On the Certainty of the Future Eternal Life in the Afterlife (Sermon on the Ancestral Saturday of the 3rd Week of Great Lent)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! The Holy Church, as a tender and child-loving mother, who cares not only for the salvation of the living, but extends her concern for the salvation of the souls of the fathers and brethren who have departed from us, has gathered us today to lift up prayers to the Lord for the repose of all the departed in a place of light, in a place of rest. In offering our prayers, we must be sure that they are pleasing to the Lord, and He will accept them as a sacrifice that will have a beneficial effect on the condition of the souls of the departed. We must not forget the departed, for they are our brothers in spirit and flesh, who now live in another world and are waiting for prayerful help from us. If the abyss in which the souls of the departed are now opened before us, then we could see a touching picture of their silent plea to the living members of the Church of Christ - a plea that we help them with our prayers. And while praying for the departed, we must at the same time prepare ourselves for the transition to the other world, thinking more often about the hour of our death and strengthening our faith in the future life after death. Unfortunately, in our time some people completely reject the existence of an immortal soul and the existence of a future life after death, and yet the belief in the immortality of the soul is for each person the main source of his morally rational life. Depending on how a person treats faith in a future life, he develops a certain worldview, a certain view of his earthly existence. If a person firmly believes in a future life, then he tries to spend his life on earth virtuously, sinlessly, avoiding all evil. In forgetting about eternity, a person walks in darkness and does not know where he is going. And earthly life for such a person is a vain and accidental gift, and sometimes such people are disappointed in their earthly life and end it with suicide. There is no doubt that there is a future life after death, for there is much substantial evidence in favor of this truth. First of all, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in all times and among all peoples, along with faith in divinity, there has always existed faith in a future life after death. The Greeks, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Hindus, even savages of various tribes - all, in one way or another, believed and still believe that a person's life does not end with his death. This universality of belief in the existence of the world beyond the grave has a very edifying significance for us, because it eloquently says that the future life really exists, because the belief in it is directly embedded in nature itself, in the consciousness of every person. Another essential proof of the existence of a future life is the testimony of sound reason, which convinces us that besides the present life there is a future life. Let us pay attention to the visible external nature. "In the whole world," says the ever-memorable Moscow hierarch Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), "it is impossible to find an example, a sign and proof of the destruction of any insignificant thing; there is no past that does not prepare for the future, there is no end that does not lead to the beginning. Every special life descends into its proper grave only to leave there its worn-out old clothes, and it itself ascends to the sphere of another life in order to put on new beautiful clothes. The sun sets to rise again, the stars die in the morning to rise again in the evening. Rivers are buried in the sea, and are resurrected in springs; A whole world of earthly vegetation dies in autumn and resurrects in spring. A grain thrown into the ground dies in the ground to be resurrected in a new grain. The reptile worm dies, and the winged butterfly is resurrected. If the lower creatures are destroyed only to recreate new life, then is man, this crown of creation, the beauty of the entire universe, worse than a worm, or a mustard seed?" Another proof of the existence of immortal life we draw from the properties of our soul. In the fact that God exists, we undoubtedly believe and know that He is just and all-holy. It has invested in the essence of our nature the desire for good and aversion to evil. And many people really try to do good, taking upon themselves the difficult feat of self-denial. But we see that often in this life the wicked enjoy blessedness, and the righteous suffer unto death, and very often from the wicked. If there were no other life and recompense according to the deeds of each, then it would turn out that God is unjust and unholy, unmerciful to the righteous and too lenient to sinners. But it is impossible to imagine this, because there will be another life, where everyone will receive a reward for his deeds. For a believer, the Holy Scriptures serve as an essential proof of the existence of the future life. For an Orthodox person, Scripture is the source of all knowledge, including knowledge about the future life. Even in the Old Testament, this mystery was proclaimed to people, and people believed in the future life. The Most Wise Solomon says: And the dust shall return to the earth, as it was; and the spirit returned to God, Who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). In the New Testament, this truth is revealed with even greater clarity. The Lord Himself in the Holy Gospel repeatedly assures us of the existence of the future life beyond the grave: Verily, verily, I say unto you, the time is coming, ... when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they have heard, they shall live... and those who have done good will go out into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:25, 29). The holy Apostles, having a firm faith in the future life, based all their epistles on this unshakable faith. The Holy Apostle Paul said: As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive... as we bore the image of the earthly [Adam], so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly [Adam] (Christ) (1 Cor. 15:22, 49). Finally, there is also an empirical proof of the actual existence of a future life - the appearance of the souls of the dead. In the Christian Church