In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! The Gospel narrative that we have heard today tells about the preaching of Jesus Christ on the shores of the Lake of Galilee. The Lake of Galilee, or the Sea of Tiberias, is one of the most beautiful places in Palestine, and perhaps in the whole world. Compressed by steep banks, it looks like a crystal bowl. Its clear waters, in which the sky is reflected, are like blue topaz in the emerald frame of coastal forests and flowers. From the north, the sacred Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee. Its turbulent jets, like a silver blade, pierce deeply into the calm waves of the lake. To the south, the Jordan, flowing out of the Sea of Tiberias, rushes to the Dead Sea. It rises up between the rocks that squeeze it like a stone embrace, then spreads widely over the valleys, then noisily falls from the rapids. And thousands of diamond drops in the rays of the sun surround him like a rainbow, like a crown. The Jordan flows into the Dead Sea, where there is no life. How similar this sea is to the soul of an unrepentant sinner! The grace of God calls him, but he remains deaf and dead. The Lord preached on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The people surrounded Him, crowded around Him. Some were attracted and captivated by the heavenly sweetness of the words that came from the mouth of Jesus; others longed for healing, wanted at least to touch the hem of His garments. Others, grieving, with broken hearts, wished that the Lord would look at them with His radiant gaze, and under the warmth of His eyes the bleeding wounds of their hearts would be healed. Others saw in Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. These were the happiest people who, recognizing in Him the Messiah, the Son of God, Who had come to earth, as if silently, with their hearts, cried out: "Hosanna!" – forgetting about everything: about their illnesses, sorrows, about the whole world. Brothers and sisters! The Lord said of the Holy Spirit, that no one knows when He comes, and no one knows how He goes away (John 3:8). But if a person's heart feels grace, then it will be revealed to him that there is no joy stronger and brighter in the world; In a few such moments, a person could give his whole life. The Lord got into a boat and from there preached to the people crowded around the shore. Then He told Peter to cast the net into the sea, and the net to be filled with fish (Luke 5:4). The boat, the boat on which Christ stood, symbolically depicts the Church of God, and the sea represents our life. The sea is now calm, as if gentle, then suddenly the sky darkens, is covered with leaden clouds, and the sea is covered with waves, which rush like horsemen, ready to destroy everything in their path. When we are in the Church, Christ the Savior is invisibly next to us. No matter how terrible the storms are, no matter how high the waves rise like mountains, no matter how the waves rage like awakened wild beasts, this ship is not afraid of thunderstorms, nor lightning that cuts through the sky, nor thunder, which seems to shake even the mountains themselves, because in this ship is the One Who created Heaven and Earth. In church symbolism, fish mean Christians. Just as a fish can live only in water, so a Christian receives eternal life only in the Sacrament of Baptism, so he lives in the grace of God. In ancient times, fish was a conventional sign for Christians in times of persecution. If one person, when meeting the other end of the staff, drew a fish on the ground, then he recognized in him his brother in faith – a Christian. It should be noted that the Greek word "fish" consists of the first letters of the words (ychshhi – Greek): "Jesus Christ the Son of God the Savior." The anchor of a ship in church symbolism means hope. Some people ask why on the domes of the Church the cross is sometimes depicted as if in a crescent moon. In ancient times, the cross was depicted at anchor, as on a pedestal, because faith in God is the only affirmation, the only peace, the unshakable hope of our soul. And secondly, the moon symbolically means the Church. As the moon reflects light from the sun, so the Church receives spiritual light, spiritual strength, grace from Christ the Savior. Digressing a little, brothers and sisters, I want to answer your question: "Why is there an oblique crossbeam on the cross, and a human skull under the foot of the cross?" The lower end of the crossbeam symbolically marks Christ's path after death through mankind to hell, where He preached the Gospel to the souls of the dead, and its end, directed upwards, signifies the path from hell to paradise, which was opened by the death and Resurrection of Christ the Savior. The skull means the head of Adam. There is a legend that before the flood, Noah took the head of his forefather into the ark as a great shrine, and then blessed his eldest son, Shem, with it. And when Shem founded Jerusalem, he laid the head of Adam in a stone casing near Jerusalem. Jerusalem itself means "the peace of God," that is, the place where mankind must be reconciled to God, the place of the crucifixion of Christ the Savior. And, according to ancient tradition, Christ was crucified over the place where Adam's head was, and the blood flowing from His most pure wounds seeped deep into the rock through a crevice in the ground and stained Adam's skull. This meant that the sins of mankind were washed away by the blood of Christ the Savior. This, brothers and sisters, is the symbolism of the Cross. The net means apostolic preaching. The apostles worked all night and could not catch anything. This means that when a person is left to his own strength, he cannot preach the word of God. Only the grace and power of the Holy Spirit can accomplish this great mission – to help the spiritual enlightenment of the people. All of us in our lives, all believers, are trying to turn our friends and loved ones to the Lord. But how often such attempts are unsuccessful! Our word turns out to be weak and powerless. It repels and irritates a person rather than attracts him to faith. How can this be explained? By the fact that our word is not filled with love. In order to talk to a person about faith, you must first of all pray to God for the salvation of this person. Then, brothers and sisters, we should never rely on our human strength. You need to say: "Lord! Thou Thyself live in me, Thou Thyself speak through me, Thou Thyself create and accomplish salvation!" Then we must examine our soul to see if it is peaceful. If we are irritated, our word will only carry the poison and poison of anger. Then we have to decide whether we love this person. If there is no love for a person in our hearts, then his heart will be closed to us. One theologian said that only through love does the heart merge with the heart. Then we must prepare ourselves not to be upset, not to become embittered, if we are not listened to. After all, the Lord preached to everyone, and how many people did not listen to Him? How many people responded with hatred, ridicule, and terrible malice? Therefore, when you dare to speak about faith, prepare your heart for sorrows and temptations. Moreover, do not only speak yourself, but try more to listen to and understand the other person, to understand his needs, to help him, to understand his sorrow, to console him. Perhaps he does not listen to us, because his heart has turned to stone in sorrow. And under your love, it will melt like ice. Then, a person must be instructed not only by words, but also by his own life to set an example, otherwise our speech will be false and false. Brothers and sisters! Today the Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, the Apostle of Love. He wrote the Gospel, three conciliar epistles, and a book called "Revelation" or "Apocalypse." St. Basil the Great said about this book: "As many words as there are mysteries in it!" But in general, everything that John the Theologian wrote has a high mysterious meaning. For example, in one of his epistles he writes: "The Elder to the chosen lady... I rejoiced greatly that I found among thy children walking in the truth, even as we received the commandment from the Father (2 John 1:1, 4). What do these words mean? After all, he does not write to any single person, the epistle is called conciliar. The Elder is he, the Apostle. In Greek, an elder is a presbyter. The Chosen Lady is the Church that the Lord has chosen from among all the nations of the world. Her children are Christians, they "walk in the truth," which means that they confess the true faith and their lives are in harmony with the teaching of the Gospel. But our lives, brothers and sisters, almost never agree with the Gospel. This is the terrible mystery that when we do not walk in the truth, we cease to be sons of the Church, then we are spiritually, mystically alien to her, even if we pray and stay in churches. In another place John the Theologian says: I write to you, children, because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known the Eternal from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I am writing to you, young men, because you have come to know the Father (1 John 2:12-13). What do these words mean? It speaks of the different spiritual ages of Christians. Children are those who have just been baptized; they received forgiveness of all their sins and those of their ancestors. Youths are those who have just entered the path of Christian life and walk in the grace of God. They have come to know God as a merciful Father. Therefore, our spiritual path is always joyful and easy at first. But then the Apostle writes about the young men who defeated the evil one. The period of adolescence is followed by the next spiritual age, when we must struggle with evil, sin, and our passions, when we must follow the path of podvig. Often some people are perplexed: "In the beginning I had grace, and then it was as if I lost it!" It means that he has passed into a different spiritual age. The lad was incapable of fighting, and grace clearly preserved him, like the mother of her child, and now youth has come, and man must show himself a soldier of Christ the Savior: grace is with him, but as if hidden from him. Here the Apostle speaks of the fathers who knew the Eternal from the beginning. This is about those successful Christians, about the degree of holiness when a Christian already becomes a mentor and father, he has come to know the Eternal from eternity, that is, the grace of God enlightens his mind and heart and gives him the gifts of wisdom, love and spiritual knowledge. Brothers and sisters! The Gospel of John the Theologian, in contrast to the first three Gospels, is called the "spiritual Gospel". In it, the Apostle revealed to us the great mystery that God is – Love! He himself testified to this in his life. In the Life of John the Theologian it is told how during a sermon he drew attention to a certain young man, beautiful in face and soul, who did not leave him as his most devoted disciple. Setting out to preach in another place, the Apostle handed this youth over to the bishop of the city, and when he returned, he asked him: "Where is the treasure which I have given thee?" John gave the name of the young man. The bishop said sadly: "He died. He died in soul. He has become a robber!" It turned out that the young man had become the ataman of the robbers and terrified the surrounding residents. Then John went to the place where the robbers were. They seized the Apostle and brought him to his former disciple, who was standing with a knife in his hands. Seeing his mentor, he threw down the knife. His conscience awoke in him, he could not look into the eyes of the elder and rushed to run. John hastened after him with the words: "My son, why do you torture your father! Stop, repent, I will beseech God for forgiveness of all your sins!" Brothers and sisters! At the end of his life, John the Theologian was so weak that he was carried to church in their arms. And here he could no longer preach the Gospel teaching to people as before, but only repeated: "Children! Love one another!" He was asked: "Why do you repeat the same words?" and he answered: "Because this commandment contains the Gospel. Whoever fulfills it will be saved!" Amen.

