Before the creation of this kingdom of nature, heaven and earth, what existed? Chaos, abyss, nothing. Only the all-powerful hand of the Most High could extract this great spectacle of miracles from this chaos, the abyss, from non-existence, "the right hand of the Lord create power" (Psalm 117:15 and 16). And before the creation of the kingdom of grace, i.e. the Church of Christ, before the emergence of faith and Orthodoxy, what happened? The chaos of wickedness, the abyss of perdition, the complete absence of righteousness and holiness. With the exception of a small part of the earth, Judea, where the true God was acknowledged, though it is true that this part was much defiled by the neighboring tribes, the whole world was full of idols and their worshippers. Egypt, Greece, Rome – these noblest countries were like that. Kings and their subjects, wise and unlearned, men and women, old men and children, forsook the Creator and served creatures, some to the sun, some to the moon, stars, animals, plants; everyone revered what he wanted, mainly idolizing his passion. But faith is the main rule of life. Judge, then, what was the life of these people? Who was afraid of murder? Who was ashamed of fornication or adultery? Their gods themselves were bloodthirsty, like Areus and Hercules; fornicators and adulterers, like Zeus and Aphrodite. Who could have an incentive to do good if there was no hope of paradise? Who would try to avoid evil if there was no fear of eternal punishment? What kind of morals could people have who did not know God, and even if they did, they did not recognize Him? Evil became universal and had a long past, so it became nature itself. Firmly on earth stood the kingdom of Lucifer, to which people completely surrendered and devoted themselves. It was then that "the Lord from heaven spoke of the parable of the sons of men, seeing if they understood it, or they sought God. All deviated from it, together they were inconsistent; do not do good, not to one" (Psalm 13:2-3).

Now measure with your mind all the depth of error and destruction in which the world has been plunged; measure also the height of the knowledge of God and holiness, to which he had to ascend with faith in Christ. Idolatry, so deeply rooted in the hearts of men, had to fall, and faith had to rise in one God, Who exists in heaven in one nature and three hypostases (but these three hypostases are one God), and in God, Who appeared on earth in two natures and one hypostasis – the God-man and the man who died on the cross. The temples of the idols, which covered the whole earth, were to fall, and in their place a new Church was to arise, in which, as in a sheepfold, the lost sheep would gather. A doctrine had to be preached that was completely opposite to worldly wisdom, and people who had been earthly demons through malice were to be turned into earthly angels by virtue. In short, the world, decrepit in sin, was destined to be renewed in holiness, completely changed and changed in faith and life.

And indeed, the world has changed. Whose right hand could this miraculous change have been? Of course, only the right hand of God. Only the Most High God, who did not need any means for action, could create this miraculous deed out of nothing. Which of the creatures appeared for the organization of the Church and the preaching of the faith in Christ? Neither angel nor archangel descended from heaven to impress people with the supernatural power of great miracles. Here, on earth, there did not appear a courageous commander, a wise knight, or any famous rich man, who would either force by force of his arms, or persuade by his skillful eloquence, or, finally, by the multitude of his gifts, attracted people to the new faith. Quite the opposite; and as Blessed Paul says, "God chose the mighty in the riot of the world, that He might put to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world, that He might put to shame the strong; and God hath chosen the wickedness of the world, and the despised one, and the bearer, that he may abolish that which is" (1 Cor. 1:27-28). Who is it? The Jews, i.e., the disgrace and reproach of all nations; fishermen by occupation, which means that they are poor and unenlightened people; and twelve in all, very few. It is these whom God has chosen and sent to preach the Gospel throughout the whole world: "Go ye into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). It is as if I see them – here they are coming out of the upper room of Jerusalem to disperse to different countries of the universe. Stop, stop a little, men of Galilee, wait a little while, please, and tell me, what kind of work are you starting? We have been sent, they answer, some to Rome, the capital of the world kingdom, some to Athens, where all the wisdom of the earth sits, some to the Indians, some to the Scythians, savage barbarian tribes — in short, we have been sent even to the last countries of the universe to expel all other faith and to persuade people to accept a new faith — in the God-man, Who was born without a father, only from one Mother — the Virgin; A poor man, who died in the time of Pontius Pilate on the cross between two thieves; We are going to persuade people for the sake of love and faith in Him crucified to be ready to renounce the world, fatherland, parents, children and their own lives, to prefer poverty and humiliation to all the treasures and kingdoms of the world, to all the riches and kingdoms of the world, to harsh life to all pleasures, to love one another in return, to love even one's enemies, to answer their battle with prayer, to repay hatred with beneficence. We go to preach this new doctrine not only to ordinary people, but also to military commanders and kings, knights and sages; we want them to leave their rods and crowns and take up the cross, and others to submit their minds and wills to faith in the Crucified One. We are coming to bring the world to a new faith and life, to make the pagan world Christian. The wicked is holy.

