Israel. Philip said to Nathanael: We have found the One about whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus the son of Joseph from Nazareth. But Nathanael said to him: Can anything good come from Nazareth? Philip says to him: go and see. Jesus, seeing Nathanael coming to Him, said of him: Behold, he is truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. Nathanael says to Him: Why do You know me? - Jesus answered him: before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you, that is, I knew all your thoughts, your faith, your aspirations for the Messiah, your future ministry. The Lord, the knower of the heart, apparently touched the most living string of Nathanael’s heart, his most sincere thought, sincere desire, aspiration, showing him with his own eyes His divine omniscience; and so Nathanael was caught into the faith of Christ. He exclaims: Rabbi! You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel, - and then you become His disciple, under the name of Bartholomew, which means - one of the twelve 90. But why is it that on this Sunday, called the Week of Orthodoxy, that the Church is supposed to read this Gospel, which tells about the Lord’s conversation with Nathanael? – Because the Lord’s words to Nathanael show the character of a true, or Orthodox Christian, and the character, in general, of the true Orthodox Church of Christ. Behold, a true Israelite, the Lord said about Nathanael, in whom there is no guile, that is, here is a man who rightly and directly, firmly thinks, reasons, believes, hopes, speaks and acts, since Nathanael directly, immediately believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and never wavered in faith and hope, did not change his thoughts regarding His divine Face. Isn’t this how a true Christian should be? Isn’t this how the entire God-established society of Orthodox Christians should be? Isn’t this how the Orthodox Church should be, as it is? What high praise to Nathanael from the One who searches the heart and womb in the words: here is a truly Israeli, in whom there is no guile! What high praise is there for that Christian about whom the Lord said: here is a true Christian, in whom there is no guile, and for that Church about which the Lord says: here is a Church in which there is no guile or vain inventions of men, that is, which is all true in all its teaching, sacraments, worship, administration, in all its structure. And this is exactly what all our holy saints are like; such is the entire Orthodox Church from its beginning to the present day, as evidenced by the impartial history of the Church and by God Himself through various signs and wonders performed in the Church. She is, according to the Apostle, the pillar and affirmation of the truth 91; there is a glorious Church, not having filth or vice or anything from such 92. And by what bloody deeds, by what struggle with the enemies of the truth, by what and how many deaths of the zealots of the purity, holiness and Orthodoxy of the faith and the Church, you and I, my brothers, acquired the Orthodoxy of our faith, our guide to eternal life! Just as for the preservation and integrity of our fatherland and in it our Orthodox faith, rivers of blood were shed by our ancestors - Russian soldiers and leaders who fought with pagans, and with Mohammedans, and with Christians alien to the Orthodox Church - so for the preservation of the Orthodox faith, rivers of apostolic, prophetic, martyr's blood were shed; The reverend fathers and other champions of the faith endured much suffering. But what about us, children of the Orthodox Church? Do we preserve this most precious heritage - the Orthodox faith, do we follow its teachings, commandments, rules, statutes, advice? Do we love to offer service to God, the fruit of those who confess His name 93? Are we renewed by it, are we sanctified every day, do we correct ourselves, do we achieve the perfection that the saints achieved? Are we improving in love for God and our neighbors? Do we value our faith? Do we consider it the greatest mercy of God, the greatest and primary good of life, that we have the happiness of belonging to the Orthodox Church, which is one, holy, catholic and apostolic? How do we answer these questions if we want to answer according to our conscience? To our shame, we must admit that many, many Orthodox Christians not only do not have the Orthodox faith in their hearts and lives, but not even on their tongues, and it has completely evaporated from them, or has turned into complete indifference regarding any faith: Catholic, Lutheran, Jewish, Mohammedan, even pagan. We hear from many that in every faith one can please God, that is, as if every faith is pleasing to God, and as if lies and truth, truth and untruth are indifferent to God. This is what ignorance of their faith has reached for many, ignorance of the spirit and history of their Church, alienation from its life and Divine services - how the concept of Orthodoxy, non-Orthodoxy and other faiths has become eclipsed! The chronicle of modern incidents tells the story of how somewhere in Russia one boss, while testing his students, called the story of the sacrifice of Isaac absurd. This is darkness, chaos, disastrous ignorance! A Christian, as a member of the Church, must know his faith and try to live by faith, to be saved by his faith - because the enemies of our salvation do not sleep and seek our destruction at every hour - and not throw away his faith as a specialty of some people, or as an unnecessary toy, characteristic only of childhood, or as the property of a supposedly uneducated mob. Those who dream in this way would do well to remember the venerable antiquity of our faith, contemporary with the beginning of the human race, and its direct origin from God, and the fact that in this faith people of every kind, rank, condition, gender lived and were saved: glorious kings and wise philosophers, and legislators and the greatest leaders, noble and simple, rich and poor, male and female, the beauty and glory of humanity. It should also be said to the glory of the Orthodox faith that no religion, except the Orthodox faith, can lead a person to moral perfection, or holiness and perfect pleasing to God, as shown by the history of the Church and the incorruptible, miraculous remains of St. saints of God and the wondrous deeds of the saints of the Orthodox Church, with which they completely pleased God, having been seers and miracle workers during their lifetime. This is how it should be according to common sense: only perfect faith with all the divine powers, with all the spiritual armor of God against the passionate flesh, the world and the devil can lead to perfection. If today many Orthodox Christians live worse than the Mohammedans and pagans, so that the head of the Mohammedans in Russia publicly and publicly recently in St. Petersburg proclaimed the praise of his fellow believers for this; that among them there are no such wicked people as among Christians, encroaching on the lives of kings; - then such a truly wicked life of Christians should not, of course, be in the least reproached by the Orthodox faith, which is unshakable in its principles of truth and holiness; according to the promise of the Savior Himself and according to the testimony of history. Although such people came from us, they were not ours in essence, but only in name. Yes, my brethren, only the Orthodox faith cleanses and sanctifies human nature, defiled by sin, and renews corrupted nature, especially through the sacraments of baptism, repentance, and communion; the darkened enlightens; He heals those wounded by sins; the icy warms; what stinks of passions is made fragrant by the grace of the Holy Spirit; what is dead is brought to life; He reunites what has been rejected from God, and appropriates what is alienated from Him to Him; what is weakened strengthens; what is disfigured represents and beautifies; restores the fallen; work makes you free; He fulfills hostility with love, like Paul the Apostle and many others; he fulfills blasphemy with constant praise to God; the desperate is filled with hope; the sad is comforting; guilt saves you from condemnation and punishment in Gehenna; the troubled calms; strengthens the weak; the oppressed spreads; unrighteousness enriches with righteousness; makes the evil simple; evil - good; He corrects what is corrupt; He does the greedy to the abstinent; prodigal to chaste; stingy to generous; the foolish makes wise; what is earthly creates heavenly; the rough is refined; the fleshly spiritualizes; the lover of things makes the lover of God; self-loving - selfless and all-loving; demon-like - god-like and - lo and behold! - divine! These are the miracles the Orthodox faith works in a person! Want to make sure of this? Read the history of the lives of the saints, the history of the Church, and you will see with your own eyes all these miracles in the lives of the saints. You will see wolves turned into lambs, fornicators and harlots - into the righteous and equal to the angels; you will see lovers of money as merciful ones, lovers of sensibility as abstinent people, people of power and earthly greatness and luxury in the humble attire of a monk. These were truly true Christians; here are angels in the flesh; on earth - heavenly citizens, and together - faithful servants of the earthly fatherland, just like the 40 martyrs of Sebaste remembered today! This is what our Orthodox faith can do with those people who sincerely support it and follow its guidance! Why doesn’t it produce such a saving change in us? – From our lack of faith or lack of faith, from frivolity, from depravity and unrepentance of the heart; from the passions that have intensified in us and taken possession of us, from moving away from the Church, from the fact that many are not at all imbued with the spirit and life of the Church, and many only weakly and more formally, insincerely adhere to it. From the same thing, all modern social vices have degenerated (maybe revived) in our country: murder, suicide, regicide, arson, theft of public property, excessive luxury, debauchery, extravagance, the pursuit of all sorts of sensual pleasures. In order for us to be true Orthodox Christians, we first of all need to have living, constant communication with the Orthodox Church, or participation in its prayers, teachings, and sacraments; - diligently study your faith and be imbued with and live by its spirit, be guided by its rules, commandments, statutes, the main thing is to restore in yourself through true and deep repentance the image of a true Orthodox Christian in the image of the ancient and new saints, or better - in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who says: I have given you an image, even as I created, you also create 94, so that the Lord speaks about us as He once did Nathanael: Behold, truly a new Israelite, there is no flattery in him. Amen. Conversation on the second week of Lent Jesus went into Capernaum: and it was quickly heard that there was food in the house; and many gathered together, as if they could not be accommodated at the doors: and you spoke a word to them. And she came to Him, loose in her veins, carried by four (Mark 2:1-3) If the king of the earth or the king’s son visits any city or village and stays in some house, then huge crowds of people gather around that house, because everyone wants to see the clear royal eyes, carefully turned towards the entire vast kingdom and all the subject peoples, everyone wants to hear the merciful royal word. So high is the rank of the king, so important is his service to God and people on earth, that everyone feels an involuntary reverence for his person; and often the sight of him delights him. But there was a time when the Heavenly King Himself, the King of the whole world, the beginningless God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of kings of the earth, appeared on earth and lived with people, wandering from city to city, from village to village. Oh, what happiness, what bliss it was to see the King of Heaven Himself; these bright, unsleeping eyes, looking at the whole universe, this gaze, rejoicing the Angels and terrible for demons, and hear from His sweetest lips His words, giving life, peace, joy, joy to every sincere, direct soul! You envy these happy people who lived during Jesus Christ's stay on earth. Don't be jealous. Even now He is inseparably with us through His Divinity, His grace, His life-giving Mysteries, His divine body and most pure blood: we are not at all offended in this regard compared to the contemporaries of Jesus Christ; they were not deprived of anything, they even received more than them: because they did not have the bliss of eating His life-giving Body and Blood, but we eat them and are adored. The liturgy, during which this sacrament is performed, depicts before us the entire life of Jesus Christ from His cradle to His ascension to heaven; - and the holy Mysteries reveal his personal presence, the immeasurable love of the Lord for His rational creation; and the sublime appearance of God in the flesh and image of man shows, my brothers, the dignity of human nature, created in the image of God, but humiliated, disfigured, weakened and mortified by sin. It assures us that if a person lives on earth righteously and holy, then he will be equal to the Angels and will live with them forever and rejoice for endless centuries; that with God, after the Mother of God and the holy Angels, there is nothing higher and dearer than man - the man to whom He became like, for whom He suffered, died and was resurrected; that all heaven and the kingdom of heaven is the inheritance of man, and besides him there are no more heirs to whom it would be said: come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world 95. But let us turn to what is said in the Gospel. Below, it is said, Jesus was in Capernaum, and it was heard that there were people in the house, and many people had gathered, as if there was no room for anyone at the door. The Jewish city of Capernaum was located at Lake Gennesaret near the confluence of the Jordan River and was one of the flourishing and populous cities of Galilee under Jesus Christ. The Lord, during His three-year public service to the salvation of the human race, repeatedly visited Capernaum, preached in Jewish synagogues and performed many miracles. By the way, a paralytic man who was unable to walk, about whom we read in the Gospel today, was healed here. Here the following were healed: the servant of one Roman centurion, the mother-in-law of the Apostle Peter with many others, a bleeding woman, two blind men, a demoniac, and the daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, was resurrected. Happy, a hundred times happy, you say, are the inhabitants of this city, in which Jesus Christ had His frequent stay. - But I won’t say that. No, I cannot call the inhabitants of Capernaum happy just because the Son of God often stayed with them; I can’t because the inhabitants of Capernaum, having seen His miracles many times, His benefits to their fellow citizens, remained ungrateful before their Benefactor and Wonderworker - unfaithful, unrepentant sinners. The Lord Himself convicted this city of unrepentance, saying to it: and you, Capernaum, who ascended to heaven, will be cast down to hell; for if the powers had been shown in Sodom, that is, the miracles that were performed in you, then he would have remained to this day, that is, he would have repented; but I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you 96 . Now you see that the inhabitants of Capernaum are unhappy people, because, often seeing the miracles of the Lord and hearing His teaching, they remained unrepentant sinners and were condemned to hell. My brothers, let us think about ourselves: have we been less favored by the Lord than the inhabitants of Capernaum? We were born in baptism with water and the Holy Spirit and adopted as sons of God; in confirmation they are sanctified by the Holy Spirit; - in communion we are worthy to partake of the most pure body and the most pure blood of the Lord; in repentance we are granted forgiveness of sins after sincere repentance for them; in the priesthood we have constant teachers of faith and Christian life, performers of saving sacraments and leaders to God and to eternal life; in the consecration of oil we have healing from bodily illnesses through repentance of sins. What do we render to the Lord for all His mercies towards us, for all the miracles of His long-suffering towards us? - Ingratitude, ill-will, hard-heartedness, unbelief, absent-mindedness, obstinacy and unrepentance for sins. But will it always be like this? Will not the measure of God's long-suffering toward us soon be fulfilled? Does not the sword of God already hang over our heads? Is not the mortal ax already stretched to the root of the tree, to our heart? Has not the pitch-black hell opened its mouth to swallow us? Let us come to our senses, come to our senses, and repent from the heart while we still have time to repent. Let us study the word of God, diligently visiting the church of God, and engage in charity and almsgiving. It is true that during Great Lent, our church is sometimes filled with people praying, like the house in which Jesus Christ was, and the people can barely fit in it. God bless! Oh, if only it were filled with Christians more often! But still the theater fills up much more often. But let’s continue with the explanation of the Gospel. And speak your word to them. Everywhere the Lord appeared with a word - and this word was sweeter than honey from the honeycomb; it healed souls and bodies; bowed and transformed hearts, as in Saul; revived the dead, drove away demons, cast down the daring to the ground, commanded all the elements: and they obeyed the voice of the Almighty; transformed the creature into an instant; this word is heard in the church even now. Why are there so few people listening and performing? From our absent-mindedness, from love for the world, for vain goods and pleasures. “You cannot,” said the Lord once and for all, “to work for God and mammon 97, that is, the world. But remember: this word will judge us on the last day. Let us pay more attention to what we hear, lest we fall away 98 internally from God. This is why the Holy Church demands our attention when the Gospel is read. And she came to Him, weakened by her veins, carried by four: and those who were unable to approach Him for the sake of the people, opening the cover of where she was, and having dug a hanging bed, lay weakened on it 99 . How pitiful is a person when, being fully conscious, he cannot walk on his own due to extreme weakness and must constantly use the services of others: he is a burden to himself and to others. Such was the paralytic mentioned in today's Gospel, such are those among us who are overcome by paralysis and some other diseases. But there is spiritual relaxation from sins, from passions, which is incomparably more dangerous and more worthy of regret than relaxation of the body, because it often entails eternal death. In this regard, every sinner is a paralytic. Every sin is accompanied by relaxation of the soul, as a consequence of falling away from God, in Whom is our life and strength. And just as we all sin, we are all paralyzed. How to heal from this relaxation, from this predestination of eternal death? – Through sincere, deep, complete repentance for sins. That is why, of course, it is now necessary to read the Gospel about the paralytic, so that his situation, which was a consequence of sins, touches our hearts and disposes us to fervent repentance. That is why Jesus Christ healed the paralytic, granting him forgiveness of sins in advance. Having seen their faith, that is, the bearers, the verb to the paralytic: child, your sins are forgiven 100. Hence it is clear that the patient suffered for his sins. My brothers! when you are sick, then first of all bring repentance to God for your sins, resort to the Almighty Physician - eat His life-giving Body and life-giving Blood. There is a secret and close connection between sin and illness. But the scribe sits and thinks in his heart that this one speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins except God alone? 101 To the crafty, envious and ambitious scribes, that is, to the learned Jewish teachers, the good deed of Jesus Christ seemed blasphemous and confused them. So now, brethren, the evil man is led into temptation by good deeds: you go to church to pray to God, read holy books, move away from entertainment, amusements, shows, companies; They say: what a hypocrite. You give alms, they say: he breeds parasites. But isn’t it better for these crafty people to look at themselves for what they are, rather than to judge and condemn others? We must remember the words of the righteous Judge: do not judge, lest you be judged 102. Jesus Christ, as the Knower of the Heart, exposed the evil thoughts of his opponents. He said to them, “What are you thinking in your hearts?” What is more convenient, say to the weakened: your sins are forgiven? Or say: Arise, and take up your bed, and walk? 103. In fact: is it not equally impossible for a simple person to forgive sins against God to a person similar to himself, and to heal illnesses with words? It goes without saying that it is impossible. Who can do this? – Only to God; therefore, if the word of Jesus Christ was a deed, that is, if it resolved sins and healed all sorts of illnesses, as all people saw this, including the scribes, then how could they reproach the Lord for blasphemy? Looking at the matter simply, they had to believe that Jesus Christ is God, because He forgives sins and heals all diseases with His word; and they say: the verb is blasphemy. What did the Lord answer them? But let him know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, saying to the paralytic: I say to you: Arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house. And he arose, and arose from his bed, and went out in front of everyone: as if to marvel at everything, and glorify God, who said, as no one has seen in this way 104. You see, the word has become deed: sins are forgiven, relaxation has passed, the person has become completely healthy and strong; and forgiveness of sins and healing of illness - both showed that Jesus Christ is the Judge, the Giver of Life and God, and not a blasphemer, as the scribes thought. My brothers! The power to forgive people’s sins belongs to God alone, as the Creator and Lawgiver, and who among you has not experienced for yourself that Jesus Christ forgives and absolves us from all sin? Oh, how easy and peaceful and cheerful it can be in your soul when you repent with all your heart of your sins before the Lord and hear the word of forgiveness: child, your sins are forgiven you. How joyful it is in your soul when, with faith and love, you taste His divine Brush - His most pure body and blood! As now, the sick are often healed soon after they repent before the priest and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ! We have all experienced without number that Jesus Christ is our Judge, Savior, Life-Giver and God: let us always diligently run to Him with faith, so that we may receive from His ordinary, proven mercy - forgiveness of sins, peace of mind and, at the same time, health to the body. The treasury of mercy is always open to everyone: draw from it at least a thousand times a day - our countless sins will not defeat the infinite mercy of the Master, unless we are sinners - sincerely repentant. May glory be to your mercy, O Lord, forever and ever! But we, brothers, will also be merciful to our neighbors. I appeal again to your love with a word about alms to the poor of our parish care. Deign to do this in the name of God: whoever gives to the poor, by God's grace, will not become poor 105. Amen. Life-giving Cross of the Lord Word for the Week of the Worship of the Cross Since before our eyes the cross of the Lord is presented for reverent worship and kissing, whose power is often glorified in church prayers and hymns; then I want, beloved, to tell you now a few words about his power, or about his miracles. Intending to talk about this, on the one hand, I see its miraculous power everywhere and I don’t know where to stop, what case to take as an example of the life-giving power of the cross; I also see the great reverence that ancient people paid to the life-giving cross; on the other hand - alas! - I see very few experiences of his power in the people of the present time - and right now I see the reason why he exerts so little of his miraculous power: - precisely because the Lord did few miracles in his fatherland, i.e., from ignorance, from the lawless, non-Christian life of Christians. So, beloved brethren, the history of the Christian Church presents very many experiences of the miraculous power of the cross - because then there was more faith in people - more true Christians; The life-giving cross is gloriously glorified even today, but today we see much fewer examples of its miraculous power - namely, we see examples of its life-giving power only in those few people who live by faith. The holy ascetics of Christ were amazed at the constant, life-giving power of the cross of the Lord operating in their lives - and in humility of heart, fearing that such power would not leave them, weak and sinful in themselves, always surrounded by enemies invisible, and often visible, they prayed only: invincible, incomprehensible, divine power of the honest and life-giving cross, do not forsake us sinners 106. With full confidence in its miraculousness and in amazement at its power to drive away invisible enemies, rejoicing in their hearts they cried out to the cross: Rejoice, most honorable and life-giving cross of the Lord, drive away demons by the power of our drunken Lord Jesus Christ... and who gave us His honorable cross to drive away every adversary... and without any doubt they spoke to him as to a living one: O most honorable and life-giving Cross of the Lord! help me with the Most Holy Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever 107. You can’t help but be touched by your heart when you read with what praises they magnified the life-giving cross: they called it the four-pointed power, the omnipotent cross, the glory of the apostles, the fortress of martyrs, the stronghold of reverend men, the weak in health, the resurrection of the dead, the correction of those who fall, the mortification of passions, the driving away of unclean thoughts, the foundation of piety, the destroyer demons, the destruction of wicked people, the shame of enemies on the terrible day of judgment. As if alive, they told him: “Cross, you be for me strength, fortress and power, a deliverer and an advanced warrior against the enemies who fight me, a shield and protector, my victory and stronghold, always protecting and covering me.” 108 In general, they called the image of the cross indescribable in its power, the sanctification of waters, the purification of the air, sanctification and enlightenment for every faithful Christian, a sign of courage and the scepter of Christ, trampling opponents into the ground. Not knowing how to adequately glorify his power, they cry out: “Who will list all your actions, the cross dear to the world, the powers and miracles and the rising of the dead from your power? You took with you the whole world, that is, the chosen Christians, having ascended to God yourself” 109. Do you, beloved, find the cross of the Lord for yourselves as it was for the holy men? No, I will answer for your majority... The cross does not work miracles in your life. Why? Because of your lack of faith. The cross in itself is always wonderful and life-giving. For Christians who are still faithful to him with their faith and reverence, he is also faithful, like the most faithful and constant friend. Oh, who will give me the zeal of God and the power of the word to arouse in Christians of the present time a living faith and due reverence for the cross and Him crucified on it! I know that many are inattentive to the cross and the sign of the cross. Sometimes inattention and disrespect for the cross extends to the point that they do not accept a servant of Christ coming into the house with a cross and in the name of the cross; others do not want, as they should, to depict the signs of the cross on their sinful body, or they neglect the priestly blessing, or the priests themselves neglect it; sometimes this is done out of inattention, and sometimes - oh horror! - from false, damned shame. Are you ashamed of the cross, beloved, who is our praise and glory? I warn you in good time: even the Son of man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels 110. Beloved! Let us always honor the cross of the Lord with faith and love: and it will be our friend, a savior not in itself, but by the power of Him Crucified on it. Amen Homily for the fourth week of Lent Today, beloved brothers and sisters, the Gospel story from Mark was read about Jesus Christ’s healing of a demon-possessed deaf and dumb boy, for whom his father prayed, through the expulsion of the evil unclean spirit that was causing the unfortunate youth deafness and dumbness. The spirit is dumb and deaf! - the Lord said to the unclean one, - I command you, come out of him, and do not enter him from now on. And crying out and shaking him violently, the evil spirit came out; and the boy became as if dead, so that many said that he had died. But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up; and he stood up. But listen, how angry the demon who tormented the boy was. The father of this youth told the Lord that wherever the demon grabbed him, he threw him to the ground, and the unfortunate man foamed at the mouth, gnashed his teeth, and became completely numb. The same happened the time his father brought him to the Savior. And when the Lord asked the father, as if not knowing, although, like God, he knew everything: How long ago did this happen to him? He said that since childhood, and added that the demon had thrown him into fire and water many times to destroy him; and asked the Lord to have mercy on him and his son, and to help, if he could. Jesus said to him: If you can believe a little, all things are possible to him who believes. And the unfortunate father of little faith exclaimed with tears: I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief. You see what power the Lord attributes to faith and to the believer: all things are possible to the believer, He says. A believer can cast out demons and heal all kinds of diseases. And how powerless and pitiful is the unbeliever! He cannot control himself and cannot overcome his sins, but, like a slave, he serves them and is tormented by them. Since the unfortunate father first brought his demon-possessed son to the apostles and they could not cast this demon out of him, they privately asked the Lord: why could we not cast him out? The Lord said to them: this generation cannot come out except through prayer and fasting 111. This is praise from the Lord for fasting and prayer. This is the Gospel basis for fasting. Why did those who call themselves followers of the Gospel banish fasting from the community, as if it were unnecessary! Is it not because passions and iniquities and demoniacs of various kinds have multiplied among us now that some of the Christians have broken off the union with the Church and rejected prayer and fasting as unnecessary work and live like dumb animals, driven only by various lusts, while others - in their anger, foaming at the mouth, like true demoniacs, rushed to all sorts of atrocities: murders, suicides, arson, mines, explosions, etc. Yes, beloved brothers and sisters, such people have reached such a terrible frenzy precisely because of unbelief, intemperance, uncleanness and all the harmful consequences of this unbelief. The meek Evangelical faith does not preach murder, regicide, undermining and explosions - it says: let every soul obey those in power. There is no power that is not from God: the existing authorities are created by God, and that we must obey them not only out of fear, but also out of conscience 112, and commands us to pray for the king and for everyone who is honored by power, so that we may live a quiet and silent life in all piety and purity 113. Lord, enlighten the eyes of these unfortunate demoniacs of our ill-fated times, blinded by malice, who are rebelling against the God-appointed authorities, so that they may know what a terrible abyss they are digging under themselves, what a terrible hellish abyss they are ready to fall into. In the old pre-Christian times, some unfortunate Jews rebelled against the established authorities - against Moses and Aaron, reproaching them for imaginary lust for power, and only grumbled: and what befell them, what punishment of God? - The earth opened up under them, and - they descended alive into hell with their families; and others, less guilty, were burned by fire emanating from the church 114. That's how serious a sin it is - rebellion against your superiors. What awaits our nihilists, what is God's judgment? The more terrible they are, the more they trample on the gifts of God. For who are our nihilists and terrorists? Baptized people, Christians, reach such fury - such murders and suicides, such satanic atrocities! Oh, why were they born? Why didn't they die in their mother's womb? It would be better if they were not born. It is so ungrateful, so vicious, so insane to trample on the gifts of God - the grace of baptism, confirmation, communion of the body and blood of the Lord - this is truly terrible! Oh, unfortunate parents of such children! What a shame they must endure. Brothers and sisters! Let us with all our hearts cling to the faith and the Church of God, this only saving ark, saving from the worldwide fiery flood, which in due time will befall all the lawless. Let us adhere to the sacred institutions of the Church, which lead us to salvation, let us consistently fast and pray, and be zealous in the service of God! The devil, the enemy of our salvation, does not sleep, but like a roaring lion, he walks around us, looking for someone to devour 115 and - how many he has devoured! Fasting and prayer with zeal, with humility, with faith and love are a powerful weapon against the devil, against all the passions that war within us. Amen Sermon for the fifth week of Lent The Son of Man did not come and let them serve Him, but let Him serve and give His soul redemption for much (Mark 10:45) The memorable days of the world-saving sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ will soon come, and on this Sunday the Church has decided to read the Gospel, in which the Lord predicted His future sufferings as if they were present. Namely, He said: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and beat Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him; and on the third day he will rise 116. So the Lord knew in advance everything that would happen to Him in Jerusalem - all the details of His humiliation, His suffering and death, and did not shy away from them, but cheerfully and cheerfully went to drink the bitter cup of suffering for the world and for the ungrateful Jews themselves who crucified Him, in order to serve the common salvation of all. Oh, immeasurable love! oh, immeasurable condescension! oh, wonderful patience! The entire life of Jesus Christ, from infancy to death on the cross and resurrection, is His wonderful, most loving service to the salvation of the human race. But even since His ascension into heaven, when He sat down at the right hand of God the Father, hitherto the Lord, who reigned over all languages, has served the salvation of the human race, especially the Christian race, as He Himself said: Behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age 117, or - in the Gospel now read: The Son of man did not come, let them serve Him, but let Him serve and give His soul deliverance for many 118. He still cleanses, regenerates and renews us in holy baptism; sanctifies and confirms by the grace of the Holy Spirit in confirmation; He officiates in the liturgy as an eternal High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, and gives His most pure Body and Blood under the image of bread and wine; in repentance - He Himself listens to our repentance and forgives the sins of those who sincerely repent; in the priesthood, hierarchy or shepherding, He Himself enlightens, shepherds, guides, judges and punishes His spiritually verbal sheep; in marriage - blesses the marital union of husband and wife for the blessed birth and upbringing of children; in the consecration of oil, as a Physician of souls and bodies, he heals spiritual and physical infirmities. Every service He is present with us invisibly, according to His own promise: where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them 119, and accepts our service and Himself miraculously, effectively, tangibly serves our salvation, producing in us wondrous divine powers that destroy the iron bonds and shackles of sin and spiritual death, healing infirmities, redeeming us every day for repentance and faith from immeasurable sins, sweetly reviving souls satiated with the bitterness of sin. We are now in Lent, which lasts forty days. What is this Lent? He is a precious gift to us from our Savior, Who Himself fasted for forty days and nights, neither eating nor drinking - a truly precious gift for all who seek salvation, as a mortifier of spiritual passions. By His word and example, the Lord legitimized it to His followers. And with what love, with what divine powers of grace the Lord serves all those who truly fast! He enlightens them, purifies them, renews them, strengthens them in the fight against passions and invisible enemies - with the principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age 120; teaches every virtue and leads to perfection, to incorruption and heavenly bliss. All who truly fast have experienced and are experiencing this. Fasting with prayer is a sure weapon against the devil and the multi-passionate flesh. Let no one pretend that fasting is not necessary. – But then come the days of suffering, the passion of the Lord? – This is the last perfect sacrifice of our Savior for the sins of the world, culminating in His death on the cross, before which He exclaimed: it is finished! 121 This is His last, final service on earth to our salvation, so that through His suffering and death we could get rid of righteous, eternal torment for our sins, - so that He could give us His most pure, long-suffering body and His most pure blood, shed for us, for food and drink - for cleansing, sanctification, revitalization and renewal of ours - in order to clothe us with His righteousness, His merits, to deify and bless us forever. Oh, if only it were so! If only they would always look at His sufferings in this way and internalize them with faith and love! If only they would crucify themselves with Him, crucifying themselves to the world and passions! – Or, the liturgy is celebrated almost all year round. What is liturgy? It is the Lord’s daily service to our salvation and the salvation of the world - for everyone and for everything. He Himself serves for us and with us in the liturgy, celebrating the Sacrament of His body and blood. He has hitherto been slain for us, remaining Himself unslain in His incorruptible, deified flesh; pours out His blood, breaks His body and gives them to us for the remission of sins, for sanctification and for eternal life; His living and life-giving blood still smokes on the altars of Orthodox Christian churches! Oh, wonderful divine gift of love! Oh, the bliss of true Christians! Thus, the Lord still serves your salvation in diverse and life-giving ways. But He left us an image, an example, so that we too could serve each other with love. He said: whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave 122. So each of us, my brothers, must serve each other with our talents, abilities, strengths, our official position, property, education - and not only to please ourselves. This is how the king and the government serve the people, taking care of their enlightenment; the direction of his moral and physical forces, about his agricultural and economic life. Shepherds serve their flock, or should serve as a good example of Christian virtues, with a word of teaching and edification, reverently performing the sacraments, - the saving guidance of their flock to a virtuous life and to salvation in God; educated people, leaders and mentors, authors, writers, in general, the press - must serve for the glory of God and the benefit of the people or those entrusted to their leadership - with their educational influence on the basis of the Christian Orthodox Church. Rich people should serve the poor, not parasites, of course, who do not want to work, but want to eat bread for nothing, for if someone does not want to work, he does not eat, 123, says the Apostle, but to those poor who would like to, but cannot work, or whose work does not work at all, the work is exhausting and thankless, or to those who cannot get work anywhere. We are all members of each other in Christ, both by faith, and by duty, and by the conviction of mind and heart, we must serve each other in whatever way anyone can; - yes, brothers - to serve your neighbors, and not to live only for yourself, not only for your own pleasures, - not only to collect for yourself, not to spend time in idleness and laziness, not to consider life a toy or just a chain of games and pleasures. It would not be Christianity, but paganism. We are strong, we must endure the weaknesses of the powerless, and not please ourselves. Each of us must please our neighbor for good and edification 124. Serving our neighbors, of course, cannot be without self-sacrifice and the cross, and the greater and higher the good we sometimes deliver to our neighbors, the more difficult the cross often is, for example, the cross of ingratitude and malice from those who have benefited. Such is the cross of our good and beloved Sovereign. But one should not become discouraged because of this, become sad beyond measure and give up the work of ministry. For whose cross was heavier than the cross of Christ, which he endured for us? May the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who terribly exhausted Himself for us, serve as a strong motivation for us not to be afraid and not to run away from self-sacrifice and for the common good. And this selflessness and this good are so needed especially now, in view of so many great adversities and misfortunes of our people, although religious and kind, but uneducated, sometimes superstitious, riotous, careless, often short-sighted - free, but not yet learned to understand and appreciate the gift of true freedom. But in order to sincerely serve your neighbors, for this you must certainly stop serving your passions, you need self-sacrifice; for passions do not allow one to sincerely and diligently serve one’s neighbors, but teach one to please only oneself. Amen. Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your king comes to you meek, sitting on a donkey and the colt of a donkey who is under the yoke (Matthew 21:5) Going on a free, world-saving passion to Jerusalem, the Lord wanted to visit His sick friend Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary along the way, and since by Divine omniscience he foresaw his death, to perform his glorious resurrection from the dead as an assurance of the general resurrection of the entire human race. The miracle of the resurrection of a four-day-old dead man, who had already given himself over to decomposition, most of all miracles glorified Jesus Christ as the Messiah and the Conqueror of the universal death of man, and was the reason for His enthusiastic meeting by the inhabitants and strangers of Jerusalem who had gathered for the holiday of the Jewish Passover. But in the high priests, scribes and Pharisees it aroused terrible envy and malice, and they decided to finally put to death the One who exposed their vices, and who came to put to death our very death. The crucifiers did not know that they were crucifying their Benefactor, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world 125 and the sins of themselves - who prayed to the Father: Father, let them go: for they do not know what they are doing 126. And all the blasphemers of today, like Leo Tolstoy and his comrades, know the Savior of the world, preached and accepted by faith throughout the world, but in their pride they want to laugh at the common belief and blaspheme Him, and if they do not believe and convert, then all evil will perish 127. Since today St. The Church solemnly and commemoratively celebrates the entry of the Savior on a young donkey who did not wear any yoke in St. city of Jerusalem, with the joyful jubilation of the people and especially the children - then let's talk about what this extraordinary and apparently strange entry into Jerusalem on a donkey and colt, and not on a horse, as was customary with eastern kings and victors, meant, what this joy and jubilation of the people and especially the kind-hearted children who glorified the Lord meant - and how the all-evil hell inspired wicked people to kill the Life-Giver and Lord, not foreseeing that Christ, killed by him in the flesh, will thrust His wooden spear, that is, His cross, into his hellish belly and perforate it with mortal, eternal perforation, and deliver the souls absorbed by him from his all-consuming belly. Let's hear how St. Evangelist Matthew describes the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. When Christ, His disciples and the people approached Jerusalem and came to Bethany to the Mount of Olives, “Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: go to the village that is right in front of you; and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; having untied them, bring them to me, and if anyone says anything to you, answer that the Lord needs them; and he will send them forthwith. Nevertheless, this happened, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken through the prophet, who says, Say to the daughter of Zion: Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, meek, riding on a donkey and on the colt of a donkey who has been yoked 128 . The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought a donkey and a colt, and put their clothes on them, and He sat on top of them. Many people spread their clothes along the road, and others cut branches from trees and spread them along the road. The people preceding and accompanying exclaimed: Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city began to stir, and said: Who is this? And the people said: This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus entered the church of God... and the lame and the blind came to Him, and He healed them. When the high priests and scribes saw the miracles that He performed, and the children shouting in the church and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David! were indignant. And they said to Him: Do you hear what they say? Jesus says to them: Yes! Haven’t you ever read: from the mouths of babes and sucklings You gave praise 129, leaving them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there” 130. Here is a description of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem. Why, contrary to all custom, did Jesus Christ enter Jerusalem not on a horse, but on a donkey and a colt? – The mind of God is visible here. The Lord teaches us not only with words, but also with animate and inanimate objects. So He cursed the barren fig tree to expose the barrenness of the Jews and Judas the traitor; here He sits on a donkey and a colt as a sign that He will bring the pagan peoples, who did not know the yoke of the law of Moses, into the knowledge of His power and His eternal kingdom, instead of the Jewish people who had fallen away from God, and when the full number of pagans enters the Church of Christ, then the Jews will turn to Christ. So, entering Jerusalem on a donkey and colt had a mysterious meaning - namely the conversion of the pagans, among whom we Russians were called. As for the rejoicing of the people and children, who greeted with joy the Lord coming on a donkey, this common joy came from the delight that filled their hearts on the occasion of the resurrection of the four-day-old Lazarus from the tomb and surprise at the Divine Wonderworker; and through the mouths of gentle children praising the Lord, the Holy Spirit spoke. The Lord’s entry into Jerusalem had a completely opposite effect on the proud and envious Pharisees, giving them a feeling of extreme envy and malice, and they decided to kill Him. It seems that from that time on, all hell descended upon them. Passions blind a person and he himself does not know what he is doing - the most absurd and reckless things, as the One Crucified by them on the Cross Himself said about this. Father, let them go, they don’t see what they are doing. Christ came, as the immortal God, to kill the death that was devouring the human race and to grant us immortality by His victory over death - and His enemies killed Him Himself according to the flesh, delivering through this, without knowing, without knowing, the greatest good to the human race - and without a doubt, they too would have been forgiven by the Lamb of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the world, if they had repented of their Deicide. Wonderful are Your works, O Lord! Hell, in its blind, boundless malice, moved all its strength in the high priests, scribes and Pharisees to kill Christ, having seduced by the love of money and one of the apostles of Christ to betray the Life of all to death, and by the permission of God, in fulfillment of the wise and eternal Council of God about the salvation of the human race by the death of Christ, - achieved its hellish efforts, killed the flesh of the Life-Giver - but, First of all, he destroyed himself, and if he had known about the consequences of Christ’s suffering and death for his hellish kingdom, he would have used every effort to prevent Him from suffering and death. The Cross and death of the Life-Giver destroyed the power and kingdom of Satan, and he gave all the souls he had absorbed to the Deliverer of our race who had captured hell. This victory over hell of Christ crucified is so sung by the Church: Pilate erected three crosses on Calvary: two of thieves and one of the Giver of Life; hell, seeing Him, let out a desperate cry and exclaimed to its servants - the demonic hordes: “Oh, my servants and my powers! Who, having driven nails into my heart, suddenly pierced me with a wooden spear; I am torn to pieces, there is terrible pain in my insides, I am wounded in the womb, my feelings confuse my spirit and I am forced to vomit out Adam and all those who came from him, betrayed to me through eating from the forbidden tree; for the tree of the cross leads them again into paradise 131.” This is what hell did to its damned head, bringing Christ to death on the cross. Christ crushed his power and plundered all his self-interest; all his multi-human wealth, as the Holy Church testifies to this in its Sunday services. So, let us all exclaim to the Conqueror of death, Christ the Giver of Life: blessed is He who came to our free passion for the sake of salvation and, through His suffering on the cross and His death, conquered our death and granted to all the resurrection, which will take place on the last day of the world. Having the time given to us for the exploits of correcting our lives and all virtues, let us take care to overcome the passions of the flesh and spirit and decorate our souls with mercy towards our neighbors, meekness, humility, obedience, patience, long-suffering, abstinence, purity and chastity. Amen. What fruits does the Lord expect from us? Conversation on Holy Monday Today, beloved brethren, at the morning service three parables were read: the first - about the barren fig tree, the second - about a father who had two sons; one to his father’s request: child, go today, work in my vineyard, he answered: I don’t want to, and then he changed his mind and went; another, in response to the same request, said, “I’m going,” but he didn’t go; and, finally, the third parable is about a homely man who, having a vineyard, surrounded it with a fence, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, gave it to the workers and left, and then, when the time came for harvesting the fruits, he sent his servants to the workers of the vineyard to receive the fruits. The workers, in their bitterness, beat some of the slaves, killed others, and finally killed His Only Begotten Son 132. Let's talk this time about the first parable. “Having spent the night in the village of Bethany, in the morning the Lord,” says the Evangelist Matthew, “returning to the city of Jerusalem, became hungry; and seeing a fig tree along the road, he approached it and, finding nothing on it except some leaves, said to it: Let there be no fruit from you henceforth forever. And the fig tree immediately withered. Seeing this, the disciples were surprised and said: How did the fig tree suddenly wither? Jesus answered and said to them: Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen; and whatever you ask in prayer in faith, you will receive.” A barren fig tree by the road with only leaves is me and you, beloved brother and sister. The Planter of our life, the Lord Jesus Christ, hungry for our salvation, often comes to you and me, early and late, to satisfy the hunger of our soul, to become the bread of life for it. And - alas, almost always finds in us only worries about everyday things - only leaves; The fruits of faith, all-powerful care for the salvation of our souls are not in us, just as there is no. Meanwhile, each of us was planted on earth to bear spiritual fruit. What are these particular fruits that every person, especially a Christian, should bear? To this the holy Apostle answers this way: spiritual fruit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, mercy, faith, meekness, self-control 133. Here, brother and sister, what fruits should we certainly bring to the Planter of our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ, every day. Now look, everyone: are you a fruitful fig tree or a barren one? If you are fruitful well, continue to bear fruit, so that He may nourish you with it in eternity; if - barren, tremble: You are threatened by the curse of the Lord of your life, and perhaps very soon He will say to you: let there be no fruit from you forever. And you will immediately dry up; all your spiritual powers will die out; Your faith, hope and love will completely dry up, and every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into eternal fire 134. These words are true and clear as day. They will be fulfilled without fail, for heaven and earth will pass away, just as days, months, and years pass by, but the words of the Lord will not pass away 135. So, brother and sister, ask yourself: do you daily bring to the Lord of your life the fruits of good deeds, and most importantly, do you have the queen of virtues - love - ardent love for your Creator and love for your neighbor as for yourself? Do you want to know what deeds love shows itself to be? The holy Apostle Paul will answer you for me: love is patient, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. He covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never fails. Love is so necessary for a Christian that if he speaks all the languages ​​of men and angels, but does not have love; then he is like ringing brass, with all his eloquence and verbosity, or like a sounding cymbal. If he has the gift of prophecy and knows all the secrets and meaning of all the scriptures, and even, what is most amazing, if he has all the faith, so that mountains will move from place to place from his words, but has no love; then he is nothing: all his knowledge is in vain, all his labors without love 136. Why do we need love so much? Because God Himself is love, 137 and we are created in His image, and God abides in the Christian man. Or do you not know that Christ is in you; unless you are inexperienced 138. Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you 139? Whoever has ardent love for God and neighbor has in his soul other fruits enumerated by the Apostle, joy in the Holy Spirit, peace, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, faith: for in love, as in a seed, all virtues are contained: for where there is love, there is God, all-perfect perfection, eternal kindness, infinite goodness, infinite omnipotence. He who has ardent love for God also has such faith that he can move mountains, as the Lord said: and whatever he asks in prayer with faith, he will receive 140. So, if we do not want to dry up like the fig tree cursed by the Lord or like the grass and be thrown into eternal fire, let us try, beloved brethren, to bring the fruits of good deeds to the Planter of our lives, while we have time, strength, means, and opportunity. Perhaps the time will come when you would like to do good, but it will be impossible. Now is the time, imams, let us do good to everyone, especially to those close to us in the faith 141. Amen. Our sacrifice to the suffering Lord Brothers! This day is the day of betrayal of the suffering and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Faithful souls who know how to appreciate and feel the greatest self-sacrifice for our salvation, our common Lord and friend! Mainly from this day forward, guard your heart in the most careful way for Him alone and do not let anything worldly, corruptible, or any passion take possession of you. Prove that you also know how to respond to love with love, that you are true Christians and out of love for Christ you can watch with Him, that is, watch over your heart, in the days in which He alone drank the cup of heavenly wrath for us. Bring by faith into your hearts Christ the Lord, who suffers for us, suffer there - in your heart - together with Him; Bring your sins to memory, lament and, if you can, cry for them. Cry to yourself 142, says the Lord. Send your sighs and tears to Christ, and this will be the most pleasant sacrifice to the Lord who suffers for us: you will soon feel in your heart His favor towards you for your heartfelt gift: peace in your soul that surpasses all understanding 143, and heavenly quiet joy will tell you that your sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart is not humiliated, but accepted by the Lord into the heavenly and His mental altar. Having cleansed yourself from sins this evening in the sacrament of repentance, if anyone has not yet cleansed yourself before, tomorrow you will be worthy to partake of His body and blood: may this Vespers of love unite you with Him who commanded it to be celebrated in His remembrance, may it always remind you of His boundless love for us and may it give you the strength to spend the coming great days holy, in the spirit of fiery love for the Lord, who laid down His soul for us. Amen. He hangs on a tree, like him who hung the earth on the waters (Antif. 