On honoring parents

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! The Holy Apostle Paul writes: "Let the man of God be perfect, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17). In order to be prepared for good works, one must learn from the word of God, from the law of God, in order to be able to recognize the holy will of God and fulfill it. Today I wanted to talk to you about one of the greatest Christian virtues - the reverence of children for their parents. Honoring parents is the first duty of children. Even in pre-Christian times, it was a custom among all peoples that the younger ones always revered and respected the elders. Especially the children of their parents. However, despite all the importance and naturalness of this virtue, to everyone's chagrin, at the present time this commandment of God is neglected. We see and hear many cases when children do not show respect to their parents. Not only do they not show respect, but they even allow a gross insult to their parents. And so, in order to remind us of the importance and necessity of this virtue, which is taught by the fifth commandment of the Law of God, we will talk about it today. First of all, nature itself requires the reverence of parents: after all, thanks to parents, children are called to life. And for this alone, they should appreciate their parents. But not only for this. Their parents brought them up, gave them an education, cared for them, kept a watchful eye on their every step, helped them when they needed outside help. They endured in their hearts the greatest sorrows, difficulties, illnesses, and, perhaps, they cried, grieved over the illnesses of their children, their failures. And, of course, all this teaches children to honor and respect their parents. The Apostle Paul writes that love suffers long, love is merciful (1 Corinthians 13:4). And if any love is long-suffering, merciful, then first of all it is parental love. What a father will not forgive his son! Absalom grievously insulted his father, king and prophet David, by rebelling against him with his worthless subjects. But listen to what David says to his military commanders: "Save me the lad Absalom" (2 Samuel 18:5). Fatherly love is ready to forgive everything. Even worthless, prodigal children. Therefore, children should remember this and try to be grateful to their parents. The whole of Holy History teaches us this tender parental love for the children of fathers. Thus, it is narrated that when the sons of the high priest Aaron were struck down by the fire of the Lord, Aaron stood and was silent in sorrow. Let us also remember the lamentation of the righteous Jacob for his lost son Joseph: "With sorrow I will go down to my son into hell" (Gen. 37:35), he said. Let us remember how David grieved for his lost son Absalom. He wept and wept, and said, "Absalom my son! my son, my son Absalom! Oh, who would let me die in your place... (2 Samuel 18:33). Thus David wept and wept. Remember also from the New Testament history what spiritual sorrow was filled with the appeal to the Savior of the father who asked for the healing of his demon-possessed son: Lord! have mercy on my son; at the new moon he is possessed and suffers greatly, for he often throws himself into the fire and often into the water, I brought him to Thy disciples, and they were not able to heal him (Matt. 17:15-16). And also the cries of the Canaanite woman, also addressed to the Saviour: "Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David, my daughter is cruelly possessed" (Matt. 15:22). The daughter suffers, but the mother suffers doubly. Therefore she says: have mercy on me, O Lord! This is the tender love of parents towards their children. And children should not forget this. Children should also respond to this parental love with reciprocal, tender love for them. I will give you another example from civil history, about such an amazing, one might say, all-powerful love of parents for their children. In the year 390 after the birth of Christ, in the city of Thessalonica, by order of the emperor Theodosius, about 7000 people were killed for rebellion in the circus. At the same time, the guilty and the innocent were executed - it did not matter. Both citizens and foreigners suffered, both small and large. Among the others who were doomed to death, there was on that unfortunate day a certain man with two boys, sons. When the turn came to them, the father persuaded the murderers to take pity on him and to pardon at least one son, to let him live. The executioners agreed to pardon one, but told the father that he had to make his own choice: which of the two to leave alive, and which to kill. At this point my father's heart wavered. Both sons were dear to him. He felt sorry for both of them. Therefore, he did not make any choice, and all three of them gave themselves into the hands of cruel executioners. Parents suffer when their children experience some kind of sorrow. In particular, the parental heart is worried, it hurts when children