there are many testimonies of the appearance of people from the other world, both glorified and the most ordinary mortals. Beginning with the appearance of the holy prophets Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory on Tabor at the Transfiguration of the Lord, the saints often, by God's will, appeared to people on earth and proclaimed to them certain truths for the salvation of human souls. There were also examples of phenomena from the other world of sinners. Here is what St. Gregory the Dialogist tells about this. He says that in his time there lived a presbyter who often went to the bathhouse. Once, when he came to the bathhouse, he saw a stranger come up to him, who began to serve him; he served in the same way at the end of the bath. This was repeated several times. The presbyter, wishing to thank the stranger, once took two prosphoras to the bath. The stranger came again and began to help the elder take off his boots and give him a towel after bathing. The presbyter handed him both prosphoras for his zeal and love, but the stranger said with bitter tears: "Father! What are you doing! After all, this is holy bread, I cannot eat it. I, whom you see, was the lord of these places, but I was condemned for my sins. If you want to show me love, then bring this bread to the Lord and pray for me at the Throne of God, and if you do not see me here next time, then your prayer has been heard." The presbyter prayed for the soul of this stranger for a whole week with tears, offering a bloodless sacrifice for him every day. When he visited the bathhouse again, the stranger did not appear to him again. Thus, being assured of the existence of the future life, let us pray with fervor for our departed relatives and for all Orthodox Christians. And that prayer is very useful for the departed will be confirmed by another story, from the life of the Monk Macarius of Egypt, who is also called the Great. One day, this holy man, passing through the desert, saw a skull lying on the ground. When he began to turn it with his staff, a moan was heard from his skull. The elder asked: "Whose skull are you?" and heard in reply: "I was here the head of the priests, and you, Abba Macarius, filled with the Spirit of God, pray for us, who are in torment, and we experience some joy." "What torments do you experience and what joy?" asked the elder. "As far as the sky is from the earth, so high is the flame, which scorches us from head to toe, so that we do not see each other. When you pray for us, we have the opportunity to see each other, and this gives us some consolation." The elder shed tears and said: "Unhappy is the day when a man transgresses the commandment of God! Is there a more severe torment in hell?" We, who have not come to know God, have at least some condescension. And those who have come to know God and denied Him, not fulfilling His commandments, experience even more terrible torments." Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray to the Lord for our departed relatives, that the Lord forgive their sins and bring them to the abodes of the righteous. May our prayers merge into one weeping to the Lord, so that those for whom we pray may rejoice in spirit for our love for them. With the saints, O Christ, give rest to the souls of Thy servant, where there is no sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing, but life without end. Amen.

On the Prayerful Commemoration of the Departed (Sermon on Meatfare Parental Saturday)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! But God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for with Him all are alive (Luke 20:38), said Christ the Savior to the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! The Holy Orthodox Christian Church, firmly believing in these true words of the Savior, always publicly confesses the indisputable truth that with the death of a person his life does not cease. What do we see dying? Only a body that is taken from the earth and returns to the earth again. The flesh decays and turns to dust, but man himself, with all his senses and his immortal soul, continues to live, passing only from this world to another, beyond the grave. Consequently, the communion between the living and the dead is not destroyed by death, but continues to exist. On the basis of this truth, the Church has always, since the times of the Old Testament, and especially in the New Testament time – the time of the Apostles, made and continues to make commemorations and prayers for the departed brethren of the same faith. The Holy Church, offering daily prayers for her departed children, encourages all the faithful to do so, so that with one mouth and one heart they lift up fervent prayers to the Throne of God with a request for the repose of their departed relatives in places of bliss. Christian love prompts us to pray for the departed, which unites us mutually in Jesus Christ into one brotherhood. The departed co-religionists are our neighbors, whom God commands us to love as ourselves. For God did not say, "Love your neighbor while they live on the earth." Consequently, the Lord does not limit love for one's neighbor to the boundaries of earthly existence, but extends it to the eternal world beyond the grave. But what if not by commemoration, by what if not by prayer can we prove our love for those who have passed into the life beyond the grave? It is desirable for each of us that after our departure from this life our neighbors should not forget us and pray for us. In order for this to be fulfilled, we must also commemorate the departed. With what measure ye measure, it shall be measured unto you also (Matt. 7:2), says the Saviour. Therefore, those who commemorate the departed will be remembered by the Lord, and people will also remember them after their departure from this world. Great is the consolation and great is the reward for the one who saves his neighbor from temporary misfortune, but a much greater reward and greater consolation awaits the one who, through his prayers, will help his departed neighbor to receive the forgiveness of sins and pass from the gloomy dungeons of hell to the bright blissful abodes. Are our prayers necessary for the departed? Yes, they are, because they are of great benefit to them. The fact is that after death there are two eternities: either the eternal bliss of the righteous, or