Ok. You, of course, are embarking on a great and difficult enterprise. Where is your army? "There are only twelve of us. "Where are your weapons?" "The one who sent us forbade us to take even a rod with us. "Then you intend to attract people to your teaching with wealth?" — No, I don't. We are so poor, and even the little wealth that we had, we have left. "But perhaps you have the gift of speech, perhaps you are eloquent, and thus persuade people to accept these strange dogmas, contrary to all natural sense?" — Not either. We do not know what the wisdom of the world is and speak only our native language. "With what do you hope to convert the whole world to the faith that is being preached?" We do not rely on any human power, only on the power of the Teacher who sent us, and we believe that we will do all things, "through Christ who strengthens us" (Phil. 4:13).

What do I hear, brethren? Everything that these people wanted to achieve, they achieved. Now, please tell me, who could have done such a great thing, to create this Orthodox Church from the very beginning from the "bearer," with the help of such instruments of "bearing," as Paul calls them, who could have done it but Almighty God? Yes, "the right hand of the Lord create power" (Psalm 117:15 and 16). Not angelic, not human, but the mighty right hand of God, which extracted the kingdom of nature from the bearer, also created the kingdom of grace from the bearer. Therefore, Orthodoxy is all divine from the very beginning.

The Christian faith is a heavenly teaching above nature, word and reason, it contains mysteries that are unprovable and incomprehensible. It is, according to Paul's definition, "the knowledge of those who trust, the endowment of things invisible" (Hebrews 11:1). This is faith in one God, but a triune God in the persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; in three hypostasis, but one in essence and nature; faith in one Lord Jesus Christ, both God and man, special in nature and one in hypostasis. "Who... wise, and will he understand this?" (Jeremiah 9:12). To see bread at the holy table and to believe that this is the true body of Jesus Christ, an animate body, a whole body, limited to a place but not describable, broken up but not divided, eaten but not depended upon, which at one and the same time in heaven and on earth, and in all Orthodox churches, is one and the same body. To see natural water in the holy font washing the body, and to believe that this is a spiritual bath that cleanses the soul. It is sensual to see and mentally believe in the mysteries in such a way that the mind renounces feeling, even renounces faith in itself. "Who... wise, and will understand this?" — All these are dogmas, incomprehensible to the human mind. On the other hand, the Christian faith is a law, all spiritual, all holy, a law that commands poverty, celibacy, fasting, abstinence, humility, and love so perfect that it would extend even to enemies. This is the law that requires that man be spiritual in the flesh and holy in the world, a law contrary to the law of the world and the flesh. These are all things that the human will is reluctant to accept. And yet this doctrine, so incomprehensible to the mind, the law, so heavy to the will, was strengthened, spread throughout all the countries of the earth, among people of all conditions. But how? Perhaps with the help of some human power? No. On the contrary, all human strength, aided by the power of the demons, offered him militant resistance.