are in illness. At this time, nothing pleases them, nothing pleases them. Only when the merciful Lord raises their children from illnesses, they breathe a sigh of relief, then the joy of their parents knows no bounds. But if parents grieve over the illnesses of their sons and daughters, worry when they are possessed by a bodily illness, then their heart grieves even more when their children suffer from a moral, spiritual illness. This is a double misfortune for parents. We must also honor our parents for the reason that if we reflect on the very commandment of the Lord, which commands us to honor our father and mother, we will see that it contains the promise of God. Namely: for piety, children are promised long life and prosperity. For irreverence - the brevity of life with all kinds of disasters and misfortunes. History and the illustrative examples that we ourselves observe convince us of the power and justice of God's words. Indeed, people who treated their parents with respect, took care of them, live to a ripe old age and spend their lives in every kind of well-being. On the contrary, impudent, disrespectful children usually live only until the mid-day of their days. And they spend their lives in all kinds of disasters and misfortunes. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long on earth," says the fifth commandment of the Law of God (Exodus 20:12); and again: "He who curses his father or mother, let him die" (Matt. 15:4). And there are many such examples when a parental blessing brought down grace on the souls of their children. And vice versa - the parental curse subjected disobedient children to terrible suffering, torment. Blessed Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, relates an incident. Once, in one of the cities of his diocese, an entire family was subjected to such a curse. The mother of nine sons, an old woman, was once very upset by her eldest son, who not only verbally insulted her, but also dared to beat her. Offended, upset by such an act of the eldest son, the mother grieved for her other sons: why did they not restrain him and help, did not protect her when he struck her? And in a fit of such indignation, anger, she indiscriminately cursed them all. And the judgment of God, the inevitable judgment, was accomplished. The eldest son was stricken with paralysis on the same day. His hands, and then all the limbs of his body, began to tremble. He was completely exhausted, he could not even walk. The same fate befell all the other sons within one year alone. So they, unable to endure shame, not tolerating disgrace from their fellow citizens, left this city and wandered somewhere throughout the Roman Empire. Here is a clear example, an obvious example of how God's judgment is carried out quickly on impudent disrespectful children. This example also convinces us that mothers also sin when they dare to pronounce such reckless curses on their children. And children who force their parents to such extreme actions - curses - sin doubly. Yes, you should always remember your responsibilities to your parents. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says in this regard: "Always give due to those who gave birth to you, and for this you will be greatly benefited. Remember that your parents are your greatest benefactors. Remember all their sorrows, labors, and experiences that they took up during your upbringing. And, remembering this, always thank them worthily for this. Do not insult them, show them obedience in everything. But this obedience must be reasonable. Obedience must be in accordance with the word of God and not contrary to the will of God. Do not do or undertake anything without the advice and blessing of your parents. If your parents punish you, if you consider this punishment to be just, if you are really guilty, then bear this punishment with meekness. Because your parents punish you for a good purpose, to correct you, to make you kinder. If you think that this punishment is unfair, you are not guilty, then tell them about it, because you are their child. Do not leave your parents in need, help them, especially in their old age. If you notice any infirmities or weaknesses of your parents, then be afraid to condemn them, much less to divulge them to others. Do not imitate Ham, the son of Noah, who saw the nakedness of his father, and told his brothers about it. And if you offend your parents in any way, then by all means ask their forgiveness as soon as possible. The Word of God commands us to ask forgiveness from every neighbor who has been offended by us, especially from our parents, whom we must love and honor more than other people." Such are the instructions of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk about the relationship of children to their parents. Children who are disrespectful to their parents are deprived of God's blessing. They are deprived of God's mercy. Once, to a certain holy ascetic, parents brought their son, who was possessed by an evil spirit, tormenting him. The parents