the eternal torment of sinners. It is also known that there is no person on earth who would live and not sin. So it is true that we are born in sins, we spend our lives in sins, we end our earthly existence in sins. But do all those who have sinned bring full and sincere repentance before death? After all, sometimes death overtakes a person who is in a state of such a serious illness that his memory is lost and his spiritual strength becomes completely exhausted. And it is clear that in such a state a person cannot remember his misdeeds and repent of them, and he dies with sins. Often death strikes a person suddenly, and he, without bringing any repentance, also departs with sins. He can no longer help himself by any means. A person can change his fate only when he is alive, doing good deeds and praying to the Lord for his salvation. It is in such cases that prayer for the departed is very necessary and brings them the greatest benefit. Many of our faithful have long been gone from earth, but a loving heart cannot forget them, yearns for them, even, perhaps, more than for the living. In the same way, the departed look from the other world in our direction, burning with love for those who were especially close to their hearts here. If any of the dead has attained justification before God, then he, responding to our love with mutual love, sends down heavenly help to us from above; And for those who have not yet attained justification, our prayer can be of great help in alleviating their fate beyond the grave. The time will come when we will see them. What a joy it will be to hear from them a word of gratitude for prayer! They will say, "Behold, you have remembered me, you have not forgotten me, and you have helped me in my time of need. Thank you." And on the contrary: how bitter it will be to hear a reproach to him who did not pray for the dead! "Behold, thou hast not remembered me, hast not prayed for me, hast not helped me in my hour of need, I reproach thee." The condition of the dead is similar to that of a person sailing on a very dangerous river. Prayer for the departed is like a lifeline that a person throws to a drowning neighbor. If somehow the gates of eternity were opened before us and we saw these hundreds, thousands of millions of people yearning for a peaceful refuge, then what a heart would not be struck and crushed at the sight of their fellow believers and consanguineous loved ones, who without words call upon our prayerful help! About the necessity of prayers for the departed, and about the existence of communion with the world beyond the grave, I will now give you a miraculous but true story from the life of one church in our Russian Church. In the village of Lysogorka, the priest died. In his place was sent another priest - a young one, who unexpectedly died at the very first service - right in the altar. Another priest was sent, but the same thing happened to him: on the first day of his service, after the Lord's Prayer and the Communion verse had been sung, the priest did not come out with the Holy Gifts for a very long time, and when the warden entered the altar, he saw the priest lying dead in all his vestments at the Holy Altar. Everyone was horrified when they learned of this mysterious death, and, not knowing the cause of it, they said that some grave sin weighed down on the parish, if two young innocent lives had become sacrifices for it. The rumor about this spread throughout the district, and none of the priests dared to go to that parish. Only one monk elder expressed his consent. "I'm going to die soon anyway. I will go and serve the first and last Liturgy there, my death will not orphan anyone." During the service, when the Lord's Prayer was sung, the feeling of self-preservation nevertheless asserted its rights, and the elder ordered that both the side doors and the Holy Doors be opened. During the Communion verse, he saw a silhouette behind the Upper Place. This silhouette stood out sharper and sharper, and suddenly behind the Altar stood the gloomy image of a priest dressed in vestments, who was bound hand and foot in chains. Trembling with fear, the monk confused the words of the prayer. But after a while he nevertheless gathered his strength, strengthened his spirit and went out to commune the faithful. Everyone realized that something wrong had happened to him. And the ghost still stood, clanging his chains, and with his shackled hands pointed to the box standing in the altar. At the end of the Liturgy, the hieromonk called the warden, and they opened the box, in which they found themselves... commemorative notes. The fact is that when the deceased priest was given commemorative notes, he put them aside for the future without reading them. Now the elder understood the reason for the vision and began to serve pannikhidas every day and read the accumulated notes. On the next Sunday, he was already serving the Liturgy for the departed to the liking of the deceased priest. When the Communion verse was sung, the silhouette of the deceased priest appeared again. But he was no longer tragic, menacing, as he had appeared for the first time, but with a bright, cheerful face and without chains on his arms and legs. After the serving elder-hieromonk communed of the Holy Mysteries, the ghost stirred, bowed down to the ground and disappeared. In this example, we see how prayers for the departed benefit them and ease their lot. And it is no coincidence that we are talking about this today. Because today the Holy Church celebrates a special day called Meatfare Ancestral Saturday, and gathers Orthodox Christians for joint prayer before the Throne of God for our brethren of the same faith, who have departed into eternal life. And tomorrow the Holy Church commemorates the terrible Second Coming of the Lord and the end of the world. Urging its members to be ready for the Last Judgment, the Holy Church asks us to pray to the Righteous Judge for our departed relatives, that all their sins may be forgiven, and that the path of passage from the gloomy dungeon to the bright abodes of the Heavenly Father may be purified before them. Let us, dear brothers and sisters, lift up a prayer to Christ God and lift up with all our hearts: With the saints, O Christ, rest the souls of Thy servant, where there is no sickness, neither sorrow, nor sighing, but life without end. Amen.