15, service on Great Friday Matins) Here hangs on the cross the One who hung the earth on the waters, that is, the Lord Almighty, who created heaven and earth with His omnipotent word and with His omnipotent hand contains all immeasurable creation, visible and invisible. What humiliation, dishonor, weakness, suffering, mortal sorrow and death on the one hand! On the other hand, what terrible, incomparable greatness, omnipotence, splendor, immeasurable goodness, infinite holiness and truth, seeking justice and truth from all rational creatures, and with His Theanthropic passions redeeming and consuming all the untruths of men for faith and repentance! Let us delve into the meaning of the Sacrament of the Cross. Out of immeasurable goodness, the Lord created man with immeasurably great advantages over all earthly creatures, in His image and likeness, endowing him with a rational, free, immortal soul, entering with him into a covenant of faith and keeping the commandments of God. For observing them, a person is promised eternal bliss in heaven. The first people faced the test of fulfilling this easy commandment; its gradual implementation was supposed to strengthen all human powers - mind, heart and will - in obedience to the Creator - and convince Adam and Eve of the need to obey the Creator for the good of them and their offspring, and protect them from the abysses and troubles of self-will and disobedience. The covenant was boldly and ungratefully broken by the first couple and the terrible corruption of sin and corruption infected Adam and Eve, and - since they carried in their loins the entire human race that came from them, this infection spread to all humanity - just as we see this to this day on ourselves and on all people. Through the violation of the covenant, humanity rejected God, the Source of life, enslaved itself to the enemy of God, the enemy of all righteousness and truth, combined, dissolved with the all-evil and all-evil nature of the devil, and was subjected to the curse of God and temporary and eternal death. But, since the fall of the first people was not invented by them, but by a fallen being, incorporeal and rational, strong in malice and deceit - the devil, and was accomplished through the deception of the inexperienced primordial couple from him, and therefore was not as deep as the fall of Dennitsa, then the truth and mercy of God allowed the restoration and redemption of fallen man and the elevation to the first goodness and wealth - and in the eternal Council It was determined by God - to redeem the fallen human race through the incarnation of the Son of God and His doing all the righteousness of God, through His redemptive, voluntary suffering on the cross, through His free death for the guilty, and - out of His immeasurable goodness and compassion for the fallen - He took upon Himself the heavy burden of redemption and said to His Father: Behold, I come... to do Thy will, O God 144. This is the greatest and saving Mystery of the Cross! This is the explanation why the One who hung the earth on the waters, who holds heaven and earth with the palm of His hand, who created all the heavenly bodies and gave firm laws to all the stars, hangs before our eyes. For the immeasurable sins of man, an immeasurably great Sacrifice was offered, for those who sold themselves to the enemy - the devil - an infinitely great ransom - voluntary suffering in the flesh of the Life-Giver Himself and the death of the Sinless One. Ask: how could the sinless and impassive God-man suffer and die - not involved in a single sin? After all, suffering is characteristic of a sinful person and death cannot have power over a sinless person, since death is the consequence of sin and the punishment for sin is the death of sin, 145, says Holy Scripture. - But Christ suffered not with the Divine nature, which is not subject to suffering, but with the human nature - and died in the body, and not in the Divinity, and accepted suffering and death voluntarily, for our redemption and for victory over the universal death of men, otherwise suffering and death could not have touched His Theanthropic soul and body. Oh, the depth of the wisdom and intelligence of God in the redemption of fallen man! Oh, the immeasurable love of God for the sinful world! Now is the time to bring the divinely inspired words of the Evangelist John the Theologian: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life... For he who believes in the Son is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God 146. Now all of us who believe in Him are healed by His stripes, according to the word of the prophet Isaiah, from the fierce, malignant, mortal plague of sin, and just as the Jews wandering in the desert of Arabia, wounded by snakes for their murmur against God, were healed when they looked with faith at the copper serpent hanging on a tree, so we are healed every time when wounded by any sin, with faith and repentance we resort to Him Crucified on the Cross, who remains with us invisibly until the end of time and tangibly - in the Holy Mysteries - His Flesh, broken for us and in the Blood shed for us on the Cross: for this mysterious Flesh and Blood is one and the same with the flesh and blood of Christ that were visible on the Cross. - How can we repay You, Christ God, who suffered for us and redeemed us with the Cross and His death? -What kind of thanksgiving will we bring? Everything we have is Your gift, except for sin. But let's see how modern humanity relates to Christ and the Cross, or - let's take a smaller horizon: how Russian people or - so-called - intelligent people relate to Christ and his Church, which He loved with eternal love and gave Himself for it, and in which He placed all the treasures and all the pledges of His love, all the saving treasures of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the treasures of truth, righteousness, redemption, sanctification, renewal, power, deification and immortality? – The majority - with complete disregard, to a lesser extent - with indifference, and many even arm themselves with hatred and blasphemy against the Holy Church and Her servants; and pictorial art, according to the thought and inspiration of the famous apostate and blasphemer Leo Tolstoy, dared to depict Christ in the picture in full height not as a God-man, but as a simple man, and exposed it to disgrace for everyone, just as on Golgotha ​​the Jews hanged Christ nailed to the cross. – What is the modern Russian intelligentsia like, having renounced Christ along with their false teacher? Isn’t this a new Calvary reproach contemporary to us and is it possible, in view of the Calvary Sacrifice, to refrain from publicly denouncing modern blasphemers and renegades from Christ and from the Church, who are attempting to overthrow the royal thrones and the Churches of God, and to kill the faithful servants of the king, the devoted sons of the church and the fatherland? And we boldly denounce this unbelief and madness - this modern rage of frantic and violent youth, called educated, but in no way educated in the rules of faith and Christian piety and civic honor and valor. The Lord sees everything that is happening in our fatherland, as well as throughout the whole earth, and will soon pronounce His righteous judgment on the impudent and treacherous, breathing malice and murder against all honest servants of the church, the tsar and the fatherland. God! May Your Blood cry out against all seditious people, and may He reward them with righteous vengeance! But if they are still capable of admonition, admonish them: they do not know what they are doing. Amen. Sermon for the Day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Since time immemorial the mystery has been revealed today, and the Son of God, the Son of man, is born; man is God, so that he can make Adam God (Verse on praise, voice 2) A wondrous mystery, unimaginable by the minds of mortals, is remembered and celebrated today by the Holy Church: the incarnation and incarnation of the Creator of centuries and worlds - the Son of God. The incontainable God is contained in the pure womb of the Virgin Mary; the ethereal incarnates; the beginningless begins; the impregnable becomes approachable; The Word perceives the flesh; the infinitely great is diminished, and the boundless is defined; God merges with people and is not ashamed to call them on the brethren 147. Thus, from the ages, from the beginning, a mystery hidden and unknown to the angels is now revealed and the Son of God becomes the Son of man, so that, having accepted the worst, that is, our nature, he can give us an incomparably better one - sanctification, renewal and deification. It is timely to exclaim in delight: let the creature rejoice, let all nature celebrate joyfully, that is, both the entire human race, awarded such honor from God, and all creation, heaven and earth, seeing God, who, out of immeasurable compassion, descended to the creature and took upon Himself the nature of the creature, for the sake of its salvation. Oh, an incomprehensible mystery, a joyful mystery that delights every spiritually aware soul, but at the same time a terrible mystery! For the reason for such condescension, such exhaustion, is our sins. Only the all-good, all-wise and all-powerful God could have invented such an extraordinary means for the salvation of a lost person and thus humbled Himself in order to heal us by His example from pride and all sins and teach us humility and obedience and all virtue. A mystery, I say, joyful and delightful to the soul! How we are all, brothers and sisters, honored by the incarnation of the Son of God from the Most Pure Virgin, exalted, joyful, comforted! God is with us: He became our Intercessor, Redeemer, Savior; The Mother of God became our Mother by grace, Intercessor, Intercessor, Protector. Imagine what would happen to people if the Son of God had not condescended so wondrously and so kindly to us, darkened sinners, thousands of times ill-fated because of sin and enmity with God! How poor, pitiful, joyless, inconsolable humanity would be in the face of its countless misfortunes! And now, what an everlasting consolation for believers and those who repent in the Son of God incarnate for our sake! He is the hope, purification, sanctification and salvation of all repentant sinners; protection of the offended; comfort to all those who mourn; encouragement to the discouraged; peace for the weary and burdened; the reward of those who struggle, the light of those who are darkened; strength of the weak; helper in good works; companion in spiritual warfare; the joy of all the righteous; eternal life for all who believe in Him; Believe in Me, even if you die, you will live 148, says the Lord. But the incarnation of the Son of God is both a terrible and instructive mystery, if we think about what reduced the Son of God to such self-exhaustion, and to which we, people, are called and committed by the incarnation of the Son of God. On the part of God, the reason for the incarnation was infinite love for us, His creatures, the love of the Prototype for His living, verbal image, fallen, perishing, for we are His image; and on our side - our sins, our terrible fall; our inevitable eternal destruction. So, what is required of us by the incarnation of the Son of God? Immediate, sincere, unfeigned and firm repentance of all sins, correction of the heart and a righteous, holy life. Be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God 149. Depart from the midst of the corrupt and separate yourself, and do not touch uncleanness: and I will receive you, and I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty 150. What exactly is this that the Lord Jesus Christ requires of us, i.e. holiness and truth, you can be convinced of this every day by the very prayer of the Lord, Our Father, in which He, the Lord, teaches us, first of all, to pray that we should live holy and righteously according to the will of God, and not according to our own: Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth 151. So, this is the indispensable duty that the incarnation of the Son of God imposes on us, brothers and sisters: to live righteously and holy, reverently and honestly, and to shun all sin, all unrighteousness and impurity. Otherwise, we will be unworthy of the Son of God and His kingdom and will prepare ourselves for the gravest condemnation both here and in eternity. Amen. Word for Holy Easter Greetings to you, dear brothers and sisters, on the bright feast of the Resurrection of Christ from the dead! Rejoice, and I will say again: rejoice. For greater joy, let us listen to the Angel of the Lord, who also appeared to the myrrh-bearers at the tomb of the Savior in the form of shining like lightning - and preached to them about the Resurrection of Christ. When they were in awe of his very shining appearance, he encouraged them and said: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus crucified. He's not here; He rose again, as he said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and is going before you to Galilee; you will see Him there. Here I told you. And, hastily emerging from the tomb, they ran with fear and great joy to tell His disciples. When they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them and said: Rejoice! And they came forward, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus says to them: Do not be afraid; go, tell my brothers that they will go to Galilee, and there they will see me... The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus commanded them. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; and others doubted. And Jesus approached and said to them: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Here is the end of the story of the Evangelist Matthew about the resurrection and appearance of the Lord. Dear brothers and sisters! Christ, having risen from the dead, no longer dies: death no longer has power over Him. For that He died, He died once in the flesh for the destruction of sin, for our redemption from death; and what he lives, he lives for God. So consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God to all virtue in Christ Jesus our Lord 152. Christ rose from the dead, the Firstborn of the dead. For as death was through man (Adam), so through man (the God-man Christ) was the resurrection of the dead. Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will come to life 153. So, the truth, the reality of our future resurrection from the dead through the resurrection of Christ from the dead has become obvious, clear as day, and the purpose of our earthly life is indicated clearly and definitely: we must live for God, for good deeds, for mutual love and die for sin, that is, sin must lose all power, all vitality and effectiveness in us; we must live on earth for heaven, for God, for eternal life, which is so clearly indicated to us by the resurrection of Christ; to live only this life and for this soon-disappearing life, for flesh and blood, is a dream, nonsense, a waste of time and energy, countless harm and opposition to our Creator and God, who clearly indicated our purpose. If you have been raised with Christ, then seek those things that are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, your life, appears, then you will appear with Him in glory 154. After this, what is earthly life for a faithful Christian? Constant preparation for the future; the incessant striving of the soul for the kingdom of God from this vain life, from the sin that constantly attacks us - impartiality to temporary goods and the use of them so much that they do not tie our heart to themselves and do not own it: Everything is permissible for me, says the apostle, but nothing should possess me 155. – Meanwhile, our earthly life is structured in such a way that earthly cares and concerns are almost always in the foreground, and this is not in accordance with the real purpose of our life. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all this, that is, earthly things, will be added to you 156, given as if in addition. What in the first Christian times, and even now, animated and animates faithful Christians in a holy, equal-angelic life? Confidence in the resurrection of the dead, in the future endless life and in rewarding everyone according to their deeds. What motivated and strengthened the martyrs in their firm determination to endure countless types of all kinds of torment for the name of Christ and to go cheerfully and cheerfully to death? – Confidence in the resurrection, judgment and retribution. They constantly had the words of Christ in their hearts: Through your patience, gain your souls 157 and the power of your head will not perish 158. What motivated and animated the Holy Fathers of our Holy Orthodox Church in the feats of prayer and fasting, in the struggle against passions, in the struggle against heretics for the Orthodoxy of our faith, for example, for the true teaching about the Holy Trinity and the union of two natures in Christ - Divine and Human, about the veneration of holy icons? – Firm conviction in the salvific nature of the Orthodox faith and in future reward. What animated and made wise the wondrous and sweet singers of our St. Church in the compilation of such and such wise, - leading to the delight of every believing soul - church songs, so diverse in name and content? What human poetry can compare with the wonderful heavenly, holy poetry of our God-inspired singers? Listen carefully with sensitive heartfelt and intelligent ears, for example, to Easter chants, in general to holiday and Sunday chants, and to all ordinary ones. What breathes in them, philosophizes, sings, plays spiritually and triumphs? Living, clairvoyant faith in the resurrection and in the future life and reward. The saints lived only in body on earth, but with soul and heart in heaven and with the inhabitants of heaven they had living communion, living in one spirit with them, and after their blessed death they entered into eternal blessed communion with them. Brothers and sisters, children of the resurrection and brethren and children of the risen Christ! May our joy in the resurrection be reasonable, deep, holy and active! May she also encourage us to love the Risen One, to a holy life and to mutual love. Amen So our feast of feasts has passed: the royal doors in the churches of the Lord are closed, and the service has become less solemn than it was on Bright Week. What, brothers, has this holiday left in our souls? After all, Christian holidays pass in their regular order before us not in order to leave our souls idle, but in order to abolish, free us from the worries and affairs of everyday vanity, in other words: the Lord gives us holidays for this reason, so that we temporarily stop thinking, caring, rejoicing or grieving about everyday things, about earthly, fleeting things, and think, care, and rejoice about heavenly, eternal things. This is precisely why the past holiday was given to us. The Lord has vouchsafed us to see the all-bright feast of the Resurrection of Christ, so that we may see in it the firstfruits of the general resurrection of the entire human race on the last day of the world: Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have died, 159 says the Word of God. For us, after all, the Lord suffered, died, was buried and rose again: and His death, burial and resurrection are, as it were, our own death, burial and resurrection. That is why we sang at matins on Bright Week: Yesterday I was buried by You, Christ, today I am resurrected by You 160. Yes, we will certainly all rise again, and we all expect, that is, we expect the resurrection of the dead. This is as certain as the fact that tomorrow will be a day. Has this ever occurred to you, have you thought about it during the holiday? But I definitely had to think about it. All great holidays are church holidays, and the holiday of Easter especially reminds us of our redemption through Jesus Christ from eternal death and of our resurrection for the life of the next century. But whoever believes in his resurrection from the dead prepares here for the future life, tries to live according to the commandments of the Lord, honors the Lord’s feasts and is extremely careful not to offend their holiness by deeds of carnal uncleanness. What did we do on this bright holiday, among us Orthodox Christians? And it’s shameful to talk; but it is necessary to speak. Out of the bright days of Easter week, Christians turned, to the greatest sorrow of the holy mother of the Church, into dark days, days worthy of tears and lamentation. Very many celebrated not the holiday of the Resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection from dead deeds, but the holiday of the demonic resurrection in their souls. Lent for the devil was defeat, death, because he ran away from many souls and, as it were, died for them after heartfelt repentance and communion of the Holy Mysteries; and on the feast of Easter he rose again in very many souls. How was he resurrected? Through satiety, drunkenness, riotousness and other vices to which drunkenness leads, and to which many Christians indulged. This is how Christians love Christ; This is how they celebrated the greatest holiday of the year! What benefit do such people have in the name of Christians? Many pagans live better than them and, without a doubt, are more worthy of them in the eyes of God. Gentiles and non-Orthodox people living in our city are surprised at their behavior on such a great holiday and say: here you are, Orthodox! They celebrate like true pagans, and what a holiday! This is what Gentiles and non-Orthodox people say about us. But what does the Lord Himself say about our holidays, or more precisely, about our celebration? My soul hates your holidays, and I will not endure a great day, says the Lord, so that I may be satisfied with those who will not tolerate your sins 161. Brethren! Who have we become like? How far have we forgotten? And the word of Scripture is fulfilled on us with all its power: This man is in honor without understanding, being likened to foolish cattle, and becoming like them 162. Christ the Lord honored us with His name, washed us with His blood, made us chosen people, with a holy tongue; but we have boldly, madly neglected the mercy of God and dishonored ourselves with various indecent acts. Do not flatter yourselves, brothers; neither drunkards, nor thieves, nor molesters, nor harlots, nor adulterers will inherit the kingdom of God 163. Yes, if you do not stop behaving this way, especially on holidays, which according to the commandment of the Lord must be kept holy, then you will not see the kingdom of God. Brethren! It is extremely necessary for us to be more prudent and more attentive to ourselves on the Lord’s feasts. The Lord will severely punish us for our unreasonable celebration. We must celebrate our holidays not according to the flesh, like idolaters, but according to the spirit, although physical celebration, if it happens together with the spiritual, is allowed and is not contrary to the Lord; but in this case it should never go beyond the bounds of moderation. God is Spirit 164 ; Our soul, redeemed by the Savior, is spirit: therefore our holidays should be more spiritual than carnal. He who celebrates only according to the flesh celebrates not God, but his idol, his womb, or, what is the same, the demon of intemperance. God save everyone from such holidays! An abundance of carnal foods is allowed to Christians on holidays for the glory of God so that we eat and drink with moderation, thanking God, who with spiritual joy sends us bodily consolation in the variety and sweetness of foods and drinks, so that our joy does not lack. But spiritual joy on a holiday should always be higher than physical joy; but with us it’s the other way around. It is said in the commandment of God: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy 165; in our New Testament language this means: remember Sunday, do not forget its holiness and try to sanctify it yourself with your good deeds. God! Grant us to always remember Your commandment about the celebration of holidays, to keep it sacred and to please You with spiritual celebration. Amen. How can we serve the Lord? Teaching on the Sunday of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Wives and Righteous Joseph Amen I say to you: Wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, it is said, and do this in memory of her (Matthew 26:13) This week, beloved, our holy mother Church remembers the holy myrrh-bearing women and the handsome Joseph, who took down the body of the Lord from the cross. How good it is to serve the Lord Almighty with all your heart, no matter what! What a reward this man receives from the generous God! The reward is within yourself - in your conscience, the reward outside of you - in the grateful memory of people, but what is higher and dearer than all is the reward in the memory, in the eternal memory of you of the Lord God Himself and in eternal glorification from Him in heaven! Here is an example from the Gospel story. Once, when our Savior was in Bethany - in the house of Simon the leper, a woman approached Him with a bottle of precious ointment, broke a vessel and poured ointment on His head, and anointed His feet, which she wiped with her hair. The whole house was filled with the fragrance of peace. When others were indignant at the waste of the precious ointment, the Lord praised her and said: She has done a good deed for Me: having poured this ointment on My body, she has thus prepared Me for burial. Truly I say to you: wherever this Gospel is preached throughout the whole world, what she has done will also be told in her memory. This prophecy of the Savior, as you see, is being fulfilled to this day throughout the whole world, wherever there are churches of the Lord; Every year her praiseworthy zeal for the Lord is praised aloud by the whole church and will be praised until the end of time. So, beloved, it is good to serve the Lord with all your heart, with great love! The memory of you will be preserved throughout all centuries until the end of the world! Your memory will be eternal in heaven; Eternal joy and glory to you in heaven! Moreover, even on earth it is so pleasant for you, as it is not pleasant for any of the people who do not serve the Lord with all their hearts. Proof of this are all the saints - apostles, prophets, saints, martyrs, saints and righteous ones. They served the Lord with all their hearts on earth - and from century to century they are glorified on earth; eternal glory to them in heaven. But let us move on to the myrrh-bearing women and to the handsome Joseph. All the holy myrrh-bearing wives, who came to the tomb of the Savior out of great love for Him - to anoint His buried life-giving body with aromas, are also glorified in all the churches of the universe - and also according to the dispensation of the Lord, who rewarded their love and zeal with eternal memory of them in people, but especially with His memory in His heavenly kingdom and eternal joys in heaven. The names of these holy women according to the Gospel are as follows: Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James the little and Josiah, Joanna, or Anna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, Salome and some others. But Saint Joseph the graceful, who served the Lord by removing His life-giving body from the cross, is also blessed with divine songs from year to year, from century to century, and will be blessed until the end of time throughout the whole earth, and, as you all see, his venerable name shines in golden letters on the Shroud of the Lord in all churches. How he shines in heaven, how he will shine at the second coming of the Lord to earth! How good it is to serve the Lord! The memory of the saints, who served Him with faith and love, passes and will pass from century to century, and no one will ever blot out, will be able to blot out their memory among people; and in heaven to them be glory eternal. What if for us, beloved; to participate in the glory of the holy myrrh-bearing women and in the glory of the holy righteous Joseph - what if we did something similar to what they did, if we also brought myrrh to the Lord, although not the same as the myrrh-bearers brought, but no less valuable; - What if we could do something similar to the work of the righteous Joseph? How glad we would be for this! After all, the Lord is the same yesterday and today, the same forever 167. It is possible, beloved, for us too, not just once or twice, but many times, to do deeds very similar to the deeds of the holy myrrh-bearers and righteous Joseph, and therefore we can expect a reward equal to them. In the Gospel of our Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ there are words that are very comforting for us, priceless for us, true, like her and amen - words: since you have made one of these least of my brothers, you have made me 168. What can we do for the lesser brothers of the Lord Jesus? – To feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked or those who do not have the necessary and decent clothing, to visit the sick, to help him recover, to visit prisoners in prison, to bury the dead in poverty 169, that is, our love for our neighbors - this is myrrh for the body of the Lord. Christians are His body. The Church is His body 170, says the apostle. This is where our world is. Let us take this myrrh to the least brethren of Christ, as if to the Lord Himself, and we will walk with it as long as there is breath in our mouths: and the Lord will certainly accept this spiritual myrrh into His heavenly and mental altar, into the stench of a spiritual fragrance and will reward us for it with His eternal memory and will accept us into the eternal peace and glory of His heavenly kingdom. Let us each do good deeds according to our strength, and whoever is deprived of the opportunity to do deeds of mercy, weep for his sins, for the fact that you often anger the Lord with them - and your tears will be peace for the Lord; It is as if you will anoint His body with them, and the fragrance from them will spill into your soul, and the Lord Himself will descend into it, and will smell the fragrance of your heartfelt contrition for your sins, and will give you forgiveness of sins, and will make you an heir of the kingdom of heaven, according to what is written: Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted 171 i.e. there, in heaven. I will also say something very comforting for the pious. Those of you who bury the dead in poverty and piety and pray for the repose of their souls - those, as if Christ Himself were taken down from the cross along with Joseph, as if His most pure body were buried, and they will be rewarded in heaven, and the Lord will say to them: since you have created only these least of these, you have created for Me; you have buried at your own expense such and such a poor and wretched person: you have done this to Me: come, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world 172 . This is the edification and consolation that the week of the myrrh-bearing women and righteous Joseph brings to us! Imitate the myrrh-bearers and righteous Joseph. Amen. A word a week about the paralytic This day the story from the Gospel of John was read about the healing by the word and command of Christ of the paralytic in Jerusalem, who was at the sheep pool. Here were “a great multitude of the sick, the blind, the lame, the withered, waiting for the movement of the water; for the Angel of the Lord from time to time went into the pool and disturbed the water, and whoever first entered it after the water was disturbed was healed, no matter what disease he was suffering from.” The paralytic healed by Jesus Christ remained at the designated font for thirty-eight years. “Jesus, seeing him lying,” the Evangelist narrates, “and learning that he had been lying there for a long time, said to him: Do you want to be healthy? The sick man answered Him: So Lord; but I do not have a person who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled; when I arrive, another has already descended before me. Jesus says to him: Get up, take up your mat and walk. And he immediately became well, and took up his bed and went. It was on the Sabbath day. Therefore the Jews said to the healed man: Today is Saturday; You shouldn't take the bed. He answered them: He who healed me said to me: take up your bed and walk. They asked him: Who is the man who said to you, “Take up your bed and walk?” The healed one did not know who He was, for Jesus hid himself among the people who were in that place. Then Jesus met him in the church and said to him: Behold, you are healed; Don’t sin anymore, lest something worse happen to you. This man went and announced to the Jews that the one who healed him was Jesus” 173. This Gospel presents us with many instructive and moral things. The miraculous font or bath in Jerusalem represented the Christian font of baptism, in which not one, not two, but all those immersed in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit according to the faith of them or their recipients receive healing from mental illnesses, that is, from sins; - and it is no longer the Angel of the Lord, but the Holy Spirit Himself, the life-giving Lord, descends into the font and sanctifies the water and gives it the grace of renewal, revitalization, healing of mental and physical ailments. Who interceded and gave us this font of grace for rebirth, cleansing and sanctification? - Jesus Christ. Without this font, we would be eternally indecent, unworthy not only of adoption by God, but also of the view of God; for the Lord God is the purest Spirit and abhors all uncleanness of sin. Let us all carefully preserve the spiritual robe of baptism, the robe of purity and incorruption, and the betrothal of the Holy Spirit, which we were awarded at baptism; and if we have already defiled this clothing with various sins and passions, then let us take care to cleanse ourselves with sincere repentance and spend the rest of our life in repentance and virtue and preparation for eternity; for we are all called by the Lord to holiness and righteousness 174 and to eternal life. The unfortunate paralytic was sick for thirty-eight years, lying on his bed, and could not be healed, because he was helpless and did not have a person who would immediately lower him into the pool when the water in it was disturbed by an Angel; Only the Lord, taking pity on him, immediately healed him, saying to him later: Behold, you have recovered, sin no more, lest anything worse happen to you. This paralytic person represents all of mankind, suffering from sin, who have suffered from sinful relaxation for so many thousands of years. Christ alone, God, the only righteous and holy one, who sacrificed Himself for us to God the Father to deliver us from sin, can heal us from sinful weaknesses, these forerunners of eternal death to which unrepentant sinners will be subjected; but for our complete healing from sin, He requires only perfect repentance, which, although it is a matter of our free will, is at the same time the greatest gift of God’s goodness to us. So, relaxed and depressed sinners, let us bring to God complete, sincere repentance, proven and justified by good works, so that we may be granted mental and physical health from Christ God, and most importantly, eternal well-being and bliss in the future life, for which we have been redeemed by the suffering and death of the Son of God. Only warm, ardent repentance cleanses sins and gives our heart health, peace, tranquility, light, strength and strength - boldness and joy; Only the lacrimal font heals us from the terrible, malignant disease of sin. Let us cry over our sins. God! Grant us tears that cleanse the filth of our hearts, 175 so that we may please You with them. What prevents you from repenting and shedding tears for your sins? These means of salvation are always with you, if only you have faith in Christ, trust in His mercy, invincible by all our sins. There is no need now to wait until the water in the pool is disturbed, and now this pool, which at one time was the image of our baptismal font and tearful font of repentance, no longer exists. Now you can be healed in your lacrimal font every day and hour as soon as you repent. Our sweetest Savior Himself stands at the doors of your heart and knocks on them, so that you will open the doors to Him through your repentance: and He will come to you and heal you, and strengthen and comfort you. “Behold, I stand at the door,” says the Lord, “and knock.” If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me 176. Glory to You, our all-merciful Savior, every day and hour, always now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. A Word a Week about the Samaritan Woman Jesus answered and said to her (the Samaritan woman): if you knew the gift of God, and who it is, say to you: Give me something to drink; you would have asked Him, and would have given you living water (John 4:10) Now, during the Liturgy, the Holy Gospel was read about the conversation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman from the city of Sychar about living water, or about the grace of the Holy Spirit, necessary for every person, - also about the worship of God in spirit and truth, and after the woman left - about the conversation of the Lord with His disciples about spiritual food, about spiritual fields and spiritual harvest. Today's Gospel, therefore, speaks of many spiritual subjects that are very important and instructive for each of us. Let us talk this time, with God’s help, although about the first two for our edification and salvation, that is, about living water and worshiping God in spirit and truth. For greater clarity and intelligibility of the conversation, let us repeat part of the Gospel we read. “The Lord comes,” says the holy Evangelist John the Theologian, “to the city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the plot of land given by Jacob to his son Joseph. There was Jacob's well. Jesus, weary from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about six o'clock (in our opinion, twelve to noon). A woman comes from Samaria to draw water. Jesus says to her: Give Me something to drink (for His disciples went into the city to buy food). The Samaritan woman said to Him: How can You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink? - for Jews do not communicate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her: If you knew the gift of God, and Who says to you: Give Me a drink, then you yourself would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. The woman says to Him: Master! You have nothing to draw from, but the well is deep: where do you get living water from? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and who drank from it, and his children and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her: Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again; and whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. The woman says to Him: Master! give me this water so that I won’t be thirsty and won’t have to come here to draw. Jesus says to her: Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered: I have no husband. Jesus says to her: You said the truth that you have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband; it's true what you said. The woman said to Him: Lord, I see that you are a prophet." 177 Here we will pause reading the Gospel and talk about what we read. In what simplicity we see here the God-man, the Creator of heaven and earth, holding all creation with his hand, the King of angels and men! Tired, like a man, of traveling across rocky ground under the hot, burning sun, he sits at the well and talks like a simple traveler with a woman, moreover, a Samaritan woman, according to the current name - a schismatic, and a sinner who had an unlawful partner. Having come to the world to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance, the Lord wants to convert this sinner to repentance, and through her, many of her compatriots, and what does the all-wise Creator and Savior of men, who became like us in everything except sin, do for this? Regarding the water-bearing, He begins to talk with the woman about living water, or about the grace of the Holy Spirit, cleansing sins, quenching the thirst of the immortal soul, scorched by sins, extinguishing the fire of passions and the fire of hell, reconciling the soul with God. And how wisely and at the same time simply He leads her to the consciousness of sins, the need for repentance and renewal of life; how wisely he leads her to faith in Him as the true Messiah! As the Knower of the Heart, knowing her entire past life, full of sins, the Lord carefully, gradually awakens her conscience and forces her to confess her sins and thus feel with all her heart her spiritual poverty and misfortune, the need for faith in the Messiah-Savior, the thirst for God’s mercy, the justification of God, the thirst for purity and chastity, the thirst for enduring, eternal life. And so the Samaritan woman was caught in the saving faith. She believed in Jesus Christ and attracted her fellow citizens to the faith; repented of her previous deeds, began a virtuous life and developed such a fiery, holy love for the Lord that, as sacred tradition tells, she was not afraid to later confess His name before Jews and pagans and endure many sufferings for His sake - and received the crown of martyrdom under the persecutor of Christians, the Roman Emperor Nero 178. Her name was Photina. So, the Samaritan woman was actually honored to receive from the Lord living water flowing into the eternal belly, or the grace of the Holy Spirit, which cleansed her from sins; quenching the thirst of her immortal soul, created in the image of God, pouring out into her heart a living faith and fiery love for the Lord, strengthening her in the confession of His holy name and in the terrible torment she endured for Him and making her a partaker of eternal life. Is it clear now, after all that has been said, that there is living water about which the Lord talked with the Samaritan woman at the well, and what saving effects it produced in us sinners? Living water, or the grace of God, is the saving power of God, acting in man for salvation through faith in Christ, disposing him to repentance and tenderness; - a power that confronts sin and conquers sin - a merciful, healing, cleansing, sanctifying, reconciling and uniting man with God, arousing and igniting the human heart with love for God and neighbor; - a power that enlightens, comforts and spiritually nourishes, recreates and renews, perfecting the whole person, in others - miracle-working and insight into the innermost and secret. A person who has found grace from God manifests it in himself through various virtues: living faith, hope and love, sincere constant repentance, deep humility, quietness and meekness towards everyone, gentleness, self-control, purity, righteousness, contemplation of God, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, obedience, patience, holy boldness and zeal for every virtue. The Holy Apostle Paul writes about grace to his disciple Titus, bishop of the Church of Crete: The saving grace of God has appeared for all people, teaching us that, having rejected ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live chastely, righteously and piously in the present age, awaiting the blessed hope and the appearance of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to deliver us from all iniquity, and to purify for Himself a special people and zealous for good deeds 179. This grace, saving all people, is needed by all of us, my brothers. The source of this grace, the well of this living water is our Lord Jesus Christ or the holy Orthodox Church, onto which He poured out abundantly the Holy Spirit. Streams of life constantly flow within it in the Word of God, in the holy sacraments, in Divine services, especially during the celebration of the liturgy. Come, all of us, to draw here the free water of eternal life. Let us all seek grace more than all earthly treasures, as the saints sought it, who, in order to receive grace, despised the world lying in evil, with all its delightful, fleeting blessings, despised and exhausted their many-passionate flesh in order to cleanse, sanctify, strengthen and elevate the grief of the soul, suppressed and darkened by carnal addictions, in order to triumph over passions and lusts, love God, truth and holiness and eternal life with all your heart; for two masters cannot work. The Lord calls His grace living water, in contrast to dead water, with which the culprit of death and all evil, the devil, diligently tries to poison all people. This dead water, which many greedily drink, seduced by its apparent sweetness or considering its very bitterness as sweetness, is sin in all its countless manifestations: pride, unbelief, heresy, schism, superstition, deceit, hypocrisy, anger, rancor, irritability, vindictiveness, ill will, malice, envy, gloating, blasphemy, sedition, disobedience to authorities, condemnation, gluttony, delicacy, gluttony, especially drunkenness, fornication, uncleanness, insolence, disobedience, blasphemy, stinginess, love of money, covetousness, hard-heartedness, theft, lies, deception, deceit, idleness with idle pursuits, laziness, neglect of the soul, unrepentance, cowardice, despondency, demonic fear, despair, etc. These are sources of dead water, flowing along with those in whom they flow - into eternal destruction. There is a cure for this dead water: - repentance and humble faith combined with fervent prayer - at home and in church and with fasting; – communion of the body and blood of Christ, an all-powerful, constant struggle with one’s passions and vicious inclinations, diligent reading of the Word of God, stories about the lives of saints and their soul-saving writings; - remembrance of death and judgment and one’s wretchedness and insignificance. But let us continue reading the Gospel about the Lord’s conversation with the Samaritan woman. The Samaritan woman says: Our fathers worshiped on this mountain (meaning Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by fathers); and you say that the place where one should worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus says to her: Believe Me, that the time is coming when you will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You do not know what you are bowing to; but we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. But the time will come, and has already come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is looking for such worshipers for himself. God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman says to Him: I know that the Messiah will come, that is, Christ; when He comes, He will tell us everything. Jesus says to her: It is I who speak to you 180. After this, the woman left her waterpot at the well, hurriedly went into the city and announced to everyone about the wonderful Seer, and many of the Samaritans, seeing Him and hearing His word, believed in Him. What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth? - It means to believe that God is in every place, and in every place He sees and hears those praying to Him, sighing to Him, repenting to Him, thanking and glorifying Him - and not in a certain place, for example, on some mountain, as the Samaritan woman thought, or only in the church, although without a doubt in the church God is closer to us, according to His own promise: Where there are two, or three gathered in My name, there I am in the midst 181 of them, and especially - because of His holy Mysteries celebrated here: - to bow in spirit and in truth means to pray to God in communion with the Church with all your heart, with all your thoughts, with all zeal and reverence, with living faith, with firm hope - and not just uttering words without meaning and feeling, or nodding your head and moving your hand without living thought and living feeling. This last is not prayer, but only a lifeless shadow of prayer; it does not appease, but angers God. May God deliver each of us from such prayer. – Let us all learn to worship God in spirit and truth: by praying, we will bring to God the fruits of prayer: unfeigned repentance, correction of the heart and whole life, we will be zealous for every virtue. This will be the worship of God in spirit and truth. Amen. Today, beloved brothers, the Gospel of John was read about Jesus Christ’s healing of a man blind from birth; you have heard this divine story. The Lord, the Light of the world, performed this great miracle in this way: spitting on the ground, He made clay from the spitting, that is, a solution of earth with moisture, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay, saying: Go and wash in the pool of Siloam (which means sent). He went and washed, and came sighted 182. But, more importantly, this blind man received his sight with his spiritual, not just his physical, eyes. He believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, to the shame of all the wise and prudent among the Jews, who did not believe in the Lord despite all the multitude of His miracles, which clearly testified to His Divine omnipotence. This circumstance, that is, the lack of faith of learned and noble Jews in Jesus Christ as the God-man, gives me reason to talk with you briefly about spiritual blindness, which is much more dangerous and more worthy of regret, and sometimes tears, than physical blindness. Vision is the noblest member of our mortal body and it gives a person the greatest benefit and pleasure, as each of us knows, and to lose sight means to lose almost half of one’s life: not to see the sun, not to see anyone or anything, not oneself, not others, not what is around us, not to see the beauty of heaven and earth, not everything that is in heaven and on earth and on the sea, and this almost means the same thing as being dead. But, brothers and sisters, a person who is gifted by the Creator with a rational soul, capable of cognizing the truth, which is its life, and through pride, willfully and stubbornly does not want to know it, going against his mind and conscience and God and people - isn’t he a most unfortunate blind man, unfortunate by his own free will, maliciously unfortunate, who himself voluntarily uses for evil the greatest gift of God to man - reason and free will, distinguishing him from all dumb animals, is he not the most ungrateful animal before his Creator, reproaching His wonderful gifts to His rational creatures? Is there not a voluntary fool or madman who has perverted God-given wisdom into madness and calls good evil, or good evil and evil good, sweet bitter and bitter sweet? And such were the Pharisees and scribes and the high priests and elders of the people of Israel themselves during the earthly life of Jesus Christ: seeing the miracles of Jesus Christ performed among the people, the most beneficial miracles, hearing His wise, saving teaching and seeing His completely righteous, holy, exemplary life, they attributed the miracles to the power of demons, distorted the meaning of His words, reviled Him as a madman and possessed by demons and a flatterer or a deceiver and, finally, as a rebel villain, they betrayed the most holy of all saints, the Son of God, to shameful execution. This is terrible mental blindness! Isn't she worthy of all disgust and bitter tears? For a person whose soul is blinded by pride and stubbornness is the most unfortunate, like a sure prey of hell, like a satanic fiend, imbued with the pride and malice of his father the devil. This is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, when a person, out of pride and stubbornness, does not want to believe the obvious truth, proven by obvious miracles. There is no forgiveness for such a person either in this or in the next century, 183 not because our sins defeat God’s love for mankind, but because the person himself perishes in pride, stubbornness, malice, lies and unrepentance. What gives rise to such blindness in a person? Why is she? - From extreme pride, pride and conceit, from a malicious disposition of the heart, from envy and from constant satiety and satiety. Eat and be satisfied: fat, thick, wide: and forsake God who created it 184, says the Scripture. There are many such free blind people, sons of perdition, in our time, just as there have always been. In our time, these free or liberal blind people are produced either by a science that is not free according to the reason of the Gospel, teaching that everything in the world happened by itself, by nature, that man, as a child of nature, disappears with his death, that supposedly there will be no resurrection and judgment and another endless age - or liberal conversations and, in general, community and conversation with frivolous, unbelieving people, or a contented, carefree, cheerful life, full of daily lawlessness and vices, in which the last Christian spark goes out. Bitterness and despair, disobedience to existing authorities, a frantic, absurd intention to stand on one’s own, to carry out one’s absurd ideas or plans and intentions, also give rise to bitter, blind souls. Such are today's anarchists or nihilists who, in their blindness, think of re-creating and revolutionizing society in their own way, imagining that their plans are the best and will bring the greatest benefit to the people - almost a golden age. The damned themselves go straight to hell and do nothing but evil and dirty tricks, but dream of some benefit to the people. What good can you expect from them? A tree is recognized by its fruits, and nihilists by their hellish deeds. God save the Orthodox people from such leaders! Brethren! Flee from this blindness and from all blindness that is born from sinful passions: self-love, conceit and pride, malice, envy, waywardness and stubbornness, drunkenness and intemperance, greed, fornication and lewdness, despondency and despair. Amen. Homily on the day of remembrance of the holy Slavic enlighteners Methodius and Cyril, equal to the apostles Remember your teachers, who spoke the word of God to you, and as they look to the end of their lives, imitate their faith (Heb. 13:7) Nowadays the entire Orthodox Church, especially the Slavic Church, commemorates St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril, who enlightened all Slavic countries with their teachings and brought them to Christ. What treasure is more precious than the treasure of the faith of Christ, the Orthodox faith? Truly, there is no more precious treasure than the treasure of true faith: because true faith gives us knowledge of the true God, and unites us with God - and in uniting with God all good and bliss; That is why the Head of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, calls faith in Him both a treasure hidden in the field and priceless beads. And this treasure of true faith was conveyed to us, in our native language, by the mentioned two equal-to-the-apostles and brothers, St. Methodius and Cyril. – Our ancestors, like all Slavs - Moravians, Serbs, Czechs, Poles and others, in ancient times were idolaters, giving glory befitting the only living God to soulless idols; So the Russians worshiped Svarog or Perun, Dazhbog or the sun and fire and many other imaginary gods and idols, sacrificed living children to Perun, as the Jews once did to Moloch; They did not know about the sweetest Savior of men, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and about the eternal life given to those who believe in Him - and they perished in their polytheistic or godless faith. But the Lord above, in whose right hand is the destiny of the peoples, who foresaw the readiness of the Slavic tribes to accept the light of truth and true faith, chose to convert them from the charms of paganism to the life-giving faith of Christ two brothers - the Slavs Methodius and Cyril, as once two brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John called from catching fish to catching people, and these new apostles are many they labored and endured sorrows during the enlightenment of the Slavic tribes with the faith of Christ; The Slavs did not know letters, did not have letters: it was necessary to invent letters or letters, and St. Kirill invented a letter for them; it was necessary to translate the word of God and liturgical books into the language of the Slavs: and the two brothers accomplished this difficult task, taught the dark Slavs literacy, faith, prayer, the commandments of the Lord, built churches for them, gave them priests, and service to the true God began in the land, which until then had been defiled by idolatry and demonic sacrifices. From the Moravian Slavs, the Christian faith, Slavic literacy, sacred and liturgical books passed to the Russian Slavs, and the Russian land began to serve the true God, to be enlightened and sanctified and warmed by the faith of Christ. First, Askold and Dir, then Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, the Russian star, and after her her grandson, Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the red sun of the Russian land, led the Russian people to the knowledge of the one living true God and His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity, consubstantial, life-giving and indivisible. So, you see, my brethren, that our Christian Orthodox faith and this harmonious Orthodox divine service everywhere in the Slavic, native, easily understandable language for us - this Russian literacy, this all-Slavic and all-Russian enlightenment is an abundant fruit, there is a bountiful harvest, the seeds of which were sown by St. Methodius and Cyril. And the words of the Savior, spoken by Him to His disciples, apply to us: One sows, and another reaps; I sent you to reap what you did not labor at: others labored, but you entered into their labor 185. Use, my brethren, the priceless treasure of the Orthodox faith: glorify the true God Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit unceasingly with all your heart, glorify with your heart and lips, and especially with your whole life; diligently strive to fulfill the commandments of Christ and achieve eternal inheritance with the saints; and at the same time do not forget to remember our mentors - St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Methodius and Cyril, who conveyed to us the word of God in our language and enlightened us with the faith of Christ; diligently read and listen to this word of God and fulfill it, and looking at the end of the lives of our first teachers, imitate their faith. Like pompous eagles, during their lifetime they stood above everything earthly, did not care about earthly acquisitions or earthly glory, and after their death they soared into heaven to the Lord Jesus Christ, for Whom they labored; and do not be partial to earthly things, but remember your higher calling and think about the incorruptible heavenly blessings prepared for those who love God, knowing that our life is in heaven 186. Do not forget that there, far in the south and west, there are many Slavic peoples dear to us in faith, language and tribe, our brothers, whom you will receive in your prayers; pray for their prosperity and success in faith and piety, so that with one heart and lips we all glorify the one God in the earthly, militant Church, and may we be honored to unanimously exclaim to Him in the heavenly, triumphant Church: glory to Thee, our Enlightener, forever and ever. Amen. Why did the Lord ascend from us into heaven? Word on the Day of the Ascension of the Lord Now the Lord, when He spoke to them, ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19) The Holy Church now excites all earthly beings to joy and says: All nations clasp their hands for joy, because Christ has ascended, where he was first 187 i.e., all nations clasp their hands for joy, because Christ has ascended to where he was before, that is, to heaven. So, on the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, all Christians should rejoice. What is there to be happy about? - It would seem that it was rather necessary to grieve and grieve, because our sweetest Savior Jesus Christ left us with His visible presence and ascended to heaven, from where he will come again, but he will come as a formidable Judge of all earthly beings. No, on the day of remembrance of the Ascension of the Lord there are more reasons for joy than for sadness. Let us only consider why the Lord ascended into heaven from us. The Lord ascended from us into heaven not in order to sadden us with His departure, but in order to arrange what was most beneficial for us. His whole life, all his deeds were for our benefit, for our salvation; in the same way, His ascension was for our good. Just as, loving us, He came down to us from heaven and, having lived with people, laid down His soul for them on the cross, so loving us He ascended into heaven, benefiting us. So He Himself said to His disciples: It is better for you that I go, for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; and if I go, I will send Him to you 188. So, the Lord ascended to heaven in order to send instead of Himself equal to Himself - the Comforter of the Holy Spirit, Who would comfort St. the apostles and all true Christians in their sorrows, troubles and persecutions. This is the first reason for joy. Come, come, Lord Jesus, and send us the Comforter! Further, the Lord ascended from us into heaven so that He could look down on us from on high, like a Father on his children, like a Shepherd on his sheep, like an Eagle on his chicks, like a Leader on his army, so that he could see everyone and consider the needs and requirements of each of us, and give help to everyone. Like some king, having gathered his numerous troops for war and wanting to see all his regiments, he ascends to a high place - a mountain or some building, and looks from above and arranges them, and when he sees that they are victorious, he rejoices over them; and if he notices that they are overcome, he sends them an ambulance; So our Lord, the King of kings, has His Church militant on earth, that is, His faithful Christians, ascended to heaven, as if on a mountain, in order from above to see the feat of everyone and to weave crowns to those who struggle, and to give an ambulance hand to those who are exhausted, in order to restore the fallen and make them stronger against enemies, and to lay an obstacle to those who persecute us. The Holy First Martyr Stephen labors in a suffering struggle, the Jews stone him, and our Lord, having opened the heavens, looks at him from the height of His glory, so that the sufferer, seeing this, exclaims: I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God 189 . The Lord ascended from us into heaven in order to, like the sun, shine upon us all with His grace from the heights of heaven. Just as the sun, having hidden itself in the west, produces night darkness throughout the whole of heaven, and when it rises and rises to the heights, then darkness runs away from all under heaven, and the rays of the sun illuminate the universe with wondrous light; so our mental Sun is Christ, until, living on earth, as if in the west, He showed His luminous Divinity to people, until then there was darkness of ignorance of God throughout the whole earth; and when, shining from His tomb, He ascended into heaven, then the lightning of His Divinity illuminated the universe and His name became famous from the east of the sun to the west, throughout the whole earth - the whole universe was enlightened by the knowledge of God. The Lord ascended from us to heaven in order to arrange our way to heaven and to be our leader to the mountainous countries. There was no way for man to reach heaven until the Lord ascended into heaven: No one has ascended to heaven except he who came down from heaven 190, says the Lord. He who descended is also the one who ascended above all heavens 191. So before no one could ascend to heaven, although he was righteous and holy: - and when our Lord, clothed in human nature, ascended to heaven, then the path to heaven was made for the entire human race, and the souls of the saints followed Christ along that path. forefathers and prophets brought out of hell; apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors ascended to them; Even now, worthy ones ascend to them - righteous people who follow Christ’s footsteps; Now everyone knows the path to heaven. Just don’t be lazy, Christians! So the Lord ascended from us into heaven - in order to open the doors of heaven for us - for unrestricted entry there. Our forefather Adam was about to close the door of heaven to the entire human race, and a Cherub with a flaming weapon stood at the door of heaven; I say, Adam closed paradise and the entrance to life, but he opened only the entrances to death and hell, but the Lord did the opposite: he closed the entrances to death and hell, but opened paradise - and first of all to the thief, to whom he said: today you will be with me in paradise 192, then to everyone; and finally, He opened heaven itself with His ascension. What are the joyful reasons for the Lord’s ascension from us into heaven? Next, the Lord ascended from us into heaven to intercede for us before God the Father. So says St. Apostle John the Theologian: If anyone sins, the imams intercede with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: and He is the cleanser for our sins 193. So, we, sinful people, will not despair of our salvation, but will be trustworthy: we have a good Intercessor for us to God the Father - Christ our Savior Himself, Who intercedes for us, but let us not be lazy and, at the intercession of Christ, send our warm prayers to the Heavenly Father; - yes, the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for us to God the Father and propitiates Him. But who is he interceding for? About sinners. What sinners? For those who repent, He propitiates His Father for them, but for unrepentant sinners He does not propitiate, because for the second time they crucify the Son of God within themselves with their grave sins, with their obstinacy in unrepentance and trample on the blood of the Son of God with their unrepentance. So, be afraid, sinner who remains unrepentant, lest God’s punishment suddenly befall you and you be consumed from the land of the living, and be condemned along with the murderers who crucified the Son of God. Finally, the Lord ascended from us into heaven, so that in heaven he could prepare for us a place where we would live forever and co-reign with Him, our Lord. So He Himself says: I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will also come and understand you to Myself: yea, where I am, you also will be 194. What a joyful reason for the ascension! The Lord ascended from us into heaven to prepare for each of the righteous and pious people a place in heaven, as well as for us sinners, if we turn and repent with all our hearts. Where there is a place for the Apostle Peter, who rejected the Lord and wept bitterly about it afterwards, where the harlot wife who wept at His feet, where the prodigal son, where the publican, where the thief, there will be a place for us; Let us only weep bitterly for our sins, like Peter, let us fall at His feet with repentance, like the harlot, let us turn to Him, like the prodigal son, let us humble ourselves like the tax collector, let us be crucified with Him, like the prudent thief. Let us repent and we will be saved. Let us all rejoice in the ascension of our Lord and Savior. Amen. How to get eternal life? Homily on the Sunday of Saints from the Council of Nicaea This is the eternal life, that they may know Thee the one true God, and Him Jesus Christ sent (John 17:3) My priestly position prompts me, even this Sunday, to talk with you about very important subjects that we all need to know to please God and save our souls. Now the Holy Church remembers the Holy Fathers of the first Nicene Ecumenical Council, who established the true teaching about the Divinity of the Son of God, or about the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father, against the heretic Arius and his like-minded people, who falsely taught that the Son of God is not one being with God the Father and is allegedly not true God, but was himself created by God the Father. They blasphemers wanted to shake the Christian faith at the very root and foundation: for if we admitted that Jesus Christ is not the consubstantial Son of God and not the true God, then our redemption and salvation would be a dream, we would be more damned than all people, for we would all be in sins, without purification and sanctification, we would have no hope of resurrection from the dead and eternal life. The Holy Fathers proved the absurdity of this heretical teaching, for, in fact, it was impossible for anyone other than the only begotten and consubstantial Son of God to renew the corrupted human nature and cleanse its immeasurable sins, and no one else except the only begotten Son of God could sacrifice himself for the whole world and take on its sins. The heretics, through their wicked teaching, wanted to rob people of hope, refuge, consolation, purification, sanctification, their strength and their glory, which the Lord Jesus Christ was and is for all believers. This heretical teaching, harmful to souls, was publicly and wisely refuted and condemned by the Holy Fathers of the first ecumenical council, which took place under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine and in his presence, in the year 325 after the Nativity of Christ in the city of Nicaea - and the Orthodox teaching about the Son of God, our Savior, was solemnly renewed; it is in the symbol of faith and reads like this: “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were.” The Holy Church now gratefully glorifies the Lord for the fact that He founded the rational luminaries of our fathers on earth and through them taught us all the true faith; and in the weekly Gospel she pronounces through the lips of the deacon the high priestly prayer of Jesus Christ, which He spoke to God His Father before His suffering. This wonderful prayer, from which it is absolutely clear that He is the true Son of God, the one divine being with God the Father, who redeemed the world with His death, through Whom alone our salvation is possible (that is, through suffering and death for the sins of the world, for His suffering and death for us is His glory, since through His suffering and death He triumphed over hell and death), reads: Father! The hour has come: glorify Your Son, that Your Son also will glorify You, since You have given Him power over all flesh, that is, over the entire human race, so that He may give eternal life to everything that You have given Him. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent; I glorified You on earth, I accomplished the work that You entrusted Me with. And now glorify Me, O Father, with You, with the glory that I had with You before the world was. I have revealed Your name to the people whom You gave Me out of the world; They were Yours, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. And all Mine is Thine, and Thine is Mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father! keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, just as We are 195. Since in our time, and abroad, and in our fatherland, and even in our city, there are some madmen who sometimes dare in frivolous conversations to blaspheme and speak unworthily about God and our Savior, and since in the true knowledge of God and Christ, the Son of God, lies eternal life, and eternal life should be extremely dear to all of us, let us now talk about how we can know God and the Lord Jesus Christ so that through the knowledge of Him we can achieve eternal life. For not every knowledge of God can lead to eternal life: very many know, but still perish forever. We all know God and call His name, but the knowledge of many is sterile, dead knowledge that will not lead to eternal life. Firstly, to receive eternal life, you need correct knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ sent by Him, as well as all His teachings, His commandments, and not distorted by the false wisdom of heretics and schismatics, for there is a chaos of errors elevated to dogmas; otherwise it is impossible for a person to achieve eternal life; The holy Apostle Paul says: if anyone preached the gospel to you differently than we preached to you, let him be anathema 196, that is, forever excommunicated from the Lord and from eternal life. But in order to have correct, faithful, saving knowledge of God, for this you need to be a member of the Church of God, into which, as if into a rich treasury, the apostles completely placed everything that belongs to the truth, and which is the door of life, leading into eternal life, according to Saint Irenaeus; only in the Church can one always hear the true teaching about God and have all the means to salvation and eternal life, but outside the Church there is no salvation. Secondly, in order to receive eternal life, one must know God not only with a cold mind and heart, and as if it doesn’t matter to allow oneself to be carried away by an addiction to worldly things, which is absurd; but one must prove knowledge of God by warmth of feeling and ardent heartfelt love for Him, by correcting one’s entire life, by rejecting worldly passions and addictions, sinful skills or habits, inclinations, inclinations to sin, by success in every virtue, by an unceasing striving for holiness and perfection. Be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God 197. Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect 198. In all their epistles to newly converted Christians, the holy apostles exhort them to combine the correction of their lives with the knowledge of God and to excel in every virtue. This is how the holy Apostle Peter writes in his letter to the Jewish Christians: “Beloved, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were in your ignorance; but, following the example of the Holy One who called you, be holy in all your actions. For it is written: Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call Father the One who unfeignedly judges everyone according to their deeds, then spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible silver or gold from the vain life handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious Blood of Christ, as an immaculate and spotless lamb. By obedience to the truth through the Spirit, having purified your souls to unfeigned brotherly love, constantly love one another from a pure heart, as those born again, not from corruptible seed, but from incorruptible, from the word of God, which lives and abides forever. Putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, love the pure milk of words, so that from it you may grow to salvation” 199 . In another letter he writes: “Show in your faith virtue, in virtue prudence, in prudence self-control, in self-control patience, in patience godliness, in godliness brotherly kindness, in brotherly kindness love. If this is in you and multiplies, then you will not remain without success and fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And whoever does not have this is blind, has closed his eyes, and has forgotten about the cleansing of his previous sins. Therefore, brethren, strive more and more to make your calling and election firm: if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way free entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be opened for you” 200. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes that from this we can learn that we have come to know God if we keep His commandments. “Whoever says: I know Him, but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and there is no truth in him” 201. So, Christian, if you want eternal life, then try to know God not only with a cold mind, but with all your heart, prove your knowledge of Him by deeds; you know that God is holy; try to be holy yourself; you know that God is good and merciful; and be compassionate, forgiving and merciful; you know that God is long-suffering, and you are long-suffering; Save your souls through your patience, 202 whoever endures to the end will be saved, 203 says the Lord; - you know that God is just, - and you observe justice in everything; you know that God is most generous and His bounty is in all His deeds, 204 and you stop being stingy and blaspheming the All-Generous with your stinginess; you know that God is most pure, and you love spiritual and physical purity and abhor the impurity of sin, especially carnal impurity; you know that Jesus Christ taught about the benefits and necessity of fasting for a person, try to be abstinent; Don’t contradict yourself by knowing one thing and doing something completely different. This knowledge of God and Christ will lead you faithfully to eternal life. Mercy... there will be mercy; with purity of heart... They will see God 205. If you really want to know God and be known from Him, then immediately take the active path, the path of virtue, and immediately leave the path of lawlessness; otherwise, your very deeds will testify against you that you do not know God and despise your own eternal good; or you flatter and deceive yourself that you can combine carnal, sinful deeds with faith in Christ and, while calling yourself a Christian, do pagan deeds. But the apostle clearly tells you and people like you who dream like this: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor drunkards, nor thieves will inherit the kingdom of God.” You see how absolutely necessary it is for one who knows God and Christ, the Son of God, to turn and leave the path of sin and take the path of virtue. So, I repeat, do not contradict yourself; If you have come to know God, then do not deny Him by your deeds. Be faithful, peaceful, humble in wisdom, simple-hearted, meek, self-controlled, industrious, gracious; kind to each other with brotherly love: creating great honor for each other 207; – chaste, obedient, patient, exalted, think about things above and not about earthly things; do not follow the desires of flesh and blood and do not be worse than dumb animals who know the measure and time to satisfy their needs. Put off the old man, which is corrupting through deceitful lusts, and put on the new man, created according to God, in the image of God, in righteousness and holiness 208 . All the saints who pleased God, having come to know God, immediately abandoned carnal lusts, all lawless deeds and led an active, spiritual, virtuous life; if they fell, they immediately rose up and with great zeal took up the holy cause of pleasing God. But eternal life, continuously blessed in the light of the face of God, is worth it to endure all sorts of labors, hardships, temptations, sorrows and illnesses for the purification and improvement of oneself, one’s soul, so that after the end of the feat, then to rejoice forever. Those who sow with tears will reap with joy. Those who walk walk and weep, throwing their seeds: those who are coming will come with joy, grasping their hands, 209 says the holy king and prophet David. This is what I found necessary to tell you today, under the guidance of the word of God, for your spiritual benefit. Try to remember what is said and do it in deed for the salvation of your souls, redeemed by the most pure blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The Graceful Gifts of the Holy Spirit Word on the Day of Pentecost Let us hymn the Trinity of one essence, the Father and the Son, with the Holy Spirit: for this is what all the Prophets and Apostles and Martyrs preached We celebrate one of the greatest events in the world and in the Christian Church - an event that is as miraculous as it is salutary and joyful for the entire Christian world; namely: we celebrate the descent on the apostles of the Holy Spirit of God, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, sent down by the Son of God Jesus Christ, who ascended into heaven, from God the Father. – He (Christ) said to his disciples before suffering: I am going to Him who sent Me... But because he told you this, your heart was filled with sadness. But I tell you the truth: it is better for you that I go; for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; and if I go, I will send Him to you 210. The Almighty and Life-Giving Spirit of God, co-natural and co-throne with the Father and the Son, solemnly and truly descended on the disciples and disciples of the Lord, and in their person on the Christian Church, for people to assimilate the great work of redemption accomplished by the Son of God, for the rebirth by fire of the Holy Spirit of the apostles and all who were with them, for imparting to them the gift of invincible courage and strength and the gift of speaking in all languages, necessary for preaching to all people, the gift of Divine love, embracing everyone and not falling away, such love as the Lord Jesus Christ had for people, who laid down His soul for people. The Holy Spirit filled the apostles with the gift of wisdom, the power to revive people from the old creation into the new through faith in Jesus Christ and through preaching and the sacraments - baptism, confirmation, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. He gave them and their successors, the bishops, the power and wisdom to bind and solve the sins of people - to clarify the faith and teaching of the faith, to write God-wise Gospels and epistles, to convene Councils to clarify the revealed teaching of God and to expose heresies and schisms, to establish rules of faith and behavior, to consecrate churches and ordain to sacred degrees, and in general to improve the newly founded Church of Christ. The Holy Spirit manifested Himself in the world in wonderful Divine actions in all the greatness of His Divinity, as the Creator and Creator of human nature, as the Self-Life and Source of life for all verbal creatures, as the Source of wisdom and strength. This is the great holiday celebrated today by the Holy Orthodox Church throughout the world! This day is called the Feast of Pentecost because the Holy Spirit descended according to the will of God the Father and through the intercession of Christ God on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Christ God from the dead; It is also called the Feast of the Holy Trinity, because the Holy Trinity shone clearly on this day. The Father who sent His Holy Spirit on the Apostles is the Son who begged the Father to send the Holy Spirit on His chosen ones and thus laid the solid foundation of His church, which even the gates of hell will not overcome 211. What wonderful, saving effects the descent of the Holy Spirit had on the Apostles is shown by the book of the Acts of the Apostles and the infallible history of the Church. The apostles carried the holy Gospel to all corners of the then world, preaching it to all nations and revived the world with their preaching and miracles - and with what faith and love, with what selflessness, with what invincible power they preached about Christ throughout the whole world! They conquered and conquered to Christ scientists, philosophers, rhetoricians, kings and kingdoms - the entire universe, conquered by the meekness and power of their preaching and countless miracles; with joy they endured torture and death for Christ and His teaching, for the sake of future immortal life and for the sake of the salvation of believers. They valued the truth of Christ’s teaching so much that, with all their love for people, they were ready to excommunicate from the Church anyone who would teach differently from what they taught according to the revelation of God; if we, or an angel from heaven, teach you differently than we preached, let us be anathema 212 and for the truth of the revealed teaching we were always ready to die. Meanwhile, at the present time, many who call themselves Christians have become so distrusted and have so despised the Word of God that they considered it to be a simple human word, like Count Tolstoy and his comrades, and they dare to distort it according to their wild understanding and taste, as they would never dare to do with the word of an earthly King or writer, even Pushkin or some other one - and they teach completely differently than the Holy Gospel teaches. Further, the miraculous and saving actions of the Holy Spirit were expressed in a wide variety of gifts to His believers: in the gift of prophecy, miracles, exposition of scripture, in the gift of tongues, all kinds of healings, especially in the selfless love of believers for each other, a love that considered everything common and which distributed essential needs according to the needs of each. Further, the sovereign actions of the Holy Spirit were expressed in unanimous and like-minded meetings of St. Fathers at the Ecumenical and Local Councils, - at which, like a shovel, all the tares, harmful teachings of heresies were blown away and the unanimity of the believers with the longed-for peace of the entire church was restored. And to this day the Orthodox Church firmly preserves the truths of the teachings of the faith and has not violated a single dogma, to its honor and glory and the salvation of its children. Then - the wonderful actions of the Holy Spirit in the Church of God were expressed in the wondrous wisdom of the Holy Fathers - church preachers especially in the 4th century - Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa and many other church leaders of the following centuries; especially in the liturgical hymns of our Church and in the countless canons that adorn its Divine services; they expressed the greatest spiritual wisdom and boundless tenderness, touching every believing soul to the depths. And what can we say about the gracious actions of the Holy Spirit, about the invincible strength and courage in the feats of torment for the faith of countless martyrs and martyrs, among whom there were many young children who joyfully accepted all kinds of torment and surprised the most hard-hearted tormentors with their courage and patience; What can we say about the exploits of the reverend men and women who mortified all passions of the flesh and spirit with prayers, vigils, fasting, purity, humility, kindness, and patience? They were like angels in the flesh and burned with fiery love for God, like the Cherubim and Seraphim, and Christ rested in them forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit. These are the actions of the Holy Spirit in the Holy Church of Christ, after the descent on the Apostles and in subsequent times. I turn to the present time. Are the gifts of the Holy Spirit now being demonstrated in believers? No doubt there is, but not enough. The gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit are still manifested in Christian love and selflessness for the benefit of one’s neighbor in various charitable institutions, especially this love was manifested in former wars - in the diligent care of doctors and nurses for wounded and sick soldiers, in general in selfless deeds for the good of neighbors, the Tsar and the Fatherland, in generous benefits to victims of fires, floods, hunger, and widespread diseases; in general in various selfless services to God and neighbors. The gifts of the Spirit of God are also manifested today in the miraculous power of prayer in the multitude of healings of all kinds of sick people. This is one side. And on the other hand, never has unbelief and mockery of the faith and the Holy Church gripped the so-called intelligentsia as much as now, never has predation laid its hand on other people’s property so boldly as now, never has the waste of property acquired by our ancestors been as insane as now; marriages have never been pushed around and trampled upon as much as they are now; Never has the integrity of physical and spiritual nature been valued as low as it is now; drunkenness has never been so severe as in our civilized age. What can fix us? – Holy Soul, Heavenly King, breathe repentance with tenderness into those who have sinned; come and dwell in us and cleanse us from all filth and save, O Good One, our souls. Amen. “Be holy, for I am holy” Word for All Saints' Week Now we have the week of all saints, that is, a Sunday day dedicated to the remembrance and glorification of all the holy saints of God and, especially, the holy martyrs for the faith of Christ, their ardent love for God and neighbor, their every patience, self-sacrifice, abstinence, obedience to faith, unshakable devotion to the Lord and the holy Church, their meekness and humility, simplicity and gentleness, their holiness and perfection. So they were people subservient to us, but through faith, love and zeal for God, patience and forcing themselves to all virtue, repentance and removal from all sin and lawlessness, they pleased God and achieved eternal peace and bliss; and we are invited to follow them, praying day and night to God for the salvation of us all. They seem to tell us from heaven: here we have labored, by the grace of God, temporarily for God and our souls, and now we rejoice forever; we did not spare our multi-passionate, corruptible flesh, we exhausted it with fasting, labor, and unceasing prayers, or we were oppressed and tortured in every possible way by unrighteous persecutors; now we are crowned with crowns of incorruption from the life-giving right hand of Christ God; we hated the all-flattering and all-destructive sin and clung with all our hearts to God and His holy commandments, and thereby became blessed forever. Work diligently for God and your souls, despise your sinful flesh, which incites you to constantly despise God’s commandments, love sin and despise virtue, please the devil and resist God; compel her, careless and lazy, to fasting, prayer, patience, meekness, mercy and all virtues - until the end of your life, which is not far off, but very close, hate with all your souls every sin and love the life-giving, eternal truth of God: and you will also forever rest and rejoice. So, brothers, the holy saints of God, who are countless, call us to follow them to the heavenly fatherland, where the eternal glory of God shines, where there is no untruth, where there is life without work, sorrows and illnesses, endless life. Let us follow, we will certainly follow them, with the help of God: so God commands. Come,” He says, “all who labor in the struggle against sins and are burdened with iniquities, come to Me with zealous repentance and virtue, and I will give you rest; take My yoke, the yoke of My holy commandments, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls: for My yoke is good, and My burden is light 213 - that is, not like the yoke and burden of your sins and passions, which is heavy, charming, fruitless and destructive. Be holy, for I am holy, the Lord your God 214. The Holy Apostle Paul tells us all: We do not have here an abiding, that is, a permanent city, but we are looking for the future 215, which is the Builder and Artist of God Himself. So, let us try to follow the saints, that is, to live virtuously, like them, each according to his own strength, and to carefully flee from all sin that lives and reigns in us and seeks with hellish, unsleeping malice and cunning to destroy our souls forever. Against the cunning of sin and its father the devil, we too will be wise and careful; We will be vigilant against his vigilance and we will be vigilant in the fight against him; we will be against his stubbornness and constancy and we will always be stubborn and constant in the fight against him; We will, if necessary, stand guard day and night against crafty sins and crafty demons, who do not leave a person with their machinations even at night, but with various sleepy dreams forcing him to work against sins even at this time: for even at night the same weaknesses and passions are active in the sinner’s soul, to which he indulges in reality. Let us use all our might to save ourselves and our neighbors; let us be diligent in every virtue; for for this we were created by God, for this we live in the world, for this we were baptized and anointed with the holy world, for this we were churched and became members of God’s Church, this kingdom of God on earth, in order to do good deeds, in order to be a holy and chosen flock - God’s portion, a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood, a holy people, renewed people. Otherwise, what will be the benefit to us from our baptism and the seal of the Holy Spirit, from the fact that we are members of the Church by name? What is the use of communion of the body and blood of Christ if we do not care about virtue and fearlessly sin every day? What good is it to us from the title of Orthodox Christians - gracious sons of God and children of the Church - from the name of the holy and chosen flock - if every day we indulge in all lawlessness, envy and malice, self-love, pride, deceit, intemperance, uncleanness, lies, deception and other sins? Our life should also be by name: Those who are Christ’s, says the apostle, crucified the flesh with passions and lusts, 216, that is, true Christians must mortify in themselves all passions, all sins. You will say: it is very difficult to conquer yourself, to conquer all the passions in yourself. There is no doubt: it is difficult, not easy, to break oneself, one’s sinful nature, but God, our Helper, is omnipotent; and from Him are given to the Christian in the Church all divine powers for holy life and piety 217, with God all things are possible: I can do all things, says the Apostle Paul, through Jesus Christ who strengthens me 218. And all the saints, whose memory we now commemorate and whose deeds we glorify, serve us as an excellent example and encouragement for a holy Christian life and for the fight against sin: they were, as has already been said, people similar to us in everything, but by faith and love, diligence and labor in good deeds, they defeated sin, the world and the ruler of the world and their passions and now eternally triumph in their victory. And among them there were not only monks, but also lay people - married and married women, people of every rank, condition, gender and age. And with them was the same devil, the tempter of sins, and the same sinful world with its temptations, the same people with their temptations. We cannot be dissuaded from living a holy life, that in the present time it is supposedly impossible to be saved, that now we are not like former times, that people now have become like demons, only seducing us into sins, and life seems to have become completely different, not as before. No, friends, it is not true that it is impossible to be saved now: it is possible now. The Lord Himself said as He ascended into heaven to His disciples, and with them to all of us: Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age 219. And since he is always with us, then we have nothing to fear: He will help us in everything; He will defeat our enemies like the omnipotent; He will raise us up, He will save us, He will crown us if we remain faithful to Him until death. Amen. Word for the second week of Pentecost And the verb was: He is coming after Me, and I will make you a man as a fisher. She left the wilderness and idolized him (Matthew 4:19–20) Today, beloved brothers, the Gospel was read during the liturgy about the Lord’s calling to the apostolic rank of the siblings Peter and Andrew and also siblings James and John, the sons of Zebedee, also fishermen. Then, it talks about the walk of Jesus Christ throughout the Galilee region, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing all sorts of sicknesses and infirmities of people. By calling Peter and Andrew, James and John, the Lord laid the foundation for the apostolic title in His Church - a high, heavenly, Evangelical title, even higher - the dignity of Christ: for the apostles and clergy continue the work of Jesus Christ the Savior Himself, that is, the work of saving people, the work of reconciling them with God. Let us now talk, for our common benefit, about why Jesus Christ called simple and unlearned, poor people to the apostleship. So, why did the Lord call to the apostolic title not the noble and powerful, or the rich of this world, not the wise and reasonable, or learned, but people of low status, the unlearned and the poor? The Holy Apostle Paul, called to the apostleship from the persecutors of the Church of God and from the scientists, explains the reason why the Lord called ordinary people to the title of apostle. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong things; God has chosen the base things of the world and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are; so that no flesh should boast before God 220. The Apostle Paul himself says about himself, called from among the wise of the world, that God sent him to preach the gospel not in the wisdom of words, but in simplicity, so as not to abolish the cross of Christ, 221 that is, the power of the cross merits of Christ our Savior, which even without our vain wisdom are strong to save believers. So, this is why the Lord called the apostles from ordinary people, that is, so that it would be obvious to everyone that the Christian faith and the salvation it gives to people, its miraculous spread throughout the earth, is the power of God, but not the work of wisdom and human strength. This is the first reason. The second reason is that, since the Lord came into the world in our flesh to heal our nature, which had fallen through the pride and deceit of the enemy and the incontinence of the belly, then, wanting to teach all humanity a lesson in simplicity, humility and moderation in everything - and in the very election of future doctors and fishers of humanity - He chooses them from simple and poor people, who limited themselves only to what was necessary and did not at all dream highly of themselves. That is why He Himself, as the Doctor of ailing humanity, is born from a poor Virgin and in a wretched den - and had a poor imaginary father, and lived in poverty, not having anywhere to lay His head. This is the second reason. The third reason why the Lord chose the apostles from a simple and poor rank, and not from a noble and rich one, is that, as you all know, wealth binds human hearts to itself and tears them away from God and gives rise to many sins. The Lord Himself says: You cannot serve God and wealth; It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian says: Whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father, that is, for God, our heavenly Father, for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life 223 . How could the apostles, chosen from rich people and lovers of wealth, be able to lead people to God, kindle in the hearts of people a fiery love for Him, without having love for Him in their hearts? That is why these apostles were chosen from poor people, that is, so that for the love of God they could more easily break ties with the world and with sin and cleave to God with all their hearts. The fourth reason why the apostles were chosen from poor and simple people is so that they could more easily accept into their hearts the wealth of God’s grace, which is abundantly poured into the hearts of the humble and simple, hungry and thirsty for the justification of God, and cannot be contained in the hearts of the proud and arrogant with their imaginary righteousness. Without rejecting narrow self-love and earthly acquisitions or imaginary earthly wisdom, they could not have love for God and for all humanity, and without love they could not be capable of apostolic service, which required ardent love for humanity, saved by God the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit: they had to enter into the spirit of the love of Christ and be bearers and dispensers of this spirit to others: spirit truth and holiness, the spirit of meekness and humility, gentleness and patience, abstinence and incorruptibility. The apostolic hearts abundantly received the grace of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and filled the whole world with this grace, and it has reached to this day and will be poured out on the worthy until the end of time. Note from this Gospel how the fishermen Peter and Andrew, James and John hastily and irrevocably left their homes and their meager possessions and followed Jesus Christ; How simply and courteously they acted! If they were rich, they would not have left their homes and property so easily. One rich young man approached Jesus Christ to ask for advice on achieving eternal life, but when he heard that he needed to give away his property to the poor, he left Jesus Christ in sorrow. But in the apostles, the decisive abandonment of earthly and perishable goods was, by the grace of God, the reason for their fiery love for God and neighbor and for their high calling and their work; it was their spiritual wealth, their strength, glory, their decoration and light. Who will separate us from the love of God, says the Apostle Paul: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? Nothing: neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature 224. And how they loved their neighbors! Not our way; - Yes, we never dreamed that we loved anyone as much as the apostles loved: they were ready to lay down their souls for people every hour; That's why pious people loved them so much that they were ready to pluck out their eyes and give them 225. The apostles had nothing, but possessed everything - they were like beggars, but they enriched many with the grace of God. “I have no silver or gold,” says the Apostle Peter to the lame from birth, “but what I have, I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk; and the lame man stood up and began to walk and jump 226. This is the power they have: they healed all sorts of diseases, raised the dead, cast out demons, stepped on the snake, and the scorpion, and all the power of the enemy 227, that is, the demonic, without any harm to themselves; they could comfort anyone who was sad with the consolation with which they themselves were comforted from God. Isn't this strength? What is their glory? While still in mortal flesh, or out of the flesh, they were caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable verbs 228! Even in the flesh, they were considered gods who had descended from heaven and they wanted to honor them with sacrifices and incense! All the people of Jerusalem called them 229, says the holy Evangelist Luke in the Acts of the Apostles about the apostles and the first Christians. The fifth reason why the Lord called simple people to the apostleship is the following: since the apostles had to teach people on earth a heavenly life, dispassionate, shameless, holy, in the hope of a future blessed life, ageless forever, then they themselves had to show everyone on earth an example of dispassion and holiness, non-covetousness and heavenly life on earth, so that it would be all the more convenient to teach believers by the example of their lives and their dispassion. When God, who chose me from my mother’s womb, deigned to reveal His Son in me, I did not consult with flesh and blood, 230 that is, I abandoned all worldly attachments. Sixth reason: the holy apostles, as preachers of spiritual freedom in Christ, should themselves have been clothed in spiritual freedom through perfect impartiality to everything temporary; and one who is addicted to earthly things cannot be spiritually free: he is a slave to his whims. The apostles, by the will of God and their own will, were free from all earthly attachments; they taught a new life in Christ, and they themselves, first of all, were a new creation. The apostles were soldiers of Christ, who had to fight not only with people, or their passions and iniquities, but also with the kingdom of Satan, with the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spirits of evil in high places 231 . What should Christ's warriors be like? They must be spiritually invulnerable from all the forces of the enemy, and they could be invulnerable only if they had no attachment to anything earthly, or to their life itself: for the enemy usually attacks through carnal and worldly attachments; There will be no such addictions in us: and we are invulnerable, by the grace of God. Such were the apostles and all the holy martyrs, saints, saints, unmercenaries, all saints. They were strong in their impartiality, in their mortification of the flesh with its passions and lusts. No one else, who has been a warrior, undertakes to make purchases of life, so that the governor will be pleased 232. The hellish malice of the tormentors and the terrible torments to which they subjected the confessors of the name of Christ were powerless to break their courage and patience: they were above all fears and torments. This is what their impartiality to the flesh and to the world meant! Finally, the seventh reason is that God rests in simple hearts, but He has no place in wicked ones. Let us, according to our Strength, imitate the dispassion of the apostles in order to serve God with a pure heart, to achieve more and more in love for God and our neighbors, encouraging each other to good deeds 233. Amen. Sermon on the third week of Pentecost The eye is a lamp for the body: if your eye is simple, your whole body will be light; If your eye be evil, your whole body will be dark (Matthew 6:22–23) The words of the Lord are a true lamp for us on the path of life: so are the words of the Gospel now read; you just need to think about them more carefully. Let's think about it. The lamp of the body is the eye, says the Lord, that is, the eye or eye is the lamp of the body; Why is it not said: eyes, but an eye? Because here the Lord does not mean the bodily eyes, but the spiritual eye, or our heart, which controls both the bodily eyes and with two eyes sees objects not double, but individually. So, by eye we mean the heart in which conscience is implanted, or the internal law indicating what is good and what is evil; that is why it is said: eye, not eyes; By body we mean our entire inner life, thoughts, desires, intentions, all our deeds that we do during our earthly life. This means that the meaning of the Savior’s words will be this: the heart or conscience is a lamp for a person on the path of his life, in all his thoughts, desires, intentions, words, in all his deeds. Further the Lord says: therefore, if your eye is simple, then your whole body will be light: if, i.e. that is, your heart, your conscience, will be simple, pure, then all your thoughts, your desires, your deeds, intentions, your undertakings will be bright, right, pure; if your eye, your conscience, is evil, then your whole body will be dark, that is, all your thoughts, desires, intentions, undertakings, your whole life, all your deeds will be dark, wrong, evil. So if the light that is in you is darkness; then what is darkness? If your heart, which was given to you from the Lord instead of a lamp, through your negligence has become darkness itself, then what will your whole life, all your deeds be like? Isn't this how it happens in life? Don't we see constant examples of this? Let's take an example from life. Let's take a person with a simple heart, with a straight conscience, with a direct outlook on life, with a view of the Gospel, and a person with an evil heart or an evil conscience and partial to the world, to the flesh. All the actions of the former are imprinted with justice, diligence, straightforwardness of character, and goodwill towards one’s neighbor. The actions of the second bear the stamp of untruth, deception, hypocrisy, cunning, and deceit. The first is satisfied with very little and is not consumed by a thirst for much, for example, does not desire a luxurious table, many elegant and expensive clothes, - a thirst for wealth, a wide and richly decorated home, etc.; he has his daily bread and stew, a few changes of clean and decent clothing, a constant, although maybe not rich, income or salary, or money earned through hard work, honest trade, industry, handicrafts, a healthy home, although not wide, without rich furniture: he is satisfied and thanks God; he doesn’t want anything more, because he considers it unnecessary; if he sees a small surplus, he would rather give it to his neighbors in need, but will not use it for any of his own whims. But look at the life of another person with an evil heart and an indirect, evil conscience. He is dissatisfied with nothing: his table is not a table, clothes are not clothes, housing is not housing, furniture is not furniture, and when the cup is full he wants it to be even fuller, his own is not enough for him, he must seize someone else’s, even with offense to his neighbor; for him this food is not good, he needs better, or his daily bread and stew are not enough, he needs wine, although there is no need for it at all; Yes, not just a little - that wouldn’t be a problem, otherwise someone needs a lot to get drunk; these clothes are not good, they are out of fashion, they need to be better; this housing is not so spacious and comfortable, it needs to be wider; this furniture is not good, we need new one; This income, this salary, this income is not enough, he needs more - and he is hardly satisfied with anything: everything seems good with him, everything is enough - the man is well-fed and satiated, dressed luxuriously and whimsically, he has a lot of excess - but he is still dissatisfied; Another, with his means of living, and even with less, and enough for himself, will have enough to spend on food and clothing for his neighbors in need, but he has little for himself and nothing for others. Why? Because his heart is deceitful, darkened, unreasonable, insatiable, passionate. Why is it like this? – Because he does not know the commandments of the Lord or does not want to know, he is not guided by the light of the Gospel of Christ. Because he does the will of his blind, passionate flesh and his thoughts. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and not care about the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. What are the two masters here who cannot be served at the same time? One is the Lord and God, the other is wealth or our sinful flesh, in which the devil operates, trying to chain it to the world. Obviously, it is impossible for God and the sinful flesh to work together: precisely because God demands from us holiness, the unwavering and precise fulfillment of His will, and the flesh constantly incites us to sin - to gluttony, drunkenness, fornication, envy, enmity, covetousness and love of money, laziness, etc. How to reconcile serving God and the flesh? Obviously it is impossible, the word of God directly says that those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with passions and lusts 234 - and by no means serve the sinful flesh, do not please it. Do not please the flesh in lust, 235 says the holy Apostle Paul. And it always happens that whoever pleases his flesh is negligent about pleasing God, about the salvation of his soul, about his correction, about a virtuous life, does not correct his heart, does not strive in spirit for the heavenly fatherland, but is completely chained to the earth, to earthly pleasures. He who loves his sinful flesh does not love God, His commandments seem burdensome to him, he does not love his neighbor: he does not care about his salvation, because he does not care about his own; will not help him in need, because he loves himself too much and would rather fulfill his own whims than give up his property for the needs of his neighbor. Therefore I tell you,” the Lord continues, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? Inappropriate, unreasonable, too much concern for food, drink, clothing, is very harmful to Christian life: this is what the Lord previously called serving mammon. This wrong concern of ours about food, drink and clothing turns, so to speak, our whole life upside down: instead of caring mainly about the soul, about its cleansing, correction, sanctification, in general, about salvation, we worry every day about pleasing our greedy belly, and about what to wear, and leave the soul - this immortal being created in the image and likeness of God - perishing alive in sins in neglect, without correction, or even daily adding sins to sins; we satiate and satiate the body, but leave the soul to starve: We decorate the body, but disgrace the soul; We revive the body, but kill the soul. Therefore, the Lord, denouncing our folly, says: Is not the soul more than food, and the body than clothing? If the soul is obviously greater than food, then why do you leave the soul without care, worrying about something as insignificant as food and drink: for food is for the belly, and the belly is for food; but God will destroy both 236. Or again, isn’t the body bigger than the clothes? If the Lord gave you more, i.e. body, then will he not take care to give less, will he not take care of covering it - and will he not give you the means to cover his nakedness, as he covered the nakedness of Eve and Adam? Are you not worrying about empty things, leaving the most necessary, the only thing you need? Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you much better than them? The Lord points to birds to us, those of little faith, in order to show the never-slumbering, unceasing providence of the Heavenly Father for all the creatures of the earth, which from the beginning of the world until now has not ceased and does not cease to preserve and nourish every creature, and especially the crown of all creatures - man, created in the image and likeness of God, and so that by the example of birds who are always well-fed, although they do not sow or reap bread, we are convinced to rely with certainty in the providence of God. Of course, these words of the Lord do not teach us to sit idly by and only hope in God, but teach us to practice blessed labors and, while laboring, hope for God’s blessing for success in business, for the granting of everything we need. Further, the Lord says: and which of you, by caring, can add even one cubit to his height? Doesn't everything depend on God? If our body in all functions - both in nutrition and in growth - depends on God, as the work of His hands, His wisdom, goodness, omnipotence: then isn’t our food also dependent on Him? Doesn't He also provide food for our growth and strengthening? Why do we consider food as if alien to His providence? Oh, truly His providence feeds not only us, but also every worm, every insect! And why do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like any of them; But if God clothes the grass of the field, which exists today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, God clothes it so much more than you, O you of little faith! In words: what do you care about clothes - the Lord teaches us not to have an addiction to clothes, as he previously told us not to have an addiction to food and drink. It is impossible not to take care of clothes at all: we must take care that our clothes are decent and clean; those who should should engage in spinning, weaving, and sewing. The Most Pure Virgin Mary Herself wove and sewed with Her most pure hands, as is shown by the Savior's tunic, woven with Her virgin hands. But the incessant worries about outfits that spin our heads are completely contrary to the spirit of the Gospel: they make us vain, petty, and give rise to unchastity and pride in many. If beautiful clothing were necessary for us, as its flower is necessary for any cereal, then the Heavenly Father would not leave us to dress us a thousand times better than roses and lilies or peacocks; but it is known that our clothing is a temporary covering, or a temporary bandage on a wound: because clothing appeared as a result of sin, when people recognized their nakedness; Is it worth decorating bandages on a wound? Shouldn’t we be concerned about how to heal the wound as quickly as possible, that is, how to cleanse ourselves of sins as quickly as possible? Is it reasonable to sew expensive bandages on these sinful wounds and still boast of these bandages as something laudable? Isn’t that why there is more of a sinful stench? Let us remember that in baptism we all received the robe of incorruptibility, the robe of the righteousness of Christ. Let us take care of this garment of truth; We will keep these clothes; Let it be our decoration. If we preserve it, then in the next century the Lord will clothe us with the robe of glory, clothe us with eternal light, as He Himself dresses with light, like a robe. So, I will end the conversation with the words of the Savior: do not worry and do not say: what shall we eat or what shall we drink? or what to wear? because the pagans seek all this; and because your heavenly Father knows that you need all this. Hear: according to the word of the Lord - all those pagans, and not Christians, who care about what to eat and drink or what to wear; but they do not think about the works of God and the fulfillment of His commandments. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Every master, master, feeds, waters, and clothes his servants: how much more will the Lord God feed and clothe us if we are His servants. If those who serve Him, those who do not know Him, He feeds and clothes, how much less will He forget those who serve Him. Amen. Word for St. Day glorious and all-validated and supreme apostles Peter and Paul Jesus said to his disciples: Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:15–16) Beloved brothers! Today the Church celebrates the holy and glorious memory of Christ’s supreme apostles Peter and Paul. Let us also remember them with reverent, grateful and laudatory words. What a crown of praise will we weave from our unwise words for the supreme apostles, when St. The Church so beautifully sang their exploits in its hymns and St. vitii, church pastors and teachers extolled them with praise? Shall we point out their venerable spiritual properties, at least some of their more outstanding deeds, in order to benefit our souls by remembering and imagining their godlike qualities and great deeds, and together to be filled with deep feelings of gratitude, love and reverence for them? What spiritual qualities and virtues did St. the apostles Peter and Paul, mainly after they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, for before they also had some infirmities? What, I repeat, did they have properties and virtues that exalted them before God, before Angels and men? These qualities are - holy simplicity of character, living faith in Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, the hardest adamant (diamond), unshakable trust in God, - the purest, fiery love for God, and in God - for humanity that is perishing and redeemed by the priceless blood of the Son of God, meekness and humility, unchangeable and equal towards everyone, combined with respect for every person, especially for those seeking truth and salvation, constant closeness and accessibility to everyone, angelic patience; until the end of their lives - constant, ardent zeal for the salvation of all people, constant abstinence, complete self-denial from pleasing the flesh and from all worldly addictions, a mind that constantly sees grief, complete devotion to God, holiness in all their lives - these are the main features of their character after renewal by grace! I will point to one example of the simplicity of character and direct and living faith of the Apostle Peter. When the contemporaries of the Lord Jesus Christ thought differently about Him and did not believe in Him as the Son of God; Some thought that He was John the Baptist, and others that He was Elijah the prophet, others that He was Jeremiah, or one of the ancient prophets who rose from the dead - the Apostle Peter to the question of Jesus Christ to the disciples: Who do you say that I am? - He answered directly: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God 237. And this faith in Peter was so sincere and firm even before the renewal of the Holy Spirit that the Lord called him blessed: Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven 238 . And this means that Peter was worthy of such a revelation from the Heavenly Father about His Son for his simplicity, alien to all guile and doubt, as the Lord testified to this, saying: The Father, Lord of heaven and earth, confess that you hid this, that is, the secret of the incarnation of the Son of God, from the wise and prudent, and revealed it to babes 239, i.e. i.e. simple people. Therefore, Jesus Christ, continuing his speech to Peter, calls him by this new name, i.e. Peter, what does the stone mean, foreseeing his firm faith and firm confession of him by the Son of God until his last breath, and promises on this stone, that is, on the firm confession of Christ by God, to create His Church or a society of believers in Him, which all the powers of hell will not overcome, and to give the keys of the kingdom of heaven - to open and close it for people, for faith is all possible: it is the key to the kingdom of heaven. The Apostle Peter fully justified the trust of his divine Teacher: having only once had the weakness to renounce his Lord in difficult circumstances, until the end of his life he remained faithful to the Lord who called him, and sealed his faith and apostolic exploits with the death of a martyr: he was crucified on the cross upside down. As for Saul, who was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and a pester of the Christian faith, teaching and disciples of Christ - Saul - who was later renamed Paul, after the miraculous appearance of Jesus Christ from heaven to him on the way to Damascus, he completely changed in his thoughts, intentions, in his heart, in his life: three days after this, he openly confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God before all Jews and pagans, He made the worst enemies among them everywhere, who repeatedly attempted to kill him. His faith in the Lord was so strong that with this faith he performed many miracles, openly and fearlessly confessed it before everyone, for its sake he endured countless labors, endured countless persecutions, prisons, sorrows, beatings, beheadings, and finally beheading. This is what he writes about himself in his second epistle or letter to the inhabitants of the city of Corinth, converted from him to the faith of Christ: I was much more (than the other apostles) in labor, immensely in wounds, more in prisons and many times at the point of death. Five times the Jews gave me forty stripes minus one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea; I have been on journeys many times, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from fellow tribesmen, in dangers from pagans, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the desert, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers, in labor and exhaustion, often in vigils, in hunger and thirst, often in fasting, in cold and nakedness. In addition to extraneous adventures, I have a daily gathering of people, caring for all the churches. Who is exhausted, with whom would I not be exhausted? Who is tempted, for whom would I not be inflamed 240? Such are the traits of Pavlov’s high character: such are his temptations, struggles, and exploits! What was the cause of them? Ardent love for God and for people: for he says this about himself in the Epistle to the Romans: Who will separate us from the love of God: tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? as it is written: For Your sake we are killed every day; They consider us to be sheep doomed to the slaughter, but we overcome all this by the power of Him who loved us. For I am confident that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord 241 . This is the love for God in the Apostle Paul, fiery love worthy of God! If only we had even a small spark of such love! There was a similar love in the Apostle Peter and in the other apostles. Tell me, is it possible to adequately praise the supreme apostles Peter and Paul; Is it possible to be quite amazed at their faith, hope, courage, love, patience, and labors? Human words are not able to depict their valor, which amazed the Angels in heaven. If we compare ourselves with them, where will we end up? - Ash, which is lifted and twisted by the wind on the roads, or a reed, shaken by the wind. But through their prayers, Lord, strengthen and save us, drowned by sins! To all that has been said I will add that the apostles had the mind of Christ, the heart of Christ, the mouth of Christ; they enlightened the whole world with their teaching and brought all the ends of the earth to Christ; they plucked from the mouth of the devil countless human souls, like priceless spoils; dried up the salty-bitter sea of ​​passions and vices; brought enlightenment, revival, renewal into the world; they improved the Church; established Divine services and sacraments, which we now use for our purification, sanctification, consolation and salvation; From their divinely inspired writings we still constantly learn, console ourselves, and strengthen ourselves; through their prayers we stand in faith and piety; They healed humanity, which was suffering from corruption, and taught it to despise the corruptible and strive for the imperishable. They sowed the seed of incorruptibility and shrines into human hearts, and shrines and incorruptibility flourished in people - countless hosts of zealots of incorruptible life appeared, and inherited incorruptible, ageless, eternal life, I mean, countless hosts of martyrs, saints, reverend men and women, unmercenary, righteous and all saints. The desert flourished like a cranium, Lord, the pagan barren church, through Your coming, through the illnesses and labors of Christ’s apostles. Let us be edified, my brethren, by such a glorious example of the apostles: their faith, hope, love, purity, meekness, humility, patience, devotion to the will of God - selflessness, abstinence, non-covetousness, courage; let us be imbued with and enlivened by their spirit. May the Lord grant this to all of us, without Whom we cannot do anything 242 and without Whom the spiritual home cannot be built. Amen. Sermon for the fourth week after Pentecost The centurion, answering the Lord, said: Lord! I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; but just say the word, and my servant will be healed (Matthew 8:8) In the Gospel read today, I was offered to you, my brothers, the sacred story of the miraculous healing by Jesus Christ of the servant of the Roman centurion in the city of Capernaum. The servant was healed by one word of the Savior through great faith and the humble request of the centurion, a pagan, who personally came to the divine Doctor. "God! - the centurion says to Him, - my servant lies at home in relaxation, and suffers cruelly. Jesus tells him, “I will come and heal him.” And the centurion said to Him: “Lord! I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For,” he continued, “I am also a subject; but having soldiers under my command, I say to one: go, and he goes; and to another: come, and he comes; and to my servant: Do this, and he does it.” “Hearing this,” the Gospel further says, “Jesus was surprised and said to those following Him: “Truly I say to you, even in Israel,” that is, among the Jews, “I have not found such faith,” and, a little further, the Lord says to him: “Go, and as you have believed, be it done for you. And his servant recovered at that hour 243.” Happy is the servant that he had such a good, kind, believing master! The master who loved his servant like a father and in the simplicity of faith looked at Jesus Christ and His works is worthy of all praise! He, both now and at the Last Judgment, at the second coming of the Lord, will serve as an accuser of unbelief and wickedness to many, many of today's Christians who do not believe in the Lord and boldly reject His miracles and His second coming and say: where is the promise of His coming 244 - and the end of the age 245? or what is the same - supposedly there will be no second coming at all? But let’s leave these stupid and proud unbelievers, and we’ll talk better about faith - in our edification and salvation, and about how harmful unbelief is; how it pushes away from us the right hand of God that saves us. What exactly do we say now about faith? And the fact that faith in the Lord, in His word, living, undoubted faith, is the key to the inexhaustible treasury of all the gifts of God - a life-giving power bestowed from God by simple, wisely wise, humble souls and attracting to them the wealth of God’s bounties. Let's prove this with examples. The example of the Roman centurion is before our eyes: his simple, firm faith in the omnipotence of Jesus Christ surprised the Lord Himself and immediately attracted the mercy of God to the centurion and his sick servant: Go, and as you have believed, so be it done to you. And his servant recovered at that hour 246. Two blind men cry out to Jesus Christ for the healing of their eyes: Son of David, have mercy on us! The Lord commands to bring them to Himself and asks them: Do you believe that I can do this? And when they answered: We believe, He healed them, saying: According to your faith, be it done to you; and their eyes were immediately opened 247. One day they bring a paralytic to Jesus Christ, and the Lord, seeing the faith of the bearers, according to their faith, said to the paralytic: be of good cheer, child! your sins are forgiven you; get up, take your bed and go to your house; and the sick man arose, took up his bed, and went home 248 . The Lord healed the bleeding woman, who had been ill with her illness for twelve years, by her faith, through her touching His clothes, saying: Be of good cheer, daughter! your faith has saved you 249. But one day there was an incident with the Savior’s disciples: one father had a demon-possessed son and brought him to them for healing, but they could not heal him. Why? Due to the unbelief of the father of this sick man and the disciples of Christ. “O faithless and corrupt generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? - the Lord said to this father and those ahead. Bring him here to me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was healed that very hour.” “The disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him: Why couldn’t we drive him out? Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief,” and added: Truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed and say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” then it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting 250. However, the apostles sometimes fell into the temptation of unbelief only before the descent of the Holy Spirit on them on the day of Pentecost; and after the descent of the Holy Spirit, they never fell into unbelief, but always had unshakable faith and with it they performed countless miracles: they healed all sorts of diseases, cast out demons with words, raised the dead. The holy saints of God of ancient and modern times performed many miracles by faith, as you yourself have heard and read. How many today, through their faith, have received numerous healings, wonderful deliverance from troubles and misfortunes, from the torment of demons! How many were miraculously healed through communion of the life-giving Mysteries of the body and blood of Christ! How many healings have been and are happening from the relics of the holy saints of God, or from miraculous holy icons, or simply from sincere, with faith in repentance, prayer to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother, or to the holy saints of God? One pious shepherd, an acquaintance of mine, told me sincerely that through the prayer of faith, in the simplicity of his heart, he asked the Lord and the Most Pure Mother of God for many miraculous benefits of God to ordinary people who asked for his prayerful help, and, as proof, he was ready to personally present to me all those who were honored with the merciful visit of God and could testify with a living voice to the truth of his words. “I,” he said about himself, “am an ordinary mortal, a man of many sins, I do not differ from other people in any deeds: neither by fasting, nor by standing all night in prayer, I allow myself to eat and drink what is permitted - in myself and among people - but I have only faith in the Lord, I live in constant repentance, I thank the Lord for everything, whatever I receive from His bounties: and I do not remain in shame. Every day I receive salvation from the life-giving right hand of God, every day the Lord surrounds me with the joys of deliverance. If someone asks me to pray with him for him, I do not refuse; if only I notice sincere faith and a sincere desire for salvation in the person asking: both faith and hope do not put him to shame. You see, brethren, even in our time, when faith is poor, believers can ask the Lord for everything they need for salvation. Believe everything undoubtedly in the Lord, Who abides with us and will abide all days until the end of the age, live piously, repent sincerely, correct your life, ask the Lord with undoubted faith for what is good and useful - and you will receive. Amen. Homily for the fifth week of Pentecost Today the Gospel tells of the expulsion of demons from two demoniacs who came out of the tomb caves of the country of Gergesin, so fierce that no one dared to pass along the path where they were. The Gospel speaks about the possessed, about the expulsion of demons, about their introduction, with the permission of Jesus Christ, into a swine herd and the destruction of the herd in the sea - about the request of the citizens of the city of Gadara that the Lord would withdraw from them, and about His return crossing to the other shore - and arrival in Capernaum 251. The story itself is clear. It tells the story of two unfortunate people possessed by evil spirits. This means, contrary to the stubborn disbelief and false belief of some overeducated and lost people, evil spirits exist in the world and do their destructive deeds, which mainly consist of the destruction of people and inflicting various vile dirty tricks on them. Jesus Christ himself, the only begotten Son of God, came into the world in order to destroy the works of the devil and defeat him with all his army. For this reason, the Son of God has appeared, so that he may destroy the works of the devil, 252 says the Apostle John the Theologian. Uneducated wise men will not assure us that there are supposedly no evil spirits: for to reject their existence means to reject all Holy Scripture, to reject Christianity, to consider the faith of Christ and the coming to earth of Christ God and all His divine economy as unnecessary; finally, it means rejecting obvious facts; for evil spirits have previously corrupted and destroyed people, and now they corrupt people in various ways and destroy the unwary, by the permission of God, or as they were previously driven out of people by the Lord or by His grace by holy people, so they are now driven out. So, there were demons and the possessed, and they still exist now. What kind of demoniacs are there today? There are two kinds of demoniacs: real demoniacs of the kind mentioned in the Gospel, who are locked in insane asylums, demoniacs who are corrupted, who are tormented by demons especially when this kind of sick is brought to some shrine or when the Cherubic song is sung in the church at the great entrance, and demoniacs - under the guise of being worried and darkened and maddened by various passions, anger and malice, envy, strong carnal passion, from drunkenness or from a passion for profit, for accumulating money and increasing it with interest, from pride, ambition and vanity, etc.; People who are so-called liberalists should be included in a special class of demoniacs: i.e. too freely, contrary to the Christian and all common sense of those who think, the so-called nihilists, who reject the Christian faith, and Christ, and the Church, prayer and sacraments, the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, judgment and reward according to each person’s deeds; Among them there are such, so evil demons in human form that they set out to overthrow the state structure and overthrow the thrones of kings, to sacrilegiously encroach on the lives of the very anointed of God, whose life and safety should be inviolable; set fire to houses and all kinds of buildings, and destroy people's property, and turn the earth into hell, a place of tears and lamentation. These are the demoniacs we have in our time, demoniacs consciously, of their own free will, of their own evil heart! Oh, may the Lord deliver us from these evil creatures, who are destined for eternal fire along with the devil. And we will beware of another kind of demonic possession - inflated pride, envy, anger, malice, hatred, irritability, carnal passion, drunkenness, gluttony, foul language, covetousness, hard-heartedness, oppression of neighbors, cursing, quarrels, strife, despondency, despair and other passions that remove us from God and plunge us into the power of the devil. In the Gospel we read, let us also pay attention to the audacity of demons and their recognition of the eternal torment prepared for them. When the demon-possessed met Jesus Christ, the demons in them cried out: What do you have to do with us, Jesus, the Son of God? You came here ahead of time to torment us. Look, what devilish pride and insolence! What do you care about us? They say; as if they are not subject to the power of God, which extends to the entire satanic kingdom! However, soon, feeling the unbearable torment of the presence of Jesus Christ and His invincible power, they lowered their tone and said: If you drive us out, then send us to the herd of pigs. The Lord commanded them: and they entered the swine herd and drowned everything in water. What if they were allowed to do the same to people? They would have killed everyone in an instant. But they do not dare to do this to them, but torment them, by God’s permission, enough to bring them to their senses. The Lord allowed the pigs to be destroyed in order to show the cruelty and ferocity of demons and so that the inhabitants of Gergesin, idolaters, would know what awaits them if they do not repent and believe in Him, Jesus Christ - namely, that eternal torment awaits them along with the demons. It is remarkable that the demons themselves expect eternal torment and tremble, but other people do not believe in them and do not tremble at them, and are not afraid to sin. So the Gergesin residents did not believe in Him and asked to move away from them: and He crossed to the other side. Ah, brothers and sisters, woe would be for us, eternal woe, without Jesus Christ, without faith in Him, without His grace, without good deeds, without unfeigned repentance! A person who lives without faith in Jesus Christ, without repentance and good deeds, becomes a plaything of destructive passions, one more tormenting than the other - a church full of demons, like the mentioned demoniacs, guilty of eternal torment, the food of eternal fire. Let us live in repentance and virtue. Let us always be with Jesus Christ. Sad reality Homily for the sixth week after Pentecost Child, your sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:2) In the current Gospel reading, we are told about the mercy of our common Savior towards an unfortunate person, and in the Gospel of last Sunday, it was also spoken about His mercy: then it spoke of the healing of the demon-possessed, who suffered terribly from evil spirits, and now it speaks of the healing of the paralytic; there the cause of trouble and misfortune was sins, as can be seen from the moral teaching of Jesus Christ to the healed: Go to yours, and tell them, great things the Lord has done to you, and has had mercy on you 253 . And here the reason for the relaxation of the bodily members and the soul itself was sins, for the Physician of souls and bodies says to the sick person: child, your sins are forgiven you. The entire Gospel, beloved brothers and sisters, is filled with the story of the wonderful deeds of mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ towards distressed and erring people; and there it is proclaimed everywhere that the main cause of almost all illnesses, troubles and misfortunes with people is sins - this is the greatest evil, the misfortune of the human race, this terrible root of all evils and the greatest evil - temporary and eternal death. That is why the Lord, when healing a paralytic, first heals the soul, which is sick with sins, and then the body. Child! - He says to the paralytic, - your sins are forgiven. And this means that it teaches us that in our illnesses we must humbly and deeply acknowledge our sins and sincerely repent of them and ask the Lord for their forgiveness, with the intention of not sinning in the future. For the main part of our being is the soul, a being in the image of God, rational, with free will, immortal, but a fallen being, sick with sin and corruption and redeemed from sin and death by the death of the Son of God; about her, about her salvation we must take care with all our might - about pleasing God, about fulfilling His holy and blessed commandments, about her righteousness and holiness. For carnal passions enslave, defile, remove the soul from God and, in the end, often lead to temporary and eternal destruction. Look at a drunkard: he is eternally weakened in soul and body, he has no faith or fear of God; he doesn't pray; all moral foundations in him are shaken; he is ready for anything bad: he gets angry, scolds, fights, gets dirty, and nothing argues with him; all work falls out of hand. Look at a person who likes to eat and drink a lot: he is also relaxed and therefore lazy and clumsy; just as moderate food and drink strengthen the body, so excess burdens and weakens them. And a voluptuous person - as if weakness personified - often dies alive, body and soul. This is how sins weaken a person’s entire being and entire societies and states! Thus, sins and social passions weaken Russia. What sins flooded Russia? - Unbelief, drunkenness, cheating, lies and deceit, passion for profit, frequent murders because of the passion for profit or because of unsatisfied carnal love, passion for gambling, theft, bribery, selfishness, which wants exclusively for only him to feel good, rich and cheerful, while others even die of hunger. Yes, one cannot help but see in Russia a general relaxation of morals, and as a result of the relaxation of morals, social disasters are increasing: hunger, lack of money, impoverishment of the people, the inclination and desire to move from place to place, malicious arson, etc. What to do? I will say with the apostle; Strengthen drooping arms and weak knees; and walk straight with your feet, so that what is corrupt may not be corrupted, but rather be corrected. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; so that any root of bitterness, when it arises, does not cause harm, and so that many are not defiled by it 254. Let us strengthen souls and hearts with the grace of God, as the Apostle Paul teaches: It is good to strengthen hearts by grace, and not waste, from which those who walked in them received no benefit 255 . Let us strengthen our souls with sincere prayer - at home and in public - and, in general, with unceasing inner prayer; by reading or listening to the word of God or the writings of the holy and wise fathers, by diligently reading or listening to the lives of God’s holy saints, so that we can imitate their faith and life, their good deeds: also by spiritual conversations and especially sincere confession and frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. So, let us strengthen ourselves with the grace of God, as long as there is time and until our sins completely weaken us. For the time will soon come, or perhaps is already coming, when everyone will indulge in drowsiness and sleep, everyone will weaken morally, when faith will become impoverished, and love will dry up, and lawlessness, like the sea, will spill over the earth. But then it will be too late to improve. For a voice will be heard: Behold the Bridegroom is coming, come ye out to meet Him 256; The Archangel's trumpet will sound, gathering all people living and resurrected from the dead to the place of the general terrible judgment, at which the final righteous sentence will be pronounced either to eternal life or to eternal torment. Amen. Sermon for the seventh week after Pentecost Then Jesus touched their eyes (the two blind men) and said, “According to your faith it will be done for you.” And their eyes were opened (Matthew 9:29–30) The current Gospel story tells us, beloved brethren, about the Savior’s miraculous healing of two blind men and a mute man possessed by a demon, whose tongue was tied by a demon. It happened in the vicinity of the city of Capernaum, after the resurrection from the dead of the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the Jewish synagogue. These two blind men followed Jesus Christ “and shouted: Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us! When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I can do this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord! then He touched their eyes and said: According to your faith, be it done to you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus sternly said to them: Be careful that no one finds out. And they went out and spread the word about Him throughout all that land.”257 The point is clear: the blind suddenly received their sight at one word of the Savior; The Creator of man, the Light Himself and the Giver of light, said the word, and the word became deed. He said the creative: let it be, and the former blind are now sighted. And He gave such a wonderful gift for the faith of the blind alone, without any merit on their part: according to your faith it will be unto you. What is so pleasing to God in a person is one simple, sincere faith in the omnipotence of God! Faith works so powerfully! Such miracles happen through faith! Do you and I have faith? If we have, then we cannot help but see in ourselves the wondrous works of God, both in our souls and in our bodies; The Lord is with us now, according to His divine promise: behold, I am with you always until the end of the age, 258 He said to the disciples before His ascension into heaven; Jesus Christ yesterday and today, the same and forever 259. I see the wonders of His mercy and power in me every day and glorify His mercies daily: for they are without number. Speaking about the blind people of the Gospel and about the miraculous healing of them by Jesus Christ for their faith, I am transported mentally to blind people of a different kind, namely, to blind people overcome by spiritual blindness, which is much more dangerous and fatal than physical blindness. This is, firstly, the blindness of the half-educated or completely overeducated of some people of the present time, who in the wise structure of the world do not see the finger of God, who created everything and controls everything, and consider it a product of chance, like themselves, and make out of their life, as it were, a toy and amusement, and when this toy gets tired of them for something, they mercilessly break it, that is, commit suicide; or they make it a series of atrocities against others and make fun of human misfortunes. This blindness is all the more disastrous for themselves and for societies because people of this kind consider themselves sighted, intelligent and almost kind people, and all other people - not from their gang - ignorant, vile. Reading in the daily news about various incidents, we encounter every now and then - murders, suicides, drunkenness, debauchery, the most brazen thefts of public money, arson of cities and villages. Summing up all these incidents, we draw the necessary conclusion that these people have recoiled from God, from faith, from the Church of God, that they are blind, wandering in the dark and do not know what they are striving for, what will come of all this. Oh, unfortunate times! Oh, times of unbelief! Oh, times foreshadowing the approach of the terrible day of judgment! Beware, brothers, of this blindness of unbelief and tyranny. Pardon the expression, but I cannot call people who act so brazenly and recklessly any other way. Where is the light of reason and conscience in people? How did they lose the light of faith? Secondly, the blindness of the soul is the blindness of schism and superstition. Thirdly, spiritual blindness is the blindness of the common people, who do not know the most necessary truths of their faith and the rules of Christian life. But this blindness is more forgivable than the one we talked about earlier: it is involuntary. Hold on, brothers, stronger than your holy faith, the Church of God, which teaches you everything that is good, useful, holy, and soul-saving; Don’t listen to today’s tyrants, who have the devil as their teacher and are trying to corrupt your simple Christian and Russian meaning. Have the fear of God in all your life; remember the second terrible coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the terrible judgment of the entire universe and carefully fulfill the commandments of God and the deeds of your calling. Learn the faith and its duties; be enlightened, sanctified, corrected and saved. Another miracle that the current Gospel tells about was the expulsion of a demon from a mute man who was possessed. The Lord cast out the demon, and the dumb man began to speak. Glory to Your divine power, O Christ our God! You command the evil spirits: and they fulfill Your command with trepidation, although with the usual malice in which they remain unrepentant. God! Drive out the spirit of dumbness from us too, for we too are subject to it: when we need to earnestly repent to You, we become dumb and do not know what to say; when we need to pray fervently, we are again dumb and do not know how to pray, what to ask for, what to give thanks for and how to give thanks; When talking about everyday things, our tongue moves freely and sometimes speaks incessantly, but when it comes to the divine, to the salvation of the soul, the tongue becomes numb. Where is it customary in society to talk about the Divine, about the salvation of a sinful soul, about eternal life? Almost nowhere. Here we are mute. God! Deliver us from the spirit of dumbness and teach us what to say and what to do is pleasing to You, God our Savior. Amen. Homily for the eighth week after Pentecost Beloved brothers and sisters, today’s Gospel reading tells us about the Lord’s mercy towards people and His divine almighty power, namely, the healing of many sick people and the miraculous feeding of five thousand people with miraculously multiplied five small loaves and two fish. It teaches us the truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of everything, our Life-Giver and Nourisher, and our spiritual and physical Physician; He created and creates in abundance all kinds of fruits of the earth for our food and enjoyment; He sends from heaven the early and late rains; It thunders in the circle of heaven and terribly shines with lightning; He brings forth the winds from His treasures; By it we live, move and exist 260. And therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, using every day the various gifts of God, let us be grateful to the Lord for them and for His great love for us and His rich Providence for us, we will repay Him with love and, according to the measure of His generosity to us, we will be mutually generous to our neighbors. If we do this, then the earth will not stop growing all kinds of fruits in abundance, for, according to the fruits of our love for God and good deeds, the earth will be filled with fruits, and there will be no crop failures and famine or the heavy high cost of all needs. If we are unmerciful and hard-hearted, then the earth will be hard under our feet and will not bear fruit. The Lord demands nothing more from us, brothers and sisters, for His gifts and for His love for us, than for us to fulfill His holy will and our mutual love. What does the All-Satisfied and All-Blessed One need from us? Nothing, Look at the touching compassion the Lord shows for the people who came in large numbers to listen to His sweet, life-giving word and to be healed of their ailments! Seeing the multitude of people, says the Evangelist, the Lord took pity on them and healed their sick. Doesn't He teach us all compassion for each other and mercy? Yes. He sets us an example of all virtue. “I have shown you an example so that you too can do the same as I do,” says the Lord, “of course, within the limits of what is possible.” Can't you heal? But you can sympathize with the sick person, visit him, console him with your love, help him in whatever way you can; or you can feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked or buy him some clothes and shoes, and so on. Even today’s Gospel teaches us that we should not hesitate to give to our neighbor and from a little, according to our strength: for the Lord is able to multiply even a little, so that he who gives to the poor will not become poor 262 . The apostles had only five loaves of bread and two fish and thought that it was not worth dividing such a small amount among such a great multitude of people. And this little became a great multitude: everyone ate and were filled, and there was still forty times more left than there was. Doesn’t a similar miracle happen today to merciful people? - And quite often. As they give, the Lord gives them ten, twenty, a hundred times more. The Lord is faithful in all His words 263. But especially today’s Gospel teaches us that our true bread, the bread that is not temporary, but the bread of eternal life, is the Lord Jesus Christ, and that we must take care not only about perishable food, but especially about the incorruptible food that gives eternal life to the soul, namely, about the communion of the most pure body and blood of Christ, about listening and reading the word of God, which is the spiritual food of our souls, and about prayer, which sanctifies and saturates the soul by grace. When the people, after the miraculous feeding, began to follow Jesus Christ in order to eat more and more of the miraculous dinner, then the Lord said to them accusatoryly: Truly I say to you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate bread and were filled. Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of man gives you. Truly I say to you, My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst 264. Earthly, perishable food strengthens only the body, and not the immortal soul; the apostle says: It is good to strengthen hearts by grace, and not to waste, from which those who walked in them received no benefit 265 . Food is for the belly and the belly is for food, but God will destroy both 266. So, brothers and sisters, while trying to provide for perishable food, let us take more care of the spiritual food that feeds our immortal soul—the communion of the body and blood of Christ, listening and reading the word of God, and public and domestic prayer. May Thy holy body, O most gracious Lord, be the bread of the eternal life, and venerable blood, and healing of manifold illnesses 267. Amen. Prayer and Trust in God Sermon for the ninth week after Pentecost What was the Gospel read about today? Did you listen to it with attention, did you understand it, did you keep it in your memory, did you put it on your heart, did you apply it to yourself? And all this should be done. What was the gospel about? About the Savior's prayer in solitude; about His walking on the sea as on dry land; about the fear of His disciples when they saw a man walking on water; about how the Savior encouraged them; about Petrova’s request to come to Him on the water and about the Lord’s permission; about Peter’s lack of faith and fear, about drowning; about the salvation of a drowned person by the life-giving Right Hand; about the Lord’s reproach to Peter for his lack of faith; about calming the wind; about the disciples' confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God 268. Here is the entire Gospel: and everything is clear! Now we need to apply from it, what is possible and should, to each of us. After all, the Gospel was written for our edification, consolation and salvation. And the first thing you need to apply to yourself is prayer. The Lord, according to humanity, often prayed in solitude, at night. We should certainly pray, at all times. Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into misfortune, 269 says the Lord. We have many sins; there are many mental and physical needs; there are many temptations; That’s why you need to pray unceasingly, of course, most internally. And on holidays it is open in the church. Further, what is edifying and comforting in this Gospel is that Jesus Christ, seeing the disastrous voyage of His disciples, whose boat was being beaten by strong waves in the middle of the sea, went to their aid, and as the Creator and Lord of the sea, walked along the ridge of the sea as if on dry land. Seeing a man walking on the sea, which seemed impossible to them, they considered Him to be a ghost and cried out in fear. But the Lord, who came to their aid, reassured them, saying that it was He and that they had nothing to fear. “And we, brothers, floating in the sea of ​​life, are often rushed by the opposite winds of temptation and various passions, and we, like the apostles, are often in poverty. Let us not forget in the hours of temptation and trouble that the Savior is near us and is ready to save us, if only we would cry out to Him for salvation with faith and sincere repentance for sins. We are often frightened by the ghosts that the evil one presents to us; we are confused by the machinations of the crafty adversary. But let us cry to the Lord with all our hearts: and all the ghosts will dissipate, and the opposing winds will subside. This is always the case with believers, and so it will be. The boldness of the Apostle Peter is remarkable. Encouraged by the words of the Lord, he asks permission to walk to Him on the water, as if forgetting for a while the difference between himself - a man - and between the God-Man. The Lord, however, does not reject boldness and says: go. And a wonderful miracle! An omnipotent command sustains Peter as he walks on the water: he walks on the water, marveling at himself. But Petrov’s boldness did not last long: seeing the strong wind, he got scared, began to drown and shouted: Lord, save me! Jesus immediately stretched out his hand, supported him, and said to him, “You of little faith?” why did you doubt? Do not be surprised at Peter’s lack of faith: at that time he was not yet renewed by the life-giving, fiery breath of the Holy Spirit and therefore showed human weaknesses. But, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, Saint Peter was above all doubts and had the faith of God, with which he raised the dead. And we ourselves will take care of our faith. Peter just began to drown and immediately cried out for salvation: Lord, save me! But many of us are completely drowning in sins, and do not come to the Savior and say: Lord, save me. And how close the Savior is to all of us: just look to Him, brother, with the eyes of your heart with faith, hope, that He is right here in front of you, and He will save you, if you really want salvation, He will save you, He will certainly save you; you will see for yourself how he will save you, you will see, of course, with the eyes of your heart. Now, brother or sister, learn from the Apostle Peter, with the same faith and hope as he, to cry out to the Savior in troubles, sorrows, in sins: Lord, save me, and you will certainly be saved. That’s why the Savior is to save us sinners. And when he saves you, then you will say: yes, truly you are the Son of God, and you will worship Him with love. Amen Word on the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord Be transfigured before them (Jesus): and His face shone like the sun, and His robe was white like light (Matthew 17:2) Now we remember and celebrate the glorious Transfiguration of the most pure flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ. This transfiguration took place in the presence of three earthly witnesses - the apostles Peter, James and John. Jesus Christ, as usual, went up the mountain to pray, like a man, to the Heavenly Father. While He was praying, His Divinity suddenly shone through His body: His face became as bright as the sun, and His clothes, from the inner light of the Divine and from the light of the body, became white like light - so white that no whitener could make them so white. Moses and Elijah, the great prophets of old, appeared; they spoke to the Lord. What were they talking about? – They talked about the suffering that the Savior of the human race had to endure for the sake of our salvation in Jerusalem. His exodus is the verb, and he wants to die in Jerusalem 271. The Apostle Peter, seeing the Lord and the prophets in such glory, said to the Lord: Lord! it is good for us to be here; If you want, we will make three canopies (tents) here: one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice was heard: This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased: Hear Him 272. The voice was from God the Father. Hearing the divine voice, the disciples of the Lord fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. The Lord came up to them, touched them and said: stand up and do not be afraid. They lifted up their gaze: there was no one else but Jesus Christ. When they began to descend from the mountain, the Lord told them not to tell anyone about the vision until He rose from the dead. So, imagine, beloved brethren, the glorious sight of the most pure flesh of the Lord, like the sun shining on Tabor, and enjoy longer, longer this heavenly spectacle; imagining it, triumph in your spirit and rejoice: it is our human face that shone in such glory, in its closest unity with the essence of God the Word Himself. Triumph and rejoice in the hope that if you are obedient to your Lord in this temporary life, follow His divine commandments, then He will one day transform your bodies with the same glory so that they will be consistent with His glorious body; The Lord Himself assures of this when He says that the righteous will be enlightened like the sun in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father 273; and St. Apostle Paul, who says that the Lord will transform our humble body so that it will be consistent with His glorious body 274. - But why did the Lord transfigure himself in glory on Mount Tabor and only before His three disciples? Brethren! The Lord Jesus Christ had to suffer for us and be so humiliated and humiliated that if His disciples, before His suffering, had not been confirmed by various signs and wonders in their faith in Him as the Son of God, they could have been tempted regarding His face, fallen away from Him and scattered, each in his own direction. It was necessary to assure them by some amazing miracle that He is truly the Father’s Radiance, light from light, the Son of God, who will willingly suffer for us. By such a miracle, by the way, the Lord chose to transfigure His body on the mountain, and behold, His face shone like the sun, and His clothes shone like light, and God the Father Himself spoke from the cloud: This is My beloved Son, in Him I am well pleased: Hear ye 275. So, the disciples of Christ, by the transfiguration of the Lord, were prepared in advance so as not to be tempted by the suffering and death of their beloved Teacher and Lord. – As for why the Lord was transfigured only before three disciples, this is for the reason that according to the law, three witnesses were enough to verify any truth. Brethren! The Lord also bequeathed to all His followers sorrow and suffering in this world: In a world of sorrow you will be 276, He said to His disciples before His suffering: If he wants to walk after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me 277. So, endure without complaint all the sorrows God sends to you. But do not be afraid of suffering and sorrow, for they will lead you to eternal joys in heaven; just as the Lord, after His suffering and death on the cross and His resurrection, entered into the eternal joy of the kingdom of heaven and according to His humanity. Just as gold in a crucible is purified and enlightened, so the human soul in the crucible of sorrow and suffering is also purified and enlightened. And this is why the Lord left many different sorrows for His followers in this adulterous and sinful world; they serve as a great benefit for the sufferers themselves and as a deposit of their future eternal bliss. Your sorrow will be turned into joy 278, says the Lord. – Which of the saints, starting with the Most Blessed Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ to the last righteous man, did not grieve in this life and did not enter the kingdom of heaven through sorrow? Nobody. All entered the kingdom of glory through many sorrows. – So, spiritual sorrows transform us, cleanse and enlighten our souls. And this is also why the Lord, coming to our free passion for the sake of salvation, was transformed in glory. He wanted to show all His followers who had to suffer for Him that their suffering would lead them to heavenly glory, that they themselves would be enlightened like the sun, in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father 279. What else does the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord oblige each and every one of us to? He obliges us all to transform ourselves internally. There is no need to talk about how everyone needs to transform, change themselves for the better, just look impartially, everyone into your heart, look at your thoughts, desires, intentions, enterprises, words and deeds - and immediately it will be obvious; how it is necessary to immediately begin to transform your heart. What fills our hearts almost every day and hour? Knowing all the secrets of human hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ says that from the human heart come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, extortion, insults, deceit, flattery, deceit, the evil eye, blasphemy, pride, madness 280 . And each of us, attentive to himself, cannot help but admit that his heart almost constantly gives rise to sinful abominations: lack of faith, doubt, self-love, coldness towards God and neighbor, anger, condemnation, gloating and malice, envy, pride, arrogance, disobedience, false shame, contempt, addiction to earthly life and insatiable greed for earthly things. benefits, often combined with insult to one’s neighbor (namely, greed for money, for food and drinks, especially for wine and various sweets, also for shameful deeds, addiction to clothes and shiny jewelry); laziness, especially in the important matter of salvation, and idleness with all idle activities, such as: cards, smoking, dancing and reading books filled with idle talk, oral idle talk and foul language, etc. Until now, almost every one of us has thought very, very little, and some have not thought at all about heavenly things, but have thought everything about earthly things, and had in themselves not the spirit of Christ, but the spirit of this world, cared about the body and despised spiritual needs: they valued earthly, perishable things dearly and neglected heavenly and eternal things, they were filled with pride and had little, little love of God and brotherly love. Who, after this, will deny that each of us needs to immediately begin to transform our hearts and our lives, which were hitherto contrary to the Gospel? So, brothers and sisters, to the glory of the Lord who was transfigured on Tabor, calling upon His grace to help; Let us begin from today to transform our heart dispositions and our vain life. Let no one be afraid of the difficulty of this transformation. The grace of God is omnipotent; let us continually ask God for it; let's say: Lord! without You we cannot do anything 281; Correct our steps to do Your commandments. Let us not forget that the kingdom of heaven is acquired through effort, and only seekers who use effort acquire it, 282 according to the words of the Lord Himself. Let those of little faith work to acquire faith by diligently reading the word of God and the lives of the saints; cold in love for God and neighbor, let him ask God for love, for every gift is perfect, even more so - the most perfect gift of love - is from above, coming from the Father of lights 283 - and let him exercise himself in love; let the proud and arrogant person put aside his pride and arrogance and with all his heart embrace humility; let the evil and contemptuous person put aside his malice and contempt and look at each and every one with respect and love; let the envious one leave his envy; stingy - his stinginess; lazy and careless - his laziness and negligence, idle - his idle pursuits, a lover of money - his love of money; drunkard - drunkenness; a glutton is his gluttony; thief - your thief; the fornicator is his own fornication; vain - vanity, everyone - all evil. When we behave in this way, then we will worthily, like true followers of Christ, celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ. Then, having been transformed and spiritually enlightened on earth, we will be enlightened like the sun in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father 284. Amen. Homily for the tenth week after Pentecost Today the Gospel was read about Jesus Christ’s healing of a demon-possessed lunatic, and at the very end of the Gospel - the Lord’s prediction about His suffering and death in Jerusalem 285 . The Gospel shows how strong a person can be through faith in the Lord, namely, so strong that he can move mountains, and how weak, powerless and pitiful a non-believer is, for he can be a pitiful playground for demons and the passions of his own and those of others; it also shows the great power of prayer and fasting when they go hand in hand, mutually reinforcing each other. With your mental eyes in this Gospel you see the unfortunate father, exhausted by the suffering of his unfortunate demon-possessed son, whom from childhood the evil spirit terribly tormented on new moons and often threw him into fire, then into water. The father asks the Lord for mercy to heal his son, adding that the disciples of the Lord, whom he asked for this, could not heal him. The Lord, having exposed and reproached people with His righteous word for unbelief and corruption, orders the demoniac to be brought to Himself and now with one prohibition heals him. What kind of possessed lunatic is this? This is a person subject to the action of an evil spirit who tormented on new moons - with an insidious intent so that people would attribute this evil not to him, the evil spirit, but to God’s innocent creation - the moon, and thereby blaspheme the Creator of the moon. This is how Saint Chrysostom interprets it. Evil spirits, causing a variety of evil to people, want to hide their harmful actions from people, so that people do not hate them and turn away from them and their harmful deeds completely - and turn their slander on the beautiful and multi-useful creation of God - on the moon, the night star. But the evil spirit cannot hide with its destructive machinations! A God-enlightened person will now recognize his dirty tricks and, by the grace of God, will destroy them. The unbelievers are not careful; They are still caught in its net and suffer from it, like the indicated lunatic. And how many people in our age, the age of unbelief and depravity, are subject to the deceit, ridicule and malice of evil spirits! I mean all those who are subject to drunkenness, unhappy and insane carnal love, or rather, carnal passion, all the so-called nihilists, who, having lost the most precious human treasure - faith, do not believe in the future life and in the immortality of our souls, do not expect the resurrection of the dead and universal judgment, who do not believe in the existence of God Himself and in His eternal truth and in His formidable, incorruptible justice and, to their bitter misfortune, they do not believe in evil spirits. These unfortunate, lost people, entangled in the snares of the enemy, often, like the demoniac mentioned in the Gospel, also resort to fire, then to water, that is, to firearms in order to shoot themselves, or to drowning, or to strangulation. And notice how truly evil this violent, terrible death is now! Every day people either shoot themselves, or drown themselves, or hang themselves, or kill others. Many people don’t give a damn about human life. What is the terrible reason for this? What terrible lever drives these unfortunates to violent death? – This is, firstly, unbelief and a depraved or perverted life, and secondly, these are evil demons, the original killers of the human race. I myself have heard from many unfortunate people who are subject to binge drinking or despondency due to some difficult circumstances that an evil demon is annoyingly whispering to them: hang yourself, hang yourself! or: drown, drown! or: shoot yourself, shoot yourself! or kill so and so. Oh, damned adversary! How many human, Christian souls did you destroy in the ill-fated nineteenth century by violent death through your all-destructive delusion? They are to blame for being seduced by your deceits, but you are a thousand times more guilty and for all your destruction you will receive retribution from the righteous Judge on the day of retribution. - What is the remedy against the enemies of the charmers, the tormentors and the destroyers? – Faith in Christ, who trampled down the power of the devil with the cross, fasting and prayer. Prayer and fasting cleanse, enlighten and strengthen the soul; on the contrary, without prayer and fasting our soul is an easy prey for the devil, because it is not protected and protected from him. Fasting and prayer are spiritual weapons against the devil, which is why the Lord says in this Gospel that the demonic race comes out only through prayer and fasting. The Holy Church, knowing the power of this spiritual weapon, calls us to fast twice every week - on Wednesday and Friday, by the way, in remembrance of the suffering and death of our Savior, and throughout the year - many times during all multi-day fasts, and connects Great Lent with special touching prayers of repentance. Fasting and prayer have the spiritual benefit that, strengthening our souls, they strengthen our very faith, hope and love and unite us with God. In the Gospel read today, there is a remarkable reproof from the Lord of His disciples of unbelief. Did the apostles really waver in their faith at first? Yes, and they were sometimes weak before the Holy Spirit descended on them - and sometimes they believed, sometimes they fell into unbelief and lack of faith; at least this must be said about nine, excluding three, the so-called pillars of faith: Peter, James and John. By faith they healed all kinds of diseases, raised the dead, cleansed lepers, cast out demons, and when grace left one of them for lack of faith and unbelief, then they could not cast out demons, as is mentioned in today’s Gospel. Therefore, the Lord, through them, teaches us all to have undoubted faith and says: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to this mountain: move from here to there, then it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Indeed, all true believers, all saints, performed many miracles by faith, and by faith made the impossible possible. Read the descriptions of their lives - and see for yourself how strong faith is! Meanwhile, the people of our century flaunt and boast of unbelief! Is this an enlightened age? How! We owe all the successes of enlightenment in all fields to our faith, which has shed abundant light into human minds and into all sciences, and we reject faith? Do children reject their mother, who gave birth to and raised them? Crazy and ungrateful! Brothers and sisters, cherish your faith! Guard your faith. Without faith there is no salvation; without faith a person will perish forever. Amen. God's mercy and human cruelty Homily for the Eleventh Week of Pentecost Today, beloved brethren, the Gospel parable of the Savior was read, in which He, the Lord our God, likened the kingdom of heaven or His righteous judgment over people to the king, “who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to reckon, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents,” that is, twenty million! Or - simply without a number, because a definite number is put here instead of an indefinite one. “And since he did not have anything to pay with, his sovereign ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and everything that he had, and to pay. Then that slave fell and, bowing to him, said: Sovereign! Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything. The Emperor, having mercy on that slave, released him and forgave him the debt. That servant, having gone out, found one of his comrades, who owed him one hundred denarii,” at our expense no more than twenty rubles, “and, seizing him, he strangled him, saying: Give me what you owe.” Then his comrade fell at his feet, begged him and said: Be patient with me, and I will give you everything. But he didn’t want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt. His comrades, seeing what had happened, were very upset and when they came they told their sovereign everything that had happened. Then his sovereign calls him and says: Evil slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me; Shouldn't you also have had mercy on your companion, just as I had mercy on you? And his sovereign became angry and handed him over to the torturers until he paid him all the debt. So will My heavenly Father do to you,” the Lord concluded His speech, “if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart for his sins 286 . I repeated the entire Gospel I read so that you would remember it better. It is not to our credit that today’s Gospel depicts the extreme hardness and malice of the human heart towards our neighbors. From the very time when people, through sin, surrendered to the leader of evil, the devil, he built a strong nest for himself in their hearts, planted his hellish malice in it, which he has since shown very often in very rude, violent forms. Biblical and civil history and the diaries of our time are full of examples of this malice and hard-heartedness of people because of self-interest, because of the desire to take predatory advantage of their neighbor’s property, - or because of offended pride, because of wild whim, because of unsatisfied animal love, many and very often do not think about plunging a knife into the heart or throat of their neighbor, or otherwise taking his life in some way - not to mention quarrels, disputes, curses, trials and other expressions of human malice. Let us pay attention to the act of the hard-hearted lender mentioned in this Gospel. He himself owed his sovereign a huge sum, which he could never pay him, and, according to the justice of the country, he had to be sold with his wife and children and all his property in order to pay at least part of the debt. A disaster that can no longer exist. The debtor began to beg the king for forgiveness, and he was forgiven. It seems that we should remember such unparalleled mercy and show similar mercy to our neighbor on occasion. But the incident with his neighbor showed the bad side of the former debtor, his extreme malice and hard-heartedness: having just received the greatest mercy from the king, he meets a comrade who owes him the smallest amount of money, immediately attacks him with rage, strangles him and says to him: pay me back the debt. He asks to be patient. The lender does not tolerate it and puts him in prison. Isn't this extreme cruelty? Is it extreme insensitivity and ingratitude? And many of us are inclined and capable of this. We are sometimes extremely tough in dealing with our neighbors who owe us something, if possible! Yes, our nature is extremely prone to evil and lynching, or to punishment by our own courts, probably because this satisfies our pride and malice more quickly and easily than established courts. But with us, Christians, reborn in the baptismal font with water and the Holy Spirit, adopted as sons of God and received from God grace, or heavenly help for every virtue, this should not happen; we must cultivate in ourselves the spirit of meekness, humility, kindness, patience and long-suffering, moderation in all actions. And in order to have such a disposition of spirit in oneself, one must remember the general weakness of man, the general tendency to sin, especially our great infirmities and sins and God’s endless mercy towards us, which has forgiven and forgives us many and serious sins for our repentance and supplication. Yes, just the feeling of gratitude to God for His countless mercies towards us obliges us to be condescending and merciful to our neighbors, who are of the same flesh and blood with us and have the same infirmities, passions, and stumbling blocks. But the greatest motivation for our condescending and meek treatment of our neighbors should be, of course, most of all, the extreme condescension towards us of the Son of God, for us as a man and for our salvation, who came down from heaven, became incarnate and became man, His example, His commandments and advice, His meekness and kindness towards sinners, His long-suffering, His suffering and death for all of us. If He laid down His life for us, then we should lay down our souls for one another, 287 says the apostle. Another apostle says: Be kind to one another, merciful, not returning evil for evil, or annoyance for annoyance 288; enduring each other with love 289. The Lord tells us: I want mercy, not sacrifice 290; He, who is very merciful, wants from us mercy or mercy, kindness, and patience towards our neighbors; He is always ready to help us in every good deed. If you have an evil heart, ask in repentance that He soften your heart, make you meek and patient: and it will be so. He tells us: son, give Me your heart. Nothing is impossible for a believer and one who sincerely prays. Just make up your mind, firmly make up your mind to leave your anger behind. At the very beginning, one must curb any passion that arises in oneself, especially malice and anger, and not allow a spark to become a fire, which, of course, is much more difficult to extinguish than one spark. So,” I will conclude, “let us forgive our neighbors from our hearts for their sins against us, remembering our common weakness, infirmity, sinfulness and God’s endless mercy towards us. Amen. Word on the Day of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary I will sing rejoicing at Your Dormition (Irm. pes. 1) Brethren, what does it mean that the Church calls the death of the Mother of God not death, as we usually call the death of people, but dormition, or that it is all the same - repose or peaceful sleep, and not only does not grieve or cry at Her grave, but on the contrary sings joyful, solemn songs of Her exodus? The fact that the most blessed Mother of the Lord did not really die, as people usually die, but seemed to fall asleep for a short time in a peaceful sleep after the grave sorrows of life, and that Her tomb, which was for Her the door to the heavenly kingdom, hides in itself a lot of joy for a Christian; from this tomb, as from the tomb of the risen Lord, heavenly incorruption blows upon us, or better said, this tomb immutably promises us immortality in the soul and incorruptibility in the body, destroying the fear of death in us. Glory to the Conqueror of death, the Lord Jesus! Before His coming, death was very terrible for man because it stole its spoils irrevocably, and there were no means of getting rid of it, since sin, with which death was strong, spread like a flood of the sea and nothing was able to stop this flood; Meanwhile, they knew that people abducted by death were kept as captives where they usually went after death. There were, however, two or three examples where two of the people did not experience death at all, and one, through prayer and tears, received a reprieve from her when she had already raised her murderous hand against him and she was not ordered to touch him for another fifteen years. But what did these two or three examples mean in comparison with the millions of people who died? The same as a drop in the ocean. Moreover, the last example was not entirely comforting for people because King Hezekiah could not completely get rid of death, but only begged for a reprieve from it, and the first two - Enoch and Elijah were considered inimitable in the holiness of life, for which they were taken to heaven alive. What do we see now, after the appearance of the Lord in our flesh and after the victory He won over sin and death? All the horror of death disappeared; it became like a peaceful sleep, after which the joyful morning of the general resurrection will come. As each of us conquers the sin that still lives in us - and now we have been given all the means to defeat it 291 - the fear of death also disappears, so that the triumphant conquerors of sin joyfully greet the bed of death and no longer die, but as if fall asleep in a peaceful sleep. “Now,” says St. Chrysostom, - The Lord crushed the gates of hell and destroyed the very face of death. But what am I saying: the face of death? He even changed the very name of death: for it is now called no longer death, but tranquility and sleep.” We see the most obvious example of triumph over death in the Most Pure Mother of the Lord. She bowed down in the grave only for a brief rest of the flesh. We say, for the sake of brevity, because, according to legend, on the third day after Her death, Her most pure body was no longer found in the tomb; it was resurrected and taken to heaven, where, together with its soul, it began to enjoy heavenly bliss. Behind the Mother of God we see the apostles and martyrs who greet death with joy, as the greatest friend who, in return for the fleeting blessings of the present world, or in return for its troubles and sorrows, gives them the eternal joys of the kingdom of heaven. Behind them we see all the saints who also looked at death with joy, seeing in it the end of earthly labors and the beginning of heavenly glory. The Holy Church tries to instill in us the same fearlessness of death, admonishing us to drive away the fear of it by gradually eradicating sins in ourselves, and now she does not call her dead otherwise than deceased, that is, as if asleep, because immortal life in the next century is so undoubted for us now and our right to it is so true that we cannot or should not look at death otherwise than as a dream. Glory to the infinitely good God! Previously, they wept over the dead for a long time and inconsolably, and it was even commanded to shed tears directly over the dead: child, says the God-enlightened sage, over the dead man, shed tears, and as one who suffers evil, begin to cry... Create a bitter cry, and a warm sob, and create a lamentation, as it deserves 292; and now, instead of funeral lamentation, we sing the song: Alleluia or Praise God, praising the divine wisdom and goodness by which death is made a transition to immortality. Brethren! The title of heavenly communicant, you saw on the icon of the all-honorable and glorious Dormition of the Mother of God, how She rests peacefully: what calmness and reflection of heavenly joy on Her face! It’s like a dream, a short transition from earth to heaven. Let us ourselves learn to make our death a peaceful sleep through zeal for virtue and contempt for vice. As long as sin reigns in us, so long will death be terrible for us, because, for sure, the death of sinners is fierce 293. Sin is the cause of death: patterns of sin, it is said, death 294. Let us overcome sin within ourselves as much as we can, as the cause of death. It is only very difficult to defeat it at first, but then it will be both easy and sweet, since as the suffering caused by the fight against sin increases, the consolation of Christ 295 in us will increase, and the Lord, who said that His yoke is good and His burden is light, 296 will surely make the labors of ascetics light and life-giving. Moreover, what is obtained through labor is valued more highly and we enjoy it the more. We were created for work, not for bliss and inaction. Yes, heavenly glory, which has no end, is without a doubt worth the hard work of a lifetime. This incomparable bliss, this kingdom of glory is not given for nothing. The kingdom of heaven, it is said, is forced, that is, it is acquired by force, and the needy delights e 297. Is it because we are so lazy to conquer our passions and evil inclinations because we have little faith in the life of the next century? But it is as undoubted as our real life. Will not the One who gave us the firstfruits of life here on earth give us full, perfect life in heaven? Yes, this must inevitably be, and it is more difficult not to be than to be. And the true word of God assures us of this: “All that are in the tombs,” it says, “will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live, and they will come out, having done good, to the resurrection of life; and having done evil, to the resurrection of