with tears besought the venerable father, that he would heal their son by his prayer. But the monk, who treated all the suffering with great indulgence, even without an outside request, helping them with his prayer, this time did not show any attention to this youth. He looked at him with displeasure. The parents beseech him, but the ascetic says: "Your son is not worthy of healing, and the evil spirit has been given to him as a punishment for having treated you so boldly. He often did not listen to you and behaved boldly with you, didn't he?" Father shook his head and said, "Yes." - "Didn't you pray, asked the Lord to punish him?" - His parents said with tears: "Yes, we really asked the Lord to punish him for his disobedience." - "So let him suffer for his sins." But the compassionate parents fell down to the saint with tears, and began to pour their tears on his feet, asking him to have pity on them and have mercy on their dissolute son. And then only the monk, laying his hand on him, prayed, and immediately the lad was healed. And here is another example of how the Lord punishes disrespectful children for their impudence towards their parents. An old mother had an only son, whom she loved, whom she raised, in the hope that he would be the breadwinner, her support in old age. But her son, when he came of age, often brought her to tears with his disrespect, rudeness, and insult. One day he began to beat his wife. The mother stood up, but in irritation and rage, the son grabbed her by the chest and pressed her against the wall, began to strangle her. And only the moans of his mother, the cry of his wife, the crying of the children made him stop and leave the house. And then the offended and distressed mother stood before the icons and said: "Lord, You see how my own ungrateful son treats me, what he repays me for my love and care for him. May neither my blessing nor yours, Lord, be upon him." At the same hour, on the same day, he was struck by a terrible illness. All his limbs became paralyzed, his hands trembled. Every day his health deteriorated and deteriorated. He was extremely exhausted, so much so that even his wife fed him with a spoon, with her hands. In this state he was repeatedly taken to the holy saints of God, to Kiev and other holy places. But nowhere did he receive healing. The Lord did not heal him. And now, thirteen years later, he was already so exhausted, so relaxed, that he even lost the gift of speech. Then they decided to call a priest to commune him with the Holy Mysteries. When he received the Holy Mysteries of Christ, the gift of speech returned to him. He summoned all his relatives and children to him and spoke convincingly about how grave the sin of disobedience and disrespect for his parents was, and after these words he died peacefully. These examples, dear ones, they teach us all how we should treat with caution and attention our parents, who gave birth to us, to whom we owe our very lives, who raised us. After all, in our early childhood, parents seem to replace God for us. All authority is based on the authority of God, confirmed by the Lord. Moreover, parental authority is confirmed by the Lord. Therefore, the Lord fulfills the will of the parents in this case. So, having been forewarned about this, dear ones, let us try to fulfill this commandment of God in our lives. And let us write on the tablets of our hearts: Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be good for thee, and that thou shalt live long on the earth (Exodus 20:12), and whosoever curses his father or mother, let him die (Matt. 15:4). Amen.

On the Christian Faith and Life According to the Gospel

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ! From the time when the Divine Sufferer, our Lord Jesus Christ, shed His Divine priceless blood on Golgotha for the salvation of the whole world, the foundation of the Christian faith was laid on earth. The teachings of Jesus Christ, as we know them from the Gospel, began to spread rapidly throughout the world. And people who accepted Christ, believed in Him as the Son of God, accepted His teaching, and began to be called Christians. And at the present time many millions of people consider themselves Christians and, therefore, recognize the Gospel as the first book in the world. A book that contains the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ about how one should live here on earth, in order to be vouchsafed after death, beyond the grave, eternal blissful life, and also in this life - earthly well-being. But what is surprising, to our sorrow, very few follow what is written in the Gospel. Most do not even take the Gospel in their hands and do not examine themselves according to the Gospel. Have you taken the Holy Gospel into your hands in order to check whether you are following the path indicated in it by our Lord Jesus Christ? If you do not do this, then you are making a fatal mistake, disastrous for you. By doing so, you show that you do not value the Divine Blood shed by the Lord on the