About the Apostle of Love, about St. Sergius, about today's monasticism

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Today is the day of the repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. John the Theologian spent most of his long earthly life in the city of Ephesus, which was called the capital of the East. Here he was visited by the Most Holy Mother of God, and to this day, among the ruins and ruins of this once beautiful city, which has now turned into a small Turkish village, stands the house where the Apostle lived, and which, according to tradition, the Mother of God honored with Her presence. Here St. Mary Magdalene, Equal-to-the-Apostles, preached the Gospel, here she died and was buried by the Apostle John in a cave. Later, during the persecution of the emperor Decius, seven youths, the Martyrs of Ephesus (commemorated on 4/17 August), were immured alive in this cave. After the Dormition of the Mother of God and the destruction of Jerusalem, Ephesus became, as it were, a beacon of the Church of Christ. Many of the apostolic disciples came to John the Theologian, the only survivor of those who accompanied the Lord Jesus Christ in earthly life. John the Theologian lived a long life. In his old age, being infirm, he could no longer attend the temple of God, but he loved the church service so much that he asked his disciples to bring him to church in their arms, and there, lying on his bed, he prayed. But then one day the disciples of Saint John saw that the elder had risen from his bed, as if the years of old age had fallen from his shoulders. He ordered all his beloved disciples to be called and told them: "Today is a great day in my life, I am leaving you, and I am staying with you." They did not understand his words. Elder John said: "Let us go out of the city." Together with the disciples, he went out of the gates of Ephesus, they stopped in the field. John the Theologian said: "This is the last day of my earthly life, we part, but in spirit I will be with you." The disciples began to weep and began to ask that he still remain on earth for their sake, for the sake of his Church. The Apostle answered: "I must go on a long journey," and then added: "Children, let us go still farther." The life of John the Theologian was hidden from the eyes of people, and his death must have been just as hidden. They moved even further away from the city. Elder John blessed each of his disciples, hugged and kissed them, then looked around, looked at the towers and walls of Ephesus and asked again: "Children, let's move on." He stopped for the third time and said: "Build me a dwelling." They asked: "Which one?" The elder answered: "Dig me a grave." With tears, his disciples began to dig a grave. John the Theologian said: "Dig deeper." Then, blessing them again, he said: "Mother Earth, from you I came, to you I come, receive me!" – and went down to the grave. The disciples, at the word of the Apostle, began to pour earth into the grave. It had already reached his knees and chest, and again with tears the disciples began to beg the elder not to leave, to linger on earth for their sake. But John the Theologian answered: "Children, I no longer want to see this light, cover me with earth." For the last time, bending down to the edge of the grave, each of them embraced him and accepted the last kiss from his master. Then he closed his eyes: the disciples did not know whether he was alive or dead, but they filled up the grave. After some time, they wanted to transfer the holy body of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian to the temple, but the grave turned out to be empty. His death remained a mystery. No one knows whether he is alive or dead. In the Gospel it is said that the Lord answered the Apostle Peter, who asked Him about John: "If I want him to remain until I come, what does it matter to you? thou shalt follow me" (John 21:22). Some of the Holy Fathers say that John the Theologian, together with Elijah and Enoch, will come to earth before the Last Judgment: Elijah will preach the Gospel primarily to the Jews, Enoch to the nations that have not known the Lord, and John the Theologian to Christians who have forgotten their Savior. Brothers and sisters! Yesterday we celebrated the memory of our Venerable and God-bearing Father Sergius, Abbot of Radonezh, and today I was asked to repeat yesterday's sermon. Every nation has especially revered saints: in Georgia, St. John of Zedaznia is called the abbot of the Iberian land; Sergius of Radonezh is the abbot of the Russian land, the instructor of its monasticism. Just as the heart of the Iveron Church is the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, so the heart of the Russian Church is the Trinity Lavra, where the body and relics of St. Sergius rest. The Trinity-Sergius Lavra is like a spiritual sun, which pours out its rays over vast spaces from Kamchatka to the Caucasus, from the Urals to the Arctic Ocean. As raindrops gather in streams and rivers and incessantly flow into the sea, so do strings of people go day and night to pray in the Lavra, to the holy relics of St. Sergius. They bear their sorrows, the weight of their sins, in order to put this burden on the relics of St. Sergius. His tomb is surrounded by a spiritual flame that does not burn, but fills the souls of believers with grace, which enlightens their hearts. If in the Siloam font only once a year those who entered its water received healing, then at the relics of the saints people constantly receive spiritual and physical healing. A person feels how dirty, sinful, stinking scales fall from his heart, and he sees the world with different eyes, his heart becomes, as it were, the heart of a child, he feels the joy that only a child feels, not yet burdened with sins and passions. And it seems to people who come to the Lavra that this is their home, where they have returned after a difficult and distant journey. Once upon a time, there was a dense impenetrable forest on this place, and several hermit monks gathered here in search of silence. They cut down centuries-old trees, built huts-cells from logs, sealed the cracks with moss, built a wooden church and gathered daily for prayer. They did not even have wax for candles, and the service was performed by the light of a splinter. But brighter than the flame of fire, their hearts burned with love for God. Their cassocks were worn out like the rags of beggars. St. Sergius celebrated the Liturgy using wooden vessels – a chalice and a diskos: the monks were so poor that they could not purchase vessels made of metal. A dense forest surrounded a small hermitage, the silence was broken only by the howling of wolves and the cries of night birds. Sometimes the animals also came to the skete to the monks. The Monk Sergius shared bread with a bear, and this terrible wild beast took food from his hands and lay meekly, like a sheep, at his feet. Now there is a huge Lavra on this place – the spiritual treasure of St. Sergius is enclosed in it, as in a huge stone ark that reflects the storms of centuries. Brothers and sisters! We say: Sergius of Radonezh is the mentor of monks. But what is monasticism? What vows does a monk make? First: non-acquisitiveness, then chastity, then obedience to one's abbot, bishop and all the brethren. Then – a vow to remain in the monastery until death and to engage in unceasing prayer. What does the word monk mean? In Greek, "monos" means one, lonely, one who has no one in the world except the Lord, for whom all people are alike, both strangers and relatives. In Russian, a monk is also called a monk, which means another, a person who leads a different life, which is different from the worldly life. He lives on earth, but his soul is directed towards God. He is among people, but in his heart he converses with angels and saints. In Georgian, a monk is "beri", that is, an elder who has become wise with spiritual experience. In Old Persian, "monk" means: one who seeks unity with God. What is the main thing in monasticism? Why are modern monks so far removed from the ancient ascetics? After all, they sincerely embarked on this path! And they were ready to leave everything! Why are they now helplessly beating like fish on ice?! Why are their souls not filled with joy and grace, like the souls of the ancient ascetics?! Why are there confusion, sorrow and anguish in them?! I include myself among these monks... Brothers and sisters, it is not only our world that is to blame for this. We are also to blame! Because they have forgotten that there is the most important thing in monastic life. Once Stoic philosophers came to St. Anthony the Great in the wilderness. The Stoics taught to despise the world, to endure suffering courageously, to be dispassionate about everything external. And so, in a conversation with the Monk Anthony, they asked: "You, monks, live chastely and take a vow of purity – we are also celibate; you have renounced the world, and we despise its blessings; our cloaks are as poor as your monastic robes; You talk about fasting, and we eat the simplest food. How are we different from you?" Anthony answered: "We keep our minds and hearts from all impurity, but you do not. We trust in God, and you trust in your own strength." The most important thing in monasticism is to guard the mind and heart! How to keep your mind? Ancient monks put a doll on their heads, it covered their faces, they looked at the ground, seeing nothing else. In the Patericon it is narrated how the abbot of a desert monastery had to visit the bishop in Alexandria out of necessity. When the abba returned, the monks asked him what he had seen on the way. He answered: "Nothing but the ground on which he has trodden." "And what did you see in Alexandria itself?" "I saw nothing, only I was at the bishop's, and when he dismissed me, he returned to you, saw nothing or anyone else, and did not raise his eyes from the ground." St. Syncliticia said: "For a monk, the eyes are the windows of death, through which temptations and temptations enter." If he does not look after his eyes, then his heart is a bitter-salty, ever-agitated sea. A monk must protect his ears from all worldly conversations and news; If a monk does not take care of his hearing, then his soul turns into a sponge that absorbs all the dirt. The life of a monk is a silent life. A monk must close his mouth. Some ascetics counted how many words they said in a day, and regretted that they could not say less. St. St. John Chrysostom writes: "In silence blossom the white lilies of contemplation and the scarlet roses of prayer." When a monk is engaged in worldly conversations, it is as if the fence of a garden was destroyed, and animals entered this garden, trampled on plants, broke off