Imagine, Christians, that there are few sheep in the field fighting with wolves, lions, dragons and other beasts, numerous, wild and bloodthirsty. What will you say if you see that these few sheep will conquer, drive away, and scatter wolves, lions, dragons, and all other beasts, and, dispersing to the various countries of the earth, will multiply so much that they form one numerous flock? Of course, you will say that this phenomenon is unnatural, that it is an outstanding miracle. This is truly what happened to the Church of Christ. So I see the twelve apostles as twelve sheep sent by Christ to preach the world, as on the battlefield. "Behold, I send you," He Himself foretold, "as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matt. 10:16). There are not only wolves there – Jews, persecutors of Christians; there are lions – tormenting kings, persecutors of the faith, there are also apostate dragons and demons who are antitheists. An innumerable multitude of beasts, visible and invisible enemies, with irrepressible force and fury attacked the sheep of Christ, the young Church. But what a wonderful sight I see! These few sheep overcame, drove away, and scattered wolves, lions, dragons, and all other beasts, Jews, tyrants, demons, and all enemies. I see how the humble have triumphed over the proud, the unarmed over the strong, the poor over kings, the unlearned over the wise; the twelve became innumerable, increased, multiplied, filled the whole earth. "Their proclamation went forth into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 18:5). I see how the Cross of Christ has risen above the trophies of the Roman Capitol; I see that in Athens the altar dedicated to the "Unknown God" has fallen, and the Crucified One accepts worship. I see that, in the words of Chrysostom, "in a short time the fishermen and tax collectors reached the very top of the cities, and the tentmaker converted all Greece." I see that the people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; every mountain and hill was humbled, the crookedness was corrected, the irregularities of the paths were smoothed out; all flesh sees the salvation of our God. I see barbarian tribes baptized, cities, regions, kingdoms – Orthodox. The deserts were filled with ascetics, the monasteries with holy virgins. I see an innumerable multitude of martyrs, out of love for Christ, going to torment, like sheep to the slaughter. I see how the world, hitherto godless or polytheistic, hitherto impious and impure, has become pious, holy, Christian. Everywhere the Gospel is preached, everywhere faith wins. "This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith" (1 John 5:4). "Whose business is this change?" Of course, of course, the right hand of the Most High. How was this great deed accomplished? Of course, "create power with the right hand of the Lord." Yes, the right hand of the Most High has multiplied Orthodoxy. "Not in the words that are contrary to the wisdom of men, but in the manifestation of the Spirit and of power" (1 Cor. 2:4). The right hand of the Most High arranged it so that the single preaching of the apostles was heard by various nations, that pagan temples fell at the hands of the apostles, idols were destroyed, and their worshippers were converted to faith. "And by the hands of the apostles there were signs and wonders among many people" (Acts 5:12). Signs are the healing of the sick, the cleansing of lepers, the resurrection of the dead, the casting out of unclean spirits. Miracles – lions kissed the feet of holy people, martyrs remained unharmed in the fire, virgins fought with beasts and tamed them, motionless hills moved away, stormy seas calmed down by the prayer of a Christian. "There are many signs and wonders among people."

Come now, you godless, unfaithful, impious, come near, all enemies of my Orthodox faith! As many as the sun's rays are, there are as many proofs that prove that the faith I contain is the true faith. But first I want to offer you the following question.

All these miracles, by which, as I have said, God strengthened the Christian faith, either really were, or were not at all. If they existed, then this is the true faith of God, for the sake of which God performed so many miracles. And if they did not exist at all, then how did such faith, a teaching so difficult for the mind, a law so difficult for the will, spread throughout the whole earth without miracles? This is an even greater miracle, even a miracle of miracles! In any case, this is a miracle and, therefore, the work of God. "The right hand of the Lord create power."

