July 18, 1996

Lavra! As always, it stands like a living miracle on our land, rising above all the vanity of life with the aspiration of golden crosses to the sky. The Lavra is a place of feats and prayers of the Venerable, a place sanctified by the blessing of the Mother of God. By this, first of all, in an invisible way, it attracts its Abbot to this day. And it may well be that the vanity of life, human weaknesses and general spiritual weakness have not escaped the modern inhabitants (I do not assert, but only admit), but the image of the founder itself does not carry anything of the kind. Thank God! He, most of all himself, draws the hearts of numerous pilgrims to his Lavra. Perhaps someone wanted to feel himself in the midst of pilgrims, to feel the unknown, but the same seekers, someone wanted to pray especially fervently for his sore point, who wanted anything, but any desire was invariably connected with the image of the Venerable. And this is the main thing. The Lavra is full of it, and what is more than that is from the evil one.

We are glad that the Trinity Cathedral is open in the evening. Open to the public. It is no longer possible to approach the reliquary of the Venerable, but it is possible to sneak into a corner and listen to the vigil. I will not talk about the guests who flew in from different directions (including from America – Metropolitan TheodosiusCXL, members of the Jacobite Church of the CXLI, not counting the bishops of our country, which stretches for many thousands of kilometers) – this will be reported by the JMP. More precious is the fact that in a corner of the ancient church, the glow of candles and lamps brings the memory of loving souls to the monk. It has become more difficult for many to get here, and the roads are expensive, and there is more trouble because of the stupid divisions into "foreign" Orthodox Christians from Ukraine, Belarus and other "countries" of the former Soviet Union. And even here you cannot count on any minimum conditions, except for a corner on the floor in the church at night and a sip of water from the Sergiev spring. For the sake of fairness, it must be said that now pilgrims are fed under the Refectory Church. We did not go there, because we are "not far", only 70 kilometers to our capital. We are ashamed to join the really hungry and distant, who came from different parts of the country. And yet there are a lot of people. In the Trinity Church, when they approached the Venerable One, many people had to wring out their clothes, in the Dormition Church there were a lot of people, in the Refectory Church it was smaller, but it was not empty either. And in the Church of the Intercession of the Theological Academy there were people, also almost a full church, although without a stampede.

In the evening, many stayed for confession. The general "word" before confession did not sound as we would have liked, but... It is possible to repent, they listened to everyone. In the morning we were about to go to the Dormition Church, we had already arrived, sat down on the approach against the wall until the clock began, but seeing that a mixed choir was approaching, we quickly went to the Refectory Church. Even if he sings correctly, the sound of this choir turns the Lavra church into a parish. Perhaps this is not true, but I can't help it. Is it a habit, or are these concepts... But give me a male choir here! In the refectory, the students of the Theological Schools sang not as powerfully as at the vigil of the Venerable One in the Trinity Monastery, but quite appropriately. The service was led by His Holiness. Liturgy was held as usual on such days. Father Andronik came out to preach a sermon. He spoke competently, even interestingly, in terms of posing the question: he emphasized that the monk is an expression of the highest degree of likeness of the human soul to God, set in the Old Testament as the goal of human strivings. When it sounded: "Let us go out in peace" – and then the prayer, we went out into the square, which since yesterday evening had been fenced off with iron prefabricated bars, which I always and everywhere terribly dislike! This idea is unpleasant: bars, police. They blocked off such a space that you can not even hear a prayer service. Thank God, they arranged "technical assistance" - now it will be heard in every corner. In Uspensky, the service was not over yet. The clergy headed by thirteen bishops came out of the Refectory Church, and from the Trinity Church (it was said that a total of forty bishops would take part in the celebrations) they were waiting for the Patriarch and his co-concelebrants. The loud protodeacon sings "I believe." The microphone amplifies his powerful voice, and the singing of the Symbol of Faith wakes up everyone – praying and simply curious, attracted by the rumor of the Lavra's feast. After the stuffiness of the temple, it is even cool in the expanse of the square in front of the chapel. The breeze rises, carries away the warmth of the sun's rays, generously pouring from the clear, clear, high blue sky. Yesterday's downpour washed away every leaf on the trees and shrubs. The sky, white light clouds, greenery, buildings are amazingly good together. Here, nearby, now. And when the bell tower sounded, when the tall, full-length image of St. Sergius was carried out of the Dormition Cathedral, when all the clergy shone with the brocade of vestments, the golden glare of the casings, ripides, mitres, then even the most indifferent person standing here could not deny that beauty is a great power, life-giving and life-giving. This was confirmed by the swallows chirping over this meeting. These young animals enjoyed life. There are many of them here. If only one more thing – not a mixed, but a childish choir – and you couldn't wish for anything better!

And yet this is an unceasing miracle – the Lavra of St. Sergius! When people talk about grace in the crowd (they crumple their sides, a person gets out barely alive – what grace!), then it is impossible not to say with a certain amount of sadness: grace must also be able to open the soul, so that it does not be like asphalt or an iron roof, on which the rain will run down without changing anything. As in the Gospel: the road is compacted, the hollows are overgrown with weeds, here and there hummocks with a thin layer of earth and good, cultivated land. Only a quarter of the total area is suitable for sowing. We would like grace everywhere and a ready-made miraculous result without work and patience. What will we take to our lands when we leave the Lavra? Will the soul be full of gratitude and determination to change itself for the better, so that the image of the Venerable One shines even brighter with rays of invisible light and life becomes more serious and strict?