On Patience (Sermon on the Sunday of the Paralytic)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! The Gospel that we have read today tells of the great miracle of the healing of the paralytic, which was wrought by our Lord Jesus Christ, and of His mercy to suffering humanity. This Gospel is most relevant to each of us and can serve us as the greatest edification and consolation. The Gospel tells us that not far from the Temple in Jerusalem there was a Sheep's Font (something like a pool). From time to time the Angel of the Lord descended into this font, stirred up the water and imparted to it miraculous powers, and whoever was the first to enter the water after the Angel disturbed it, received healing from any illness, no matter what he was afflicted with. This healing power attracted many sick people to the water. Among them was one man who had suffered from a serious illness for thirty-eight years, but still did not lose heart in the hope of healing. On the occasion of the feast, our Lord Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem and visited the Sheep's Font. Paying attention to the paralytic patiently waiting for God's mercy, the Lord asked him: Do you want to be healthy? "Yes, Lord," answered the sick man, "but I have no man who would lower me into the pool when the water is troubled; but when I come, another one has already descended before me. Then the Lord says: "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:6-8). And oh, a miracle! By One of His Divine words, the Lord instantly healed the sick man. He who had suffered from a grievous illness for thirty-eight years immediately recovered, took up his bed and went. And it was on the Sabbath day, and the Jews said that it was not lawful to wear a bed on the Sabbath. Then the healed man said: "He who healed me, He said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk' (John 5:11). Jesus Christ was no longer around. He hid among the people. But later, when the Lord met the healed man in the temple, He added the following words: Behold, thou hast recovered; sin no more, lest something worse happen to thee (John 5:14). The first thing that deserves our attention is the patient's firm faith in God's mercy. For thirty-eight years he suffered from a serious illness and did not faint in his patience and hope. He believed and hoped to receive what he asked for, and the Lord remembered him and gave him healing. Learn, dear ones, by this example to be patient during the sorrows that visit us, of which there are so many. Strive to trust in the Lord God and in hope in Him draw strength and courage to endure without complaint all kinds of sorrows and failures of life. No matter how heavy the sorrows may be, no matter how long they last, believe that the Lord can help you and sooner or later will alleviate your sufferings, if only you have a firm, unshakable hope in His mercy. Everything is possible to the Lord, and He can change your sorrow into joy in an instant. Indeed, sorrows and misfortunes are sometimes beyond the power of a person to bear, and we, because of our faint-heartedness and impatience, often lose hope in God's mercy, weeping and murmuring, saying: "I endure and pray, but the Lord does not see my tears," and we already begin to fall into despair. That's how faint-hearted we are sometimes! May the example of patiently enduring one's illness by the paralytic serve as an edification to each of us. Dear brothers and sisters! If we believe that there is a God, that He gave His Only-begotten Son to death for us, if we believe that our entire life is governed by none other than the same Heavenly Father, then we must put all our hopes in Him. Cast thy sorrow upon the Lord, and He shall nourish thee... (Psalm 54:23). Sometimes we wish that our petitions and prayers be fulfilled immediately, without thinking that God knows better than we do, what is more useful for us and when to give us consolation. We weep and groan, calling ourselves miserable and as if innocently suffering all our lives, not remembering the Lord's admonition of the Apostle: "The Lord chastens whom He loves; but he smites every son whom he receives" (Heb. 12:6). Through the endurance of sorrows and bodily sufferings, the Lord heals our soul, preparing it for the future life, teaches us humility and unfeigned hope in His mercy. Visiting sorrows clearly testifies to the fact that the Lord paid special attention to you at this time. He wants to make you wise unto salvation, gives you the opportunity to show Him how rich you are in faith, hope and love – these essential Christian virtues, without which it is impossible for a person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And it was not in vain that the saints and righteous considered themselves forgotten by the Lord, when they were not visited by sorrows for a long time. The Apostle Paul says: "We not only boast that through faith we have received justification and hope in the future, but we also boast in sorrows, knowing that out of tribulation proceeds patience, from patience experience, from experience hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5). Sorrows are our teachers, they teach us patience, experience, and skill. And experience is a great thing in life. Experience inspires a person with confidence in success. And we do not want to cultivate this wondrous power in ourselves, and even when the Lord Himself, out of His love for mankind, decides to increase it in us, this power, then we even then murmur against Him, weep at fate: why does it require from us exertion, effort, care and unbearable labor? Not knowing that by our faint-heartedness we significantly hinder the grace of God from helping us, we become incapable of anything, unable to receive this grace into ourselves, which requires of us the determination to give ourselves over to the will of the Lord. The words from the Gospel that have been read, spoken by the Lord to the healed paralytic, cannot fail to attract our attention: Behold, thou hast recovered; sin no more, lest something worse happen to thee (John 5:14). From these words it is evident that there is the closest connection between illness and sin. Until the first people sinned, they were healthy both in body and soul. And after they could not protect themselves from sin, illnesses followed sin. This phenomenon is repeated even now, and the law of this dependence will be in force until the end of time. Any violation of the law, both in the bodily and moral spheres, entails a disorder of our nature and is inevitably accompanied by illnesses. And therefore, knowing this truth, let us in every possible way avoid sin as the cause of the destruction of our spiritual and bodily nature. Meanwhile, there is no person who could constantly protect himself from sins. According to the word of God: there is no man who lives and does not sin, except for one day of his life on earth. But the grace of God gives us the means to constant cleansing from sins in the Sacrament of Repentance. No matter how many times a person falls, he always has the opportunity to rise. Having realized your sin, regret that you have offended the all-good Lord, have a firm intention to correct yourself - and the Lord in His mercy will forgive you your sin and vouchsafe you with His grace. And if, in the calamities that have befallen us, there is a delay in the fulfillment of our petitions, then let the example of the paralytic who suffered for thirty-eight years serve as a consolation for us in hope in the mercy of God. Let us say in the words of the holy Apostle James: be long-suffering, strengthen your hearts... (James 5:8). Leave your life to the will of God. Believe: the Lord knows better than we do when He will look upon us, and when He will turn away His most pure face from us. And no matter what happens in life, cry out more often: My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my Protection is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, glory to Thee! Amen.