judgment 298.” Brethren! eternal life beyond the grave is beyond any doubt. But there is also not the slightest doubt that it can be twofold: for the righteous it is blissful, and for hardened sinners it is painful. Death is the limit, the boundary between present and future life, and we do not know how far or close it is from us. Let us always be ready to stand on this formidable border between two lives. Amen. The Path to Eternal Bliss Homily for the twelfth week after Pentecost In this Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ solves an important question proposed to Him by a rich young man: what should I do to inherit eternal life? The Lord points him to the commandments given to people from God through Moses, moreover, to the commandments about love for neighbors, bypassing the commandments regarding the Lord God Himself, of course, because love for God is based on love for neighbors, and without love for one’s neighbor it is impossible to love God, for he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, how can he love God, Whom he does not see 299? - Says the holy Apostle John the Theologian. So, the Lord says to the rich young man: “If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments, namely: do not kill; Thou shalt not commit adultery; don't steal; do not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Yes, the Lord solves an important question for us in this Gospel, the question of how, in what ways, to achieve eternal life? There is nothing more certain than death: we will all die and with our bodies we will turn to dust, to the earth from which we were created in the beginning, and our immortal souls, created in the image and likeness of God, will be caught up for judgment to God: for it is appointed for men to die once, and then judgment 300, says the apostle, private judgment over the soul of every person who departs from here; on it the fate of man is decided until the last general judgment of the whole world after the resurrection of all the dead. Therefore, in view of the inevitability of death for each of us in the body, it is very important and necessary for each of us to satisfactorily resolve the question: what should I do to inherit eternal life? - Eternal life beyond the grave is undoubtedly, just as there is undoubtedly eternal torment, and this short life here was given to us by God to prepare for the future life, but there will be no end to it forever and ever. The Lord decides this most important question of life for the completely rich young man, and with him for all of us. If you want, he says, to enter into eternal life, then keep the commandments. Which? - asks the young man. And the Lord answers him: do not kill, do not commit adultery, and so on, as you have already heard. Not many words, not many commandments, but how important they are, because the eternal life of each of us depends on their fulfillment. For the man who created those things will live in them 301, says the Scripture. So, it is necessary to dwell on these commandments and go deeper into their meaning in order to see all the necessity and benefit of their fulfillment and the breadth of their application to life. The first word is said: do not kill; it means many other similar commands, namely: do not offend; do not be irritated, do not be hostile, do not be angry, do not fight; do not be hateful: everyone who hates his brother is a murderer 302, says the apostle; do not be impudent in word or hand; do not be hard-hearted towards the poor and stingy; do not torment your assistants with backbreaking labor; save the dying if you can, for example, the hungry, the drowning, do not exhaust yourself with overwork or ruin your health with passions and vices; do not tempt others and do not betray to the devil the souls redeemed by the priceless blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the broad meaning of this commandment. Further, the Lord says: do not commit adultery, not only in deed, but also in thought, unclean sight, lust; give up all lustful dreams and imagination and everything that leads to adultery: delicacy, satiety and drunkenness; immodest, seductive conversations, reading immodest, seductive books; immodest treatment of persons of the opposite sex, immodest paintings, etc. And just looking at a woman with lust is already adultery according to the word of the Savior. Try for the purity of thoughts and feelings, for the purity of morals of yourself and your neighbors, your children and servants, subordinates and everyone with whom you have connections and close relationships. It goes on to say: Thou shalt not steal; here we mean not only theft, but also parasitism, and bribery, or bribery, and extortion, or the ruinous interest for the poor that the lender takes and various unjust gains, the acceptance of things known to be stolen; a ruinous gambling game through which the gambler steals money or family property from his parents and relatives, or from his wife and children, or simply from himself; and finally, the one who does not give alms to the poor, having every opportunity to do so, for the Lord gives excesses to help the poor; If someone who is sufficient does not do this, then he steals the property of his neighbors and conceals the gift of God. Next the Lord says: do not bear false witness or slander your neighbor; for from slander, condemnation, slander, ridicule and false testimony, people suffer very much, they are deprived of their good name, sympathy, they are persecuted, oppressed, deprived of a place of service and means of living, and sometimes, not having the strength to endure the slander, they take their own lives. Because of false witness and slander, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself was brought to the cross and the most blasphemous death. A terrible evil - slander! And the holy prophet king prays to God to deliver him from slander: Deliver me from human slander, and I will keep Your commandments 303. Honor your father and mother, it goes on to say. For respect for parents, the Lord promises prosperity and longevity in this life and eternal bliss in the future. We owe our lives to our parents and, for the most part, our very upbringing, at least the initial one, and, it would seem, there is nothing easier and more natural than to honor our parents. Meanwhile, in reality, especially in the present time, the opposite is often the case: children are burdened by their parents, deny them due respect, are rude to them and insult them to their faces, they never consider their love, cares and concerns that were about them for anything; do not help them, do not support them in poverty, old age and illness. But woe to them if they do not come to their senses, they will suffer no good in this life and eternal torment in the future life: troublemakers, says the apostle, will not inherit the kingdom of God 304. Love your neighbor as yourself, says the commandment, that is, take care of him as you take care of yourself; wish him the same as you wish for yourself; do with him the same way as you would like to be treated with you; pray for him the same way as for yourself, for the living or for the dead; do something good and useful for him, just as you do for yourself: for we are all children of one Father - God, redeemed by one blood; Children of one mother - the Church, we all await a common kingdom. These are the commandments that lead to eternal life! The young man boasted that he had kept all these commandments, but in reality it turned out that he was far from achieving perfection in fulfilling them: for with all his heart he was attached to wealth and, therefore, did not sincerely love either God or his neighbor; for the Lord says, and experience confirms, that it is impossible to work for God and wealth 305, just as it is impossible to serve two masters. He departed from the Savior with sadness when the Lord, for the sake of his perfection, offered to sell his property and give it to the poor, for he saw that it was binding his spiritual feet. That is why the Lord said that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, more difficult than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But what is difficult and impossible for people is convenient for God: for God can make a rich man merciful, just as many of the rich are truly merciful, and he can make a rich man virtuous and an heir to the kingdom of heaven, if he does not resist the will of God, but diligently fulfills it. Here is the interpretation for today's Gospel. Remember and try to fulfill it to the best of your ability. Amen. Sermon for the thirteenth week after Pentecost This Sunday, my beloved brothers, the Church has appointed to read from the Gospel a parable about a certain householder who planted a vineyard, and about the winegrowers to whom the householder entrusted his vineyard. The vineyard was built magnificently, with all the accessories, with a vice, on beautiful land, surrounded by a fence, but the winegrowers turned out to be extremely crafty and evil and not only did not give fruit to the owner at the appointed time, but also beat the servants sent by the owner or completely killed and stoned him, and finally they killed the owner’s only son. By householder we mean God the Father; under the vineyard - the Jewish church: under the vinedressers - the high priests, priests and rulers, to whom the Jewish church was entrusted; by servants we mean the prophets whom God often sent to the Jewish people, and who for the most part were beaten by the Jews; By the son of the householder we mean the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But this parable, brethren, does not apply to the Jews alone, but also applies to us, concerns us too. The vineyard of the Lord can and should also mean every Christian soul; under the fence is the law of God, by which every soul is protected or should be protected from sins; the winepress or vice in the vineyard is our heart or our womb, with which we receive the most pure blood of the Lamb of God, who was slain for us; by the pillar or upper room we mean the Church of Christ or the grace of the Holy Spirit, acting in the Church, confirming our hearts in faith and love and good deeds and elevating us from earth to heaven, as it is said: Think about things above, and not about earthly things 306. So, the vineyard of God is all of us, brothers. And the vineyard must bear abundant fruit; Do we bring to the Lord, our supreme Husbandman, the fruits of good deeds, the fruits of repentance, faith, love, humility, meekness, goodness, mercy, self-control, purity, patience and long-suffering and other virtues? We bring very, very little, and sometimes not at all, but we bring the fruits of wild grapes, the grapes of Sodom and Gomorrah, that is, all sorts of bad deeds: pride, malice, envy, greed, fornication, adultery, drunkenness, unbelief, atheism, murder and suicide. The Lord expects from us the fruits of repentance, correction, virtue, and often waits in vain: we remain the same sinners, the same barren, dry trees that we were. Many Christians rape and kill their conscience, this servant of God in our soul, and without fear give themselves over to lawlessness; many justify their sins, or excuse themselves by the weakness of nature or the need of a fallen sinful nature, without distinguishing their whims or lusts from real needs. Many are not even ashamed to slander the Gospel and say that it demands the impossible and live completely contrary to it, and thus, like the Jewish high priests and scribes, they crucify the Son of God within themselves for the second time. But why say vaguely: many crucify the Son of God? – You and I often crucify the Son of God within ourselves – with our lack of faith, our malice, envy, intemperance, gluttony, drunkenness, uncleanness of our hearts, negligence, unrepentance, laziness and other vices. What will the owner of our vineyard, neglected and wild through our negligence, do when He comes to take account of our deeds, of all our uncleanness and evil? The answer to this is the same that the high priests and scribes uttered to themselves: he will put these evildoers to an evil death, and he will give the vineyard to other vinedressers, that is, the greatest gift of faith, grace, he will give to other people who will give him the fruits in their own time, i.e., with the help of grace, they will succeed in every virtue constantly, throughout their entire lives. So, brethren, as long as the Lord gives us time, until the soul in the body and our vineyard is taken away from us, let us carefully look after it, cultivate it, water it with tearful rain, cleanse it with repentance, so that it bears more fruit. Amen. Homily for the fourteenth week after Pentecost In the Gospel read today, the Lord Jesus Christ likens “the kingdom of heaven to a man king, who held a wedding feast for his son and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast - but they did not want to come.” What inattention, what pride, ingratitude, insolence! But what leniency and patience of the king! “He again sent other servants, saying: Tell those who were invited: behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks and what is fattened, slaughtered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” What about those who were invited, how did they respond to the new invitation of their good king? “They,” says the Gospel, “neglecting this too, went, some to their field, and some to their trade; the others, seizing his slaves, insulted and killed them.” But now listen to what the king did to these impudent and ungrateful people. Hearing about such insolence of those invited to the marriage, “the king was angry: and sending his troops, he destroyed their murderers and burned their city. Then he says to his servants: The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; So, go to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast. And those slaves, going out onto the roads, gathered everyone they found, good and evil; and the wedding feast was filled with those reclining. The king, having gone in to see those reclining, saw a man there, not dressed in wedding clothes, and said to him: Friend! How did you come here not wearing wedding clothes? He was silent. Then the king said to the servants: Having tied his hands and feet, take him and throw him into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; for many are called, but few are chosen” 307. Here is the end of the current reading from the Gospel. This legend is called a parable, that is, a similitude, or, as it were, a riddle. We need to guess it. Who is this king who held a wedding feast for his son? This is God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth and King of every creature; who is the king's son? This is the only begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ; and His bride is the Church, and firstly, the Jewish people chosen by God, and secondly, the soul of every Christian believer; Christ loved the Church, it is said, and gave Himself up for her 308; the apostle Paul says: I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you to Christ as a pure virgin 309; By the wedding feast we mean the kingdom of heaven, in which true believers will be united forever with the Lord Jesus. To this marriage, or to the kingdom of heaven, first of all, the Jews were invited through the prophets and apostles, but they refused the invitation; Moreover, they even insulted the messengers of God and killed many of them. For this, God, later in time, destroyed the people with the weapons of the Romans and destroyed their city and church. Instead of the Jews, God called pagan peoples, including us Russians, to marriage, or to His Church, through the apostles and equals of the apostles. But Christians from the pagans and the Christian generations that follow them will also not all enter the kingdom of Christ. Those of them who do not preserve the purity of the bright wedding garment of infidelity and holiness that they received at baptism - or, after desecration by sins, do not cleanse it with tears of repentance - will be cast out at the Last Judgment into utter darkness, where there will be eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Here is the interpretation of the above parable! But there may be another similar, equally correct interpretation, and in a closer application to you and me, brothers and sisters. The wedding feast, which is spoken of in the current Gospel, is a divine liturgy at which the faithful are offered not a slain calf, but the Lamb of God Himself, slain as a sacrifice for the salvation of us sinners, may we be fed with His most pure Body and Blood, may we be united with Him in the closest union, may we be flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones. This is the marriage of the royal Son - the union of Christian souls with Christ in the sacrament of communion! Here is a feast - eating His flesh and blood! Divine, most holy, incorruptible, heavenly and deifying feast! But how many people still rush to this divine feast! Doesn’t the majority still avoid attending this heavenly supper due to carelessness and laziness and various everyday calculations, for example: because of trade, or because of lack of faith and arrogance, or because of long sleep, etc.? Who doesn’t see this, doesn’t notice, doesn’t know? Such is our lack of faith, such is our spiritual feeble-mindedness, such is our addiction to the world, such is our inattention to the greatest mystery of faith, to the mystery of immortality and deification! Such is the vanity and ingratitude of Christians towards the Lord, who offers Himself as food and drink for the sake of purification, sanctification and immortal life! What are they worthy of? Is it not rejection from God, since we ourselves have been rejected from Him almost all our lives. But also those who come to this marriage of the Lamb, to the divine liturgy, - for the remembrance of His life, preaching, miracles, benefits, suffering, death, burial, resurrection and ascension into heaven - or for communion of His most pure Body and Blood - whether in wedding clothes. Do they come with a pure soul, with a pure heart? Are you with high thoughts, or in a holy mood? Is it not with earthly dreams and passions that many come to the church, to this, as it were, the bridal chamber of Jesus Christ? We ourselves, the performers of the terrible, heavenly, bloodless Sacrifice, always appear in the church and serve in it, in wedding clothes - purity and dispassion of the soul? Alas! Often we also do not have wedding clothes and reverent thoughts and thoughts of the heart; and we often enter in the unclean rags of passions. Oh, let us all hasten to repent and whiten the garments of our souls with tears of repentance and deeds of righteousness, especially alms, which cleanses sins. I see Your palace, my Savior, adorned, and I have no clothes, but I go into it; enlighten the robe of my soul, Light-Giver, and save me. Amen. Word on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Thy Nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, is a joy to proclaim to the whole universe: from Thee has risen the Sun of Truth, Christ our God (Troparion of the Feast) We solemnly celebrate, dear brothers and sisters, the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary from barren parents, pious Joachim and Anna. From the first centuries of the Christian faith, the Holy Church established this holiday. The celebrated event - the birth of God's chosen Lady - brought joy to the whole world - for the God-man Christ Jesus, who shone from Her, destroyed the curse of God that weighed on the criminal and accursed human race and brought down the blessing of God on it - and, trampling death of all nations, gave people eternal life. This is how the Holy Church explains the reason for real joy. The righteous parents of the Ever-Virgin mourned for a long time over their infertility, and long and fervently prayed to the Lord for the resolution of infertility, which was considered a punishment from God for sins; They did a lot of alms in order to bend to the mercy of the All-Merciful, and suffered insults from their fellow tribesmen - and in this sorrow and unceasing prayer and charity, they gradually became purified in spirit and were inflamed more and more with love and devotion to God, and thus were prepared by the Providence of God for the blessed birth of the Most Blessed Daughter, chosen from all generations to be the Mother of the Incarnate Word. In a narrow and sorrowful path, the Lord leads His chosen ones to the glory and bliss - for Simeon also predicted to the Mother of God Herself according to the flesh that a weapon would pass through Her soul and She would experience severe sorrows in her soul during the suffering life of Her Son, so that the thoughts of many human hearts would be revealed 310. So sorrowful and narrow is the path of all God’s chosen ones: for the world and the ruler of the world, that is, the enemy of God and man, extremely oppresses the people of God; and the Lord Himself allows them to follow the narrow path, since He helps them to strive towards God and place their trust in Him alone. But let us turn our gaze from sorrow to joy. What joy does the Nativity of Our Lady give us? – Let us explain in more detail the church hymn that explains the reasons for the joy of the holiday. – Through the Nativity of the Ever-Virgin, through Her only begotten Son and God, the cursed and rejected humanity was reconciled with God, who was immensely offended by their sins, for Christ became the Mediator of reconciliation 311; freed from curse and eternal death, received the blessing of the Heavenly Father; it united and dissolved with the Divine nature; elevated to its first possession by this dissolution, as the church song puts it; the previously rejected man was worthy of adoption to the Heavenly Father, received the promise of a glorious resurrection and eternal life in heaven along with the angels. All this has been accomplished and is being accomplished by the Son of God incarnate from the Most Pure Virgin by the Holy Spirit and through the intercession of His Most Pure Mother. How humanity is honored and exalted through the holy Virgin Mary; for She was worthy of renewal and adoption to God; and She herself was honored, by Her immeasurable humility and greatest purity and holiness, to be the Mother of the God-man! She always remains the most powerful Intercessor and Representative of the Christian race before Her Son and God! She is our shameless Hope; She takes away the clouds of God's righteous wrath from us, opens to us the ancient paradise with Her mighty intercession; She supports the thrones of kings and preserves them unshakably forever. She saved and is saving Russia a thousand times, from the beginning to the present day; She exalted her, glorified her, established and confirms her; She is the Surety of sinners for salvation. Christians turn to Her their countless prayers, petitions, praises, doxologies and thanksgivings; She has performed and continues to perform countless miracles in the Church, beneficial in all parts of the world. Let us all brightly celebrate the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, adorning ourselves with all sorts of Christian virtues. Amen. God's love for the human race Homily for the week before the Exaltation of the Venerable Cross of Christ Thus God loved the world, for He also gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16) My brothers, this Sunday is abbreviated as the week before the Exaltation, that is, the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross, and today we are supposed to read the Gospel about God’s endless love for the perishing world or the human race and about the sending down of the Savior to it - the only begotten Son of God. The Gospel reads in Russian like this: “No one ascended into heaven except the Son of Man who came down from heaven, who is in heaven. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." 312 – This is the end of today’s Gospel. Let us interpret it, with God's help, according to the mind of the saint. Orthodox Church. No one has ascended into heaven, says the Lord, except the Son of Man who descended from heaven, that is, Jesus Christ who is in heaven. - None of the people ascended to heaven, because sin did not allow anyone to ascend to the most pure, bright, righteous heaven, on which is the throne of the Lord God Almighty, and for sin the sacrifice of the cross has not yet been offered for sin, from the beginning of the world until the coming of the Son of God to earth, to redeem the world from sin, to reconcile people with God, angry with iniquities, for the purification and sanctification of those who believe in Him and for the opening of righteous judgment God's heaven, imprisoned by human sins. The sky was inaccessible to any people. It became available to the righteous and repentant sinners only from the time of the death on the cross for us, for our sins, of the Son of God. The Lord Himself said about this: From now on you will see heaven open and the Angels of God ascending and descending to the Son of Man 313. This mystery, this joyful news that heaven is now open to us, is announced to us every day by the opening of the royal doors at Great Vespers and at the All-Night Vigil, and especially at the liturgy - at the opening of the royal doors at the small and great entrance and at the removal of St. Gifts for Communion. So, no one ascended to heaven until the death of the Son of God on the cross, and from the time of His death and resurrection, heaven became open to all believers - and after death, all who are justified by the most pure blood and grace of the Son of God are free to enter into it. So, I will also say: the kingdom of heaven is open, paradise is open again, try to enter it by faith, repentance, and virtue. Now the Cherub with a flaming sword does not stand at the door of heaven, prohibiting entry into it. And how many people have entered heaven from the time of the death and resurrection of the Son of God until now! Countless. And we, following their example, will go there. But we must go, we must fight our way with all our might; if we don’t go, we will end up in hell—nowhere else. - Go, go quickly, cheerfully, firmly, without looking back. The days are evil, 314, and short (today he is alive, but tomorrow, perhaps, they will put him on the table in a large corner). And what does this mean: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life?” Here the Lord points to the action of the prophet Moses in the Arabian desert, namely to the ascension of a copper snake onto a tree, at the command of God, so that the Jews, mortally bitten by snakes, would look at this copper snake and be healed. This ascension by Moses of the copper serpent on the tree prefigured the ascension, the erection on the cross of the Redeemer of the world, Jesus Christ, and His victory over the tempting serpent or the devil, and our deliverance by the cross of the Savior from eternal death, for the seed of the woman, i.e. Christ, had to erase the head of the serpent, i.e. the devil, under the image of the serpent who deceived Eve. Look, sinner, what a terrible, bloody sacrifice was required by the justice of God to redeem you from sin and eternal destruction: the most painful, most blasphemous death on the cross of the only begotten Son of God. And you still live carefree, unrepentantly, sin without fear, do not correct yourself, do not shed tears of repentance, neglect good deeds, crucify the Son of God within yourself?... But for those who have trampled upon the blood of the Son of God there is no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire ready to devour opponents 315. Fear, tremble, sinner! God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Thus God loved the world, that is, with an infinite love that surpasses all reason, for He gave an infinite sacrifice for our sins - His Son, co-throne with Him, God the Father, co-originating, co-natural. O wonderful, glorious, sweet, eternal love of God! If God had not given His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, then the whole world would have gone into eternal torment and no one would have been saved. All who are saved were saved by the blood and death of the Son of God, all are justified by His grace; the saints became holy with His holiness, righteousness, wise with His wisdom, strengthened by His power, adorned with His incorruptible beauty, achieved incorruption with His incorruption; all those who are being saved now are saved only by the blood of the Son of God, or by water and blood, for from His pierced rib flowed blood and water, meaning two sacraments: baptism and communion; for without baptism and communion no one will be saved - of course, and without repentance and other sacraments. The Lord Himself says: repent; Unless you repent, you will all perish 316; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day 317. – Whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved 318. For God did not send His Son into the world, the Gospel further says, to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him 319. But how do we read in the symbol of faith: I believe in the Lord, who will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; and the Gospel says that God the Father gave all judgment to the Son 320? The current Gospel speaks of the first coming of the Son of God - for the salvation of the world, and the symbol of faith speaks of His second coming; the first time the Lord came to save the world, and the second time he will come to judge the world. - And now, indeed, everyone who desires salvation can be saved through the Son of God, and if now, during earthly life, with such an abundance of grace, with such sure and all-powerful means to salvation, a person neglects salvation and lives unrepentantly and fearlessly, then after death and at the terrible judgment of Christ he will be judged without mercy. Save yourself, brothers, while there is time. We will lose time and we will destroy salvation. It is said to the foolish virgins: Truly I say to you, I do not know you, although they knocked and said: Lord, Lord, open to us. - Watch, for you do not know either the day or the hour in which the Son of Man will come 321. Amen. Word for the Day of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord We worship Your Cross, Master, and we glorify Your holy resurrection The Christian Orthodox world now solemnly venerates the life-giving Cross of the Lord. During the all-night service, you contemplated with emotional tenderness its fivefold elevation with the singing of the often repeated repentant prayer, Lord have mercy, as the rector lowered the Cross to the ground and then gradually raised it to the upright position of the celebrant. This exaltation is made to four countries as a sign that the Lord with His cross has redeemed the entire fourfold world: east, west, north and south; and then again - to the east as a sign of the redemption of a five-sense person, who constantly sins with his five (fifth) senses. What was the beginning of this solemn ceremony? - Its beginning was the acquisition by Queen Helena, the mother of King Constantine, of the original Cross of the Lord, from which, upon acquisition, the miracle of the resurrection of a dead man took place, and which all the people wanted to see, gathered in large numbers from Jerusalem and surrounding places, to give him reverent worship. Then the people, seeing him on an elevated place in the hands of Patriarch Macarius, who raised him on all four sides, worshiped and repeatedly exclaimed in tenderness and horror: Lord have mercy! – This is the beginning of the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. At the same time, the miraculous appearances of the Cross in the sky are also remembered: one to Tsar Constantine and his army with the inscription around him: hereby conquer, and another under Emperor Constantius and St. Bishop Cyril of Jerusalem in a radiant radiance, seen by all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The Church also remembers the solemn liberation of the Cross from Persian captivity in the 7th century and the solemn carrying of it to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius, barefoot and in humble attire without purple and a royal crown. Such is the worldwide glory of the Cross after its three-century stay in the depths of the earth and under the pagan temple. Thus, heaven itself testified to the glory of Him Crucified on the Cross, to the holiness and greatness of His Church, which was under the cross of persecution for three centuries, and to our holy duty of venerating the Cross and worshiping it in spirit and truth, just as St. The Prophet King commands us to worship him: Lift up the Lord our God, and worship His footstool, for it is holy 322. It is not in vain that we honor the Cross of the Lord, depict it on ourselves and worship it: for it is the Divine power that preserves and saves us during life and after death. The Church constantly preaches about his power and life-giving power, which were manifested in previous centuries and are now being performed on believers: he healed all sorts of diseases, raised the dead, drove away armies of demons from people, extinguished passions in the hearts of people, brought about miraculous victories in wars with infidels. The cross is the Divine glory of Christ, who redeemed in it the world that had fallen into the depths of destruction, who destroyed the curse of humanity and who interceded for him the blessing of the Heavenly Father, who defeated our death and granted everyone the resurrection from the dead. Who will tell all the miracles and powers of the Cross that happened in both ancient and modern generations and all its beneficial effects in the world? All church sacraments are performed by the sign and power of the Cross; water and all the elements and all believers who accept it with faith or are signified by it themselves are sanctified; We wear the cross on our chests and through it we are preserved from many temptations and deceits of the enemy; The Holy Church marks us with the cross even after death, when it performs funeral hymns over us; The cross is also placed on the graves of those who died in union with the Church and is not placed only on the graves of obvious apostates and suicides who consciously and willingly took their own lives. And this is because in the cross, used and depicted with faith, the Divine, saving power of Christ crucified acts, constantly demonstrating His Divine power over the whole world, over all nature, over all the hordes of the enemy; showing that Christ God redeemed with His Cross the whole world from sin, curse and death - that He has the power of life and death, that He is the resurrection and life and the God of all 323. In the present unfaithful time, a time of fermentation of minds and corruption of hearts and morals, the Cross is neglected by many, as is the Lord Himself, who suffered and died on it as a free sacrifice for us; and just as in ancient times He was a temptation to the Jews and madness to the Greeks, 324 so now He serves as a temptation and madness to the foolish sages of this age. Such is truly the fool who speaks with evil worldwide fame, Leo roaring against the Church of God with all his followers. He rebelled against God, against His all-wise, all-good, saving Providence, against the eternal Gospel, against common sense, against the convictions of all believing humanity, against history and against all the facts conveyed to us by the most faithful witnesses, mostly eyewitnesses. It is useless to convince free blind people who have blinded themselves with immeasurable pride; they cannot repent, because they do not want to see the truth: they will perish in their pride and stubbornness, like Korah, Dathan and Abiron under Moses 325. But for a believer, the Cross is everlasting salvation, protection, deliverance, victory and peace. Sinking every day, willingly or unwillingly, being subjected to various acute temptations from invisible and visible enemies and our own passions, where, in whom and in what will we find help and salvation? Only in Christ and in the Cross, - only in the immeasurably great and all-redeeming Sacrifice offered for us on the Cross; Only by the Cross are we saved daily from the attacks of demons and from every storm of passions - when we resort to Christ with faith and true repentance; The cross is our life, our salvation, our strength, our glory, our victory; our constant renewal is our reconciliation with the justice of God, which righteously crushes all senselessly daring and stubborn sinners. The cross is the guardian of the entire universe; Cross beauty of the Church; Cross of kings orb; Cross of the faithful affirmation; The cross of angels is glory and demons are plague (Light of the Feast). Without the Cross there is no salvation for anyone. Let us diligently honor the Cross of Christ and lovingly worship the Author of our life crucified on it, remembering His eternal covenant to us from the Cross: love one another. Amen. Word a week after the Exaltation If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me (Mark 8:34) On this Sunday, called in the church order the week after the erection of the Cross, it is prescribed by the church charter to read the Gospel about self-sacrifice and cross-bearing, required by the Gospel from everyone who wants to follow Christ 326. So, let’s talk about this now for the glory of Christ and for our enlightenment and salvation. Whoever wants to come after Me, says the Lord, must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. The Lord does not force anyone to follow Him, but leaves everyone to the free will - to follow or not to follow Him, whether to live for Him, for truth and holiness, for an eternal kingdom with Him, - or - for themselves, for the flesh and to please their passions, the adulterous and sinful world and - the devil, and for eternal shame and torment. The Lord leaves our free will intact; for he wants us to voluntarily, according to the conviction of our hearts, love Him, fulfill His commandments and turn away from absurd, destructive passions; and not as slaves, under coercion and involuntary servitude. But how can we not follow You, sweetest Jesus, our eternal Life, our breath, our Light, our Joy and Bliss! Whoever follows You irrevocably, here also anticipates heavenly bliss and will certainly inherit eternal bliss with You. This is an immutable, all-joyful truth, striking, so to speak, in everyone’s eyes with its obviousness. So the apostles, martyrs, saints, righteous people and all the saints of ancient and modern times followed Christ with joy; They willingly sacrificed for the Lord all the blessings of the world, their very lives, and did not sin in their hope, were not deceived in their hope, and inherited an unshakable, eternal kingdom. Why don't most people follow Christ? Due to unbelief or lack of faith, due to addiction to temporary life and its fleeting benefits, due to pride and arrogance of worldly education, not enlightened by grace - due to the impurity of a passionate heart and due to the established inclination of the will to pursue only earthly goals; due to spiritual ignorance; by not developing a taste for spiritual goods, which require preparation, exercise of thought and heart in spiritual subjects, such as: in prayer, contemplation of God, reading the word of God and in deeds of Christian love and mercy and teaching the flesh to abstain. But what is deprived of, what wonderful blessings, what peace, what spiritual sweetness, what spiritual light, what bliss, a person who does not follow Christ, but follows only his sinful desires, habits, passions, inclinations? What in the world can replace Christ, the immortal Belly? Nothing. No treasures, no pleasures and joys. Deny yourself, says the Lord further, and take up your cross and follow Me. Deny yourself, this means - renounce your sinful will, your vicious inclinations, inclinations, passions, in a word - all sin that lives in you, acts, binds you, darkens, defiles, humiliates and dishonors you, preventing you from following Christ to heaven - strive for true repentance, for pure virtue and Christian perfection and doing you a slave of corruption and death: perverting your nature, created by God in truth and holiness, preparing for you eternal separation from God and eternal torment. Yes, brothers and sisters! You absolutely must deny yourself. If we impartially, with a clear conscience, delve into ourselves, into our conscience, into our heart, into our deeds, into our idleness and into our whole vain life, then now we will find that for the most part we think, and wish, and say, and do not what is essential for us; not according to the intention and will of our all-good and wise Creator and Lord: but contrary to His intentions, according to our own perverse, vicious will. Look carefully into your heart. What is it doing? What does it love? What does it gravitate towards? Is it towards your Creator, towards goodness, towards truth and holiness, towards true well-being and bliss, towards mutual love and help? No. Hearts are mostly occupied with themselves, imbued with selfishness. How many passions are there in one heart! How many sources of death! Every passion is a source of death: for each can kill a person forever, if he does not repent and change, and does not abandon it. So, man, deny yourself. But it's hard; passions have become your second nature. What to do! And cutting off members of the body can be very painful, but when it is necessary, they give an arm and a leg and even an eye to be cut off. You must do the same with your passions: If your right hand offends you, cut it off and throw it away from you 327, that is, not the hand of the body, but the passion that in your soul has become like your hand, i.e., like a natural member of yours; it will be painful for you, like crucifixion, but it will be saving and will lead you to eternal life; you will get rid of the all-destructive poison - sin, from the power of the devil, from the fire of hell. Take up your cross and follow Christ, that is, do His will, His commandments, statutes, and advice. And warriors in war firmly follow the commander’s instructions in order to win, and they win; You too will win if you follow Your almighty Leader - Christ. For whoever wants to save his soul, says the Lord, will lose it. What does it mean to take care of your soul here? This means not touching the passions of the soul, leaving them alone, letting them live and grow stronger and control our mind and our heart and our will, in a word - soul and body; live unrepentantly, without thinking about death and eternal judgment. To take care of yourself in this way means to eternally destroy your soul, to lose it. It should be noted that the Lord, in saying this, meant primarily the time of persecution for faith in Him and the cases of confessing His name before the persecutors: for there were some Christians who, in order to preserve temporary life, wealth, honors, renounced Christ and the Christian faith and thereby lost their soul, perished through their renunciation, through addiction to earthly goods. But even now there are many who, excessively loving temporary life and its blessings and carnal life, refuse to follow Christ, fulfill His commandments, live contrary to the duties of their calling and do not repent of it - and thus lose their soul for eternity. And whoever loses his soul for the sake of Me and the Gospel, says the Lord in today’s Gospel, will save it. Here again we mainly refer to the cases of martyrs who, for Christ, in order to preserve faith in Him and love for Him, voluntarily lost their property, ranks, relatives and their very lives, and thus saved their lives for eternity, for Christ and His eternal kingdom. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what ransom will a man give for his soul? This is said to clarify the previous thought, i.e. that it is better to lose all wealth, honors, relatives, life itself according to the flesh, than to destroy your soul forever through renunciation of God, in order to preserve temporary life and temporary benefits that will soon leave us. The soul is incomparably dearer than the whole world, as created in the image of God and destined for immortality, and nothing can redeem it from eternal torment unless we redeem it here through faith in the merits of the Redeemer, in the atoning blood, courageous confession of His name and a good life. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My word,” says the Lord, “in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels. This speaks of the need for boldness or boldness and courage in confessing Christ, the Son of God, about not sparing one’s life for Christ and about following His will, because if anyone here considers it a shame to follow Him, to fulfill His commandments, or is ashamed to follow the decrees of His Church, for the sake of pleasing the world, the flesh and the devil, neither will the Son of God recognize him as his own at His second coming and at His terrible judgment. A terrible word, brothers and sisters! Let us cast aside false shame and laziness towards piety, towards attending Divine services, laziness towards reading the word of God and teaching in it, let us deny ourselves, cast aside the gratification of the multi-passionate flesh, the world lying in evil and the ruler of the world - the devil - let us take up our cross and follow Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, our King and The Lord, who prepared for us the kingdom in heaven from the foundation of the world. Amen. Sermon on the fifteenth week after Pentecost Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is similar to it: love your sincere one as yourself; To this two commandment hang the whole law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37–40) My brothers, have you all listened with attention to the Gospel read today? In it, by the way, the Lord Jesus Christ, in response to a question from one lawyer, told everyone what are the main commandments in the law of God that every person must know and fulfill; namely, He said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind: this is the first and greatest commandment; the second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself; “On these two commandments,” said the Lord, “all the law and the prophets are established.” Since these two commandments contain the whole law, then, obviously, every Christian must know and understand them well. What does it mean to love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind? What it means to love God, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself explained to us. He says in the Gospel: whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he loves Me 328; He who does not love Me does not keep My commandments. So, he loves God who constantly has the commandments of God in his thoughts and heart and keeps them. On the other hand, he who hates lawlessness with all his heart loves God with all his heart, as it is said: you have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; he who loves God with all his heart and with all his mind is the one who constantly thinks about God as his own and the whole world’s Creator, Provider, Savior, Judge, and incessantly calls out to God; pleases Him with all his heart; He prays to Him with all his heart at home or in church, and during prayer he is not entertained by any worldly worries or earthly thoughts in general, much less sinful thoughts: he seeks first of all the kingdom of God and truth 329; cares first of all and most of all about the salvation of his soul and the souls of his neighbors; He remembers God in everything he does and does everything for Him diligently, honestly, accurately. That's who loves God with all his heart! Is this how we live and act? Is this how we love God, Who gave us life and with life everything we need for life and enjoyment; Who saved and is saving us from sin, curse and death: Who is our breath, light, strength, deliverance, cleansing, sanctification, peace, joy, Helper and Helper in all good deeds? Hey, not like that! When you look at our lives and deeds, it seems that many of us have completely forgotten God and do not love Him at all. I will not mention who does not love God and is a stranger to God: let everyone’s conscience tell him. I will continue about the second commandment of the law: it says: love the sincere, that is, your neighbor, every person, as yourself. In other words: wish every person as much good as you wish for yourself; for example, wish for the salvation of his soul as much as for yourself; success in business as well as in yourself; well-being in life, as you wish for yourself, wish him a good name, as you wish for yourself, and do not dishonor him in any way: for he was created in the image of God, just like you; for his good name is dear to him too; treat him sincerely, simply, cordially; in general, as you want people to do to you, do so to them 330. Is this what we do? Not like that. We love ourselves, but often don’t love our neighbors; We don’t wish them well, we envy them, we humiliate our neighbors, we dishonor them, we vilify them; We often don’t help our neighbors; We care little about their salvation, as well as about our own, and thus every day we violate and destroy God’s commandments; We anger the Lord God and bring His righteous wrath upon ourselves. Let us hasten to correct ourselves and let us firmly remember and observe God’s commandments. And now, out of love for our brothers the Serbs and Montenegrins, who are offended by the wicked Turks, we will also help with our fraternal offerings. May your hand and your heart not grow weary of good deeds! Good deeds are like good seeds: they will give you fruit a hundredfold. May the Lord grant you all an abundance of earthly blessings and spiritual salvation. Amen. Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost Have you heard, beloved brethren, from the Gospel just read, the Savior’s parable about the talents? This parable is very instructive. Everyone needs to know its meaning and remember it always. Incline your ears. This is its meaning. It talks about slaves to whom a master traveling to a distant place entrusted his estate: and to one he gave five talents, to another two, to a third one, to each according to his ability 331 . Please note. These slaves are us people. This lord is our Lord Jesus Christ, our Creator, the Distributor of talents, who ascended from us into heaven, who sits at the right hand of the Father and who will again come to earth to judge the living and the dead. Possessions or talents are mental strengths and abilities, as well as physical strengths, which God gave us and with which in this century we do everything, which we put into circulation and through which, to the extent of our skill and diligence, we increase our spiritual wealth. Talents should also mean that service in society that God has entrusted to each person, depending on his abilities, or the material wealth that someone has. According to the meaning of the parable, whoever has received more talents from the Lord must naturally do more good for others, must improve himself more in this life, for the future life - and whoever has fewer will be required to give less account. They will demand from an ordinary person: whether he worked conscientiously and conducted his affairs; Did the rich man not accumulate his wealth by deception, cunning, intrigues or games, interest, did he live himself and raise his children in the fear of God? Did you fulfill the Christian duty of prayer, was you sanctified by the sacraments, did you give alms? Everyone will bear his own burden. The priest will be required to account for his service, teaching and life: did he teach faith and good life to his flock, did he educate them for eternal life? But listen further to the parable. He who received five talents (the weight of silver) from the master went and began to work and acquired five more talents with them; the one who received two acquired the other two, and the one who received one took it and buried his master’s talent in the ground, that is, he lived his whole life in reckless, unforgivable laziness, ate, drank, had fun, enriched himself by all possible means, just to live happily here; but I didn’t care about that life, about faith, about prayer, about good deeds. It is clear that his talent is buried in the ground, since our talents, that is, our heart, our mental abilities, are not an earthly treasure, but a spiritual one, and they should not lie in the ground, not only be used for earthly things, but with their help we need to become accustomed to heavenly, holy morals and acquire eternal life. Do not hide for yourself treasures on earth, where worms and aphids decay, says the Lord, and where thieves dig up and steal; hide for yourself a treasure in heaven, where neither worms nor aphids corrupt, and where thieves do not dig up or steal 332 (i.e., do good deeds not for the earth and earthly, worldly benefits, but for heaven, for God, for eternity). So, honor, brethren, to the servants who received five and two talents and increased the master's property; - shame, extreme shame for someone who received one talent and, out of laziness and stubbornness, buried it in the ground. And there are many of these people unworthy of the name of man who bury their talent in the ground, who only drink, eat, have fun, deceive, steal, and so on. But look what awaits them and other slaves - the time has come to give an account of how the master’s silver has been used. The master comes, that is, the Lord, who ascended into heaven, comes to the Last Judgment to demand an account from His servants. His servants appear, to whom talents have been entrusted. The one who received five talents comes up and shows the Master ten talents; then the one who accepted two comes and shows four. The Lord, approving each of them for their increase, says: well, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in little things, I will put you over many things: enter into the joy of your Master; then the one who has accepted one talent comes up, and then what? - Having done nothing in the absence of the Master, when this Master came, the lazy servant speaks impudently to Him, calling Him a cruel man, who allegedly reaps where he did not sow and gathers where he did not waste. Isn’t that what they say, brethren, all lazy, unkind, unfaithful Christians, who, as an excuse for their unforgivable laziness, work for good, to educate themselves in the spirit of the Christian faith, lay their blame on faith, on the Church, on the Lord Himself, calling the precepts of faith difficult, inconvenient to fulfill, and daring to call the good Lord somehow cruel, demanding the almost impossible! O lazy slaves! Look at your brothers who received five and two talents: they will reprove you. How have they multiplied their talents, how come they do not say anything like this to their Master? But look, brethren, what the lazy servant next says to the Lord: since You are such and such a Master, he says, I was afraid and went and hid Your talent in the ground: here is Yours. In the ground: where is it? Where, if not in your sinful flesh, having exhausted your strength and ability to satisfy your passions. Come, brothers, to the tomb of the lazy man and sigh heavily, heavily; here you will see his only talent buried in the ground; He did nothing for heaven, he took everything with him to the ground. You said the truth, poor man, a man worthy of eternal tears! But here is the verdict of the righteous Judge for him and those like him: wicked and lazy servant! You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter: therefore you had to give My silver to the merchants; and I, having come, would have received Mine with profit. How can the Lord not demand from Christians the profit of good deeds, when He gave all the treasures of His helping and all-effective grace to help them? How can He not demand profit from a Christian - for his own eternal bliss, when the Lord’s tree bears abundant fruit every year, when the grain brings profit to the field? Truly, the Lord requires a worthy profit: and it is a sin, a grave sin for a Christian not to create the fruit of virtue in life and to remain a barren fig tree, only occupying space in vain. Listen, finally, to the judgment of the lazy servant: The Lord says: therefore, take his talent and give it to him who has ten talents; For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. But throw the worthless slave into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Fear, brothers, embraces the soul when you think that among Christians there are many lazy slaves who live carelessly, in pleasure, and do not at all think about this terrible, eternal outer darkness, where incessant weeping and gnashing of teeth awaits them. God! Do Your will with us! We pray to You that all lazy servants may turn to You in repentance and virtue. If not, then they are truly worthy of Your terrible but righteous judgment. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Amen. Homily for the seventeenth week after Pentecost Now we have read, my brothers, from the Gospel of Matthew the story of the persistent petition of a Canaanite woman to Jesus Christ for her demon-possessed daughter 333. This Canaanite mother is instructive for us, brothers and sisters! Love for her daughter, who was cruelly suffering from demonic tormenting power, prompted her to seek salvation for the unfortunate one from the divine, omnipotent Wonderworker - and she did not lag behind the Benefactor and Savior until she received what she asked for, although there were not easy temptations to her faith and boldness! Apparently she was refused once, twice, three times, but she was not embarrassed; I didn’t despair, I didn’t say: no, I won’t ask or bother you anymore, apparently I’m unworthy; but she still had firm hope in the Wonderworker. At first, the Knower of the Heart did not answer her a word to her request - in order to arouse in her the strongest faith and hope and the most ardent prayer, for from obstacles, faith and hope with prayer receive more and more strength and strength in others, they become more inflamed, while in those of little faith and faint-hearted they weaken or are completely extinguished. Indeed, the Canaanite woman did not weaken in faith, hope and prayer, but began to ask and shout even more strongly, following the Lord and the disciples, so that they began to intercede for her so that he would let her go. The Lord, as if not wanting to listen to either her or his disciples, says that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, that is, to the Jews to whom promises, revelations, and prophecies were given about His coming into the world and the salvation of people through Him. Despite the secondary refusal, she approaches the Lord Himself, bows and says: Lord! help me. Notice how great her faith, hope, and boldness are! Being a pagan, she confesses Him as Lord, the Son of David, the almighty King of spirits, trusts in His infinite goodness, which embraces not only Jews, but also pagans, and as a servant of the Lord, or better, as a daughter of the Father, she boldly says: Lord! Help me. When the Lord said: it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs, meaning by dogs the pagans who did not know the true God, to which this woman belonged; - She was not at all offended by this name, realizing that she was worthy of such a disgraceful name, and said: so, Lord! But dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table. Such faith, such hope, humility, and patience were pleasing to the Savior. He praised her for her great faith and said: oh, woman! Great is your faith, may it be done for you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at that hour. Yes, such a mother deserves applause! The Lord found the same faith in one Roman centurion, also a former idolater, who had a beloved servant near death, healed by the Lord at the request and great faith of the centurion - and in his praise the Lord said: I have not found such faith in Israel 334. After this, I will tell you all, brothers and sisters: learn to believe like this, hope like this and ask the Lord or the Mother of God like this, with such courage and persistence, as the Canaanite woman asked for her daughter, as the centurion asked for his servant: and you will receive it as you wish, if it pleases God and is for your benefit. Ask, says the Lord, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you 335. The Canaanite woman represents our soul; her possessed daughter is our many-passionate flesh, raging with different passions every day. In what trouble the Canaanite woman and her daughter were in, you and I are in the same trouble. Since my youth, many passions have fought me, but stand up for me and save me, my Savior! 