The Orthodox faith is divine in the beginning, divine in development; Is it not also divine in its affirmation? The Holy Spirit very clearly depicted the mysterious structure of the Holy Church through the mouth of Solomon: "Wisdom build for yourself a house, and establish seven pillars" (Proverbs 9:1). What kind of wisdom is this, the wisdom of men or of angels? No, says Paul: "Wisdom... no one of the princes of this world understands" (1 Corinthians 2:8), for the true supernatural and superhuman structure of the Church could not be an invention of created wisdom. This is the supreme Wisdom of God, Who invisibly created all things according to a plan, according to measure and number, sitting in heaven on the throne of glory, receiving worship from the angels. "Build Thy House" – I have created a house here on earth to receive worship from people, a house of prayer, a house of sanctification, a house of salvation, a Church. In the foundation of the house she put the confession that we heard today from Nathanael: "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God" (John 1:49), and which is identical with the saying of Peter: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). From this we learn that this Son of the Living God, believed in the heart and confessed with the lips, is the predestined foundation of the Church, is the cornerstone, the immovable and indestructible stone of faith. Thus Isaiah prophesied: "Behold, I lay for the foundation... stone... elected, cornerstone, honest... and he that believeth in it shall not be ashamed" (28:16), and David: "The stone which he built shall be the chief cornerstone" (Psalm 117:22). Paul also teaches: "But no one can lay another foundation than that which is lying down, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11). This is how Theodoret explains this in the 3rd homily on the Song of Songs, Basil in the homily on repentance and the words: "Take heed unto thyself," Chrysostom in the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, and many other teachers. The affirmation of this mysterious house is also allegorically revealed by Christ in the 7th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, where He says that a reasonable man built his house on a rock; And it rained, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and rushed upon that house, but the house did not float away, for it was founded on a rock. A solid and immovable house, founded on a rock, is the Church of Christ, built by a reasonable, all-wise and Divine Builder. To destroy it, the devil used three powerful means: rains to drown it, rivers to erode its foundations, and winds to overthrow it. These were the three terrible enemies raised by him to fight against the Church: the Jews, the persecutors, and the heretics. First it rained, and the envy of the Jews was revealed. They crucified the Builder of this house. Consider, then, what hatred they breathed against His co-workers, the disciples? The openly preached name of Christ struck their hearts. The greatness of the Church, which grew daily on the ruins of the synagogue, poisoned their souls. It is impossible to describe how many intrigues, how many slander, how many persecutions, how many wars they raised against the apostles and the new Christians. As forty days, you know, once in ancient times the rain continued and flooded the whole earth, forty years lasted the flood of Jewish envy in order to flood the Church. And what happened? Then the ark did not sink, but the more the rain increased, the more the ark rose, rushing safely on the surface of the waters. In the same way, the Church did not suffer any damage from Jewish envy: the more the envy of the Jews increased, the more the faith of Christians was strengthened. The Jews were eventually exterminated by Roman armies – and the rain stopped. But the rivers came, the royal rivers, great ones; rivers flowing not with water, but with the blood of slain Christians. These are the tyrants of ancient and modern Rome, the persecutors of the Christian faith, who rushed with terrible ferocity to move the Church from its foundations. Do you know how many of them there are? Eighteen, and here are the names of the most eminent: Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, Licinius, Aurelian, Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius, Julian the Apostate, Valens the Isaurian, Constantine Copronymus, and Theophilus the Iconoclast. Do you know how many years the persecution lasted? Eight hundred years and even more. Do you know how many martyrs there were under these tyrants for so many years? Count the stars of heaven or the sand of the sea. If God had preserved in one place the blood of all Christians who suffered for their faith in Christ, then, of course, another "red" sea of holy blood would have been formed. All right, the rivers have come; What did they do? Tyrants have passed, disappeared, kings and kingdoms have fallen, their memory has perished with a noise. And the Christians who were killed multiplied, the persecuted became stronger, those who fought were strengthened, those who were tested became even more enlightened in virtue. At last the winds blew, heretics rising from all corners of the world, winds truly strong in character, contrary to Orthodoxy, contrary to each other in the division and in the agitation that they caused in the Church of Christ. In terms of number, they are limitless, it is impossible to enumerate them. I want to point out to you only the most eminent: the Gnostics, the Ophites, the Montanists, the Sabelians, the Chiliasts, the Paulians, the Manichaeans, the Donatists, the Arians, the Eunomians, the Anthropomorphites, the Macedonians, the Pelagians, the Nestorians, the Severians, the Dioscorites, the Monothelites, the Iconoclasts, the Lutherans, and the Calvinists. Some blaspheme God in general, others blaspheme the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit; these are the economy of the incarnation, these are the sacraments! All of them are moving in unison, striving, fighting against the Church of Christ. So many councils and conferences, so many arguments and struggles, temptations, divisions, noises, disturbances, exiles, deaths—who can transmit them? But at last the winds subsided, heresies and heretics were destroyed, the agitation calmed down, and peace followed. In the Church of Christ shines pure and unblemished Orthodoxy. The rain poured down, the rivers came, the winds blew, but the house of Christ, the Church, did not fall, it stands firm and immovable. "He was founded on a rock" (Matthew 7:25), on a solid cornerstone, Christ, the Son of the living God, therefore "even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Is this not a divine affirmation? And the one who confirmed it — is it not the right hand of the Most High? "Yes, the right hand of the Lord create power."