tree branches, trampled flowers, and left behind only dirt. This happens to a monk after long conversations. Therefore, brothers and sisters, if you need to ask the monks anything, know that long conversations with them destroy their inner peace. Those who talk to monks for a long time either do not understand the essence of monastic life, or are devoid of spiritual nobility. Thus, a true monk must be blind, deaf and dumb to the world. That is why we, unfortunate modern monks, do not have the grace of God in our souls, but only darkness and confusion! We belong to this world without being able to leave it internally. The Apostle Paul says: "I will not boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world" (Gal. 6:14). The Holy Fathers interpret these words in the following way: "I am crucified for the world" – this means that I have departed from the world; And "for me the world is crucified" means that I have not left a memory of it in my heart. So, brothers and sisters, the main work of monks is to guard their hearts and minds. But here there is still a struggle with the dark forces, with one's sinful memories, with one's dreams. And the Holy Fathers commanded not only monks, but also every Christian to engage in the Jesus Prayer. The Lord said: Enter into thy chamber, and shutting thy door, pray to thy Father... and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:6). The fathers said that this mysterious room, the cell, is our heart. We must enter there with the Jesus Prayer. The first gift of grace will be a vision of one's sins. Then man will see a dark force – a hellish dragon that shakes his thoughts, and the Name of God will enter into battle with the demons in the heart of man. Then a person passes through hell, as it were, through the darkness of struggle and spiritual suffering. But in this darkness the Lord gives him rays of heavenly light, and this light is more beautiful than all the beauties of the visible world, and the one who sees it, feels it in his heart, is ready to give his whole life in a moment. St. Anthony the Great said: "If people knew how difficult the monastic path is, then no one would become a monk. But if people knew what joy a true monk experiences and what reward he will have in eternity, then no one would remain in the world, everyone would rush to monasteries and deserts." Once the Monk Pachomius the Great had a vision: he saw the already deceased Equal-to-the-Apostles Emperor Constantine the Great. Emperor Constantine said to him: "Pachomius, how blessed are you, monks! If I had known this earlier, I would have gone to a monastery." He objected: "Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar, how much good you have done to the Church: you have stopped the persecution of Christians, you have erected churches and monasteries, you have helped to preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith, defending it from heretics." Emperor Constantine answered: "Pachomius! If I knew what reward is prepared for true monks, I would leave my kingdom, take off the royal crown and go into the wilderness." Brothers and sisters! St. Sergius of Radonezh is the abbot of the Russian land! His relics rest in the Trinity Lavra, but in his spirit he is where his name is called, where they pray to him. St. John of Zedaznia is the abbot of Georgia. From the height of Zedazeni, from this peak, as from a high throne, he surveys the whole of Georgia (they say that from Zedazeni you can see most of Georgia), with his spiritual eyes he sees all its people. The Monk Sergius lies with his body in the tomb, but people are constantly coming to him – more than if he himself went around the cities where these people live, and called them to him. May St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. John of Zedaznia give each of us what we need, what is necessary for our salvation! Today is the memory of the Apostle John the Theologian: in his old age he could not preach a sermon in church, but only repeated a few words: "Children, love one another!" The disciples asked him: "Father, why do you repeat the same words?" He answered: "Because in them, in these words, everything is contained: if you love one another, you will be saved, where there is love, there is God!!" May the Apostle John the Theologian, the Apostle of Love, give us this gift of grace, breathe love into our petrified, dark hearts! Amen.

About the Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Martyress Justinia

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Today the Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Martyr Cyprian and the Holy Martyr Justina. [1] The Lord called many of His saints from their youth – their whole lives are marked by the seal of special chosenness; Their path is straight and bright, it looks like a snow-white ladder, the top of which goes to the height of the heavens. Each day of the life of these saints is a new illumination of the Divine light. Their life is an unceasing ascent from strength to spiritual strength. The Lord allowed the devil to approach even Him with temptation, the devil tempts every person, but these saints pass through the fire of temptations unharmed, he does not scorch their angelic wings. They walk on the earth without defiling their feet with the filth of sin. There are also saints whom the Lord calls in adulthood, some in old age, others just before death. But there are, brothers and sisters, such saints who have traversed the terrible path of temptations and falls, who have drunk to the bottom of the cup of earthly delights, and who willingly fulfilled the will of the demons; it is as if they were brought back to life from eternal death, plucked out of the jaws of the devil, brought out of the most hellish abysses. The Church has preserved for us their lives in order to strengthen us in our hope in God, so that we do not despair of our salvation, even having the burden of the gravest sins behind us, seeing the past life empty as smoke and black with earthly filth, so that we do not fall into despair, so that we know that the light of hope shines even for the most bitter sinners. This is a great miracle of God, when sinners become saints, lechers become chaste, robbers become ascetics, when murderers end their lives with martyrdom for Christ. But an even more striking miracle is when a servant of demons becomes a devoted servant and hierarch of the Church of Christ. Thus, St. Cyprian, even in his infancy, was consecrated by his parents to demons. From childhood he was taught to sorcery, he participated in demonic mysteries. The demon gave him the power to work miracles, he could send illness and death, he could heal incurable ailments, he could cause storms and thunderstorms, he could dry up the earth with fire and drought. The pagans trembled at Cyprian and revered him as a certain deity. Later, St. Cyprian said that he was shown the kingdom of Satan, that he, accompanied by demons, approached the throne of Lucifer, around this throne flew a multitude of fallen spirits of hell, demons stood, as if warriors, surrounding the throne of the king. A light emanated from him, like lightning, which illuminates the darkness of the night with its blue brilliance. His eyes shone with fire like flame. At the sight of Cyprian, Satan rose from the throne, embraced him as if he were his friend, kissed him, and placed him on the throne with him. Once Satan took off his crown and put it on Cyprian's head, saying that of all people he was his most faithful son. He said to Cyprian: "As long as you live, my servants will fulfill all your wishes, and when you die, your soul will turn into one of the princes of hell, and you will be near me." Satan often exhorted Cyprian to be firm and cruel in sorcery and never to pronounce the name of Jesus Christ and never even to ask anyone who He was. Cyprian lived outside the city in a palace that belonged to him. People saw how during the day this palace was surrounded by a dark cloud, and at night - by some mysterious light. Pagans, passing by this place, fell to the ground and worshipped Cyprian as their deity. The whole country trembled with him. And so the Lord showed His great mercy, showed by the example of Cyprian that the path to salvation is open to every sinner – to each of us. Cyprian saw that his sorcery was powerless before the prayer and sign of the cross of the Virgin Justina, and he understood that the true God is Jesus Christ. He repented and became a Christian. Coming to the local bishop, Cyprian asked him for baptism. He was extremely amazed: this famous sorcerer, who caused so much harm to people, wants to be a Christian! He ordered Cyprian to give away all the books that he used for his sorcery. A whole mound was erected from these books, written in unknown Oriental languages. The bishop ordered them to be burned, they burned with difficulty; a stinking black cloud emanated from them, and voices were heard from the flames, groans and cries like human ones: "Woe to us, woe to us!" After this, the bishop ordered Cyprian to bring repentance before the whole Church. And so he began to confess: his confession was terrible, it chilled the blood of those who heard it. The Church prayed to God for the forgiveness of the former sorcerer and sorcerer, the former magician and murderer. The demon raised terrible temptations against Cyprian: in a material form he attacked him, inflicted blows and wounds on him, covered his body with festering ulcers – Cyprian endured all this as retribution for his former sins and glorified God for everything. The demon sometimes appeared to Cyprian and begged him to renounce Christ and return to him, promising him great riches and power over the whole world in return. Cyprian answered: "Now my only treasure is Christ God, and the highest honor for me is not to rule over the world, but to be a slave of Christ's servants." He began to serve as a doorkeeper in the church, stood at the door; As much as his life had been sinful and terrible before, so now it has become bright and holy. After the death of the bishop, Christians unanimously elected him their bishop, and during one of the persecutions against the Church, Saint Cyprian was condemned by the pagans to torture and death and was vouchsafed a second baptism – baptism in the blood shed for Christ. Brothers and sisters! Satan is the fallen first angel, he has retained his power to this day, only this power is directed towards evil. The ancient Christian writer Tertullian says that in hell the demons celebrate a black mass to Satan in a blasphemous imitation of our Liturgy, serving him as their god; And excerpts from this Mass are repeated on earth by the Magi and sorcerers. The Holy Church equates the sin of sorcery, fortune-telling, sorcery, and "healing" with conspiracies with the sin of murder and excommunicates those who commit it for twelve years from Holy Communion, and excommunicates those who go to sorcerers, fortune-tellers, and healers who perform these miracles with demonic power, as accomplices of murderers. Does this Black Mass still exist? The Lord came to destroy the kingdom of hell, but in this kingdom includes a person who voluntarily, that is, consciously (or even unconsciously) turns to the forces of Satan and hell. I am talking about those who seek healing and help from so-called psychics, hypnotists, occultists, spiritualists, adherents of Eastern mysticism, yoga and various branches of Buddhism. In our age, these occult satanic teachings have spread in a wide stream throughout the earth. There are two types of magic: "black" and "white". Black magic openly does evil to a person, causes him misfortune, illness and death - black magic is like a murderer with a blood-spattered axe in his hands, it is easy to recognize it. At first glance, white magic is a different kind of magic, it is hidden, disguised under the guise of good. People who practice it talk about some kind of "healing powers" that they possess. This magic is covered by external complacency, and, like a murderer, he can sometimes come not with an axe in his hands, but like his best friend – in order to disguise himself and do his dirty deed with even greater ease. People who voluntarily give themselves up to what is now called "mass hypnosis" are included in the dark world. The Lord has granted man free will; free will distinguishes him from the animal. If man did not have this free will, he would be a simple mechanism, an automaton. In hypnosis, a person gives his will to an unknown force. He becomes a toy, becomes a machine, an automaton in someone else's hands. If any of you have been present at hypnosis sessions, you know in what ridiculous, ridiculous positions the hypnotized person can find himself, he is the spiritual victim of the hypnotist. Subjected to hypnosis, they become susceptible to any influence, these people, under the influence of someone's stronger will, can commit various, the most terrible, crimes. Brothers and sisters! Hypnosis, even when it is aimed at healing, is the power of Satan: a person here gives up his soul for his temporary well-being, for his body, which will still undergo illness, death and decay after a while, he inwardly rejects Christ the Savior. During hypnosis, a person is presented with a non-existent picture – he sees mirages in reality. And the devil in the Holy Fathers is precisely called an artist and a painter. Thus, a person, under the influence of a hypnotist, enters a non-existent world of lies, a world of illusions. Then those who were hypnotized said that at that moment they had such a feeling as if everything was floating in front of their eyes, they lost consciousness, like a person who had taken a drug. In our time, so-called psychics have appeared, claiming that they can heal people with some inherent powers, calling these forces either living electricity, or bioenergetics, or biocurrents, etc. But, brothers and sisters, this is also a demonic force! Yes, many saints performed healings, but before that they cleansed their hearts of passions for a long time, lived an ascetic life, and moreover never sought the gift of healing; they sought from God only the forgiveness of their sins, and the gift of healing was a reward from the Lord or a form of their service to people. And these so-called "psychics" are not people of high morality at all: they can be "believers", they can also be non-believers – it is indifferent to them. Few of them live spiritual lives. Moreover, these psychics agree on one thing – they say that the power they possess is the power that the Eastern mystics knew, who allegedly used it, but then its origins were lost. And who are these so-called "Eastern mystics"? These are oriental sorcerers and occultists. This is black magic, its terrible rituals. For example, in Eastern Tibetan monasteries there were rituals during which human flesh was eaten. Brothers and sisters! In the West, there is an organization called the "Church of Satan," if the word "church" can be used here to refer to this terrible society. There is also something similar to a black mass. St. Basil the Great said: "Satan is the monkey of God," – just as the monkey imitates us, as if teasing man, so Satan imitates, tries to imitate Christ, but to imitate in order to mock Christianity itself, humiliating it. And so in the "church of Satan" there is a kind of cruel parody, a caricature of our worship: wine is poured into human skulls, and these "cups" go around all those present, and they blasphemously call it "sacrament of Satan" – and each time new skulls are used. Much will become clear if you pay attention to what hypnotists and psychics say about themselves. One of them, I will not name him, said: "Something special happens to me: from eleven o'clock at night to four o'clock in the morning, I hear voices around and inside me – these voices tell me what I should do, how I should treat people. And after that, I feel a special power in myself, I can muffle the consciousness of any person!" Of course, these are not good spirits. Another hypnotist said publicly, "I am as sure of myself as Satan himself..." The third psychic said: "I can penetrate the body of any person with my spirit, and not only see it, but also live in it." So, at the present time, magic and the occult are embracing the world. The Holy Fathers wrote that in the last times the dark spirit will try to seduce, to lure into its nets the elect, that is, even those who are in the Church of Christ. Just as Caiaphas gave Judas thirty pieces of silver, so the devil tries to bribe us with his pieces of silver – our temporal well-being, so that we renounce Christ and betray Him inwardly. Brothers and sisters! What should we, Christians, do? First of all, pray and repent! When the light is on in the house at night, the thief does not dare to get inside, but waits until the light goes out. As long as prayer is in our hearts, Satan cannot harm us, but he waits for it to fade away. One of the Holy Fathers, St. John Kolov, said: "I am like a man who is surrounded by wild beasts. He climbed a tree, grabbed the branches and sat on it, and the animals were below..." The disciples asked him what this meant, and he answered: "Wolves are demons, and the tree is prayer. When the demons approach me, I pray intensely, and they cannot approach me, but keep a watchful eye to see if I will not abandon my prayer." Thus, we can oppose these demonic forces only with repentance, humility and prayer, as well as the sign of the cross, which our Lord Himself gave us as a weapon against the devil. Brothers and sisters! Now is the time of universal lack of spirituality, which is why the dark forces act so decisively, so openly, with such power and success. Maybe some of you have seen how the leaves around the nuclear power plant fall from the trees in early summer, as in autumn, the grass is stunted and yellowed. In the same way, our earth – spiritually – is affected by radiation, sin and pride. All the more lofty podvig is required of a Christian, a feat of love and prayer. The Hieromartyr Cyprian served Satan, then he entered into a terrible, painful battle with him, and the Lord for this feat granted the holy grace to help us in the struggle with the devil. Therefore, in moments of temptation and danger, call upon the names of Saints Cyprian and Justina. The demon forbade Cyprian, when he was still a sorcerer, to pronounce the name of Jesus Christ. And St. John of the Ladder writes: "In the name of Jesus Christ, beat the adversary." The name of Christ and the memory of death are a great weapon against the demon. The name of Christ not only protects our soul, but also, like fire, scorches the demon, like a sword, smites him. Brothers and sisters! I congratulate you on the feast day – the day of remembrance of the Holy Martyrs Cyprian and Justina; Their lives remind us that our earthly path, and even more so in this terrible time, is the path of a fierce struggle with the devil. May the Lord help us! Amen. Commemoration of St. Cyprian and St. Mts. The Church celebrates St. Justin's on October 2/15. –Red. ^

About the Apostle Thomas

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters, today the Church celebrates the memory of the Holy Apostle Thomas. After the crucifixion and burial of Christ the Savior, this apostle dwelt in heavy and gloomy despondency. It seemed to him that all hopes had been completely destroyed, and the Kingdom that Christ had promised would never come. Having heard the news of Christ's resurrection from the dead, the Apostle Thomas was afraid to believe it: if it turned out to be false, one could fall into hopeless despair. The news of the resurrection of Christ the Savior filled the hearts of the myrrh-bearers and disciples with unearthly joy, filled the entire primitive Church with invisible light. But the heart of the Apostle Thomas was immersed in gloomy doubts and anguish. To the testimony of the Apostles that the Lord Himself appeared to them, Thomas answered: "Except I see in His hands the wounds of the nails, and put my finger into the wounds of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). Brothers and sisters! In the Jerusalem Church of the Resurrection of Christ, a wondrous miracle occurs every year. They try to keep silent about this great miracle, but no one can refute it. On Holy Saturday, the Patriarch of Jerusalem or the eldest of the metropolitans, wearing one cassock and with a bundle of 33 candles in each hand, enters the small church – the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre. In the Church of the Resurrection, the lamps and lights are extinguished, it plunges into silence and twilight. The Church prays that the Lord would reveal His miracle – the Holy Fire. And so the candles in the hands of the First Hierarch light up by themselves. Palestine from the seventh century was in the hands of the Mohammedans, and now in the hands of the Jews. The Turks and Arabs would like to refute this miracle. Before the Patriarch or the senior metropolitan enters the Edicule of the Holy Sepulchre, the Mohammedans search him to see if he is secretly carrying some flint with him. Then they look at what is happening in the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and witness for themselves how the candles suddenly burst into flames. The First Hierarch brings out two sheaves of candles and distributes them to the people. Those standing in the church light candles for each other. In a few minutes, the entire church is illuminated, as