The virtue of mercy should not be understood in a narrow sense, as only the provision of material assistance to the needy; It also includes the spiritual support of one's neighbor, for a person consists of two parts: soul and body. Consequently, the mercy shown to him must also be twofold: spiritual and bodily. Works of mercy related to bodily life are expressed in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, helping a person in need, labors and circumstances dangerous to life and health, etc. [However, St. Tikhon does not include in the category of needy those persons who can work themselves, but through their laziness distance themselves from this and even spend the help they receive on drunkenness. thieves and predators and says that such people will not be comforted beyond the grave, but the judgment of God, if they do not bring true repentance for this (2:359)]. And the works of spiritual alms can be manifested in guiding the erring to the path of truth, distracting a person from sin, correcting the vicious, strengthening the wavering in the midst of temptations, comforting the afflicted, condescending to the weaknesses of the weak, but without indulging passions and vices, forgiving insults, offenses, praying for salvation (1:169).

Although both types of mercy – bodily and spiritual – are of the greatest importance for the salvation of a Christian, the Holy Father gives preference to the latter, pointing out that just as the soul is greater than the body, so the spiritual mercy shown to one's neighbor, and with it love for him, are more valuable in the eyes of God. "For Christ loves human souls very much, so that He deigned to die for them. And therefore nothing can be more pleasing to Him than human salvation; and no one can love Him more than he who seeks the salvation of his neighbor" (2:345).

Such active love of a Christian for his neighbor likens him to a merciful God (1:169) and contributes to the fulfillment of Christ's commandment: "Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful" (Luke 6:36). "Whoever gives alms to his neighbor imitates Him (God), and thus offers Him a sacrifice better than any sacrifice" (5:120).

As St. Tikhon emphasizes, Christian mercy must be unfeigned and constant, especially in relation to brothers in faith, for all believers in Christ are, as it were, one organism, members of one body (5:116). In his work "On True Christianity", comparing the actions of Christians with the interaction of the members of the body, the Holy Father explains in detail how they should care for and help each other. "In the material body," he says, "if one soul suffers, all other souls also sympathize with it: so in the spiritual body Christians must sympathize with each other and have compassion. When one Christian is in distress and suffering, other Christians must also be moved by his misfortune and suffering. For if any Christian does not move over the misfortune of his brother with mercy, he testifies of himself that he does not have the Christian spirit... For a Christian cannot be without faith, faith without love, love without mercy" (3:366). Just as in the human organism the members try to help each other and thereby serve each other diligently and protect the whole body of man, so Christians should show mercy to one another, helping by word, advice, prayer, or deed itself (3:367). And this mutual assistance in the matter of salvation is of great importance, since all Christians, constituting on earth a militant Church, a single fraternal union, like warriors, must wage war against the spirits of evil. Since "the devil and his angels with one accord arm themselves against Christians and seek their destruction," then "Christians (must) with God's help stand against them and urge one another" (2:345). Just as in a living organism, if a member does not live a common life with the whole body, then it gradually dies and falls away or is cut off, so a person who does not have mercy for people moves away from the Church of Christ and, consequently, dies spiritually.

Knowing all this, a Christian throughout his life is obliged to constantly exercise the virtue of mercy and to be like a good doctor who cares for another person even to the point of self-sacrifice. And this, in turn, will make his heart compassionate to every person in need (2:345, 347). Moreover, those who have acquired this virtue will not only be pardoned by God (Matt. 5:7), but will also stand at His right hand in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 25:34), while those who have not done mercy will be judged without mercy (Matt. 25:41) (1:170; 2:347).

Deepening the thought of Christian mercy and its significance in the matter of human salvation, the saint says that good must be done without expecting benefit or praise from it, and moreover it must be done with zeal and heartfelt disposition (2:354). In showing mercy to people, a Christian must in every possible way beware of self-conceit, vanity and arrogance, because these passions can devalue this virtue in the eyes of God, and then, instead of praise and reward from God, a person can incur His wrath and condemnation (2:356).

Thus, the virtue of mercy provides the most essential help in the matter of human salvation and intercedes before the throne of the Most High not only for absolution of sins and pardon, but also for blessed eternity together with the heavenly dwellers.

