Recently I received from Vologda from a certain "dissenter" (consequently, non-Orthodox) intelligentsia a long letter about my farewell letter to the Vologda flock. She is indignant that my message "does not breathe peace, love, forgiveness" to some "offended and offended". The intellectual exclaims: "But people are all brothers, all equal children of the Church, right and left, sinners and righteous, heretics and schismatics, political agitators and allies." If it is still possible to reconcile with the former, although with the proviso that children who are disobedient to the Church cannot be equal to those who are obedient, then it is impossible to reconcile with the latter: heretics and schismatics are not children of the Church at all, but her enemies, not sheep of Christ's flock, but goats, and political agitators are even wolves, albeit in sheep's clothing. The letter continues: "Do not treat the perishing people of the house of Israel with hatred and malice of disgust (oh, if these people did not drag her faithful children into perdition, if they did not destroy them with their vile, God-defying false teachings!), but with a feeling of forgiveness and love, treat your lost but dear children like a compassionate and loving father, treat the thief as Christ did on the cross to the thief (I will add: yes, only to the repentant, and not to the blasphemer who perished at the time when Christ said to the repentant: "Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise!"), and to the people who raised their hand against Him, as He forgave all His enemies, destroyers, and blasphemers..." This is how the "dissenter" teaches me. And then he forgets that all this refers to the personal enemies of Christ, that Christ the Savior mercilessly branded the corrupters of the people with the terrible words: "The serpent, the offspring of vipers" (Matt. 23:33), blind leaders, hypocrites, painted graves, madmen" and so on. His apostles did the same with regard to heretics. And I, a sinner, it seems, did not use a single word in my epistle, but took everything from the Holy Apostles. "Do not divide the flock into false teachers, heretics and faithful children of the Church," the dissident bishop instructs. Well, no, gracious Empress: you will never expect this from any Orthodox archpastor! He must and will always call the wolf a wolf, and the sheep a sheep. Those who are obedient to the Church are children of the Church, and heretics are her enemies. Thus the Lord teaches us, so His holy Apostles commanded us. And so let us always do, so that wolves do not penetrate into the flock of Christ entrusted to us. That is why we have been given a staff, to drive them away. To denounce "dissenters" is our sacred duty, and no matter what various preachers of Jewish freedom say, we will do the work entrusted to us by Christ, denouncing and driving away from our sheep the wolves that plunder the flock of God! In my farewell epistle to the flock of Vologda, I have already pointed out how even the Apostle of Love, John the Theologian, commands to treat "dissenters," heretics: he does not allow them to be received into the home: he forbids them to greet them (2 John 10), and the Holy Apostle Paul forbids even to share a meal with them (1 Corinthians 5:11). Have the Apostles of Christ forgotten Christ's teaching about "all-forgiveness, love," etc.? Do our "dissidents," like my correspondent, understand the spirit of this teaching better than they do? And if they do not dare to say this about themselves, then why do they keep silent about these apostolic commandments? Moreover, if we warn the children of the Church against false teachers, naming them as the Holy Apostles did, we do not do this at all out of some kind of hatred. We do not preach hatred, we do not preach enmity in relation to these people, no, we only warn the faithful children of the Church to beware of these wolves! We do not "push away even these who have gone astray from the Church": we protect the flock entrusted to us by God from their poison! Let it be true, if it is true, that they are "under the pressure of doubts, moral demands," let them openly tell us these demands, these doubts: we are ready to answer them with love. But we will not allow the children of the Church to be poisoned by these doubts and demands of the faithful in the simplicity of heart: they are wolves, they are moral poisoners: beware of them! "All-forgiveness" in matters of faith is given under the condition of repentance, renunciation of one's errors, of one's "dissent": otherwise, no matter how much we forgive, God will not forgive! Remember what terrible anathemas the Apostle Paul pronounces on those who believe differently, who preach differently: "If we or an angel from heaven - hear: even we, i.e. the Apostles, even an angel from heaven! - preach good tidings to you, if we preach good news to you, let him be anathema! This is not enough: the Apostle considered it necessary to repeat more: "As I have foretold and now I say: If anyone preaches good news to you more than this, let him be anathema!" This is how strictly we must protect the purity of the Orthodox faith! It is not cloying courtesy and kissing with false teachers (you hear, madam: false teachers), not "all-forgiveness" towards the murderers of Orthodox souls that they preach and command us, but threaten them with terrible anathemas, and give us the right to do so "differently" who preach and deceive with their false teaching to anathematize those who preach "differently" and deceive with their false teaching! And woe to us if we close our eyes to the activities of various "dissenters" and instill in the Orthodox to be indifferent to their preaching and listen to such suggestions as Mrs. "Dissenters" make to me: "May there be peace between you and us... let people of different persuasions and opinions live side by side and glorify God, each in his own way... All these are only flattering words: let each pray to God in his own way, but not dare to touch the conscience of another, but after all, both you, "other believers", and we, the Orthodox, each consider his faith pure and salvific, it is clear that each would like to convert another to his faith, and this is why you need this freedom. This "love, all-forgiveness" that you emphasize so much – in order to more easily seduce the children of Orthodoxy into your heresy. And in your heart you despise us, though you will never admit it. Live quietly, pray in your own way, do not dare to touch the Orthodox soul, and we will all be at peace with you - we will only pity you. And if you, in the name of "peace, love" and other sweet words, creep up on the treasure of the Orthodox faith, then we will draw the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and a terrible anathema will thunder over your heads... True, you are not afraid of it, but it will be useful for those who have not yet lost faith in the Church of Christ, who know and believe that her word does not return in the flesh of the Church. You say that "God receives into His bosom (?) all those who believe differently, who think differently... The Lord made no distinction between His children..." Well, that's not what the Apostle Paul thinks, that's not what the Apostle Paul teaches. If it were so, then he would not threaten "dissenters, dissidents" with such terrible anathemas, and even repeat them. In your opinion, perhaps, the heretic Tolstoy will also receive salvation, despite his excommunication from the Church? Then why did the Lord create His Church? And he promised her that even the gates of hell would not prevail against her?! After all, if it is all about "love and compassion, forgiveness and peace," then why all the care for the Church, all these ecumenical councils, the teaching of the Holy Fathers, the feats and sufferings of confessors? Follow Tolstoy, repeat the word love and you will be saved... No, not so, my "dissenter" correspondent: do you know that even good deeds cannot be done for salvation, if you do not believe rightly? Are you surprised? Don't you understand me? And you will not understand if you do not humbly assimilate the teachings of the Orthodox Church! The fact of the matter is that we believe and confess that the saving grace of God is poured out only in the bosom of the Orthodox Church, and without such grace it is impossible to do truly salvific good. And whoever leaves the Church deprives himself of this grace. The pagans also do good, but this good only brings them closer to the Church, as was the case with Cornelius the centurion, and cannot save them: for this it is necessary to enter into the bosom of the Church through the salvific sacraments of the Church. Do you believe so? Of course not? Then what are we going to talk about? I will say one thing: if you are sincerely looking for the truth, then do not hide under an anonymous person, write me your address and I will lovingly answer your "doubts and requests", to the best of my ability and free time. And if you infect others with your indifference in relation to the purity of the Orthodox faith, then you too - forgive me - I say the truth, I do not lie: and you are threatened with the same anathema that the Apostle subjected to all "those who believe differently and preach differently." And as for my personal infirmities, my lack of service to the Church of Vologda, I will say one thing: I saw all this in myself, grieved over it, told the church authorities many times about my infirmities, but waited for the will of God, when it would be clearly expressed in the will of the church authorities. The hour came, and I gladly left the pulpit, in which the ministry was beyond my strength. This, I think, is enough for you. Shall I add more: according to our Orthodox understanding, it is not the sheep who judge the shepherd, but the shepherd the sheep. But you must be forgiven for this: after all, you are a "dissenter"...