Cross, and that you do not regard the Holy Gospel proclaimed by Him, which is the way, the truth, and the life for the whole world as a whole, and for each person in particular. Just as there is not a single name under Heaven given to us that could save us, except the name of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:12), so there is no other teaching in the whole world that would point out the direct path to the attainment of eternal bliss and earthly well-being, except the teaching of the Gospel. We are surprisingly frivolous, and sometimes even criminal, in our attitude to the organization of our lives. After all, any builder will not start the construction of a building before he has made the necessary calculations, made estimates and made other preparatory actions. No bricklayer will lay a row of bricks unless he first measures them. And we often arrange our lives in such a way that we do not think at all about any issues that have meaning and significance for us. We have no measure to judge the right course of our lives. Therefore, it turns out that our life's buildings very often crash and break us gravely under their ruins. And this will happen, we will not escape this breakdown and contrition, because we neglect the only true and correct path shown to us by the Lord in His Gospel teaching. Not a day goes by that we do not look at ourselves several times in front of the mirror: whether our clothes are clean or whether our face is dirty. Nevertheless, for years, and perhaps even for the rest of our lives, we never check the neatness and purity of our moral character, contrasting ourselves as a mirror with the perfect image of Christ the Savior, imprinted on us in the Gospel. If we respect, revere a writer or thinker, then we certainly try to learn about the content of his works, we are interested, we learn. Their books become, as they say, a reference book for us. So why do we, Christians, who are called to love goodness, truth, justice, brotherly love, why do we neglect Jesus Christ, His teaching? After all, Jesus Christ lived and suffered out of love for the human race. Why do we neglect Him? Why don't we have even a simple curiosity to read and study the Holy Gospel? Why is the reading of the Gospel in some kind of pen in our country? We want to know the truth, we seek the truth, but we will never find it, because we neglect the source of truth, the Holy Gospel. If we want to look at the sun, we must turn our gaze to the sky. Thus, if we want to know the way of our life, we must turn to Christ. Nowhere will we find such a clear, such a complete answer to all the needs of our spirit except in the Gospel, in the teaching of Him Who said: "I am the way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6). People languishing under the burden of unrighteousness and lawlessness – thus says the Savior in the Gospel, addressing the entire human race. "The life you have chosen for yourself cannot give you happiness. Evil begets only evil, and truth and happiness - the highest goods - are good, which is born exclusively of love and goodness. If you want to find it, if you are burdened by the evil that exists in the world, then come to Me, learn from Me. My words will pour out a healing balm on your tormented, sick souls. I will show you the way and give peace to your soul. Surrender wholeheartedly to My teachings, and walk the path that I have laid before you. And you will see that My yoke is truly easy, and My burden is easy to bear. After a long dark night, with My coming into the world, a bright, quiet day came. The Kingdom of God drew near. It is near you, it is near you, it is only necessary that it penetrate, seize your heart, the source of all rational moral activity, the beginning of human life. Clear a place in your heart for God. Give scope in your life to goodness and truth and free yourself from the lies, violence and coarse selfishness that oppress you (cf. Matt. 11:28-30). If we really want to take seriously the question of how we should live, then we cannot ignore the Gospel. Because only in it can we find the answer to the question of the meaning of life. Christianity amazed the Judeo-pagan world with the novelty of its moral teaching. This novelty lay in the fact that Christianity indicates the only way to achieve salvation - a righteous life as a necessary condition. But this righteous life is made dependent on faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, faith in His redemptive merits, which the Lord accomplished by His suffering on the Cross, by His light-bearing Resurrection. Without this, no human righteousness can grant us salvation. And before the coming of Christ, there were righteous men in the Old Testament. And they sought salvation, sought salvation, and did good works. But they did not receive salvation. Salvation came only with the coming of Christ the Savior to earth. Without suffering on the Cross, there could be no absolution of sins for people. Only after the sufferings of the Cross, only after the