And so peace has been restored to the Church, most beloved brethren, and – which recently seemed difficult for those of little faith, and impossible for the unbelievers – by the help and retribution of the Lord, tranquility has again been granted to us! Again my soul becomes joyful: the storm and the cloud of persecution are dispersed - calm and clear weather has come. We must praise and solemnly thank God for His blessings and gifts (although even during the persecution our lips did not cease to give thanks to Him, for the enemy is not given so much power that he deprives us of the opportunity to always and everywhere bless and glorify the Lord, from us, who love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength). The day desired by all came, and after the terrible and terrible darkness of the long night, the world shone, illumined by the light of the Lord.

With joyful eyes we gaze upon the confessors, glorious for the confession of their good name, worthy of praise for their valor and faith; clinging to the holy embrace, with insatiable love we embrace those who have been so long desired. Before us is the radiant host of Christ's soldiers, who, being ready to endure prison, armed to endure death, by their steadfastness calmed the storm of persecution that had befallen them. You bravely resisted the world; a brilliant spectacle was presented to God; were an example for subsequent brothers. A pious voice proclaimed Christ, in whom, according to your confession, you have once and for all believed. Glorious hands, accustomed only to divine actions, refused to serve in sacrilegious sacrifices. The lips, sanctified by heavenly food, after the Body and Blood of the Lord, did not want to touch anything pagan - they spat on the idolatrous remains. Your head has remained free from the impious and lawless veil with which the captive heads of those who offered sacrifices were covered there; a pure forehead with the sign of God could not wear the crown of the devil – it reserved itself for the crown of the Lord. Oh, with what delight the Mother Church welcomes you into her arms as you return from battle! With what bliss and with what joy does she open her gates, so that you may enter in united troops, bearing monuments of victory over the defeated enemy! With triumphant men come women who have conquered even their own sex in peace; Virgins come with the sheer glory of their belligerence, and youths whose valor exceeds their years. Your glory is followed by the rest of the multitude of "settled"; with very close to yours and with almost the same laudable distinctions, and they follow in your footsteps; and in them is the same sincerity of heart, the same wholeness of unshakable faith. Established on the unshakable foundations of the commandments of heaven and strengthened by the traditions of the Gospel, they feared neither the prescribed exiles, nor the tortures determined for them: neither the loss of property, nor the tortures of the body. For the test of faith, dates were appointed; but whoever remembers that he has renounced the world does not know any worldly date: he no longer thinks of earthly times who expects eternity from God. Let no one, most beloved brethren, diminish this glory; let no one with malicious slander implore the undamaged firmness of the "standing". When the time appointed for renunciation of the faith has passed, the one who did not renounce in time thereby confessed that he was a Christian. To fall into the hands of the pagans and there to confess the Lord is the first victorious distinction; to hide oneself cautiously, in order to preserve oneself for the Lord through this is the second step to glory. There is a confession of the whole people; here is the secret. He overcomes the judge of the world; but this one, being content with his judge God, keeps his conscience pure in the purity of his heart. Courage is more visible there; here the anxiety itself is calmer. As his hour approaches, he is found already ripe; and this, perhaps, is only postponed: having left the inheritance, he hid himself because he did not want to renounce, and he would certainly have confessed Christ if he had been arrested.

These heavenly crowns of martyrs, these spiritual distinctions of confessors, these greatest and superior virtues of the steadfast brethren, are darkened by one sorrow, the sorrow that the cruel enemy, by his devastating defeat, has overthrown the part torn from our intestines. What should I do in this case, most beloved brethren? What should I, who am overwhelmed by various thoughts, say? Tears, more than words, are needed to express the pain with which we must mourn the ulcer of our body - the manifold destruction of a people once numerous.

My heart is united with each of you; With each one I share the burden of sorrow and deprivation: I weep with those who weep, I weep with those who weep, and with those who lie down I consider myself to be lying down. And my limbs, together with yours, are pierced by the same arrows of the fierce enemy: the same fierce swords have passed through my womb. My spirit could not be detached and free from the misfortune of persecution: in the prostrate brothers, love overthrew me.

Yet, most beloved brethren, it is necessary to be truthful; The gloomy darkness of hostile persecution should not have so blinded the mind and feeling that there would be no light left at all, no torch at which to discern the divine destinies. If we find out the cause of the injury, then we will find a cure for the wound. The Lord wanted to test His family, and since the long peace had damaged the teaching handed down to us from above, the heavenly Providence itself restored the lying and, if I may say so, almost dormant faith. At the same time, while we deserved more, the all-merciful Lord arranged everything so that what happened seemed more like a trial than a persecution. After all, everyone began to care about the increase of their inheritance and, forgetting how the faithful acted under the apostles and how they should always act, with an insatiable desire they rushed to increase their possessions. There was no sincere piety in the priests, pure faith in the ministers, mercy in works, and good order in morals. The men disfigured their beards, the women flushed their faces. The eyes, the creation of God's hands, are distorted; Her hair is decorated with lies. They resort to insidious tricks to catch the hearts of ordinary people, and they lure their brothers with seductive baits. They make conjugal unions with unbelievers, the members of Christ offer them to the pagans. Not only do they swear recklessly, but they also commit perjury. With proud arrogance they despise the primates of the church, slander each other with poisonous lips, and produce mutual strife with stubborn hatred.

What did we not deserve to endure for such sins, when even earlier, as a warning to us, the following divine decree was expressed: "If they forsake My law, and do not go in My judgments; If My righteousness be defiled, and keep My commandments not, will I punish them with the rod of their iniquity, and with the stripes of their iniquity (Psalm 88:31-33)? All this is foretold and foretold to us in advance. But we, not caring about the law given to us and about its fulfillment, despising the commandments of the Lord, made it our sins that more cruel means were required for the correction of the crime and for the divine test. And then, even if it is too late, for us to turn to the fear of the Lord, in order to patiently and courageously undergo this correction of ours and the divine test of ours – but no! Immediately, at the first words of the threatening enemy, a large number of the brothers sold their faith and, not being overthrown by the storm of persecution, overthrew themselves by a voluntary fall.

What, then, tell me, has happened that is unheard of, what is new, that with reckless haste one should betray, the mystery of Christ, as if something unknown and unexpected had happened? Did not the prophets first announce this, and then the apostles? Have not men filled with the Holy Spirit foretold that the righteous would always be persecuted and oppressed by the Gentiles? Does not the Divine Scripture, which always strengthens our faith and inspires the servants of God with a heavenly voice, say first: "Fear the Lord thy God, and unto that one ambassador thou shalt live" (Deuteronomy 6:13)? And then, does it not point to the wrath and indignation of God, and frighten with execution, saying: "And I bow down to them, because I made their fingers, and man bowed down, and man humbled himself, I will not endure them" (Isaiah 2:8-9)? And again God says: "Whosoever ye offer sacrifice to God, let it be consumed by death, but only to the Lord alone" (Exodus 22:20). Further. The Lord, the Teacher in word and the Finisher in deed, teaching what is to be done, and doing what He taught, did He not first foretell in the Gospel all that is now being done and will be done? Is it not predestined in advance for eternal torments for those who reject Him, and salvific rewards for those who confess Him? O wickedness! All this is forgotten, everything has gone out of memory for some. They did not even wait to go, at least not when they were captured; to renounce when asked. Many were defeated before the battle, overthrown without a fight, and did not even leave for themselves a visible pretext that they sacrificed to idols under compulsion. They willingly run to the market-place, voluntarily hasten to death, as if they were glad of the opportunity that presented itself, which they had always looked forward to! How many rulers there had been respite because of the coming evening, and how many had even asked that their destruction should not be postponed!

You have slain your salvation, your hope there, you have burned your faith with those deadly fires.

For many, their own destruction was not enough - the people were moved to destruction by mutual exhortations: they mutually offered each other to drink death from a deadly vessel. Moreover, for the complete completeness of the crime, even infants brought or attracted by the hands of their parents - minors - and they lost what they received soon after their birth. Will they not say, when the Day of Judgment comes, "We have done nothing wrong, leaving the food and the cup of the Lord, we have not hastened voluntarily to the Gentile feast. We have been ruined by the treachery of others; we consider our parents to be our murderers: they have torn us away from the Mother Church, from the Father-God, and we, small, foolish, who do not understand the importance of such a grave crime, have become accomplices in iniquity through others, caught by the cunning of others. And alas! There is no just and true reason that would justify such a crime.

It was necessary to leave one's fatherland, to leave one's inheritance: for who among those who are born and then die will not one day have to part with one's fatherland and leave one's inheritance? Only Christ should not be abandoned; only the loss of salvation and the loss of eternal abode is to be feared. Here is the Holy Spirit calling out through the prophet: "Depart, depart, depart from within, and touch not uncleanness, depart from his midst, depart from him that beareth the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11). And here those who are themselves the vessels of the Lord and the temple of God, do not depart from the midst and do not depart in order to avoid touching impurity and not to be forced to defile themselves with food sacrificed to idols! A voice from heaven is still heard, instructing the servants of God how they should act: "Come out of it, my people, that ye be not partakers of its sin, and that ye be not harmed by its plagues" (Rev. 18:4). Whoever departs and departs avoids participation in sin; and whoever becomes an accomplice in a crime exposes himself to blows. That is why the Lord commanded us to hide and flee during persecution: so He taught and so He Himself acted. The crown is given by God's vouchsafe, and it cannot be received until the hour comes to receive it. And therefore whoever, abiding in Christ, apostatizes for a time, does not renounce the faith, but only waits for the time. But if someone fell without hiding, it means that he remained with the intention of renouncing. Most beloved brethren, we should not conceal the truth, we should not be silent about the cause and cause of our defeat. Many were deceived by blind love for their inherited property: those who, like fetters, were bound by their riches, were not ready and could not retreat. These were the chains for those who remained, these were the chains that restrained their valor, crushed their faith, conquered their minds, chained their souls, and, bound to earthly things, became the prey and food of the serpent, which, according to God's judgment, devours the earth. That is why the Lord, instructing us in good things and warning us for the future, said: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell thy possessions, and give to the poor, have treasure in heaven, and follow after me" (Matt. 19:21). If the rich did this, they would not perish through their wealth; If they had laid down their treasure in heaven, they would now have no domestic enemy and conqueror: their hearts, souls, and feelings would be in heaven if there were treasure in heaven, and the world could not conquer him who had nothing in the world over which to be conquered. Detached and free, he would have followed the Lord, as did the Apostles and many under the Apostles, as did others, who, having left their possessions and relatives, cleaved to Christ in an indissoluble union. Otherwise, how can those who are held back by the bonds of inheritance follow Christ? How can those who are burdened with earthly desires reach heaven, ascend to the heights and to the heavens? Slaves to their wealth - they consider themselves possessors, when in fact they are; No, they are not masters, but slaves of their money!

This is the time of these people as well, which the Apostle denotes, saying: "But he who desires to be rich falls into misfortunes and snares, and into lusts many are foolish and damaging, which plunge men into destruction and destruction; The root of all evil is the love of money, which some who desire to go astray from the faith and nail to themselves are sick with many (1 Tim. 6:9-10). Meanwhile, what rewards does the Lord promise us for the contempt of possessions? With what benefits does He reward these small and insignificant temporary losses? "There is no one," he says, "who shall leave home, or parents, or brethren, or sisters, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive multiplication in this time, and in the age to come, eternal life" (Luke 18:29-30). Knowing this, and having a correct understanding of the truth of the Lord's promise, we must not only not fear, but also desire such a loss, especially since the Lord again cries out and exhorts: "Blessed will ye be, when men hate you, and when ye shall separate and revile and carry out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of man." Rejoice in that day, and cry out: for behold, your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:22-23).

"But then the tortures came, and those who resisted were threatened with severe torments." Can one who has gained the upper hand of torture refer to torture? Can one who is overcome by pain find excuse in pain? He can only plead, saying: "I wanted to fight bravely, and, remembering my oath, I armed myself with the armor of devotion and the faithful, but in the battle I was overpowered by various torments and prolonged tortures. His mind remained steadfast, his faith strong, and his unyielding soul struggled for a long time with painful executions. But when the brutality of the hard-hearted judge intensified, and I, already exhausted, began to be flogged with rods, beaten with sticks, stretched on a wooden horse, scraped with claws, roasted in the fire, then my flesh left me in the battle, the weakness of the womb gave way, and it was not the spirit that fainted in sickness, but the body." Such a circumstance can contribute to forgiveness. Such an excuse may merit compassion. Thus here too the Lord granted forgiveness to Caste and Emilius: He made those who were defeated in the first battle victorious in the second, and those who had succumbed first to fire later became stronger than fire and gained victory over that which they themselves had previously been defeated. But they begged for mercy not with tears, but with wounds, not only with a lamentable voice, but with ulcers and diseases of the body - instead of sobs, blood flowed from their half-burned entrails. What wounds can the vanquished now show, what ulcers of the gaping entrails, what injuries to the limbs, when faith did not fall in battle, but treachery prevented the battle? There cannot be an excuse for the necessity of a crime where the crime was voluntary.

However, I say this not in order to increase the guilt of the brethren, but in order to motivate them more to satisfactory prayer. In the Scriptures it is said: "He who blesses you flatters you, and the paths of your feet trouble" (Isaiah 3:12). Whoever caresses the sinner with flattering caresses, only disposes him more to sin and does not suppress crimes, but nourishes him. But whoever by strict counsel rebukes and together instructs a brother, contributes to his salvation. But if I love them, says the Lord, I rebuke and chasten them (Rev. 3:19). So it behooves the priest of God not to deceive with flattering services, but to provide for saving medicines. The physician who only slightly palpates the swollen convolutions of the wounds is not skillful: by preserving the poison imprisoned inside, in deep hollows, it only increases its strength. It is necessary to open the wound, cut it and, having cleansed it of pus, apply a powerful plaster to it. Let the sick man cry out, let him scream, let him complain of unbearable pain - he will thank him later when he feels well. And then, most beloved brethren, a new kind of defeat has appeared, and, as if the storm of persecution had not raged enough, seductive evil and destruction arose under the guise of compassion to make up for it. Some, contrary to the essence of the Gospel, contrary to the law of the Lord and God, in their foolishness admit the imprudent to communion, give them an invalid and false peace, harmful to those who give and not in the least beneficial to those who receive. They do not seek recovery in patience and true healing in satisfaction. Repentance has been banished from hearts, the memory of the gravest and most extreme lawlessness has been blotted out. The wounds of the dying are closed, and the deadly ulcer, deeply rooted inside, is covered by feigned compassion. Those who return from the altars of the devil, with unclean and scorched hands, approach the holy thing of the Lord. Those who regurgitate idolatrous viands with their lips, which even now breathe out their iniquity and smell of fatal infection, receive the Body of the Lord, despite the fact that the Divine Scripture forbids this, crying out loudly: "Let everyone who is clean eat meat; but if the soul eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of salvation, which is to the Lord, and its uncleanness is upon it, it shall perish from its own people (Lev. 7:19-20). The Apostle testifies to the same thing, saying: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). And he makes the following threat to the stubborn and disobedient: "Whosoever eateth this bread, or drinketh the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27). Having imputed this to nothing and despised all this, before atoning for their sins, confessing their crime, cleansing their conscience with the Sacrament of Repentance and propitiating the Lord with the laying on of the priestly hand, indignant and threatening for the insult inflicted on Him, they rape His Body and Blood, and thus, with their hands and lips, they now sin against the Lord more than when they rejected the Lord. They consider peace to be that which some in false words offer them as peace. No, this is not peace, but strife. Why should unrighteousness be called a good deed? Why should impiety be called godliness? Why, having prevented repentant weeping, pretend to enter into communion with those who must constantly weep and beseech their Lord? For the fallen, it is what hail is to fruit, a storm to trees, a pestilence to flocks, a hurricane to ships. They take away the consolation of eternal reward, uproot a tree, imperceptibly drag a ship to a deadly infection with a disastrous speech, direct a ship to underwater rocks so that it does not enter the harbor. This indulgence does not bring peace, but destroys; it does not give communion, but serves as an obstacle to salvation. This is another persecution, another temptation, in which the cunning enemy, who still continues to attack the fallen, produces secret devastation by ceasing weeping, silence illness, suppressing the sigh of the heart, stopping tears, and the fallen ceasing to propitiate the offended Lord by prolonged and complete repentance, whereas in the Scriptures it is said: "Remember whence thou hast slept, and repent" (Rev. 2:5).