In conclusion, one request: to spare me extracts from the Gospel in French... Perhaps you never read the Gospels in Russian? But you write well in Russian. Why should I, who do not know French, read French quotations in your letter? Then I have the right to write to you in Greek, it is easier for me, and the language is truly apostolic! Why this fashion? it is a flaunting of the language of a people, a stranger, infected with unbelief, Freemasonry, infecting our Fatherland with these ailments??? Or do you prefer the Gospel in French than in Russian?.. Ah, madam! After all, this is how far apart we are from each other: well, where can we agree on such important issues as the salvation of the soul, faith, love, etc?..

My readers will be surprised that I have allocated so much space for an answer to some anonymous correspondent from Vologda.

It's not about Vologda, not about the anonymous lady. This letter is the most characteristic expression of the contagion of Freemasonry, indifference to the truths of faith, which in recent years has begun to prevail in certain intellectual circles of our society. I pronounced the word: Freemasonry. Yes, thank God, now, the mask has already been torn off from this age-old enemy of Christ's truth. We know something of his plans, intentions, we know that his goal is the destruction of Christianity on earth, the transformation of all mankind into cattle fit only for the service of Freemasons, or rather, Jews, who, as it has long been known, consider all people to be brutes without a human soul, brutes to which God gave only the form of a man, so that the Jews would not be disgusted with the use of these cattle. This is not a slander against the Jews: it is literally read in their Talmudic writings. This goal, of course, is hindered by Christianity, and of all Christian confessions, by Orthodoxy, the purest Christian teaching, and therefore the most hated by the Jews. And so all the false tricks, all the sophisms, all the slanders against Orthodoxy have been set in motion, all the sects, all the heresies, all the godless teachings have been drawn into cooperation in the destruction of Orthodoxy in order to shake this pillar of the truth of Christ. And since you cannot immediately turn an Orthodox person into godlessness, then first they try to seduce him into some sect, like Shtunda, Baptism, Molokans, then come spiritism, occultism, Buddhism, and finally - outright godlessness... So this is who our semi-intellectuals of all ranks, sexes and conditions, who preach indifference in the confession of Christianity, serve: after all, they serve the Freemasons and the Jews! This is what we, pastors, must warn the Orthodox faithful against with all our might. That is why it is impossible not to reveal all the harm of those sweet-talking, supposedly peaceful, rantings that we hear from our "dissidents," who do not think in the Russian way, consciously or unconsciously, but completely unfoundedly, sometimes hiding behind the alleged Gospel teaching about love and lavishing reproaches and even scolding on us, the pastors of the Church, for our alleged intolerance towards them, the believers of other faiths. We quote the words of the Apostles, who branded the sectarians of their time with the words: wolves, waterless clouds, etc. This is not in the spirit of Christ's teaching. Take these reproaches, gentlemen of Tolstoy's non-resistance, to the holy Apostles, if you have the boldness to do so.. But we fear the threat of Him who has a sharp sword on both sides: "As thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth." (Ap. 3:16).