glorious Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord into Heaven, only from this moment are people granted eternal life, and people are delivered from the danger of eternal perdition. Therefore, if we wish ourselves well, if we seek salvation for ourselves, then we must first of all be a true follower of Christ. And for this, you need to fulfill His commandments. And in order to fulfill the commandments, one must know Christ's teaching, that is, the Gospel teaching, and be a faithful, constant, worthy disciple of Christ. One must have a constant thirst for the search for God's truth. If we so constantly, persistently strive for Christ, seek justification from Him, do His will, then this will put us among His disciples, among His chosen ones. To become a disciple of Christ means to take upon oneself a great responsibility, to take seriously and carefully one's whole life, to each of one's actions. The Kingdom of Heaven, says the Lord, is wanting, and those who use force take it away (Matt. 11:12). You see that without effort, without effort, it is impossible to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. An inner struggle is required, a struggle with all kinds of bad inclinations, inclinations, passions. Because if we do not watch over ourselves, then an accident or a crash can easily happen to us. You yourself know that when a large building is built, they carefully watch each brick so that it is laid correctly. If it is placed incorrectly, it can serve as a cause for the destruction of the entire building. So it is in the life of a Christian. If a person does not sober up, stay awake and puts some improperly molded brick or some bad deed in the building of his soul, then this can cause his collapse, his death. After all, we know from everyday experience that a small drop of swamp mud, if it falls into a stream of pure water, then, although it may be inconspicuous to the eye, but dissolved in pure water, spoils it and becomes the source of all disease. This is a law both in the physical world and in the spiritual world. Poison, in whatever dose it is taken, remains poison. The same is evil. No matter how much evil there is, it still remains evil and causes the greatest harm to the soul. Therefore, I repeat once again that we must be attentive and serious about the ways of our lives, especially about the arrangement of our spiritual salvation. Without this inner composure, without this inner struggle, there can be no fruit, there can be no success in our spiritual life. We are talking about the meaning of the Gospel, about its importance. And so we can see how beneficial the Gospel is to human souls. Let's take our ancestors. The country was called "Holy Russia". Why? Because our ancestors were brought up, learned from what? On the Psalter and on the Gospel teaching. That is why piety flourished. They were pious people. How many people from the world went to monasteries! Streams of people wanted to asceticize, to serve in the monastic rank. There were more than one and a half thousand monasteries in Russia. And there were not enough: there were so many aspirants to monasticism that they could not accommodate them all. And now? Now the monasteries are being revived, restored, but there are not enough people who want to go to the monastery. This is the result, the consequence of the fact that if then people were brought up in pious teaching and therefore there was a desire for piety in them, now people are "educated" by television, and this is what fruits it gives! We bless our mentors, we bless St. Sergius. They, too, drew piety from Christ's teaching. It is said of Venerable Seraphim that he never parted with the Gospel. He always carried it either in his bosom or in his bag on his shoulders. And in his instructions, St. Seraphim especially points out the importance of reading the Gospel. He says: "One must know the Gospel in such a way that the mind floats in it, as it were." And we, dear ones, have no other way, if we want to be saved and inherit eternal life, than the path of the Gospel commandments, the path of attention to ourselves, the path of strict examination of ourselves before God. There are many things in this world, teachings to which people are attached, which they follow, but only in the Gospel is the truth, for only the Gospel is the teaching of the Lord Himself, His word. And according to the Gospel the Lord will judge us on the day of His Last Judgment, and our eternal fate will depend on whether we have fulfilled what is written in it or neglected it. Whoever 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, says the Lord (John 14:21). Let us love the Lord, brothers and sisters, let us do His commandments. And knowing this, let us make the Gospel the main book of our lives, let us not part with it, but let us always learn from it, remembering that this is the word of God, the will of God, in the fulfillment of which is eternal life. And in non-fulfillment - destruction. Amen.

I walked with the Gospel and was not afraid...