On the Forgiveness of Offenses (Sermon on the 11th Sunday after Pentecost)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Thus will My Heavenly Father deal with you, if every one of you does not forgive his brother his trespasses from his heart (Matt. 18:35). Dear brothers and sisters! Our Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly teaches in the Gospel about the forgiveness of offenses to our neighbors, so that we too may be forgiven of our sins. If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses (Matt. 6:14-15) - this is the easiest means of justification from sins, fully accessible to all, and always dependent on our will. It would seem that according to the instruction of such an easy means of justification, all sinners should use it for their salvation, and not a single sinner will remain in Christian society. But the Lord the Knower of Hearts foresaw that the passionate, self-loving, and vindictive human heart was least of all capable of submitting to this commandment of humility and meekness, that even among His followers many would be deaf to hearing and rigid to the fulfillment of this salvific commandment – therefore the Lord found it necessary to speak about this many times. One of these sublime teachings about the forgiveness of offenses is the parable that was offered in the Gospel that we have just read. For our edification, let us repeat its contents. During the Lord's conversation with the disciples about how to act when our brother sins before us in something, the holy Apostle Peter, listening to the word about the forgiveness of offenses, asked the Lord: Lord! How many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, "I do not say unto thee, 'Unto seven, but unto seventy times seventy'" (Matt. 18:21-22). That is, no matter how many times your brother sins against you, you must always forgive him, especially never and in no case should you take revenge on him. And in confirmation of this commandment, the Lord told us a wonderful parable – He depicted His teaching in the example of a certain unrepayable debtor, who had already been forgiven and pardoned, but for his cruelty to his brother was again given over to cruel torment – so that it would be easier for us to see what happens to those who do not forgive their neighbors' sins, and so that we would understand what will happen to us in such a case: Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to reckon with his servants; when he began to count, someone was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents; and since he had nothing with which to pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and to be paid; Then the servant fell, and bowing down to him, he said, "Sire! Be patient with me, and I will pay you all. The sovereign, having compassion on that servant, released him and forgave him the debt. And the servant went out, and found one of his companions, who owed him a hundred denarii, and seized him, and strangled him, saying, Give me what you owe. Then his companion fell at his feet, begged him, and said, "Have patience with me, and I will give you everything." But he did not want to, but went and put him in prison until he paid off the debt. His companions, seeing what had happened, were very grieved, and when they came, they told their sovereign all that had happened. Then his lord summoned him and said, "Wicked servant! I have forgiven you all that debt, because you have begged me; Should you not have had mercy on your companion, as I also had mercy on you? And being angry, his lord delivered him up to the tormentors until he had paid him all the debt. As My Heavenly Father will deal with you, if every one of you does not forgive his brother his trespasses from his heart (Matt. 18:23-35). This parable teaches us, dear brothers and sisters, the truth that the Lord is unmerciful to us if we ourselves are unmerciful. He does not forgive our sins, if we ourselves do not forgive our neighbors their sins against us. For edification, let us analyze this parable. The Kingdom of God is in many ways similar to the earthly kingdoms of men, for it is the prototype of all human kingdoms. And just as in the kingdoms of the earth there is a king and there are subjects, so in the kingdom of God there is a King, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

In the kingdoms of the earth there are laws and ordinances by which the range of actions of the subjects is determined, and in the kingdom of God there is the law of God, which determines the will of God and teaches us how to behave towards our King Christ and our neighbors, in order to deserve the mercy of the King and not to be subjected to His wrath and punishment. Just as in the kingdoms of the earth the king at times demands from his subjects an account of the fulfillment of the duties entrusted to them, so in the Kingdom of God the Lord will demand from us an account of all our thoughts and desires, words and deeds. For this purpose the terrible glorious day of Judgment and Retribution has been ordained from all eternity. But even before this universal Judgment, the Lord will demand of us an account on the day of our death, when our soul, separated from the body, will appear in the world of spirits. At every moment we must be ready for death and the judgment of God, therefore we are commanded to examine our conscience daily and not only to bring repentance at certain times, but also to spend our entire lives in repentance, so that death at no time will find us unrepentant. By not paying tribute to the king and not fulfilling his duties, the subject becomes a debtor to the king, and the more he does so, the more his debt increases. In the same way, a subject of the King of Heaven, if he does not fulfill what the law of God requires of him, becomes a debtor to God. Let us take as an example at least one day of our life and count what has been done and what has not been done contrary to the law of God and our own conscience. All the thoughts, intentions, dreams, conjectures that are constantly swarming in our minds; all the desires, aspirations, and inclinations by which our heart lives are all the fruit of the free activity of our soul, and all this is subject to an account before the Judge of the Heart. Let us also remember all our words, for for every idle word that people say, we will have to give an answer on the Day of Judgment. And what a heavy debt will be made up of one day lived! And how great this debt will be throughout the entire life lived! And who among us can think of himself as a lesser debtor before God's