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.

It was noon when one day Diogenes lit his lantern and began to walk around the Athenian square, as if looking for something. Those who saw him laughed and asked what he was looking for. A man, he answered. How is that? Don't you see so many people? The square is full of people, they asked him, and you are looking for a person among them? Yes, I am looking for a man, a man, answered Diogenes. "What kind of man is Diogenes looking for?" People are of two kinds. There are people who have only the appearance and image of a person; they are people only in appearance, in appearance (such are the corpses, images, and idols of men), but inwardly they are completely useless, rather like irrational animals in their passions or lewdness. Diogenes saw many of them before him, but he did not need this. There are also people who, in addition to human appearance and image, have human reason and virtue, and in their inner motives and in their external actions they are all reasonable, reasonable, virtuous—true people. Diogenes was looking for such a man in that populous city, in Athens, and did not find it. I'm looking for a man, I'm looking for a man!

It's hard for me to make a comparison, but you need to tell the truth. At a time when, like the sun at noon, Orthodoxy shines, I also light the lamp of the Gospel preaching, come to a church full of Christians, and look for a Christian, I am looking for a Christian! How is that? Are not the Christians I see here and there, in the cities, in the fortresses, in the provinces, in the kingdoms, in much of the universe? There are two kinds of Christians. Only do they bear this name, Christians outwardly, and apparently have, as Paul says, only the image of the truth, but inwardly they have no proper works. They have the Christian faith, but not life; their life is the opposite of faith. "He who has the image of godliness, but his powers are opened" (2 Tim. 3:5). I don't need any of them. But there are Christians who, in addition to the name, have other deeds, together with faith, unite a proper life, both externally and inwardly are wholly Orthodox, truly Christians. I want to find at least one of them in a crowded Christian city, but I can't. I am looking for a Christian, a Christian! I move from place to place to find him. I look in the squares, among the nobles, but I see here only vain conceit. There is no Christian! I look for it in the bazaars among the merchants, but I see only insatiable greed here. There is no Christian! I look for him in the streets among young people, and I see extreme depravity. There is no Christian! I go outside the walls of the city and look for him from the villagers, but here I see all the lies of the world. There is no Christian! I walk part of the sea and look for him among the sailors, but I hear no terrible curses here. There is no Christian! I go around the troops, looking for him among the soldiers, but I see extreme dissoluteness here. There is no Christian! I enter the interior of the houses and look for a Christian woman among women, what do I see here? Married women separate from their husbands and rejoice with adulterers. The unmarried live in sin... I see honest women, thinking of nothing but dress and vanity. There is not a single Christian woman! I would like to go up to the palaces of nobles and strong people to see if there is a Christian there, but I do not dare, I am afraid. Flattery guards there and does not allow the truth to penetrate. Oh, the great shame of faith! Oh, the greatest condemnation of Christians!

Have I not told you that we have come to the worst condition, that we have reached the feet of the idol, partly of iron, partly of clay? Did I not tell you that among so many Christians I seek and find not one true one? "All have deviated, together they have not strayed... not to a single one" (Psalm 13:3). All, clergy and laity, princes and the poor, men, wives and children, young men and elders, have deviated from the faith, have begun to live an obscene life, there is not a single one who would live according to the faith. Christians who listen to this without tears! If you don't want to cry out of contrition, cry out of shame!

As for me, I am terrified; the pain of the heart does not allow my lips to continue speaking. I am silent with this. Christian, if your life is not as good and holy as your faith is true and holy, do not expect to be saved. One must live according to faith and then thank God for three circumstances. First, that you are a Christian, not an unbeliever. Secondly, that you are an Orthodox Christian, and not a heretic. And thirdly, that you are an Orthodox Christian, both in faith and in life, and not only in faith. Then, then, hope that you will be saved and reach the Heavenly Kingdom!

Homily for the Second Week of Lent. On Sin