Oh, the Christian faith, divine in origin, spread and affirmation, all divine! You came from God, spread and established by God! You are a true doctrine. Whoever supports you believes in the Church correctly. You are not a false path. Whoever follows you steadily reaches paradise. Orthodox Christian, you must thank God thousands of times that He gave birth to you in such faith. A philosopher of antiquity thanked God for three things: first, that he was born a man and not a woman; secondly, because he is a Hellen, and not a barbarian; and thirdly, that he is a sage, and not an ignoramus. You must thank God for the other three things: first, for the fact that you were born a Christian, and not an infidel, secondly, for the fact that you are an Orthodox Christian, and not a heretic, and thirdly... Be patient a little, I will tell you about this in the second part.

2

Faith is the rule of life. We must live by faith; otherwise, if life does not agree with faith, such faith is dead and completely useless. "What is the profit, my brethren, if anyone speaks of faith, but has no works? Can food save him by faith?" (James 2:14) "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). In explanation of the words of Christ: "Not everyone shall say unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but do the will of my Father" (Matt. 7:21), Chrysostom says: "The Lord wishes to indicate here that faith is utterly powerless without works." This means that faith without works is only the corpse of faith and cannot accomplish anything, and a person who believes, but does not live like a Christian, let him not hope for eternal salvation. This requires true faith and a good life. By these two men can be saved; With the help of these two wings, it can fly to paradise. We have seen what the faith of Christians should be; Let's see what their life is like. The Christian faith is all divine in its beginning, spreading and consolidation; as a doctrine it is all truth, as a law it is all holiness. And what is the life of modern Christians? What is it? There are not enough words here to describe it; Tears are needed to mourn her. We know what the idol that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream signified. We have an indication and explanation of this in the Divine Scriptures. It is very appropriate for our speech. "Thou hast seen, O king; and behold, the body is one... its... the head is pure of gold, the hand and the hand, and the arm thereof are silver, the belly and the quilt are of copper, the legs are of iron, the nose, for a part is of iron, and a part is scanty" (Dan. 2:31-32). This, believe me, is the true depiction of the life and behavior of Christians.

The idol's head was made of pure gold. And the life of Christians in the first centuries of Christianity had its beginning in virtue and holiness in pure gold. Bishops, priests, deacons, subdeacons, monks, and all clergy in general were like pure gold in good life and example, pure gold in doctrine and morals, in body and soul; all golden, they shone in all their deeds as the true light, according to the commandment of Christ: "Ye are the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14). In the same way, the laity were pure gold in life; men are pure gold in kindness, wives in modesty, old men in prudence, young men in virginity, children in simplicity. Christians, all golden in their minds, thought of nothing but spiritual and heavenly things; golden in their tongues, they spent their time not in vain condemnation of their neighbor, but in prayerful hymns to God. All gold in their hands, they did not rob other people's things out of love of money, but gave away their own alms. Golden in heart, they all loved only God and their neighbor. Out of love for God, they were always ready to shed their blood in martyrdom; In love for their neighbors, they all had, as it were, one heart, one soul. A head made of pure gold is virtuous, holy, true Christians. Then comes the silver breast: the value has decreased. Silver is also expensive, but not as expensive as pure gold. With the passage of time, that fervor of faith cooled down, virtue decreased. The life of Christians was good, but not at all the same as in the early days. Next comes the copper belly. It got even worse. Life came below both the first and the second, cruel and harsh morals spread. But just as copper, though not equal to gold and silver, is still worth something, so the Christians, although they did not resemble the Christians of the first and second periods, were not altogether useless. If they were not perfect, they were not insignificant: among many vices one could find at least one virtue. "The belly is copper." But in the end, in these unfortunate times, we have reached the lower parts of the idol, the legs, of which "some are iron, and some are poor." In other words, we have reached that miserable state, below and worse than which we cannot find anything. We are partly like iron, partly like clay. Like iron, we, without the glitter of virtue, are rusty in ignorance, firm in sin. Our morals are like clay, our deeds are bad, dishonorable, insignificant. Our malice has reached an extreme. Our faith is Christian, but our life is pagan. I will present this to you with my own eyes.