in daytime, from a multitude of candles and lamps. It seems to turn into a sea of fire. The Holy Fire has special properties. In the first minutes, it only shines, but does not burn. People try to touch this heavenly flame with their faces. Miraculous healings often occur. The descent of the Holy Fire takes place in Jerusalem every time before Easter, on Holy Saturday (Old Style) and only when the Orthodox Patriarch serves. The Holy Fire descended this year as well. The Holy Fire signifies the victorious news of the Resurrection of Christ. And the candle of the Apostle Thomas seemed to be still extinguished. But Christ did not reject His doubting disciple. The Lord again appeared to the Apostles and said to Thomas: "Put thy finger hither, and see My hands; Give thy hand and put it into my side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing (John 20:27) (that is: believe in My Resurrection). The Apostle Thomas confessed his faith, exclaiming: "My Lord and my God! Jesus Christ, meekly rebuking him, said, "Thou hast believed, because thou hast seen me; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:28-29). Brothers and sisters! What do these words mean? The Apostle Thomas wanted to replace faith with knowledge. He wanted the testimony of faith not to be in his soul and heart, but as if on the tips of his fingers, with which he touched the wounds of Jesus Christ. If the Lord gave us an obvious proof of His existence (and many of us wonder why the Lord did not clearly prove to everyone that He is the Creator and Master of the world, and, as King Solomon put it, as if He hides His face in a fog), if we saw with our own eyes and knew that God exists, then there would be no reward for our faith. The existence of God would not require faith from us, but would only be an evidence, a testimony of our eyes. The Lord wanted faith to be something else, that is, a spiritual insight, an inner vision of the human heart; that man may seek God with his love. So, brothers and sisters, our faith is rewarded by God; our faith is a moral act because it is free, for man is free to determine himself before Eternity: whether he is with God or without God. St. John Chrysostom asks: "And why did the Lord not appear in the midst of Jerusalem after the Resurrection? Why didn't the Lord put to shame those who crucified Him?" "Then," writes St. John Chrysostom, "perhaps those who rejected Him would have believed if they had seen the Risen One?" If the Lord had descended from heaven to Jerusalem, those who crucified Him yesterday would have wanted to crucify Him again!" After all, this is absurd! But St. John Chrysostom says that in general any sin is absurdity and madness. When sin takes possession of a person, he becomes his own enemy. A person in a fit of anger can punch himself in the face, throw himself into an abyss, or stab himself with a knife, being as if insane. Is it possible to wish for the death of God? Can. Satan is an example of this. He knows that there is an Almighty God, and at the same time he fights against Him. Satan knows that God is good, and at the same time he tries to tear people away from Him through their sins. Satan knows that God is love itself, and yet he hates God. Therefore, the unrepentant sinner, being like Satan, also hates Christ the Savior in his heart. There are various demonic societies in the world. People who are part of them are called Satanists. In America, for example, there is a "church of Satan." The rites of this "church" and the special demon services – the black masses – are a monstrous blasphemy and a vile parody of Christian worship. In France, there are tens of thousands of so-called Luciferians, worshippers of Satan. They also have their own special journals. And in these magazines there are special pages called "How would you like to kill Jesus Christ if you tried Him?" and on these pages is a picture of Christ being burned, chopped to pieces, and subjected to other terrible torments. Therefore, even those who know that God exists can hate Him with all their hearts. And the Lord, out of His mercy, did not appear to everyone in Jerusalem, but only to the apostles and disciples, so that the burden of new sins would not be imposed on His enemies. The God-Man Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected, His Sacrifice on Golgotha redeemed all mankind. A second death at the hands of enemies would only be a second curse on them. Thus, brothers and sisters, the Lord hides Himself from us, so that we may seek Him with all the strength of our souls. He also hides Himself from us so that the unworthy, knowing that there is a God – the Lord of the world, will not respond to this with one immeasurable satanic hatred. Unbelief has different causes: there is simple ignorance and there is false knowledge. For example, for a long time religion was laughed at, it was humiliated, and it was caricatured. As a result, people had a false idea of what faith and Christianity were. This is wrong knowledge. Ignorance and incorrect knowledge can disappear when a person becomes more familiar with Christianity. There is still another ignorance – volitional ignorance, unwillingness to know because of sins and sensual passions, with which a person does not want to fight. True faith requires a continuous change in oneself, an unceasing struggle with sin and passions. And a person who is given over to passions does not want to know about God, so as never to part with his favorite passions and to avoid the hard work of purifying his soul. And finally, there is unbelief due to spiritual pride: a person does not want anyone, not even the Lord, to be above him. At first the Apostle Thomas showed unbelief, but then, according to the words of St. John Chrysostom, he showed great zeal and with the preaching of the Gospel he reached South India. Here he was executed and buried. In the IV century, part of his relics was transported from India to Byzantium, and from Byzantium the head of the Apostle Thomas was transferred to Georgia during the fall of Constantinople and is now kept in the Zion Cathedral in Tbilisi. Many of us have unbelieving relatives. How we wish that the eyes of their hearts would be opened, that they would feel the reality of eternal life, and that they would confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior! But often, when you talk to them, it seems that you are addressing a sleeping person or a person with a petrified heart. What is needed to convert them? Prayer is needed most of all. We must pray to the Apostle Thomas, that through his prayers the Lord would grant faith to those who doubt and do not believe. The Apostle Thomas himself experienced difficult days of doubt and unbelief, which were then replaced by ardent repentance and unshakable devotion to Christ the Savior. In addition, brothers and sisters, we must pray to the Apostle Thomas for the strengthening of our weak, weak faith. We believe in God, but we live as if He does not exist and Christ the Savior did not come to earth. We believe in God, but we do not fulfill His commandments, and therefore our faith is not like the life-giving light of the sun, but like the cold brilliance of distant stars. The Apostle Thomas ended the days of his life in India as a martyr. A Christian temple was built over his tomb. And there is the following narration in the life of the Apostle: "Once, early in the morning," said a priest who served in this church, "two men with long hair and waist-length beards came into the church. Their clothes were only narrow loincloths made of branches and leaves. The eldest of them called the priest and said, "I myself am descended from an ancient Brahmin family, and even in my youth I wanted to remain celibate. But according to the law, a Brahmin must have children so that they can perform a funeral rite on him when he dies. And against my will, according to the covenant of the caste, I took a girl from the Brahmin family. Only once in my life did I know her in order to have a child. And we had a son. When he was a few years old, I left home and went with him to the forest. Our food was the fruit of trees and roots. Day and night we sang hymns to the One God. And then a man of splendid appearance met me and asked: "Do you want to know the Truth and be saved?" The stranger answered, "You do not yet know the true God, but the Lord, seeing your hearts, has sent me to you. I am Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ." We were surprised, "Sir, we don't know anything about Christ. Who is He?" Thomas continued: 'Go to the temple dedicated to me, ask the priest, and he will tell you, and then be baptized and be saved.'" "And here I and my son," said the Brahmin, "have come hither. Baptize us." The priest told them about the Savior Jesus Christ. They accepted his story with great joy and said that they were ready to be baptized. He baptized them, and then celebrated the Divine Liturgy. They prayed so fervently that the priest was surprised: he had never seen such a fervent prayer. Then the newly-baptized communed of Christ's Holy Mysteries, and their faces shone, especially the youngest, who began to look like an angel. Father and son bowed to the priest and went back into the woods. He did not see them again. Brothers and sisters! May the Apostle Thomas strengthen our weak and feeble faith! In order to truly believe in God, you need to live according to the commandments. Whoever lives according to the commandments of God, who has the name of Jesus Christ in his heart, is a preacher of the Gospel. Whoever fulfills the will of God silently proclaims to the world the greatness of Christ the Savior without words, because such a person is full of unearthly love and himself exudes light from his heart. But he who truly believes in Christ is also a martyr in this world, because the malice of Satan and unrepentant sinners rises up against him. If you take a lit candle and bring it to a hole where snakes or scorpions live, they will not turn to the light, but will want to bite the hand that carries the candle. In the same way, the world has always persecuted and will continue to persecute true Christians. Therefore, all truly believing Christians, on the one hand, are great sufferers on this sinful earth, and on the other, the happiest people, for the Lord says: He who has My commandments and keeps them loves Me; but whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself (John 14:21). He will appear in the grace of the Holy Spirit, who will illumine the human heart. And even a drop of this Divine grace will absorb and dissolve the sea of human suffering. And then, feeling the Lord in the Holy Spirit, the soul will exclaim, like the Apostle Thomas: "Thou art my Lord and God forever!" Amen.