One of the invisible guardians of the people's soul

(In memory of my uncle).

I remembered the ancient days and learned...

Our turbulent and troubled times involuntarily force us to transfer our thoughts to the first centuries of Christianity, to the times of persecution of the faith in Christ, and it becomes frightening when one thinks: how far we have departed from those centuries – not to mention in life, but also in thought, in worldview, in the very ideals that have become so confused and faded in our consciousness...

Here is an example. Ancient Christians called death the dormition, repose, and the day of death even - the day of birth - birth into another better life. That is why the day of the death of martyrs and other saints was celebrated as a joyous feast, as a triumph over death. "He rests in peace", "He rests in Christ" - these are the usual inscriptions on the burial places in the ancient catacombs, these tombs, where up to 300,000 martyrs are buried... And now?.. Magnificent tombstones, wreaths that are not at all necessary for the deceased, the vanity of vanities, which, nevertheless, costs thousands and hundreds of thousands, is worth so much that with this money it would be possible to build hundreds of churches of God where the Orthodox soul longs for a place of prayer, but does not have this consolation... And yet in these churches of God until the end of time a bloodless Sacrifice would have been offered for the repose of the souls of those who now rest under monuments that are useless for them..

But let us turn our eyes away from this vanity. Let us console ourselves with the fact that even in our days there are servants of God who depart into another life "in the world," with the hope of resurrection, as if for temporary rest after a life of labor in this vale of sorrows. At their coffin, a kind of warmth becomes in the soul, the thought of death recedes into the background, in its place is the contemplation of the mystery of death... "He sleeps peacefully in Christ" – one thinks when one looks at the calm face of the departed, or better: "He contemplates in reverence that which is still closed to us, unknown, but what has now been revealed to him – the departed – has become no longer an object of faith, but a living reality"...

And the heart asks the deceased: what is the secret of his tranquility? Why doesn't the ghost of death blow at his coffin, why is he so drawn to this particular dead person: when he wants to run away from another? And the secret voice, the voice of our conscience, answers us: look, look back at his life, and you will understand everything...

On February 5, the venerable elder, my uncle, Archpriest Grigory Ioannovich Gruzov, died in the 89th year of his laborious, righteous life. For 65 years he served in the priesthood, for almost 55 years in the same poor parish, and only a serious illness forced him to part with his beloved flock, with those whom he baptized, married, with whom he shared all sorrows and joys... I remember once, passing through Kostroma, I stood for Mass in the cathedral where His Grace Tikhon served. At this service, he gave the rank of archpriest to one of these humble altar servers, an eighty-year-old elder: during the Communion verse, he introduced this elder to me with the words: "This is who the Russian land stands!" in silence and obscurity, modestly and in simplicity of heart, they do their work, educating the people in the fear of God, in obedience to their native Mother Church, in the traditions and precepts of their native antiquity, in selfless love for the Tsar and the Fatherland... With them, with these humble priests, our people went through their entire thousand-year history, endured the Tatar yoke, and serfdom, and famines, and pestilences, and invasions of foreign tribes, they consoled them in all historical misfortunes, shared their grief with them, helped them bear the heavy cross of life, warmed their hearts with the consolations of faith and the grace of Christ. They were the people's nurturers throughout the thousand years of the history of our people, they were the guardians of the people's soul and all those treasures with which the Russian people were endowed by their loving mother, the Orthodox Church. The temple of God and "my dear father" - this is who stood closest to the people, who brought up the soul of the people, who was its guardian angel...

Such was the late Father Gregory. The son of a poor rural sacristan (born in 1825), he spent his childhood in his native Chashnikovo, in his father's crowded family, under the grace-filled influences of his native Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, sang and read on the kliros, went around the parish to glorify Christ at Christmas and Pascha, collecting pennies, loved by parishioners, raised by his mother in the fear of God and respect for the elders. With a good-natured joke, the deceased told how his mother, accompanying him to Moscow in order to enroll him in a religious school, severely punished him: "Look, son, be respectful to everyone, bow to all your elders." And the obedient son took his mother's lesson: as soon as they entered the outpost, Grishenka took off his hat and began to bow right and left to the passing public. Seeing this, the mother asked: "What are you doing?" - "And what about it, mamma? After all, they are all older than me: you have to bow"...