The name of the spiritual father of the Holy Trinity-Sergius Lavra, Archimandrite Kirill, is probably known today by the majority of believers in our country. Very little is known about him, about his life, about the past. This interview (and in its form it is more like a sermon or a Word), devoted to a large extent to memories of the Great Patriotic War, which Father Kirill gave to the journalist of "Sovereign Russia" is one of those rare occasions when he himself tells something about himself. This great terrible Patriotic War, of course, was the result of God's allowance for our apostasy from God, for our moral, ethical violation of the law of God, and for the fact that in Russia they tried to put an end to religion, to faith, to the Church altogether. It is no coincidence that almost all churches were closed just before the war. By this time, there were very few of them left in Russia. The opponents of the Church had just such a goal - to finish everything off in general. According to Khrushchev, they would do away with religion in Russia by 1980 and show the last priest on television. Such was the enemy's plan: that complete atheism should reign everywhere. The Lord foresaw these enemy plans, and in order not to allow their implementation, the Lord allowed war. It is no coincidence. And we see that the war really converted people to the Faith, and the rulers reacted to the Church in a completely different way. Especially when Stalin's decree on the opening of churches in Russia was issued. This, undoubtedly, moved God's mercy to our country, to our Church, to our people. Humanly, of course, we can say that the high military spirit of our soldiers won. And we must pay tribute to the leadership of the country, which erected such a brilliant commander as Zhukov. In former times, the Lord raised up Suvorov and Kutuzov for Russia. In our time, Georgy Zhukov was God's mercy. We owe him salvation. Immediately, our military equipment rose, strengthened and improved. Humanly speaking, we attribute all this to the fact that people united and successfully worked on the front line and in the rear. That's right. But the Lord gave them strength, energy and intelligence. When I read the memoirs of Marshal Zhukov, I was struck by the moment where he writes about how he was amazed at the genius of the strategic plans of the German generals at the beginning of the war. Then he was surprised at the mistakes and miscalculations that they later made. This is what Zhukov says for his part. For my part, I will say: all this was done by the wisdom of God! The Lord, whom He wants to punish, always deprives of reason, mind... And the same person who showed wisdom in the beginning, when the grace of God departed, makes mistakes. When the Lord had already decided to give help to our people, our army, He darkened the minds of the fascists, and gave wisdom, military ingenuity, courage and success to our military leaders. The Lord gave strength, energy, and intelligence to our designers and engineers in order to win. As the saying goes: "Without God, there is no threshold!" The trouble is that we do not see God's Providence and do not give the Lord glory for the fact that He showed such providence, such care. It's sad... Strictly speaking, Russia has risen from insignificance, has grown into a great power only by the grace of God, only by the power of God, by miracles... And no one wants to talk about it... How much mercy our country received at all times when Russia was attacked. And only heavenly help saved from ultimate destruction. And we are so thick-skinned that we do not understand this mercy of God, we do not want to thank the Lord. Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). We attribute all this to ourselves. We say "I", we show pride, and this is just harmful. And for this the Lord gives us to our enemies, in order to humble us, so that we do not forget God... In the first months of the war, our country entered it in a difficult state: defeat followed defeat. The enemy marched without any resistance. And he reached Moscow, Stalingrad. When the Church, the faithful prayed with tears, asking the Lord in prayers for the victory of Russian weapons, the prayer reached the Lord. And He soon changed His wrath to mercy. Moscow was saved by a miracle... If the Germans had been braver, they would have taken it with their bare hands. Moscow hung by a thread. Indeed, the Lord held back the Germans with fear... And when they began to open churches, there was such an upsurge among the people. People went to churches. And I myself was an eyewitness to this... After the Battle of Stalingrad, when we arrived in the Tambov forests to rest, one Sunday I went to Tambov. The only church had just been opened there. The cathedral was all bare, only walls... There are a lot of people. I was in a military uniform, in an overcoat. The priest, Father John, who later became Bishop Innocent of Kalinin, delivered such a heartfelt sermon that everyone in the church wept loudly. It was a continuous scream... A hundred!, and you are involuntarily captured, such touching words were uttered by the priest. Of course, such a cry, the prayer of a simple believing soul reached God! I believe in it one hundred percent! And the Lord helped... To ordinary people, God's help seems invisible. People do not see God, do not know Him. But the connection between the invisible world and the material world is direct. The Lord also raises up the right people, we give them experience and courage. He gives successes in the rear and at the front... I remember how at the beginning of the war our tanks and planes burned like plywood. As soon as Messerschmitt appears, he will give a burst - and our planes will crash. It was painful and sad to look at this. And later, during the Battle of Stalingrad, I was directly delighted: "Katyushas", artillery, our planes dominated, and I was happy for the country, for our power. There was an upsurge in the troops. Everyone was excited. It was the Lord who helped us! And then, thank God, we went through the whole of Ukraine, liberated Romania and Hungary, Austria... After the liberation of Stalingrad, our unit was left to carry out guard duty in the city. There was not a single intact house here. It was April, the sun was already warming. One day, among the ruins of the house, I picked up a book from the garbage. I began to read it and felt something so dear, dear to my soul. It was the Gospel. I found such a treasure, such a consolation for myself.. I gathered all the leaves together - the book was broken, and that Gospel remained with me all the time. Before that, there was such embarrassment: why war, why are we fighting? There were a lot of incomprehensible things, because there was complete atheism in the country, lies, you can't learn the truth. And when I began to read the Gospel, my eyes simply saw everything around me, all the events. It gave me such a balm for the soul. I walked with the Gospel and was not afraid. Never. It was such an inspiration! It's just that the Lord was with me, and I was not afraid of anything. He reached Austria. The Lord helped and comforted. And after the war, he brought me to the seminary. There was a desire to learn something spiritual... In 1946, I was demobilized from Hungary. When I arrived in Moscow, I asked in the Elokhovsky Cathedral if we had any religious institution. "There is," they say, "a theological seminary has been opened in the Novo-Devichy Convent." I went there right in military uniform. I remember that the Vice-Rector, Father Sergius Savinsky, warmly greeted me and gave me a program of tests. And I began to prepare with great enthusiasm. After all, I was not introduced to church life. He grew up in a peasant family, his parents were believers. But from the age of 12, I lived in an unbelieving environment, with my brother, and lost my spirituality. The Lord gave me such energy, such a desire! I had to learn a lot by heart. Prayers, reading in Church Slavonic. In spite of everything, I worked, studied everything with such a desire. Burned. At the exam they gave me to recite the fiftieth Psalm by heart... I only read half of it - that's enough, thank you. I read it in Church Slavonic. Also good. Then the essay was on the Gospel theme. And I knew the Gospel well. He wrote an essay with an "A". And they sent me a notice that I was accepted. Then I took off my overcoat and went in a sweatshirt. And all of us who were there then, who, like me, came from the front, some from the coal mines, were tested by life... In short, I believe that our unbelief, our ignorance, our ignorance of God, and our violation of moral laws cannot go unpunished. We do not know that the Lord provides not only for each person, but for the whole country in general. That's why there was a war. And this is not without God's permission. If not a hair falls from our head without the will of God, then how much more will there be a war. This is God's allowance for our immorality, for our godlessness, for apostasy. The Lord allowed this to be stopped. Because they tried to completely stifle faith. Churches are all closed. They thought they were finished. No! It wasn't like that! It is difficult to go against the. So it will be in the future. The Lord knows how to humble enemies. He allowed military trials, and were forced to reopen the churches. Because the people demanded it... Today's chaos is, of course, also God's permission. And all these wars on the outskirts of Russia - too. If the people do not come to their senses, do not deeply repent, and the decay of morals does not stop, then there is nothing good to expect. We can only expect death. Is it permissible that in our country, in Holy Russia, freedom is now given to demons? Sorcerers, magicians, psychics, sects of various kinds... This, of course, moves God's truth to anger. The Lord cannot put up with this. The Gospel says: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth with unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). The Lord gives a test: come to your senses! turn to me. And the fact that demonism was allowed is a terrible thing! And I don't know what to expect?! Because, according to the biblical legend, the seven Canaanite peoples were exterminated only because they allowed the worship of demons. Human sins are due to weakness. But when people began to turn to the dark demonic power, then the Lord did not tolerate this. And we have opened the way for them. Previously, sorcerers were burned at the stake. And quite recently, in our Criminal Code, black magic was punished. And now psychics code people. This is a terrible thing. We are on the verge of life! And if we do not come to our senses, do not repent, do not condemn ourselves, do not turn to God, punishment will inevitably befall us. In the meantime, the Lord endures all this at the expense of believers. The Church still exists. She prays and beseeches the Lord: do not let it go, I pray You! And the Lord will destroy all the evil spirits! Man himself is to blame for having departed from God, from the truth, for having joined the lie. And lying never gives a person satisfaction. A lie is a lie. That is why people suffocate - because they are in a lie. And if they turn to the truth, they will feel life, joy! Recorded by Andrey PECHERSKY "Derzhavnaya Rus", No 7-9 (19), 1995