On the Holy Forefathers, the Righteous of the Old Testament

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Today we celebrate the memory of the Holy Forefathers, the righteous of the Old Testament, who lived before the coming of Jesus Christ. This day, this feast, as it were, takes our thought to the beginning of the creation of the world. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Thus begins the most majestic, wondrous and intimate of all books – the Bible. There are so many words in the Bible, so many mysteries in it! The Holy Fathers revealed to us that the word "heaven" refers to the spiritual realms, the angelic worlds. Instantly, according to the word of God, from non-existence and darkness were summoned to life, wondrous radiant spirits were created, which reflected in themselves the light, grace and beauty of the Holy Trinity. Primordial earth refers to a chaotic substance, like molten metal, which the craftsman pours into precise molds that have already been prepared. The ground was formless. An impenetrable haze stood over it, it was empty, there were no signs of life, only a vast, boundless ocean stretched, where there was neither shore nor island, only darkness over the abyss, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:2). As an eagle under its wings warms a still helpless chick, so the grace of God gradually gave life to the world. The Lord said: Let there be light (Gen. 1:3), and the abyss of darkness turned into an abyss of light, which clothed the earth, in the words of the Psalmist, like a wondrous robe. It was not sunlight – the luminaries had not yet been created. The mysterious cosmic light faded and then flared up again. And the Prophet Moses wrote: "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Gen. 1:5). And the Lord divided between light and darkness. Biblical creation begins in the evening. And in ancient times, the day began in the evening, and now the church, temple service begins in the evening, as if in the same rhythm with the creation of the world. Brothers and sisters! Some of the Holy Fathers, including Athanasius, Clement of Alexandria, and Basil the Great, understood the "day" as follows: in the Bible, it means a period of time, but does not specify its duration. This is the so-called period theory. Other Fathers, including John Chrysostom, taught that the creation of the world was given by revelation, either to Adam, who told his descendants about it, or to the prophet Moses. In a few moments, the entire history of the universe was revealed to man. And that is why he named the main phenomena of creation, its main stages, by days. Still others said that the mystery of creation was revealed by an angel to Adam's son Seth. The angel told him in human language about something that cannot be fully expressed even in angelic tongues. Thus, when we talk about some great events with a small child, we choose words and expressions that are accessible to him. And here the word "day" means a certain stage, a certain cycle of creation. It was the first evening and the morning of the first day. The second day was marked by the creation of heaven, which in the Bible is called the firmament. The prophet David says: You... stretch out the heavens as a tent" (Psalm 103:2). In the Bible, the word "heaven" is used in several meanings. The first sky visible to our eyes is the Earth's atmosphere. The second is interstellar space. The third is the spiritual, not the material heaven, the center of God's grace, the sphere where the angels and the souls of the saints dwell. It is said about him in the prayer: Our Father who art in heaven! (Matt. 6:9). The Apostle Paul was ascended to the third heaven in the Holy Spirit. On the second day, the first heaven and atmosphere were created. On the third day, the Lord separated the dry land from the water. Water has gathered in the oceans and seas, as in huge reservoirs. Dry land appeared, mountains, hills and plains were formed on it, and streams of water flowed over them. As the Psalmist says: "They ascend the mountains, they descend into the valleys, to the place which Thou hast appointed for them" (Psalm 103:8). The ground was covered with a wonderful carpet of trees and shrubs, grasses and flowers. At that time, the world was still young and full of energy. The trunks of giant trees were twined with ivy and vines, the flowers were unusually bright. Everything spoke of the youth of the land. Then, on the fourth day, the Lord creates the heavenly bodies. And here, in this act of creation, is the great mystery of God's wisdom. The earth is not just a part of the world – the earth was created first. The rest of the world, the rest of the cosmos was created for its sake. If in its size the Earth is only a small particle of the universe, then in its significance it is the spiritual center of the entire Universe, because here, on Earth, the Lord, the Creator of the world, descended. From this earth He took on His human flesh; here on Earth, He crushed the power and power of the devil. Brothers and sisters, how little the human heart is, but in it passes, in it all spiritual life is concentrated! No matter how small the Earth is in comparison with the vast Universe, it is mystically its center. The Lord created the Sun and other luminaries, created the times: years, months, days, time passed in a certain rhythm for him. What a wonderful picture the sky was, sparkling with billions of stars! These stars looked like precious diamonds, heavenly lamps, and wondrous flowers. This heaven was supposed to teach people the greatness, beauty and wisdom of God, according to what is written in the Psalms: "The heavens proclaim the glory of God" (Psalm 18:2). According to legend, some of the saints (the holy forefather Abraham and the Great Martyr Barbara) came to the knowledge of God, contemplating the starry sky. On the fifth day, the Lord creates living flesh, living creatures: reptiles, fish, and birds. And here there is its own consistency, its own gradualness. And on the sixth day, according to the word of the Lord, the earth brings forth a living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth... (Gen. 1:24). Brothers and sisters! Plants have life, but their soul is only a force capable of nourishment and growth. Animals have a soul, but it is completely different from the human soul. Animals are guided by instincts, they have only feelings and ideas – the rudiments of thought, but they cannot rise from this earth with their thoughts, they are completely attached to it, they are mortal, just as matter is mortal. And then the Lord creates man – the crown of the universe. He prepares the universe for man, as if it were a kind of house. The Lord creates man from the earth and breathes into him the spirit of life. And therefore, being in body close to other creatures living on earth, in his spirit man is like the Angels. The Bible begins with the words: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). And in the human being himself, heaven and earth are united. Through man, the transformation and spiritualization of the entire Cosmos, the entire Universe must take place. Of the creatures created by God, only man is His image and likeness. God is a great Wisdom, and man is given reason. God is Spirit, and the soul of man is not material. God is Love, and man is given the opportunity to develop in himself this feeling, which likens him to God. For the more he is able to love, the closer he is to God, the fuller his life, the happier he is here on earth, in the midst of adversity and vicissitude. God is eternal, and the soul of man is immortal. Man is not only the image, but also the likeness of God, that is, he can be like God in his life. He is given free will, he is given a choice: how to act. This is the great dignity of man, but it is also the great responsibility and danger for him. In freedom of will lies the beginning of man's eternal salvation, in freedom of will and the possibility of eternal perdition. Brothers and sisters! Today the Church celebrates the memory of the righteous of the Old Testament, commemorates the creation of the world: the bliss of paradise, the Fall, and then the painful search for the lost paradise, or, on the contrary, the insane enjoyment of sin. The Holy Fathers divided the entire history of mankind into periods of human life. They said that the time from Adam to Noah was the childhood of mankind, its infancy. After the flood, Noah received a new covenant from God. Humanity has entered a different age, a different period of its life. The time from Noah to Abraham is the adolescence of mankind. To Abraham the Lord gave greater promises. The time from Abraham to Moses is youth. The Lord gave the Prophet Moses the Ten Commandments – the basis of the Old Testament. The time from Moses to Christ the Savior is a time of maturity and courage for mankind. Christ brought the Gospel, and this, brothers and sisters, is the last revelation. In the Apocalypse it is said: the everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6). There will be no other revelations. That is why the New Testament says: Children! (1 John 2:18). Some people misunderstand these words. But "the end time" means the last period when everything has been fulfilled, when everything has already been revealed to humanity. And when the end will be, only the Lord Himself knows. To the disciples' question about the time of the end of the world, the Savior did not give an answer... So, brothers and sisters, today the Church remembers the Holy Forefathers. They did not see Christ, but they believed in His coming, they did not have the Holy Gospel in their hands, but obeyed the law of their conscience, the unwritten book inscribed in their hearts. The Holy Fathers say: "Our conscience is like a spring. If we clear this spring, listen to our conscience, then our conscience will speak louder and clearer about what we should do. If we silence our conscience, it will dry up like a spring that has been covered with mud, sand and stones." Brothers and sisters, forefathers, saw Christ with the eyes of their faith, and some – in prophetic insight. They fulfilled the will of Christ, doing deeds of kindness, love, and forgiveness. In the Bible there are the words: "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who did no evil" (the prayer of Manasseh, king of Judah, the rite of singing the 12 Psalms). St. Demetrius of Rostov asks: "How can it be that all people do evil, why is it said of them: 'They have not done evil?'" And he explains these words as follows: "In their lives they did not wish any harm to anyone, in their lives they did not want to offend or offend a single person." Thus, brothers and sisters, the holy forefathers are Christians who lived before Christ. Amen.