4. Fear of God

The fear of God is "the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 10) (2:252), without which man cannot attain the only true and necessary goal and meaning of earthly life – unity with God for eternal bliss with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Moreover, a person who does not have this grace-filled fear in himself cannot preserve the image and likeness of God, given to human nature by God at creation. Without the fear of God, man loses his spirituality, departs from his Creator, and becomes carnal (Gen. 6:3). Only the presence of the fear of God in a person testifies to his spirituality (5:152), which in turn draws the mind and heart of a person to the correct knowledge of the true God (5:311). In addition, the fear of God, like a faithful guardian, always vigilantly guards the spiritual home of a Christian from all evil (2:253).

He is a great saving "gift from the Lord" (2:252), as God Himself says about it through the mouth of the prophet: "... And I will give My fear in their hearts, lest they depart from Me" (Jeremiah 32:40). In giving the saving gift of the fear of God to man, the Heavenly Father, however, does not suppress his will, but gives him complete freedom in the matter of building up his salvation. A person decides for himself: whether to accept this gift and turn to God, or, having rejected it, to distance himself from God and follow a disastrous path.

A prerequisite for receiving the gift of the fear of God is the presence of faith in the Lord in the human heart. More precisely, it is assimilated by a person to the extent of his faith, because only faith is characterized by true fear, thanks to which the believer turns away from all sin and iniquity. When faith fades away in a person, the fear of God leaves him, as a result of which the soul feels complete emptiness. In such a state, the soul is easily inclined to sinful impulses. But when a person realizes his weakness and restores in his soul the saving faith and fear of God, "then the soul is comforted, rejoices, rejoices, and shouts in spirit" (5:286). In this way, a person in himself experiences a close interpersonal connection between faith, the degree of assimilation of the gift of the fear of God, and his spiritual and moral state. If a person consciously accepts the gift of the fear of God with his heart and mind, with all his being, warms it up in himself, is affirmed and perfected in it, then this gift fills the heart of a person, penetrates all spiritual and spiritual activity and has a decisive influence not only on his internal state, but also on his external behavior (2:253). Such a relationship indicates the need for the active participation of man himself in the development and strengthening of this virtue in himself, in the creation of his salvation.

The general way for a person to assimilate the gift of the fear of God and develop it into a salvific virtue should be that man should constantly be aware of his sinfulness before God and strive to fulfill His holy will. As St. Tikhon teaches, at the lowest stage of development, the virtue of the fear of God is based on the awareness of the inevitability and inevitability of God's righteous judgment, on the feeling of fear, the fear of future eternal suffering for sins; God is perceived by man as only a formidable Judge and a punishing Rewarder. This initial abstinence of man from sin only out of slavish fear, out of fear of being punished by God for sins and of future sufferings, leads man to the attainment of filial fear of God. In this way, the constant avoidance of evil and sin gradually turns into a firm habit of pleasing God. And this makes a person capable of receiving the grace of God, which strengthens him even more in the virtue of the fear of God, teaches him not only to avoid evil, but also to do good (Psalm 33:15).

Further, man's slavish fear of God and His righteous judgment is gradually transformed into a sublime feeling of reverence for Him, into a feeling of filial, sincere, and heartfelt, unquestioning attraction to God. In such a soul, it is no longer the fear of punishment and suffering that forces a person to avoid sin, but the desire to be in unity with God (1:103). In this way, a person passes to the highest level of the virtue of the fear of God – filial fear. This feeling of filial fear of God restrains a person from all actions and thoughts that offend the majesty of God, from deeds and intentions that are not pleasing to Him, to His all-holy will (2:253). At this stage, the fear of God is for a Christian a treasure of the soul, a "spiritual light" that illuminates his life path, his soul, thoughts, deeds and deeds (4:379). A Christian recognizes himself not only and not simply as a creature of God, but as His child. For him, God is no longer a strict Judge and Rewarder, but an all-righteous, loving Father. However, a Christian should not stop at this stage of spiritual development. His filial fear of God, to the extent of his spiritual progress and under the influence of Divine grace, must grow into love for God and neighbor. The filial fear of God, therefore, is the pledge of God's supreme gift to man — perfect love, for only "the fear of the Lord... in the paths of love he makes" (Sir. 1:13) (2:252). And love leads a Christian into communion and unity with God, because "God is love, and abides in love, abides in God, and God dwells in him" (1 John 4:16). Unity with God is the true and only goal of man's life and spiritual feats on earth.

Thus, the spiritual perfection of man and his affirmation in the virtue of the fear of God constitute a single, indissoluble process, a single path of the journey to God.