justice than the debtor to his king mentioned in the parable? Having nothing with which to pay his debt, the debtor from the parable falls down before the sovereign and begs him to endure him. This is what we, sinners, must do, if we wish to be cleansed from our sins. Every sin is terrible first of all because it offends the greatness and holiness of God; by violating the law that upholds the moral order of the world; by disturbing the peace and tranquility of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, we cannot atone for our sins on our own. Only a living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who suffered for our sins, one living hope in the power of His Cross, one sincere repentance for our sins, one prayer of a contrite and humble heart – can atone for the grave guilt of our sins and justify us by the grace of Christ. Only to those who sincerely repent does the Heavenly Father forgive all their sins freely, for the sake of the sufferings on the Cross and the death of His Only-begotten Son. What does a forgiven and pardoned debtor do? Finding his comrade who owed him a hundred denarii, he begins to strangle him and gives him to prison. Do we not act in the same way when, having been pardoned by the Heavenly Father, we are angry and malicious for a small insult inflicted on us by our brother or sister, we persecute and wound him by all means, if only to denigrate and accuse the offender? The cruelty of the crafty slave towards his comrade became known to the king. So our mutual bitter and vengeful feelings are in the Lord's home. Our persistent helpers, the holy Angels, seeing our cruelty to one another, announce this to the Heavenly Father with sorrow, so that not a single angry and malicious movement of our heart can be concealed from His all-seeing eye or hidden from His punishing wrath. For the evil deed of the evil slave, the emperor handed him over to the torturers until he paid his debt. The Lord acts in the same way with us, if we do not forgive the sins of our neighbor - He rejects us from His presence and gives us over to eternal torment. Such is the eternal and immutable law of truth, such is the inevitable consequence of hardness of heart towards one's neighbor. Can an irritable and vengeful person be in the Kingdom of God, which is the kingdom of love, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit? Is a heart that is cruel and merciless to its brother worthy of the compassion and mercy of the Heavenly Father? Whoever persecutes others with anger and vengeance, does not himself deserve the vengeance and wrath of God? Judgment without mercy to him who has not shown mercy... (James 2:13) - we need to remember and fulfill this. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21) – then the Lord will have mercy on you not only in this world, but also in the life to come. For only the merciful will have mercy. Amen.

On Envy (sermon on the 27th Sunday after Pentecost)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! On this Sunday, the Holy Church offered us the Gospel reading about the miraculous healing by our Lord Jesus Christ of a certain unfortunate crooked woman. Once, according to His custom, the Lord entered the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath and began to preach the word of God there. And he saw a woman who had been suffering from a grievous illness of infirmity for eighteen years - she was crouched and could not straighten up. The Lord had compassion on her and, calling her to Himself, said: "Woman! thou art freed from thy infirmity" (Luke 13:12). And He laid His hands on her, and straightway she straightened up and began to praise God. The ruler of the synagogue, nourishing in his heart a hidden envy of the Saviour, seeing what respect He enjoys among the people and what love He surrounds His people, became indignant at the miraculous healing of the unfortunate woman by the Divine Wonderworker, and began to say sternly to the people: "There are six days in which one must do; on these also come to be healed, and not on the Sabbath day (Luke 13:14). The Saviour, seeing in these words the pretense and hypocrisy of the ruler of the synagogue, publicly exposes the mask of his imaginary zeal according to the law of Moses: hypocrite! Does not every one of you untie his ox or donkey from the manger on the Sabbath day, and lead him to drink? And this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, was it not proper to be released from these bonds on the Sabbath day? (Luke 13:15-16). After such a denunciation, the malice of the soul of the professed zealot from the Jewish synagogue was immediately revealed to everyone. Dear brothers and sisters! In this example, we have seen how envious people act, who pretend to be people who care about the common good. In fact, they harbor a disgusting hypocrisy in their hearts. Good people rejoice in the well-being of their neighbors, bless benefactors and glorify the beneficent God. Evil and envious people treat the well-being of their neighbors with ill-will, cannot tolerate anyone's superiority, do not rejoice in anyone's joy, but on the contrary, try to hinder the well-being of their neighbor. And if they are unable to achieve this, then they try to humiliate and dishonor the good deed of their neighbor by any intrigues and intrigues, reinterpreting everything in a bad direction. Like moles digging in the ground and unable to see the light of God, envious people undermine the very foundation of virtue in order to defame someone. And there is no good deed on earth that is not touched by envy. Envy gives unworthy names to all that is good and holy, with the sole purpose of humiliating respectable and decent people, depriving them of love and respect, which they enjoy justly. Envy gives rise to terrible vices: hatred, slander, contempt, deceit, deceit, murder and many others. Therefore, envy is the root of all evil. If other evil has a certain limit, then envy has no limit – it is a constant evil, a boundless, infinite sin – as the Holy Fathers say. If there were no envy, then silence and tranquility, peace and prosperity would surround us. To do good to our neighbor would be a pleasure of the heart, to see the happiness of a brother would be our happiness. If there were no envy, our actions and desires would be governed only by love, which wishes everyone well. But where there is envy, there is disorder, there is all evil. The envious one, like a night thief, breaks in, destroys the well-being of his neighbor and only calms down when he achieves his goal. To deprive someone of happiness, to see him in misery - this is the goal to which envy strives. Lies, slander, deception, low slyness, caressing before the higher - these are the properties of envy. Much evil and harm is brought by envy of society, trying to harm people's happiness, destroying Christian peace among neighbors. The history of the Church knows many examples of terrible atrocities committed under the influence of this vice. Driven by envy, Cain kills his brother Abel; Joseph's brothers, envious of his physical and inner beauty, sell him into slavery; the chief priests and Pharisees, moved by envy of the Saviour, having slandered and humiliated Him, commit the terrible sin of murder of God. Envy is rust that eats away at the soul of an envious person. An envious person has no peace day or night, he is always dissatisfied with everything, he complains about everything with a murmur, frequent anger and constant anger torment him. Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Let's protect ourselves from this vice! Let us try to cultivate in our hearts disposition and love for every good deed. The Holy Fathers say: when you see a neighbor who is superior to you in something, do not give room for envy, but lift up a fervent prayer to the Lord, that He strengthen and increase the virtues of your neighbor, then the Lord will not abandon you with His mercy and love. For those who are already infected with this vile vice and want to get rid of it, the Holy Fathers advise to kill the mother of this passion - the mother of envy is pride. And the holy Apostle Paul recommends acquiring and acquiring love, because love does not envy (1 Corinthians 13:4) - and then envy will fall by itself. In addition, it is necessary to know that everything that belongs to a person cannot and should not be considered important and great, and therefore cannot be an object of envy. For a Christian, true blessings should be heavenly blessings, and everything else: health, wealth, honors - is perishable, temporary, and should not give rise to envy. Let us try, beloved, to have peace among ourselves, for there is nothing in the world sweeter than peace. Let us pray to the Lord that He grant and establish peace among us, and that we may be delivered from the vile vice of envy and avoid punishment from the Lord at His terrible and righteous Judgment. Amen.

On the Sin of Condemnation (I)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Let the man of God be perfect, prepared for every good work, says the holy Apostle Paul in his Epistle to Timothy (2 Tim. 3:17). And again: Turn away from worthless and womanly fables, and exercise yourself in piety, for bodily exercise is of little use, and piety is useful for everything... (1 Tim. 4:7-8). Therefore, we will allow ourselves to talk about what may seem insignificant, but there is a very common sin among the people - this is the sin of condemnation. The habit of judging others is very common among all people. It is difficult to find a person who would have a proper command of his language. I would say what needs to be said, and keep silent about what I need to be silent about. As soon as he hears something about his neighbor, he begins to judge and reinterpret in different ways. It would be good if they spoke only fairly, but they would certainly add on their own behalf. One will add, the other will add, and little by little a whole heap of untruth in life will grow. Therefore, if at first glance it seems that this sin is insignificant, in fact it brings with it the greatest evil to human society, and therefore it must be avoided at all costs. What does the habit of condemning and judging one's neighbor mean? This hunting, the pleasure with which only bad and not good rumors about their acquaintances are spread? "It's nothing more than that these people have a bad heart. They are glad to see others - how bad they are, and they are glad that their listeners sympathize with them in this. When we condemn our neighbor, humiliate his honor, blacken his good name, why should we not remember that a good, honest name is the greatest and dearest good? Someone will say in his justification: I am not inventing, I am saying what I know, and what I have heard from faithful people. But, dear ones, this cannot serve as an excuse for us either. Maybe a person really deserves it, in fact he is bad, and his actions are not good, bad. But all the same, brotherly love and Christian solidarity should put the seal of silence on our lips. After all, very often the inner voice of our conscience tells us that these rumors about a person are unfair. That the person himself is not what they say about him. Nevertheless, we rejoiced at the opportunity to slander him in society. Our language is already becoming an instrument of falsehood and falsehood. And an insignificant rumor, thanks to our "allowances" and others like them, turns into a terrible story about a person. A small spark of fire turns into a big fire that incinerates the good name of our neighbor. First of all, dear ones, we must remember that we have no right to condemn our neighbor just because it is forbidden by the Lord Himself. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned (Luke 6:37). With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged (Matt. 7:2). Whether our judgment is good or bad, it is better for us not to judge our neighbor. The Lord knew the weakness of our human nature and therefore forbade us to condemn and judge others. It is quite another thing to judge the supreme authority over one's subordinates - it is necessary. Because without this court there will be no well-being, there will be no order in society. And the word of God repeatedly calls upon the supreme authority to take care of its subordinates, and commands the subordinates to obey the authority placed over them. But it is forbidden for us to condemn the actions of our neighbor. Because this gossip does not edify the one whom we condemn, but only leads to ridicule, all kinds of reproach, and so on. We must deal with our neighbors as the Lord does with sinners. At the time when the cry of the depraved inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah reached the Throne of Heaven, crying out for vengeance, God's punishment followed in that hour. The Lord says: I will go down and see if they do exactly as the cry that goes up to Me is against them, or not; I will know (Gen. 18:21), and only then will I walk according to the law. - O Lord who knows the heart, do You not know that the earth, burdened with the sins of sodomy, does not cry out to