Manifestations of demonic forces in our days

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! The Holy Church celebrates today the memory of the forefathers, the saints who lived before the coming of Christ the Savior into the world, in the times of the Old Testament. The Bible – this Book of Books, as well as the Holy Tradition of the Church, tell us about the creation of the world, about the fall of man, about the life of people on earth – in the land of exile, about the great feats of faith and about the depths of the fall of mankind. The Bible is a book of Truth, so it shows both the light and the shadows of human history. Blessed Augustine divided the history of mankind into several stages, similar to the age of man. The first period: from Adam to Noah – the infancy of mankind; from Noah to Abraham – the adolescence of mankind; from Abraham to Moses, youth; from Moses to Christ, courage; from Christ to the end of the world – the last period – the old age of mankind. Old age seems to sum up the entire life that has passed. Often the very old age is similar to infancy: so the end is similar to the beginning. That is why the Lord warned: "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:37). What happened in the days of Noah, brothers and sisters? The Lord says: "All flesh has perverted its way on earth" (Gen. 6:12), that is, faith has disappeared. All the feelings, all the interests, all the strivings of man have acquired a crudely sensual character. Man has forgotten about his homeland – heaven, man has clung to the earth with his heart. So also the Lord said about the end of the world: "When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). What faith? Living faith, which becomes the basis of a person's entire life. The Lord is not speaking here about dead faith – demons also believe in God, not about dead, empty, cold faith, which can be in the soul of a person, but he still remains spiritually barren – an empty flower. As the Bible and Holy Tradition relate, the Earth was stained with human blood in antediluvian times: brother rose up against brother and killed him. And speaking of the last times, the Lord foretold: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:12). In one synaxarion (a summary of the event of a feast or the life of a saint) of the Ethiopian Church, there are these words: "People will be so angry, so insensitive, that a mother will regret giving the breast to her own child." Brothers and sisters, the Lord spoke of a time of spiritual estrangement, when a brother will be indifferent to his brother in trouble and misfortune, when parents will be insensitive to their children, and children will be cruel to their parents. Then, as St. Demetrius of Rostov writes in the "Holy Chronicle", the whole earth in antediluvian times was desecrated by depravity, poisoned by sorcery and magic. So, before the flood, in the days of Noah's life, satanic cults, witchcraft, sorcery, idolatry, or, what is the same thing, demon worship, modern occultism flourished – all this led mankind to extreme corruption. The Lord said: "My Spirit shall not dwell in these men for ever, for they are not flesh" (Gen. 6:3). What is the Spirit of God? The Spirit of God is the grace of God: thus, brothers and sisters, when you approach a monastery, you feel that there is a completely different atmosphere, it is as if you breathe more easily, and peace and tranquility reign in your heart. And vice versa, if you are in places where sin and debauchery are committed, then it is difficult for you there, as if the very air, the very walls of buildings are stained and defiled with impurity. And so, the spiritual atmosphere that surrounds our earth depends on our choice – good or evil. One can often hear the question: when will the end of the world come? This is a great secret, it is not revealed to people. But we know the signs of its approach: at the end of the world love will be lost (Matt. 24:12); at the end of the world faith will dry up, fade and die (Luke 18:8). Therefore, we must take special care of these two virtues. As long as love is alive, the world will exist, but when it disappears, the world will perish, decay like a corpse. Brothers and sisters! I have already said that we ourselves create a spiritual atmosphere – good or evil, and in it are found the manifestations of holiness and, conversely, the phenomena of spiritual fall. Now we see that the spiritual atmosphere is becoming more and more infected with sin, with various passions. I will give examples from our modern life: you, of course, have heard the name "jazz music", but what is it, where did it come from? - it was brought by blacks from the central regions of Africa; There, this music was ritual, to its sounds sacrifices to idols, magical dances and rituals were performed. Then it came to other peoples in a slightly modified form, and now, listening to this strange music, people, without realizing it, at the level of the subconscious find themselves included in the rhythm of these occult dances and singing. And here is another music that originated from the same jazz, the so-called "rock music". It also has a deep occult character and affects people in such a way that they lose their will, sometimes fall into convulsions, hysterics, and so on; Sometimes after concerts of this music there are mass massacres, murders, people act as if under the influence of some kind of hypnosis. All this creates the satanic, dark spiritual background of the world in which we live today. Then, drug addiction is now very common. But this is not just a purely physical or mental phenomenon: it also has deep occult roots. The Greek priests of the temples of Apollo, the shamans of the northern peoples, the idolaters of the African deserts, the fortune-tellers – all of them brought themselves to a state in which they could really communicate with the dark force by inhaling the incense of herbs like hashish or using other drugs. In other words, drugs were one of the means to communicate with the demonic world. And today the spread of drug addiction is also an offensive of the occult satanic world on humanity, it is the creation of a terrible black background over the earth. And it would seem that such a common habit as smoking has anything to do with occultism and magic! But do you know where this custom came from? It originated from the ritual, magical actions of the North American Indians. When they had any difficult problems to solve, they summoned the spirits: they sat in a circle, as spiritualists do, took a pipe and, pronouncing magical incantations, smoked from it, then passed it to a neighbor and so smoked in turn, then sat in silence until one of them "felt" the answer of the spirit they were summoning and told them its will. Thus, even such a widespread custom as smoking has its occult, its sorcery, its demonic connections and sources. It is not for nothing that people who lived before, without knowing it, nevertheless guessed, saw in smoking some hidden, very dark and vile meaning. The Bible says that when the Lord commanded Aaron to perform the duties of high priest, He was especially strict in indicating the order of incense – how to light the censer and how to put incense into it (Exodus 30:7-10). Other offerings were not so strictly spoken of as of this great sacred rite. Even the sons of Aaron were struck by God and died because they put someone else's fire into the censer before the sacrament, taken not from the altar, but outside the sanctuary. And ordinary smoking is also a form of incense, incense to dark spirits, although, of course, people do not know, do not understand this. And this widespread custom further thickens the satanic atmosphere, the clouds of satanic darkness that hang more and more tightly over the world. The Lord foretold that there would be signs in heaven in the end time. There were signs when Jerusalem fell, when a comet was seen in the sky and around it the ghosts of people were seen dispersing, then coming together again, it seemed that these were two armies fighting against each other, and voices were heard from the temple: "Let us depart from here..." When Constantinople, the stronghold of Orthodoxy, fell, bloody fires were also seen in the sky in the east. When Jesus Christ was born, the star announced this as well. And at the end of the world various signs must appear in heaven (Matt. 24:29-30; Mk. 13:24; Lk. 21:25). However, the Lord warned not only about them. The Lord also said that in the last days many false prophets would come, they would work false miracles, and these miracles would amaze the imagination of people. And those who do not have the grace of the Holy Spirit in themselves will easily follow liars as their saviors (Matt. 24:5; Mk. 13:6). Some people ask: is it possible to be treated with suggestion sessions? The hypnotists who perform these sessions do not hide the fact that they studied according to the so-called Eastern systems. And what are these Eastern systems? What is, for example, yoga? All this is closely related to the occult. According to the word of the Lord, the devil will want to deceive all mankind with false miracles, and even the elect will hardly be saved (Matt. 24:4). The elect means Orthodox Christians, those who stand in the truth of the Gospel, those who receive the Mysteries of Christ, and the spirit of falsehood will try to deceive them: it will deceive them with visible blessings, healings, and the like. But these healings, like everything that is done by the dark force, are unstable, illusory. Even non-believers notice this: in Bulgaria, a study of such TV sessions was conducted, and so what? While these sessions were taking place, it was as if there were no calls to the ambulance, fewer doctors were called, but this lasted only a short time, and then the diseases flared up with renewed vigor, and what is most terrible - a wave of suicides swept over. There is no healing here, but only a dulling of painful sensations, a temporary slowing down of the course of the disease itself, as if, for example, a patient suffering from pain was given an injection of morphine and he ceased to feel pain; Subjectively, he feels healthy at that moment, but this does not mean that he has recovered, the effect of morphine will wear off, and the disease will return to him with even greater force. The same is true in cases of extrasensory perception: only imaginary healing will bring not imaginary, but real disintegration to the human soul. Perhaps someone is perplexed: why did all this not happen before, why did all this begin to spread now? I have already said: because a heavy spiritual background, a heavy spiritual atmosphere in which we live has been created. I will give you a simple example: perhaps you remember how you rejoiced in your childhood, how your soul rejoiced when the holidays came? And now we are completely insensitive, as if crushed to the ground by some terrible force, some spiritual pressure. Brothers and sisters! What does the demon want first of all? To stop praying. When prayer ceases, then this restraining force, the veil that protects us from the dark forces of hell, will be taken away, and then the demon will be able to show his power: he will attract people to himself, imitating Christ in signs and wonders, and will amaze their imagination... But these miracles will not make anyone better, they will not resurrect human souls, they will only discourage and force those who reject Christ to follow the devil as their savior. Remember: the demon wants the prayer to be extinguished, this obstacle to his actions to disappear. Look at our lives – how little time prayer takes us! Remember, we used to pray more earnestly and longer, but now we are gradually shortening prayer more and more. Many of us even go to bed without the prayers that are obligatory for every Christian; when they wake up, they do not read the morning prayers, they have brought the prayer to a minimum, most often they read only the Lord's Prayer before going to bed, and then in a hurry, so quickly, as if they want to "get rid of" it too. It is the demon who tries to bring us into such a state of eternal haste – as if we always have no time, and he makes sure that we abandon prayer. This is how the barrier to the dark forces is destroyed. But remember, remember, brothers and sisters, our lives, the fate of the entire Earth and humanity depend on the prayer of each of us, on our prayers, which come together as a single stream. Amen.