On Paremias on the Day of Remembrance of St. Sergius of Radonezh

The festive paremias on this day are made up of different verses from different chapters of Proverbs. These are the first two paremias. The third is from the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon. Listening to the familiar lines of praise to the righteous man and the appeal of Wisdom itself to all who are ready to listen to Her, we easily understand how the spiritual image of the Venerable One is revealed to everyone. At the beginning of the first paremia74 we find in ancient words an explanation of the fact that on this day crowds of those who venerate the memory of the Monk gather in church: "The memory of the righteous with praise... Why do they remember the righteous? Because they understand (sometimes belatedly, without understanding and appreciating during their lifetime what most often accompanied the life feat of a righteous man) what a joy it is to live together, on the same earth, in the same Church with a righteous person. And the praise of the memory of the righteous is gratitude to God for giving the righteous His grace and strength to become so, and for the fact that He gave all of us to some extent at least to understand and appreciate such a gift of God to our land.

What do we see first of all in the righteous man whose memory we create? "The blessing of the Lord is upon his head... He began everything with a blessing, the Lord blessed him and by his example teaches us to seek the source of success and all well-being in God's blessing. But he who does not care about this will reap the fruits of his foolishness: he will lose his strength in vain, and he will not see success, because he did everything without God.

Блажен человек, иже обрете премудрость. Праведность неотделима от премудрости. В понимании древних это была не просто высшая степень мудрости, но более того — особый дар Божий, который так меняет все человеческие понятия, что одаренный им уже не ищет того, что так ценят люди, далекие от понимания духовных ценностей. Потому и говорится здесь о блаженстве того, кто обрел этот дар Божий. Чтобы понятие это укоренилось в сознании всех слышащих, следующие строки призывают со всех сторон увидеть и уразуметь глубокую истину этих слов. Лучше бы сию куповати, нежели злата и сребра сокровища.

Образ купли (то есть торговли) знаком всем и по Евангелию (куплю дейте, дондеже прииду75). Если сравнение с торгом понятно было тогда каждому, все знали, что торговля неизменно сопряжена с трудом, напряжением воли, сообразительностью, то и теперь всем доступно это сравнение. Не все только действительно считают, что трудиться для приобретения мудрости стоит больше, чем для умножения сокровищ, то есть богатства (злата и сребра). Следующая фраза прибавляет и сравнение с драгоценными камнями. Украшенный мудростью ценнее и уважаемее тех, кто считает для себя достаточным жизненное благополучие и выражает внешнее довольство своим богатством, которое в глазах других сияет блеском золота и драгоценностей. Если богатство, добытое трудом, не стоит духовных благ, из которых премудрость —наиболее ценное, то нечего и говорить о тех, кто лукавством добывает себе житейские блага.

Долгота бо дней, и лета живота в деснице ея... Премудрость здесь как бы приобретает свойства личности, образ таинственный и наделенный Божественной силой. Божественная премудрость в дальнейших словах, уже как бы спускаясь с высоты, подходит ближе к людям и обращается ко всем: Послушайте убо мене... Почему к такому приему прибегали в древности? — Чтобы активнее слушали и запоминали главное.

Блажен муж, иже послушает мене. Здесь призыв слушать поддерживается обещанием блаженства. В чем оно может заключаться? Слушать, думать, оценивать свои поступки — всегда труд, труд нерадостный, и он многим кажется бессмысленным. Считается важнее делать. Делать без оглядки и не задавая себе вопроса: зачем? В противовес такому положению мы слышим другое: если слушать то, что открывает Божественная премудрость, и делать так, это приведет тебя к блаженству. Заключено оно в полноте жизни, о чем говорит следующая фраза: Исходи бо мои — исходи живота. Как может исходить премудрость? — Она как бы приближается к ищущему ее, и тот, кто нашел ее, знает, как велика радость жить полной жизнью, не ощущая никакого недостатка, не испытывая неудовлетворенности, тревоги, сомнений. На примере святых, особенно таких близких нам, как преподобный Сергий, мы знаем, что это внутреннее богатство добродетелей, его блаженство в общении с Богом привлекало к нему при жизни и после кончины, свидетельствуя об истине древних поучений.

Далее в обращении к нам премудрости мы слышим мольбу. Она молит нас все делать с советом. Не как кому вздумается, а посоветовавшись, чтобы все было разумно, осмысленно. Продолжая обращение, Божественная премудрость уверяет: Аз мене любящия люблю. Как можно любить премудрость деятельно, не на одних словах? — Искать ее. Кто найдет, тот получит благодать, то есть обогатится духовными благами, и даст ему Бог разум, чтобы во благо пользоваться и житейскими. В словах разумейте убо, незлобивии, коварство мы слышим предупреждение: мало быть бесхитростным, простодушным. Надо уметь быть предусмотрительным, осторожным, догадливым там, где можно встретить коварство. Тем, кто не хочет этого знать, закрывая глаза, премудрость советует учиться понимать и отличать истину от притворства, чтобы по неопытности не спутать добро с подделкой под него, не попасть в сети лжи.