In the Gospel there is also a well-known parable about a sower who sowed seeds in different places: by the wayside, in stony soil, in thorns, and, finally, on good ground. This parable shows how the Gospel word is received by the heart of each person, the hearts of different people. But this parable can also be applied to entire nations: each nation can be attributed to one of these four types.

There is no doubt that the word of the Gospel, sown in the heart of the Russian people a thousand years ago, fell on good soil. The Russian people accepted the Gospel message with all their hearts, gave Christ the holy of holies of their souls and brought Him abundant unearthly fruits of righteousness and holiness. In the liturgical Menaion, the list of the names of Russian saints alone occupies about thirty pages, and, of course, incomparably more saints are not listed in this list, but their names are known only to the Lord God.

Russia was called holy, and the highest ideal for it was always righteousness and holiness. Not all Christian nations have managed to preserve such an ideal. For example, the peoples of Western Europe, once Christian, have long since lost this heavenly ideal and replaced it with an earthly, human one. Not holiness, but decency, honesty, good manners, and similar human virtues have been the ideal for the West for many centuries. Of course, an honest, good, well-mannered person is also not bad, but the difference between such a person and a holy person is like the difference between earth and heaven...

It was by the heavenly ideal of holiness that Holy Russia lived for many centuries of its history, to which it strove, to which it sought. And many Russian people attained this ideal, and those who did not attain it came very close to it. This is evidenced by numerous facts of Russian history and Russian life. For example, St. Silouan the Athonite said of his father Ivan Petrovich, a simple peasant, that he, that is, St. Silouan, had not attained the measure of Christian perfection, that his father was higher than him. And this is what a great saint says!

And one spiritual writer recounts the following story of the nun Smaragda, a man of high spiritual life, a righteous woman and a woman of prayer: "A woman is sitting in the market, selling something from her garden. She pulled the handkerchief over her eyes: firstly, the sun was baking, and secondly, in order to be less distracted by the surrounding bustle, she said the Jesus Prayer. She sat with her eyes downcast, praying, and suddenly she heard a poor old man come up to her and say to her: "And you should be simpler: only 'Lord, have mercy', so it will be easier for you." He said it and went. It was the first time she had seen him. Of course, she prayed to herself: he could not hear. That's what we used to have both merchants and beggars..."

And how many of them there were in Russia, God's people and righteous people, known only to God! It is not at all surprising that St. Seraphim of Sarov once saw in the Holy Spirit the Russian land, which was all covered with the fragrant smoke of prayers, rising from earth to heaven. And this, of course, is truly a picture of the people of God, who live by faith, prayer, and communion with God. The words of the poet Rilke, who said that all states border on each other, and Russia borders on God, are quite true...

Russia got a difficult path, throughout its history it was forced to fight against numerous strong and merciless enemies, often threatening it with complete destruction. It was not protected from these enemies by the sea, mountains, or deserts, because Russia is located on a wide plain open on all sides. From the east, the hordes of Batu Khan and Mamai were marching on it, from the west - the Poles, Napoleon and Hitler. From the north - the Swedes, from the south - the Turks. The very climatic and natural conditions in which she lived were difficult conditions: half of the territory of Russia is permafrost, where agriculture is impossible. Its southern part, where agriculture is possible, was a territory completely open and not protected from military invasions and from raids of steppe predators. Therefore, people have always lived in Russia relatively poorly. Even what they managed to accumulate was often destroyed, captured, burned to ashes by another invasion or raid.