The vile idolatrous wolf, dressed in pastoral clothes, gave the poison of Judaism to the commoners he met, while others this pernicious serpent defiled with sodomic debauchery. Overeating and getting drunk, he lived like a pig and in every way dishonored the immaculate Christian faith, introducing damage and temptations into it. He blasphemed our Lord Jesus Christ, saying that Christ called Himself God; he blasphemed many blasphemies against the Most-Pure Mother of God; he threw the divine Crosses into unclean places, he burned the holy icons, calling them idols. He rejected the teaching of the Gospel, the apostolic statutes and the works of all the saints, saying thus: there is neither the Kingdom of Heaven, nor the Second Coming, nor the resurrection of the dead, if someone died, then he died completely, until that time he was only alive. And with him many others – disciples of Archpriest Alexei and Priest Denis: Fyodor Kuritsyn, the clerk of the Grand Duke, Cricket, Ivashko Maximov, Semyon Klenov and many others, who secretly adhered to various heresies – taught Judaism according to the Decalogue of Moses, adhered to the Sadducean and Messalian heresies and brought much confusion. Those whom they knew to be prudent and versed in the Holy Scriptures, they did not dare to convert to Judaism, but, falsely reinterpreting to them certain chapters of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, they inclined them to their heresy and taught various fabrications and stargazing: how to determine and arrange the birth and life of a person by the stars, and they taught them to despise the Holy Scriptures as empty and unnecessary to people. People less learned they directly taught Judaism. Not all deviated into Judaism, but many learned from them to condemn the Holy Scriptures, and in the squares and in the houses they argued about the faith, and doubted.

Such confusion arose among Christians, such as had not occurred since the sun of piety shone in the Russian land. Many of the monastic order, living in monasteries and in the wilderness, as well as noble and Christ-loving worldly people, were broken in heart. Unable to endure the pernicious storm of blasphemy, they prayed with bitter tears to God that He would put an end to this pernicious winter of Judaism, warm their hearts with the memory of the One-in-Essence Trinity, enlighten them with the truth and kindle the sun of piety. Each of them tried to eradicate the pernicious tares of Judaism together with their vile sower Zosima. And they denounced his apostasy and sodomic debauchery.

He also began a fierce war against them: he deprived some of them of Divine Communion, excommunicated priests and deacons, saying that neither a heretic nor an apostate could be condemned. He also said: even if a saint or priest is a heretic and excommunicates someone or does not bless someone, then it will be the same at God's judgment. Those who were not versed in the holy books were afraid to denounce his apostasy; Those who read the holy books knew that they should not only condemn heretics and apostates, but also curse them, and not only curse them, but also give them over to cruel executions. They did not cease to denounce the metropolitan and told everyone about his heresy and vile deeds, while the metropolitan slandered them before the grand prince.

Soon the prince sent the innocent into exile, and they endured many persecutions: chains, prisons, plundering of property. Others did not suffer with them in exile, but consoled them with letters and helped them with everything necessary; From the holy books they selected denunciations against heretical speeches and sent them to the exiles, strengthening them against heretics.

For the sake of this misfortune I also selected from the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Holy Fathers some denunciations against the speeches of heretics. And although I am ignorant and unlearned, I also, according to my strength, must take care of the denunciation of heretics. Thus Antiochus, who lived in the Lavra of Saint Sava, having witnessed the attack of the beast-like Persians, saw in this the reason for compiling a large book of extracts from the holy books. Likewise, Saint Nikon, who lived in Antioch, in the Black Mountain, seeing the fury of the godless Turks, collected a multitude of testimonies of holy books, for the benefit of those who read. Now it is not the Persians, not the Turks, but the devil himself and all his army, taking up arms against the Church of Christ, like wild beasts, who do not eat human flesh or drink blood, but destroy the soul, which the whole world is unworthy.

Let no one condemn me for repeating in every Sermon the names of heretics who profess Judaism: I speak of Archpriest Alexei, Fyodor Kuritsyn, Priest Denis, and others like them. I have gathered together the testimonies from various holy books, so that those who know, having read, will remember, and those who do not know, having read, will understand. Everyone, with the help of God's grace, will easily find in the following chapters everything necessary for the denunciation of heretics. The chapters of this book are as follows:

1. A sermon against the new heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say that God the Father Almighty has neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit, consubstantial and co-throned, and that there is no Holy Trinity. Here are also cited proofs from the Holy Scriptures that God the Father Almighty has a Son and the Holy Spirit, consubstantial and co-throned with Him, and that the Holy, Life-Giving and Almighty Trinity was already in antiquity attested by the patriarchs, prophets and all the Holy Scriptures.

2. A word against the heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say that Christ has not yet been born, but the time will come when He will be born; and He whom Christians call Christ God is a mere man, not God. Here are the proofs from the Holy Scriptures that Christ God is the One Who was born in Bethlehem of Judea from the Virgin Mary in the days of King Herod of Judea and for our salvation, voluntarily endured crucifixion, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and will again come to judge the living and the dead.

3. A word against the heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say that it is proper to adhere to the Mosaic law, to preserve it, to perform sacrifices and to be circumcised. Here is an explanation from the Holy Scriptures that the Mosaic Law was given before the coming of Christ; for in the beginning God did not want sacrifices, and permitted them only out of necessity and not everywhere, but only in one temple in Jerusalem; and after the coming of our Lord Christ, the law of Moses ceased, and sacrifices and circumcision were abolished.

4. A sermon against the heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say: "Could not God save Adam and his generation, did He not have heavenly hosts, prophets, righteous men to send to fulfill His will, but He Himself descended in the form of a poor beggar, became man, suffered, and thereby defeated the devil? — it is not fitting for God to do this!" Here are cited testimonies from the Holy Scriptures that everything is possible for God, no one can oppose His Divine authority; but from the depths of His wisdom and love for mankind, for the sake of our salvation, He Himself deigned to become man, to suffer, to descend into hell, to rise from the dead, to lead Adam and his race out of hell — and so by Divine wisdom He defeated the devil, saved the world, and is still saving.

5. A sermon against the heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say that the Holy and One-in-Essence Trinity should not be depicted on holy icons, for it is said in the Scriptures that Abraham saw God with two angels, and not the Trinity. Here are also given proofs from the Holy Scriptures that Abraham saw the Holy Trinity and that the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity should be depicted on all-honorable icons.

6. A sermon against the heresy of the Novgorod heretics, who say that man-made objects should not be worshipped. Here are also given testimonies from the Holy Scriptures that even in the Old Law people worshipped man-made things, which the Lord God commanded to be created for His glory; and in our time it is all the more necessary to venerate man-made objects, that is, holy icons, the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, and other divine and consecrated objects, which our Lord God Jesus Christ commanded to be created for His glory.

7. The testimony of the holy books on how and why Christians should venerate and venerate the divine icons, and the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of Christ, and the Holy Gospel, and the Most Pure Divine Mysteries, and the consecrated vessels in which the Divine Mysteries are performed, and the honorable relics of the saints, and the churches of God; and also about how it is proper for us to honor one another, and how it is proper to honor a king or a prince and serve him, and how it is now fitting for the Lord God to worship and serve Him alone.