You, to Your justice, in vain? The Lord knows everything. The Lord knows what we have done, what we will do in the future, knows what we are capable of. But with these words of His He shows that no human eye will see excessive severity in His judgment. On the contrary, His judgment is always animated by all the forbearance of righteous love. And, as you can see, the condemnation and retribution were preceded by a thorough examination of the case, a strict examination of the case. The Lord allows us to see, to know that He has a desire not to aggravate, but to mitigate the fate of the guilty. This is how the Lord deals with us, sinners. Such is His judgment upon us. And so do all pious people, people of kind, pure heart. When they are called to bear witness to the deeds of their neighbor, they will only reluctantly and regretfully go and will say only what they are asked. They will not say anything superfluous, add anything, they will testify without any anger, without any annoyance. On the contrary, they will languish in their souls, lest the accused be condemned. And what do we do? We endlessly spread rumors, and gossip, and backbiting. We talk about our neighbor when no one asks us about it. We blame our neighbor when no one forces us to do so. We talk about what we don't even know ourselves. And sometimes we say things that may not have happened. Often we speak towards our neighbor with such stinging anger, as if we were facing a sworn enemy. And sometimes we judge even those people on whom we depend, we judge our superiors, leaders, and we judge them precisely for the purpose of humiliating them, defaming them, slandering and slandering them. Our court is wrong, illegal. Sinful, criminal judgment. Criminal first of all, because this court is self-proclaimed. The Apostle Paul says, addressing those who condemn their neighbor: "Who are you, who condemn another man's servant? Before his Lord he stands, or falls. And he will be raised, for God is able to raise him up (Romans 14:4). In fact, by what right, who gave us the power to condemn the actions of our neighbor? What do we have to do with it? Have we given him life, have we brought him up, or have we done some great good, that we have the right to watch over his life, to guide him? There is nothing of the kind, and therefore our court is illegal, our court is self-appointed. And therefore the Apostle Paul says: "Therefore you are inexcusable, every man who judges another... (Romans 2:1). And just as if in civil life there is such an impostor who will judge and punish people without having any authority or right from a higher authority, is severely punished for such an offense, so in the same way anyone who condemns the actions of his neighbor turns out to be just as criminal before God as this impostor "judge." Condemnation, slander, and backbiting bring very, very much evil. They harm people - both to health, and in material terms, and to their position in society. And they cause moral pain to their neighbor. Condemnation is so terrible and subject to God's judgment that we should not, do not have the right to condemn and should fear this sin. I will give you some examples from the history of the Christian Church - how grave this vice is. A certain elder, hearing that a certain monk had fallen into a grave sin, condemned him and said: "He has done great evil." And after a while an angel appeared to him with the soul of this condemned brother and said: "Behold, he whom you have condemned, he is dead. Where do you command him to determine his soul? To the Kingdom or to Hell? But you, he says, are the judge of the righteous and of sinners. Here, determine what to do with this soul. To pardon him or to condemn him." The elder was horrified and realized that he had sinned gravely by condemning this brother. And then he began to weep, lament, and ask for mercy. And the Lord did not answer his prayers and requests for a long time. But then He took pity on him and sent His Angel to him to declare that this sin was forgiven him. And the angel appeared to him and said: "Thy sin is forgiven thee, but know in the future how great is the sin of condemnation." Another ascetic, the Monk Paphnutios, once, traveling through the wilderness, lost his way because of the fog and came out to a certain village, where he saw people shamelessly talking among themselves. And the monk did not condemn them, but, stopping, began to pray for his sins. Suddenly, an angel appeared before him with a drawn sword and said: "Paphnutios, all who condemn others will perish by this sword. But you did not condemn, you humbled yourself before God and began to pray for your sins. Therefore your name is inscribed in the book of life." And so all pious people, fearing this sin, always trembled and did not dare to condemn anyone. One elder, whenever he heard about someone's malfunctions, sighed heavily and said: "Yes, as this brother sinned today, so tomorrow I will sin." And I will also remind you of the story of a certain monk who led a negligent life. He did not care about his salvation, about prayer, about fasting. In short, he lived inattentively. And when he began to die, he was surrounded by the brethren. And everyone was amazed: he was dying the death of a righteous man, he did not tremble before death. On the contrary, he thanked God and smiled. The brethren, knowing that he had led such a negligent, such a distracted life, turned to him: "Be strengthened by the power of Christ, rise up and tell us, why do you die so easily?" And indeed, he stood up a little and said: "Yes, brothers, indeed, I have lived negligently, carelessly. And just now the Angel presented before me all my sins. I expected severe punishment, retribution. But the angel said, Because you have condemned no one, and have been not malicious, you will not be condemned either. And so I depart, die such an easy death." Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. St. John of the Ladder says: "This is the shortest way to the forgiveness of your sins: do not judge, and no one will condemn you either." Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, be prepared for every good work and learn the commandments of God and try to fulfill these commandments in your life. Because only those who fulfill the commandments of Christ will be justified and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Always remember this direct commandment: do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and will not be condemned. With what judgment you judge, you will be judged. Amen.

On the Sin of Condemnation (II)