On the Massacre of the Infants of Bethlehem

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Brothers and sisters! Today the Holy Church celebrates the memory of the martyrs [1]. On the day of the Annunciation, a wondrous star shone in the east. According to the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, the brilliance of this star was so bright that it was visible even on a clear day. St. St. John Chrysostom says that this extraordinary star was an angelic apparition, a living creature that showed the way to the Bethlehem cave, where Christ was born. Several centuries before the birth of Christ, the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel lived in Babylon. Daniel strikingly clearly indicated the time of the coming of the Son of God to earth. The wise men of Babylon were familiar with his prophecy, since Daniel himself was a confidant of the Babylonian king and the head of his wise men. His prophecies were passed down from generation to generation. By the time of the Nativity of Christ, it seems, the whole world was waiting for a light to shine from Judea, for the Savior of mankind to come. Even the pagan sibyl prophetesses spoke of this. Even the pagan poet Virgil wrote an ode about the birth of the Child, Who will reconcile heaven with earth and bring peace to earth. The Chinese chronicles mention that by this time the Chinese emperor was sending his envoys to Judea to find out if a great King had been born there... And so, when the Magi saw the extraordinary star, they understood that this was a sign that God's promises had been fulfilled, that the star was calling them to itself, to follow it. And leaving their homes, their families, they set out on a long and dangerous journey. On the way to Bethlehem, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem. There they asked the scribes and lawyers where the King of the Jews was to be born. They answered: "According to the prophecies, in Bethlehem." The Magi said, "We have seen His star." They thought that all Jerusalem would come out to greet their King. However, confusion began in the city. The streets were deserted, as if before a terrible storm. It was as if the inhabitants of Jerusalem were not expecting salvation, but some formidable punishment. Herod, king of Judea, summoned the Magi to him and began to ask them about the birth of a wondrous Child. Then said, "On the way back, tell me about Him, so that I too may go and worship Him." Who was Herod? One of the strangers, an Edomite, who, with the help of Rome, seized power over Judea. In him, the fury of a tiger was combined with the cunning of a snake. All his way to the throne, he strewn with the corpses of his opponents. Every step he took to the throne was marked by terrible crimes, even one of which would have made his name cursed for posterity. When Herod had not yet seized full power in his hands, the Sanhedrin, this supreme tribunal, tried to resist him. Herod was summoned to the Sanhedrin to give an account of his crimes. And so Herod appeared, not as the accused, who was obediently ready to answer the judge's questions, but in regal splendor, surrounded by soldiers with drawn swords. "What do you want?" he asked the members of the Sanhedrin, but they trembled with fear and were silent. "What do you want?" asked Herod a second time. The members of the Sanhedrin had enormous power. They could pronounce excommunication and curse on any person. And then Herod would have lost most of his adherents. A curse meant death during a person's lifetime: the ruler was deprived of his subjects, the son did not dare to call the excommunicated person his father, and the parents - their child. The doors of the temple and any house were closed to him. If the excommunicated person died of hunger, then, on pain of damnation, no one had the right to give him a piece of bread. But the members of the Sanhedrin were silent in fear. Only one of them, named Shamai, stood up and prophesied. He said, "You, the judges, who are supposed to protect your people, now give them up to be torn to pieces. Know that the family of Herod will eradicate the family of Hyrcanus, but it will perish itself!" [2] And Herod did remember after a while that the Sanhedrin had dared to summon him to trial: he had put to death the high priest and his sons, and had killed many of the members of the Sanhedrin. Some he executed openly, to others he sent hired killers. Human blood makes the killer insatiable and insane. And Herod, at the slightest suspicion, executed even those closest to him: he killed his brothers, on suspicion of treason, and killed his three sons. The only man still loved by this tyrant was his wife, Miriam by name, a woman of intelligence and virtue, who did her best to restrain her husband's fury. The people loved her and called her their mother. But the people's love for Miriam aroused Herod's suspicion. The love of the people is a crime for such tyrants, which they punish by the execution of those who have dared to attract it to themselves. And so he ordered to secretly poison Miriam. Then, as they say, he, not having yet eradicated his former love in his heart, often came to her grave at night and, sending the guards, remained alone for a long time. Some have asserted that Herod even wept at the grave of his murdered wife, but in such a way that no one could see the tears, for he considered tears and pity for anyone a disgrace to himself. At the end of his life, Herod fell ill with a terrible disease. Worms began to eat away at his entrails, like a corpse lying in a grave. He screamed and moaned in pain day and night. From the unimaginable stench, no one could approach him. But the demon gnawed at his heart even more strongly than the worms. As he lay dying, he called his servants and said: "These ungrateful Jews will rejoice when I die. Therefore, from each clan, from each family, take one person and keep them tied up in the hippodrome, and when I die, execute them all, then the country will unwittingly put on mourning. This will be the best funeral feast for me!" And that is why, when the inhabitants of Jerusalem heard from the Magi that the King of the Jews was being born, they were horrified, expecting new executions, new investigations, and new murders. The Magi, having bowed down to the Divine Infant, received a revelation from God, without entering Jerusalem, to depart to their own country by another way. Some of the Holy Fathers say that the Magi were Persians, inhabitants of Babylon. There is another legend that one sorcerer came from Babylon, another from Arabia, and the third from Ethiopia. The Persians are the descendants of Japheth, the Arabs are the descendants of Shem, the Ethiopians are the descendants of Ham. In their person, as it were, representatives of all mankind worshipped God, Who came to earth in the form of a Man. When, in the course of time, Herod saw that his treacherous design had been discovered, he flew into a terrible rage and sent troops to destroy all infants under the age of two in Bethlehem and in its environs. And then the army came out in full armor, shining with armor, with swords and spears in their hands. It came out not against the enemies of its homeland, but against defenseless babies. Bethlehem was surrounded by troops like a besieged city. A terrible beating of children began. The warriors threw them into the air and cut them with sword blows, trying to cut them in half. They were lifted on spears, as a banner is raised on a pole. It was not a banner of military glory, but a banner of terrible cruelty and shame. Mothers pressed their children to their breasts, offered a ransom, everything they had for the life of the baby, but the soldiers were merciless. In addition, they feared Herod's wrath, because Herod could execute them for their compassion. One feared the denunciation of the other, and therefore each tried to surpass his comrade in cruelty. The warriors snatched the children from their mothers' arms, threw them to the ground, trampled them underfoot, and beat their heads against stones. Then they rushed to neighboring villages. In vain did the parents want to hide their children in secret rooms, in cellars or wells. Children's crying betrayed them. Some, hugging the child, wanted to run to the mountains to take refuge there. But the warriors chased them as prey, and their arrows nailed the corpse of the mother to the corpse of the daughter or son. In the Gospel it is written: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and weeping, and a great cry; Rachel weeps for her children and does not want to be comforted, for they are not there (Matt. 2:18). What do these prophetic words mean? Rama is the place of the tomb of Rachel, the wife of the patriarch Jacob. When her son Joseph was being led into Egypt as a captive and slave, he passed by the tomb of Rachel and wept, cried out: "My mother, do you hear me? My mother, do you see where your son is being taken?" Then, when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar crushed and destroyed the kingdom of Judah, he ordered its inhabitants to be resettled in Babylonia, and Rama was the city where the captives of Judah were gathered to be taken to a distant country. But here a more terrible tragedy occurred. It was no longer the enemies who took captivity, but their fellow tribesmen killed innocent children, irrigated the land with their blood. They, like wolves, have gone mad with blood and have become worse than wolves, because, as they say, even a wild beast does not touch a defenseless infant - two brothers, Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf with her milk. And here was some kind of satanic. Some of you may ask the question, if not out loud, then at least somewhere in the depths of your souls: "Why did the Lord allow the death and torment of innocent children? After all, they did not commit sin and evil?" But St. John Chrysostom said this: "If someone took a few copper coins from you, and gave you gold coins in return, would you really consider yourself offended or destitute? On the contrary, would you not say that this man is your benefactor?" A few copper coins represent our earthly life, which sooner or later ends in death, and gold is eternal life. Thus, in a few moments of suffering and torment, the infants found a blessed eternity, they found what the saints achieved through the feats and labors of their entire lives. They left here, from the face of the earth, being plucked as if by flowers that had not yet blossomed. But they inherited eternal life in the circle of angels. Brothers and sisters! One priest, a well-known theologian, experienced much suffering in his life. He had throat cancer and had his vocal cords removed during surgery. He could no longer preach and minister. But he thanked God for everything, thanked for his illness, seeing in it the highest mercy of God to himself. But then there was a difficult time, there was a cruel war, and he saw how small children died of hunger and cold, how babies crawled over the corpses, the stiffened corpses of their parents, doomed to death themselves. And later he recalled: "I thanked God for my suffering, but I did not understand in my heart how it is possible to thank God for the suffering of children? And I was deeply depressed by this, more than by my illness!" "But once," the priest continues, "as if I were experiencing death myself, I felt that when each of these children suffers, Christ suffers with him, Christ stands beside him. When an innocent child, a victim of human evil, dies, he dies not abandoned, but on the breast of Christ Himself. Then I seemed to see the secret of suffering." There was another person who believed in God, but in his heart he did not experience love for God. He imposed upon himself many feats in order to awaken his heart, but he felt that it was cold. He prayed to God to grant him love, he prayed for many years. And then a typhus epidemic broke out. And this man, being a Christian, voluntarily went to look after the sick. He himself contracted typhus and was on the brink of death. And later he said: "I woke up in bed, I could not move my hand, I could not say a word. I was so weak that I couldn't even open my eyes. But suddenly in my heart I felt some kind of hot wave. That wave was a love for God that I had never experienced in my entire life. This love filled me with such joy that I began to cry from happiness. Tears flowed from under my closed eyelids, and this day was the happiest day of my life. The Lord gave me love for Him for my suffering." Thus, suffering and the cross are the mysterious door that leads us to the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lord said to the Apostles: "You will drink My cup, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized... (Matt. 20:23). This chalice, this baptism, is the martyric life of the apostles, which won them eternal glory. And so, brothers and sisters! If a cup of suffering is brought to your lips, a cup of humiliation, a cup burning like flame and bitter like wormwood, then do not think about what hand offered it to you, but know that this is the cup of Christ, that in it is your salvation. Amen. The memory of the infant martyrs of Bethlehem is celebrated by the Church on Dec. 29/Jan. 11. –Red. ^ John Hyrcanus was the famous high priest of the Jews, and his children were also customary to become high priests. – Auth. ^

On the Baptism of the Lord