336 Why do passions, these demons operating in the hearts, often so brazenly dominate people, torment, torment, and shame the people possessed by them? Because these people do not have strong faith, do not pray fervently and persistently, and do not have a strong desire to get rid of them. Oh, who would send us such a mother as the Canaanite woman, who would pray for us to the Lord with the same faith, hope and love as she did for her daughter, so that for the sake of her prayer the Lord would have mercy on us and drive out our passions from us, healing us from our furies? For our flesh is angry with evil. But brethren, we have no match for the Canaanite woman, we have a Prayer Book and an unashamed and most merciful Intercessor, the All-Good and Most Pure Mother of our God, who is always ready to intercede with Her Son and God to deliver us from the rage and fury of passions, if only we would always come to Her with faith and hope, in repentance, from a sincere heart, with prayer for help. Her intercession is omnipotent, faithful, trustworthy, for She is the Mother of the Lord Himself and Creator of creation, and Her Son and God, as a debtor to the Mother, will fulfill every request of Her for us. We will always resort to Her, in Her sovereign protection. But we ourselves will refine and increase our faith in the Lord, our trust and our love for God and our neighbors, and constantly resort in repentance to the Lord Himself, like that Canaanite woman; for the Lord has given us all the right to turn boldly to Himself: ask and it will be given to you; and one more thing: whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive 337. So, brothers and sisters, great is the power of faith! The stronger our faith, the greater the saving power of God it attracts to a person, and there is no sin, there is no such great sorrow or misfortune from which faith could not save. She cleanses sins, relieves passions, drives away demons; heals sorrows; heals illnesses, delivers from death; raises the dead; – transforms enemies into friends, sinners into righteous people; she moves mountains; she does all sorts of miracles. One citizen in a certain city, living by faith and waging a stubborn battle with the passions, like a warrior of Christ, told me in a conversation with me that with daily and hourly prayer of repentance and faith he almost constantly admires from God the power that saves him from all sins and passions, that despite countless temptations and internal falls, he is in the end always the conqueror of passions and a banisher of demonic dreams and obsessions, a destroyer of the wiles of demons - in a word, that by the grace of God and by the faith of God given to him, he is a constant miracle for himself. This is what the prayer of faith, the prayer of repentance means! This is how we believe, this is how we pray, and this is how we conquer our passions! Amen. Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost Today's reading from the Gospel of Luke presents us with a touching and majestic spectacle of how the Creator of the whole world and God, the beginningless, omnipotent, omnipotent Giver of every breath, having become like us in everything as humans, except for sin, sitting in a fishing boat near the shore, in His humble, all-attractive simplicity, teaches the people standing in a countless crowd on the shore of Lake Gennesaret 338 . Glory to the heavenly Teacher, who came personally to enlighten the lost and perishing in the darkness of sin, but honor also to the people, who apparently appreciated the dignity of such a Teacher and teaching and flocked in crowds of thousands to hear the word of God; - God grant that in our days the hunger for the word of God does not cease, but multiplies; for the word of God is the incorruptible food by which human hearts are nourished and strengthened, and a spiritual drink that quenches the thirst of the immortal soul, which, like a thirsty deer, strives for the source of living water. In today’s Gospel, everything is instructive and edifying for us: the Lord’s command to Peter to sail to the depths of the lake and cast his nets for fishing, and Simon Peter’s answer to the Lord, and the miraculous catch that almost sank the boats, and the horror of Peter and his comrades at the unprecedented catch, and because of their sense of the most holy Divinity of Jesus and the feeling of their sins, and his humble prayer to the Lord to leave him, Simon, and the Lord’s answer to him: do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people, and, finally, the self-sacrifice of the disciples, the abandonment of all the rich catch so pleasant and always desirable for the fishermen, and the irrevocable, without regret, following the Savior. Let us think, with God’s help, about how and why all this is instructive and edifying, so that we can actually receive benefit and edification from the word of God we read today. Jesus Christ commands Peter to sail to the depths and cast his nets, and Peter replies: Mentor! We worked all night and caught nothing; But at Your word I will let down the net. In the command of the Savior the power of the Creator of creation is visible. The Lord knew that Peter and Andrew and their comrades fished all night and did not catch anything, but, as God, He commands them to still cast the net, just to cast it, leaving His divine power - to give a wave to the creature living in the water - to fill the nets. And - Peter obeys the command of the Master, although just before this he was tempted to suffer all night in fishing and not catch anything; and - the fish, at one wave of the Lord, immediately fill the nets, revealing themselves as obedient servants of Him, Whom countless armies of Angels serve with fear in heaven; and - an obvious miracle happened, the divine power of Jesus Christ over creatures was revealed to Peter, and His infinite holiness, and His omniscience, and all his spiritual infirmities were vividly presented to Peter, and he in fear falls to the knees of Him, before whom every knee bows, in heaven and on earth and under the earth 339, and says to Him: come away from me, Lord! Because I am a sinful person. Who would not be touched in the heart by this spectacle of the faithful disciple, who fell in fear at the knees of the Lord of glory and in an instant knew the entire abyss of the distance between the bright, all-righteous Divinity and the insignificant creature, reptiles in the dust of the earth, sinful and guilty before God! Honor to Peter's faith, his obedience, humility, and repentance! Let us also learn these virtues from him. But inexpressibly touching, touching, beautiful here, as elsewhere, is the position of the Lord - His greatness and at the same time humility, extreme condescension, surprising the Angels. I can’t help but exclaim here: Lord! How everywhere, under the humble cover of Thy humanity, Thy resplendent Divinity shines and delights me! Every word of Yours is divine, powerful, life-giving, wonderful, just like Your work. Here we are here, in this church, now all standing before the face of the same Lord Jesus Christ, both invisibly present here, and visibly in His life-giving Mysteries. Do we feel, do we sense in our hearts that we stand before His face? Do we realize, do we feel our weaknesses, our sins, standing before the face of God, as Peter felt; Do we recognize our unworthiness, do we have a saving thirst for correction, a thirst for sanctification by the grace of Christ, a thirst for the truth of God, Christian perfection, the glory of the children of God? Let us learn not to go to the church of the Lord in vain, but to stand there with fear and a sense of our unworthiness and humbly ask for mercy. But what did Jesus Christ answer to Simon Peter when he, in fear, asked Him, his Lord, to leave him? “Don’t be afraid,” the Lord told him, “from now on you will catch people.” This answer of the Lord is very instructive and edifying for all of us. The Lord here applies fishing to fishing for people, compares one with the other. But just as catching fish is clear to everyone the first time, on the other hand, catching people by the apostles is incomprehensible. Here, in these words of the Lord, there is obviously a parable. He often spoke in parables and as if in riddles. This parable means this: just as fishermen catch fish in the water with a net or hook with edible bait or a spear, so the enemy and destroyer of the human race, the devil, through various baits or passions of life, through various nets placed for us everywhere and, as it were, with his hooks and sharp tools, catches us into sin and destruction and wants to make us all his prey and food, to destroy us and torment us in endless centuries in his insatiable womb: - and, unfortunately, sometimes he succeeds terribly in his art in catching and destroying people through various worldly passions. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to deliver people from the evil cunning and greed of this fisherman. He sent His fishers - the apostles - to the whole world, having first taught them the art of being elusive and invulnerable from the terrible fisher; also the art of catching people already caught by the devil in his worldwide network; and just as the devil catches people to destruction, so Christ’s disciples had to capture people from his destructive nets into eternal life through faith, repentance, correction and good deeds. And we know that the apostles, and after them their successors, shepherds and teachers, caught in the Gospel net, that is, the Gospel saving teaching, many lost people to salvation and, having destroyed all the demonic strength, they captured and, as if from the teeth of the devil, tore out the souls of men, like covetous interests; with the net of faith they caught all nations into the knowledge of Christ God. Now it is clear what the words of Jesus Christ to Peter mean: do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people, - i.e. With your verbal, God-made net you will catch people in My faith, teach them repentance, My righteousness and all virtue, and you will lead them to eternal life. Do not be afraid, that is, do not tremble and do not think that I, the all-righteous One, have come to punish sinners; I came to save and have mercy; for I alone know all the weakness of the human being, I know that the terrible, deadly, fetid scab of sin has covered all humanity - that by the evil cunning of the serpent all the descendants of Adam are drawn to destruction; I came to help the weak, the strong to the powerless, the all-righteous to the sinners; came to take upon himself the sins of the world, to accept its ailments, to bear its illnesses; I came to heal this malignant scab - and to heal, renew, fragrance, deify humanity who believes in Me; I came to oppose the fisher of men to destruction, that is, the devil, to oppose the fisher to the eternal belly with Myself and the omnipotent Spirit of the Comforter, co-natural with the Father and Me; To oppose the hordes of demons is the regiment of the apostles and their successors and all My faithful. Don't be afraid, you will catch people from now on. I came to instill in people not fear, but love. God! Catch us all into Your saving, divine net; Yes, none of us will be prey and a waste to a stranger; Savior, show mercy to us! Amen. Word on the day of repose of St. Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian If I want, let him remain, until I come, what to you? You follow Me (John 21:22) These highly significant words of the Lord about the supernatural immortality of John the Theologian, spoken to the Apostle Peter, were an answer to his question regarding the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian: what is this? that is, if I am crucified and die on the cross according to Your prophecy for preaching and testifying about You before the pagans and Jews, then by what death will John die? And the Lord answers him as a righteous Judge, having the power of life and death; if I want him to remain alive (until My second terrible coming to earth), what is that to you? You come for Me, that is, you die for Me on the cross, just as I died for you and for the human race, and John will live until the general resurrection and judgment. And before this - before His suffering - the Lord spoke secretly about the same immortality of John during a conversation with the disciples and with the people: Truly I tell you that there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come in power 340. These words referred to the Apostle John the Theologian, although they were said in secret, as if about several persons, and not about one. So, John the Theologian reposed, but did not die, but remains alive to this day, and does not retreat from the earth, and awaits the second terrible coming of the Lord to earth 341 - although in heaven he stands before the throne of God and always intercedes for the Church of Christ. This is how powerfully and magnificently and worthily the Lord glorified and glorifies His beloved disciple and confidante and guardian and nourisher of His Most Pure Mother, the Virgin Mary until the end of Her earthly life. The Lord raised her from the dead on the third day, and commanded his beloved disciple to live until His second coming, when John according to the flesh will be killed by the servants of the Antichrist, like Elijah and Enoch, and then by the word of God he will be raised from the dead and will be alive forever and ever. Such is the glory, such is the immortality of Christ’s beloved disciple! Why is St. so glorified and awarded such wonderful immortality? Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian? For his perfect, selfless devotion to Jesus Christ from youth to old age, from his calling to the apostleship in the 22nd year of age until the death of Christ and then for endless centuries - for his perfect purity of soul and body, for his meekness and gentleness, for complete impartiality to fleeting earthly blessings and for perfect love for His Lord, full of selflessness, dangers, suffering, but also full of bliss in God’s glory, countless miracles before and after repose. Anyone who wants to know about these miracles with which the Lord glorified him can read or listen about them in his life. What does St. teach us? Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian with his life and teaching? Teaches us complete devotion to the Author of our faith and the Perfecter of the Lord Jesus Christ, impartiality to this short-lived life, aspiration and preparation for eternal life, constant vigilance over our spiritual state, unceasing repentance, all Christian virtue, distance from all sin, which alienates and removes us from God and His holy covenants and promises, mutual love, mercy, patience and position of life for Christ, if necessary. Wonderful was John’s closeness and boldness to the Lord. He was the beloved disciple, friend and confidant of Christ during Christ's earthly life. But when the Lord rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and assumed His eternal, terrible glory, He sat down at the right hand of the Father according to humanity, and then especially before all His disciples He distinguished John, appearing to him in His unapproachable Glory. Listen to how John describes the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to him in heavenly glory. I was in the spirit on Sunday, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, which said: I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last... I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me; and turning, he saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of man, clothed in a robe and girded around the chest with a golden belt; His head and hair are white, like white wool, like snow; and His eyes are like a flame of fire; and His feet were like chalcolivan, like those burning in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. He held in His right hand seven stars, and from His mouth came a sword sharp on both sides, and His face was like the sun, shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if dead. And He laid His right hand on me and said to me: Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the living; and he was dead, and behold, he is alive forever and ever, Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death 342. This is the majesty in which the Lord appeared to John in his imprisonment on the island of Patmos; this glory is more terrible than the Epiphany of Tabor, which John was privileged to see together with Peter and James. So, on this apostolic holiday, let us learn from immortality, which is being prepared for us by the Lord, and prepare for it by constant repentance, purification, correction, virtue, and mutual love for each other. Amen. Homily for the nineteenth week after Pentecost Let men do whatever you will, and do likewise to them (Luke 6:31) The God-speaking Evangelist Luke, in the Gospel now read, conveys to us the instruction and commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ, how we should deal with people in the community, in order to please us and God and people, and to acquire for ourselves a good name and a good conscience and to be worthy of the promised, incorruptible heavenly fatherland for our prudent behavior in the earthly fatherland 343. What wise, sublime, saving, truly divine instructions and commandments! But our everyday everyday life is so inconsistent with them! The Lord teaches us to treat people the way we would like people to treat us, that is, simply-heartedly, kindly, sympathetically, patiently. He set ourselves as the measure of our relationships with people, and this measure, this scale is love: for no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it 344. But in the hostel it is often the opposite; People’s relationships with each other are very often incorrect, perverse, not distinguished by the spirit of simplicity and sincerity, love and goodwill, peacefulness, meekness and condescension, purity and holiness, sympathy and mercy and Christian patience. They are often distinguished by a spirit of insincerity and duplicity, coldness and arrogance, guile and ill will, or impurity and voluptuousness, low selfishness and selfishness. The root or reason, the source of this or that way of people treating each other is in the heart of a person, for a good man wears out good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil man wears out evil from the evil treasure of his heart 345 - and it comes either from his natural qualities, or from upbringing, happy or wrong, from various passions, inclinations, habits, for example, to certain pleasures, from good or bad examples, from life circumstances, from greater or lesser material security, or on the environment in which one lives, on the position in society, on various everyday lessons or temptations, and finally, on the extent to which one has or has not been imbued with the spirit of Christ, the Gospel, the Church. Thus, the measure of relationships with others for some people is simplicity and sincerity, goodwill, love for everyone; this is the best side of the relationship of one to another; but often the nature of the relationship of one to another is cunning, suspicion, hostility, rudeness, envy, extreme pride, selfishness, partiality, vanity, vanity, ambition, voluptuousness or extreme arrogance, that is, a high opinion of oneself, seeking to humiliate others. This is another type of human relationship, opposite to the first. Generally speaking, between people one can notice more insincere attitudes towards each other than sincere ones, because all hearts are infected more or less with the impurity of sin, covered with the ashes of passions. For who can boast of having a pure heart, says Scripture? So some words are soft, like oil, and yet they are stinging arrows. So, according to the teaching of our Savior, the measure of our relations towards others should be our correct love for ourselves; as we wish people to do to us, so we will do to them, i.e. simply, sincerely, meekly, lovingly, unsuspiciously, condescendingly, sympathetically, patiently. The Lord Himself offers Himself as a model to us, to which we must constantly look and, looking, always learn: learn from Me, He says, for I am meek and lowly in heart 346. The Apostle Paul says: Try to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord 347; He also teaches: Let love be unfeigned. Be kind to one another with brotherly love; warn one another in respect; take part in the needs of the saints, that is, Christian brothers; be zealous for hospitality. Bless your persecutors; bless, not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but follow the humble; don't dream about yourself; do not repay anyone evil for evil; but give your attention to what is good in the sight of all men. If possible, on your part, be at peace with all people. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty give him a drink. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let every soul be submissive to the higher authorities 348. These are the rules for the conversion of Christians among themselves that the Apostle Paul outlined in his letter to the Romans. They are obligatory for all of us. Where is the highest motivation for us to do this to each other? In the image and likeness of God, in which man was created, and in the fact that we are children of the one Heavenly Father, members of Christ, branches of the one vine of Christ, sheep of His one verbal flock; we eat the one animal bread of Christ, we drink from the one cup His divine blood; all are filled with one Holy Spirit; We are waiting for one incorruptible, eternal inheritance. Here is an incentive for mutual, sincere, loving treatment! If you love those who love you, says the Lord in today’s Gospel, what gratitude do you have for that? for even sinners, that is, idolaters, love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you; what gratitude do you have for that? For sinners also do, that is, as long as they enjoy benefits, and this means loving only themselves; for in benefactors they love only good deeds or benefit to themselves. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back; what gratitude do you have for that? for sinners also lend to sinners in order to get the same amount back - and in this case you love only yourself, your benefits, and not the benefit of your neighbor - you do not satisfy his needs completely. If Christians do not fulfill these natural virtues, then they are much worse than the pagans, who perform the law by nature 349 without having grace-filled powers; Christians, as you know, received all divine, supernatural powers from God for life and piety 350, for the fulfillment of all Christ’s commandments. Look, Christian, into this mirror of the divine commandments and find out what you are like, do you even love those who love you, or do you even sometimes not love them? Do you do good to your benefactors? Do you lend to those who repay the debt? Are you avoiding out of selfishness and mistrust? Many want to be content only with love for those who love and do not want to force themselves to love those who hate or are hostile to them; With such pagan love, Christian, you will remain in shame at the Last Judgment. But love your enemies,” the Lord continues, “do good and lend, not expecting anything; and you will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is good to the ungrateful and the wicked. A difficult task, apparently, is prescribed to us by our Savior, commanding us to love our enemies and do good to them; the corrupted human heart will say: this is impossible, it is contrary to nature and common sense! A difficult task, it is true, only for a corrupted heart, not renewed and not strengthened by grace, but for a heart regenerated by grace, this is an easy task, for the Lord helps the believer in everything; and we see many examples of this in the lives of the saints. But who should you lend to without expecting anything? Poor and insolvent people, for whom repayment of debt is extremely difficult and often impossible. But wealthy people must certainly repay the debt, and lenders do not sin at all if they seek to collect the debt honestly or through the courts. Otherwise, there would be harmful indulgence in unscrupulous people who think it’s easy to get by at someone else’s expense. So be merciful, said the Lord, just as your Father is merciful. From Christians, His children by grace, the Lord requires mercy similar to the mercy of the Heavenly Father. And in fact, if Christians are children of the Heavenly Father, redeemed by the blood of His Son, and they are promised incorruptible, endless blessings in the heavenly fatherland, then they must show in this life to their brethren love and mercy, corresponding to the greatness of God’s love and mercy for them and the infinite greatness of the incorruptible blessings, the greatest honors and heavenly crowns promised to them. Beloved! if God so loved us; then we must love each other 351, says the holy Apostle John the Theologian. Amen. Homily on the Day of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Virgin stands today in church and from the faces of the saints invisibly prays to God for us (Kondak of the holiday) From the beginning of the tenth century, in 910 A.D., under the Greek Emperor Leo the Wise and Patriarch Therasia, in the Blachernae Church of Constantinople, during the all-night vigil, the Mother of God once appeared to the eyes of chosen people with the faces of Angels and Saints. Covering the upcoming people with Her honest omophorion, She prayed to Her Son and God for their salvation from enemies who threatened the capital with destruction, and the people with slavery and death. Through the intercession of the heavenly Intercessor, the enemy was driven out and the city was saved. In memory of the merciful patronage of the Mother of the Lord and our fatherland, the Orthodox Russian Church, from ancient times, established the annual celebration of the Intercession of the Mother of God. The Russian kingdom has existed for more than a thousand years, and it is difficult to list how many times the heavenly Intercessor covered it from troubles with Her prayerful intercession with the Lord Almighty. But having so much patronage for the whole fatherland and people, She extends Her sovereign cover to cities and towns and to private individuals. Every Orthodox Christian knows this, because the cities, villages and lives of many pious Christians are full of examples of Her protection and intercession. In honor of the holiday and for your and our edification, let us talk, brothers, about how necessary for us is the prayerful intercession of the Mother of God for us. We far, far do not understand, brethren, how necessary the prayers for us of the Most Pure Mother of the Lord are, and in order to see this necessity, we need an eye or mind much purer and brighter than ours. Only our most tender mother, pure in meaning, the Holy Church, sees in the whole world how necessary Her intercession for us before God is for us, and therefore, every time she begins to pray to God with us, she certainly calls on Her, chosen among wives, higher than the creatures of heaven and earth, and at Her intercession asks either to grant us some benefit, or to save us from some misfortune, so that it is difficult to find a prayer without the name of the Most Pure Mother God's. And fair enough! Being the Mother of God the Word, therefore, being closest to the throne of the Divine, She naturally can do a lot for the mercy or propitiation of the Master. We are sinners and unclean, but She is Most Pure; How can we not have mercy on us unclean people for Her prayers, if only we wish to be cleansed and do not add sins to sins again? We are proud with our impurities, but She is so humble with all Her virtues, with all Her greatness; How, looking at Her humble prayers, can we not have mercy on us proud and stiff-necked people if we humble ourselves before God and before Her! Our Lady is exactly like an indestructible wall between God and people; She deflects most of the thunder of heavenly justice, ready to punish ungrateful sinners. Only behind such a wall are we often safe, while we think that our safety is a consequence of the ordinary order of things. But let us come closer to the position of man on earth in order to see more clearly how necessary the prayerful intercession of the Mother of God is for him. Since the time when man lost his innocence, bliss and immortality, to this day he presents a terrifying picture of the calamities tormenting him, internal and external, mental and physical, so that it is impossible for anyone not to see that some kind of yoke lies heavily on all the sons of Adamlich, from the day of their departure from the womb of their mother until the day of burial in the mother of all 352, that is, in the earth. Having long ago lost his blissful state, man now weakly believes in the heavenly bliss promised to him, does not want to understand that real life is not life in the proper sense, because it is nothing more than a preparation for life in heaven - and therefore gives himself complete freedom here, often making his life a disgrace of violent passions; he plays with it like a toy, not being curious to know what will happen to it when it breaks, in general - he does not use it as the common sense of everyone prescribes, which says that the life of a rational being must certainly have a reasonable, spiritual goal. On the other hand, living for the most part in illnesses, sorrows, in troubles, in exhausting, but useless worries for the soul, one is often overwhelmed by their burden, not finding relief and consolation for oneself. How necessary and how gratifying it would be in such a pitiful situation to find in heaven a person who would have the most sincere, tender love for us, would have great power with God and through his intercession would help us, through our prayer, through the illumination of our minds with his heavenly light, to tear ourselves away little by little from the earth, guide us to salvation, prevent temptations and temptations, or help overcome them and soften the cruelty of our sorrows, illnesses and others misfortunes. Christians have such a bright face - the Mother of God. The most chosen of all the wives of the world, wherever and whenever there were, She naturally sympathizes with people, as subservient to them, sympathizes more not only with each person individually, but more than all people together, because not a single human heart is capable of loving all people with the kind of love with which the Mother of God loves us. Only the purest heart can love all people, and no one had a purer heart than Mary. Sometimes we love some unfortunate person, but we cannot help him. In this case, the illness of compassion is accompanied by a new painful feeling: the inability to help the unfortunate. This cannot happen with the Mother of God. If She wants to help the unfortunate person who turns to Her intercession with living faith, then she cannot help him. As the Mother of the omnipotent Son and God, She is, in some way, omnipotent Herself. God determined to have mercy on us for Her prayers infinitely more than for the prayers of all other saints, according to the very height of Her service to the sacrament of redemption, and therefore He listens to every prayer of His Most Pure Mother, since every prayer of Her is holy and pleasing to Him. So, if you want to save your souls from eternal destruction, to free yourself from slavery to passions, to endure illnesses, sorrows and disasters of life complacently and easily, all brethren, turn diligently, with prayer to the Mother of God, ask yourself for Her high assistance, Her consolations, ask fervently, persistently, since if you saw Her before your eyes in Her divine glory, - and you will surely receive Her help; She will surely overshadow you with Her cover. You will see it yourself, feel it, touch it, it will be so easy for you, so peaceful, so fun. And if you don’t get it, blame yourself; it means you prayed insincerely, unworthily. Who, brethren, should intercede for us more, who should listen to our prayers more, if not the Mother of God? Although She is now in heaven, in all heavenly glory, She is from us, from our sinful earth; she lived here like us, and also experienced a lot of sorrows; How could She not listen from there and stand up for Her own? Just don’t, brothers, you should never forget that She is the Most Holy One and does not like lawlessness. Therefore, asking God in our prayers for Her intercession for us, let us try to be far from all sin, as uncleanness, which turns away from us both the eyes and ears of the heavenly Intercessor and brings heavenly wrath upon us. Let us all, with a pure heart, run to Her sovereign protection in our misfortunes, sorrows and illnesses and place undoubted hope in Her. In the midst of the disasters of life, let us prepare for a place where there are no troubles, where there is eternal joy and eternal peace, and the Queen of Heaven will be pleased to save and cover us from troubles and guide us to the ever-quiet heavenly haven. Cover us, O Lady, with Your honorable cover, and deliver us from all evil, praying to Your Son, Christ our God, to save our souls. Amen. Sermon on the twentieth week of Pentecost To the young man, I say to you, arise (Luke 7:14) In this Gospel, you have heard, beloved brethren, the story of the Savior’s resurrection from the dead of the only son of a widow who lived in the city of Nain 353. Beloved brothers, we are all spiritual dead! Leave the dead to bury their dead, 354, the Lord said to one of His disciples, who asked Him for permission to first go and bury his father and then follow the Savior, that is, leave people who are dead in soul, although alive in appearance, leave them to bury their dead in body. The name Imashi is alive, but you are dead 355, the Lord also says in Revelation to one apparently pious person. Yes, we are dead in soul, brothers; and here too, the Lord often awakens our souls, killed by sin, with His effective, living word, with His all-effective grace, from the dead sleep of sin; Our souls now often hear His all-vivifying word, like that dead Nain youth: “Young man, I say to you, arise,” and they rise according to His voice. The Lord touches our heart with His grace through the word of God preached in church, or through the good advice of those close to us, or through a good thought He sends into our soul darkened by sins, or touches our sinful body with some illness sent by Him, or visits us with some losses, for example, the loss of close relatives, the loss of our property, or He threatened us with the imminent danger of suddenly losing our life on land or at sea, or something else. had a beneficial effect on our soul. So what? We, the spiritual dead, very often came to life from this, that is, we began to feel the vanity, the corruption of everything earthly and the necessity for the soul of true, living faith in God and deeds of virtue, which we had previously neglected; we began to sincerely repent of our past disorderly life, a contrite spirit and a humble heart appeared in us, we were moved at the thought of God’s great long-suffering over us, considered ourselves the greatest sinners, mourned our errors and firmly decided and began to lead a completely different life, pleasing to God. And here a miracle takes place, very similar to the one that happened to the dead son of the widow of Nain. – The youth is sitting, that is, our soul rises from sinful sleep, begins to speak the words of salvation - the verb begins - and the Lord gives it, resurrected from spiritual death, to its mother, that is, the Holy Church, which is our mother, for spiritual education and guidance to the future life. Behold, beloved brethren, a miraculous resurrection from the dead, the cause of which is the Lord alone. And it is higher, more beneficial, than resurrection in the body: because here the immortal soul, redeemed by the blood of the Son of God, is resurrected from death to life, and not a corruptible body! May God grant that there will be more such miracles with all of us. God! Seeing a widow in the city of Naina, weeping green, as if then, having mercy on her son, you raised him up for burial; Have mercy on me too, O Lover of mankind, and resurrect my soul, killed by sins. Amen. Teaching on the day of the Kazan Mother of God O zealous intercessor, Mother of the Lord Most High, pray for all Your Son, Christ our God, and grant that all may be saved, seeking refuge in Your sovereign protection (Troparion to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God) Hear, brothers and sisters, what St. Church of Our Most Holy Lady, Queen Theotokos. She sings: “Our zealous intercessor, pray for all of Your Son, Christ our God, and cause all to be saved, in Your sovereign protection for those who come running.” These words of the Most Holy Mother of the Church about the Most Holy Mother of God are the purest truth, they say what happens incessantly in reality, for the Most Holy Theotokos, in Her motherly love for us, stands for us before the Throne of God day and night: pray for us day and night, St. says to Her. The Church is in midnight worship, and the scepters of the kingdom are confirmed by Your prayers. Each of you has seen and sees often that the Most Holy Theotokos is depicted on icons either with both hands stretched out in prayer to Her Son and God, or with one hand stretched out in prayer to Him, for in this latter case, on the other hand she holds Her almighty Son holding all creation by the handful 356. This visible image clearly shows us the invisible work that is constantly taking place in the spiritual world, in heaven, the vigilant prayer for us before God of the Mother of God; for in heaven they do not know the rest of the night, as we have on earth; there is eternal day, eternal wakefulness, eternal all-joyful praise of the Creator, unceasing prayer for us. Oh, how comforting, my brothers, to think and be sure that in heaven there is such an everlasting, zealous and never-sleeping Intercessor and Intercessor for us sinners before God! What cannot She intercede for the Christian race, which always blesses, glorifies, magnifies Her? Yes, everything can be sought, however, only by those Christians who have not fallen asleep in sinful death, who themselves with faith stretch out their hands to Her with a prayer for help, or in the prayer of doxology and thanksgiving, who themselves try to live a Christian life, to fulfill Christ’s commandments and, although they sin due to human weakness and some kind of oblivion, they soon rise up, learning the flattery of sin, and again take up good deeds, for their salvation. The prayers of the Mother of God help such Christians a lot, but the prayers of the Mother of God are not effective for those who are careless in prayer and in every good deed, who through negligence fall from one sin to another, from one vice to another, for the gifts of God's grace are perceived by us through faith, through our own desire and search for them: God does not cast His pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet 357 . However, what am I saying is not valid? - No, even for them the prayer of the Mother of God is valid, for She asks Her Son for them too, so that He will suffer for them even more - will they not wake up from their sinful sleep, will they not recognize the abyss of evil in which they are mired, will they not wish for heavenly help, will they not sigh to God? And how many She raised with Her prayers from the depths of sin! – An example of this is the Venerable Mary of Egypt, who from the greatest harlot became the greatest righteous woman, equal to the angels. It was the prayers of the Mother of God that made her wake up from her sinful sleep, flow to repentance and decide to change her life. My brothers! The Most Holy Theotokos is our Queen and Mother by grace; She is the loving Mother of our All-Creator and Savior, according to His humanity; no one loves people more than Her, after the Savior; no one hurts about them more than She, no one cares more about their eternal salvation; How can She not pray for them like a mother, so that they do not fall into hell and into the fire of hell forever? And - I’ll add, how can we not pray for ourselves, how can we not take care of ourselves, about our eternal salvation, eternal bliss; and if She is our Queen and Mother and the Mother of God, then let us honor Her according to her heritage, not only with our lips, but especially with our deeds - meekness, humility, self-control, purity, obedience to God, observance of His commandments, devotion to His will, patience. She is the Head of mental creation, i.e. She is the first in holiness and greatness in the Church of Christ, like the Queen, but we are also members of the Church of Christ, although weak; Let us try to behave worthy of such a great Leader of ours - let us be jealous and, in our strength, imitate Her meekness, humility, purity, devotion to the will of God, patience, love for God and neighbors. Let us not forget to run more often into Her sovereign protection with faith, hope and love, and She will continually intercede for all who come running with faith into Her sovereign protection - all in adversity and sorrow and illness, burdened with many sins; standing and praying to Her with a tender soul and a contrite heart before Her most pure image with tears and irrevocably, undoubtedly, placing hope in Her; She provides deliverance from all evils and bestows useful things on everyone, for She is the divine protection of Her servant. Amen. The Word of God and His Listeners Sermon for the twenty-first week after Pentecost In this Gospel, beloved brethren, was read a very instructive parable of the Savior about the sower and the seed. In this parable, as in all the teachings of Christ the Savior, clearly, brethren, you see God, seeing through the heart of every person or, as the Holy Scripture says, testing our hearts and wombs 358 - everything that is hidden in them, sometimes even unknown to us ourselves, all their spiritual convolutions and nooks, all their untruths or truths. This parable of God the Savior condemns some of us and plunges us into shame and disgrace, while others praise and bring peace and God’s blessing into our hearts. This, brothers, is about listening to the word of God. So, listen, beloved! The knower of the heart looks at you and expects fruit from His word, preached to you through me, humble and sinful. Your own benefit requires that you accept this word with all your heart and hold it there forever - for future guidance in hearing the word of God in the church. The Sower, beloved brethren, is Jesus Christ; seed means the word of God, and earth means the human heart; a good heart is a good land; and an evil, unclean heart crushed by passions is a bad land. Behold, there are some inattentive listeners, absent-minded, who do not revere the word of God as they should; and to such listeners Satan comes secretly into their hearts at the very time they are listening, and, like a thief from unwary house owners, he takes away the word of God from their hearts, so that they do not believe and are saved. This is the word of God sown near the road. Learn from this with what deep attention, with what undoubted faith you need to listen to the saving and living word of God. The enemy constantly looks out to see if it is possible to somehow make someone inattentive to the word of God, whether it is possible to destroy faith in him in someone’s heart, so that through faith in the word of God they would not repent of their sins and be saved. Focus your whole mind on your heart while reading or preaching the word of God and with open, believing hearts, listen to it with humility for the salvation of your souls, and drive away thoughts of doubt or other restless or unclean thoughts and feelings, like the seed of the devil. Others willingly and attentively listen to the word of God, but woe is it: they are frivolous, impatient, selfish, fickle; under favorable circumstances they believe, and under unfavorable circumstances they betray their faith; These are people who have not rooted faith in themselves, this is a seed that fell on a stone. But faith preaches that only those who endure to the end will be saved 359; and the fearful and unfaithful, and the vile and all deceitful, their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone 360. And according to the general human consciousness, is it not fair to demand, beloved brethren, that a person be faithful to the end to the one to whom he has made an oath to be faithful to death, especially if the oath of allegiance is given to a person worthy of our full love and perfect respect? If we make an oath to the earthly king to serve until the last drop of blood and consider it dishonorable not to keep our vow and remain faithful to him until death: then how can we not be faithful to death to God the Savior, Who, having taken upon Himself our nature, shed all His blood for us to the last drop and to Whom we gave at baptism the duty of fidelity? Oh, may we not fall away from our Lord the Redeemer, no matter what misfortune befalls us! For where can we hide from Him? What will we find without Him? He has verbs of eternal life 361. But there are also such listeners of the word of God, whose hearts are burdened with the worries of life, an addiction to wealth and devoted to the pleasures of life: they will listen to the word of God, understand and seem to take it to their hearts; but when they leave the church, they are immediately attacked by worldly cares or the seduction of wealth, or they are seduced by worldly pleasures: and so the word of God, having barely received a narrow place in the heart, is suppressed by this, as if leaden oppression of worldly worries, addiction to wealth and the pleasures of temporary life; and alas, there is again no fruit into eternal life, because man strives to gather fruit into temporary life. Alas, beloved brothers, there are more such listeners of the word of God in our churches. Agree that many of you come to church with worldly distraction, with concerns about satisfying your everyday needs - yes, if only you had more needs - and then often about satisfying your passions and lusts; - and so, when the sermon begins, you begin, apparently, to listen; The sermon is over, and your favorite thoughts and wishes take possession of you, and you are left without fruit from the word of God. It also happens that passions and lusts drive you out of the church during the very preaching of the word of God and you run away from the words of eternal life. Oh, if only this had never happened! Finally, thank God, there have always been, and there are now, such listeners who listen to the word of God with a kind and good heart, who are completely devoted to God and His holy word, who live without their hearts being attached to earthly things, without being overwhelmed by everyday worries, because they do not consider it necessary to kill the time given to prepare for the heavenly fatherland with murderous and petty worries about clothing, food and drink. These listeners, having listened with attention to the word of God, hold it in their hearts and patiently strive in life, waiting for the future kingdom of God, until death finally opens the door to it for them. I know that there are such listeners among you, beloved brethren. May the peace and blessing of God rest upon you, and may the Lord grant you His heavenly kingdom. Beloved brothers! While reading or preaching the word of God, be extremely careful not to be distracted and never sow on thorns, that is, on hearts overgrown with passions and lusts. Listen to the whole word of God with a kind and good heart, that is, a heart with living faith, with good and holy thoughts. Amen. Homily for the twenty-second week after Pentecost In this Gospel, beloved brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself depicts the visible inequality of the condition and life of people in this temporary life and, accordingly, the inequality of the fate of people in another, afterlife, which has no end. This Gospel is highly instructive for all of us, for people of every condition and rank. We are talking about one rich man, whose name is not mentioned, and one beggar named Lazarus 362. Who is this ill-fated rich man, the luxurious merry fellow who inherited eternal torment? Judging by the fact that he calls Abraham father, and that he and his brothers knew the Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets, it should be assumed that the rich man was of Jewish descent and law, a descendant of Abraham. What was his sin, his guilt, for which he so accidentally ended up in hell? The Gospel says that he was rich; but, without a doubt, it was not wealth that was the cause of such terrible torment that the rich man experienced in hell; and Abraham was at one time a very rich man, but wealth did not prevent him from being a friend of God, because he was welcoming and hospitable and was faithful and obedient to God in everything. It is further said that he dressed in purple and fine linen, which means he was purely royal, and every day he feasted brilliantly. It would seem that this is not particularly his fault; a rich man, who has thousands and perhaps millions of money and huge estates, why not dress up in silk and velvet, and at the present time this is not considered a special luxury, although fine linen was especially expensive at that time. It is further said that he feasted brilliantly every day, which means he ate, drank and had fun with his friends and flatterers; but even in our enlightened times, there are frequent feasts and expensive dinners - in great use - and those who organize them do not think that through this they are grievously sinning and will end up in hell, especially if they forget the poor. Let's go further - look for the guilt of the rich, merry fellow. What does the Gospel say? There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who lay at his gate covered in scabs and wanted to feed on the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table, and the dogs came and licked his scabs. This is where the real guilt of the rich man lies, which makes him guilty of both his luxurious dressing and his daily rich feasts: this guilt is hard-heartedness and unmercifulness towards the poor, which arose in him from a passion for luxury and extravagance, for an idle and cheerful life. At the very gates of his house lies poor Lazarus covered in scabs; such a poor man who, by his very appearance and position, should arouse compassion and mercy, and call upon the rich man for help; but the rich man, even seeing, does not seem to see him and does not show him the slightest compassion: he is busy with his feasts; the dogs are more compassionate than him; they come and lick Lazarus’s pus. Lazarus wanted to be fed with crumbs from the rich man's table, which means that he was not given anything from the rich meal. It is for this hard-heartedness and unmercifulness that the rich man was sent to hell after death; and Lazarus, for his suffering, uncomplaining patience, for his honest poverty and deprivation, was awarded Abraham’s bosom, eternal peace and bliss. What lesson does this image of the rich and the poor give us, this description of their life and condition on earth and their fate immediately after death? Firstly, the lesson that wealth and poverty, health and illness, joy and sorrow - everything here soon passes and disappears, but the deeds of people, their vices and virtues, do not die, but pass with them into eternity, and there they will either be justified or condemned before the Judge of all thoughts and deeds of men and - either they will be led into heaven or cast into the abyss of hell, from where they can escape never will be. Therefore, beloved brothers and sisters, let us not be hard-hearted and unmerciful towards the poor when we ourselves have prosperity; Let us not be arrogant about wealth and contentment, but let us share as much as we can with the poor, so that if we become poor in good deeds, they will accept us into eternal shelters 363, according to the words of our Savior. See how, after the death of Lazarus and the rich man, the fate and fortunes of both suddenly change! The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. What an honor, what love for him from the celestials! He is carried and accompanied to heaven, as his fellow citizen, by heavenly angels, these faithful friends of people faithful to God. The rich man also died and was buried; and in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom. What a sight! Lazarus is a sick beggar, despised by the once rich, now in a place of light, coolness, bliss, and the rich man himself is in hell, in torment. No help from anywhere. Where are the table mates and flatterers? Maybe they are also in hell? Then you know what follows: the rich man asked Abraham to send Lazarus, so that he would wet the end, just the tip of his finger, in water and cool his tongue, this voluptuous tongue, now terribly burning, withered. But the rich man is denied this too. True, Abraham calls him a child, just as the former rich man called him his father, but this name - child - only served as a reproach to the rich man, who did not do the works of Abraham, who did not have his abstinence and hospitality. What is the reason for the refusal of a drop of water? The one that the rich man received his good in his life, and Lazarus received his evil. What good is yours? - That which he considered good, i.e. he ate, drank, dressed elegantly, had fun, but did not think about God and pleasing Him, did not do good deeds, and therefore lived like dumb cattle, not caring about the immortal soul. Consequently, what he lived for, that’s what he received, what he considered his good, that’s what he enjoyed; for eternity he did not prepare anything, no good deeds, he did not acquire the desires and needs of spiritual and eternal blessings, he turned out to be alien to the love of God and neighbor - he has nothing to do in paradise, where there is a place only for the righteous and those who love God and each other with pure love; Lazarus, in the crucible of illness and deprivation, was cleansed of sins and suffered punishment for them in illness and deprivation itself; for this, says Abraham, he is comforted here, but you suffer. That’s how the roles of one and the other suddenly changed and - immediately after the death of both. Oh, how fickle, fragile, and unfaithful everything earthly is! How constant and eternal is virtue and its reward! Further, Abraham presents another reason to the rich man why Lazarus cannot come to him, the former rich man, and with the slightest joy - just a drop of water on his finger - precisely because between those imprisoned in hell and those in heaven there is an eternally impassable abyss. This should have struck the rich man with a new horror of hopelessness for mercy, the horror of despair, and he already asks Abraham not for himself, but for his brothers, so that Abraham would send Lazarus to them to testify about the real existence of hell and eternal torment in its flames and about the existence of paradise - an eternal home and place of joy for those who lived holy or suffered punishment for sins and repented. But the former rich man was denied this too; but it is said that his brothers should listen to Moses and the prophets, that is, read and fulfill their Scriptures. The rich man again begged Abraham for the same thing, and he received a new refusal: they would not believe even the dead in the existence of eternal torment and eternal life, if they did not listen to Moses and the prophets who spoke by the Holy Spirit. A good, instructive lesson for all today's crazy smart people who do not believe in the existence of human souls after death, in the real existence of eternal fire and in the eternity of torment of unrepentant sinners and future bliss. They, too, would like the dead to come to them more often and assure them of the truth of what is said in the Gospel - but the dead will not come to them to assure them that the eternal Truth itself - Christ our God - has spoken once and for all, and if they want to change their way of thinking and life and achieve eternal life, then let them diligently read and listen to the Gospel and fulfill what is written in it. Here is a short discussion on today's Gospel. Meditate on what is written in it and believe with all your heart everything that is written in it. For not one iota will pass away from what the Truth itself - Christ - said, and everything will be fulfilled 364. Amen. Homily for the twenty-third week after Pentecost But when He (Jesus Christ) came forth to the earth, a certain man from the city, whose name was demons, was taken away from him for many years, and was not clothed in a robe, and did not live in the church, but in tombs (Luke 8:27) Have you heard, beloved brethren, the Gospel story read today about the demoniac in the Gadarene country and his healing by Jesus Christ? -Have you heard how demons tormented the unfortunate man, and how he miserably dragged out his miserable life? Have you seen the divine power of Jesus Christ over demons, over a whole legion of them, that is, over several thousand who have taken possession of an unfortunate person? Have you seen the sudden death of many animals, the so-called unclean ones, into which demons entered by permission of the Savior 365? – Let us carefully delve into this story and take a lesson from it: it is told for our edification. There were demoniacs before, and they still exist today; only now, in the new grace, demons act more secretly and cunningly than in that old time, when their power and authority over people had not yet been solemnly crushed, and they had much more room in the world. And now, however, there are very, very many rabid people. Who among us is unaware of the current generation of demoniacs or rabid drunkards? Don’t be surprised that I call drunkards possessed: they really are. Who has not heard and who does not know how they - if they are men and married - torment and torment - not to mention themselves - their wives and, if unfortunately there are children, then their children; Thus, due to the action of demons, they often either throw themselves into a noose or bring their wives and children to death with their beatings and torments; and what is it that some pathetic woman does not tolerate from a drunken husband, or children from a drunken father! There will not be enough strength to mourn the misfortunes in the house where the drunkard starts; hell, pure hell is happening in him; Every day there are tears and moans. A drunkard gets drunk every day and takes everything from the house to drink. Oh, terrible passion! Terrible madness! Who is to blame here? Of course, he is a drunkard himself, having reached this demonic state through his greed for wine. Any sick person can be treated, but a drunkard cannot be treated with anything, unless he himself wants to decisively give up drunkenness and turns with all his heart to the help of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who alone, by His grace, can heal this terrible, disastrous passion. I have seen many drunkards; Among them I saw some completely healed by the grace of Christ, to the help of which they themselves diligently resorted; but I have seen and you have seen many who died a terrible death, without repentance, by suicide or drunkenness. So, I say that I saw many drunkards completely healed by the grace of Christ, which they sincerely sought and which they received, and this gives me reason to say for the edification of all drunkards: seek diligently help from the Savior and He will certainly save you, drive out from you the demonic horde that has entered into you for your intemperance, carelessness about yourself, for laziness and coldness to prayer, for lack of faith and unbelief, for moving away from God and from the Church... But I also saw real demoniacs, in whom demons moved in according to the inscrutable destinies of God and caused mental insanity in them, uttered terrible blasphemies and foul language through them; I saw how terribly they threw one unfortunate man from corner to corner or forced him to climb a wall, etc. I think that God, together with the apostle, handed these over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit would be saved 366 . But such demoniacs were, of course, in a state of insanity: they did not realize what they were doing. And drunkards are charged with their actions: for they are not deprived of their intelligence and freedom of action, and they are punished for their drunkenness and for their disgrace. Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God 367. But there is, brothers, another kind of mad people. These are angry, irritable, angry people. Have you seen angry, angry, angry people? How bad they are when they are angry! And Scripture says: an ardent man is not handsome 368. How ugly is their whole face? What sparkling eyes, like those of fierce animals, in which anger and rage are visible? We are all irritable, we are all prone to anger, and therefore we must all, in repentance, ask the Lord for a spirit of meekness, humility and patience. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved,” the apostle exhorts, “but give room to the wrath of God, for it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord 369.” There are several other types of quiet - silent or slanderous demons: this is the demons of envious people, who are consumed by other people's happiness or well-being and who either suffer in silence in their souls, seeing the happiness of their neighbors, or blaspheme, slander those they envy. There is the madness of the stingy, greedy for money, who, in order to profit and increase it, are ready for any unrighteousness and because of the loss of it are ready to commit suicide, and whose demons have so hardened their hearts that they are not touched by any - neither private nor public disaster, who, seeing the hungry, naked, sick, crippled, pass by every day and will not give a penny, while their treasuries are overflowing with the gifts of God. Isn’t this rabies, although those susceptible to it calmly walk past the unfortunate every day and do not consider it a sin? There is a frenzy of carnal passion: those possessed by it fall into melancholy and despair if their passions are not satisfied, or decide on the most shameful actions for the sake of satisfying it, or often commit suicide. In order not to be overcome by this or other frenzied passions, it is necessary to curb them at the very beginning; when they intensify, then it is extremely difficult to control them, and even impossible without the assistance of grace. There is also a gambling mania, when people calmly spend evenings and nights playing cards, killing precious time, but do not look at the works of God, do not pay attention to their soul, do not pay attention to its salvation, and do not care at all about repentance and virtue. There is a mania, or passion for spectacle. There are people who, in reality and in their dreams, rave about the theater, applaud theater celebrities until they are tired, while they go to church only once or twice a year, and then only to yawn. There is a mania of fear, vain fear, when a person is afraid of others like himself, or is afraid of everything around him, suspects everyone of evil intentions, or generally assumes evil thoughts and intentions in everyone; - mania of disgust, when everyone and everything is considered unclean - and ten or twenty times they wash a thing that a stranger has touched. People also have a mania, or a demon, who is afraid or disgusted by the church, Divine services, psalmody and reading the word of God, in general, shrines: you will never convince them to come to church; If you lead, they will break out and run away or evade under various plausible pretexts: - such is the alienation from God and His holy church! – This also includes the madness of nihilism, which rejects everything holy, all the truths of revelation... everything that is dear to a rational being, especially for Christians, that consoles, strengthens, adorns and elevates a person. There is a madness of obscene language, which pollutes the heart and soul and lips of foul-mouthed people, noticed mainly among the common people and especially among the lower military ranks. That's how many different types of possession, or mania, there are in people! Moreover, not all of them are here: for sinful madness has countless types, and the hydra of sin is many-headed. How can we cure this moral illness, how can we save ourselves from this many-headed monster, so as not to become a victim of the cunning of crafty, evil, unclean and nasty demons? Only by humble faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who trampled down the power of the devil, by sincere, deep repentance, prayer and fasting. This generation does not come forth except through prayer and fasting 370, says the Lord. For this purpose, by the way, fasts were established by the Holy Church, so that Christians would have weapons in them against the devil and his countless intrigues. So this post was sent to us by the Holy Church to help us from yesterday. Let us willingly accept this church medicine and, according to our strength, let us keep fasts in order to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts. Amen. Where to look for help during illness? Sermon for the twenty-fourth week after Pentecost This Gospel spoke of two miraculous benefits provided by our Savior to the bleeding woman and the leader of the Jewish synagogue, Jairus: the first one was healed by the Lord in an instant - through her touching His clothes; another raised his only begotten, twelve-year-old daughter from the dead. In this Gospel story, what is instructive for us is, firstly, the faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. His only begotten daughter is dying and he asks for help not to doctors, but to Jesus Christ, believing that He can heal her with one word. So you, my brothers, when you get sick, or when your wife or children get sick, or one of your relatives or acquaintances or servants, turn first of all with a prayer for help to Jesus Christ, the Physician of our souls and bodies, who is quick to intercede for all who resort to Him in faith; invite your spiritual father into the house with the divine Mysteries of the body and blood of the Lord and believe that, like Jairus, you will not be put to shame in your hope. How many examples were there during my spiritual correction of needs, that the sick, who turned first of all to God for help, resorted to repentance and communion, quickly recovered after receiving the Holy Mysteries! I can name you many who have been honored with such great mercy from God. Jairus, mentioned in the Gospel, was not disgraced by his faith in the divine Wonderworker; “Don’t be afraid, just believe,” the Lord told him, “when they told Jairus that his daughter had died, and she will be saved.” and he, according to the word of the Lord, undoubtedly believed that his daughter would be resurrected: and indeed he saw her resurrected. So, when your soul, my brother, is killed by sin, passions, falls into the depths of evil, do not despair of your salvation, but believe that the Lord, who came into the world to save sinners, can save you and raise you up from the depths of sin; arise from the sleep of sin; Arise from sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you 371. Further, in this Gospel story, the faith of a woman who suffered for twelve years with bleeding is instructive; The circumstances of her painful condition are instructive. This woman, according to another Evangelist, before touching the Savior’s robe, thought to herself, if I just touch His robe, then I will be healed, and with such faith she touched the hem of His robe, and was immediately healed; - whereas before, having been treated by doctors for about twelve years and transferring all her property to them, she did not receive any benefit from any of them, but, on the contrary, came to an even worse state. How many Christians there are today who, in their illness, turn only to doctors, forgetting to turn to Jesus Christ, Who makes doctors wise, especially those who believe in Him, and like a bleeding woman, they are sick for a long time and are treated and give away almost all their property to the doctors and still receive no benefit, or little benefit, meanwhile, as if, soon after becoming ill, they turned to the Savior and invited His servant to come to them. life-giving Mysteries and tasted life-giving food - they would soon receive healing and glorify the Lord for His power and goodness. But for their lack of faith they are punished by the duration of their illness and the expenditure of property on medicines and on a doctor. It is remarkable that the bleeding woman was immediately healed upon touching the Savior’s clothes. This serves as an image of our mental healing. Our souls are immediately healed when we, with faith, in repentance, call on the all-saving name of Jesus Christ, or when we taste the most pure body and blood of the Savior: what life, sweetness, and silence will suddenly pour into the soul and body after communion of the Holy Mysteries! The flow of sinful thoughts and passions instantly stops; their place is taken by holy, heavenly thoughts; the whole soul becomes healthy and joyfully glorifies the Lord, the Giver of Life. So, so, with heartfelt faith and repentance, touch the Lord, the body and blood of the Savior, and eat them, and you will be healed. And how few sincerely touch the Savior, sincerely, with deep faith and fiery love, partaking of His body and blood! During Holy Great Lent, on Saturdays at liturgies, the people surround and crowd the Lord in His holy Mysteries, seeking to taste the most pure body and blood of the Lord, but how many accept Him with the faith with which the said woman touched. I think that even now the Lord would ask these participants: which of you touched Me? that is, who among you touched Me with faith and through faith received the power that came from Me - a power that cleanses, sanctifies, pacifies, enlightens, strengthens? Do not many receive communion without living faith, and, having received communion, leave as spiritually sick as they were before, and sometimes even worse? But those who receive communion with living faith receive cleansing of sins and pacification of conscience; for in their conscience they clearly hear the voice of the Savior: take heart, man! your faith has saved you; go in peace. What else should you pay attention to in the proposed reading from the Gospel? Here's something else you should pay attention to: when the Lord saw the relatives and friends of Jairus's dead daughter crying and sobbing, He said: don't cry; she is not dead, but she is sleeping. These words are very comforting for us. The Lord, the Giver of Life, calls our death a sleep. Why? Because there will be a general resurrection of the dead, like a general awakening from sleep, and this is due to His death and resurrection: for Christ has risen from the dead, becoming a firstfruits to those who died, 372 just as because of Adam all die, so because of Christ all will live. But what happened when Jesus Christ called the girl’s death a sleep (not dead, but asleep)? They laughed at Him, knowing that she had died. Not surprising: they did not yet know the secret of the resurrection. But it’s amazing how some can now mock when they hear about the resurrection, now that the resurrection of the dead has become as certain for us as the present day is certain? However, let us not be surprised: Christians do this only in name, but pagans in deeds, slaves of the belly, the riches of unrighteousness, worshipers of this world, for whom there is no higher pleasure than the pleasure of the larynx, tasting sweet meat and drinks, except the pleasure of worshiping the golden calf. But their end will be according to their deeds. And we will look at the majestic spectacle of how our Life-Giver resurrects Jairus’ daughter. Having sent everyone out of the room where the deceased lay, except Peter, James and John, and the father and mother of the deceased, and taking her by the hand, he exclaimed: maiden! stand up. So what? She immediately stood up, and He ordered that she be given something to eat. Here, brethren, is the image of our future resurrection: the dead will hear a similar voice of the Son of God at the second coming of the Son of God, and having heard it they will live, and they will come out having done good to the resurrection of life, and having done evil to the resurrection of judgment 373. Here's a lesson about resurrection: harden it well; remember that you will be resurrected. And that's all? No, and live like a Christian in order to achieve the blessed resurrection: be self-controlled and chaste, patient, kind, humble, forgiving, merciful, unanimous. Strive for each other, draw each other into the kingdom of heaven. Amen. Homily on the day of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Church Let us truly praise Mary the Virgin Mary: today she is brought into the Holy of Holies to be educated by the Lord (Ikos at Matins) Today is the day, my brothers, St. The Church celebrates the solemn introduction into the Temple of Jerusalem of the three-year-old Youth Mary, the blessed daughter of the righteous parents Joachim and Anna, to be raised by the Lord. Zechariah, the elder high priest, met Her in a sacred manner, accompanied by young virgins, and led Her, at the inspiration of the Spirit of God, into the innermost part of the temple, into the Holy of Holies, where once a year the high priest himself entered and where the Lord Himself dwelt, the Holy of Holies, for She was to be His Mother according to the flesh. How did the blessed Virgin spend her time in the church? Taught by the Holy Spirit Himself, through the virgins, in Hebrew writing and prayer, She spent time in prayer, reading the word of God, as you see in the icon of the Annunciation, in contemplation of God and handicrafts. Her love for conversation with God and for reading the word of God was so great that she forgot about food and drink - and the Archangel, at the command of God, brought Her heavenly food, as the Church sings in its stichera for this holiday. What a wonderful example for fathers and mothers and their children, for Christian virgins and young men! And they are obliged, as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, as slaves of the heavenly Queen of the Mother of God and the Head of mental edification - the Church to which they belong, to imitate in their strength Her ardent love for God, Her zeal for reading the word of God, for prayer, contemplation of God, abstinence, and hard work! If we do not want in vain to be called spiritual members of the Church of Christ, this holy House of God, whose Queen and Mother is the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, then we should also be wise in the same way as in Her, the Queen Mother. May Her children be with Her by the grace of the one spirit! Let them learn from Her how to love the Lord, their Creator, more than anything else in the world, more than father and mother, more than all their relatives; how to diligently study the word of God - which, unfortunately, is not visible among the so-called disciples and disciples of Jesus Christ - with what heartfelt fervor of love to pray to the Lord, how to surrender to Him with all your heart, how to entrust your entire destiny to His all-wise and all-good Providence; with what purity, meekness, humility, and patience to always be clothed and adorned - instead of the vain adornments of this adulterous, sinful world, which knows no measure of luxury and sophistication in bodily attire - how to love cohabitation with God and with the saints more than living in the villages of sinners 374 . Since the Most Holy Virgin was brought into the church to be educated by the Lord, let us now talk about the benefits and necessity of visiting the church of God, as the house of God and the place of our education for the heavenly fatherland. We are called Christians and we are all called by Jesus Christ to the heavenly fatherland - to be heavenly citizens, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. Our title is very high, our duties are also very important; We must have an exalted, holy, meek, humble spirit. Who will show us what our Christian title and responsibilities are, and what kind of spirit we should be, how to behave in different circumstances of life? Who will teach us the strength to live according to the spirit of Christ - holy? The Church provides all this to us; we can receive these spiritual powers in the church of God through the sacraments. A heavenly, unearthly spirit hovers here; here is the school of Jesus Christ, in which future heavenly citizens are educated; here you receive heavenly lessons from the Divine Mentor Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in the Gospel, and heavenly food and heavenly drink, and spiritual, heavenly clothing, and spiritual armor against the enemies of salvation; here you receive heavenly peace, which is so necessary in our spiritual pursuits, in our spiritual education, and strength for spiritual labors and the fight against sin. Here we learn to have a sweet conversation with our heavenly Father and with the Most Pure Queen Theotokos, with the Angels of the Lord and the saints, we learn how and what to pray for. Here you will find examples of all Christian virtues in the saints glorified daily by the Church. Here, gathering together in the house of God, as children of one heavenly Father, as members of the mystical body of Christ, we learn to love one another, as a member of a member, as members of Christ, as Christ Himself. You see how useful, how necessary it is for a Christian to visit the church of God - this God-established school of faith and piety - this sacred treasury of Divine powers for life and piety 375 treasury of all the sacraments of Christ! But the benefit and necessity of visiting the church of God for a Christian is revealed more clearly by comparing the church with the vain world, in which we love to worship more than in the church. What do you meet in the world and what in the church? In the world, there is vanity, charm, and vice at almost every step; in the church - only truth, shrines and every virtue; in the world - decay, sin, death; in the church - the incorruptibility of the saints and eternal life; outside the church you see the objects of worldly vanity, feeding the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, 376 you see what people are constantly seduced and captivated by and because of which they neglect the commandments of God the Creator and their Savior; for example, here - in this house, there is a whole variety of fabrics of all colors: these fabrics are the object of adoration of the daughters of men; They live by them, are animated by them, rejoice in them, but not by God; Immediately, various items made of silver and gold amaze with their brilliance, captivating the gaze of admirers of everything brilliant and beautiful: in a word, wherever you turn your attention in the world, you almost see only decay, vanity and sin; everywhere - earthly and worldly things, and empty and vain conversations, and vain deeds - nothing almost reminiscent of heaven, of God, of life there. Only in the homes of pious people do icons of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Most Pure Mother and His saints remind those who understand that we are Christians and members of Christ, members of His kingdom, that we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century, in which we will unite with the Lord and with the saints, having cleansed ourselves here from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. So, you see what a difference there is between the church or house of God and between the world. You see how useful and necessary it is for a Christian to visit the church of God in order to educate himself for the heavenly fatherland, in order to instill in himself the spirit of Christ, to form in himself heavenly, holy morals! For where, besides the church of God, will you hear the word of God; where, besides the church, they will teach you the sacraments of faith; Where will you get the strength to live like a Christian? Everything is in and out of the church. Love to visit the church of God and prepare from yourselves a church to God, and you yourself, like stone, are built alive into a spiritual church, the sanctity is holy, offer spiritual sacrifices, favorable to God Jesus Christ 377. Parents, educators, relatives of children - let them more often and without fail take or send them to church on all Sundays and holidays - for public prayer, and not to the theater, not to evenings, where so early the youth learn what they should never have known. In the church they will often hear the name of the Lord; will learn the great truths of the creation of the world and man, the fall and redemption of man; they will know the Savior, the Mother of God, they will learn the names of the saints, about the resurrection of the dead, the future judgment, about the future life and the eternal torment of sinners, and they will learn from the Spirit of God to be good Christians, and this is more valuable than anything else in the world. Amen. Sermon for the twenty-fifth week after Pentecost In Gospel 378 read today, our Savior God solved a very important question for all of us: what should we do to inherit eternal life? This question was put to the Lord by some Jewish lawyer, who said: “What must I do to inherit eternal life”? The Lord pointed him to the law given to the Jew from God through Moses: “What is written in the law? How do you read? He answered and said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. Jesus said to him: You answered correctly; do this and you will live,” that is, forever. “But he, wanting to justify himself,” that is, considering himself, like the other Pharisees, a righteous man who fulfilled the law as he understood it, one-sidedly, incorrectly, said to Jesus: “Who is my neighbor?” believing that only a Jew should be considered a neighbor, and not every person. With the parable of the man wounded by robbers and the merciful Samaritan, who took the most heartfelt and active part in him, the Lord showed that every person should be considered a neighbor, no matter who he is, even if he is our enemy, and especially when he needs help. So, this means that in order to receive an eternal life, you need to diligently fulfill the two main commandments - to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. But since the whole law consists of these two commandments, it is necessary to explain them; so that we know well what love for God and neighbor consists of? So, with God’s help, let’s begin the explanation. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, that is, with all your being, devote yourself to God with all your strength - devote yourself entirely to Him, without any lack, do not divide yourself between God and the world; Do not live partly only for God and His law and partly for the world, for the multi-passionate flesh, for sin and the devil, but devote yourself entirely to God, be all of God, all holy in your whole life. Following the example of the Holy One (God) who called you, be holy in all your actions, 379 says the holy Apostle Peter. Let us explain this commandment with examples. Suppose you are praying to God. If you love God with all your heart, then you will always pray to Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; you will never be absent-minded, lazy, careless, or cold in prayer; During prayer, you will not give room in your heart for any worldly cares and worries - you will put aside all worldly cares, you will cast all your sorrow on the Lord, for He cares for you, as the apostle says. Try to understand prayer, God’s service completely, in all its depth. If you love God with all your soul, then you will sincerely repent to God of your sins, you will bring Him deep repentance every day, for every day you sin a lot. You will repent, that is, condemn yourself for your sins with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind; You will expose yourself with all merciless severity, with all sincerity, and you will offer to God a full confession, a sacrifice of a complete burnt offering of sins, so that not a single sin remains unrepentant or unmourned. Thus, to love God with all your heart means to love with all your heart and with all your strength His truth, His law, and with all your heart to hate all unrighteousness, all sin; with all your heart and with all your strength to fulfill the truth, to do good and - with all your heart, with all your strength, to avoid evil, that is, all sin, not to give room in your heart for any sin for one minute, not for one moment, that is, not to agree to it, not to sympathize with it, not to put up with it, but constantly, eternally to be at enmity with sin, to fight with it and, thus, to be brave and victorious warrior of Christ God. Or let’s take another example: let’s assume that you are being persecuted for piety, for truth, for virtue; if you love God, then you will not for a moment deviate from piety, from truth, from virtue, even if this devotion to truth entails the loss of any benefits; since truth itself, or fidelity to God and His truth, is the greatest benefit for us, and God can reward fidelity to His truth a hundredfold both in this and in the next century. An example of this is Joseph the righteous, the son of the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, and many righteous people in the New Testament. So, to love God with all your heart means to fight according to God, according to His righteousness with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. Thus, according to God, according to His truth, the holy fathers and holy martyrs fought, especially in the fight against heresies and schisms. This is zeal for God. Also, to love God with all your heart means to direct all people with all your might to God, to His love, to His praise, to His eternal kingdom, so that everyone would know Him, love Him, and glorify Him. This is also zeal for God! Having explained, to the best of our ability, the first commandment, let us now explain the second: love your neighbor as yourself. What does it mean to love your neighbor, that is, every person, as yourself? It means to honor another as you would like them to honor you, not to consider anyone a stranger, but your own, your brother, your member, and a Christian as a member of Christ; consider his good, his salvation as your good, your salvation; rejoice at his well-being as if it were your own, grieve over his misfortune as if it were your own; try to save him from trouble, misfortune, poverty, sin - just as I would try to save myself. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep 380, says the apostle. We must bear the weaknesses of the weak, not please ourselves; May every one of you please your neighbor for the good of creation 381. Pray for each other so that you may be healed 382. To love your neighbor as yourself means to respect him as yourself, if, however, he is worthy of it, not to think about him unworthily, basely, without reason on his part, not to have any evil towards him; not to envy him, but always to be kind, to be condescending to his shortcomings, weaknesses, to cover his sins with love, as we wish for them to be condescending to our shortcomings. “Bear with one another with love,” says the apostle, “not returning evil for evil, or annoyance for annoyance 383.” Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you 384. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him something to drink 385; says the Old Testament Scripture. To love your neighbor as yourself means to pray for the living and the dead, relatives and non-relatives, acquaintances and strangers, for friends and enemies - all the same as for yourself, and to wish them as much good, the salvation of the soul, as you do for yourself. This is what the Holy Church teaches in her daily prayers. To love your neighbor as yourself also means to love everyone without partiality, regardless of whether he is poor or rich, good-looking or not, old or young, noble or simple, healthy or sick; whether it is useful to us or not, a friend or an enemy, because it is all the same of God, all in the image of God, all are children of God, members of Christ (if Orthodox Christians), all our members: for we are all one body, one spirit 386, all have one Head - Christ God. Thus let us understand and thus try to fulfill the two main commandments of the law of God, and we will inherit eternal life by the grace of Christ God. Amen. Sermon for the twenty-sixth week after Pentecost Today we read the Gospel of St. Luke about a crazy, proud rich man who collected only for himself and did not give from his wealth to the needy 387. This is a parable; therefore, its meaning is obviously much broader than it seems at first, and by a rich person we should mean people of every rank, title and status, endowed by God with all good and material contentment, and not just landowners and people of tax status; Likewise, by a good harvest of the field, one should mean not only natural, plant products, i.e., wheat, rye, etc., but all material contentment: a rich inheritance, a large salary received from the state treasury, rich income delivered by some place or position, direct or indirect, open or secret, good profitable trade, good income from renting out houses, a profitable craft, and so on. Thus, this parable, like a net, captures very many and, in a word, all those who have good means of living. What does our divine Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, want and demand from us in this parable? He wants and demands from us that we not only personally use the gifts of God for our own pleasure, to satisfy our only animal needs, habits, passions and lusts, but that we share, certainly share, our goods, according to our means, with the poor and needy, of whom there are so many everywhere; because the Lord sends us all kinds of material contentment not for us alone, but through us - and for our neighbors. You have many gifts of God, given to you as much for you as for the common good, and they lie without any benefit and you turn the source of God’s blessing into a source of curse; you mock the goodness and generosity of God, you are a friend of the common envious and enemy of the devil: for you are an enemy of God and people, because you destroy many with your hardness of heart. This truth, which seems strange to many, is so clear that it speaks for itself, and a person who looks directly at the matter, who does not have his own preconceived thoughts and false beliefs, has no need to explain and prove it: for all of us, rich as well as poor, noble and simple, educated and uneducated, are all neighbors to each other, as descended from the same blood, members of one great family of God, members, if not of one church, then of one states, members of one common fatherland, we have one king-father, who cares equally about the welfare of all his subjects, for whom the top desire is that everyone, in general, should be happy and prosperous, everyone should work for the benefit of society and each for his own. But our extreme self-love, according to which we are accustomed to consider our material goods exclusively ours, a false view of our relationships with others and a strictly judicial, one-sided view of our neighbors who require our help, go against this truth, and many, many say: what is mine is only for me and for no one else, others do not care about it, although it is obvious that such a belief is false and extremely inhumane, that is, not humane. Let us prove, on the basis of reason and the word of God, its inconsistency and then draw the conclusion that we must not only collect for ourselves, but also become rich in God, that is, rich in mercy, righteousness and, in general, good deeds. First, throughout nature, throughout the visible world, we notice reciprocity and sociability. The sun from the heights of heaven illuminates, warms and revives the whole earth, all creatures, there is no number of them; the air penetrates everyone and everything - we all breathe and feed on it every minute; winds, alternately blowing from all sides, produce beneficial changes in the air in different places, cleanse and make it healthier; Rivers, irrigating the different areas through which they flow, bring many different benefits to people and animals. Bees collect fragrant, healthy and nutritious juice from flowers, put it in honeycombs and form honey, which is used by many people; The silkworm spins cocoons, or silk threads, and humans use them for their products. People of science and art, crafts, agriculture, trade, industry share their treasures with other people; the army lays down its life for the faith, the king and the fatherland: everything and everyone is in interaction and communication. But you have large sums of money, which would be enough to feed a thousand people, what good is it? Will only property, money, bread, clothing, housing, be our only property, and we will not willingly share it with our needy brothers? Have mercy, my brothers, this is contrary to our nature and reason. Just as all of nature shares its treasures and riches with us, so we must mutually share our wealth with each other for the common good. Secondly, since we all, since Christians, constitute an articulation of the spiritual body of the Church, the Head of which is Jesus Christ, the Helmsman or Ruler of the Holy Spirit, then we are obliged to take spiritual and material care not only about ourselves, but also about the other members of the body, according to the word of the Apostle Paul: If one member suffers, all members suffer with it; if one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it. And you are the body of Christ, and individually members 388. The church and the state are a living organism, but there are members in it that are sick, weak, incapable, or have no labor and cannot obtain it. If so: then how can a rich man not take care of the poor - a rich man of every rank: a spiritual man, a merchant, a man of secular or military rank, a scientist or a leader in any rank, or a rich artisan? And in this case, higher or high-ranking persons, as more educated, should set an example for the lower ones, according to the word of the apostle: We must bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not please ourselves 389 . If strong, noble, high-ranking people or rich people please only themselves, without caring about the poor and weak, then what can people do in their favor, although with good intentions, desires, enterprises, but not strong in power and capital? Here, for example, in Kronstadt we have a poor, unprivileged class of assigned philistines who have neither business, nor money, nor food, nor clothing, nor housing, nor the slightest moral voice to defend themselves, but who could be useful if people who are respected by power paid paternal attention to them. Tell me, what will happen to them in the end if the strong in the city do not pay attention to them? Or will they have to wither away and die prematurely from hunger and cold, or will they resort to illegal means of acquisition in order not to die of hunger? And if the noble and rich do not want to give them what they need for life from their granaries or from their rich treasuries, then, at least, we need to jointly take care of housing them and keeping them busy with labor according to their strength, and generally assisting them. After all, they are also Christians like us: subjects and children of the same sovereign, like us; members of the same society as we are. Meanwhile, they, our members, due to some strange negligence and hard-heartedness of society, remain to this day without any charity. O pride, o pride, o hard-heartedness, o devouring self-interest of people arrogant with their false enlightenment! What does scientific enlightenment mean without Christian love? Nothing. The wisdom of this world is foolishness before God 390. Humble yourself, arrogant mind, before the teaching of the Gospel and before the poverty of Christ, come down from your pedestal, stand lower, approach these poor, whom Christ Himself is not ashamed to call His brethren, and extend a helping hand to them; Don’t just collect for yourself, don’t just satisfy your own whims, but also be rich in God in good deeds, which even after death will follow you. So, nature and reason and the word of God inspire us to be sociable with our neighbors in our property, pliable, without grumbling, without stinginess, willingly, with zeal, meekly and humbly, complacently helping the poor, as brothers in Christ and as members of civil society. Amen. Homily for the twenty-seventh week after Pentecost Today we read the Gospel story about the Savior’s healing of a crumpled woman who had suffered from this illness for eighteen years. Healing was accomplished by the word and the laying of the hands of Jesus Christ on the crumpled woman 391 . Reading this story about the Savior’s healing of a contorted or crouched woman, I recall, my brethren, the repentant prayer of Manasseh, the king of the Jews, in which he, confessing to God his iniquities, likens these iniquities to iron chains, which contorted him so much that he cannot raise his head up: I am constricted with many iron chains, so that I cannot lift up my head 392. And, in fact, the crouched woman mentioned in the Gospel being read today represents all of humanity, stained by sin, and means you and me, my brothers. The Savior who healed the woman from her contortion is also our Savior, who frees us daily from the bonds of sin. Ah, who among us has not experienced, does not experience every day, that our sins and the enemy of the human race twist our souls, if not our bodies, do not allow the soul to freely look to its heavenly homeland, but forcefully bend it to the ground, stick it and even, as it were, nail it to earthly goods and pleasures! So, the crumpled woman, healed by the Savior, means our soul, crooked by sin and the devil. And what would have happened to our soul if Jesus Christ had not come to earth to save the human race from the violence of the devil and passions; what would happen if He did not constantly save us, loosening the bonds of sin? We would all be like this crouched woman, we would be bound with many iron bonds and, like animals, we would crawl on the ground, we would look only at the ground and would not look towards the heavenly fatherland and would not have higher, heavenly thoughts, desires and aspirations; but would drown only in earthly, vain worries and affairs. What am I saying? Are there even now among Christians those who do not have the spirit of Christ, people with earthly thoughts and aspirations, speeches and deeds? There are, and so many more. Who is this? All raving and worrying about earthly happiness, about a lot of money, about fashionable clothes, about the magnificent decoration of a temporary home, about various and beautiful dishes, about dinner parties, evenings, feasts, about playing cards, about dancing, about the theater, about various pleasures and vain pastimes. Don’t you see that all these similar people are similar to this crouched one, which is spoken of in the Gospel - in the sense that they do not look at heaven, they look only at the earth, like animals, as if they are not in the image of God, as if the earth is their everlasting fatherland, as if they had never heard of the heavenly fatherland, as if they were not called into it by the Gospel, the Church, Jesus Christ and the apostles, as if they were there for that purpose created to dress up, to kill time in vain speeches, in games, in laughter or in acquiring wealth? But these crouched ones were crouched by their own will, by whim, by passion, which means that they themselves are guilty and are not excusable in their crouching, and the woman mentioned in the Gospel was crumpled physically, although perhaps for spiritual sin, which means she deserved regret for her weakness. She could not free herself from her crouched position, straighten up and look straight at the sky, but our crooked ones, or better said, all of us ourselves, by the grace of God, can free ourselves from the crookedness of passions and lusts, stand straight on the path of Christ’s commandments and contemplate grief; - to leave worldly, earthly passions and love with all your heart the Lord God, who created us in His image and likeness, and - your neighbor, especially his soul and the mountain city of Jerusalem. My brothers! Why did the Lord God create us with a straight figure, with our heads raised up, and not bent down to the ground, like animals? - Let us constantly look at the sky, let us strive towards the sky. Is this a natural position of the human body, when it is crouched and inclined towards the ground and cannot stand straight? No, painful, unnatural. Understand why this is said. Further, in this Gospel narrative, our attention is drawn to the hypocrisy of the elder of the cathedral, who was indignant on behalf of the Lord because He healed a crumpled woman on Saturday, as if on Saturday it was a sin to do good deeds or deeds of everyday necessity, impatient of delay, for example, watering a horse, ox, donkey, etc. The hypocritical elder of the synagogue did not consider it a sin to envy the divine Wonderworker, His miracles and the woman who received the benefit, but he considered it a sin to do good on the Sabbath. So today, many Christians consider it a sin to do something on a holiday, for example, some necessary work, but do not consider it a sin to envy one’s neighbor, to be at enmity, to take revenge or to get drunk, to sing obscene songs, to spend time absentmindedly, in selfish games, in reading empty books, in idle talk, ridicule, foul language! Or they consider it a sin to eat something modest on a fast day, even due to bodily weakness, and without a twinge of conscience they despise or condemn their neighbors, for example, acquaintances, they offend or deceive, they weigh, measure, and indulge in carnal uncleanness. Oh, hypocrisy, hypocrisy! Oh, misunderstanding of the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Christian faith! Is it not inner purity, meekness and humility that the Lord our God demands from us first of all? Shouldn't the inside of glass bottles and dishes be cleaned so that the outside can be clean? Isn’t external fasting given to help internal virtue? Why do we pervert the divine order? Oh, let us hate hypocrisy and cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, creating holiness in the passion of God 393. Amen. Sermon for the twenty-eighth week after Pentecost Now I want to declare to our love the will of the Lord of heaven regarding those who were invited to the supper of the kingdom of heaven and who, under various plausible everyday pretexts, refused to come to it. You heard the parable about this supper from the Gospel read today. The Supper is called future bliss; the man who gave the Great Supper is the Heavenly Father; a slave is the one who took the form of our servant for the sake of salvation, the only begotten Son of God, who constantly proclaims to us in the Gospel: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is drawing near 394. Those called to the heavenly supper are us Christians. At the supper everything is already ready, that is, the kingdom of heaven has been prepared for the worthy from the foundation of the world. Those who are invited, as you have heard, avoid the invitation under various earthly pretexts: one is prevented from going to the supper by the earth; to another - working oxen; the third - marriage: everyone refuses the high honor of being in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father and is not ashamed of their refusal and, as if nothing had happened, as if no one had invited them to the eternal supper, calmly go about their vanity. Find out for yourself here. One of us is busy with the earth, with earthly things, for example, with earthly perishable wealth, and spends his whole life collecting wealth, spends his whole life worrying about collecting more of this land, and he has no time to concern himself with saving his soul; and yet the poor soul cries out to him every day: take care of me; I’m the only one with you; After all, I am dearer to you than the whole world, and if you destroy me, you cannot redeem me with anything: for what will a man give in ransom for his soul 395? What good will it do you if you gain the whole world, if you become the world's richest man, but lose or destroy your soul? Take care of my endless bliss, purchased for me by the merits of the only begotten Son of God; do not despise such a dear price given to the Heavenly Father as a ransom for me, do not sell me for silver to the devil - into eternal bondage and the eternal torment prepared for him. So the soul cries out, but passion for earthly things drowns out the voice of the soul, and the rich man sells it every day, exchanges his bottomless soul for perishable wealth. They preach to him: give up the addiction to wealth; How long will you forever bind yourself to the care of the ashes; prepare for the eternal supper of the kingdom of heaven; and he says: I bought land, and I need to go look at it: I ask You, forgive me, and he looks and looks at his land, at his earthly treasures. That's right, you bought the land: you're telling the truth. Why do you need so much of this land? After all, it burdens your soul? After all, it removes it from the Source of your life - from God? After all, your life does not depend on the abundance of your possessions, as Christ said, Your Life. Oh! You yourself will soon become earth, and then you will need no more earth than to fill you up and level you with this common mother of all. So go to the supper of the kingdom of heaven while there is time: everything is ready for you there. There you will have a great supper, a great, endless consolation. Another is prevented from going to the supper of the kingdom of heaven by oxen: I bought, he says, five pairs of oxen, and I am going to test them: I ask You to forgive me. What are these five pairs of oxen? – These are our five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. These are our working oxen, for which we all have such a strong passion in this life and with which we work so hard on earth. Isn't it true that we are devoted to sensuality? We bought ourselves this five from the Lord, and we work with it diligently not for the Lord, as we should, but for the flesh, the world lying in evil, and the devil: we console our sight and hearing with theaters, circuses, and evening meetings filled with the vanity of life, laziness and idle talk; we cherish taste and smell with tasty and fragrant foods and drinks; We caress the sense of touch with soft beds, seats and soft clothes. Every day we work hard with these five oxen; We strive greedily to experience all the pleasures of the flesh - and we do, and meanwhile - alas, woe! How dearly this test of sensual pleasures costs our soul: it misses the time to gather for the heavenly supper, gets stuck in sensuality and perishes. - Ah! Let none of us say, brethren, let me amuse my five senses; let me experience all earthly pleasures; don't force me to give them up: they are so tempting. I will be satisfied: then I will take care of my soul. No, beloved brethren, time is precious: it redeems eternity: hurry, hurry to the heavenly supper and give up addiction to sensual pleasures, which remove our hearts from God. Here you will enjoy, not caring about the salvation of your soul: there you will suffer; here you deny yourself pleasures for the sake of the kingdom of heaven - there you will inherit an eternal life. Woe to you now that you are satisfied, for you will hunger, 396 says the Lord. The third is prevented from going to the supper of the kingdom of heaven by his wife: “I got married,” he says, “and therefore I cannot come.” But why does the wife interfere with the salvation of the soul? Because the one who gets married is concerned about the things of the world, how to please his wife, 397 and not about the Lord, not about pleasing the Lord most of all. A married person connects his will with the will of his wife: what kind of will is this? Oh, experience speaks; that the will of the spouse is often contrary to both the will of the spouse and the will of God: deign to please your beloved spouse and, out of love for her, break the commandments of God, deign to drink with her the cup of earthly vanity to the dregs and refuse God’s supper; but no - if you do not want to serve vanity with her and destroy your soul, she will deprive you of her love: and strife and strife will ensue. Oh! How many married people are really forced to say to the Lord, who invites us into His eternal kingdom: I got married, and therefore I cannot come. I can’t come: because I have to please my wife, her desires and whims, which for me have become a law. So why not get married, some will say? No: no one says this: not everyone can comprehend this word, but to them it is given to eat; who can contain, may he contain 398. Please your wife, but not in that which harms the salvation of your soul, but not in that which is contrary to the will of God. As the head of your wife, know how to stand above your wife’s whims and yourself direct her desires to the heavenly world, not the earthly one. Choose, beloved brethren, what you want: either go to the supper of the kingdom of heaven, strive for eternal bliss along the narrow and regrettable path of truth and removal from addiction to earthly things and pleasures - or, if you deal only with earthly things, then without any doubt you will perish forever. Amen. Sermon for the twenty-ninth week after Pentecost Wasn't it ten that you were cleansed? Where's nine? How can we not return to give glory to God? (Luke 17:17–18) Today the Gospel was read about the Savior’s healing of ten lepers, of whom only one returned to thank the Lord for the healing. But what kind of disease is leprosy, from which the Lord healed the ten lepers mentioned? In our area there are no such diseases: they occur in the east, in hot countries. However, we have a disease somewhat similar to leprosy - this is smallpox, when it happens in the strongest degree, or a disease resulting from unclean life. Those suffering from leprosy usually have a whole body covered with bark and wounds, the eyes become purulent, the whole face and tongue swell, an unbearable stench comes from the mouth and the whole body. Finally, when the disease reaches its extreme, all the hair on the head falls out; wounds eat the body to the bones and become covered with worms; the bodily members fall off, and the patient, exhausted by suffering, dies. Anyone who showed signs of this disease was considered unclean and was obliged by law to immediately appear to the priest, who would decide whether he had leprosy. If it was she, then the patient, due to the extreme contagiousness of this disease, was excommunicated from his own family and driven out of the city or village. Those expelled retired to the forests, built huts there and lived, eating what their relatives brought them. This is the terrible, malignant, contagious disease the Lord healed the ten lepers mentioned above, of whom only one Samaritan turned out to be grateful to the divine Wonderworker. Surprised by the ingratitude of the nine healed, we will turn to ourselves and see if we are better than these nine and are we like the tenth? We all suffer from spiritual leprosy, that is, sins; Before the purest and brightest eyes of God, all people are full of spiritual leprosy and uncleanness, such as: pride, condemnation, vanity, vanity, lack of faith, hard-heartedness, evil, wickedness, fornication, intemperance, laziness, partiality, hypocrisy, envy, foul, crafty and blasphemous thoughts. This sinful leprosy penetrates people to the bones and brains, infects the entire nature of man, soul and body, infects constantly. We also have a Physician for this leprosy, the same Lord Jesus Christ, Who is always ready to heal us from it. Are we better than these lepers who came to the Savior for healing and, stopping in the distance, loudly cried out to Him: Jesus Mentor, have mercy on us? Do we have as much faith and care for our spiritual integrity, for our mental health, as these lepers? The Holy Church daily raises a voice on behalf of all of us who suffer from sinful leprosy: Lord, have mercy, sometimes many times at a time. What then? Is it from the depths of our hearts that we offer this short but necessary prayer? After all, the Holy Church took this prayer from the lepers and applied it to us, spiritually lepers. Yes, this prayer is necessary for all of us, like breathing, like food. Sinking constantly, we must constantly repent, acknowledge our guilt and ask for mercy from the Lord and not be arrogant: for God opposes the proud 399. Each of us must take care of our salvation and not neglect our spiritual leprosy, not put off our repentance for long days that may end today or tomorrow - every day diligently repent in secret before God, asking for forgiveness, and at least once a year show all our leprosy in confession to a priest who has been given the authority from God to resolve and heal spiritual leprosy. This is one thing, but here is another obligation for us: when, after the prayer of repentance or after the sacrament of confession, we feel that our spiritual leprosy has been healed, has passed, and we have become healthy in soul, we must be grateful for this to our Savior, Who is now constantly healing us, and out of a sense of gratitude and out of respect for the truth, beware of sins and stumblings in the future. This feeling of gratitude and this fear of sin will dispose the Benefactor to greater good deeds in the future and will make our soul softer, more sensitive, more vital, more righteous, and firmer in virtue. Let us imitate the tenth of the lepers, who, feeling healthy at the word of the Savior, returned to the Benefactor and thanked Him with deep feeling and heard from Him that faith alone saved him, and not any merit, not virtue. So, since we are all full of internal leprosy, then, like the ten lepers, let us all exclaim from our hearts: Jesus Mentor, have mercy on us! Lord, have mercy! And we will continually cry secretly: Lord, have mercy! Amen. Sermon on the Thirtieth Sunday after Pentecost And a certain prince asked Him (Jesus Christ), saying: “O good Teacher, that having created eternal life, will I inherit?” (Luke 18:18) This very important, vital question, proposed to Jesus Christ by one of the leaders of the Jews, was resolved later in time, in the space of centuries, by the holy saints of God in the most positive, decisive and worthy of general imitation way: by diligent fulfillment of the commandments of Christ, contempt for the vain life here and for the multi-passionate flesh, extreme diligence about the soul, an immortal being, and an irrevocable desire for eternal life. There are countless examples of this in ancient, middle and modern times. But let us listen to what answer Jesus Christ gave to the prince or ruler of the Jews to his question: what, having created the eternal life, will I inherit? The Lord answered him: “You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. He said: I have kept all this from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one more.” Sell ​​everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me. When he heard this, he was saddened, because he was very rich. Jesus seeing that he was saddened, said: How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Those who heard this said: who can be saved? But He said: what is impossible with men is possible with God." 400 With these words the current Gospel ends. From what has been said it is clear that anyone who wants to inherit eternal life must keep the commandments, the essence of which is love for God and neighbor. The Jewish leader, apparently, observed them and was not far from the kingdom of God, but in reality it turned out that he lacked one and very important feat, namely, to leave the addiction to wealth, which was the idol of his heart, removed him from God and made him hard-hearted towards the poor, and because of which he could not sincerely love either God or his neighbor. This is what passion for wealth means! It is deeply rooted in a person’s heart and imperceptibly undermines his spiritual life, like a tree worm. A person devoted to the passion for covetousness is, apparently, pious, always prays to God, although superficially, maintains outward chastity, honesty in relations and affairs with neighbors and fellow citizens, averts lies and slander - he is not averse to alms, although in his view of it, according to his own understanding and taste, or out of vanity; - when a great sacrifice is required from him, requiring his self-sacrifice and deprivation of something - when heavenly truth demands from him that he destroy the idol that he diligently served, which he always cherished, perhaps without noticing it, then it turns out that he is entirely in the power of this idol, that is, covetousness. Then he suddenly grows cold towards God and his neighbors; then eternal life, which he previously thought about and desired, is not so dear to him; then the passion for wealth turns out to be like a cancer in him, a well-known disease in the body, which has deeply cut its deadly roots into his heart and is destroying him. All the virtues that he previously did are drowned out and, as it were, die, like grain seeds drowned out by bad grass. This is what is called, according to a well-known popular saying, “a cask of ointment and a fly in the ointment”: how one passion infects all good deeds and destroys them! – And when there is such a danger to the immortal soul from covetousness, then it is obvious that it is necessary to eradicate it through zealous alms, contempt for luxury, moderation in everything, fasting and prayer, - convincing oneself of the vanity and perishability of everything earthly, of the incomparable superiority of eternal, imperishable goods - over perishable goods, coarse, disappearing like smoke. Therefore, my brothers, we must fulfill not one, not two or three virtues only, but all, if possible, so that we may be perfect and not lack any virtue. May you be perfect and complete, lacking nothing 401, says the holy Apostle James. Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, 402 says the Lord in the Gospel. When the rich young ruler departed from the Lord with sadness, and the Lord said that it is difficult for those who trust in wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven, the disciples of the Lord asked their Teacher with surprise: who can be saved? He said: what is impossible with men is possible with God. This means that God can, with His grace, soften and heal the heart of the covetous rich man, enlighten the eyes of the heart, blinded by self-interest, convincingly present to his mind and heart the perishability and insignificance of earthly wealth and eternity, the incomparable beauty and sweetness of the blessings of the heavenly kingdom, which he can receive in exchange for earthly blessings - and the impossible will become possible for him - he will generously give alms to the poor, of whom previously neglected, will excel in every virtue, ascend from strength to strength, and thus be worthy of eternal life. The apostolic reading of this day serves as a continuation and explanation, development of the Gospel; it sets before us the whole face of Christian virtues: mercy, goodness, humility, meekness, peace, long-suffering, forbearance and forgiveness, and the head and root of all virtues is love. It reads like this: clothe yourselves, as God’s chosen saints and beloved, with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving each other if anyone has a complaint against anyone: just as Christ has forgiven you, so have you. Above all, put on love, which is the sum of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be friendly. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom; teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord 403 . So, if we want an eternal life, let us renounce the attachment to temporary life and temporary blessings, until the time has come to leave them out of necessity, and let us put on love for God and neighbor, which is the totality of perfection; Let us maintain peace with everyone, without which no one will see God, 404 and learn unceasingly in praise in church and at home. Amen. Word of the week Holy Forefather Come, for the whole essence is already ready (Luke 14:17) Today's Sunday is called St. Sunday in church order. Forefather, because St. The Church, before the approaching feast of the Nativity of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, finds it fair to honor the memory of His forefathers according to the flesh: Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and others; The Sunday following this is called St. Sunday. Father, that is, those closest in time to Jesus Christ in the flesh (and mainly the Holy Father of God Joachim and Anna). Today the Church is supposed to read the Gospel about those called to the supper, because Jesus Christ, whose coming in the form of a slave to earth or His birth we will soon celebrate, is that servant sent from God according to humanity, who continually invites us to the great supper. By the great supper we mean the future blessed kingdom, which very many saints have already been awarded; it is called supper or supper because it will come at the end of this short and changeable age; great - because the bliss will be indescribably great; and by those called to this supper we must understand, brethren, Christians, because we are all; from the time the sacraments of baptism were performed on us, they were inscribed in the book of life, from which, however, we can very soon be erased if our deeds are inconsistent with our title. But let us tell this formidable and instructive parable in the words of the Gospel. “One man made a big dinner and invited many. And when the time for dinner came, he sent his servant to say to those invited: go, for everything is already ready. And everyone, as if by agreement, began to apologize. The first one said to him: I bought land, and I need to go and look at it; please forgive me. Another said: I bought five pairs of oxen, and am going to test them; please forgive me. The third said: I got married, and therefore I cannot come. And when he returned, that servant reported this to his master. Then, angry, the owner of the house said to his servant: Go quickly through the streets and alleys of the city, and bring here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. And the servant said: Master, it has been done as you ordered, and there is still room. The master said to the servant: go along the roads and hedges and persuade them to come, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those invited will taste my supper. For many are called, but few are chosen.”405 Here is a terrible parable about those called to the supper, about the many called and the few chosen. The man who established the supper is of course God the Father, and the sent servant is the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who took on the form of a servant. The apologies of those called mean various excuses from fulfilling the commandments of Christ due to various worldly addictions. The city beggars are a simple people who, in their simplicity, are more capable of listening to and following the Gospel. The people whom the master sent to search along the roads and hedges are those joining the Church from pagans and various tribes and faiths. The meaning of the parable is that God calls everyone to His heavenly kingdom, but many will be deprived of it for their addiction to worldly goods, for their unbelief, for their lawless and unrepentant life. Now let’s apply this parable to ourselves. Do not very many of us refuse the supper of the kingdom of heaven, one way or another, under various pretexts, not in words, but in deeds? The image of the visible kingdom of God on earth is the Church of God and worship in the church of God with its sacraments. Do not many Christians abandon the churches of God and the service of God, some because of various everyday vanities, some simply out of laziness, some out of lack of faith and freethinking, some due to various passions, for example, for the theater, for gambling, for feasts and fun, and so on? And in fact, among Christians, even in our God-protected city, there are so many who justify the words of the Gospel now read; and they respond to the Lord’s call to the Great Supper with action: I can’t come, I ask You, forgive me, and even, as if in opposition to the Lord Himself, who invites His servants to the Great Supper, they invite, and even in print, Christians and, moreover, during fasting, to a worldly, vain supper, for example, to horse races. Where is there even a shadow of reverence for His saving institutions on earth? Where is the respect for church statutes? – What do the preparations for the great Christian holiday and these spectacles have in common? But let's leave them. Let us turn again to ourselves: don’t you and I sometimes all, one way or another, refuse the Great Supper? Are we not resisting the Lord, who calls us into His kingdom to enjoy spiritual, eternal, perfect blessings? Oh, how often we resist the Lord, who thirsts for our salvation! Which of us keeps His commandments perfectly? Who keeps himself carefully from all sin? Who tries to fulfill every Christian virtue, or which Christian practices even one virtue primarily and diligently? We all slumber and sleep spiritually. When will we wake up? Then, when a voice is heard: Behold, the Bridegroom comes, go out to meet Him 406. Let us arise, let us arise, my brothers and sisters, from the heavy sleep of sin and let us be awake, sober, constantly testing our faith and our deeds: is faith in Christ alive in us, or has it not died long ago? Are our Christian deeds good and meaningful? Can we give a good answer to them at the judgment of Christ? Let us especially beware of being partial to worldly, so-called goods, for addiction to them extinguishes the lamps of our souls, cools our hearts towards God and neighbor, and is the cause of many sins. So, be careful: soon the Messenger of the Heavenly Father, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, will come to us from heaven to earth in the form of a slave, in the shrouds of the poor. Why will he come? Invite us to the great supper prepared by the Heavenly Father in His kingdom. Do not be ashamed of His wretched shrouds, and when He invites you to leave for the sake of His kingdom your addiction to wealth, to luxury, to worldly amusements, do not anyone say: excuse me, I don’t want to listen to You, I don’t want to leave my addiction, I don’t want Your poverty, I don’t want to be merciful, I want to live in luxury, I want to become richer in myself, for this will mean renouncing God, from eternal bliss and show bold resistance to God. So, soon the Servant sent from God after incarnation, the Son of God, will come to us to invite us to God’s supper: go, everything is already ready. Let us then answer Him in word and deed: let us go, Lord, let us go. Our hearts are ready! Amen. Lesson for the Sunday of the Holy Fathers Book of the kinship of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1) In this Gospel we read the genealogy of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. A wondrous miracle, a wondrous sight of God’s goodness over the fallen human race! The only begotten Son of the heavenly Father, omnipotent, co-originating, Creator of the world, Source of light, wisdom, self-good, infinite, enters into kinship with the human race, the Son of God becomes the Son of man, the Brother of men, the Brother - I will say closer - yours, mine. Oh goodness, oh generosity, oh immeasurable condescension! O free impoverishment! What fruits from such a relationship of the Son of God with us are for us, what does such a high, noble relationship of ours with God require from us, what qualities, what deeds? Let's talk about this now. We, my brothers, are called Christians, that is, the children of Christ, members of His most holy body, as the Apostle says: You are His body, of His flesh and of His bones, 407 members of His Church. Do you not see that we are adopted into the closest kinship with the Son of God, through His incarnation? But if in the world those who are noble or noble by blood want to have noble relatives and do not want their relatives to dishonor their nobility with some immoral actions, although it is only external, temporary, from this world; then tell me - what kind of nobility in thoughts, feelings, desires, intentions, in words, in actions does the only begotten Son of God, who is in the bosom of the Father 408, require from us, a perfect Participant of the Father’s shrine, infinite holiness? Yes, brethren, our relationship with the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, requires from us great nobility and good behavior in life; It won’t be too much if I say that Christians should live on earth like angels in the flesh - and that’s why virginity in the Christian world is of high importance. But purity and chastity are not the only virtue required of us by kinship with the Son of God. Simpleness of heart is required of us: if your eye, that is, your heart, is simple, your whole body will be bright 409, that is, your whole life; kindness of heart, humility, and kindness are required, as the Savior said: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart 410; Mercy towards your neighbors is required, as He said: Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful 411; abstinence is required: take heed to yourself, says Jesus Christ, lest your hearts be burdened with gluttony and drunkenness 412; What is required is impartiality to earthly goods, to food, drink, clothing, the glory of this world: do not worry about your soul, what you eat or what you drink, nor about your body, what you put on: for the soul is greater than food and the body than clothing; seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you 413; patience is required: in your patience gain your souls 414; obedience, submission of Christians to the Church, for the Lord said: tell the Church about the one who has sinned - if the Church also disobeys, make you like a pagan and a publican 415. You see what properties our kinship with the Son of God incarnate for our sake requires of us! Let us treasure our kinship with Christ and let us not consider anything in the world more valuable than this kinship—no ranks and worldly distinctions, no worldly nobility, no wealth, nothing, for everything that is in the world passes away, everything is temporary, and most importantly, everything is vanity; if a person possessing the blessings of the world - noble birth, high rank, or wealth, or worldly education - does not have faith in Christ and does not follow the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of the kingdom of God, the eternal, holy, blessed kingdom, then he will not correspond to his Christian title. Let us take care of acquiring holiness, as the Lord said: Be holy, as the Lord your God is holy, 416, or, as the Apostle says: Have peace and holiness with everyone, except for them, that is, without whom, no one will see the Lord 417. Let us acquire, with the help of the grace of Jesus Christ, simple-heartedness and this quiet disposition of the soul, called meekness, which does not allow one to be angry with anyone and not to be irritated by anything, not to become embittered; We acquire humility, which always humiliates itself and elevates others, calls itself sincerely the first of sinners, and even though conscience does not reproach him for any sinful act, yet he does not justify himself by this either: I know nothing in myself (for myself): but I will be justified in no way 418; Let us acquire mercy for the poor, who are not only our brothers, but also the brothers of Jesus Christ; Let us not be ashamed to call those whom Christ, the Son of God is not ashamed to call brothers and sisters, 419; Let us cast aside our vain and deceitful grandeur, which humiliates the nobility of our soul, and which the devil teaches us, and give a helping hand to those whom the goodness of God, just like us, has made partakers of His grace, all the gifts of Christianity, and to whom, even before the rich, have received the kingdom of heaven: has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and the heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love Him 420 ; wealth puffs up, thickens, hardens the heart and removes it from God - because the heart of a rich man is attached to wealth, and not to God; and poverty, endured for the sake of God, humbles and softens the heart, often shedding tears of repentance at the thought that we are rich in sins and terribly poor in God, His grace, which cannot dwell in the body and in the heart involved in sin, attached to earthly goods. Let us acquire constant abstinence, and especially during the fasts established by the Church. The Holy Church established to prepare us for the worthy celebration of the Nativity of Jesus Christ by fasting for fourty days; and this fast must also be strictly observed, like a great one. If anyone has not previously abstained, then from now on, at least for the rest of the week, curb your belly for the sake of saving your soul, for gluttony earthens, so to speak, the soul, makes it very accessible to various passions and incapable of holy thoughts about God, about His economy of our salvation, about the mystery of the coming of the Son of God to earth, about our final goal on earth, about the necessity of virtue, about the resurrection of the flesh, about eternal judgment, about eternal bliss, etc. And fasting, together with prayer, cleanses, enlightens, humbles and strengthens the soul. May God grant us all to meet the upcoming holiday of the Nativity of Christ with dignity, in peace and with heavenly joy. - One more word: in order to honor, as it should, the feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, for the sake of us who were poor, so that we may be enriched by His poverty 421 - let us, each according to our strength, show mercy to the poor before the holiday: let some give to the beggar for shoes, some for rags, some for rent for housing, some for bread. When we see the poverty of our neighbors, let us think that we ourselves are the deepest beggars in our souls, 422 for which of us is not sometimes aware of pride, and malice, and envy, and ill will, and stinginess, and the love of money with covetousness, or greed and gluttony, and others - and the impurity of the flesh, vile fornication? You see, my brothers, that we ourselves have a poverty that is more terrible and shameful than the poverty of the physically poor. Who knows, maybe sometimes the soul of a beggar is higher than all of us in the eyes of God and, like gold in a furnace, shines before Him. This is hidden from us. Let us not despise any of them, despite their sometimes unseemly appearance. Let us leave judgment to God, and we will condemn ourselves for various passions and addictions, for excess in food, drink, clothing, room decoration, etc. This will be much more useful. Let us not forget the following words of Jesus Christ: once upon a time the many will be first and last, and the last will be first 423. Let these words humble our pride and inspire each of us to take care of acquiring poverty of spirit, that is, humility, for blessed are the poor in spirit: for of them is the Kingdom of Heaven 424. Amen. Word on Christmas Day For our sake, the Child of Mlado the Eternal God was born (Kontakion for the Nativity of Christ) The Eastern Orthodox Church now celebrates with usual solemnity the Nativity in the flesh of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ - an event of infinitely great importance. The beginningless, all-good, all-powerful Creator and King of the ages, having bowed the heavens, has now descended to earth; the disembodied one became the Flesh-Bearer from the Most Pure, unartificial Virgin, through the action of St. Spirit. – And where was this wonderful Baby God born? In a wretched pastoral den, for there was no place for Him in the inhabited city. Come here and take in with your mind and heart, eyes and ears everything glorious on earth, everything great, well-born, reasonable, enlightened, and marvel at the unspeakable condescension of God - this Child and the Eternal God, and listen with your rational ear to the angelic song: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men! 425 Stand here at the Bethlehem manger, - the class of rhetoricians, philosophers, theologians, astrologers - strain all the strength of your purified mind, sound wisdom and pure theology, and weave a verbal crown to this Infant God, whose race is ungeneric and terrible - for this is God's only begotten Son, before whose terrible greatness heaven and earth tremble, before By which all the opposing forces shake and disappear like smoke. Come here earthly nobility, wealth, royal power, all power; come youth, courage, old age, male and female - and throw yourself down with faith, humility and love before Him who, being God without beginning, whose authority is on His frame, 426 humbled Himself for us to the image of a slave and became Man in order to truly exalt man and deify him. Now heaven and earth form one cathedral and together glorify the birth of the God-man. Let us delve into the mystery of the incarnation with a philosophical mind, as far as the Word of God itself revealed it to us. For our sake, be born, - is sung in the church Christmas song - Otrocha Mlado Eternal God. This means: for us the Eternal God became man, without ceasing to be God, but always remaining Him without confusion and division of natures. Raise your bowed head, sinful man, or lower your proud brow, arrogant, with earthly wisdom, power, wealth, glory, strength, beauty, and whatever else is worthwhile, disappearing like smoke. You were rejected from God, the source of life, for your sins, for the countless passions to which you enslaved yourself; you bore on yourself the seal of God’s curse, you were in the shadow and canopy of death and would be in endless centuries - in the bonds of death and the torments of hell. And so, out of one mercy, for the sake of His immeasurable goodness, God Himself came to earth for you, to seek you who were lost, lost, He Himself became Man, became like you in everything except sin, so that he could come closer, more tangible, more obviously to you, enlighten the dark you, raise the fallen, cleanse the defiled, strengthen the wavering, like a reed shaken by the wind 427 , to destroy the insurmountable barrier that sin has put between God and man, to destroy the curse and to take this curse upon Himself through the terrible Calvary sufferings and the most painful death on the cross - in order to exude the blessing of the Heavenly Father to all believers, in order to destroy hell and bring out of it all whom God's truth and immeasurable mercy have found worthy of liberation from this prison prepared for the devil and his servants; to defeat death and resurrect all the dead by His glorious resurrection and raise those worthy to heaven for eternal life and a kingdom with God in light and bliss. This is what the words of church truth mean, ringing so often in our ears on this holiday: for our sake the Eternal God was born. Such are the wonderful, sweet life fruits of the incarnation of the Son of God! Rejoice and rejoice, all the earth, rejoice, the Church of Christ, which has received from its Head - Christ, all the riches of His redemption and blessing and countless spiritual gifts - truth, peace, sanctification and countless miracles. You have already enlightened, sanctified, strengthened with the invincible power of Christ in deeds for the faith and saved countless numbers of the chosen ones - Apostles, saints, martyrs, saints and righteous, everywhere and from all classes who pleased God, completely reconciled with the eternal justice of the Heavenly Father and received from Him worthy honors of the heavenly calling, for whom the incarnate Lord Jesus opened the gates The Kingdom of Heaven, having moved from earth to heaven - our true fatherland. So, the Eternal King came to earth for us. And for our part, what should we do? Reciprocity is needed. If on God’s part there is such condescension, such exhaustion, then self-sacrifice is required from us. The Lord gave Himself up for us: we will give ourselves and our whole life to Him, our Lord and the infinite life. We, who have become alien to Him due to sins, He wants to bring us closer and appropriate to Himself through faith, repentance and virtue: let us draw closer to Him with our whole being: let us surrender to Him our mind, heart, will, soul and body. The Lord approached us, having put on the whole man: let us also put on Christ, according to the word of the Apostle: if you were baptized into Christ, you put on Christ 428. The Liberator has come to us, captives of sin and death: let us hasten and we will be freed from the captivity of passions: for the whole soul and the whole body, all five of our senses are in the captivity of sin, our whole heel, about which it was said to the enemy who deceived the first people: you will watch over his heel, while the Seed of the Woman, that is, the Redeemer of man, will erase your chapter 429. The Renewer of nature, worn out by sin, has come: let us hasten to be renewed and put off the old man with all the dead deeds, with all the passions. The Lord destroyed the strong barrier that separated us from God, destroying it with the cross and death, and brought us closer to God, His heavenly Father: let us go to God diligently, firmly, hastily, with irrevocable repentance, with good deeds until we have time to do them, before death deprives us of the opportunity to hasten to eternal life. The Lord has extended a helping hand to us, without which we would have perished irrevocably: let us grab hold of His saving right hand so as not to drown in the abyss of sin that floods the world. The Lord founded the Church on earth, to which he provided all the means, all the grace-filled forces for a righteous life: let us hold on to His Holy Church with all our hearts, learn from the Gospel, receive saving sacraments, be edified by Divine services; obey God-appointed shepherds, beware of schisms and sects. May all tribes and peoples unite in love and mutual goodwill, may peace on earth, unanimity, honest work, well-intentioned sciences and useful arts be established; mutual obedience, respect for all authority; children's obedience to parents; respect and firmness of marital unions. Let us all exclaim now, as if with one mouth and one heart: glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men! Amen. Lesson for the week of the Nativity of Christ For the Son of man came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) Finally, we waited for the feast of the Nativity of Christ and worshiped the eternal Child with His Most Pure Ever-Virgin Mother, and together with the Church we sang of God’s extreme compassion and condescension towards us, for the Son of God became the Son of man in order to save perishing man. But we have not yet done a great thing by worshiping the divine Infant, for many of us worshiped only with the body, and worship of the body without worship of the spirit is a sacrifice far displeasing to God; and His ineffable compassion and condescension towards people, in fact, was sung by the Church, and not by us: we were only listeners. I want to ask you and myself: are we doing anything on our part in response to such an unspeakable condescension of the Son of God? For such an extreme and astounding exhaustion of the Son of God for the salvation of perishing humanity requires, my brothers, an urgent and intensified work of salvation from us. The Incarnation of the Son of God, I use a comparison, is like a strong and reliable rope given from heaven by the Heavenly Father to us who are perishing in the abyss of sin. Whoever grasps this rope with all his might and holds on to it throughout his earthly voyage, despite strong waves and gusts of wind, will not drown in the abyss of sin, but will reach the quiet haven of heaven; and whoever neglects this saving rope, who, fearing the winds and waves, weakens in spirit and lets go of the triple-braided rope of faith, hope and love, whoever falls away from the Church of Christ through schism or unbelief and heterodoxy and a corrupt life, will perish forever. So, I will say with the apostle: let us hold fast the confession of hope unswervingly; for He who promised eternal life is faithful. Let us be attentive to each other, encouraging each other to love and good deeds. Let us not forsake meeting ourselves together, as is the custom of some; but let us exhort one another, and all the more so as the Day of Judgment is seen approaching. For if we all, having received the knowledge of the truth, sin voluntarily: then there remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrible expectation of judgment and the fury of fire, ready to devour our opponents. If one who rejects the Law of Moses, in the presence of two or three witnesses, is punished without mercy with death, then how much more severe punishment do you think the one who tramples on the Son of God will be subject to, and does not consider as holy the blood of the Covenant, by which he was sanctified, and insults the Spirit of grace! We know the One who said: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And one more thing: The Lord will judge His people. It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God 430. Please note, my brethren, that the incarnation of the Son of God, His coming to us on earth, or better yet, the Christian faith, is, so to speak, a saving rope, which we must grasp and hold on to with all our might from the beginning to the end of our lives. This means: each of us must believe with all our hearts in Christ, as our only Savior from the devil and from sin: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which it is fitting for us to be saved 431; with all your heart to cling to His Church, the only ship of salvation, and not to be seduced into schism, for a schismatic, as a disobedient to the Church, is imputed to God as a pagan and a tax collector; continually study the word of God and the commandments of Christ and rule your life according to the commandments; try by all means to correct the thoughts, aspirations and inclinations of the heart; adhere to constant repentance before God; to visit the temple of God without laziness, to unite with the Lord in the sacrament of communion for the cleansing of sins and to receive spiritual strength in the fight against sin, and to live in mutual love and in all virtue. This is what the incarnate God the Word requires of us! The incarnation of the Son of God is the only extraordinary means that God, in His eternal counsel, determined for our salvation. And what does a dangerously ill man do on the edge of his grave, when a skilled doctor offers him the last and most powerful means of saving him? The patient accepts it with joy, although with effort, and thus is often healed. And we are all dangerously sick spiritually - because we are all sick with sin, this terrible illness that corrupts a person’s entire being, soul and body, we are sick so much that, like patients with consumption, we often do not realize our dangerous illness and do not imagine the eternal death that follows it; we dream that we are healthy - and just as crazy people imagine that they are not only healthy, but that they are kings, and generals, and princes, or something else like that, so we, not jokingly, often imagine ourselves not at all what we really are, and in one way or another we disguise ourselves - we imagine ourselves to be God knows what great people, whereas in the thing itself we are great sinners. So, what remains for us to do, brother sinners, when the heavenly Doctor, with such love, with such selflessness, offers us something so strong and extraordinary for our salvation - His incarnation, His incarnation, His humiliation, His teaching and miracles, His cross and His death? - Nothing more than urgently and with all diligence to use this medicine and live according to the instructions of this heavenly Doctor, and not live as carelessly in this world as we lived, especially not to spend these holy days carelessly. For some, like madmen, dressed up in various costumes unusual for their faces, walk like ghosts from house to house, allow themselves obscene movements, obscene words and obscene laughter, and turn such a great and holy holiday into sinful idleness and service to Satan. When will we celebrate the Lord's feasts in a decorous and holy manner, as Christians should? When will these immodest fun stop? when we remember to sanctify the day of Sabbath or rest, in order to rest from the works of sin with the rest of the Lord, for every Christian holiday should be a Sabbath to the Lord; When will the Lord rest in us, having no place to lay His head in our hearts, due to constant slavery to sin? Oh, how we constantly humiliate our human dignity, which the Son of God so exalted and deified with His incarnation! At least we would be ashamed, at least horrified to do such shameful things and humiliate our nature on days like these on which we celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God! In the presence of the king of the earth, we are ashamed and afraid to indulge in immodest amusements, especially vices, or to stain his portraits with dirt; but now, in the presence of the heavenly King, who has taken our image, we shamelessly and fearlessly distort and stain His living image - our souls - with the mud of passions; many indulge in drunkenness, gluttony, uncleanness, inappropriate amusements; living people put painted masks on their faces, women dress in men's clothes, and men in women's clothes, contrary to the words of the scripture: let not the husband put on a woman's robe, let not the utensils of a man be on his wife 432 . At least these people were ashamed, at least they blushed for their deeds! And there is no shame! Oh, shameless faces! Oh, images of the enemy! I pray to all those present here, as I pray to God, to admonish the disorderly and not to accept them into your home, to frighten them with God’s terrible judgment. Beg all the disorderly to spend these holy days of God - holy, for among us is God in the flesh. God is with us: understand, Gentiles, and submit, for God is with us 433. Amen. Word on the day of the Ascension to the ancestral All-Russian Throne of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end says the Lord, who is, and was and is to come, the Almighty... I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last (Rev. 1:8,10) Whenever it comes to talking about the power of the reigning persons on our earthly planet, you naturally come to the thought of the One Almighty, holding with the omnipotent hand in constant, indestructible, beautiful order all the countless worlds, in front of which our earth is one point. Today is the festive celebration of the Russian State; Today Russia and the Russian Church celebrate the accession to the throne of the Crowned Head of State - and the Tsar with his countless subjects thanks and glorifies the One Almighty, the Tsar and Lord of God, who makes the kings of the earth participants in His power. Power is given to you from the Lord, and strength from the Most High, 434 says the wise Solomon. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of everything visible, elemental, transitory, - as well as all kingdoms and kings of the earth, every person - the First and the Last, who will once put an end to all earthly kingdoms and is the One Himself to accept the kingdom and be all in all - is the Lord Almighty, Who is and was and is to come, the eternal God. Celebrating the accession to the All-Russian, ancestral throne of the Sovereign, who has been safely reigning for seven years, we involuntarily wonder about the greatest importance and difficulty of the Tsar’s service, about the heavy burden lifted by the kings of the earth on their shoulders, especially by the Tsar of all vast Russia. How many nations has the Lord entrusted to one reigning Person, subjugating them to one power! How many different beliefs, morals, customs, and needs there are in one state; how many parts of management, the most diverse needs, - all sorts of disasters inevitable on earth - diseases, crop failures, famines, fires, or floods, turmoil, unrest, tribal inveterate enmity between tribes and nationalities! His heart aches over all calamities or disturbances. How many chosen and faithful helpers He needs, who would care sincerely, vigilantly and selflessly for the good of all His subjects. How much concern for the dignity, security and protection of the fatherland from external and sometimes internal enemies; about maintaining, in accordance with the size and space of Russia, the height of military erudition and the courage of the army, about the accurate administration of justice, about the correct course of life of all classes of the State, about public education, about the development of communications, arts, industry, trade, which determine the general well-being and contentment; about the care and protection of widows and orphans, - about peace and possibly fair satisfaction for the subjects of all tribes that make up the great State body. And how much concern is there for maintaining good relations with all neighboring States, for possible peace with all of them, or for protecting their rights that they violate to the detriment of the fatherland, as was the case during the last Chinese War. So heavy is the power of the Tsar, and there is no greater responsibility before God than the responsibility of the Tsar: is everything safe in the State; has due attention been paid to everything, to all tribes and peoples, to all branches of government; is everyone given their due; is everyone given due or possible satisfaction? Isn’t any region or people or class in poverty due to injustice, or from the harmful influence of the elements, or from something else? The Tsar takes care of everyone and everything, as the common father and trustee of all. Therefore, subjects are obliged to sincerely love Him, to willingly obey Him and the authorities appointed by Him, to pray for Him, and each - in his place and in his rank - to multiply his God-given talents, to work for his own and the common good. Everyone, being under the power of the King of the earth, should revere the power of the Lord Almighty, who supplies the peoples, for their good and prosperity, with kings of the earth, increase and strengthen faith in God, love and gratitude to Him, mutual love, truth and mercy for others - and achieve eternal citizenship in heaven, where all the chosen ones will forever rejoice and triumph under the one power of the One God and Tsar. Amen. The rightness and truth of the Orthodox faith Word on the day of remembrance of the holy glorious Wonderworker Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra and Name Day of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich The rule of Faith and the image of meekness, self-control, Teacher, show you to your flock, even the truth of things... (Troparion) Russia and the Greek-Eastern Orthodox Church are celebrating a double triumph today: the glorious memory of the great Wonderworker, St. Nicholas of Myra and the namesake of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich. With great praises to St. The Church honors this Saint and man of God as the protector and champion of the Church of Christ and the denouncer of destructive heresies, who, together with others, kept the Holy Orders for us. The Fathers saved Holy Orthodoxy from the machinations of heretics and showed in his person both an example of faith and an example of pastoral meekness and humility and firm abstinence from all passions that agitate human life. From the very essence of things, from the very life and deeds of St. Nicholas appeared to the whole world and to all centuries as the rule of the holy and saving faith of Christ and the example of all virtue. Through his humility he achieved great glory, and through poverty and selflessness he acquired the wealth of God’s grace, so great that with his miracles he filled the entire universe and all centuries, on earth and on the seas. Saint Nicholas lived at the beginning of the fourth century, at the end of the persecution of the Christian faith from pagan emperors and at the beginning of its triumph under the Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine, at the very height of the destructive heresy (heretic) of Arius, who rejected the Divinity of Christ. He was present as a defender of the Right Faith at the 1st Ecumenical Council, and showed particular zeal in defending the Divine dignity of the Son of God. Just as the need was urgent then, so now we all need, for the salvation of our souls, to confess firmly to everyone the following mystery of piety: God appeared in the flesh, justified Himself in the Spirit, showed Himself to the Angels, preached among the nations, accepted by faith in the world, ascended in glory 435. Or: the word is true and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 436. This is the great and saving mystery of the faith of Christ that St. firmly and zealously confessed to everyone throughout his life. Nicholas and for whom he suffered bloodlessly during the last persecution. This is the great mystery of piety - the appearance of God in the flesh on earth and the foundation of St. The Orthodox Church, in which He always abides and will abide until the end of the age (I am with you all the days until the end of the age 437) - and in our time we must firmly support and confess before everyone - since now in Russia a blasphemous doctrine has appeared and is being boldly preached, denying the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ - the culprit and preacher of which was the new Julian and the new Arius Count Leo Tolstoy, who boldly raised his gray head against Christ and the Church and attracted many of his admirers with him. Saint Father Nicholas, come from the heights of heaven and by your terrible appearance expose this madman, who dares not only in his heart, but openly and loudly to preach that Christ is not God. Come to us from the heights of heaven and denounce the current apostates - they do not want to listen to us, and even to the Gospel and the Church of Christ - they have placed themselves above Christ Himself and His Church. It would seem that it is time for people to stop wandering in faith or unbelief and accept with simple hearts the saving light of the Faith of Christ, which illuminates all the ends of the universe - they can be enlightened, revived, saved, and achieve the perfection to which we are destined. For it is said in the word of God: Be ye perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect 438 . What faith is more vital, more effective, holier, wiser than the Faith of Christ? If the spontaneously learned sons of this age have blinded their eyes, like the ancient Pharisees, and do not want to see now the truth and life-giving faith of Christ, then let them turn to the glorious history of the Church from its beginning to the present: after all, it was not invented by idle people; after all, it was taken from eyewitnesses and from church diaries or chronicles. Read a truthful, accurate description of the persecution of Christians in the first three centuries, this is a living depiction in countless types of the bloodiest, inhumane tortures suffered by St. martyrs; look with what courage and adamantine patience and joy they endured the most terrible torments and went to them as if they were going to a holiday, like a wedding feast - and give a sound judgment about this supernatural phenomenon in the life and exploits of the passion-bearers of Christ. Was it not the supernatural power of God that strengthened them in these terrible torments; wasn’t it a firm conviction in the truth and life-giving nature of the professed faith that strengthened them in patience; Is it not the rightness of their conscience before God and people and firm, unshakable love for the Creator and the hope of eternal blissful life in God in heaven? Yes, you will not find other reasons for such wondrous, supernatural behavior of the martyrs, or they will be groundless and unproven. And not hundreds, not thousands of these witnesses to the righteousness of the Faith of Christ suffered from the enemies of the faith, pagans and Jews, but millions and tens of millions. These are unfalse, firm witnesses to the truth of our Faith and Church; That is why they are called by the Greek word martyr - witness. They will be the accusers of all the current atheists, Tolstoyans, Pashkovites, Stundists and all kinds of unbelievers at the Last Judgment of Christ. Have you read the history of Christian monasticism in the east? How it shone with the light of heavenly, holy life, with what equal angelic life of reverend men and women, how it solemnly justified all the truth and salvific value of the Gospel teaching; and was a support for the entire Christian world; their divinely wise writings served and now serve as a source of consolation and edification for all believers. Has our Orthodox Russia become depleted of its venerables? Are not the incorruptible, miraculous relics of St. buried at all its ends? ascetics? Go to Kyiv, to Moscow and beyond Moscow - to the Trinity Lavra, to Solovki, to Nil Stolbensky, to Nil Sorsky, Joseph of Volokolamsk, Anthony of Siysky, to the Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, Smolensk Wonderworkers and others, of whom there is no number. Don’t they all testify, both with their lives and their miracles, to the salvific nature of our faith according to its Divine founder: - but - enough. The Orthodox Christian faith is justified with immeasurable abundance by all its countless children. With so many false witnesses, what can we do? – Believe firmly, hold on with all the strength of your faith and the Church and save your sinful souls. Let us, dear brothers, firmly adhere to our St. faith, the truth of which is sealed by countless testimonies - the apostles, martyrs, saints, saints and all the saints who have studied and passed through deeds and experience all the truth, the life-giving faith of Christ - and who have been renewed through it in their entire being, having achieved an eternal, quiet refuge and blissful life in heaven; It's time for us to stop being mistaken in our faith. More than five thousand years before Christ, the world was mistaken and worshiped creatures instead of the Creator. In the person of the Savior, God Himself brought the true Faith to earth and planted it in the world through His Apostles. Let us value as we should our Divinely Revealed Faith and be saved by it, looking at its example and rule in the person of St. Nicholas and all the saints who have shone and become glorified in the Christian faith and life. Let us imitate the Saint in his faith, in holiness, meekness, humility, abstinence, mercy, love of poverty, and in firm confession. Today is the name day of our Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich, shining with right Faith and piety. May the Lord preserve Him in unbreakable health and prosperity for many, many years to come. Amen Word on the day of the sacred anointing and crowning of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich I will give your tongues your heritage, and your possession the ends of the earth (Ps. 2:8) The solemn day of remembrance and celebration of the Holy Confirmation and crowning of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich has arrived. I thank the Lord, who has vouchsafed me to be a very close spectator and participant in this sacred royal and all-Russian celebration. May the grace of Holy Confirmation remain indelibly and always effectively on our Sovereign, and may the Holy Spirit, the spirit of wisdom and reason, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of courage and strength, always rest on Him. Let's talk, beloved brethren, in honor of a real all-Russian triumph about the superiority of autocracy over all other forms of government. I will give your tongues your inheritance, and your possession the ends of the earth, says the Lord through the Prophet-King; i.e. I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. Actually, this saying refers to the promised Messiah Christ, the hope of all languages; but it can apply, in fairness, to the sovereign Leader of the Russian Kingdom, which includes many tribes and peoples, and which extends to almost all ends of the earth; for the Russian Sovereign is the only Orthodox Anointed of God and the image of God’s power on earth, the first crowned Son of the Church. Since ancient times, our tsars and emperors have been called autocratic and autocratic, and in their autocracy and autocracy, together with Orthodoxy, lies the power, breadth and glory of Russia: for since our noble tsars gathered and united our fatherland into one whole political body, it quickly began to strengthen and spread to all ends, and now, by the grace of God, is at the height of its political position. Monocracy is the most natural, reasonable and most useful form of government for earthly kingdoms, the most reliable power, since it comes directly from God, the only Creator and Almighty of the world. Power is given to you from the Lord, and strength from the Most High, 439 says the wise Solomon. The world, created by the mania and word of the one God, in all its infinitely great, small and invisibly small parts, is governed by the wisdom and power of the one God. The earth and an infinite number of celestial bodies, or luminaries and planets, incomparably larger than our earth or equal to it and smaller, hang in the abysses of world space on nothing and move in amazing order for entire millennia, without meeting or colliding with any of the luminaries and without producing the slightest disorder in the moving worlds - why? Because they are held, moved and directed by one almighty Hand according to the laws of gravity. Everywhere in the universe and in all created worlds one infinite mind is visible, one power and will of the Creator. On our earth, as a planet, the same laws operate in all creatures, in all elements, in all kingdoms of nature. The human race is subject to one moral law - conscience. The Creator and God, common to all, subordinated all people to one law - the law of love and mutual obedience. From the most ancient times, human families and societies were subordinated first to fathers, or elders in the family, then to patriarchs, as among the Jews, and then to princes and kings. Each species of the countless multitude of creatures or creatures of the earth - animate and inanimate - are guided in their existence by the same instincts and habits given to them from God, they live and are controlled, bringing well-being to themselves, or to the person who tames them to himself. In all the rational actions of people, in all their works - in the sciences, the arts - one can see one unifying thought; in writings, in essays, in books there is one that connects the entire multitude of thoughts and words - an idea or thought that penetrates the entire book, like the soul - the body, and gives it harmony, life, interest, edification. In every well-ordered institution - state, educational, or charitable, or medical - there is one charter for everyone, as well as one main person ruling the institution; in an army - in war or peacetime - there is one main military leader who unites and directs all parts and actions of the army; in government institutions, all ranks are subordinate to one chief superior - the minister, and the entire state is subordinate to one person - the monarch or sovereign. Thus, autocracy and autocracy in the state is the most natural and God-given and legalized form of government, most conducive to the prosperity and success of the state and the good of its subjects, and the good of the world of other states. One sovereign word of a powerful monarch can stop military bloodshed and establish peace between the warring powers, as was now done by the word of our Sovereign between the warring Greeks and Turks - something that a republic of any state could hardly achieve. Let us remember the internecine strife of our ancient Russian princes, who fought with each other and weakened Russia. What did this discord lead to? To Tatar enslavement. What did the unification of Rus' by one autocratic Tsar John III lead to? – Towards complete liberation from the Tatar yoke. And then, by the subsequent policies and monarchical power of the tsars and emperors of Russia, it was brought to its present greatness and glory. So, let us always thank God with all our hearts that He has given and is still giving us autocratic and autocratic kings after His heart, preserving the continuity of the Romanov family and in them the spirit of Orthodoxy and the desire to exalt the faith and the Orthodox Church and the Russian State. Amen. Word on the birthday of the Most Pious Empress Alexandra Feodorovna The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which, although smaller than all the seeds, when it grows, is greater than all the grains, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches (Matthew 13:31-32) Nature is now in the full force of spring life: all gardens, forests, fields, meadows are clothed with greenery, everything lives, blooms, sings, plays, has fun and glorifies the Creator - for every breath and every living thing brings Him praise 440. In such a joyful time, full of life, a beautiful flower was born into the world, although not here in Russia, but transplanted to us by the will of the Creator - our young Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, whose birth we now solemnly celebrate. To the triumph and joy of spring nature, which variously praises the Lord, we will add our solemn, prayerful and laudatory voices to the Lord about the health and prosperous childbirth of our Most Pious Empress and about the success of all Her deeds. But what kind of praise and thanksgiving from us can be pleasing to the Lord, holy, righteous and loving of mankind, such as praise for our good deeds, mutual love, mutual help for each other, condescension, mercy, as the Scripture says: be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful 441. Our most merciful Empress thanks the Creator and Provider for all His blessings to her with precisely such deeds, deeds of mercy, indulgence and help to the poor Russian people, and brings a tribute of praise and thanksgiving to Him. It is like the Gospel mustard seed, which, being smaller than all seeds, as it grows becomes larger than all grains, and becomes a tree in whose branches the birds of the air take refuge. In fact, do not these numerous refuges for the poor homeless people, these Houses of Industriousness and Workhouses, which arose at Her command in many Russian cities and towns, not mean everywhere the widely spread branches of the great hay-leaved tree of mercy, under the shadow of which She has gathered and is gathering a multitude of working and feeding people? This hay-leaved Tree is She, our Queen. This is how She spread Her green, cheerful branches of mercy! How can we not thank and glorify the Creator, who so kindly provides for Russia through His chosen, faithful Servant, the Most Pious Empress? How can one not thank Her for Her mercy and such beneficial deeds in Russia? Could anything like this have happened without Her merciful initiative! It was necessary for the royal person on the royal throne to begin this great work of mercy for it to spread and take root so widely. Glory and Thanks to God for our Queen! Thanks to our Queen for Her care for the lesser brethren of Christ. Amen! Why are we given the names of saints? Word on the name day of the Most Pious Empress Alexandra Feodorovna Thus says the Lord: Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; You are mine (Isaiah 43:1) Today we celebrate the name day of our young Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, blossoming in spirit and body. And we all celebrate our namesake or name day every year - and we consider Angel Day to be especially important and significant for ourselves. What does namesake mean and why does the Church of God give us the names of Saints? Name day means the same name day, i.e., the same name that is borne by some holy saint of God or a saint, for example, the holy martyr Queen Alexandra, after whom our Most Pious Empress is named. Why are Orthodox Christians given the names of saints? To mean that we are soon numbered after birth and baptism in the Church of God or in the society of saints living in heaven - in the society of the city of God, the heavenly, eternal, holy city, and we ourselves must philosophize on high 442 and imitate the virtues of those saints whose names we bear and strive for the same eternal city; for we do not have here an abiding city (permanent), but we seek (seek) an eternal city 443. This is also why we are given the names of saints, so that we can be entrusted to their spiritual protection and guidance. In addition to the name saint or saint, we all, members of the Orthodox Church, are also called by the common name of Christians, the most precious and holy name for all, as those redeemed by the Blood of Christ, as sincere believers and baptized into Him: for those who are baptized into Christ are clothed in Christ 444, in His truth, holiness, meekness, humility, obedience, patience - and in eternity they will clothe themselves with His glory, honor and immortality. So we go by two names; one is the name of a saint or saint, and the other is the name of a Christian or Christian woman. The ancient Christian martyrs, when asked by their persecutors: who are you, answered only: I am a Christian, I am a Christian, without giving another name, and they considered this name to be the greatest honor. Called by the name of a saint or saint, we must know their brief life, their deeds and virtues with which they pleased God or achieved holiness and eternal life - and try to imitate them in our strength, asking for their prayerful intercession for us, so that we too may be worthy of achieving eternal life. Calling ourselves Christians, we must try to have the Spirit of Christ - the spirit of meekness, humility, mercy, kindness, obedience, holiness and truth, for if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His 445, according to the word of Holy Scripture. Belonging to the Orthodox Church, we are all called members of the Body of Christ, we are His body, from His flesh and from His bones 446, and each of us is obliged to acquire our bodily vessel in holiness and honor, and not in lustful passion, like the pagans who do not know God 447. It is the greatest honor to be called a Christian, for a true Christian, as an ascetic of the faith, as a warrior of Christ and a conqueror of sin, as a child and heir of Christ, is promised eternal bliss and co-reign with Christ in His eternal glory. To him who overcomes I will give to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also conquered and sat with My Father on His throne 448 . May the Lord give our Empress, after the earthly kingdom, a heavenly, eternal, unshakable kingdom, there will be no end to it. May the Lord multiply Her natural beauty with the grace-filled beauty of all Christian wisdom and virtue - meekness, humility, mercy and compassion; may He add days upon days and years upon years, may Her days be like the days of heaven, and may the Lord grant Her the desired gift - a manly child, an heir to the throne. Amen. Word for the birthday of the Most Pious Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna All things were made by Him, and without Him nothing came into being (John 1:3) The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, who began his highest gospel with the tale of the eternal existence of God the Word and the creation through Him and by Him of the entire visible and invisible world, and of all animate and inanimate creatures, proclaimed at the beginning of his Gospel: everything began to be through Him, and without Him nothing began to be. Thus, we all owe our being and good-being to God the Word, Who at the end of the ages deigned to be incarnate and become forever, without end, the perfect Man Jesus - Christ, remaining from eternity and forever the infinite God. Today we celebrate the birth of the Empress - the Mother of the Tsar, foreshadowed by God before all centuries - and in due time, precisely in our time - called to existence and excellent, high childbearing, the fruit of which was and is, by the way, our reigning Sovereign Emperor. Great is the election and purpose of the Queen Mother. Behold - Her Son, the Emperor of all Russia - and commands a fifth of the world. What an election and appointment of God, what a rare destiny in humanity, and in accordance with such an election - what a sacred, great duty lies on Her before God and humanity, for the higher the election of God, the greater, higher and responsible responsibilities before God and people the chosen Person perceives: and firstly, She is the Mother of the King and royal children, whom she raised in accordance with their high purpose, and secondly, She is the royal Mother of all loyal subjects, but especially all the girls who have been brought up and are being brought up in Russia from those educational institutions that have taken Her name. She is their benevolent Trustee not only in name, but in fact: for they enjoy the most careful supervision and guidance of Her faithful and zealous assistants and assistants in the important matter of Christian education. As the former Spouse of the deceased Tsar the Peacemaker, who knew well His royal ideals, thoughts, intentions, desires, enterprises, She benevolently passed them on to the reigning Son, and in this regard She owns an important share in the upbringing of the Tsar the Son: for who better could know and convey the covenants of the Tsar the Peacemaker and the Father of the Russian people, if not His Spouse? She was the most faithful interpreter of the covenants of Her sovereign Spouse to the enthroned Son; and He firmly keeps the covenants of the Father-Tsar, - firmly follows in His footsteps, cheerfully stands guard over His kingdom, protecting It with sovereign God-given power from any encroachment on its integrity - internal and external enemies, as well as guarding external security - the security of the faith and the Orthodox Church, as the firmest stronghold and repository of the Russian kingdom; for in the firm unity of the Church and the Kingdom lies invincible power, the power of God. And each of us, dear brethren, together with our existence, given from God, received our purpose - to arrange the well-being and salvation of ourselves and our neighbors, as members of a single great state body, the good of which is based on a common, unanimous desire for the general and private good of all members - and as members of the single spiritual body of the Church, or the grace-filled kingdom of Christ. This purpose is fidelity to God and the Tsar, fidelity to family, civil and Christian duties, fidelity, goodwill, honesty and justice in mutual relations, caring protection of the family, the spiritual family hearth, fidelity of husbands and wives, Christian upbringing of children, protecting them from all temptations, bringing them closer to the Holy Church, as the Educator given to us by God Himself for time and eternity, each keeping his faith in a clear conscience; support for the true spirit of piety, in which our ancestors were so strong, who defended us with unshakable firmness the integrity of our Holy. Faith and Church; loyalty to the Tsar and the authorities appointed by Him for the establishment of the common good; private and general care for the observance of chastity and abstinence; about mutual assistance to each other in faith and life, in sorrow, illness, need and grief; for at the present time many sorrows and disasters have befallen us, especially from vacillation of morals, from the fragility of marital and family unions, from all-consuming disastrous drunkenness and debauchery - from failures of grain and grass harvests, or from complete damage to fields and mown meadows by continuous rains. Let us, according to our strength, bear each other’s burdens and thus fulfill our destiny. Bear each other's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ 449. Amen. Why is life given to man? Word for the Birthday and Name Day of the Blessed Sovereign, Heir and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich For your sake (Christ) we are put to death all the day long: we are counted as sheep of the slaughter (Rom.8:36; Ps.43:23) Today the Orthodox Church, especially the local Tver one, cheerfully celebrates the memory of the passion-bearer, the Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tver, who was tortured in the horde by the Tatars and glorified by the wondrous signs of holiness, incorruptibility and many miracles from His relics. It was an evil time for Russia, according to the righteous destinies of God, when our great princes were subjected to martyrdom from our enslavers, the Tatars of that time. Now, by God’s grace, it has long been free, great and glorious: and the passion-bearing saints boldly pray to God for our entire Reigning House and for Russia. Today, the church and Russia solemnly celebrate the birthday and name day of the Blessed Sovereign Heir, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, the third son of the Peacemaker Emperor Alexander III, who rests in God. Two births came together on one day of one person - birth according to the flesh and rebirth according to the spirit, that is, holy baptism and His numbering with the holy one. Churches with the glorious name of St. Russian passion-bearer, Blessed Prince Michael, whose St. the relics rest in the city of Tver. And the birth according to the flesh of the Blessed Sovereign Heir is most famous, like the birth of the royal Son, but the birth according to the spirit, according to faith, is incomparably more glorious, like the birth from God by the Holy Spirit, as the day of His inclusion in the Church of God and adoption by God for the procession through earthly deeds to the inheritance of eternal life in the eternal heavenly fatherland. All of us Christians are given from the Creator a temporary existence for the inheritance of eternal life: for the Christian faith, imprinted by the sacraments and Christian love and good deeds, gives us the right to it. This right was purchased for us by the Most Pure Blood shed on the cross by Jesus Christ for the salvation of the human race. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but the unbeliever (like the apostate new Count Tolstoy) is already condemned, because he did not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God 450. So, what is the main purpose of our life? Every thing, everything that breathes and moves on earth has its purpose from the Creator, and there is not a single smallest creature without a purpose: for everything was created wisely, purposefully and beautifully. Man is the crown of creation and the king of the earth, created in the image and likeness of God, with a rational and immortal soul. His last goal is not here, for everything on earth is perishable and temporary, and man here is only a temporary stranger, a wanderer and a temporary warrior and warrior: he must, with the cross and patience, clear his way to heaven, for which he was created, - for man, the owner of earthly creatures, himself, by his rashness at the beginning, became from a free being a slave of the devil and his own countless passions, which changed and disfigured his beautiful God-like nature, they made him a slave of corruption and all sin and an enemy of God the Creator, removing him from Him by an impassable abyss. Only the Lord Jesus Christ destroys this gap for those who believe in Him and brings them to God through faith and repentance. So, the property and character of this life is a constant feat and war with oneself, one’s passions and all sorts of vicious inclinations, cleansing oneself from all filth of the flesh and spirit 451, restoring in oneself the fallen image of God. The kingdom of heaven is acquired by force, says the Lord, and strong seekers acquire it 452. You, true believers, have heard or read for yourself how by what deeds in this world the saints achieved eternal life and glory, how they overcame absurd, ugly sin and taught themselves every virtue. Imitate their lives according to your strength; learn from them faith, abstinence, prayer, simplicity, meekness, humility, patience, repentance, obedience, burn in spirit, serve the Lord 453. You are no longer required to perform the feat of martyrdom to acquire eternal life, as the first Christians labored, or our Russian passion-bearers Michael the Blessed Prince of Tver, or Michael the Prince of Chernigov with his boyar Theodore and other martyrs who suffered in the Tatar horde. We all freely confess St. Faith under the rule of Orthodox kings. But we also have enemies - these are our sins, and the enemies of the faith are the current sectarians who openly revile our Holy Spirit. saving Faith and the Orthodox Church and preach absurd, disastrous teachings. What is required of you even now is firmness in faith and a courageous struggle against sectarians - denouncing their madness with the sound word of Faith. Nowadays there is no physical torment for the Faith, but believers often have to experience mental torment from the insolence of sectarians, especially Tolstoyans, who revile the most holy and magnificent Name of the Holy Trinity and the One of the Trinity, our Lord Jesus Christ. Take care of your faith tightly, strive for your faith, in which our saints and our ancestors were and were saved, and achieve eternal life into which you are called by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Ps.49:6; Ps.74:8; Acts 10:42; Hebrews 12:23. Acts 17:25; Acts 17:28. Wed. they say on the bike Compline. Evening prayer to the Holy Cross. Wed. canon to the honorable and life-giving cross, paragraph 1. Service of the 4th week of Lent, Wednesday, Ikos according to the 6th song. Easter canon, canto 3, trope. 2. Wed. Eph.1:22, 23; Col. 1:18. Follow to St. communion, canto 3, Wed. trope. 1. see Synax., per week. about Samar. 1st stichera on “I cried to the Lord” feast. Vozn. John 17:1-6; John 17:10–11. 1 Peter 1:14–23; 1 Peter 2:1–2. Canon to St. communion, canto 1, trope. 1. Stichera at Little Vespers on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist. Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, I cried out the stichera to the Lord. Proverbs 25:21; Rom.12:20. 2 Chronicles 36:23 (prayer of Manasseh). You might be interested in: