"Christians! – wrote the saint, – the Judgment of Christ is approaching and is already near, and, like a thief in the night, the day will come unexpectedly, and in whatever he finds, he will appear at this terrible judgment. He will find another in fornication, and with him he will appear; another in murder, and with him he will appear; he will find another in drunkenness, and with him he will appear; some in slander, some in slander, some in lies, cunning, and hypocrisy, some in resentment and insult of his neighbor – and with this everyone will appear. Some in banquets and feasting, some in a game of cards, others in operas and masquerades, and so he will appear there. Others are in strife and strife, and so will appear there. He will find others in bribery and pernicious bribes, and with that he will appear there. Others he will find in dances, dances, games, and other disorders, and with that he will appear there. Others in other iniquities, and with that they will appear there!

Pious and God-fearing soul! Rejoice, for eternal salvation draws near to you. You will stand at the right hand of the Judge, the King of heaven, and you will hear the most longed-for voice: "Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34). Woe to the above-mentioned and other lawless Christians! They will be executed by the righteous judgment of God, they will be sent into eternal fire, and with the devil and his angels they will be tormented forever and ever, more than the Turks and idolaters who do not know God!

I beseech you, beloved, I beseech you by the mercy and meekness of Christ, have mercy on your souls and repent, that you may not perish forever. God is still waiting for us, still long-suffering for us. Blessed will be he who truly converts and repents; cursed is he who remains in hardening. He will repent, weep and weep in that hour, but it is too late and useless, for with weeping he will depart into eternal torment.

I am writing this to you out of Christian love and regret. Accept a brief but helpful admonition. Do not look at those who are clearly already godless, and neglect the law of the Lord, because they do not learn from it. Listen to me, who desires your salvation, as well as yourselves, and rather listen to Christ Himself, Who hungers and thirsts for our salvation, Who for this reason also came into the world, suffered and died, that He might see us saved. Fulfill, beloved, the holy and salvific desire of Christ, and eternal salvation, valued at the cost of Christ's blood and death, do not lose. The angels of God in heaven will rejoice over us, and the holy souls when we turn and repent. Christ the Lord will gladly receive us, and will forgive us all our sins. Let us repent and be in constant preparation for the coming of Christ the Lord, the King of glory, Who is coming to judge the living and the dead. The Judge of all is coming quickly, and will not delay. Behold, I come quickly, and my recompense is with me, to repay each one according to his deeds, says the Lord (Rev. 22:12). To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." [101]

Judging by the tone of the speech of this epistle, meek and full of love and anointing, as well as by the entire way of life of the saint during his imprisonment in solitude, we can confidently think and say that at this time his soul remained at peace from the adversity and struggle with those temptations of which we spoke in the preceding chapters. The spiritual, grace-filled peace that comes after the struggle, at this time already dwelt in the holy soul of the ascetic!

On January 29, 1872, St. Tikhon drew up a spiritual testament, in which, having given glory to God for all his good deeds towards him, – in the words of the Apostle Paul, he expresses his hope in God's mercy beyond the boundaries of this life. For we know that if our earthly tabernacle of the body be destroyed, the creation of the Imam from God, the temple of the Imam, eternal in heaven (Psalm 145:1). Praise the Lord, praise Him ye people, for His mercy is established upon us, and the truth of the Lord endureth forever (Psalm 116). Praise the Lord to my soul (Psalm 145:1). Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He visited His people, and wrought deliverance for them, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant (Luke 1:68-69). After this, the saint made an order about his writings, which he instructed his cell-attendant John Efimov to submit to the Holy Synod for consideration. In another note, he makes an order, first, about his property, which, no matter how small, he bequeaths to sell and distribute to the poor, with the exception of some things intended as gifts for memory. Secondly, about his burial, bequeathing to bury himself in prepared clothes and a coffin, in a bishop's mantle and with a panagia. And finally, about the place of the grave, designating it near the Church of the Vladimir Mother of God, on the threshold, at the entrance to the altar: "Let my sinful body be trampled underfoot," he wrote in his will.

For a year and three months, Saint Tikhon received a paralysis of the entire left side of his body and completely lay down in bed. It happened to him in a dream. He imagined that he was praying in the side chapel of the monastery church of St. Eusebius of Samosata, and the parish priest of the city of Zadonsk, named Michael, carried a baby under a white veil to the royal doors. Tikhon asked about the name of the infant, and he was answered: "Basil." Lifting the veil, he kissed him on the right cheek, and the child struck him on the left. Waking up at the same moment, the saint felt numbness in his cheek and the entire left side of his body. Without a doubt, he accepted this illness as God's calling to new spiritual labors and feats. Hearing of this illness of the saint, his sincere friend and admirer, the Right Reverend Tikhon III, immediately came to him. The saint spent a whole day at the monastery, visiting his sick friend many times, consoling him and consoling himself with him with spiritual conversations. [102]

About this time the Lord consoled His saint, who burned with his ardent love for Him, with a new grace-filled revelation. "Saint Tikhon saw in a dream a high staircase standing in the middle of the monastery and surrounded by a multitude of people. He was led to a ladder and demanded that he climb it. He could not excuse himself with weakness of strength and obeyed. The people followed him and supported him, so that he did not feel any fatigue, and when he had already ascended to the clouds, he awoke. Cosmas Ignatievich, who alone had free access to the saint, explained to him that the ladder is the path to the Kingdom of Heaven, its height is the difficulty of the path, the people who followed him are those who listen to his instructions and follow them, the ease and help in the ascent are the assistance of the grace of God and the prayers of those who love him. The saint replied to this explanation: "I myself think the same thing, I feel the approach of my death." [103]

And indeed, the time was coming for the departure of St. Tikhon. His bodily strength began to weaken visibly, although his spirit retained all vigor and strength. His voice weakened to such an extent that only one cell-attendant could understand it, through whom he transmitted his dying suggestions to his visiting friends. Communing of the Holy Mysteries. He communed twice in the last week, and in three days he predicted his death. On this day, he allowed all his acquaintances to come to him and say goodbye. As soon as such permission was received, all his acquaintances hastened to take advantage of it, receive his last blessing and say goodbye. A multitude of persons of both sexes had gathered at his bedside, who were no doubt waiting for this moment of their last meeting. The saint lay with his eyes closed. Seeing his utter exhaustion, his friends fell down to his bed with weeping and sobbing, and, kissing his hand, cried out to him: "You are our father! To whom do you leave us, orphaned, sad and bitter? To whom shall we turn and from whom shall we receive instruction to our needy souls?" The saint, heartily loving them, pressed them to him with his right hand, and pointing with his hand to the picture of the crucified Christ, said to them quietly: "To the Lord God I entrust you."

Thus bidding farewell to his acquaintances and sensing the weakness of his tongue, the saint for the last two days gave himself up to contemplation of God and did not order anyone to be allowed to come to him. But on Saturday evening the hegumen Samuel came to him (in his modesty, the cell-attendant notes), sat down by the bed and began to ask: "Will there be any order?" St. Tikhon opened his eyes, looked at him, and quietly told his cell-attendant not to be disturbed, that there was no order. The hegumen, seeing the approaching death of the saint, kissed his hand and departed, and sternly instructed the cell-attendant to immediately let him know how soon the saint's death would come. "Although he lay with his eyes closed all that time," says the cell-attendant, describing his dying moments, "he deepened his mind, thoughts and feelings for God. That's exactly how it was; for his spiritual feelings and intellectual prayers were very remarkable to me forever. For this reason he deigned to tell the hegumen not to interfere with him, that is, with his deepened thoughts to God." [104]

By midnight from August 12 to 13, it became more difficult for him, and the dying saint asked that an early Liturgy be celebrated early in the morning, in order that he might commune of Holy Communion for the third time. Mysteries. At three o'clock after midnight he sent to ask another hieromonk about this, but his request, as it had happened before, was in no hurry to be fulfilled, and meanwhile his death was apparently approaching. The cell-attendant sent to let the hegumen know about this, but they could not wake him, as if by God's special permission. The monastic brethren, hearing of the approaching death of the saint, gathered to his cell and stood in deep silence near him for half an hour, but Schema-monk Mitrophan told the brethren that his death would not follow soon, and so they all went to church to listen to matins. In their absence, St. Tikhon again asked about the celebration of the Liturgy, then, in order to quench his unbearable thirst, he asked for water and, rising with the help of his cell-attendants, drank half a cup of hot tea water and again asked about the celebration of the Liturgy. But this time there was no concern to fulfill his last wish, and yet the last minute came. At the end of the sixth hour of the morning (45 minutes), continuing to lie quietly, the saint opened his eyes for a minute, and then, closing them, breathed his last. He died in the arms of his cell-attendant, in the presence of four of his servants. "His death was as peaceful as if he had fallen asleep." [105] The righteous man, if he come to die, will be in his chamber, and their torment will not touch (Wis 4:7).

Saint Tikhon died at the age of 59.

As soon as the news of the death of the beloved and revered saint spread throughout the city and surrounding villages, the monastery was suddenly filled with people, and everywhere were heard pitiful cries, especially of the beggars and the poor, who were deprived of their nourishment in it. From the day of death to the very day of burial, the villagers and city dwellers of Voronezh and especially Yelets, in great numbers, day and night, flocked to the monastery to say goodbye to the deceased and pray for the peace of his soul. The requirements for serving pannikhidas were so numerous that the monastery hieromonks did not have time to satisfy the desires of the departed's admirers.

According to the will of the deceased, he was dressed in clothes prepared by him. But the Right Reverend Tikhon III, by the right of friendship and by the strength of respect for the departed saint, canceled his orders and, sending from the cathedral sacristy the full episcopal vestments, ordered him to be dressed in them, and the place for his burial was appointed under the altar of the cathedral church. In accordance with the instructions of the Right Reverend, the deceased saint was dressed in full episcopal vestments, and it was noticed that despite the fourth day, his body remained, as if it were alive, unossified; At the same time, the deceased was placed in a new coffin, made by Yelets merchants, and on the 17th he was carried out of his cell to the large monastery church. On the 20th, Bishop Tikhon III performed the burial of the saint, to which the surrounding clergy were invited.